[Update #2]: Dota 2 has launched Update 7.23c to fix up any balance issues before The International 2022 starts.

[Update]: As expected, Dota 2's Patch 7.32b has now arrived to fix up some of the recently introduced balance issues and bugs.

With The International Regional Qualifiers now over and The International still a distant spec on the horizon, it's pretty much the perfect time to release a big update and really shake up the meta. Valve seems to agree as they have now unleashed Dota 2's long-awaited Patch 7.32 alongside a massive array of changes!

Experience required for level ups and experience gained from streaks has been rebalanced, mid lanes have lost their all-important small camp, while the Dire side of the map has underwent some minor changes in order to make more in line with the Radiant side. Most importantly of all, Patch 7.32 has added a brand new lane creep - the Flagbearer.

Starting at minute two, one of the melee creeps in every second creep wave will be replaced by a Flagbearer that has 40% magic resistance and gives health regeneration to all allies within a 700 range. Naturally, a creep this powerful also offers a bit of an extra reward upon death. Killing an enemy Flagbearer will grant you and each allied hero within 1200 range bonus gold equal to 100% of a melee creep's bounty! So if you're a support, securing the enemy Flagbearer will give you a small but still meaningful early game boost.

Patch 7.32 has also added new Neutral Items and rebalanced some of the current ones, saddled Black King Bar with a 50 mana cost, as well as nerfed the effects of lifesteal items when used against creeps. It's nothing too massive, but the new Neutral Items and their proactive abilities should help spice up those early-game engagements.

As for the balance changes, there's an absolute ton of them! Naturally, heroes like Zeus, Dazzle and Dawnbreaker have received some much-needed nerfs, while a plethora of mediocre heroes have received tweaks, shard or scepter reworks, or just some nifty talent changes. Keeping with The International tradition, the latter group includes fan-favorites like Earthshaker, TideHunter, Magnus and Elder Titan. Pretty good stuff!

You can check out the full list of changes, as well as follow any future updates, over at the Dota 2 website. Enjoy, and I'll make sure to let you know once the follow-up update arrives to clean up some of the problems that will inevitably arise from this one!