Dota 2 patch 7.33 introduced multiple massive changes to the game, and one of the biggest was the introduction of the Universal attribute, which meant some heroes don’t have one primary stat that provides damage. Instead, Universal heroes gain damage from all stats.

Initially, the new stat didn’t change much in the game, but since Dota 2 patch 7.33c buffed Universal heroes to gain 0.7 damage per stat, they have dominated the game. In this article, we will look into what makes these heroes mainstays of the meta.

Three reasons Universal heroes are the best in Dota 2 patch 7.33c

They gain an insane amount of damage per level

A wonderful Reddit user made a sheet showcasing the damage gain of all heroes in the game and colored the heroes based on their main attribute. Green for Agility, red for Strength, blue for Intelligence, and yellow for Universal. The results are… well let’s say they are one-sided.

Out of the top 11 heroes, 10 of them are Universal. Among the top 18 heroes, 16 are Universal. Only a handful of Universal heroes gain less than four damage per level. While damage gain per level takes a while to kick in, it does showcase the absurd scaling potential of these heroes.

This high damage gain at each level is why certain heroes have emerged as the best in their roles. Void Spirit is seen as the strongest mid-hero in the game, while Windranger is one of the best cores regardless of where she lanes. While Techies is picked for his magic damage, the fact that he hits like a truck is a nice icing on the cake.

Stat items are extremely efficient on Universal heroes

Items in Dota 2 are balanced to provide damage, survivability, or a mix of both. If you want to hurt people, Desolator and Daedalus are your best picks. Having trouble surviving? then a Black King Bar and Linken’s Sphere might be just what you need. Like stats? get an Eye of Skadi. There are exceptions to every rule of course but in general most items are specialized in what they do.

Since its inception, the game has had three main attributes and items have been carefully adjusted over nearly two decades to accommodate that. However, with the introduction of Universal heroes, the game has turned on its head, and stat items are doing too much.

As mentioned earlier, Eye of Skadi is a great stat item, offering 22 to all stats and 220 to health and mana along with a slowing attack. It’s often picked up for illusion heroes and for anyone who wants to bulk up. While most heroes gain 22 damage from the item, Universal heroes flip the script and get 46 damage, more than double the value. At best, Echo Sabre deals 28 damage but that’s 41 if you don’t have a main attribute.

Even items picked up for their utility, such as Aghanim’s Scepter, deal 21 damage on Universal heroes. This insane damage/stat ratio means heroes can focus on building stat-heavy items to become more durable AND deal more damage.

Players no longer have to pick between one main thing to focus on with their item build, instead, they can cover all their bases by buying a Skadi, Linken’s Sphere, Harpoon on a hero and gain an incredible combination of damage and survivability.

Universal heroes are overpowered right now

In Dreamleague season 20 group stage, seven out of the top eight most contested heroes are Universal. Magnus, Void Spirit, Windranger, Beastmaster, Batrider, Timbersaw, Techies, and Dark Seer are extremely popular heroes and either first picked in a draft or banned from the start of the game.

It’s a little hard to tell whether these heroes are popular because they don’t have a primary attribute or they are naturally strong and the extra scaling from leveling up and items puts them in the realm of overpowered. For heroes such as Techies, Dark Seer, and Timbersaw, all of who primarily deal damage from their spells, it’s unlikely that being Universal is why they are so highly coveted.

On the other hand, Magnus, Void Spirit, Windranger, and a few others are contested because they deal incredible DPS (Damage Per Second). They are also elusive heroes with stat-heavy item builds, solid laning stage performance, and multiple disables among them.

It’s very much a “Chicken and egg” situation, where it’s hard to tell if these heroes are popular because of their kit or because they are Universal. However it is certainly a massive boon to be a Universal hero who right-clicks while possessing several powerful spells and that is why we see Void Spirit, Magnus, and Windranger sitting at the top of the core hero pool right now.

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