Valve is notorious for releasing new gameplay updates a few weeks before every TI that brings about a massive change in the meta, thus giving the community a lot to fathom till TI approaches.
But this time around they raised the stakes by including Valora, a new hero, in the Captain’s Mode. This is also the first time in the history of Dota that a hero has been added to CM mode prior to The International.
Ushering in a new dawn, Valora aka Dawnbreaker will certainly raise many eyebrows heading into TI10 as teams scramble to figure out a playstyle best suited for her in the current patch.
Let’s take a peek into some of the perks of playing Valora:
- Valora is extremely flexible in terms of role and can adapt to any position given the circumstances. This gives a huge strategic advantage to teams looking to pick her in the drafting phase.
- She has one of the highest damage output among heroes and can establish a strong lane presence thus reigning in havoc.
- She offers nearly everything: wave clearing skills, global map presence due to her ultimate, provides heal, extremely durable and tanky, and can purchase any team utility items.
- Most importantly, as she was introduced to Captain’s Mode so closely to TI, a good number of players will be unfamiliar with her. Whoever that is ahead in terms of understanding the hero and has played her since inception will have the upper hand.
Now, let's see what the stats say!
Dotabuff
According to the image above, Valora has been mostly played as off-lane for a whopping 78% while the mid and safe lane constitutes for a meagre 12% combined.
In the current patch, utility heroes play a big factor in determining the outcome of any game and players excelling over this particular hero are going to be the game changers.
While there are plenty of counters to Valora, it is nearly difficult to go past her with her defences acting as a huge impediment.
Dotabuff
Judging by the list above, it is clear that players are opting for durability based items that enables her to become a frontliner in a utility-based role. Not to mention, building items that provide aura to her allies as well.
An element of surprise, it is going to be intriguing to witness how teams utilise her and on which role. Perhaps, we might be able to see her in the mid or safe lane a bit more through some crazy strategy?
