Dota 2 7.39: All winners and losers

The newest Dota 2 7.39 gameplay update dropped during DreamLeague Season 26. Dubbed "Spring Forward," this patch further refines existing Facets, Innate Abilities, Neutral Items, and more. Notably, new Facets, Neutral Items, and other in-game features have debuted in this latest summer update.

As always, with a major patch comes a meta shake-up. In the meta revamp, certain heroes have bragged the winners' spot. Meanwhile others, including certain former meta heroes, have fallen to the losers' side.

This article highlights all the winners and losers of Dota 2 7.39. Read on to climb the MMR ladder with the best heroes for ranked pub stomps.

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Winners of the Dota 2 7.39 gameplay update

Abaddon

Abaddon is one of the best carries in 7.39 (Image via Valve)

Malignant Mist

Mist Coil

• Mist Coil also deals 40/60/80/100% attack damage and applies effects from items and abilities. Self damage when cast on an enemy is increased from 40% to 70%

Abaddon rose as one of the go-to safelaners in Dota 2 7.39, thanks to his Facet, Malignant Mist. Using this Facet's Mist Coil, this hero can easily one-shot enemy supports after building damage items. Furthermore, the 70% self damage after casting Mist Coil will not be an issue due to Borrowed Time.

Coupled with that, Abaddon is one of the few heroes who can survive for a long time and pump in significant damage throughout a team fight. In a meta where sustained fighting and survivability matter, Abaddon thrives in this environment and becomes one of the biggest winners in the latest update.

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Also Check: Dota 2 7.39 Patch Notes

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Batrider

Spam Firefly with regen items to dish out heavy damage (Image via Valve)

Firefly

• Also sets Batrider on fire. He's burning away 2% of his max health per second, but gains increasingly bigger bonuses to Movement Speed and Spell Amplification over the duration. Max Movement Speed Bonus: 25/30/35/40%. Max Spell Amplification Bonus: 20%
• Max bonus values are reached at the end of Firefly's duration and don't linger after. Bonuses increase and self-burn damage are applied every 0.1s. Self-burn damage does not increase over time. Self-burn damage is magical and non-lethal

Batrider is finally back to the Dota 2 meta due to the debutant Facet Stoked and Sticky Napalm buffs. For players who prefer early-to-mid game domination, Batrider is a top-tier pick as he dishes out insane amounts of magical damage within seconds. Sticky Napalm, Flaming Lasso, and Firefly are more than enough to stack up kills during the laning stage.

Flaming Lasso is a powerful spell that pierces spell debuff immunity and displaces enemy heroes to unfavorable locations. Hence, Batrider easily takes the cake as a clear winner with his spells and new Facet. Consider building health regen items to spam Firefly for farming, ganking, and harassing.

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Also Check: Crownfall Collector's Cache Tier List

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Earthshaker

Mini Echo Slams will be cast if Fissure hits enemy heroes with the new Facet (Image via Valve)

Resonating Ridge

Fissure

• Enemy heroes stunned by Fissure emit an echo to each nearby unit within a 400 radius, dealing 60% of Echo Slam's current echo damage

Slugger, once one of the most powerful Facets in Dota 2, has now become Earthshaker’s Innate Ability. Taking its place is Resonating Ridge, a Facet that enhances Earthshaker’s Fissure. Now, when Fissure stuns an enemy hero, it triggers a burst of echo damage in a small radius. With precise timing and positioning, ES can catch enemy heroes off guard and shift the momentum of any losing team fight.

The classic Fissure, Blink Dagger, and Echo Slam combo, plus the new Facet, is more than enough to get a rampage. Due to this strong Facet and Innate Ability, Aftershock and Echo Slam have received minor nerfs. But this doesn't limit Shaker's damage potential, as with proper Fissure stuns and Echo Slams damage output wouldn't matter.

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Also Check: All Dota 2 Spring Forward 2025 Changes

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Clockwerk

Keep consuming Chainmails to stack up on permanent armor (Image via Valve)

Chainmeal

• Armor Power Clockwerk gains an ability to self-cast Chainmail item to consume it. Each consumed Chainmail provides him with +4 Armor. Number of stacks is unlimited

If you are up against a physical damage-based line up, then close your eyes and pick Clockwerk. Chainmeal, his Dota 2 7.39 Facet is designed for these matchups. You can now consume Chainmail and gain +4 permanent armor. The best part is that you can consume an unlimited number of Chainmails and still get the permanent armor stacks.

