Radiant or Dire in Dota 2: Explaining Pros and Cons (Patch 7.36c)

The Dota 2 7.36c update builds on the New Frontiers map, which remains divided into Radiant and Dire. Radiant's side is green and lush, while Dire's is filled with lava, rocks, and dead trees. Given the motifs of each side, comes the talk of environmental buffs, ward spots, and other map control zones. Both parts offer advantages and disadvantages, such as high-ground positions, safe farming spots, and lane distance to creep camps to name a few.

In this guide, we break down the map and analyze the pros and cons of the Dota 2 factions in 7.36c.

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Features of Radiant in the Dota 2 7.36c Map

Stalwart Statues in Dota 2 7.36c (Image via Valve)

Radiant auras

Stalwart Statues:

• Area it covers: From the topmost cliff ward spot to just before the Wisdom Rune.
• Effect: Provides a +2 armor bonus within the aforementioned cuboid area.
• Benefit: Helps cores farm Ancient stacks without dying to creeps in the early game scenarios.

Well Wishes:

• Area it covers: On the high ground overlooking the creep camp adjacent to the bottom tier 2 tower.
• Effect: Covers an area from the cliff ward spot to the last high-ground creep camp connecting to the bottom racks.
• Benefit: Heroes in this area receive a 1.5 mana regen, amounting to 90 mana per minute.

Watchers

• Vital Watchers: Three Watchers (excluding the one in front of the Tormentor) provide crucial vision in all stages of the game.
• Triangle Watcher: Covers high-ground terrain and can spot enemy movement on the river.
• Tier 1 mid Watcher: Positioned in a defensive zone near the mid-tier 1 tower.
• Creep camp Watcher: Located adjacent to the bottom tier 2 tower, providing strategic vision near a creep camp.

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Ward spots

• Secret Shop cliff spot: Offers a buffer zone for Radiant heroes clearing the triangle, preventing smoke ganks.
• Bottom jungle: Multiple entry stairs in the bottom jungle can be heavily protected with strategic warding.
• Multiple cliff spots: Invaluable for spotting invisibility-based heroes and controlling vision.
• Safe farm: The cliffs can be constantly warded to have an unobstructed vision of the side lanes and jungle.

Midlaner's extended farm

• Creep camp near tier 1 tower: A normal creep camp close to the midlane tier 1 tower allows Radiant midlaners to farm quickly and return to the lane.
• Catalyst for farm: Midlaners can resort to this camp after clearing waves, enhancing gold income, and gaining additional XP.
• Power Runes: You can place an Observer Ward on the small cliff before the bottom Power Rune to have an unrestricted vision of the lane and river.

Supports' haven

• Dewarding blocked camps: Safelane support can easily stop small creep camp blocks from the tower range.
• Controlling the sidelines: Both the supports can block enemy camps without much hassle and easily retreat to safety without attracting attention.
• Vision war: It's easy to win the vision war as Radiant as you can easily control the busiest parts of the maps from cliffs and sly warding spots.

Camera view

• Tilted isometric POV: The camera angle scales from left to right when playing from the Radiant side. This angle provides a much better view when compared to its counterpart.

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Cons of the Radiant side in Dota 2 7.36c

Radiant's triangle does not have much space and can be controlled with a couple of wards (Image via Valve)

Drafting:

• Dependence on drafting and gameplay: Despite map advantages, the outcome is heavily influenced by hero picks and overall gameplay. Poor drafting or execution can negate Radiant's environmental benefits.
• Vision vulnerability: Failing to protect warded areas can result in losing crucial vision, making the team susceptible to smoke ganks from the enemy.

Small Triangle:

• Limited escape routes: The small triangle area on the Radiant side can become a liability. Enemy heroes can easily swarm this area with a smoke gank, severely restricting escape routes for Radiant players.
• Gank vulnerability: The compact nature of the triangle makes it difficult to defend and can lead to frequent and successful enemy ganks.

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Features of Dire in Dota 2 7.36c

Get extra HP regen per second in this area (Image via Valve)

Dire auras

Mighty Mines:

• Area it covers: From the top Watcher cliff ward spot to the high-ground creep camp that leads from the top racks.
• Effect: Provides +7HP in the range that leads to 420 HP per minute.
• Benefit: Can resort to this area after surviving a gank or team fight to farm and heal.

Skeleton Strength:

• Area it covers: From the Watcher to the entry point that leads to the Lotus Pool.
• Effect: Provides +5 attack damage for units inside the cuboid.
• Benefit: Extra damage to farm stacks.

Warding

• Tricky ward spots: From placing wards above the Mighty Mines to river spots, Dire has a series of zones that provide vision in small areas.
• Cliff ward near tier 1 mid tower: The cliff near the bottom Power Rune can be used to predict incoming ganks from other lanes. Additionally, the small terrain surrounding this spot can also be warded.

Laning

• Early game pulls: You can easily pull the small camp as there are no trees in your pathing.
• Blocking camps: The top normal camp can be blocked with ease as placing a sentry on the crystals right outside the camp's zone range will do the trick.

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Cons of the Dire Side in Dota 2 7.36c

This ward spot helps Radiant heroes set up kills (Image via Valve)

Lack of Vision:

• Well-Known Cliff Warding: Most cliff spots on the Dire side are straightforward. The lack of complex and high-ground-based ward spots hampers vision, especially when losing.
• Losing the Vision War: If map control is lost, the team risks getting pinned to the base. Important Dire areas and camps are usually warded by the enemy, leading to frequent pick-offs of lone heroes.

Prone to Enemy Ganks:

• Small Jungles: The lane jungles on the Dire side are smaller when compared to the Radiant ones. Consecutive enemy ganks can quickly route your team, blocking nearby exit routes and making use of the limited space.
• Secret Shop Watcher: The Watcher near Dire's Secret Shop is less useful, as enemy heroes rarely use that path unless they are invisible or accompanied by their team.

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Conclusion

The Radiant map is undoubtedly the stronger side in Dota 2 7.36c when compared to Dire. According to Dotabuff, several heroes have a higher win rate on Radiant, and the overall win rate is also topped by the same faction. However, regardless of map advantages, gameplay heavily relies on players' skills, hero choices, and team cohesion.