We continue our analysis of Dota 2 patch 7.38, highlighting the significant changes introduced. Today, we’ll focus on Leshrac, who has rapidly ascended to the meta, becoming a highly popular and powerful mid-lane hero (and also a viable support). This article explores his current performance in both professional play and public matchmaking.
A key item in Leshrac’s builds, Bloodstone, also received a change. It no longer grants +75 spell radius. Instead, its active ability now applies a basic dispel. This change benefits Leshrac, as his area-of-effect skills already scale with his innate ability.
Looking at the statistics, Leshrac is among the top ten most picked heroes in high-rank matchmaking, maintaining a win rate of around 53%. Notably, he boasts a positive win rate in absolutely every role, a rare feat in Dota 2.
A similar trend is observed in DreamLeague, where Leshrac’s win rate is nearly 70%. This success is directly linked to patch 7.38, as he was largely ignored by teams before the update. Now, he is either picked or banned in almost every game.
Currently, almost all professional mid-laners (and many position 4 players) are actively practicing Leshrac.
The buff to his innate ability, significantly increasing area-of-effect, is a major factor in his rise. Coupled with Aghanim’s Shard, this dramatically enhances Split Earth, making it enormous in team fights. The Bloodstone change, providing a dispel, is also crucial. It compensates for the lack of save items in the mid-game, allowing Leshrac to remove silences or slows. Furthermore, Bloodstone can dispel the Mage Slayer debuff.
The new neutral item system has also favored Leshrac. Tier 1 introduces Mana Draught, arguably the best possible choice. Its substantial mana regeneration boosts both early fighting potential and farming speed. The artifact forging concept further enhances this, allowing players to retain useful items from previous tiers while adding bonuses from the current tier, as often seen with Whisper of the Dread.
Lastly, the talent that adds an extra Diabolic Edict target significantly increases team fight damage in the late game. All these factors combined have propelled Leshrac to the top of the mid-lane hierarchy.
Leshrac greatly strengthens his team’s fighting capabilities and is often incredibly resilient. However, some challenging opponents exist. Several mid heroes have a favorable win rate against Leshrac.
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What are your thoughts on Leshrac in the new patch?
