We’re quickly approaching the tip of this 12 months’s aggressive season, with many high-level tournaments beginning very quickly. The proximity of the EWC and TI signifies that it’s extremely unlikely we’ll get any sweeping steadiness modifications, however that doesn’t imply some minor patch can be unwelcome. Right now we want to think about some heroes who’ve been out of the highlight for a really very long time and who may use a small numbers buff to change into a viable choice on the highest stage of play.
We genuinely don’t bear in mind when was the final time the hero’s been a preferred pro-scene choose. In a meta the place 
Doom and 
Beastmaster are extraordinarily widespread flex picks, the absence of Grimstroke is doubly shocking. We don’t imagine It signifies that the hero is at the moment in such a foul state, that even overwhelmingly highly effective pairings for him don’t make up for his weak point.
We really feel just like the hero is solely a bit too clunky. The numbers on Stroke of Destiny are exceptionally robust, nevertheless it has a really telegraphed and gradual solid level, making it unreliable. That, in flip, means it’s type of iffy in the case of the laning trades and even the anti-juking innate can’t assist Grimstroke in lane. That is the place we want to see a small buff: merely lowering the wind-up animation from 0.6 to even 0.5 seconds may do wonders for the hero.
Grimstroke can also be very level-hungry. All of his skills are robust and scale properly, however are very conditional within the early sport. There is no such thing as a simple repair for this and maybe it isn’t one thing that wants fixing. That mentioned, we firmly imagine that maxing out Phantom’s Embrace may very well be a solution to go.
It’s an simply disjointable projectile, positive, however it’s also undispellable, so in sure matchups it may be a game-changer. Heroes like 
Tidehunter and even 
Slark aren’t huge followers of enjoying into it. And it additionally has the additional benefit of punishing Standing Resistance, as it might deal its Rend injury quicker and refreshes the power sooner. Once more, merely rising the projectile pace on each solid and return may make an enormous distinction for the hero’s viability.
Lastly there’s Ink Swell that considerably just lately misplaced its Sturdy Dispel performance. We don’t assume including a strong save again to the hero will make him extra attention-grabbing, although. Grimstroke is a really aggressive help with an extremely damaging equipment. Maybe leaning into that side with a distinct Shard, that buffs the damaging side of the hero, may very well be a solution to carve out a distinct segment for this character within the skilled scene.
Juggernaut suffers from the identical issues as Grimstroke, so far as the pro-scene is anxious. His skills are too telegraphed and have an excessive amount of counter-play potential. Virtually any save merchandise can negate his final within the early sport and he additionally suffers closely from the just lately added Shared Imaginative and prescient Obstruction mechanics.
The hero additionally has one of many worst stat good points throughout all heroes. That is the place we want to see at the very least some kind of a buff, as a result of it’s type of bizarre that the hero’s default and most viable talent development entails going for Attribute Increase each time attainable. The hero doesn’t deal injury quick sufficient to be an Murderer-type character and with out the Therapeutic Ward he additionally doesn’t tank too properly, with the latter needing stage 20 to have an precise impression in opposition to a well-coordinated group.
His innate additionally doesn’t gel with the hero, in our opinion. One thing that would make the hero extra survivable would in all probability be a greater match. The Heroes of Newerth model of Juggernaut additionally had a distinct talent, as an alternative of Therapeutic Ward, the place there was an opportunity to Counter-Assault an enemy, on being attacked. As an Innate, it wouldn’t assist the hero’s survivability, nevertheless it may make the hero a greater late-game brawler.
Lastly, and that is much less of an opinion, and extra of a theorycraft, however I’ve been toying with the concept of 
Radiance Juggernaut for some time now. It may very well be a good farming software for the hero, however most significantly, it’s a good stepping stone for later development into each 
Nullifier and 
Butterfly. It’s on a halfway level between 
Battle Fury and 
Mjollnir cost-wise and may very well be an attention-grabbing solution to make the hero work in opposition to sure drafts.
It says rather a lot concerning the present state of Snapfire, when 
Tusk and 
Timeless are a few of the hottest picks and he or she is nowhere to be seen.The hero could be very eclectic, to say the least, and it’s onerous to determine how precisely to finest make the most of her.
On one hand, she desires to face fairly far-off from the battle, safely channeling her final. Alternatively, the remainder of her equipment is fairly close-quarters and is generally about midgame brawling. The top result’s one thing that doesn’t work too properly in both case.
And it’s not just like the hero is dangerous through the laning stage both. Along with her Innate and a choice of slows and stuns she may be an asset for the primary a number of minutes of the sport. It’s the latter development that’s in query.
We will’t consider a chic answer that may make the hero extra viable, with out interfering together with her normal design. Perhaps we’re simply outright flawed and the hero is sweet as it’s, simply underexplored. That mentioned the hero’s been barely touched within the final a number of high-profile tournaments and is much from being meta in pubs.
It’s inconceivable to completely steadiness a sport as advanced as Dota, however there have been patches and the Worldwide tournaments the place greater than 90% of all heroes had been contested. Returning to such glory days can be welcome, each from a participant and a spectator viewpoint.
Naturally, the sport could be very totally different these days {and professional} gamers are additionally rather a lot higher at exploiting small weaknesses through the laning stage to snowball into an awesome midgame. It’s in all probability the primary cause why loads of heroes merely can’t be picked — their equipment doesn’t come on-line till after the laning stage and at this level the sport can already be over.
Perhaps an financial system overhaul someplace down the road, after TI, may very well be thought-about. The final two mega-patches had been both Hero-centric or Map-centric, so some modifications to how the underlying financial system behind the entire sport works may flip the meta in a significant method.
What are your ideas on the matter? Would you wish to see the return of the rubber-banding and late-game carries? Or do you assume Dota is in an excellent state economy-wise and steadiness modifications ought to primarily think about coping with particular heroes? Share your ideas within the remark part beneath.
