Dota 2’s newest patch 7.31d: reactions and notes

The ending of the first Dota Major of 2022 brings winds of change along with it. With OG’s win at the ESL One Stockholm 2022, Dota has turned a new leaf with its newest patch, 7.31d. The patch is relatively minor, bringing with it a few buffs and nerfs to the game. The patch also comes with several quality of life improvements for the average Dota player.

The internet reacts to 7.31d patch

The instant reaction from most content creators and high-level players revolves around the expansion of the avoid list. If a player is a Dota Plus subscriber, they have the avoid list available to them. A set of 30 names that a player can choose to “avoid” in their games. The list has become a running joke in the community as pro players frequently put fell0w competitors in avoid lists after a bad game. The newest patch allows players to expand their avoid lists with their Dota plus shards, and it has made for some funny clips and takes.

Dota 2 personality Jake “SirActionSlacks” Kanner believes that the new avoid list expansion will finally cure him of his Dota addiction by letting him avoid every single player in his region. With the amount of shards that players have saved reaching the millions, SirActionSlacks might actually end up with no one to play with.

i have enough shards saved up to avoid every single player in my region and finally force myself to quit dota 2 im free goodbye dumbos

— SirActionSlacks (@SirActionSlacks) June 9, 2022

The 7.31d patch also brings popular character Marci to Captain’s Mode, a change some have been looking for since she was first added to Dota 2 in October. Since she is a versatile character that can fill any role, many players are welcoming her addition to the mode. Marci’s addition to Captain’s Mode also means fans may see her in the Dota Pro Circuit very soon.

marci in captain's mode. nice

— Mira 🍉 (@EpheyDota) June 9, 2022

Players react to the rest of 7.31d’s changes

One of the most impactful changes in patch 7.31d is the increased cooldown on Black King Bar. The Dota community has been asking for this first change since the last Major; in a game where even supports have incredible spells, an item that gives magic immunity like the Black King Bar can completely change a match. Black King Bar’s cooldown has been increased from 75 seconds to 90, which should make players using the Black King Bar think twice before using it. The meta for patch 7.31c revolved around cores getting their Black King Bar as fast as possible, then using the timing to push an advantage, and stronger carries could make themselves unkillable by using the item defensively. The large cooldown increase will give enemies more time to exploit bad uses of Black King Bar and hopefully make the meta more diverse overall. Another change coming with  7.31d; when used on allies, healing salves now last half as long as before. Many players online have taken to the internet over this change, with the arguments varying based on the player. Some core players are insisting their supports buy more salves to make up for the change, while supports say cores should buy their own salves now.