Dota 2 patch 7.33 map changes

The map changes introduced by Dota 2 patch 7.33 are more significant than all of the other map changes introduced by previous patches combined. There’s a lot going on in every single game and good coordination is more important than ever.

Up until this point, it used to be that teams needed to coordinate well when taking Roshan fights and when sieging or defending the base. But now it’s a lot more complicated to win on your own. Communication is critical and the sheer complexity of the map should make players better at it. Otherwise, they don’t stand a chance.

The biggest map changes

Dota 2 patch 7.33 introduced numerous map changes and essentially made the arena much bigger.

There are 12 additional creep camps that can be farmed. On each side of the map, players can now farm two Ancient camps, which makes jungling and stacking a lot more appealing. For some heroes, such as Bristleback or Templar Assassin, the new map provides numerous opportunities to get ahead.

Many of the new neutral camps are located near the edges of the map, which means that even if the enemy team invades your jungle, you can still farm relatively easily somewhere else. Teams no longer depend on their triangle to farm. They can do it in a lot of other places and all they need is good vision, to see when the enemy approaches.

Another map change introduced by patch 7.33 is the removal of the Roshan pit from the river and the addition of two other pits where the dragon can rest. One is located in the bottom right corner, while the other is in the top left corner. Essentially, both Radiant and Dire can access Roshan’s pit near their safe lanes.

However, the dragon moves from top to bottom and from bottom to top whenever day turns to night or vice versa.

Another big change is the Lotus Pools. These pools spawn healing lotuses that can be used to replenish 125 HP and 125 mana. So they’re nearly as good as two bottle charges. You can also combine them for greater effects.

Three small ones can become a Great Healing Lotus that restores 400 HP and mana. For the next level you need two Great Healing Lotuses. The consumable is called Greater Healing Lotus and will restore 900 HP and mana. This effect is comparable to that of Cheese.

You can now use teleporters called Twin Gates to easily move from top to bottom and from bottom to top. You no longer need to teleport each time using a TP scroll. Use these buildings instead.

Other changes and considerations

Given the size of the new map, it’s a great idea to invest in a pair of BoTs whenever you can. The extra movement speed will be useful and the reduced cooldown on your TP scrolls will also allow you to make much better use of the map and its resources.

The two bases now offer entrances that can only be used by their teams. This gives you the opportunity to make an attempt to surround the enemy and not just wait in base. In some situations, this is extremely useful and will greatly enhance your defensive capabilities.

Apart from Roshan, the map now features mini-bosses that spawn at the 20-minute mark and every 10 minutes after they get killed. These mini-bosses are called Tormentors and are very hard to kill. However, they provide 250 gold and an Aghanim’s Shard to one of the two lowest networth heroes on the team.

The map now features Watchers, which are basically wards that can be activated to provide vision. If a Watcher is inactive, you can right-click and channel it for 1.5 seconds to turn it on. When it’s active, it provides vision in an 800 radius area for seven minutes.

If a player from the enemy team channels an active Watcher, it gets destroyed and will respawn after two minutes. In other words, the team that lost the vision battle in a certain area of the map is not doomed to play with that disadvantage for seven minutes and can remove it quite easily.

One thing to consider when playing on the new Dota 2 map is your hero’s movement speed and general mobility. Heroes that can blink with ease or can move at 400-500 movement speed after purchasing a few key items tend to scale much faster than those that are slow.

In the current meta, you want to use something like a Weaver or a Slark rather than some very slow hero that farms with great difficulty. When you add everything, the number of inactive seconds that you spend on the map should be as small as possible. Otherwise you won’t be able to keep up with what the enemy team is doing.

When it comes to farming patterns, Dota 2 has become an “All you can eat!” type of game.

Header: Valve Corporation