Valve recently released Patch 7.20 for Dota 2 that included major changes in gameplay, mechanics, items, heroes, and even the map itself. Big changes like that of the Deny Mechanic, Stacking, Teleporting, Armor changes, and a whole lot more, bring an entirely new flavor to the game.
Competitive and casual Dota 2 has always had a big emphasis on Deny. It is, in fact, only Dota 2 that employs the said mechanic. Killing your own allied units (creeps) now give the denier 20% of the gold bounty. Previously, they gave the denier 20% Experience, and since 7.20 was modified. As a result, this will prompt more core players to prioritize getting the deny, as it gives them a significant advantage over their opponents in the laning stage.
Supports who tend to stack neutral creeps are now rewarded more, as stacked neutral creeps now give the stacker 35% of the bounty instead of 25%. Since the overall Map of Dota 2 has also been reworked, players will have to adjust to stacking as different pathing and timing will be required to stack neutrals.
Teleporting in Dota 2 was also modified, with Valve adding a dedicated inventory slot to hold Town Portal Scroll. This improves the quality of life for Dota 2 players, as they will no longer need to dedicate an additional slot for the TP scroll. Additionally, the item Boots of Travel no longer shares cooldown with Town Portal Scrolls. Upon teleporting, +10 seconds are now added to TP Scroll cooldown.
Majority of items were also modified, particularly the movement speed items. Also, new items have been introduced to the game.
Now, all item-based movement speed bonuses are now rebalanced around being a percentage rather than a constant addition. For example, the basic brown Boots of Speed used to give 50 movement speed, now it gives 15% of your base movement speed. Keeper of the Light and Pugna (having the highest base movement speed of 335) won't be that affected as they'll get 385.25 movement speed anyway. However, low base movement speed heroes like that of Treant Protector (lowest in-game, with 265) will only have 304.75, when it used to get to 315 with Brown Boots.
Additionally, a lot of new items were introduced to the game. Kaya can now be paired with either Sange or Yasha, which improves the components' added stats. Yasha and Kaya gives +16% Mana Loss Reduction, 12% Spell Amp, and 12% Movement Speed. Whereas, Kaya and Sange gives 16% Status Resistance, 12% Spell Amp, and 12 Attack Damage.
Another basic item called Ring of Tarrasque costs 700 gold and gives +3.75 HP Regen and +150 Health. This upgrades to Holy Locket, which causes all heals and Hp Regen the hero provides to be amplified by 25%.
With a new item Crown being introduced, Bracer, Null Talisman, and Wraith Band now all have different recipes and will no longer upgrade to other items. Also, Ring of Aquila joins the ranks of Iron Talon and Poor Man's Shield, as the next item to be removed from the game.
Aside from these changes, another big mechanic that was modified was Mana and HP Regeneration. They are no longer multipliers of a hero's regeneration values, rather based on attributes. Intelligence now provides 0.05 mana regeneration, while Strength Strength now provides 0.1 Health Regeneration. Health and Mana Regen of items and heroes were also modified.
For the last of the new mechanics introduced to the game, Dota 2 will now have a new status, Leashed. Leashed units follow the same rules as rooted units with regards to teleport and mobility based abilities, but can still use normal movement. Slark's Pounce, Puck's Dream Coil, and Grimstroke's Soul Bind will all leash enemy units.
Speaking of Grimstroke, he will now be available in Captain's Mode. Grimstroke was the most recent hero to be added in the game, playable only last August during The International 2018.
While these are only the general gameplay updates for Dota 2, there are still bigger changes, as a vast majority of the Heroes' ability were also reworked. For more of the updates on specific hero changes visit http://www.dota2.com/720.