#nerif

And of course it comes as no surprise that I'm still excited by the fact that Oracle is voiced by Mike Shapiro. I mean... This is like the first thing he has done for Valve since what? Episode 2? Stupid little detail but meh. 

New Post has been published on http://ges-sa.com/dota-2-foreseers-contract-update/

Dota 2 – The Foreseer’s Contract Update

A new patch is coming to Dota 2 and this isn’t just hats for a change! The Foreseer’s Contract Update introduces a new hero, Oracle, Phantom Assassin’s Arcana and some unlocked TI4 Compendium rewards that the community worked towards during The International.

GAMEPLAY

Enabled Broodmother in Captain’s Mode

Enabled Phoenix in Captain’s Mode

Fixed Midnight Pulse rounding down

Fixed Illusions not showing the same Black King Bar charges as the primary hero

Fixed recursive damage loop with stolen Fatal Bonds and Sticky Napalm

Fixed Spirit Bear being unable to pick up Bounty Runes

Fixed Pounce not being removed by Blade Fury

Fixed some minor incorrect purgeability behaviours with Invulnerable states on Bane, Ember Spirit, Faceless Void, Morphling and Storm Spirit

Fixed Runes not spawning at the right time in save/load games

Fixed save/load not remembering Black King Bar charges

Fixed some cases where reconnecting to a match would fail until the client was restarted

Town Portal Scroll effect colouring intensified to show more of the casting player’s colour

NETWORK

Improved detection of Poor Network Conditions. Now it can trigger if multiple players experience degraded connection quality, even if they do not totally drop connection. When poor network connections are detected, the match is immediately safe to leave, match results are not recorded, and prediction items are not consumed

Fixed a bug which caused end-of-match rewards, such as All Hero Challenge progress, to not be granted if players left very quickly after a match ended at the same time that match sign-out was delayed

BOTS

Added Phantom Assassin Bot

Added Oracle Bot

Bots can no longer use buyback if affected by an Aghanim’s Scepter-upgraded Reaper’s Scythe

AUDIO

Added new sounds for each rune type

Added a new sound for when Linken’s Sphere is cast on an ally

Added a new sound for Helm of the Dominator

Added a new sound for Spirit Breaker’s Empowering Haste activation

Added a sound layer to Desolator attacks

Updated the sound for Roshan’s Slam

Updated the sound for Windranger’s Windrun

Basic attacks that miss or are evaded no longer play sounds

 UI

New healthbars added for Ancient buildings, Roshan, and hero creeps (Spirit Bear, Familiars etc.)

The item context menu now allows “Move to Stash” while dead

Fixed alt-pinging the enemy’s item sometimes getting truncated

Linken Sphere now shows up as a buff icon when cast on allies

Fixed the Reaper’s Scythe indicator not appearing in the top bar when buyback is unavailable to a killed hero

Allow tab cycling (without unit selection) between owned units to cycle to illusions

If Unified Unit Orders is unchecked, holding down control while issuing orders will only issue the order to the selected unit group and not the entire selection

Abilities and Items that create multiple illusions at one time now tag the illusions so their control group state is maintained across the illusion dying and being re-summoned. This state is saved across game sessions

Damage taken by illusions is now expressed in ability and item descriptions as the total amount of damage that the illusion will take. Previously, it was shown as an amount of bonus damage to then be added to the base 100%

Several tooltip adjustments and fixes

Added a Terse option to Fight Recap

Spectating in DotaTV will now show player pings and drawings

Added an option for sorting items in your armoury by those received most recently

Reduced teammate evaluation survey to 1 question

ECONOMY

Fixed crash from Lion Infernal Wings weapon particle

Fixed broken eyelid animation for flying Prismatic Drake courier

Fixed mesh inside wrist guards for Battletrap armour

Fixed custom portrait for Crystal Maiden when equipped with Yulsaria’s Glacier

Enabled item set for Lone Druid Wolf Hunter and added Spirit of Calm to the Tools of Haruspex item set

Fixed Eki Bukaw ward hitboxes

Fixed eye attaches for Lil Nova courier

Updated foot particles for Mirana’s Sapphire Sabre-Lynx mount

Updated emoticons in the DotaCinema Captains Draft 2.0 bundle

WORKSHOP

Magnus – Increased texture budget for his weapon to 256×256

Elder Titan – Enabled alpha-test

Okay, so that’s the front end changes. The addition of Phoenix into Captain’s mode should hopefully lead to some exciting drafts in the coming days as Pros try him out. I’m less than excited about the Broodmother inclusion. That hero is all about the Rat game so unless there are some Team Bulldog fans out there I think we are all on the same page. Now for the fun stuff!

