14 DAY TRIAL // Valve has just released a brand-new update for Dota 2, in the form of patch 6.85, which includes a huge amount of balance changes to a suite of heroes as well as some items, from Storm Spirit and Lina, to the Bloodstone or the Bottle. A revised home page interface also brings a bigger emphasis on creating local Dota 2 communities.
Dota 2 has been around for plenty of years and it's evolved in a lot of different ways over these lengthy periods. One of the biggest changes launched a short while ago, in the form of the Dota 2 Reborn update, which switched to the Source 2 engine.
Dota 2 update 6.85 is available and packs lots of modifications
Now, after that technical modification, the first major balance update is available for download via the Steam service.
According to the official website, there are a huge amount of modifications included in the update. Chief among them are nerfs to some of the overpowered characters that made a name for themselves in recent eSports competitions, such as Leshrac, Storm Spirit, Lina, Bloodseeker, Dark Seer, Techies, Queen of Pain, and a few others.
There are also plenty of buffs for many other heroes, including Batrider, Wraith King, Witch Doctor, Venomancer, Outworld Devourer, Ogre Magi, Luna, Legion Commander, Kunkka, and many others. Terrorblade has seen a lot of different changes, and as such he's been removed from Captain's Mode (aka competitive events) temporarily.
Valve has also made a series of tweaks to several items in Dota 2, including the Bloodstone, Bottle, Diffusal Blade, Glimmer Cape, Guardian Greaves, or Manta Style, not to mention a lot of price cuts to things like Town Portal Scrolls, Ring of Health, Radiance, and a few others.
Last but not least, the revised home page now features a chat section called Neighborhood Channels, where users are grouped by their geographical proximity. They are currently enabled in some regions and will roll out globally in the following days. A few other tweaks have also been made so check out the full changelog below.