TL;DR
- Medusa and Abaddon show improved winrates while Bloodseeker enters top tier
- Ember Spirit suffers largest drop (-4.5%) with Sven close behind (-3.3%)
- Tinker’s Repair Bots remain dominant, Abaddon and Wraith King excel with dual facets
- Chen, Phantom Lancer, and Batrider continue struggling despite balance adjustments
- Strategic facet selection proves crucial with 15+ winrate-impacting options available
Games and Esports Articles Dota 2
Valve’s August 14 release of patch 7.37b represents a targeted balance adjustment addressing the most significant outliers in the current Dota 2 competitive landscape. This incremental update specifically targeted heroes like Tinker, Death Prophet, and Ember Spirit who were dominating or underperforming beyond acceptable thresholds. The winrate data collected from public matches over the initial 48-hour period reveals fascinating shifts in hero viability and strategic priorities.
Understanding these meta changes is essential for competitive players seeking to maintain or improve their ranking. The patch focuses on fine-tuning rather than overhauling, meaning established strategies remain relevant but require tactical adjustments. This analysis provides both immediate insights for patch adaptation and longer-term strategic considerations for the evolving meta.
The upper echelon of hero performance demonstrates remarkable stability despite the balance changes. Medusa and Abaddon have strengthened their positions with measurable winrate improvements, while Bloodseeker emerges as a new addition to the elite tier. This consistency suggests the patch successfully addressed outliers without disrupting fundamentally sound hero designs and strategic roles.
Axe and Tinker maintain competitive viability despite receiving targeted nerfs, indicating their core mechanics remain powerful in the current meta. The persistence of these heroes in top rankings underscores the importance of mastering fundamentally strong picks regardless of minor balance adjustments.

Pro Tip: When selecting from top-tier heroes, consider your team composition and lane matchups rather than blindly picking the highest winrate options. A well-rounded team with complementary strengths often outperforms a collection of individually strong but poorly synergistic heroes.
Ember Spirit experienced the most dramatic decline with a substantial 4.5% winrate drop, closely followed by Sven at 3.3%. These reductions reflect successful balance targeting but haven’t rendered the heroes completely unviable. The key is adapting playstyles and item builds to accommodate the adjusted power levels.
Chen, Phantom Lancer, and Batrider continue occupying the bottom tier positions despite receiving buffs in this update. This persistence suggests deeper issues with their kit design or meta positioning that require more fundamental reworks rather than numerical adjustments.

Common Mistake: Many players abandon nerfed heroes entirely rather than adapting their strategies. Ember Spirit players should focus on different skill builds and timing windows to remain effective despite the adjustments.
Tinker’s Repair Bots continue demonstrating exceptional performance in public matches, establishing this facet as a cornerstone of the hero’s current success. The sustained dominance indicates this particular ability interaction provides disproportionate value in the current game environment.
Abaddon and Wraith King showcase the power of dual-facet strategies, with both heroes maintaining solid winrates when leveraging two complementary facets simultaneously. This approach suggests that certain hero kits benefit from diversified facet investments rather than focusing on a single specialized path.
Medusa players achieve optimal results with Venomous Volley, while Underlord excels with Abyssal Horde. These specific facet-hero combinations highlight the importance of synergistic ability enhancements rather than simply selecting the highest raw stat bonuses.

Advanced Tactic: For heroes with multiple viable facets, consider situational selection based on enemy team composition and game strategy rather than defaulting to a single optimal choice.
The current meta rewards strategic flexibility and precise execution over rigid hero specialization. Players who master multiple heroes within the top tier and understand facet interactions gain significant competitive advantages. The data suggests that mastering 3-4 top performers with their optimal facets provides better results than specializing in a single hero.
Itemization adjustments prove crucial for adapting to balance changes. Heroes like Ember Spirit may require alternative core item builds to compensate for ability adjustments, while newly strengthened heroes can leverage their enhanced capabilities with more aggressive item timings.
Optimization Tip: Track your personal winrates with different facet combinations using third-party tools. Individual playstyle differences mean that statistically optimal facets may not align with your specific strengths and preferences.
All new and deleted facets and innates of patch 7.37 in Dota 2. Biggest balance changes in new update 7.37
Another go at facets and innate abilities.
Action Checklist
- Test Ember Spirit and Sven with alternative skill builds and item timings to adapt to their nerfs
- Practice Medusa with Venomous Volley facet and Abaddon/Wraith King dual-facet strategies
- Analyze your Dotabuff data to identify personal performance patterns with different facet combinations
- Experiment with Tinker’s Repair Bots in different lane configurations
- Review replays of games with Chen, Phantom Lancer, or Batrider to understand their persistent weaknesses
No reproduction without permission:SeeYouSoon Game Club » Best heroes and facets by winrate in patch 7.37b. Biggest winners and losers of Dota 2 update 7.37b Dota 2 patch 7.37b meta analysis: Top heroes, biggest losers, and winning facet strategies revealed
