Frostivus may have been delayed for Dota 2 once again this year, but that doesn’t mean we’re not getting anything before we say goodbye to 2014. Earlier today, the Shifting Snows update was announced and it’s packed with gameplay changes, new items, a winter map and a Santa hat on Roshan. Check out some of the new items here:
This update also has a lot of interesting things packed for the game itself, as 6.83 adds Techies and Bloodseeker into Captain’s Mode and gives Lifestealer an extra ability along with infest, among other things. You can read the full patch notes on the Dota 2 blog, but in case you can’t read all of it right now, you can also check out some important and interesting changes here.
General
- Ranked All Pick initial planning phase reduced from 40 to 30 seconds
- First rune spawns are now both Bounty Runes that are twice as effective (50/50 gold/xp to 100/100)
- All Illusions now deal 25% less damage to structures
- Maximum Attack Speed increased from 500 to 600 (the primary impact of this is on abilities like Windranger’s Focus Fire and Ursa’s Overpower)
- The following abilities no longer have restrictions when cast on Spell Immune Allies: Kunkka’s X Marks The Spot, Magnus’s Empower, Treant Protector’s Living Armor and Warlock’s Shadow Word
Heroes
Beastmaster
- Call of the Wild now always provides a Hawk and a Boar at each level, and each now scales per level
- Hawk health from 50/50/100/100 to 40/60/80/100
- Hawk movement speed from 270/270/400/400 to 250/300/350/400
- Hawk day sight from 500/500/1600/1600 to 700/1000/1300/1600
- Hawk night sight from 500/500/1200/1200 to 700/800/900/1000
- Hawk kill bounty from 30/30/65/65 to 30/40/50/60
- Boar health from 0/400/400/500 to 200/300/400/500
- Boar base damage from 0/26/26/46 to 15/30/45/60
- Boar base attack time from 0/1.5/1.5/1 to 1.25
- Boar poison slow from 0/20/20/35% to 10/20/30/40%
Bloodseeker
- Added to Captain’s Mode
- Bloodrage no longer amplifies outgoing damage if the damage has the no-reflection flag
Bounty Hunter
- Track bonus gold for self increased from 150/200/250 to 200/275/350
- Track cooldown reduced from 10/7/5 to 4
Chen
- Test of Faith now teleports all of your units to you when cast on yourself
- Holy Persuasion max units increased from 1/1/2/3 to 1/2/3/4
Dragon Knight
- Elder Dragon Form level 3 now maintains the Corrosive Breath ability from levels 1 and 2
Drow Ranger
- Illusions now benefit from the Marksmanship bonus
Gyrocopter
- Call Down area of effect increased from 450 to 600
- Call Down missile one slow amount reduced from 50% to 30%
- Call Down missile two slow amount increased from 20% to 60%
- Force Staff can now be used on Homing Missile
Lifestealer
- Infest now allows you to control the unit you are in using a sub-ability called Control. It allows you to take control of the unit you are infesting, including their abilities. If you take control of a unit, it will maintain its cover, however it will become attackable by your enemy. Controlled units share Lifestealer’s movement speed. It cannot be used on heroes.
Sniper
- Shrapnel no longer does damage to buildings
- Shrapnel now has 3 charges with a 40 second replenish time
- Shrapnel mana cost reduced from 120 to 50
- Shrapnel duration increased from 9 to 10
Windranger
- Powershot travel range increased from 1825 to 2600
- Powershot max damage is now dealt after 1 second channel instead of 0.7
- Powershot cast point improved from 0.3 to 0
- Reduced the area of the lingering vision at the end of Powershot from 800 to 400
- Focus Fire attack speed bonus increased from 400 to 500
Items
Animal Courier
- Cost reduced from 150 to 120
Blink Dagger
- Blink is no longer disabled if you take no damage (e.g. Spiked Carapace, Refraction, etc)
Bottle
- A courier carrying a non-full bottle will always be slowed
Diffusal Blade
- Diffusal Blade is no longer a Unique Attack Modifier
- Multiple Manabreak type abilities do not stack
Magic Wand
- Max charges increased from 15 to 17
Aside from the 6.83 update, some changes have also been implemented to affect the Dota 2 economy. You can read more about it here.