The regional qualifiers for the Manila Majors came at an interesting time of the year. Taking place between several large LAN tournaments, the Manila qualifiers also marked the first tournament held on patch 6.87 for Dota 2.
After a long period of time on the previous patch, many were eager to see how 6.87 would evolve within a week's worth of games. As teams wore the patch in like a new pair of shoes, some interesting shifts in the meta and fresh strategies rose out of the consecutive 100-plus hours of games. Here are five of the biggest takeaways from those matches:
Hard-farming core Mirana
The princess of the moon received an interesting buff this last patch through her Aghanim's Scepter upgrade, which auto-casts a free Starstorm for her every eight seconds. What was already a high-damage skill for Mirana became not just a boost to her damage output, but also a proficient farming item.
Many players ran very different builds, from Gleb "Funn1k" Lipatnikov's burst magic damage using Dagon and Ethereal Blade, to ThuG.'s right-click focused itemization. But the theme was clear: Mirana players were happy to use their new toy to farm up massive gold leads previously unobtainable -- clearing waves of minions and jungle camps with the extra Starstorms.
Previously, one of Mirana's biggest issues was her trouble staying relevant in the later phases of games. Now, she's able to gank foes with her long-reaching arrow and huge magic damage, while still farming up the items she needs to stand toe-to-toe with other ranged carries past the 40-minute mark. Her ultimate, Moonlight Shadow, is also invaluable as both a team-fight initiation tool and an effective way of saving allies from ganks across the map.
Mirana's boosted presence makes her an attractive option for aggressive middle and safe lane players, who now no longer need to worry about ending the game before she fades into irrelevance.
Echo Sabre
A new item in patch 6.87, Echo Sabre allows melee heroes to hit twice in one swing every five seconds, while also dropping a massive slow on their target. Heroes who could utilize this item became popular picks for the carry position, with the most notable selection being Slark.
Acting as a cheaper alternative to items like Sange & Yasha or an Eye of Skadi, Echo Sabre gives this slippery carry a big boost to his damage output, making him a popular carry selection. It also doesn't hurt that Silver Edge, another core item on Slark, saw a cost reduction and a much simpler and more effective buildup.
Sven, who can use Echo Sabre's effect to double hit while his damage-boosting "God's Strength" ultimate is active, also saw more play. Echo Sabre may still be relatively niche in the big picture, but expect to see many teams experiment with carries who can utilize its interesting effects.
Armlet carries reign supreme
If any item caused a significant shift in carry picks, it was the buffs to the Armlet of Mordiggian. Better stats and a better cost meant many Armlet carriers saw more limelight than they did in 6.86, including Slardar and Dragon Knight. The power spike gained from having a Blink Dagger and Armlet on your team's Slardar meant huge control in the midgame. Teams were quick to utilize the item's early and significant power spike to push towers and team-fight earlier than before.
Even Alchemist players were opting for Armlets, offsetting the health consumption with their ultimates for a rather fearsome boost to their attack speed and damage. Several Alchemists were opting for fighting over pushing, foregoing the typical Radiance/Octarine Core split-push style for a scrappier, tougher Alch build. Expect to see many more Armlet users in the future, as this item's boosted popularity continues to grow.
A bounty on everyone's head
Bounty Hunter was quite popular this last week, as he was one of the most contested and most banned heroes. The boons are obvious, as he provides both a lead-securing and comeback mechanic with his Track ability -- and can pressure many weak laners and low-health heroes with constant ganks and pressure.
What saw Gondar get the extra boost this patch was the sheer wealth of roaming items he received. Wind Lace gives him extra mobility, which heightens his map presence and reaction time. Blight Stone bumps up the potential damage of his ganks, increases his Jinada damage and even boosts his early tower siege potential. These are cheap, efficient items that let Bounty Hunter ensure his influence on the game's tempo. It's made Gondar even more difficult to adjust around your strategy, making him a prime target during picks and bans.
Fight early, fight often
The addition of new items is one of the major catalysts of this patch's shift, as cheaper alternatives and smoother build paths let everyone, from hard supports to jungle-razing cores, feel more confident in getting aggressive earlier. Even traditionally farm-oriented carries, like Anti-Mage and Spectre, have been grouping up and fighting earlier, thanks to Vanguard's newfound viability.
Since many carries look to build an Abyssal Blade, having Vanguard be part of the build (instead of a Reaver) means carries can pick up that component early and be more confident in their ability to survive in fights. This also prevents players from dumping gold into an item with no forward-progress options.
Wind Lace has also increased the rotation and flexibility of supports, as the cheap boost in movement speed lets players freely react and move around the map. Cheaper wards and teleportation scrolls also let greedier supports pick up some nice luxury items later on. It's not uncommon now to see teams pick options like Winter Wyvern or Witch Doctor, as Aghanim'a Sceptor has become a more realistic option. It's thanks to the gold supports are saving and earning from increased rotations.