ATF, Dukalis, 33, and Larl named the heroes they’d like to buff and nerf in Dota 2

ATF: Well, for me, it’s obviously Bristleback, because he’s my best hero. Plus, I played him at the last The International, which I won. So I’d definitely like to see him buffed, because he’s basically been removed from the game. Another hero could be Medusa, since she also helped me win The International. I think she deserves a buff, too. I like this hero anyway. When they removed her Aspects, they didn’t really give her anything in return, so she was left with practically nothing. Even so, she was still a pretty decent hero. Personally, I thought she was strong even before that. But then the developers decided to remove an incredible amount of damage from her ultimate. In my opinion, that’s what killed the hero.

Dukalis: Bristleback, on the other hand, shouldn’t be buffed—otherwise, ATF will wipe us out in every game. When it comes to heroes who weren’t picked at TI and haven’t received buffs in recent patches, I’d say Wraith King. Right now, he doesn’t feel like a good hero, and something definitely needs to be done about him. Maybe change his ultimate, give him some kind of Aghanim’s Scepter, or tweak his mechanics a bit. Basically, I’d like to see something more interesting.

33: I think Abaddon isn’t appearing on the scene as often right now because he was a very popular carry for a long time and has received a lot of nerfs. He could be buffed, but, you know, conceptually he’s a very strong hero. If he’s buffed, he might start showing up in practically every game again. I think that’s why the developers are being cautious with him. The Wraith King’s ultimate should be reworked to make it more interesting, because it’s pretty weak, especially considering how easy it is to kite this hero. Usually, if you die once, you end up dying again. We could take the classic route and turn one of his abilities into a dash, but that’s a pretty cliché solution. So maybe we should come up with something else.

Larl: Riki has always been a frequently played hero. He’s a hero for beginners, but he’s sometimes picked in the professional scene and at high ranks. Although, in my opinion, he’s a pretty weak hero. I think he needs more opportunities to farm. I don’t know—maybe we should increase the damage of his third ability so he can farm faster. Maybe his stats need a boost, too. Void Spirit. As for the other Spirits, Earth Spirit, Ember Spirit, and Storm Spirit are constantly getting buffs and performing well in the game. You can play them, but Void Spirit is left behind. So he definitely needs his ability damage increased. I know that his first ability at level one deals 60 damage for 100 mana. That’s just ridiculous. What’s the point of that?

ATF: The most obvious answer to the question of which hero is currently so strong that he needs to be constantly banned or picked is Bounty Hunter. But personally, I think the best hero this year is Enigma. He’s absolutely broken. If I knew how to play him, I’d pick him first in every game without a second thought.

Larl: More than anything, I’d like to nerf Lone Druid. I don’t think he was that strong throughout the entire tournament. Yes, he was very strong, but as far as I recall, in the playoffs teams didn’t pick him as their first pick; they preferred to take him in the second phase of the draft, since there are good heroes to counter him, such as Winter Wyvern and Nature’s Prophet. But even in regular high-rank matches and tournaments, sometimes you just don’t want to face Lone Druid. You have to be careful on the lane. If you can’t crush him early in the game, it’ll be very hard to do so later. If you don’t shut him down early on, you’ll have to play extremely carefully while he farms with Shadow Blade and then starts picking you off one by one.

Dukalis: Right now, I’d still say Lone Druid. I think you can definitely counter him during the draft phase: pick the right heroes, gank him, and try to kill him. But if he gets room to play, once he buys Aghanim’s Scepter, he’ll start wiping you out. He becomes really, really strong. And I think it’s unfair that this hero can capture Shrines of Wisdom and regular runes. The developers definitely need to prevent the bear from picking up Wisdom Runes and regular runes, as well as from revealing enemies using Smoke of Deceit. This is definitely not right. You have a summoned creature that’s essentially on par with a full-fledged hero. I don’t like that, and I think Lone Druid needs to be nerfed.

33: I’d probably say Lone Druid, because he’s just incredibly unpleasant to play against. I’d like to see him reworked a bit. Maybe they could change his Aghanim’s Scepter and make him rely more on synergy with the bear. I don’t know exactly how to implement that, but it would be great. What’s most frustrating is when a carry with six damage items is playing against you, and after he dies, he just respawns instantly. It’s very difficult to deal with that on the map.