Bugs and exploits of patch 7.39. Which heroes to ban or avoid in Dota 2 matchmaking after 7.39

The May 22 release of Dota 2’s substantial 7.39 update brought revolutionary changes including facets and new items, but also introduced several critical technical issues affecting competitive play. Community testing has uncovered multiple game-breaking exploits that significantly impact matchmaking integrity. Understanding these vulnerabilities is crucial for maintaining competitive fairness while developers work on solutions.

Visibility manipulation represents one of the most severe categories of current bugs. Both Io and Batrider suffer from persistent minimap tracking after using specific abilities, creating unfair intelligence advantages. When Io employs Tether or Batrider activates Firefly before retreating into fog, their icons remain visible on enemy minimaps, effectively nullifying strategic positioning and escape mechanics that define high-level Dota 2 gameplay.

Control scheme instability affects numerous players through hotkey malfunctions. The issues manifest across unit control, sub-ability activation, and quick-cast configurations, with many users reporting automatic reversion to legacy keybindings without consent. This creates muscle memory disruption and critical response time delays during teamfights.

Comprehensive Bug Catalog: Patch 7.39 Technical Vulnerabilities

• Io Minimap Tracking: After Tether usage, hero remains permanently visible on enemy minimaps even when in fog, creating severe ganking vulnerability
• Batrider Firefly Glitch: Similar to Io, creates continuous minimap presence after ability activation, compromising escape and initiation potential
• Health System Regression: Broodmother, Necrophos, Venomancer, and Vhoul Assassin intermittently revert to outdated Amplify mechanics instead of current Health Restoration systems
• Control Scheme Corruption: Multiple hotkey failures affecting unit control, sub-abilities, and quick-cast configurations with forced legacy keybinding reversion
• Jakiro Interface Corruption: Liquid Fire and Liquid Frost display identical ability icons with additional non-functional buttons cluttering the interface
• Lich Facet Malfunction: Evil Eye facet fails to properly amplify magical damage from items, creating uncertainty about intended functionality
• Kez Damage miscalculation: Kazurai Katana with Aghanim’s Shard fails to apply correct backstab damage multipliers
• Lone Druid Secret Shop Block: Spirit Bear completely unable to purchase items from secret shop locations, severely limiting itemization options
• Invoker Upgrade Failure: Icewall Aghanim’s Scepter enhancement becomes non-functional following Ghost Walk usage

The health restoration system regression affecting Broodmother, Necrophos, Venomancer, and Vhoul Assassin creates unpredictable healing outcomes during engagements. This inconsistency makes these heroes unreliable picks until patched, as their sustainability in lane and teamfights becomes statistically unreliable.

Lich’s Evil Eye facet represents a particularly problematic issue for magic damage builds. Since the facet description specifies amplification of all magical damage but fails to include item-based damage sources, players must choose between avoiding magic items or accepting reduced effectiveness—a decision that shouldn’t exist with proper functionality.

Patch 7.39 deployment on May 22 included numerous quality-of-life improvements that unfortunately introduced these control scheme instabilities. While many legacy bugs were resolved, the new issues present more immediate competitive concerns. Understanding temporary mitigation strategies becomes essential for ranked matchmaking participation.

Immediate Bug Workarounds: For Io and Batrider, avoid using Tether and Firefly when planning to retreat through fog—this eliminates the minimap tracking vulnerability but significantly reduces hero effectiveness. For hotkey issues, manually reconfigure controls each match session and avoid using quick-cast for affected abilities.

Ban Priority Structure: Based on bug severity and impact, prioritize banning Io, Batrider, and Lone Druid in your draft phase. These heroes’ core functionalities are most compromised by current technical issues.

Hero Avoidance Recommendations: Temporarily avoid playing Lich with magic damage item builds, Kez with Aghanim’s Shard backstab strategies, and Invoker with Icewall Aghanim’s Scepter combinations. Consider alternative facet selections for Lich until Evil Eye functionality is clarified or fixed.

The developers have acknowledged several of these issues through various channels, with community expectations pointing toward a hotfix within 1-2 weeks. Monitor official patch notes for resolution timelines and adjust your hero selection strategies accordingly as fixes deploy.

Map adjustments in 7.39, including neutral camp positioning and pull timing modifications, remain functional and should be incorporated into your strategic planning. For comprehensive understanding of all 7.39 changes, consult our complete patch analysis to distinguish intended mechanics from actual bugs.

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