Dota 2: How experience from creeps has shaped the laning meta

When entering your lane, did you discuss with your team how to set up your lane? Tri lane, aggro lane, dual mid? Looks like those days are gone and we just default everything to 2 1 2.

Remember the days when playing Mirana position 4, the author used to run to mid and try to ‘arrow’ hit the opponent’s mid hero for two minutes before returning to the side lane. Even this tactic won a few games. Offlane gained experience from solo lane and Mirana gradually caught up after that.

The author still remembers the time when the offlane had to be one on three. However, the offlane is not completely useless for the rest of the game. So why did those days disappear? You often have to discuss with your team whether to go tri lane, aggro or sometimes dual mid.

In this post, we’ll take a look at the three DPC seasons and the patches that changed them, and their impact on current laning.

DPC 2017-2018

The first DPC tournament of the 2017-2018 season started on October 12, 2017 and the last one ended on June 10, 2018. During this season, patches lasted from 7.06 to 7.17. Some notable creep and lane changes during this period are:

• Deny creeps now grants 30% experience to the deny team
• Normal deny experience increased from 50% to 70%
• Added a melee creep in the mid lane for the first 15 minutes
• Wave’s total XP (4 creeps) increased from 210 to 240

This is the first time Valve has introduced deny creeps plus experience for denyers. It also happened before the first tournament of the DPC season. Back then, did Valve predict that these changes would turn lanes into a 2 1 2 meta? Or is 2 1 2 what Valve wanted in the first place?

With these changes, the disparity between the hero losing the offlane and the carry winning the safe lane is even more pronounced than before. Back then, a common strategy with offlane heroes was to gain as much experience as possible, to give them more influence in the mid-game by getting solo XP.

Then Valve started experimenting with experience changes. This XP tweak could be the start of a shift in the meta with a focus on getting last hits, because the pros are realizing that getting creeps in lane has become so important. That means a support has to help the offlaner, which leads to a 2 1 2 lane setup.

Valve also increased total creep lane experience from 210 to 240 during this time. When Valve made the changes, they also only adjusted it bit by bit (increased armor by 1). However, these small changes have a big impact because Dota is a complex game: one small change can create a chain effect, completely changing the meta.

Just a little experience gain from creeps also contributes to turning the game into a 2 1 2 meta, making it impossible for teams to ignore this.

DPC 2018-2019

The first tournament of the DPC season 2018-2019 started on October 29, 2018 and the final tournament ended on June 30, 2019. During this season, patches lasted from 7.19 to 7.22. Some notable creep and lane changes during this period are:

• Deny no longer gives the denyer 25% XP
• Creep being denied now gives the denyer 20% gold bonus
• Melee creeps average bonus gold reduced by 3
• Bonus gold per creep range upgrade cycle increased from +3 to +6
• XP deny bonus to opponent (who was denied creeps) increased from 35% to 40%
• XP range creeps now increase by 8 per upgrade cycle (every 7.5 minutes)

Valve experimented more with the XP and gold of lane creeps during this phase. We don’t have numbers to show, but at this point, the 2 1 2 meta is arguably the standout setup.

After adding the XP bonus mechanism for denyers, Valve removed it completely at this stage. Although removed, pro players still keep the 2 1 2 gameplay. Is this meta already ingrained in the game or is it still an opportunity to exploit more?

Valve isn’t afraid to roll back its changes. The development team makes the big changes and see how it ends. Does Valve want to set up the lane to be 2 1 2, or is that not their intention? Valve is constantly experimenting with game mechanics, while pub and pro gamers alike have to constantly stick to it.

Despite rolling back last season’s lane changes, the 2 1 2 meta is still the most popular.

DPC 2019-2020

The first tournament of the DPC season 2019-2020 started on November 7, 2019 and is still going on. During this period, patches last from 7.22 to 7.25. Some notable creep and lane changes during this period are:

• Each player automatically has their own courier
• Heroes now start the game with three Town Portal Scrolls

Valve makes it easier for heroes to move around the map than early game. If confronting the lane is not beneficial, you can coordinate with your teammates to change lanes with available free TP.

It also allows the opponent to follow because they have the same free TP as you, but the decision is up to them. In professional games, teams will often follow each other’s moves, but in pubs it’s less of a problem.

Each player now has their own courier to pick up items themselves without worrying about negatively impacting the mid hero. So do these changes make lane more agile?

With free TP, you can move to another lane more easily. With your own courier, you can freely transport salve, tango, mango, clarity, allowing yourself to stay in lane to earn XP. This is beneficial for the two lanes most because mid is often preferred to use courier.

With these changes, it can help roam and offlaner heroes become independent again.

So does meta lane 2 1 2 still seep into the blood of Dota 2 gamers compared to other lane setups? Or is the 2 1 2 meta lane merely the best option?

Lane 2 1 2 is an easy concept to grasp: one core and one support per lane, which saves us a lot of thought compared to an aggro trilane setup. Of course, not all games use 2 1 2 but it seems to have become the default. While other lane setups only appear in certain matches, when certain heroes are present in the game.

EPILOGUE

One of the good things about Dota is that every game is so different. From the draft, right up to the first seconds, laning, mid game, late game, anything can happen.

This is quite a difficult game to learn and new gamers may find it difficult to get used to the game.

Maybe Valve wants the game to be more predictable for new gamers so they have time to get used to the game. Dota has always been a complicated game but meta lane 2 1 2 has become the default standard.

According to Dotabuff