Removal of facets and new items: Dota 2 patch 7.41 released
Despite the ongoing ESL One Birmingham 2026 tournament, Valve has released a major update that includes the removal of facets, changes to map objectives, item adjustments and additions, as well as a rework of innate abilities.
General changes
- All facets have been removed from the game, and innate abilities no longer depend on the level of other skills and now scale with the hero’s level starting from level one.
- Neutral items can now be obtained from the very start of the game instead of from the 5-minute mark as before.
- The first Tormentor now spawns in the lower part of the map, closer to the Lotus Pool. Previously, it spawned in the upper part of the map. The spawn timing remains unchanged. Its damage absorption has been increased from 2000 to 3000, while damage reflection has been reduced from 50% to 30%.
- If players from different teams are present near the Wisdom Shrine or the Lotus Pool, the timer no longer pauses and instead rolls back. The Wisdom Shrine now grants less experience initially — 200 instead of 280, and the amount of experience increases by 300 with each subsequent spawn.
- The first Roshan now spawns in the upper pit.
- Lane creeps on the safe lane are slightly sped up for a few seconds after leaving the base, while offlane creeps are slowed, shifting the meeting point closer to the hard lane.
Key hero changes
In addition to the removal of aspects, Valve has changed the innate abilities of many heroes, which has made some characters that relied on facets significantly weaker.
Invoker can now choose one of three upgrades when purchasing Aghanim's Scepter or Aghanim's Shard, which were previously facets. If Aghanim's Scepter is sold and bought again, the same upgrade will be offered as before. The item now grants +1 level to only one selected orb instead of all of them.
Many professional players noted the strength of Largo, however, with the release of the patch, he did not receive significant nerfs. With his first ability Catchy Lick, he can now pull runes, restoring the mana spent. His ultimate Bullbelly Blitz now deals 20/30/40 magical damage by default, and with Aghanim's Scepter, the damage increases by 6/12/18 for each Groovin stack if Largo is playing two songs at once. The movement speed bonus and slow resistance from Hotfeet Hustle have been slightly reduced. It is likely that these changes will not be enough to push the hero out of the meta.
Lich received a new innate ability Sacrifice, which allows him to instantly kill an allied creep to gain mana and experience. This ability existed before, and now there is a high chance he will become a meta hero again, as it is much easier to control the lane.
Another strong meta contender is Techies, as Proximity Mines are now considered hero units rather than separate objects. This allows their damage to scale with items that increase spell damage, such as Kaya or Divine Rapier. The hero has also regained the old green barrels, now as an innate ability that appears upon death and explodes after 1.5 seconds. With Aghanim's Shard, the ability is enhanced, allowing Techies to place one barrel manually and detonate it with a second activation. The barrel is invisible and can be destroyed before detonation.
Tinker had Defense Matrix removed and replaced with a new ability Deploy Turrets, allowing him to summon three turrets in a target area. Upon landing, they deal 40/80/120/160 magical damage and can only attack enemy heroes. The turrets deal low damage and can be destroyed. Rearm has also received a cooldown reduction.
Meepo has also undergone a major rework. Each clone now copies all items of the main hero and can use them, but all items share cooldowns. The community quickly discovered multiple bugs related to Hand of Midas and other items, so Valve has temporarily disabled the hero.
Key item changes
Cornucopia
- Removed from the game.
Ring of Health
- Moved back to the Secret Shop, allowing offlaners to build Vanguard without leaving the lane.
Void Stone
- Moved back to the Secret Shop.
Essence Distiller
- An upgrade for Urn of Shadows.
- When used on an ally, it provides 40 health regeneration. When used on an enemy, it deals 25 damage per second, grants True Sight, and provides vision of the target for the owner’s team.
- The item can also be cast on the ground to create a delayed effect that attaches to the first enemy hero within a 400 radius. The effect lasts for 15 seconds and provides 400 vision until it expires.
Specialist's Array
- Previously a neutral item, now available for purchase. Ranged attacks have a 30% chance to fire additional projectiles at two nearby enemies that are not the primary target.
- The effect only works for ranged heroes and does not stack with other sources of additional projectiles, such as Flak Cannon (Gyrocopter), Split Shot (Medusa), or Gunslinger (Muerta).
- The item can be upgraded into Hydra's Breath, gaining a passive that poisons enemies for 3 seconds, dealing magical damage equal to 2.5% of the target’s maximum health per second.
Refresher Orb
- No longer refreshes item cooldowns.
- Cooldown reduced to 180 seconds.
- Refresher Shard from Roshan now works the same way.
New neutral items
Forager's Kit
- New Tier 1 item.
- Allows you to obtain items that grant passive bonuses but occupy an inventory slot.
- Possible bonuses include: +3 movement speed and +5 to all attributes; +2 intelligence and 50 + 5% of maximum mana; +2 damage and +1% health regeneration; or a pouch with 30 gold.
Medallion of Courage
- Returned as a Tier 2 neutral item.
- When used on an ally, increases their armor by 7 for 8 seconds.
- When used on an enemy, reduces their armor by 4 for 8 seconds.
- Cannot be used on self.
Prophet's Pendulum
- New Tier 4 item.
- Delays 30% of incoming damage, distributing it over 5 seconds.
Harmonizer
- New Tier 5 item.
- Passively grants 5% mana cost reduction and 6% spell amplification for each ability that is off cooldown.
Numerical changes were also introduced to nerf and buff heroes and items that stood out in the previous patch. Lifestealer, Batrider, Doom and Bloodseeker saw the highest increase in win rate. Tinker, Invoker and Anti-Mage were affected the most negatively.
You can learn about all hero and item changes in detail on the official game website or directly in the Dota 2 client.
Earlier, Cyberscore reported on a record player decline and its causes.
by CyberScore