Marci - new hero and new problem

Valve is not standing still. The game is improved, updated, the balance and characteristics of items and heroes change. And, of course, new heroes are added to the game.

Marci is the heroine of DOTA: Dragon's Blood, a cute and young girl. Even during the release of the first season of the anime, she became the object of universal attention of fans. All artists considered it their duty to draw this silent heroine, who can break the face of any enemies.

After the anime, the release of a new hero in Dota 2 was announced. Everyone wanted to see Marci in the game. But in April 2021, Dawnbreaker was added to DotA. Cool, but not what many expected.

And now, six months later, after The International 2021, Marci was added to the game. However, as always, not everything went right and some problems appeared.

It is worth saying that every time, after the release of a new hero in Dota 2, everyone tries to try it in the game. This has always been the case.

The same thing happened with Dawnbreaker, which was suddenly added to the game instead of Marci. And with Hoodwink, added last December, and with the rest of the heroes. However, the new girl is not that easy.

As already said, Marci is the hero from DOTA: Dragon's Blood by Netflix. In the anime, she accompanies Princess Mirana, traveling with her, helping and protecting her.

The viewer sees in front of him a cute young girl who communicates whistles. However, in times of danger, all of her cuteness disappears, and her enemies receive multiple injuries and fractures. Yes, this cutie can fend for herself.

Ofc, such a complete set of qualities could not leave anyone indifferent. Especially Dota 2 players who are mostly guys. And this is where the first problem begins.

The hero is one, there are many who wish to try. The first thing most players go after the patch is to play a new hero. In the early days, fierce battles take place. Before the game even started, many fought for the right to play on Marci. At some point, she became more desirable than the most beautiful girl in the world.

In every game, the same hero plays for or against you. Moreover, the second problem affects - the hero is not balanced. In the hands of experienced players, they are extremely strong. Many begin to dislike it and they use the only solution they think is right - to ban the hero. After that, naturally, they read and hear not the best words about themselves.

Many are already accustomed to the fact that the new hero is always imbalanced. So, it is not surprising that some are trying to take advantage of such a rare opportunity and up MMR, or just make fun of your opponents.

It's no secret that Valve can't make the hero perfect. No one can. But others in other games have test servers, open or closed.

For example, League of Legends has a PBE test server where players can try out new champions and see skins. Developers can watch games and change heroes before releasing it to the main client. Some heroes need to be “bought”. And it is important for developers that the champion is as well made and balanced as possible, and the client is satisfied. And it's cool to test a new hero with skins, without spending anything.

World of Tanks and other projects by Wargaming, which are popular in CIS, have closed test servers. A group of players, according to instructions, test new tanks, which goes for a general test before release. There are already crowds of people willing to open any tank or ship and try it out to the fullest. However, the tank designers deliberately make the new vehicles a little stronger. The goal is simple: profit. In order to quickly get high-level imbalanced vehicles, players, in addition to their time, spend in-game and real money on a premium account and paid experience. All this is the direct income of the Wargaming company.

Test client was in Dota 2 too, but now everyone has forgotten about it.

People very quickly understood that the new hero in Dota 2 was too strong. On October 29, the 7.30e match was released, where Marci was added. Already on October 30, skills and talents were changed.

But this did not change the situation. Pro players quickly understood the hero's strength, and soon casual players at various ranks were catching up on the trend.

Then Valve decided to nerf Marci again. After that, winrate fell by 6%. But the hero is still the most popular in Dota 2 since its release. More popular than Pudge.

Valve tried to do something with who managed to pick the hero faster than anyone else many times in a row. Some popular streamers reported that they got a VAC ban for playing Marci a lot. This information was confirmed by others. As a result, the bans were canceled, the situation remained, but people were dissatisfied with the company's actions.

In addition, there were some bugs. For example, Dota Plus users were able to get the "Grandmaster" level on a new hero, while others complained about the lack of progress and achievements on Marci.

Reddit discussing the impossibility of banning Marci. Presumably, the developers did this in order to get more information to further balance the hero. But then the question arises: is it possible to test the hero before release? Maybe return the test server?

A week has passed and several patches have been released since the 7.30e update. Despite the nerf, the hero is still popular.

Players have already made a universal build for the hero: Phase Boots, Armlet of Mordiggian, Black King Bar and Skull Basher. And then according to the situation.

The hero becomes especially strong after buying BKB. After all, when Unleash and 3rd skill is pressed, with spell immunity, the hero literally destroys everyone she can see. Moreover, Marci is very mobile and has control, so you can't just run away from her.

You can counter this hero. The main feature of the hero is a huge amount of damage. However, all this damage is physical and is applied to one target. Therefore, items such as Heaven's Halberd, Ghost Scepter and Ethereal Blade will save the player, his ally, or make Marci useless for a while. Supports can also buy Eul's Scepter of Divinity and Force Staff if they have enough money. The main task is to survive the duration of her ultimate ability and not allow to close the distance.

Illusion heroes like Naga Siren, Phantom Lancer or Terrorblade are good counter picks. After all, Marci only deals damage to one target. Yes, Battle Fury will help her fix this situation. But then the race for the farm will begin and you can forget about fights and fast game.

But the biggest problem for Marci is the heroes with control, stuns, silence and burst damage. Yes, BKB saves in many situations. But Doom, Batrider, Puck or Bane are very hard to play against.

Marci appears much less frequently in the game as a support. Despite all his abilities, the hero on pos 4 and 5 is not so popular among the high-ranking professional players.

However, only a week has passed, the hero will be changed and, possibly, Marci will turn from a strong carry into a support. The only pity is that players have to unwittingly sacrifice their time, nerves and MMR to balance a new character in Dota 2. There is only one thing you can be sure of. The game now has a new favorite hero.