Valve Nerfed Treant Protector and Bounty Hunter in a Dota Two Patch Released Days Before PGL Wallachia
Ursa and Anti-Mage were among the heroes strengthened, while Satanic, Shiva's Guard and several expensive items were weakened or made pricier.
Valve released Dota 2 gameplay patch 7.41f this week, weakening heroes that dominated The International 2026, days before PGL Wallachia Season 9 begins in Bucharest on 19 September. The update was reported by Hotspawn, esports.gg and Dot Esports on 15 and 16 September 2026.
Treant Protector received the heaviest changes after being picked or banned in every match at TI 2026, Hotspawn reported. His base Intelligence fell from 20 to 17, the minimum damage block of Living Armor was halved from 20 to 10, and Leech Seed now costs 35 mana. The self bonus gold from Bounty Hunter's Track was cut from 130, 225 and 320 to 80, 160 and 240.
Invoker's Cold Snap cooldown rose from 18 to 19 seconds, and his Aghanim's Shard Ghost Walk no longer damages creeps. Earth Spirit, who had a 65.91 per cent win rate at The International, now gains a Stone Remnant charge every five levels instead of every four. Shadow Fiend's damage per soul was also reduced.
Among the buffs, Ursa's Maul now converts 1.75 per cent of health into damage, up from 1.25 per cent, and Anti-Mage's Mana Break turns 65 per cent of mana burned into damage, up from 60. Satanic's lifesteal fell from 30 to 25 per cent, Shiva's Guard's Arctic Blast damage dropped from 260 to 225, and Daedalus, Heart of Tarrasque and Octarine Core became more expensive.
PGL Wallachia Season 9 runs until 27 September with 16 teams and a US$1,000,000 prize pool. It will be the first tournament played on the new patch.