Dota 2 Patch 7.38b patch notes and summary: Nerfs aplenty as top heroes brought in line
Some of Dota’s most powerful heroes have copped nerfs.
A week after Dota 2’s 7.38 update, it’s evident that certain heroes have stood out from the rest. In response, Valve has prepared the nerfhammer and reduced the power of some overly potent heroes with the 7.38b patch, which was released on March 4.
Here’s a look at every change in Dota 2 patch 7.38b, available now in the client to download.
Table of contents
- Dota 2 Patch 7.38b overview
- Dragon Knight, Abaddon hit hard by Valve’s nerfhammer
- Neutral items refreshed following new system rollout in 7.38
- Patch 7.38b biggest buffs and nerfs
- Dota 2 Patch 7.38b full patch notes
- General
- Items
- Neutral Items
- Heroes
Dota 2 Patch 7.38b overview
Dragon Knight, Abaddon hit hard by Valve’s nerfhammer
As a devoted fan, I couldn’t help but feel that it was inevitable. With the arrival of patch 7.38b, adjustments, or shall I say, “nerfs,” were made to some top-tier picks in Dota, and the Dragon Knight was one of the key figures on the receiving end.
In simpler terms, the Fire Dragon aspect (the one most often chosen), has significantly decreased Dragon Tail’s area of effect by nearly half, and the bonus magical damage from dragon attacks has been lessened by 40% at all levels. This is a substantial weakening for Dragon Knight who had been ruling the game’s meta, both before and immediately after the release of version 7.38 last week.
Furthermore, Abaddon was not spared either, as his complete arsenal took a hit; specifically, Aphotic Shield endures for a briefer duration with a higher mana requirement, Mist Coil deals less damage over a shorter distance, and Borrowed Time’s Aghanim’s Scepter upgrade no longer extends its coverage across the entire screen.
In addition to Jakiro, Lifestealer, Tidehunter, and Tiny, a total of more than two dozen other heroes were also subjected to punishment, eventually bringing them all back in alignment with their fellow heroes.
Neutral items refreshed following new system rollout in 7.38
20 neutral items, following the recent overhaul of the neutral item system during the Wandering Waters update last week, now have their values adjusted subtly in patch 7.38b.
Among all others, it was the top-tier item, Mana Draught, that garnered the most favor. Now, this artifact restores only half the mana it used to before.
In other words, not all neutral items were weakened; some received buffs to keep them relevant. For instance, Pig Stick now has a shorter duration but can be used more frequently, Iron Talon’s cooldown decreased by 25%, and the Pollywog Charm’s duration has been extended by four seconds.
Patch 7.38b biggest buffs and nerfs
In this post, we’re highlighting the primary changes (buffs and nerfs) affecting our featured heroes in Dota 2 version 7.38b. For brevity, we’ve only covered those that fit within the following groups:
1. Buffed Heroes
2. Nerfed Heroes
(Note: Not all heroes have been discussed here.)
| Adjustments | Major | Minor |
|---|---|---|
| Buffs | – | Brewmaster, Keeper of the Light, Kez, Primal Beast |
| Nerfs | Abaddon, Dragon Knight, Jakiro, Lifestealer, Tidehunter, Tiny | Beastmaster, Invoker, Leshrac, Magnus, Nature’s Prophet, Venomancer, Zeus |
The full patch notes can be found on the Valve site here, but we’ve broken them down for you below!
Dota 2 Patch 7.38b full patch notes
General
- Item grace period for swapping into the main inventory without a cooldown increased from three to five seconds.
- Tormentor: Gold to each team member on death decreased from 250 to 175.
- Tormentor: Unyielding Shield: Base Damage absorb increased from 1,900 to 2,100.
- Tormentor: Unyielding Shield: Base Barrier regeneration increased from 30 to 40.
- Lotuses can no longer be picked up by Meepo clones, Arc Warden’s Tempest Double or Dazzle’s Nothl Projection.
- Moved the spawn box of the Radiant Safelane tier 1 hard pull camp a little bit down, removing an inaccessible camp block spot that could be created by chopping down a tree.
- Removed several trees around camps, making it easier for additional paths to be cut through.
