Dota 2 Patch 7.28a Patch Notes

Hoodhwink dota 2 — Patch 7.28a is all about balance changes. (Image credit: Valve Corporation)

Five days have passed since the release of the Mistwoods Update and it was high time Valve released a small patch to tweak all the big changes. Today, 7.28a is finally out!

With the addition of Aghanim Shards into Dota 2, most heroes received a brand-new ability. The freshly released patch 7.28a brings some tweaks. You can find the full notes on Steamdb or below:

Heroes

Mirana: Level 20 (Right) Talent changed from +10% Spell Amplification to +8% Spell Amplification
Vengeful Spirit: Attribute strength gain increased from 2.4 to 2.6 (+0.2)
Enigma: Level 15 (Right) Talent changed from 10% Cooldown Reduction to 8% Cooldown Reduction
Lifestealer: Attack damage min increased from 21 to 24 (+3)
Lifestealer: Attack damage max increased from 27 to 30 (+3)
Batrider: Movement speed increased from 290 to 295 (+5)
Outworld Destroyer: Movement speed increased from 310 to 315 (+5)
Outworld Destroyer: Level 15 (Left) Talent changed from +6 Armor to +8 Armor
Outworld Destroyer: Level 25 (Left) Talent changed from 20% Spell Lifesteal to 30% Spell Lifesteal
Lycan: Level 15 (Left) Talent changed from 10% Cooldown Reduction to 8% Cooldown Reduction
Ogre Magi: Attack damage min reduced from 37 to 34 (-3)
Ogre Magi: Attack damage max reduced from 43 to 40 (-3)
Arc Warden: Attribute base strength reduced from 25 to 23 (-2)
Snapfire: Level 10 (Left) Talent changed from +15 Movement Speed to +20 Movement Speed

Abilities

Swiftslash: Ability cast range reduced from 650 to 600 (-50)
Swiftslash: Ability cooldown increased from 15 to 20 (+5)
Tidal Wave: Ability cooldown reduced from 16 to 14 (-2)
Tidal Wave: Ability mana cost reduced from 150 to 75 (-75)
Mortal Strike: Changed critical damage from 150/190/230/270% to 140/180/220/260%
Static Field: Changed health reduction from 6/8/10/12% to 4/6/8/10%
Vengeance Aura: Changed base damage bonus from 8/16/24/32% to 11/18/25/32%
Wave of Terror: Changed ability damage from 60/80/100/120 to 70/90/110/130
Nether Swap: Changed ability cooldown from 60/45/30 to 50/40/30
Sleeping Dart: Ability cooldown reduced from 20 to 15 (-5)
Defense Matrix: Damage absorb increased from 200 to 275 (+75)
Defense Matrix: Barrier duration increased from 10 to 12 (+2)
Phantom Strike: Changed bonus attack speed from 100/125/150/175 to 75/100/125/150
Rage: Changed move speed bonus from 15% to 15/16/17/18%
Open Wounds: Ability mana cost reduced from 125 to 75 (-50)
Ghoul Frenzy: Changed movement slow from 6/12/18/24% to 10/15/20/25%
Death Pact: Changed bonus damage from 4/9/14% to 4/8/12%
Hammer of Purity: Bonus damage increased from 25 to 50 (+25)
Silken Bola: Duration reduced from 2 to 2 (0)
Greevil's Greed: Recent kill window reduced from 40 to 36 (-4)
Arcane Orb: Changed ability cooldown from 6/4/2/0 to 4/3/2/0
Arcane Orb: Changed mana pool to damage from 14% to 16%
Sanity's Eclipse: Changed radius from 375/475/575 to 400/500/600
Ignite: Ability mana cost increased from 100 to 110 (+10)
Arcane Supremacy: Changed cast range from 75/125/175/225 to 100/150/200/250
Impale: Changed ability mana cost from 95/115/135/155 to 105/120/135/150
Vendetta: Changed ability mana cost from 140/200/260 to 160/220/280
Illuminate: Changed max damage from 200/300/400/500 to 225/325/425/525
Solar Bind: Changed ability cooldown from 22/20/18/16 to 23/20/17/14
Chakra Magic: Changed mana restore from 80/160/240/320 to 100/180/260/340
Fish Bait: Ability cooldown reduced from 20 to 12 (-8)
Fish Bait: Ability mana cost reduced from 100 to 50 (-50)
Fish Bait: Slow duration increased from 4 to 6 (+2)
Flamethrower: Damage per second increased from 75 to 90 (+15)
Frozen Sigil: Changed movement slow from 20% to 30%
Demon Zeal: Berserk bonus movement speed increased from 25 to 50 (+25)
Demon Zeal: Duration increased from 6 to 7 (+1)
Mirana’s Level 15 Sacred Arrow cooldown talent: Value reduced from 3.5 to 3 (-0.5)
Clinkz’s Level 15 Skeleton Walk cooldown talent: Value reduced from 10 to 7 (-3)
Keeper of the Light’s Level 15 Blinding Light cooldown talent: Value increased from 6 to 8 (+2)
Arc Warden’s Level 15 Spark Wraith Damage talent: Value reduced from 150 to 125 (-25)
Arc Warden’s Level 10 Flux Cast Range talent: Value reduced from 250 to 200 (-50)

Units

Frozen Sigil: Movement speed increased from 310 to 340 (+30)

The most notable changes are perhaps those to Vengeful Spirit and Outworld Destroyer (no longer Devourer). Venge got a significant update with 7.28 that shifts her more into a core position and with the buffs in 7.28a, we might see more of her in the offlane. OD is arguably the worst hero you could play now, as his win rate is sub 40% lately. Expect to see more buffs on him in the upcoming patches.

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In case you missed it, the new hero Hoodwink was also nerfed a few days back.

Hoodwink Update. #Dota2 pic.twitter.com/2cK8fRXOgk
— Wykrhm Reddy (@wykrhm) December 19, 2020

She’s still quite overpowered and can deal insane amounts of damage without any items as most of it is coming from abilities. This makes Hoodwink more suitable as position 3 or 4 instead of an actual carry.

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