Dota patch 7.00 has just arrived. I have mixed feelings on this patch (I guess this is common whenever a huge patch arrives), so I really want to find a place to voice out my… rants. Hence, when I was tidying my spam mail (sorry Weebly) and remembered I actually have a blog here, I hopped back immediately and started to type. As least nobody is going to boo at my rants if I post it here (playdota.com forumers might throw every rotten vegetables they can find at me if I rant there, haha).
I like the ideas shown in this patch, I really do, but a slight modification to its implementation would be great.
I like the ideas shown in this patch, I really do, but a slight modification to its implementation would be great.
Well, I am still in awe for this 7.00 patch. We have been anticipating huge revamps to all characters, maybe something like Level 25 skills for everyone, some nerfs to illusions (especially on notorious SD+Luna combo), and whole new sets of items for the sake of more distinct end game choices.
I do not follow development of World of Warcraft, hence I was only introduced to similar talent tree system by Heroes of the Storm. I really like its idea, especially when HotS offers a variety of maps (and objectives), demanding us to choose different meta-strategies in various maps. Implementation of talent tree allows players to adapt their characters to disparate battlefields.
Having said that, I am aware there are complaints on how improper certain talents are (in HotS). Being a non-HotS player myself, I cannot comment on that.
Having said that, I am aware there are complaints on how improper certain talents are (in HotS). Being a non-HotS player myself, I cannot comment on that.
For Dota 2, the developers spent many efforts to make all characters viable. Most veteran players should remember the "hohohaha" 6.83 patch, where only a few characters were “acceptable” in the meta-game – these characters were superior than others in many ways, and there was just no reason to select some risky characters out of “meta”. Then comes 6.87, introducing highly effective items such as Echo Sabre, Hurricane Pike, Infused Raindrop, etc. The game shifted from overpowered characters, to overpowered items. Suddenly every character had a place in battlefield, aided by these newly added utilities/items.
This is revamped again by new Talent Tree, where roles of each character can be expanded or fine-tuned with their unique talents. Balancing current Talent Tree system is a developmental nightmare, and I foresee huge arrays of balancing patches before it is considered a “Stable Map”. It is still a wise move by Valve, as Valve can now balance the characters in different phases of game. This character is underperforming on early game? Buff its skill set. But buffing the skills will make it overpower at late game? Fine, nerf its Level 25 talent, or buff the Level 10 talent instead of giving it powerful skill set. The flexibility is there. Besides, games should be shorter now, in view of these huge power spike (level 25 talents) at late game.
Yes, there are many (almost) useless Level 25 talents around. For example, giving Lv 25 Nature Prophet 6 additional treants? When your enemies are almost Level 25, 6 additional treants hardly help your team to push. It’s more like free gold/exp to enemies.
Similarly, some characters have superb talents which almost warrant a nerf in next patch (personally, I am quite worried about Terrorblade’s Sunder and Faceless Void’s Timewalk), and certain characters received interesting mid-game talents which certainly command drafters’ attention (eg: Elder Titan’s respawn time reduction and EXP boost, Crystal Maiden’s +50 damage at Level 10, etc).
Different characters were also given different version of the same talent. Treant Protector, Phoenix, and Oracle can opt for additional 90 gold per minute (gpm) at Level 15, and yet Silencer and Skywrath Mage only gets +60gpm at the same level, while Enigma (which is generally a better farmer than aforementioned characters) gets +120gpm at Level 15. How the developers justify these specific parameters are up to debates.
Overall the current implementation of talents requires vast number of memorizations before we can pick or counter a lineup optimally. There are just too many (seemingly) random numbers in talent trees. A slight modification to simplify our memorization/drafting process without downsizing the depth of gameplay should be beneficial to the game.
Perhaps I shall type out my thoughts on next blog post. After all, this is a good place to rant, haha.
Yes, there are many (almost) useless Level 25 talents around. For example, giving Lv 25 Nature Prophet 6 additional treants? When your enemies are almost Level 25, 6 additional treants hardly help your team to push. It’s more like free gold/exp to enemies.
Similarly, some characters have superb talents which almost warrant a nerf in next patch (personally, I am quite worried about Terrorblade’s Sunder and Faceless Void’s Timewalk), and certain characters received interesting mid-game talents which certainly command drafters’ attention (eg: Elder Titan’s respawn time reduction and EXP boost, Crystal Maiden’s +50 damage at Level 10, etc).
Different characters were also given different version of the same talent. Treant Protector, Phoenix, and Oracle can opt for additional 90 gold per minute (gpm) at Level 15, and yet Silencer and Skywrath Mage only gets +60gpm at the same level, while Enigma (which is generally a better farmer than aforementioned characters) gets +120gpm at Level 15. How the developers justify these specific parameters are up to debates.
Overall the current implementation of talents requires vast number of memorizations before we can pick or counter a lineup optimally. There are just too many (seemingly) random numbers in talent trees. A slight modification to simplify our memorization/drafting process without downsizing the depth of gameplay should be beneficial to the game.
Perhaps I shall type out my thoughts on next blog post. After all, this is a good place to rant, haha.