- The map’s total size is approximately 11,000 x 11,000 game units.
They call me Tiny.
This article is a stub. As such, it is not complete.
The Minimap is located at the corner of the Head-up display. It gives players an overhead view of the entire map, as well as the ability to issue certain commands. Constant awareness of the minimap is crucial to skilled gameplay.
A ward spot sign
Vision defines which areas of the map is visible to the player’s team. Areas that are not visible are covered by the Fog of War. Visions can be granted by allied heroes, units, and wards. Trees, walls, and higher terrain will obstruct vision.
The Jungle refers to the forested areas between lanes. This is where most neutral creeps can be found, which can be killed for gold and experience. It is possible to level up by killing creeps in the jungle instead of in the lanes. This practice is called Jungling.
Four shops exist on the map, two for each side.
- Base Shop: This shop is located in the Fountain, and sells all basic items and recipes.
- Secret Shop: This shop is located near the short lane for each side. It sells costlier items needed as ingredients for late-game items.
Each faction occupies a diagonal half of the map, separated in the middle by the river. The is based at the lower left corner of the map, while the is based at the upper right corner. The Ancients are located inside strongholds at the heart of each faction’s territory.
Labelled minimap as of version 7.20
Overhead view of the game map as of version 7.33
The Map is the playing field for all Dota 2 matches. It is comprised of two sides, one for the faction, and one for the faction. To win, players must destroy the opposing side’s Ancient, an important building at the center of each team’s base. The map is represented in the interface by the minimap.
Many hands make light work.
This article or section contains incomplete or outdated information. Please help the community by updating it.
The Dota 2 map is ultimately derived from the Starcraft custom map Aeon of Strife, which also featured multiple lanes and a final objective to destroy. The map’s current diagonal format was created for Defense of the Ancients, the Warcraft 3 custom map upon which Dota 2 is based.
- For alternative terrain appearances, see Terrain.
There are six different height levels that have gameplay relevance:
- River
- Lowground (mid lanes)
- Highground (base, side lanes)
- Elevated (fountain / few cliffs)
- Cliffs (most other cliffs)
- Valley (side lane tinker ward spots)
One height level can be connected to another by a stair (passable) or a cliff (obstructed).
If an attack projectile is released, the uphill miss Evasion is calculated depending on where the two units are standing on the impact time.
Main Article: Lane
The map is segmented into three different lanes, the top, the bottom, and the middle lane. Each one of these lanes leads to the other team’s base, guarded by towers along the way. During the early laning phase of the game, most gameplay is centered around the lanes.
The bottom lane for the , and the top lane for the , are considered safe lanes. Creeps meet each other close to the towers, which provide greater protection from enemies. These lanes are recommended for beginners, as they provide some added protection against ganking.
Spots of the river can be created manually by with . In this case, when is cast, a puddle of water is created around , which is considered river.
Main Article: Rune
There are three types of Runes that spawn at different locations on the map: Bounty Runes, Wisdom Runes and Power-up Runes. Bounty Runes spawn in 3 minute intervals. Power-up Runes spawn in 2 minute intervals. And Wisdom Runes spawn in 7 minute intervals. As their names imply, Bounty Runes grant players a bounty and Wisdom Runes XP. And Power-up grant players bonuses.
From the start of the game onward, Bounty Runes will spawn at four different locations on the map, two of which on the River, and the other two on the Radiant and Dire side each.
- : Grants 40 gold to the entire team, which scales up by 36 gold per 5 minutes.
From the 7 minute mark onward, Wisdom Runes will spawn at their dedicated Wisdom Rune spots at the left and right edges of the map.
- : Grants bonus XP.
At 2 minute mark and 4 minute mark, only one type of Power-up Rune will spawn randomly at both two points in the river:
- : Grants 40 health and 80 mana restore.
From the 6 minute mark onward, other Power-up Rune will spawn randomly at one of two points in the river.
Roshan is an exceptionally strong creep located at the western end of the river — usually taking more than one player to fight. If killed, Roshan will grant gold to the entire team as well as drop 5 different items:
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| Aegis of the Immortal | 
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When in Dire Pit when in Radiant Pit
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When in Dire Pit when in Radiant Pit
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Aegis of the Immortal: Drops on each of Roshan’s deaths. Roshan reclaims this item once he respawns, no matter where it is. Cannot be dropped once picked up. Cannot be sold. Picking up or denying this item displays an announcement for both teams. Has the ability.
