Patch 7.31 is Shaking Things Up in Dota 2 – Here’s Everything You Need to Know

Dota 2 patch 7.31 came out on February 26, and since then we’ve seen some of the most broken things, like the 5 Null Talisman + Arcane Blink Storm Spirit build, for instance (thankfully, this has been fixed on patch 7.31b) and some much better changes.

This patch review focuses more on how the major changes will affect the Dota 2 pro scene and betting scene. We’re not going to lay out and discuss in detail all the nerfs and buffs, but instead, we’re going to take a look at how this recent Dota 2 patch is already being played out at the professional level and help you place the best bets.

The Major Changes

Dota 2 patch 7.31 will probably be remembered as the patch that changed the jungle camps and the creeps living in those camps. We encourage you to read the gameplay update on Dota 2’s website, but if you haven’t already, basically the biggest buff of the patch went to jungle creeps. As a result, heroes who can control jungle creeps, like Enchantress and Chen, also got huge upgrades.

As for items, we’re seeing players build Diffusal Blade in the early game. Its total cost got significantly reduced from 3150 to 2500 (650 gold difference) in exchange for some nerfs. Be wary of Diffusal heroes like Ursa, Riki, and Phantom Lancer. The new items—Revenant’s Brooch, Wraith Pact, and Boots of Bearing—are going to spice up some kinds of matchups as well. We’re looking particularly at Revenant’s Brooch and how it’s going to affect the late game. Because most heroes heavily stack up on armor around the 30+ minute mark, an item like this that grants magical damage on attack should stir some reconsiderations.

Of course, the Dota 2 new hero Primal Beast deserves some feedback as well. After fighting it in the Aghanim’s Labyrinth event, we’re pretty impressed that the beast is now added to the hero pool. It’s being played in all roles at the moment, especially in the offlane and mid lane. His abilities “Onslaught” and “Trample” give him great mobility and high damage output without sacrificing durability. We’re yet to see him wreak havoc in the pro scene.

Pro Scene Relevance

One of the things to watch out for is a fast tempo, the kind of rushed gameplay that OG magnificently showed in TI9 against everybody, particularly the previous Team Liquid in the grand finals. Most Dota 2 players like to call it the “monkey business” strat, where you group up early in the game and try to choke the enemy team by invading their jungle before they can get on solid footing.

We didn’t see this kind of gameplay that much in the last TI, but now it’s back in vogue because of the insane buffs that both teams can receive by controlling neutral creeps. There’s the Hill Troll Priest’s 15% heal amplification, the Hellbear’s +100 attack speed upon death, and the Ancient Frostbitten Golem’s 10% cooldown reduction, to name a few.

That being said, some teams and certain pro players are definitely going to abuse the meta better than the rest. For instance, Kuro “KuroKy” Salehi Takhasomi and, especially, Clement “Puppey” Ivanov are both masters at using heroes like Chen and Enchantress. We’re sure they’ve already whipped up some lineups around these trendy heroes, and we’re excited to see them on the upcoming GAMERS GALAXY: Invitational Series Dubai 2022.

Bet on your favorite Dota 2 team right now on Unibet. Other than having more than fair odds, they’re known for their platform’s amazing features, including statistics, match history, and team overview. Check out our Unibet reviews for more details.

Impact on Betting

If you want to get started betting on Dota 2, now’s a perfect time. Top teams at the top of the food chain are all experimenting both on scrims and professional series, which means they’re willing to undercut their own strength just to probe around the meta and bring new tactics to their playbooks. This immediately makes the odds a little bit deceitful since slightly weaker teams have a higher chance of winning more than any other time in the new Dota 2 patch.

We recommend signing up to Bet365 because they have the best odds in the league. Not even dedicated eSports bookies are willing to go near what they’re offering most of the time. Read our Bet365 reviews to learn all about their platform. It’s good stuff.

Conclusion

Again, there’s no better day to start betting on Dota 2 than today. If you want to shop for the best eSports betting sites to join, we have a vast collection of bookmaker reviews on our site. Make sure not to miss them! Remember: you’re only as good as the platform you’re betting on.

With that out of the way, we can only expect fireworks in the upcoming tournaments. Teams will surely fight for control over jungle camps and neutral creeps, and if the heroes who can exploit this aspect of the patch end up being banned, it would be great to find out which heroes most elite teams think are broken. Then there’s the Dota 2 new hero itself. We don’t know if top teams will dare use him right away, but we’re anticipating with eyes wide open. The Primal Beast might just be a money-making machine this early into the patch.