The biggest change with this patch Dota 6.86b, dota 6.86c is the re-enabliing of Doom, Faceless Void, Death Prophet, Lone Druid, and Winter Wyvern in Captains Mode only days after they were removed due to major rework.

• Enabled Doom, Faceless Void, Death Prophet, Lone Druid and Winter Wyvern in Captain’s Mode
  

  The only heroes that, at the current time, are excluded from the competitive gameplay are Arc Warden and Riki. The former will surely require a few months for testing and balancing updates before being approved. In fact the hero is really strong when played by a competent player.  Ultimately we hope that we won’t need to wait years before his addition to Captain’s Mode (as we did for Earth Spirit).

• Arcane Rune mana reduction reduced from 50 to 40%

  Arcane Rune was the Double Damage Rune of your average spell caster. One could argue that the Regeneration Rune provided similar advantages for heroes like Zeus or Lina, but the Arcane Rune seemed designed to be a more specific fit. Has it had a huge impact just yet? Not yet. It seemed stronger on paper, but the fact is that even if you do get that Rune, you’ll need a specific scenario to make full use of it. The Rune can be very valuable when attempting to take stacks, something that has become much more tedious now for nukers.

  Regardless, dropping it down to 40% seems like a reasonable approach, considering how useful it can be during teamfights. It seems like less of a “I have this Rune, let’s kill their safelaner” Rune, at least compared to an Invisibility or Haste Rune.

• Spirit Siphon duration increased from 4 to 5 seconds
• Arcane Orb Int steal increased from 0/1/2/3 to 1/2/3/4
• Astral Imprisonment cooldown rescaled from 20/17/14/11 to 22/18/14/10
• Cloak and Dagger backstab damage multiplier increased from 0.4/0.6/0.8/1.0 to 0.5/0.75/1.0/1.25
• Tricks of the Trade now only affects heroes
• Tricks of the Trade AoE increased from 450 to 475
• Tricks of the Trade cooldown rescaled from 90/80/70 to 70
• Time Dilation AoE increased from 650 to 725
• Time Dilation slow rescaled from 4/6/8/10 to 7/8/9/10%
• Time Dilation duration rescaled from 6/7/8/9 to 5.5/7/8.5/10 seconds
• Meat Hook Scepter damage reduced from 175/275/375/475 to 180/270/360/450

CONCLUSION

6.86b came out sooner than expected for many. It may not be here to stay for long, as we could see 6.86c before New Year’s still, but it’s still surprising to see so many adjustments after a short time. The individual changes and nerfs seem to make sense for the most part (Pudge being the bigger exception here), but implementing these heroes into Captain’s Mode has caught many people off guard. It feels as if more testing needs to be done to make these hero work. As mentioned above though, pros will likely be forced to figure out these heroes much quicker and we’ll likely see some changes towards them soon – if they are warranted.