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Notes
Notes
Notes
Notes
Healing Ward, and even then, it's a pretty lose integration. A ritual summoning a ward? I guess that counts but it could be improved. Therefore, this ability will be replaced by Ceremony of Masks, a channeled spell that retains the healing but only for himself. Thematically, the reason for removing its component of tending to the wounds of others is to accentuate his loner personality. Mechanically, the reason for making the heal a flat value instead of a percentage one is to discourage this Agility carry from building tanky. Now onto this new ability itself. Like the old version, it is a wonderful sustain tool outside of combat, getting the max value out of each cast by ensuring enemies cannot cancel the channel. However, it is also a powerful new resource to use in the heat of combat, countering the first incoming attack with heavy damage and a mark that lets him better chase them down. This spell is also quite effective against ranged enemies, timing to use it just as their projectile connects as well as illusion enemies, revealing the true one. So, this introduces a new dynamic: Use it outside of battle to maximize the healing but sacrifice the damage and mobility, or risk the healing being cancelled to make him scarier to face. This ability also has interesting synergies with his other abilities, which we'll get into a little later.
Blade Dance serves its purpose in his kit but it's really just 
Crystalys and personally, I wish it were more interesting and unique. So, it has been reinvented into Thousand Cuts, a passive that still enhances his attacks but in a different way. Every few attacks like 
Bash of the Deep but on the same target, Juggernaut applies an 
Orchid Malevolence type effect that redeals damage after a while. Something like the good old Omae Wa Mou Shindeiru stuff. Unlike his previous critical strike that only increases the damage of his attacks, this one can amplify the damage of his abilities as well. This introduces yet another new way to play him: Start fights by attacking to apply stacks and maximize damage, or trade damage for rushing in first with his spells to maximize survivability.
Omnislash, encouraging Yurnero to hold onto releasing the ultimate until his target has enough passive stacks, unless the situation demands the defensive power it provides. On the ability itself, it feels less clunky to use at lower levels before he gets enough attack speed by heightening the attack rate divisor, but trading off the bonus damage so it is not too powerful. I don't want to get into the full math of it but just take note that increasing the attack rate divisor makes him attack faster. The spell also trades a shorter cast range for increased cast radius, meaning he has to get closer to unleash it but reduces its tendency to end early. The duration is also lower to reduce edge cases and make it overall more impactful without fully relying on enemies clumping up. While overall the power level looks lower, the interaction between Omnislash and Ceremony of Masks can definitely make up for this. Overall, lots of shifting of power to make using it feel smoother without being too strong. Meanwhile, 
Blade Fury is more or less the same, just with lower damage by itself since Thousand Cuts can boost it. Since he can still attack while spinning eventhough they deal no damage, he can now trigger this passive during the active rather safely. Now let's jump into ability combinations:
Juggernaut, the left side further improves his already insane damage while the right side increases his durability and mobility. It's really quite simple this time so I'll leave it at that. Overall, I hope I've accomplished all the goals mentioned at the beginning of this piece while ensuring he remains familiar. With all the new nuance behind and synergy between his abilities, hopefully he becomes a more interesting hero to play while keeping his relative simplicity. His item builds are generally going to be the same, but perhaps with Thousand Cuts functioning as it does, maybe an 
Ethereal Blade and 
Dagon 5 meme build might become viable. For those who know League of Legends, the new W was definitely inspired by Master Yi, the Wuju Bladesman, who I'm sure was initially inspired by Juggernaut, so I guess you could say it's come full circle.DOTAFire is the place to find the perfect build guide to take your game to the next level. Learn how to play a new hero, or fine tune your favorite DotA hero’s build and strategy.
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