Dota 2 Patch 7.36a brings nerfs and tweaks following major 7.36 update

Dota 2 Patch 7.36a follows up on the major changes introduced in 7.36, which significantly altered the game.

Patch 7.36a focuses on rebalancing broken heroes with few tweaks and nerfs, aiming to bring back some sanity in the meta.

Broken heroes face the nerf-hammer in Dota Patch 7.36a

Many heroes started to trend in the new meta, thanks to the new patch.

They were, for the lack of a better word, utterly broken and warranted a few tweaks and nerfs. Dota 2 Patch 7.36a has delivered exactly that.

Let’s dive into the changes:

• Juggernaut: Juggernaut receives nerfs to his core abilities. His ultimate, Omnislash, sees a reduction in bonus damage, while Blade Fury's damage per tick is lowered. Additionally, the cast range of Swift Slash is decreased with an increase in mana cost, along with a decrease in Bladeform duration. Talk about the nerf-hammer hitting hard, eh?
  
• Outworld Destroyer: Base armour is reduced by 1… damn.
  
• Axe: Axe gets a rework on his abilities, namely, Coat of Blood – reduction in armour gain after a kill, and One Man Army – reduction in strength increase to 50% of Axe’s Armour, making him less potent. Additionally, Battle Hunger movement speed has also been reduced.
  
• Batrider: Sticky Napalm's initial application damage is fixed, preventing unintended burst damage. It no longer grants vision either. Smoldering Resin no longer works on wards or couriers. The slight nerf to Batrider won’t have any material impact on its importance in pubs or pro-games as the hero is still viable.
  
• Legion Commander: LC’s potency as a viable meta pick is in serious trouble with Patch 7.36a. The Stonehall Plate’s damage to Barrier has been directly cut in half from 100% to 50%. Overwhelming Odds – Aghanim’s Shard Radius increase during Duel is also reduced.
  
• Templar Assassin: TA is nerfed to a great extent. Her ability, Refraction’s Shield per Instance is decreased. The range of PSI Blades is reduced, and Meld damage is also reduced. The question arises: Will she deal enough damage?
  
• Tiny: Tiny has received tiny nerfs, including an increase in manacost for Avalanche and Toss and a reduction in the Insurmountable’s slow resistance.

Patch 7.36a General updates

These are the minor bug, gameplay and non-gameplay related fixes:

• Force Staff and similar abilities can no longer be used on leashed targets, affecting heroes like Slark and Puck.
• Facets granting abilities when they shouldn't in Ability Draft has now been fixed.
• Phantom Assassin sometimes consuming its mark without casting a critical strike has now been fixed.
• Yasha and Kaya Cast Speed stacking has now been fixed.
• Gris-Gris tooltip has now been fixed.
• Abaddon's Curse of Avernus being unable to grant its attack speed bonus to allies has now been fixed.

Conclusion

Patch 7.36a creates a more balanced playing field, particularly for players facing off against the likes of Juggernaut and Axe, in pubs and pro-games alike.

However, Dota 2’s meta is ever-evolving with new strategies always leaving a fine imprint on our memories.

How the game unfolds from here remains to be seen.