Frostivus brings Dota 2 7.35 patch, Roshan buffs, and old arcanas

A massive Dota 2 update has brought both the 7.35 gameplay patch as well as the previously teased Frostivus event.

Valve made the controversial move to stop offering The International Battle Pass in 2023 and dropping support for Dota 2 esports more generally. While the company stated that the intent was to start offering more content throughout the year, there wasn’t actually any sign of this happening. In fact, the opposite was seemingly true as no new characters were revealed during The International 2023.

But now, fans have their first taste what the game will be getting in this post-TI Battle Pass world. Dota 2’s Frostivus 2023 update was released on December 15, bringing several additions to the game that are bound to make things more difficult for Dota 2 beginners. This includes some quality-of-life features, hero updates, new items, and minor changes to the power runes.

The biggest item changes in Dota 2 patch 7.35

In addition to introducing 12 new items, the Dota 2 7.35 patch includes 4 reintroduced items and 9 items that had been indefinitely removed from the game.

There are three new shop items that are set to have a major impact on the game. Two are late-game items while one is a new basic item that builds into multiple late-game items for casters and INT cores.

• Khanda, which has a passive that adds damage to single-target spells that scales with the equipping hero’s attack damage. Will likely be good for high-damage cores with stuns like Sven.
• Pharasma, made from Witch Blade and Mystic Staff. Upgrades the Witch Blade’s passive and has an attack modifier that applies a -20% magic damage resist debuff for four seconds. Likely good for right-click INT and universal heroes that still have magic damage like Void Spirit, core Snapfire, and Venomancer.
• Tiara of Selemene, a new secret shop item that grants +6 mana regeneration. Builds into Refresher Orb, Scythe of Vyse, and Octarine Core.

Aside from these three being added, several items got significant reworks or overhauls that fundamentally change how they work. Here are the biggest item changes in Dota 2 patch 7.35:

• Arcane Boots (requires Boots of Speed, Ring of Basilius, and recipe, provides 0.75 mana regen in AOE, cannot be disassembled.)
• Bloodstone (+75 AOE radius increase for spells.)
• Bloodthorn (requires Orchid Malevolence, Javelin, Hyperstone, and recipe. Adds Javelin passive, loses Mage Slayer passive and magic resistance. Soul Rend active now also has +60 extra damage on target and True Strike.)
• Ethereal Blade (requires Aether Lens, Ghost Scepter, and recipe. Total price raised from 4,650 to 5,375 total. Drops Kaya stats. Gives +8 all attributes, +300 mana, +3 mana regen, +250 casting range.)
• Revenant’s Brooch (requires Sacred Relic, Voodoo Mask, and recipe. Total price decreased from 6,200 to 4,900. Offers toggleable attack modifier that make right-clicks cost 75 mana with ability to hit ethereal units.)

And finally, there were significant changes to neutral items, with 12 new and returning items being added to the game. At least two items were added across each tier.

Tier 1:

• Safety Bubble (+5 HP regen, passive 100 HP barrier that is restored after five seconds)
• Royal Jelly (+50 HP, +50 mana, consume up to 10 charges for +2 HP Regen and +1 Mana)

Tier 2:

• Light Collector (+12 HP regen during day, +6 mana regen at night, but effect is halved when near trees. Has active that destroys tree in AOE)
• Whisper of the Dread (+150 mana, +10% spell damage, -15% daytime vision)

Tier 3:

• Doubloon (+5 HP regen, +2.5 mana regen, toggle to convert 20% of max HP to mana, and vice versa)
• Nemesis Curse (+35 damage, attack modifier that debuffs enemy heroes with +12% increased damage from all sources, “Glass Cannon” passive that increases all incoming damage to holder by 8%)
• Craggy Coat (+6 armor, +150 HP, active that gives +12 armor, -30 move speed for eight seconds)

Tier 4:

• Ancient Guardian (+50 damage, +50 more bonus damage when attacking near an Ancient)
• Aviana’s Feather (+25 evasion, +30 move speed, flying movement when HP is 30% or less)
• Rattlecage (+12 armor, passive that sends two projectiles at random enemies that deal 125 damage and slow move speed and attack speed by 100% for 0.2 seconds)

Tier 5:

• Unwavering Condition (+95% magic resistance, max HP is locked at 1,500 and can’t be raised or lowered by effects or attributes)
• Magic Lamp (+300 HP, passive that gives user hard dispel and 1,000 healing when HP falls under 20%)

Roshan, Tormentors get Frostivus gifts with big buff

Multiple map objectives have been tweaked, including Roshan, Tormentors, teleport time, and power runes.

Roshan will now let out a globally heard sound when attacked by the same team that last killed it, with this sound applying an AOE debuff to heroes. Alongside this is a new item drop, Roshan’s Banner. Roshan’s Banner can be used to plant it in the ground which gives a massive HP and damage boost to allied creeps. It can be destroyed by six attacks from enemy heroes.

Tormentors were also improved, albeit not as significantly as Roshan. Their armor can no longer be dropped below 0, preventing builds and certain heroes from getting relatively early kills on them.

New watches have been added to the North and South of the map, and teleport times to the jungle outposts have been reduced to four seconds. Additionally, using the Twin Gates now has a fixed cost of 75 mana, and the Double Damage, Invisibility, Haste, Arcane, and Regeneration Runes have all seen some minor changes.

Dota 2 patch 7.35 adds quality of life improvements around towers, teleporting

New quality-of-life changes in Dota 2 patch 7.35 include a timer on TP channeling, indicators that show towers’ attack range and target, and new indicators for gold bounties from creeps.

Sorting through cosmetics is also easier thanks to the recent armory improvement. Players can group items through hero names, filter items using keyword searches, and create views with pre-defined search criteria. It’s also possible to see unowned stickers now, regardless of whether or not the player owns them.

The full list of changes can be found on the official Dota 2 patches page.

What is the new Frostivus 2023 Dota 2 event?

The Dota 2 7.35 patch also kicked off the Frostivus 2023 event, which is a holiday-themed event that aims to reward players with cosmetics.

Every time a player wins a match during this event, their “Frostivus Spirit Meter” increases. By filling it up, they can acquire a locked chest and other cosmetics like sprays, stickers, and emoticons. The keys have to be purchased separately, but offer the opportunity to obtain hero personas and arcanas from previous timed events.

This includes a new Wraith King arcana variant based on Santa Claus that also unlocks the base arcana that was previously locked to a TI Battle Pass. Similarly, the Crystal Maiden hero persona received similar treatment. This could mean that the back catalog of hero personas from past battle passes could be made available once again, likely to the chagrin of whales.

Also in the chest are holiday-themed cosmetic item sets, including Snapfire’s Silver Squall set and Tusk’s Jingle Fist set. As a bonus, every time a player unboxes a set they also have a small chance to unlock a bonus unusual-rarity variant of one of the items in that set.

This event also promises to take care of smurf accounts while rewarding accounts with good behavior with gifts. Several festive features like Christmas hats on everyone and the ability to use as many consumables as players want will also stick around until January 11, 2024, when the event ends.