Nerfs galore and Kez added to Captain’s Mode in patch 7.39e

Less than two weeks before the first LAN of the new competitive season, Valve has deployed a major balance patch to address some of the most overpowered heroes and items of The International 2025.

Patch 7.39e aims to stop the Helm of the Dominator meta that dictated the pace of the game throughout TI 2025. It’s not only direct nerfs to the item that Valve has deployed in the latest gameplay update, but also nerfs to neutral creeps and some of the heroes that made great use of the item last month in Hamburg.

Item nerfs

It seems like Valve truly listened to the pro players’ thoughts on how to tune down the HoTD and applied most of their suggestions in patch 7.39e.

Helm of the Dominator and its upgraded version, Helm of the Overlord, direct nerfs include adding a mana cost to the Dominate ability and placing that on a short cooldown if the dominated creep takes damage from hero-based sources. Indirect nerfs to the item were applied by tuning down the Alpha Wolf and Dark Troll’s Skeleton Warriors' aura damage and attack damage. Refresher Orb, which is a late-game staple item, has also been nerfed in the 7.39e patch. The item’s cooldown now increases by 10 seconds with each subsequent use up to 210 seconds. The mana cost for the Refresher Orb has also been increased from 350 to 400.

There are also two interesting and much-welcomed item changes in this patch, both aiming to stop some of the weirdest interactions.

Ghost Scepter, Ethereal Blade, and several hero abilities like Leshrac's Nihilism and Pugna's Decrepify, will no longer apply their ethereal form to targets that are debuff immune (e.g., under the effect of a BKB). This should fix several inconsistencies that have been a point of contention for players. Additionally, Aeon Disk also received a notable tweak, with its Combo Breaker passive now starting on a 6-second cooldown after being assembled for the first time, preventing immediate activation upon assembly.

Hero nerfs

As expected, the most successful and the most contested heroes from The International 2025 have been hit by the nerf hammer. Disruptor emerged as the most picked hero in Hamburg at TI 2025. In consequence, his early laning stage harassment was nerfed by tuning down his Thunderstorm Facet. Additionally, Static Storm has its cooldown increased at earlier levels, making misplays more punishing.

Naga Siren was the most contested hero at TI, with 138 picks and bans in the 144 games played. Patch 7.39e is addressing her Deluge Facet by decreasing the ability damage from 80/150/220/290 to 80/140/200/260. On top of that, Aghanim's Shard regen was nerfed. The reduction is applied to both mana and health regeneration.

Beastmaster was also heavily nerfed in the latest patch. Besides the indirect nerfs through the Helm of the Dominator changes, the hero has also had its base damage decreased by 2, and level 1 damage decreased from 52–56 to 50–54. Additionally, level 15 and level 25 talents were also nerfed as follows:

• Level 15 Talent Movespeed to Beastmaster, and his summons decreased from +20 to +15
• Level 25 Talent Primal Roar Cooldown Reduction decreased from 30s to 25s

Pugna, Medusa, Marci, Earthshaker, Hoodwink, Sand King, and Mars are also impacted by the patch. The latter had his Arena of Blood duration rescaled from 5/6/7s to 5.5 seconds, while Sand Kings’ Blind debuff from Sandblast Facet no longer affects the buildings.

Hero buffs

Patch 7.39e is not all about the nerfs, of course. Some of the completely ignored heroes at The International 2025 received buffs, which hopefully will see them making a comeback to the meta. Lich, Viper, Venomancer, Lina, Phantom Assassin, Outworld Destroyer, and even Techies were completely ignored in Hamburg, never picked or banned in the 144 games played. Today’s patch applied buffs to every single one of these heroes, and a few more, and it will be interesting to see if that changes their fate in the new meta.

Kez added to Captain’s Mode

Almost a year after Kez made its entrance to the game, and after a ton of nerfs, buffs, and reworks, Valve feels confident to unlock the hero for the competitive scene. That comes after a new round of adjustments and bug fixes, however.

Kez changes in 7.39e

• Base Mana Regen increased from 0 to 0.25

Flutter Facet Switch Discipline

• The first hit bonus is now consumed by the first attack of Echo Slash and Raptor Dance, rather than applying to the entire cast

Bug fixes

• Fixed the Katana bonus being lost if Echo Slash hit nothing
• Fixed a bug with Aghanim's Scepter that would allow extra Sai abilities to skip cooldown

Abilities

Kazurai Katana

• Impale damage changed from post-critical strike bonus damage to a separate instance of physical spell damage

Raptor Dance

• Max Health as Damage decreased from 3% to 2.5%
• Can no longer be interrupted by casting Grappling Claw

Falcon Rush

• Now has an 825 break distance
• Attack Speed Factor rescaled from 6/8/10/12% to 9%

Shodo Sai

• Mark Critical Strike decreased from 140/160/180/200% to 125/150/175/200%

Closed and open qualifiers for the new competitive season are in full swing. BLAST Slam IV is the first LAN tournament of the new season, and it is set to commence on September 14th, followed by Fissure Playground 2, which starts on the 23rd of the month. These are the first two big events that will give us a full picture of what the 7.39e will look like.