FISSURE PLAYGROUND 2 Meta Recap: Pangolier is Back

Dota 2

4 Nov

Eric Oliveira

Now that FISSURE PLAYGROUND 2 is over, it's time to bring back our meta recap. We’ll take a look at the most popular heroes in the tournament, analyze their performance, and see which teams made the best use of them.

After that, we’ll also return to some speculation about what might be the shadow meta. A new patch seems to be inching closer to release, but in the meantime, we’ll let you know what to play to set yourself apart from your rivals — and hopefully gain an edge in ranked matches.

FISSURE PLAYGROUND 2 Meta Recap

Pangolier Back to the Top

Starting with the Top 5 most popular heroes, we see a predominance of supports. A couple of cores made it into the Top 5, making things even more interesting. The most popular hero was Jakiro, appearing in 49 out of the 116 games played — though he had the second-worst win rate on the list.

The twin-headed dragon was followed by Tusk, who appeared in 44 matches, and Gyrocopter, who had a 43.90% win rate across 41 matches — the lowest in the Top 5. Hoodwink was the fourth most popular and the only support with a win rate above equilibrium, achieving a 52.50% win rate in 40 games.

Pangolier is back to the top with good results to make it great.

Pango has been close to the top for a while, but this time he also has a good win rate. — Credit: Reddit (u/Monatar)

At the bottom of the list, we also find the most efficient hero: Pangolier. With 19 victories in 34 matches, he reached an impressive 55.88% win rate. He’s been among the top picks for the past semester, but always had a win rate below 50%. This time, things are different — Pango is da wae.

In terms of teams, BetBoom Team took better advantage of the Top 3 heroes than Falcons. They won 4 games with Jakiro, 7 with Tusk, and 3 with Gyrocopter. On the other hand, Team Falcons found the most success with the most efficient hero, winning 7 games while playing Pangolier.

Shadow Meta Recap: Killing With Kindness

The FISSURE PLAYGROUND 2 had no heroes with over 80% win rate while appearing in more than 10% of the 116 total matches. In the 70% bracket, Enchantress led the way with a 75% win rate in 12 matches. Not far behind, Primal Beast's rougher approach earned him a 72.22% win rate across 18 matches.

This bracket produced “shared” results, with Team Falcons performing better with Enchantress (3 wins in 5 games), while BetBoom Team made the best use of Primal Beast (5 wins in 6 games). Looking purely at the hero stats, it might seem like BetBoom Team had everything needed to win — but as always, the many small details beyond drafts are what make Dota 2 the amazing game it is.

Enchantress and Primal Beast dominated FISSURE PLAYGROUND 2 Meta Recap from the shadows.

You can choose between killing with kindness or raw untamed fury. — Credit: Steam Community

Next, the 60% bracket features plenty of strong options across all roles. Check out the list below with each hero’s win rate:

Muerta (68.75%)
Bounty Hunter (66.67%)
Naga Siren (66.67%)
Skywrath Mage (66.67%)
Weaver (66.67%)
Terrorblade (64.29%)
Doom (63.64%)
Ursa (61.11%)

Another round of supports to choose from on the FISSURE PLAYGROUND Meta Recap.

Supports really seem to be the best niche to get ahead since TI ended. — Credit: Valve/Steam Community

This group shows that even with nearly equal representation between supports and cores, supports remain the most reliable way for teams or players to stand out. The top half of the list consists entirely of supports.

If you’re a core player, one hero that delivered consistent results and remains versatile is Weaver. He’s often played in the offlane, occasionally picked as a carry, and can even work mid. Maybe it’s time to see just how annoying you can be for a while.

Checking Over the Fence

Since the BLAST Slam IV is still ongoing, I checked how the stats are shaping up and found something interesting: Hoodwink is the only hero to appear in both Top 5 lists. She’s also performing similarly in the BLAST tournament, sitting at a 50% win rate before playoffs.

There are good opportunities to be taken here.

I can think of at least one good player/hero combo they can take right away. — Credit: Eric de Oliveira

Considering that Team Falcons are still alive in the BLAST Slam IV, it wouldn’t be surprising if they carry over some of their successful strategies. Beyond that, they might also take a page out of BetBoom’s book and experiment with their hero picks as well.

Closing Thoughts

Despite the standard structure of FISSURE PLAYGROUND 2, the tournament brought a few fresh options to the Dota 2 meta. The most surprising developments were Gyrocopter’s popularity despite his underwhelming performance, and Pangolier finally breaking the 50% win rate barrier after months of trial and error.

Since Team Falcons emerged as the champions, it’s very likely that their opponents are already studying FISSURE replays in detail — and will apply everything they learn at BLAST Slam IV. That means Falcons might soon need to innovate again if they want to remain on top.

If you want to stay up to date with BLAST Slam IV and all the upcoming meta shifts in Dota 2, keep an eye on the news section of the Strafe website for the latest updates and insights from the professional circuit.