Dota 2 6.78c Analysis.

Hello everyone, a minor patch update just came out and I thought I'd discuss it here. Its very short and all nerfs basically. You can check out my analysis of the whole patch here.

The main point of this patch obviously is to further nerf popular heroes before TI3 comes around. It seems Icefrog wants new heroes to be used unlike in TI2 where most matches consisted of the same heroes every game. This patch will probably be the last one until the international ends unless we get more minor fixes.

So here are the heroes that got nerfed.
Lifestealer
* Rage cooldown increased from 15 to 17 seconds.

The last nerf seemed enough for me for Naix as it severely weakened his early game potential but it seems Icefrog also wants to reduce his late game potential a little as well. This change makes BKB an attractive choice for Naix now.

Batrider
* Flamebreak cooldown increased from 11 to 14.

Bat isn't the top pick and ban he used to be to begin with, in the last few versions he got nerfed a lot with his lasso not enabling him to attack and then his sight reduced. If this keeps going on he will soon be nerfed to oblivion and no one will use him, I hope that Icefrog will allow the hero to stabilize a little before changing him anymore.

Io
* Tether movement bonus decreased from 20% to 17%.

Barely does anything, the nerf to his orbs was a bigger change.

Treant Protector
* Living Armor damage block instances from 7 to 4/5/6/7.

Good, very good. Treant was becoming a staple pick because he made any gank in  the early game pointless with living armor. Now its not as bad, still the same skill but thats by level 7 which takes time to reach for a support like Treant.

Alchemist
* Chemical Rage bonus HP reduced from 300/600/900 to 250/500/750.

Alchemist is not as tanky to physical damage as people believe due to his lack of armor, and this change weakens him quite a bit. its only 150 life at level 16 so its not huge more of slap on the wrist, but its a step backwards for alchemist.
Gyrocopter
* Gyrocopter attack range reduced from 375 to 365.

This is nothing, seriously does nothing to weaken gyro. His flak cannon range is still the same and thats what he will use in team fights not his now 365 range. So this hero has not really been nerfed in anyway.