Items
| Item | Change(s) |
|---|---|
| Eye of Skadi | – Cold Attack Melee Movement Slow increased from 20% to 25%. – Cold Attack no longer has a separate attack speed slow value against melee targets. |
| Glimmer Cape | – Glimmer Bonus Movement Speed decreased from 40 to 20. – Glimmer Mana Cost increased from 90 to 125. |
| Heaven’s Halberd | – No longer requires a Ring of Regen. – Recipe cost increased from 275 to 450. Total cost unchanged. |
| Khanda | – Empower Spell Debuff Duration increased from three to four seconds. – Empower Spell Cooldown decreased from 12 to 10 seconds. |
| Orb of Corrosion | – Agility bonus decreased from eight to seven. – Corrosion Melee Movement Slow increased from 6% to 8%. |
| Orb of Frost | – Frost Melee Movement Slow increased from 5% to 6%. |
| Orchid Malevolence | – Mana Regen bonus decreased from +3.25 to +3. – Attack Speed bonus decreased from +40 to +35. |
| Bloodthorn | – Mana Regen bonus decreased from +3.5 to +3.25. – Attack Speed bonus decreased from +100 to +95. |
Neutral Items
Artifacts
| Item | Change(s) |
|---|---|
| Mana Draught | Bottoms Up mana restored rescaled from 60 + 2% of Caster’s Max Mana to 30 + 4% of Caster’s Max Mana. |
| Orb of Destruction | Impeding Corruption duration decreased from five to three seconds. |
| Pig Pole | Pig, Out! bonus movement speed increased from 15% to 20%. Pig, Out! cooldown decreased from 25 to 20 seconds. Pig, Out! duration decreased from four to three seconds. |
| Pollywog Charm | Ribbit duration increased from 10 to 14 seconds. |
| Ripper’s Lash | Flay cooldown decreased from 30 to 25 seconds. |
| Trusty Shovel | Dig cooldown increased from 60 to 70 seconds. |
| Brigand’s Blade | Dark Mercy enemy HP increment increased from 5% to 7%. |
| Essence Ring | Life Essence duration decreased from 15 to 10 seconds. Life Essence mana cost increased from 150 to 160. |
| Iron Talon | Chop cooldown decreased from 20 to 15 seconds. |
| Searing Signet | Burn Through damage threshold increased from 40 to 55. |
| Gale Guard | Cyclonic Shield damage Barrier decreased from 400 to 250. |
| Gunpowder Gauntlet | Beat the Crowd now also deals 50% of the bonus magical damage to enemies in the splash radius. Beat the Crowd splash damage now bypasses physical damage block. |
| Ninja Gear | Solitary Disguise mana cost increased from 0 to 100. |
| Serrated Shiv | Gut ‘Em current health as physical damage decreased from 10% to 8%. |
| Crippling Crossbow | Hobble cast range increased from 600 to 800. |
| Mind Breaker | Silence Strike silence duration decreased from two to 1.5 seconds. |
| Pyrrhic Cloak | Retribution damage reflection increased from 60% to 75%. |
| Fallen Sky | Fallen Sky cooldown increased from 15 to 25 seconds. |
| Pirate Hat | Plunder bonus gold for being the killer of a hero increased from 150 to 400. |
| Unrelenting Eye | Relentless now also provides +10% status resistance per enemy within 300 units. |
Enchantments
| Enchantment | Change(s) |
|---|---|
| Brawny | Health bonus decreased from +125/175/225/275 to +125/165/205/245. |
| Mystical | Magic Resistance bonus decreased from +0/10/16/22% to +0/10/14/18%. |
| Vampiric | Lifesteal bonus decreased from +12/16/20% to +12/14/16%. Spell Lifesteal bonus decreased from +8/12/16% to +8/10/12%. |
Heroes
| Hero | Change(s) |
|---|---|
| Abaddon | Mephitic Shroud (Facet) Aphotic Shield – Duration decreased from 17 to 14 seconds. Mist Coil Aphotic Shield Borrowed Time |
| Alchemist | Greevil’s Greed – Gifting Aghanim’s Scepters no longer provides Spell Amplification. |
