Professional Dota 2 player Neta "33" Shapira shared his impressions of the large 7.41 update during an interview at ESL One Birmingham 2026. He spoke positively about Valve's decision to remove aspects and reflected on how the patch affects offlane play.
Asked what he thought about the removal of aspects, 33 said it was a good change. He explained that he never liked having to pick aspects at the start of every match — it was a little annoying and usually redundant because you tended to pick the same one anyway. He noted that misclicks or automatic switches could happen, and after one game on Visage with the Faithful Followers aspect (which caused the familiars to follow and attack the same targets as the hero) he became thoroughly disappointed in the system.
On the topic of offlane adjustments, 33 said the changes have made the lane much more pleasant. The creep equilibrium now appears closer to the tower, and heroes like Jakiro and Warlock were slightly weakened. That makes holding the lane easier for offlaners, he observed, though he cautioned that metas evolve: sooner or later people will discover new overpowered five-position supports, and he expects to start losing lane again in many games.
Valve released the major 7.41 patch on the night of March 25. In addition to removing aspects, the update introduced new items, reworked innate abilities for a large number of heroes, and implemented various other tweaks and balance changes. Full patch notes and detailed coverage are available from official sources and tournament reporting outlets.