Wandering Waters, Dota 2’s newest gameplay update, brings with it new several big new updates to the game’s neutral items.
Neutral items have been a part of Dota 2 for several years in different forms, lasting through entire acts. Unlike most other in-game items, players could only get neutral items through actual play rather than in the shop. These usually rotate between patches or otherwise undergo balance changes. With the latest update to the game, Dota 2 is entirely changing how to get, use, and see those neutral items in action.
Gameplay patch 7.38 has finally arrived, and with Wandering Waters comes some big updates to neutral items that all players should be keenly aware of.
Players now have the ability to craft their own neutral items by clearing Neutral Creep camps as of the new Wandering Waters update.
Prior to this latest update, neutral creeps dropped neutral tokens that could be spent on items. Dota 2 has now changed up the game by making neutral items harder to get but also more customizable. Players must now clear neutral creep camps to earn Madstone, two for the collecting player and one for a random teammate.
Additionally, flooded camps evolve in difficulty as the match progresses. New neutral creeps introduced in Wandering Waters include Polliwogs, Boglets, and Marshmages.
Madstone allow holders to now craft neutral items with two components: artifacts and enchantments. Artifacts affect the ability of the item and can be passive or active, while enchantments provide passive stats and other attributes. As in past updates, there are five different tiers of items. New to Wandering Waters, players must first craft tier 1 neutral items for 5 Madstone and must progress linearly, costing 10 Madstone per new level.
Finally, there is a Madstone limit depending on time that operates similarly to how creeps used to drop tier tokens with strength proportional to time played. This limit ranges from five Madstone after 15 minutes to an infinite amount after 70 minutes. Importantly, players are still restricted to holding only one neutral item at a time.
The Wandering Waters update gives players the chance to craft any combination of artifacts and enchantments into their own neutral item through the new crafting mechanic.
Artifacts and enchantments range in power from tier 1 to 5, with players getting four random choices of each when crafting a neutral item. Importantly, one option for artifacts is to keep the current feature. Yet each enchantment upgrade requires players to choose an entirely new one. Here are all of the new neutral item components available in the Wandering Waters Dota 2 update.
There are 34 total artifacts available in Patch 7.38 throughout the different tiers. Some have either passive or active components, while a few artifacts have both. For instance, Mana Draught’s active restores mana while its passive recharges the item. Nemesis Curse, meanwhile, has two passives that does damage to the user while also debuffing an opponent.
There are only half the number of neutral item enchantments as there are artifacts, but they also extend past multiple tiers. Additionally, enchantments provide less action-based buffs and more stat changes, like extra health or faster mana regeneration.
While the update to neutral items in Wandering Waters may not have been an expected one, it’s likely to be greatly enjoyed by players who enjoy customization. The new Dota 2 look should provide a nice refresher and shake up the competition in both casual and pro games alike.
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