The effects of the New Frontiers Dota 2 patch, released back in May 2023, continue to leave their mark on both casual and professional Dota—with one hero in particular now skewering ahead of the pack for pick rate in the offlane.
Magnus was one of the most picked heroes in the Dota Pro Circuit Summer Tour. The burly brawler featured in 208 pro matches across all regions—far more than any other offlaner in Dota. But it’s not just pros who have caught wind of his power.
His pick rate has exploded across the board, rising from 8.6 percent last patch to 10.35 percent in Patch 7.33c according to statistics site Dotabuff. After heavy reworks with the New Frontiers update, the Magnoceros’ pick rate gain only accelerated, up to 13.59 percent this month, and to 15 percent this week.
The culprit? The new item, Harpoon, has a lot to do with Magnus’ success.
Harpoon was added in Patch 7.33. An upgrade to Echo Saber, an item that was already popular on Magnus, Harpoon’s active effect acts as a gap closer. When used, the hero fires a harpoon at an enemy, with a successful hit pulling each other closer together. On a melee hero like Magnus, Harpoon is doubly effective given it pulls enemies into his base attack range.
Magnus has been picked 489,800 times in the past week. Harpoon was picked up in 71 percent of those matches—almost twice as much as next-closest Abaddon and three times as much as Slark. Well over half of those games resulted in wins. In fact, his win rate with a Harpoon is four percent higher this week compared to without.
Magnus players who have an MMR of 7000 and above have been picking up Harpoon in four out of five games and tend to complete it around the 20 minute mark. Early itemization typically starts with Magic Wand, Vanguard, and Power Treads. After that, they pick up Echo Saber and Diadem, which are then used to build Harpoon. Blink Dagger typically follows that.
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The statistics prove Harpoon has played a key role in making Magnus so strong right now, but it’s not the only reason. He was changed to a Universal Hero in the New Frontiers update, and according to TSM’s Matthew “Whitemon” Filemon, it makes him strong in all phases.
“Everyone can pick and are picking Magnus right now,” he said to Dot Esports. “You can flex it to the offlane or the carry role and maybe sometimes mid because Magnus is a Universal Hero. In the early and mid game, Magnus is really strong. And in the late game, you can scale.”
The meta is always changing, so it will be interesting to see how long Magnus’ reign in the offlane lasts. A handful of others are nipping at his hooves, including Abbadon, Doom, and Legion Commander, but while they’re all strong choices, none can emulate what Magnus offers right now.
