Just a few days after being buffed due to a terrible initial win rate, new Dota 2 hero Kez has been given some massive nerfs as players finally discovered how to make the most of his abilities, which proved he was actually a bit too strong.
When Kez launched almost a week ago, Dota players were struggling to make the most of the new hero, which is considerably more complex than most thanks to having two different sets of abilities. This saw him sit at a dismal 35% win rate in most mid-high level games, and fans were calling for a buff. Those buffs arrived very quickly, but it seems that may have been too hasty, as over the last few days Kez’s win rate has slowly risen as players have learned how to play him effectively.
Now many players think Kez is actually too strong, and Valve seems to agree as they have handed out some big nerfs to the new hero in the latest mini patch for Dota 2.
The first change is undoing one of the buffs he was given in a hasty patch last week, with the base attack rate on his Falcon Blade being increased back to its launch levels. The duration of the ability has also been hit hard, going from a flat seven to 3/4/5/6.
Elsewhere, his Kazurai Katana damage has also been nerfed by a percentage point at each level, while the cooldown on both his ultimates has been increased across the board. These changes should massively decrease the amount of damage Kez can output in a match.
The patch also includes a lot of bug fixes for Kez, including one that can also been seen as a significant nerf. Echo Slash no longer allowed Kez to escape leashes or movement restricting abilities such as Distuptor’s Kinetic Field. This means his escape power has been significantly nerfed and he should be much easier to lock down.
In games that I have played against Kez, it feels like he is a very snowbally hero. If you can shut him down in lane, then he can find it difficult to recover, as he seems to relies on fights to accelerate his power. But if he manages to get a kill or two in lane and then starts to run around, he can quickly become impossible to stop. Hopefully these nerfs will tone that down a little.
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