Dota 2 v7.20 changes oh god so much how does Dota even work anymore
Don't worry, it'll all make sense if you watch Purge's EIGHT-HOUR analysis video
Now that I'm a few years past the point of playing Dota 2 nightly, I do still find big patches exciting but they also fill me with a sense of "Oh god, how does Dota even work anymore" - and yesterday's update was a big'un. Version 7.20 has reworked the landscape of Valve's MOBA, fiddled with the workings of core Dota tricks from denying (killing your own wee pals so an enemy can't reap their bounty) to pulling (making your wee pals to fight ambient monsters so... okay, a lot of Dota revolves around sacrificing chums), removed and replaced skills on many of the wizards, changed items, added new items... oh god, how does Dota even work anymore?
Where to even start? 37 heroes have seen some of their skills reworked or replaced, the map has been reshaped with new paths and locations, you now have a dedicated inventory slot for Town Portal Scrolls so YES you absolutely do have room to always carry one you waster, denying creeps gives a reward of partial gold instead of partial XP, the formulae governing armour and regen and movement speed are changed, loads of extra spells and effects no longer pierce spell immunity, five new items are in, the dear old Ring of Aquila has been removed, some items are built differently, and so very much is rebalanced.
A lot. It changes a lot. Some of the changes are obvious and should be quick to learn, while some of the minute and niche interactions will catch me off-guard for ages. See the v7.20 patch notes for more on everything.
As for the impact of all this, mate, it's big. Here's Dota 2 Twitchy 'Tube man "Purge" talking about patch 7.20 for eight hours.
EIGHT HOURS.