Ace shared his thoughts on Dota 2 Patch 7.41e

Her Multishot has been nerfed. The mana cost at level 1 jumped from 50 to 70, the arrow range in the early game was reduced, and most importantly, the bonus damage was lowered at all levels; at maximum, it now stands at 140%. It was this ability that allowed Drow Ranger to farm lightning-fast, push aggressively, and win fights from a safe distance.

Let me make one thing clear right away: the hero isn’t dead; she remains a viable carry. She used to be a “no-brainer” hero—you could pick her as your first pick, spam Multishot, and win the lane on autopilot. That’s all in the past now. To make her work, you really need to know how to play her. She’s gone from a must-ban and an easy-win hero to a completely average one. If you’ve been boosting your rating using this strategy, the free MMR is over.

The community immediately noticed another, less obvious hero—Troll Warlord. He’s gained some agility, and his Battle Trance now grants 35% slow resistance. This is a key change, since the hero’s main weakness used to be that during his ultimate, he’d simply get kited and prevented from dealing damage. Now he’s unstoppable. He might go untouched for years, but then suddenly become relevant—and in a meta shifting toward auto-attack carries, his moment to shine has arrived.

Adapt your picks—and you’ll climb the ranks. This is The International 2026 patch, so when you’re watching pro matches, pay close attention to the shifts in the draft: how mage carries are disappearing, how auto-attack heroes are being picked first, and how Ancient Apparition is making an appearance. Esports players are playing in the same meta as you, so you can learn a lot just by observing their picks.