Nerif, The Oracle

“Oracle has come to let you seize the fates of both friend and foe. Weave your power into a harmful bolt that stops your enemies and removes helpful auras. Or render an ally resistant to harmful magics. Combine either approach with your double-edged purifying flames, and you’ll have all you need to aid or destroy. Still in danger? Delay an ally’s doom with a false promise, and give them the time needed to see their destiny to its fullest. As Oracle, the future is always in your hands.”

FORTUNE’S END – Channel power into a bolt of scouring energy that stops and removes buffs from enemies

FATE’S EDICT – Briefly render a target immune to magic damage, while boosting all damage from other sources and removing their ability to attack.

PURIFYING FLAMES – Instantly burn a friend or foe, then heal them slowly over time.

FALSE PROMISE – Grant an ally invisibility while moving and attacking. Any damage or healing they receive will be delayed until the spell ends.

All round a massive support hero which will have a huge learning curve, so expect some losses if you have first time Oracles on your team!

DotaCinema, as always, do a handy spotlight of any new heroes so check it out:

  Compendium Rewards

First up is the new Arcana item for Phantom Assassin which won the vote to receive an Arcana item in the International Compendium.

“With a raspy cackle, the elder smith Craler swung the sword that his family had spent eleven generations to fold and forge. So sharp it was that, with a sound like tearing fabric, a rip in reality tore open. Through this rip, Craler recognized himself from moments before, holding aloft the very same coveted blade. Then, in a fit of greed and madness, he cut this earlier self-down to seize the twin sword as his own. Too late, however, Craler felt a familiar wound, and was suddenly filled with the memory of being cut down himself…”

With the new Arcana comes a special event titled the Nemesis Event, where contracts need to be fulfilled by the Phantom Assassin. By completing these contracts her weapons will evolve as shown below.

The Nemesis Event works by playing the Phantom Assassin – equipped with the Arcana of course against heroes listed on the “ORACLE’S NEMESIS REGISTRY”.

Found here.

This is updated according to how many times Oracle has died at the hands of enemy heroes. By killing these heroes, and winning the game, you will receive a contract completed and the winning team will have a chance to win extra item drops at the end of the game. A pretty cool little mini game in my opinion, although it does involve players spending around $30 to purchase the Arcana.

Creep Models

Another reward coming out of the Compendium, which we’ve needed for a long time, is updated Creep models for when Barracks’ have been destroyed. This isn’t limited to just compendium owners, everyone gets the new shiny things!

“Emboldened by the destruction of enemy structures, the Ancients have long had the ability to transform their creeps into larger, more imposing warriors to push even further into enemy strongholds. But a new transformation is afoot. Now the Dire creeps become direr, the Radiant more radiant, each kind taking on architectural characteristics of their Ancient’s fortifications. When the end is nigh, your creep waves will bring death to your enemy’s doorstep.”

Finally, players unlocked options to add their very own buildings in the base! This is compendium restricted though as I’ll explain: Each compendium owner will receive an Effigy Block of Triumph – think block of clay. Then selecting their favourite hero, players are able to adjust the hero to form a pose which can be solidified in to a statue. Equip the statue in your load out and everyone in the games you play will see your statue – Or not if you are winning, which hopefully you are!

New Sets

As is expected there is a new treasure included in this update called Arsenal of the Defenders vision. Not much to say but MOAR HATS!!!!

Witness the end of your enemies with new sets created by Dota Cinema for Centaur Warrunner, Clockwerk, Timbersaw,Venomancer, and Necrophos, available separately on the Dota store or as part of the Treasure of the Defender’s Vision. Purchase the Treasure and, should fate prove kind, you may also discover a rare Antipode Courier tucked within!

Although no game changing buffs/nerfs to the current meta, the inclusion of a new hero is incredibly refreshing. I’m hoping the Pros will take to Phoenix and we will be treated to some new and exciting drafts in their games.