"DOTA 2" Patch 6.86 or otherwise known as "Balance of Power" update has introduced many notable changes in the game from the addition of one new hero, reworking the skills of six well-known heroes, map changes up to additional items and a lot more. But in competitive "DOTA 2," what does Patch 6.86 mean?
While players may find it easy to get used to the changes in hero skills as professional "DOTA 2" players can easily adapt to various hero combinations, it may take even more practice to get used to the new map and the changes to the neutral creeps. Thus Patch 6.86 has greatly affected one of the strategies that professional players have been using for a very long time in competitive "DOTA 2," stacking neutral and ancient creeps at their bases to help carriers or hitters level up quickly.
According to the thescoreesports.com, the neutral creeps and ancient creeps have either been buffed or given auras that make killing stacks more difficult or time consuming. Both tiny versions of Centaurs and Hellbears were even granted stacking magic resistance. Thus for players who are struggling to level up because of bad laning, catching up by killing stacks made by support "DOTA 2" players is not an easy catch-up tactic anymore.
On the other hand, if the jungle is not kind to "DOTA 2" players anymore, the new items may come in handy as they are efficient and not so expensive to build especially during the early stage. As stated in the official DOTA blog, the four new items are Faerie Fire , Iron Talon, Dragon Lance and Aether Lens. Faerie Fire will only cost 75 golds. While players in competitive play might still go for quelling blade that cost 200 golds, this Faerie Fire can add +2 damage at more than half the gold. It may not be much but this new item is consumable and give 75 HP which can be helpful in the event that the hero is about to die, and needs a little more HP to escape.
The Iron Talon may be a good starting item for a jungler hero. It is formed by combining Quelling Blade, Ring of Protection and a Recipe for a total gold cost of 500. With the upgraded bonus from a quelling blade, this can make the jungling process easier, as it removes 40 percent of a neutral enemy's current HP every 14 seconds. However, it is cannot be disassembled but 500 golds is that expensive to start with.
Next the Dragon Lance is formed by combining an Ogre Club (1000 gold) and Quarterstaff (875 gold). It gives additional 10 Strength, 10 Attack Speed, 10 Damage, 130 Attack Range (ranged heroes only, does not stack) and can be disassembled. It is therefore considered a high impact item at a low cost. Lastly, the Aether Lens that once formed from Energy Booster (900 gold), Ring of Health (850 gold) and Cloak (550 gold). A little pricey but give additional 250 Mana, 8 HP Regeneration, 15 Magic Resistance, 200 Cast Range and 8 percent Spell Damage to "DOTA 2" Heroes.
Patch 6.86 seemed to work pretty well in favor of Swedish Team Alliance who came out champions at WCA 2015 in China last week. In time, "DOTA 2" fans will get used to these changes.