: Drops on Roshan’s second death and onwards if slain while in the Dire pit. Fully sharable with allies. Can be sold for by the first player that picked it up. Has the ability.
: Drops on Roshan’s second death and onwards if slain while in the Radiant pit. Fully sharable with allies. Cannot be sold. Has the ability. Placing the banner displays an announcement for both teams.
Aghanim’s Blessing — Roshan: Drops on Roshan’s third death if slain while in the Dire Pit. Fully sharable with allies. Cannot be sold. Functions like the store-bought , however, it must be manually consumed.
: Drops on Roshan’s third death if slain while in the Radiant Pit. Fully sharable with allies. Can be sold for by the first player that picked it up. Has the ability.
The map edges are named areas beyond the side lanes that contain neutral creep camps, as well as neutral buildings.
The south edge of the map, below the Radiant’s bottom lane. This area includes 2 large and 1 medium neutral creep camp. Within this area, all units gain the Well Wishes buff. A well is located at the center of this location.
Regenerating 1.5 mana per second.
Mana Regen Bonus:
Buff Linger Duration:
Area of Well Wishes
- The buff is applied to units in a cuboid area around the well located at the south edge of the map.
- The length, width and height of this cuboid are about 5559.4, 2041.4 and 520.
- The buff is not provided by an aura, but is instead placed on all units within the area in 0.05-second intervals.
- Affects invulnerable and hidden units.
The north edge of the map, above the Dire’s top lane. This area includes 2 large and 1 medium neutral creep camp. Within this area, all units gain the Mighty Mines buff. A mineshaft entry is located at the center of this location.
Health Regen Bonus:
Buff Linger Duration:
Area of Well Wishes
- The buff is applied to units in a cuboid area around the mineshaft entry located at the north edge of the map.
- The length, width and height of this cuboid are about 4951.4, 2041.4 and 520.
- The buff is not provided by an aura, but is instead placed on all units within the area in 0.05-second intervals.
- Affects invulnerable and hidden units.
The west edge of the map, to the left of Radiant’s top lane. This area includes 1 ancient neutral creep camp. Within this area, all units gain the Stalwart Statues buff. A statue is located at the center of this location.
Armor Bonus:
Buff Linger Duration:
Area of Well Wishes
- The buff is applied to units in a cuboid area around the statue located at the west edge of the map.
- The length, width and height of this cuboid are about 2188.8, 1337.6 and 520.
- The buff is not provided by an aura, but is instead placed on all units within the area in 0.05-second intervals.
- Affects invulnerable and hidden units.
The east edge of the map, to the right of Dire’s bottom lane. This area includes 1 ancient neutral creep camp. Within this area, all units gain the Skeleton Strength buff. A huge skeleton of an unkown creature is located at the center of this location.
Attack Damage Bonus:
Buff Linger Duration:
Area of Well Wishes
- The buff is applied to units in a cuboid area around the giant skeleton located at the east edge of the map.
- The length, width and height of this cuboid are about 2188.8, 1337.6 and 520.
- The buff is not provided by an aura, but is instead placed on all units within the area in 0.05-second intervals.
- Grants flat bonus attack damage based on the affected unit’s main attack damage. Does not further increase bonus attack damage.
- Affects invulnerable and hidden units.
Buildings are a type of unit that are not controlled by any player. At the beginning of a match, a set of buildings spawn at set locations in both teams’ bases. Both factions have the same set of buildings, with only their appearance differing from each other. Buildings take mostly defensive roles and are the main objective of the game.
Besides the bases, there are several neutral buildings scattered throughout the map that can be conquered, or be otherwised used by both teams.
All faction buildings have the same base properties. They are immune to most abilities and can be only affected by a few abilities.
When destroyed, some buildings grant a team bounty, and some grant bounty to the player who made the last hit. A building with less than 10% of its max health can be denied, to reduce or prevent the enemy team from obtaining gold bounties. However, only the Ancients cannot be denied.
Buildings do not grant experience. Once destroyed, a building is permanently lost and does not respawn.
There are a total of 26 buildings for each faction.
Towers are the main line of defense for both factions, attacking any non-neutral enemy unit that gets within their range. Both factions have all three lanes guarded by three towers each.
Additionally, each faction’s Ancient has two towers as well, resulting in a total of 11 towers per faction. Towers come in 4 different tiers:
Barracks (commonly shortened to Rax or Racks) are buildings, defended by and located behind Towers (Tier 3) in each respective lanes. Barracks do not have to be destroyed to make Towers (Tier 4) vulnerable.
