Valve has already nerfed the new Dota 2 hero Hoodwink
On 18 December 2020, Valve released the highly-anticipated new Dota 2 hero Hoodwink as part of the massive Mistwood update, also known as Dota 2 update 7.28. One day later, Valve already smacked Hoodwink with the nerf bat, lowering the effectiveness of two abilities and more.
Hoodwink balance changes
Everyone and their pet racoon could probably see Hoodwink did need some nerfs. The hero was clearly a bit too strong, and one can argue it still is, even after four nerfs from Valve.
While the developer didn’t make a big deal about the nerfs, Valve’s Wykrhm Reddy showcased the nerfs to Hoodwink on Twitter.
The Hoodwink nerfs are:
- Base agility reduced by 4
- Acorn Shot – Bonus damage reduced from 25/50/75/100 to 20/40/60/80
- Acorn Shot – Bounce count reduced from 3/4/5/6 to 2/3/4/5
- Bushwhack – Cast range reduced from 1200 to 1000
- Bushwhack – Radius reduced from 325 to 275
- Level 20 talent – From -5 Armour Corruption to -3 Armour Corruption
Hoodwink’s Q ability, Acorn Shot, is one of the biggest targets of the nerf. At releases, the Acorn Shot could deal massive magic damage at level 4, due to the number of bounces as well as damage output. Then, the W ability, Bushwhack, was simply too powerful of an AOE crowd control ability to let loose on the world of Dota 2.
Hoodwink’s ultimate ability remains untouched, but it is clear the hero will likely get more balance changes in the coming months.
Header image via Valve.
