Meta report: how heroes changed with the release of patch 7.40c

More than a month has passed since the release of the major 7.40 patch, and during this time Valve have introduced several balance adjustments, nerfing overly strong heroes and buffing those that were falling behind in win rate. However, heroes who lost their facets still haven’t received proper replacements, and not all of them managed to survive these changes.

In this statistic, we summarize the results and highlight the top five heroes for each role after the 7.40c balance patch.

The new leader in the carry role is Slark, posting a 53.5% win rate and taking first place in pick count with 3,100 games played. Shadow Fiend secured second place with a 52.9% win rate across 2,500 matches. Clinkz rounds out the top three - despite a 54.6% win rate, he was picked less frequently than Nevermore.

It is worth noting that Clinkz previously held the top spot after Valve heavily buffed the hero in patch 7.40. He was later significantly nerfed in a balance update, but still remains among the best carries. Drow Ranger with a 52.1% win rate and Faceless Void at 51.4% also made it into the top five.

Among mid laners, Storm Spirit became the undisputed leader and across 2,100 games, he achieved a 56.0% win rate. Invoker and Puck took second and third place, both remaining top-tier picks from previous patches. Fourth place goes to Huskar, a favorite among boosters: with the new Cauterize facet, the hero can remove negative effects while restoring health.

Void Spirit closes out the top, continuing to be considered one of the most stable mid heroes. He was picked 1,100 times and won 51.0% of his games.

In the offlane, Tidehunter was the leader of the previous patch, but has now completely dropped out of the top. First place was taken by Legion Commander, who previously held second position. Her current win rate stands at 52.9% across 1,900 games. Second and third place are shared by Centaur Warrunner and Night Stalker, both posting a 52.8% win rate.

A new hero in the top is Omniknight, with a 53.0% win rate over 1,300 matches. He has received buffs for several patches in a row and, with a successful lane, can become a full-fledged core.

Among position four supports, Spirit Breaker broke into the top with a 52.5% win rate across 2,400 games. He is joined by Lion with 53.6% wins and Snapfire at 51.4% over 1,100 matches. These heroes are considered strong picks for an aggressive playstyle, as they can deal a large amount of damage in a short time.

Fourth place goes to Bounty Hunter, who continues to maintain an impressive 55.5% win rate, but requires strong macro understanding to be fully effective. The top five is rounded out by Nyx Assassin, who features a similar gameplay style but offers higher mobility.

Among hard supports, Treant Protector became the leader with a 53.1% win rate over 1,500 games, pushing Venomancer down to second place. Other strong supports include Tusk (51.0%), Ogre Mage (52.8%), and Shadow Shaman with a 51.4% win rate. Community favorite Pudge, unfortunately, did not make it into the top among supports.

You can find a detailed overview of all hero and item changes on the official game website or directly in the Dota 2 client.

Earlier, Cyberscore reported that Valve updated the demo mode, adding the ability to spawn creeps.