The newly introduced Water Runes and reduced spawn times on Bounty Runes have sent mid laners into a Bottle frenzy.
Following yesterday’s buffs to new hero Dawnbreaker, Valve released another Dota 2 patch today. The official changelog, consisting of just one line, says: “Bottle now only refills two charges when capturing Water or Bounty Runes.”
Water Runes were introduced in 7.29 as a way for mid laners to refill their Bottles in lieu of Power Runes in the early stage. It was intended as stable and predictable regeneration for both sides since there were complaints about how an impactful Power Runes—like Double Damage or Regeneration—could swing hard-fought advantages with luck.
But when combined with changes to Bounty Runes spawning more frequently and remaining accessible to mid laners, plus Water Runes itself giving additional regeneration, mid laners found themselves overflowing with resources. While Bottle was already an essential item for most mid laners, it became a must-have and also let mana-hungry heroes have free rein to use their abilities.
Instead of encouraging aggression and trades, players opted for the more efficient and less risky move by using their near-limitless mana to clear out nearby jungle camps, expediting gold and experience progress.
Besides the nerfs to Water and Bounty Runes, there were some unmentioned changes in the latest patch mostly relating to quality-of-life issues that don’t affect gameplay. With the changes to these Bottled Runes, the visuals have not yet been updated and still show three charges, according to TheZett, but they reflect properly once the rune is consumed.
Audio-wise, certain voice lines from Drow Ranger and Dawnbreaker were enabled or reassigned. Various tooltips have also been changed to reflect Bounty Runes’ new spawn times, as well as removed aspects like Necronomicon.
