Patch 7.38c Dota 2 — october balance patch — a neutral-item rework | Oct 12, 2025
BALANCE PATCH · OCT 12 2025 · UMBRELLA PATCH +11H

Patch 7.38c — balance patch

A full neutral-item rework — all tiers rebalanced, 6 new artifacts added. Pudge got +0.5 armor at level 1. Crystal Maiden returned to the meta via a Crystal Nova buff.

Date
Oct 12, 2025
Heroes
24
Items
14
Umbrella patch
+11 h

The gist in 30 seconds

  • Neutral items — all 5 tiers rebalanced, 6 new ones added.
  • Pudge — +0.5 armor at level 1. The lane got more stable.
  • Crystal Maiden — Crystal Nova radius from 425 to 450.
  • Bristleback — Quill Spray damage from 20 to 22 at level 1.
  • Carry builds slowed by 4–6% due to the neutral rework.

Hero buffs

Heroes buffed in patch 7.38c. Click a card — a page with scripts and builds opens.

Pudge
Pudge+0.5 armor at level 1.
BUFF Crystal Maiden
Crystal MaidenCrystal Nova radius from 425 to 450.
BUFF Bristleback
BristlebackQuill Spray — damage from 20 to 22.
BUFF Necrophos
NecrophosHeartstopper Aura — damage from 0.8% to 0.9% max HP.
BUFF Dazzle
DazzleShallow Grave — cooldown from 65 to 60 seconds.
BUFF

Hero nerfs

Heroes that got weakened. If these picks were in your meta — time to rethink the draft.

Terrorblade
TerrorbladeMetamorphosis — duration from 40 to 35 seconds.
NERF Lifestealer
LifestealerFeast — lifesteal from 5/6/7/8% to 4/5/6/7%.
NERF Centaur Warrunner
Centaur WarrunnerStampede — cooldown from 100 to 110 seconds.
NERF Underlord
UnderlordAtrophy Aura — bonus damage on kill from 70 to 60.
NERF

Item changes

  • Tier 1 neutrals — Added 2 new artifacts, rebalanced all 12 existing ones.
  • Tier 5 neutrals — Pirate Hat and Stygian Desolator got nerfed.
  • Boots of Travel — Base cost from 2500 to 2600 gold.
  • Power Treads — Bonus stats on the attribute stat from +10 to +9.

The full item catalog with updated stats — /en/items/.

Meta impact

The neutral rework is October's most controversial change. Carry builds slowed, supports gained access to powerful AoE effects. Pudge returns to the public meta as a universal mid/offlane.

Related materials: "What are counter-picks", the hero scripts library, the item catalog.

Umbrella update after 7.38c

Scripts and auto-cast automatically adapt to the new cooldowns and ranges. Software downtime after the 7.38c release — +11 h (the average over the last 12 patches — 6–18 h).

The subscription SLA is 72 hours. If the delay exceeds it, all active users automatically get their subscription extended by the lost time. Details — in the guarantees.

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All cloud configs and 7.38c scripts are already available in the CFG section. Want auto-cast on the new timings — get the Umbrella subscription from $2.99.