Snapfire, Dota 2's newest hero/grandma, received another update earlier today. After getting some substantial buffs, she's getting some nerfs to her Lil' Shredder but in turn, getting more buffs to her Firesnap Cookie. Even legendary game balancer Icefrog never seems to get it right the first time around.
Snapfire
- Lil' Shredder mana cost increased from 75 to 90.
- Lil' Shredder damage reduced from 45/60/75/90 to 40/55/70/85.
- Lil' Shredder attack speed slow per stack reduced from 20/25/30/35 to 15/20/25/30.
- Firesnap Cookie cooldown reduced from 24/22/20/18 to 24/21/18/15.
- Firesnap Cookie projectile speed increased from 800 to 1,000.
- Firesnap Cookie cast point reduced when used on self from 0.4 to 0.3.
In this round of buffs (which, incidentally is not listed as a minor patch), Snapfire's E skill, Lil' Shredder, got a massive amount of nerfing. Prior to the patch, players would max out her E skills as it dealt an absurd amount of damage. Usage of the skill twice, in addition to some right clicks, was more than enough to bring any level 1 support down. And as the laning stage went on, the skill on a scale too well for strength support. This round of nerfs makes maxing her E early on less power and allows for alternate builds.
The buffs to her Firesnap Cookie are most welcome. Icefrog designated Snapfire as a support, and Firesnap Cookie is her main support skill. The usage of the skill requires some good decision making and great positioning (from either you or your ally) to be able to utilize the skill fully. The buffs to her Firesnap Cookie allow her to spam the skill more often during the laning stage and midgame. Increased projectile speed also makes chain stunning easier, especially when used in conjunction with a melee hero. The cast point decrease slightly improves the skill's usage as an escape skill.
In addition to this, the patch also fixed Rubick's Arcana's interaction with the two new heroes. The patch now changes the cape's colors when Rubick steals spells from Void Spirit and Snapfire, just like what would happen when Rubick steals spells from any other hero.
The Outlanders Update
The Outlanders Update, officially patch 7.23, was released last week, massively changing Dota 2's gameplay once again. There are a number of notable changes to the game's system Players are now given individual couriers, and their gold per minute generation is now tied to the courier. A new class of items, neutral items, now drop from neutral creeps during predetermined stages of the game.
The side shop has also been removed and replaced with outposts, which can be captured starting at the 10-minute mark. Theses outposts give vision and true sight around the surrounding area, as well as give experience to the controlling team every five minutes after that. The game also has some massive map changes and introduces two new heroes to Dota 2's ever-growing roster: The 4th spirit, Void Spirit, is a melee intelligence core that has a lot of nukes and escape skills. Snapfire is ranged strength support whose spells deal a lot of damage and are strong at controlling the battlefield.
