It’s that time of the year again, and Dota 2 fans from around the world have come together to celebrate the highly anticipated patch day of the beloved MOBA.
As with every major update, the new Dota 2 7.38 patch brings a plethora of exciting changes to the game, including a major revamp to the map, customizable neutral items, tons of hero changes, and a whole lot more.
While covering every change introduced in the Dota 2 7.38 update in a single article is a near-impossible feat, we’ll be focusing on one major highlight of the patch—the map changes.
Dota 2 7.38 Map Changes Explained
If you queued straight into a Dota 2 game without reading today’s patch notes, I wouldn’t blame you for thinking you accidentally launched a custom game mode from the Arcade library instead.
Yes, the map changes in 7.38 are that drastic.
For starters, the Dota 2 river now stretches all the way through the Dire jungle to the bottom of the map (it’s your lucky day, Slardar pickers).
Additionally, these new waterways contain strong currents that will give you a speed boost if you’re running in their direction. Don’t worry, it won’t slow you down if you’re running against the flow.
The Wandering Waters update hasn’t just flooded the Dota 2 map with flowing river currents—it has also introduced new Amphibian neutral creeps that now inhabit these waters. These new neutral creep types evolve throughout the match, starting from Pollywog and all the way up to Croaker.
Dota 2 7.38 Map Objectives
Map alterations inevitably bring along adjustments to the map’s objectives. As a result, the Roshan, Tormentor, Wisdom runes, and even the Lotus pools have all seen notable changes in the 7.38 patch.
Roshan has returned to his old home in the river, and the two pits are located near the Power Rune spots. He spawns in the southern pit at the start of the match, and when the day breaks, he travels to the northern pit, throwing away (literally) any units he encounters along the way.
The number of Tormentors on the map is now limited to one, and it spawns in one of two corner locations depending on the time of day—always on the opposite side from Roshan.
Wisdom runes have been removed and have been replaced by Shrines of Wisdom. These Shrines will activate every 7 minutes, and can be claimed by any hero standing within 300 units of it for 3s. However, the time will not count down time if an enemy hero is standing within the effect radius.
Lotus pools now share the same ‘contesting’ mechanic as the Shrines of Wisdom mentioned above.
This wraps up the major map changes that the Dota 2 7.38 patch has added to the game. If you’re looking for a full list of changes, you can take a look at the official patch notes by Valve.