There are two types of Barracks on each lane per faction, with a total of 6 Barracks per faction, 3 each of type — the Melee Barracks for and and the Ranged Barracks for and . The Ranged Barracks are always located to the left of the Melee Barracks on each lane for both factions.
Ancients (also commonly referred to as Thrones, or Tree for ‘s ancient and Throne for ‘s ancient, as legacy names from DotA) are massive structures found inside each faction‘s base and are the game’s main objective. In order to win, the enemy team’s Ancient must be destroyed, while the team’s own Ancient must be kept alive.
Ancients are guarded by two Towers (Tier 4) and both of them must be destroyed to remove the Ancient’s invulnerability.
Fountains are located in the respawn areas of both factions‘ base. They provide max health and mana regeneration to all ally units affected by .
Effigy Buildings, or Filler Buildings are the other buildings within a faction‘s base that act as buffers to delay the lane creeps from damaging the Towers (Tier 4). As of , there are 7 Effigy Buildings in the base spread around the Ancient.
The has two different types of effigy building models, while the has one model for all.
Neutral Buildings are buildings that do not directly belong to any faction, but can be captured by, or be used by either faction. They are permanently invulnerable, so they can never be destroyed and are immune to any ability.
There are 2 types of neutral buildings
- Capturable buildings, which can be conquered by the players for their faction. Note that the opposing faction can re-capture these buildings.
- True neutral buildings, which never belong to any faction, but can be used by both factions.
Neutral buildings are always visible through the Fog of War to both teams all times.
Twin Gates are buildings located at the north-west and south-east corners of the map, close to the pits, with a total of 2 Twin Gates.
Although taking on Radiant’s and Dire’s visual themes, the Twin Gates do not belong to any faction and can be used by all players equally.
Lotus Pools are buildings located at the west and east edges of the map, closer towards the north and south corners respectively, with a total of 2 Lotus Pools.
Although taking on Radiant’s and Dire’s visual themes, the Lotus Pools do not belong to any faction and can be used by all players equally.
- Added Arcane Rune
- Slightly adjusted Radiant safelane hard camp position and the terrain nearby.
- Reduced the chase duration of the hard camp neutrals on the radiant safelane area.
- Radiant middle tier 2 tower is now moved further to the left (no longer has vision over the big camp on the right).
- Adjusted tree line to the right of the radiant middle tier 2 tower.
- The Radiant mid lane medium camp now has 2 layers of trees behind it.
- Adjusted various Dire neutral spawn boxes.
- Reworked the Radiant top jungle into a single elevation.
- Reworked the Radiant bottom jungle into a single elevation.
- Reworked the Dire top jungle into a single elevation.
- Reworked the Dire bottom jungle into a single elevation.
- Removed elevations in the side lanes outside each base.
- Extended the river to the Dire top bounty rune spot.
- Removed a tree to the bottom right of the dire mid lane, near the map ledge.
- Removed a tree to the right of the bottom Radiant bounty rune.
- Moved the bottom Dire Tier 1 Tower slightly down.
- Moved the bottom Dire bounty rune slightly to the right.
- Moved the bottom Dire shrine location slightly down.
- Moved the top Dire Tier 1 Tower slightly to the right.
- Slight adjustments to the line of sight and trees to the left of the mid Dire Tier 1 Tower.
- Reduced Shrine count in base from 5 to 3.
- Removed the shrines from the top and bottom lanes behind the barracks.
- Added more trees for TP cover around the Dire towers
- Swapped the Dire secondary jungle ancients and medium camp spots (and improved spawn boxes/stackability)
- The Dire ward spot to the left of the Ancients no longer gives vision over the rune area in front of Roshan
- Slightly adjusted the Dire secondary jungle further back
- Reduced spawnbox size for both Dire hard camps
- Shifted down the spawnbox for the ancient camp (formerly medium camp) in the Dire secondary jungle (so a high ground ward does not block the camp)
- Fixed a rare case where Dire ancients could be stuck between trees when spawning
Just as the Ancients shape the minds of the creatures who worship them, so too do their powers flow through the lanes of the forest, reshaping the lands to reveal new sources of power and lay waste to any notions of safety. Featuring changes to nearly every part of the map, a new Ancient Neutral Creep type, and a set of new allied structures in the jungles, there’s a lot to learn and explore.
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