Patch 7.41d is now live, bringing the kind of balance update you expect: hero adjustments, item changes, and a long list of bug fixes. Most of the patch focuses on routine tuning, but one small detail stands out if you take a closer look at Axe’s entry in the notes.
When you hover over Axe, you see a strange line: “Sense of Foreboding increased from 0 to 0.5.” No such stat exists in the game. In reality, Axe received a minor 0.5 base health regeneration nerf, while the added tooltip serves as a deliberate joke that hints at something more as The International 2026 season approaches.
Patch 7.41d: The Changes That Actually Matter
You feel the biggest shift with Morphling. His base Strength falls from 23 to 16, while base Agility rises from 24 to 33, pushing his level 1 damage from 36–45 up to 45–54. You hit harder from the start, but you lose early durability that once let you survive risky plays.
His Attribute Shift conversion improves at every level, and his Aghanim’s Scepter illusion now takes 200% incoming damage instead of 300%. You gain sharper scaling and a more reliable late-game tool, but you must respect your lower stat floor in lane. Morphling now rewards precise positioning and punishes careless aggression.
Ringmaster receives a dramatic adjustment. Funhouse Mirror’s Proportion Distortion illusion damage jumps from 28% to 100%.
- Illusions now deal full damage.
- Farm speed and teamfight output increase immediately.
- Item builds that amplify right-click scale harder.
You can no longer treat this as a minor buff. If you ignore Ringmaster in draft or lane, you risk losing control of tempo.
Kez takes direct nerfs that reduce both burst and uptime. Switch Discipline Katana bonus agility damage drops from 16% to 12%. Kazurai Katana and Shodo Sai cooldowns rise from 20/15/10/5 to 24/18/12/6, and Parry duration shortens from 2 to 1.5 seconds.
| Ability | Old | New |
|---|---|---|
| Bonus Agility Damage | 16% | 12% |
| Core Cooldowns | 20/15/10/5 | 24/18/12/6 |
| Parry Duration | 2s | 1.5s |
You must commit more carefully, because you cannot cycle spells as freely or rely on extended defensive windows.
Invoker also loses some flexibility. Ghost Walk cooldown increases from 32 to 40 seconds, which limits how often you disengage safely. Chaos Meteor deals less contact damage at all levels, and Ice Wall’s slow caps at 150% instead of 180%, though its early slow improves slightly. You feel tighter margins in fights and rotations.
Other adjustments round out the patch. Sven’s Storm Hammer stuns slightly longer, giving you stronger initiation windows. Leshrac’s Pulse Nova costs less mana, improving sustained damage in drawn-out fights. Timbersaw trades attack speed for a heavier Flamethrower slow, shifting power from right-clicks to control. Vengeful Spirit’s Magic Missile deals more early damage, increasing lane pressure and kill potential.
The Patch’s Most Unusual Fixes Deserve Attention
You will notice a long list of corrections in 7.41d, but two stand out for their complexity and impact.
- Spirit Breaker team swap exploit resolved
A rare interaction allowed Spirit Breaker to permanently switch sides. This occurred when he reflected Venomancer’s Noxious Plague with Lotus Orb and then used Planar Pocket on Venomancer before the plague spread.That sequence could lock him onto the opposing team for the rest of the match. The update removes this behavior entirely.
- Hand of Midas interaction corrected
After the forced team change, Spirit Breaker could register as a neutral unit. Venomancer could then use Hand of Midas on him.This generated unintended gold and disrupted competitive balance. The fix prevents Spirit Breaker from entering that neutral state, which also eliminates the Midas interaction.
These adjustments close edge-case exploits that required very specific timing and ability combinations.
Valve also addressed multiple additional bugs in 7.41d, tightening interactions across heroes and abilities. You can expect more consistent outcomes in unusual spell-reflection and unit-state scenarios moving forward.
