Patch 7.26a has now been live in Dota 2 for a few days and we can finally discuss how the most recent changes are affecting players in both casual and competitive games. Some the changes were expected by the community in general relating to other changes from a previous patch, and it is best to consider some of these changes as an overall effort to slow down early-game level ga

As usual, there is quite a bit to read in the 7.26a patch notes, and readers can click here for the full announcement. Best of luck to everyone and keep an eye out for players who may be overextending themselves with these new changes, as they likely have not read the notes and are ripe for a quick kill until they figure it

Leona’s first active ability, Shield of Daybreak, has Leona use her shield to perform her next auto-attack. This next attack deals bonus magic damage to an enemy and stuns them for 1 second. This ability works best when it can be followed up with more crowd control from Leona’s teammates. Essentially, Leona’s Shield of Daybreak is meant to be the first ability used on an enemy that gives her teammates time and opportunity to land their abilities on the target as w

Scuttle Racing: 2 Rift Scuttlers race down a track from top lane to the bottom lane. Champions with CC are extremely valuable in slowing down the enemy Scuttler, but the allied Scuttler is also coded as a champion so it can be buffed, sped up, or thrown across the finish line with some interacti

One of the biggest problems with League of Legends is its original update pattern, adding champions at a constant rate before they could be properly balanced. This helps the game feel more full and diverse, but a metagame changes too quickly through major additi

Speaking of Death Prophet, players may be frustrated to hear that the character has received another round of nerfs following changes only recently. Apart from his starting speed reduced from 315 to 310, Exorcism now provides a movement speed bonus of 16/18/20%, down from 20% look at this now all times, and the mana cost at all levels is now 50 more than before. The character will likely continue to see play, but mostly by diehard fans, and we hope this is the last round of nerfs the character is subjected to rece

The Banner of Command has one, if not the longest line of changes in LoL history. One point in the items life it could buff a minion, granting it extra stats. Buffing a any minion increases is damage by 100%, armor and magic resist, attack range, and health. It also gives the gold for its kills to the caster. At one point, this buff made the minion immune to magic damage but changes it to damage reduction in future patches. This item has massive sieging power and combining with ZZ’Rot Portal ; it gives so much power and survivability to split push

Leona’s second active, Eclipse, casts a solar eclipse around Leona that protects her for 3 seconds. Eclipse provides a flat damage reduction while also providing bonus armor and magic resistance. If enemies are within the AOE radius of Eclipse when it runs out, magic damage based on Leona’s level is dealt to them and Leona receives damage reduction and bonus resistances for another 3 seconds. This ability is best used after flashing into the middle of a fight or after using Zenith Blade to jump onto an enemy. Leona’ will want to be as close to the enemy champs as she can when activating the ability because it is ideal to deal the magic damage from the detonation and also prolong her protection. However, 3 seconds is more than enough time for an opponent to flash away to safety so make sure you’re right in the thick of the battle when you activate this abil

In season 4, Wriggle’s Lantern receives an upgrade that is so powerful it only lasts about half of the season. Feral Flare is one of the only few items in the game’s history with an infinite scaling stat. Champion kills, assists, and killing large monsters grant stacks. Stacks give increasing bonus magic damage to basic attacks and life steal. On top of increasing stats, it also increases the gold the user gains through monster kills and gives a free ward. Heavy auto-attack focused champions dominated with this item if they allowed to st

When you begin the game, the Relic Shield and Health Potion will suffice for the first couple minutes of the laning phase, but for your early game items you want to get Boots of Speed and a Kindlegem. For your upgraded set of boots, it is common to go with Boots of Mobility if you want to be aggressive in lane and get early kills, but Leona may benefit more from the resistances given by Mercury Treads. During the early game it would also be wise to invest in either a Chain Vest or Stopwatch as both will help Leona tank up and build into a Gargoyle Stoneplate. Stopwatch’s unique active, Stasis, can be used when in the middle of a fight to dodge incoming attacks by making her unable to attack or be attacked for 2.5 seconds, but it can only be used o