Visage is one of the oldest heroes in Dota and has remained largely unchanged since 2009. Despite this, his role and position in the game have undergone significant changes. Here’s what happened:

Visage was highly valued in the competitive scene because he excelled as a trilane support. His ability to deal massive damage with Soul Assumption made him a dominant force. The peak of his trilaning power came with patch 6.66, where the manacost on Soul Assumption was reduced to 100 mana per level, and the cooldown started at four seconds.

However, with the release of Dota 2, Valve and IceFrog shifted the game’s design philosophy to ensure balance and fairness in the esports scene. This led to multiple small nerfs to heroes like Invoker, Chen, Meepo, Earth Spirit, and Visage. Visage was hit particularly hard: his Soul Assumption cost increased to 170 mana, a 70% increase from its peak strength, and even now costs 150 mana, allowing it to be cast only twice at level one.

The shift towards a 2-1-2 lane composition further diminished Visage’s effectiveness as a support. Currently, Soul Assumption is reserved for later stages of the game when Visage can sustain its usage and requires items. This means the spell is at its best when Visage is played as a core.

Despite these nerfs, Visage can still be played successfully in a support position. Once he reaches level six, he becomes an alpha-support on the map, dealing massive damage with charged Familiars. However, this changed with patch 7.07, which turned level one Familiars into flying stuns and limited their scouting capabilities. This patch marked a low point for Visage, as his Soul Assumption cost was too high, his layers offered minimal protection, and his ultimate lacked impact.

To return Visage to form, his Familiars were buffed several times, along with Grave Chill and Gravekeeper’s Cloak. This process took time, but eventually, Visage became viable again, albeit as a mid hero who doesn’t necessarily win his lane but can break even under most circumstances. He is surprisingly tanky and doesn’t fall to ganks easily. With level twelve, he can become a threat, thanks to Helm of the Dominator, which enhances his Familiars’ damage.

Visage’s effectiveness is highly dependent on his talents: he needs to hit level fifteen to double the effectiveness of Soul Assumption and typically wants an extra Familiar at level twenty-five. Once he reaches these milestones, he becomes one of the most unique heroes in the game, capable of dealing physical and magical damage, stunning enemies in AoE, pushing, and scouting for his team.

Visage’s win rate in the Immortal bracket is nearly 60%, making him situationally viable in the professional scene. The question remains: should Visage receive another set of nerfs, or has he suffered enough? Having a hero as complex and unique as Visage is beneficial for the game.