New Side-Lane Expansion Zones Reshape Early Game Pressure

The most visible addition in Patch 7.38 is the pair of expansion zones carved into the far corners of the map, located directly behind the side shops and adjacent to the outer jungle entrances. These zones contain an ancient creep camp, a pair of new watchtowers, and a winding low-ground corridor lined with dense tree clusters. For safelane carries, this creates an impossible dilemma: pulling the new camp gives the enemy offlane access to a high-ground gank path that bypasses the traditional river ward. Meanwhile, supports can no longer safely push the lane past the side shop without risking a rotation from the enemy mid through the new “gully” connecting to the mid lane. Professional teams have already begun drafting heroes with strong tree-clearing abilities, such as Timbersaw or Windranger, simply to open up these corridors for vision. The expansion zones also alter the creep aggro pathing: when the new ancient camp is pulled, the creeps take a much narrower route, allowing for more effective double pulls but leaving the carry exposed for longer. As a result, the early game tempo has shifted heavily toward supports who can simultaneously stack and maintain lane equilibrium while presenting a constant threat of ganking from the newly opened routes. The map feels wider, but also much more dangerous for anyone who commits too far forward.

Roshan’s Moving Pit Forces Rotational Mind Games

For the first time in Dota 2’s history, Roshan’s pit is no longer a fixed location. Under Patch 7.38, the pit alternates between the classic Dire-side river cave and a brand-new cavern cut into the southern cliffs near the Radiant secret shop. This rotation happens at the beginning of every game and is randomly determined, meaning neither team can pre-set vision around a single known spot. The moving pit has profound implications for timing-based strategies. Teams that draft late-game scaling cores must now be far more cautious about when they smoke for Roshan, because enemy supports can use the new underground route to collapse from behind the pit’s second exit. The new southern pit is notable for having two entrances: a wide mouth facing the river and a narrow tunnel leading directly to the Radiant outpost. This tunnel can be blocked with sentry wards but not with normal ground-targeted abilities, making initiation into the pit highly unpredictable. Commentators have compared the change to a chess opening where the king can suddenly stand on either side of the board. Teams with strong ward control and map pressure can force the enemy to spread thin, but they also risk over-committing to the wrong side. Roshan now truly becomes a global objective, and successful teams are those that actively scout the pit evolution during the first five minutes. The shift also devalues heroes that rely on predictable pit fights, such as Enigma or Magnus, and elevates mobile heroes like Pangolier or Storm Spirit who can adapt their approach mid-smoke.

Twin River Runes and the Rise of Mid-Lane Macro Play

Patch 7.38 completely rebalances the rune system by spawning two runes simultaneously: a bounty rune at each side shop and a single power rune that alternates between two river spots every two minutes. This seemingly small change has created a massive shift in mid-lane priority. Previously, the midlaner would leave their lane to contest a single rune at the 2-minute mark. Now, with two power rune locations, the midlaner must communicate with their supports to scout both. In practice, the power rune spawns twice at the Radiant-side location, then twice at the Dire-side location, and then the pattern resets. This predictability means that third and fourth waves become massive battlegrounds—not just for the midlaner, but for the entire team. A double-kill setup with a haste rune near the Dire ancient camp can quickly translate into two ganks on separate lanes, since the new rune locations are connected by a fast-moving river current that grants a brief movement speed boost. The twin bounty runes also solve one of the old map’s poverty problems: supports can now rotate to either side shop without losing too much time, which increases the frequency of ward placements. However, this comes with a cost. The two rune spots are visible from newly added high-ground observation ledges, meaning teams that dominate vision can force the midlaner to abandon any rune attempt entirely. Mid lane has therefore evolved into a game of chess between rotations, where the ability to push the wave fast is less important than the ability to threaten both rune locations simultaneously. Heroes like Lina and Zeus have fallen slightly in this meta due to their inability to contest high-ground positions, while Puck and Invoker thrive on their flexible mobility and vision-controlling spells.

Outposts Become High-Risk Buffs in the New Jungle Layout

The outposts in Patch 7.38 have been relocated from their old defensive high-ground corners to the center of each jungle quadrant, directly adjacent to the new expansion zones. Capturing an outpost no longer grants simple experience over time; it now also applies a stacking armor reduction aura to enemy creeps within a 1200 radius of the outpost. This makes outposts incredibly valuable for pushing lanes, but it also makes them suicidal to capture without team coordination. Because each outpost sits on a raised platform with only three choke point entrances, defenders have a massive advantage. The Radiant outpost, for example, is positioned between the mid lane and the secret shop, overlooking the new underground Roshan tunnel. Holding it gives the Radiant team a constant scan of all movement between the river and their jungle, but losing it cedes control of the entire southwestern quadrant. The map’s new compact layout means that outposts are no longer remote objectives; they are central hubs that dictate the flow of every mid-game fight. Teams must now assign at least one hero to sit near an outpost for the first 10 minutes, usually a tanky initiator or a hero with a global presence such as Nature’s Prophet. The armor reduction aura has also changed the calculus for greedy junglers like Legion Commander or Lifestealer, who can now farm enemy ancients far more quickly if their team controls the adjacent outpost. However, capturing an outpost requires a channel time of four seconds, and any damage from a neutral creep or enemy hero interrupts it. This has led to a dramatic rise in pickoffs on supports who try to secure the outpost without true vision. The map is no longer about safe farming patterns; it is a constant battle for these high-risk, high-reward nodes that can swing the entire momentum of a match in under a minute.