The agile avian has had one week to cook. So, where does he stand with the meta?
It’s been a busy week for Dota 2 as their newest hero, Kez, swoops in to make his mark in the eternal war of the Ancients. He was teased towards the end of The International 2024 and released during the final act of their Crownfall update. Now enough time has passed for players to get a bead on the flashy bird samurai.
To start, Kez was always going to take some time to figure out considering the complexity of his kit. Initial impressions were that this was a huge leap forward in terms of hero design. This is especially true when you consider that Ringmaster released not that long ago and fell flat for many players. Between his eight unique skills and stance switching, Kez was a puzzle that needed time to solve.
At first it looked like he might have been a little too weak off the bat. He had a 37% win rate on day one, prompting developers Valve to give him some slight buffs. In hindsight, this was rather premature for the devs as Kez’s win rate only climbed higher and higher in the following days.
Buffs gave way to nerfs as of their most recent update and some of these are rather substantial. In general, Valve targeted Kez’s mobility and survivability in both his stances. Understandable as Kez had a pretty easy time to get on top of and get away from enemies. He took a pretty big hit in terms of win rate but with his kit, it’s only a matter of time before we see Kez flying back up the standings.
A Swiss Army Knife of a Carry
The big thing about Kez are the options he has at his disposal due to his design. Having eight skills, all of which can do something impactful at the right situation, gives him power most melee Carry’s don’t have.
Typical melee Carry’s, like Sven or Phantom Assassin, are judged by how quickly they can eliminate a target. In most cases this involves getting right next to the target using a mobility skill or item and then deleting them in one or two hits. It’s a very feast-or-famine playstyle, especially since most melee Carry’s have no way out once they jump in.
Kez has mobility to spare but not the single target burst typical for a melee Carry. Instead, his eight skills give him a diverse toolbox to play with. Kez will always be able to contribute something to a team beyond just deleting a priority target. Whether it’s chasing down an enemy or wearing them down for an easy kill, Kez’s usefulness very much depends on the player’s understanding of the situation.
Top players are already finding success with the new hero, and that’s only after a week and some nerfs. It’ll be interesting to see where he stands with some more time, maybe even after a major tournament has passed.
Banner image from Valve.