Dota 7.29 Dawnbreaker Update: New hero, new map, and tons of hero changes

Dota 2 Patch 7.29 is now available for download on Steam. The Dawnbringer Update also brings Dota’s total Hero pool up to 121 with the addition of the titular character. The entire Dota map has also received several notable reworks that point towards defensive play and safer early-game creep pulling.

New Hero: Valora the Dawnbreaker

(Picture: Valve) 

Dawnbringer is a Melee Strength Hero designed to be played as a core. Her Q, Starbreaker, starts a combo of hammer swings ending in a powerful stun. Her W ability Celestial Hammer sends her weapon forward and either retrieves it automatically or gives her a partial teleport to the lodged hammer. Luminosity grants lifesteal to herself and any close allies on every fourth physical attack.

Lastly, her Ultimate Solar Guardian allows her to teleport to an ally’s aid anywhere on the map with a heal-and-harm bubble to announce her arrival. She also has a unique idle animation where she plays golf with her hammer.

• Read more: Learn about Valora the Dawnbreaker, the newest hero of Dota 2

Her kit seems geared towards converting offensive power into healing for your team. Luminosity and Solar Guardian can both heal multiple units, but they require a few hoops to jump through. Her item build is still up in the air, but we’ll have some suggestions in a Dawnbreaker build guide soon. 

Map Updates

The 7.29 Dota map looks very different from before. The entire jungle on both Radiant and Dire has been reworked. Take a look at the new Radiant safelane:

(Picture: Valve) 

The jungle has been radically designed to make pulls safer. The Dire offlane can cut one tree down to get a direct line close to their tower. The Radiant can still pull as normal, and the repositioned small camp makes it easier to latch lane creeps. Similar defensive adjustments can be seen in the Dire bottom jungle, which is now officially called "The Triangle".

(Picture: Valve) 

The Ancient camp is now even closer to the Tier 2 tower, plus the carry can now see onto the low ground while farming. Both of these make it easier to protect and farm Ancient stacks. These traits hint at longer games and more emphasis on Ancient stacks, which were more easily contestable on the old Patch. 7.29’s map reworks could be a boon for late-game carries like Terrorblade and Naga Siren.

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The Dawnbringer Update is available now for all Steam accounts with Dota 2 installed. The new Hero Dawnbringer is completely free to play. Patch 7.29 will receive multiple lettered subpatches as the metagame develops.