| Ancient Apparition | Agility gain decreased from 2.2 to 2.0. |
| Arc Warden | Ruined Replica (Facet) Tempest Double – Rune Duration increased from 10 to 12 seconds. |
| Beastmaster | Base Damage decreased by three. |
| Brewmaster | Belligerent (Innate) Duration on respawn increased from 30 to 45 seconds. Talents |
| Broodmother | Base Damage decreased by two. Necrotic Webs (Facet) |
| Chen | Summon Convert (Innate) Convert’s abilities now also level up with Holy Persuasion. |
| Dark Seer | Base Armor decreased by one. Aggrandize (Innate) |
| Dazzle | Nothl Boon (Facet) Weave – Allies now receive 5% extra healing from Dazzle per stack. Poison Touch Nothl Projection |
| Dragon Knight | Fire Dragon (Facet) Dragon Tail – AoE while in Dragon Form decreased from 175 to 100. Wyrm’s Wrath – Magic Damage on Attacks decreased from 10/20/30/40 to 6/12/18/24. |
| Ember Spirit | Strength gain decreased from 2.6 to 2.3. |
| Hoodwink | Bushwack – Cooldown rescaled from 14 to 15/14/13/12 seconds. |
| Huskar | Inner Fire – Damage decreased from 120/180/240/300 to 105/170/235/300. |
| Invoker | Scholar of Koryx (Facet) Cold Snap – When Cold Snap triggers, Invoker now also restores five mana in addition to existing healing based on Quas. Ghost Walk – Aghanim’s Scepter ally duration increased from 20 to 30 seconds. Mind of Tornarus (Facet) Agent of Gallaron (Facet) Forge Spirit |
| Jakiro | Ice Breaker (Facet) Ice Path – Path Duration decreased from six to five seconds. Ice Path Talents |
| Keeper of the Light | Spirit Form – Cooldown decreased from 85 to 85/80/75 seconds. – Duration increased from 40 to 40/45/50 seconds. – Illuminate Heal increased from 50/60/70% to 70%. Talents |
| Kez | Base Intelligence increased from 18 to 20. Strength gain increased from 2.6 to 2.8. Shadowhawk (Facet) Grappling Claw Shodo Sai Raptor Dance |
| Leshrac | Chronoptic Nourishment (Facet) Damage as mana restore increased from 10/18/26/34% to 14/21/28/35%. Diabolic Edict Lightning Storm |
| Lifestealer | Base Agility decreased by four. Fleshfeast (Facet) Feast Infest |
| Lina | Laguna Blade – Aghanim’s Shard damage converted increased from 75% to 100%. |
| Lycan | Spirit Wolves (Facet) Summon Wolves – Bonus health per wolf increased from 50/100/150/200 to 60/115/170/225. |
| Magnus | Eternal Empowerment (Innate) Empower – Max self bonus decreased from 10/15/20/25% to 8/12/16/20%. Skewer |
| Marci | Rebound – Impact Damage decreased from 80/160/240/320 to 75/150/225/300. – Aghanim’s Shard Impact Damage decreased from 96/192/288/384 to 90/180/270/360. |
| Medusa | Venomous Volley (Facet) Attacks required to apply poison increased from five to six. |
| Meepo | Codependent (Facet) Attack speed bonus decreased from 7% to 5%. |
| Mirana | Starstruck (Facet) Starstorm – Blind Duration decreased from 3.5/4/4.5/5 to three seconds. |
| Monkey King | Wukong’s Command – Soldiers no longer receive a copy of Monkey King’s neutral item. |
| Muerta | The Calling – No longer slows attack speed. |
| Nature’s Prophet | Wrath of Nature – Aghanim’s Scepter no longer reduces cooldown by 25 seconds. Talents |
| Night Stalker | Night Reign (Facet) Hunter in the Night – Move Speed decreased from 16/22/28/34/40% to 10/22/28/34/40%. Voidbringer (Facet) Talents |
| Phantom Lancer | Juxtapose – Illusion Trigger Chance increased from 8% to 9%. |
| Primal Beast | Provoke the Beast (Facet) Uproar – Stacks gained per debuff increased from two to three. Ferocity (Facet) |
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2025-03-05 03:18