Team Spirit Analyst Makes Surprising Crystal Maiden 7.35b Claim

Team Spirit analyst Mark “sikle” Lerman thinks Crystal Maiden has been granted some special abilities in the latest Dota 2 patch

Patch 7.35 caught the entire Dota 2 community off guard as it dropped right in the middle of ESL One Kuala Lumpur. Despite its sudden arrival, the patch received mostly positive feedback, primarily due to its adjustments aimed at restoring balance to the game by tweaking certain characters. While Crystal Maiden wasn’t notably impacted among the heroes, a recent assertion by Team Spirit analyst Mark “sikle” Lerman suggests otherwise.

Crystal Maiden 7.35b: What Changed?

As per the official patch notes for the newly released 7.35b update, there’s only one alteration mentioned for Crystal Maiden. The Crystal Clone no longer possesses base magic resistance. Sickle, on the contrary, says that Crystal Maiden has received an additional 24 damage for each explosion caused by her ultimate ability in the latest patch. According to his calculations, the total damage output for the complete series of explosions now amounts to 2024, which appears to be a nod to the new year.

Credit: Valve

“In the 7.35b patch, 24 extra damage was accidentally added to Crystal Maiden’s ult for each explosion (I remind you that the first explosion starts from the top-right and then counterclockwise—4 sectors in total),” he wrote on Telegram.

“Of course, someone might think that this is not enough to call it a buff for one explosion, but if you add it all up, the hero deals 2024 damage with the ult. I congratulate you, friends, on the explosive New Year. May no icicle stop your endeavors, and everything will surely work out.”

While Sickle believes the total damage upgrade coincidentally aligns with the new year, it could be done on purpose by the developers. This could be a fun Easter Egg directed at players who love delving into the nuanced intricacies of the game.

Crystal Maiden has been traditionally a solid support heroine, renowned for her versatile profile. Her ultimate move, Freezing Field, is not easy to wield, but it can be effective during team fights.