Map







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.

Factions
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.

Lanes
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.

River
The River separates the two factional sides of the map. It is surrounded by high ground, which blocks players' vision on both sides. The river interacts with 2 spells in the game: (heals  HP per second and restores  mana per second while in the river) and  (amplifies movement speed bonus while in the river and, if, provides a status resistance bonus).

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.

Runes
There are two types of Runes that spawn at different locations on the map: Power-up Runes and Bounty Runes. Power-up Runes spawn in 2 minute intervals while Bounty Runes spawn in 3 minute intervals. As their names imply, Power-up Runes grant players bonuses and Bounty Runes a bounty.

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 gold to the entire team, which scales up by  gold per 5 minutes.

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 health and  mana restore.

From the 6 minute mark onward, other Power-up Rune will spawn randomly at one of two points in the river.
 * : Grants cooldown reduction and  mana loss reduction for  seconds.
 * : Grants attack damage bonus for  seconds.
 * : Hastens movement speed to for  seconds.
 * : Creates illusions of the hero which last for  seconds, which deal  damage and take  damage when melee, and  when ranged.
 * : Grants invisibility for seconds, with a fade delay of  seconds.
 * : Grants health regen and  mana regen, based on the maximum health/mana pools, for  seconds. Effect stops upon taking player-based damage.

Roshan
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:
 * - automatically resurrects the holder upon death, cannot be dropped, and expires 5 minutes after it is picked up.
 * - greatly restores a hero's health and mana when consumed - can be freely dropped and shared, but can only be used on your own hero.
 * - grants the effects of an to whoever consumes it.
 * - grants the effects of an to whoever consumes it.
 * - acts as a one time use when consumed.

Jungle
The Jungle refers to the forested area between lanes. This is where 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.

Shops
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.

Minimap
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.

Vision


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.

Terrain

 * 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.

Pathing
Every time a player sends a move command, the pathing takes care of finding the fastest way possible. The path can be blocked by cliffs, Trees, Iron Branches, other units (also known as Body Block) and Traps.

Cliffs are the major component to limit the movement on the map. They can only be surpassed by Forced Movement, Blinks or Unobstructed Movement. Trees define the lane and jungle contours for the most part. They can be destroyed by various means and allow juking in the Fog of War. Body blocking is very important to keep the creep equilibrium at a favorable position in your Lane or to prevent an enemy from escaping until your allies catch up. Traps are mainly intended to cut off the route for chasing or escaping heroes, but they can be used for unconventional pulling methods as well.

Trivia

 * The map's total size is approximately 11,000 x 11,000 game units.

History
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.

Version history
Mapa Карта 地图