What has changed since 7.00? A returning guide for Dota players

With a whole second half of the Battle Pass 2022 remaining, there are many returning players to Dota that haven't played for a long time. Dota has its highest concurrent player numbers for the last 7 years and broke the 1,000,000 player mark. With so many players returning, here is all you need to know about Dota post-7.00. 

New Aghanim’s Shards and Scepters 

7.00 introduced Source 2 and the talent system, which changed a lot to Dota. However, Dota has only gotten more creative and complicated over time. The first thing a new player has to learn are all the new Aghanim’s Shards in the game. Most heroes in this modern age will buy at least an Aghanim’s Shard at some point in the game and understanding what each of them does will be very important to success in the game. 

Players can only buy these Aghanim’s Shards at the 15 minute mark and they cost 1400 gold each. The item provides no stats and doesn't take up an item slot. As an additional quality of life change, players can now hover over the Aghanim’s symbol on the right side of their HUD to view each Hero’s Aghanim’s Scepter and Shard. 

Marci and Hoodwink are the new heroes 

As usual, the new Heroes that get released into Dota are impactful towards the metagame. For new players, now is the perfect time to jump in as these heroes have been nerfed since their initial, overpowered state. 

Marci in particular was a terror when she first came out and is based off of the character in Dota: Dragon’s Blood. For a short teaser on the hero, she is a strong early game support that can sometimes be run in the offlane. She is able to jump on an ally and stun a target where she lands, then flip them over with Dispose. Remember that Marci is very strong in the early game and can jump on someone very quickly. She has more mobility than any support in the early game. 

Hoodwink is completely different from Marci. She is a small squirrel like Hero that is very elusive and can provide stuns from far away. Hoodwink can run through trees with Scurry and can control targets with an AOE stun, Bushwhack. Her ultimate, Sharpshooter, adds a lot of damage to her kit and also provides a Break for utility. 

A new hero is also coming to Dota in 2023, known as Muerta! So look forward to that in a few months time. 

New neutral and normal items introduced into the game 

Every few months, a new set of items are added to the shop and jungle. Dota has followed this tradition and added a slew of new items for players to play around with. The most important one by far is Wraith Pact. This new item is formed from a Vladimir’s Offering and Point Booster. The item spawns a small totem that can tank six hits. The item creates a totem that has an AOE effect to reduce all incoming damage by 30%. With heroes such as Leshrac and Tidehunter in the meta, the reduction of damage played a large role in the last International. 

Witch’s Blade is an important early item for intelligence heroes like Puck, Storm Spirit and Queen of Pain, allowing them to slow enemies and get even more active. Items like Sange and Kaya or Mage Slayer allow intelligence heroes to be much tankier to stuns and allows agility heroes to have alternatives other than BKB against a lot of magical burst damage. These new items allow for more versatility between heroes and will be important to keep in mind as you'll see them at least once a game. 

While this list does not cover every new thing since 7.00, these are the footnotes that you will need in order to play the game at a decent level even after taking a long break. Part of what makes Dota such a great game is that there is always something new to learn. So the best way to get back into Dota is to play! With the new swag bag, players can get a free Battle Pass and find a lot of rewards for their time.