4Game

When reading the last set of Dota 2 patch notes I and several others noted a strange and inexplicable buff for one particular hero:

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https://preview.redd.it/9iemqko9q6s81.png?width=883&format=png&auto=webp&s=236f8e431f75381ea26ab1c7e57f5fb929d8cf51

Now granted, this was not a straight out buff. Flame Guard now blocks objectively less damage, one of his best talents is weaker and remnant now has a cast time. However the buffs to Sleight were ENORMOUS and the fact that it takes a larger amount of magic damage to remove Flame Guard is honestly worth the reduced block imho.

So why do I care? A hero got an arguable buff, who gives a shit?

Well, Ember Spirit was already an incredibly popular and successful hero. He was popular with the pros and with pub players alike and was on some people's list for heroes who can expect large nerfs in 7.31. Now, post-buff the hero is insanely popular in all areas of the game and is probably THE defining mid of the meta this patch (except oddly enough KOTL…). When viewed through the lens of balance and fairness this set of patch notes on this hero is unjustifiable.

And here is the crazy part….does anyone mind?

If OD received buffs, everyone would be outraged. If KOTL mid received a buff tomorrow pros would be livid. If Lion mid became viable I would quit the game for a month. But nobody cares if Ember gets a buff after he was already good. And why/ Because he is fun to watch and both play as and against. The hero is skill based, dynamic and is marvellous to watch in the hands of a pro. And unlike other high skillcap heroes like invoker and tinker, he isn't atrocious in the hands of a bad player. A 1k mmr Ember can build bf and crits; play like a monkey and will still hold his own.

Ember isn't the only hero I have noticed this effect in action for, but he is the most recently obvious example (another good one I would offer is Mars). Valve has clearly communicated with this move that there are certain heroes they LIKE to be very, very good.

My thesis here is that this is something that (within reason) we should embrace. Balance for the sake of balance can be a kind of toxic thing. What goes up must come down and if a fun and dynamic hero gets nerfed into the dirt a more linear and dull hero could take their place. Do people really want a meta where heroes like ember spirit, earth spirt and mars are unviable just for the sake of it?