After consuming 15-20 Chainmails, he becomes a near-impenetrable frontliner. Even late game carries like PA, CK, Juggernaut, and more will struggle to bring him down. Furthermore, Clockwerk's spells can disable and lockdown enemy heroes, setting up a good team fight. The bonus armor is just that he can stand in the heart of the teamfight and disrupt the enemy team.

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Losers of the Dota 2 7.39 gameplay update

Kez

Kez once again got nerfed in the new gameplay update (Image via Valve)

Shadowhawk

• No longer grants cooldown reduction
• Invis Bonus Crit decreased from 40/60/80/100% to 30/45/60/75%

Raven's Veil

• Now also increases buff duration from 7/8/9s to 8/9/10s

Ever since he arrived in the Dota 2 universe, Kez has been on the receiving end of repeated nerfs — patch 7.39 is no exception. This update brings a mix of rescales, ability tweaks, and slight buffs, but the overall changes lean toward the nerf side.

To name a few, Shadowhawk’s critical strike bonus was reduced, Switch Discipline lost its flat damage boost in favor of agility scaling, Grappling Claw no longer grants lifesteal, and Kazurai Katana’s damage-over-time effect was altered.

The small buffs don't make him better, as the hero is currently balanced and a little weak when compared to the previous versions. Once infamous for his raw damage, Kez now feels far less threatening. In 7.39, he remains relevant — but no longer stands out as the scary force he was at launch.

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Also Check: Dota 2 2025 Roster Shuffle

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Invoker

Aghanim's Scepter nerfs weaken Invoker in the late-game stage (Image via Valve)

Agent of Gallaron

• Exort No longer gains the second additional level from Aghanim's Scepter
• Chaos Meteor No longer has increased size and travel distance
• Sun Strike Aghanim's Scepter Cataclysm cooldown increased from 75s to 90s

Quas, Wex, and Exort no longer provide an additional level after purchasing Aghanim's Scepter in Dota 2 7.39. This hampers Invoker's scepter timing item and reduces his overall power spike.

Coupled with that, Cold Snap no longer restores HP/mana, Alacrity loses bonus attack range, and Chaos Meteor's size/distance buff is gone, all major blows to Invoker’s gank flexibility and situational (laning and mid-game) dominance.

That said, cooldown for Cataclysm increased from 75s to 90s. This reduces his global pressure after purchasing Aghanim's with the Agent of Gallaron Facet. While there are little buffs to his spell arsenal, they do little to make up for the scepter and orb nerfs.

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Ringmaster

Ringmaster's Escape Act level 10 talent is replaced by additional Impalement Arts damage (Image via Valve)

Dark Carnival Barker

• If Ringmaster does not have a Souvenir, he will be granted one upon death (instead of upon respawn)
• Ringmaster will no longer be granted a Souvenir if he has no Souvenirs and dies to a Neutral Creep or Roshan

Escape Act

• Mana Cost increased from 80 to 120 Bonus
• Movement Speed rescaled from 5/10/15/20% to 0/8/16/24%

Impalement Arts

• Impact Damage decreased from 75 to 50

Spotlight Illusion

• Max Health Loss each second decreased from 50% to 30%

Ringmaster's nerfs in Dota 2 7.39 might appear insignificant, but they dwindle his gameplay potential across all stages of the game. Most notably, Ringmaster no longer receives a Souvenir if he dies to neutral creeps or Roshan, reducing his comeback prowess from risky camp blocking plays.

Now, level 1 Escape Act grants zero bonus movement speed, further weakening his early game impact. While Impalement Arts was great for sniping kills, the impact damage nerf now demands more effort to secure quality kills.

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Dota 2 7.39 heroes with little-to-no changes

Despite the rescales and nerfs in Dota 2 7.39, the following heroes remain powerful and have firmly established themselves in the current meta:

• Ancient Apparition
• Brewmaster
• Chen
• Disruptor
• Dark Willow
• IO
• Juggernaut
• Lich
• Lina
• Monkey King
• Muerta
• Phantom Assassin
• Nature's Prophet
• Night Stalker
• Nyx Assassin
• Phoenix
• Queen of Pain
• Rubick
• Shadow Fiend
• Silencer
• Shadow Shaman
• Venomancer
• Void Spirit
• Windranger
• Witch Doctor

That wraps up all the noteworthy winners and losers of Dota 2 7.39. If we've missed any heroes, let us know in the comments section.