Chaos Knight, Spirit Breaker, and Spectre were some of the most popular heroes in Dota 2’s The International 2023. They were in almost every match, but their reign now appears to be over, with the trio uncontested so far at DreamLeague.
With the first group stage of DreamLeague Season 22 in the books, 17 heroes weren’t on anyone’s radar. The complete list features names that have been unpopular for a while, but seeing Chaos Knight, Spirit Breaker, and Spectre included in the forgotten made Dota 2 fans’ day since the experience against these heroes in previous patches was dreadful.
Not only did Valve nerf the tank metagame, but Chaos Knight also lost some of its most powerful tools. With less lifesteal to work with and a lower base damage, the hero turned into a liability during the laning stage. Spirit Breaker, on the other hand, takes longer to come online causing him to miss important timings during a match.
Spectre also lost her ability to fight early, and she’s a rather easy target to gank. While these old faces are no longer with us in tournament play, they were quickly replaced by new faces. Luna and Anti-Mage are the two newest faces in the S-tier list of carries.
So far, the following heroes haven’t been picked or banned at Dota 2 DreamLeague.
- Chaos Knight
- Spectre
- Spirit Breaker
- Earth Spirit
- Legion Commander
- Treant Protector
- Drow Ranger
- Juggernaut
- Riki
- Shadow Fiend
- Spectre
- Lich
- Silencer
- Tinker
- Warlock
- Dark Willow
- Sand King
- Venomancer
Considering the Dota 2 pro scene only restarted for the season two months ago, the metagame could easily change again without any balance patches on the horizon. Sometimes, it can take longer for professional players to find any broken strategies, and when they do, new heroes can start finding time under the spotlight.
