Zai wants to move the Roshan pit, but where should it go?

Roshan’s pit has been on the top side river since 7.00, but pro players think it needs to move.

In an interview with his sponsor Team Liquid, Ludwig “Zai” Wåhlberg shared his thoughts on the current Dota 2 metagame. Zai mentioned a stale laning stage and a lack of new objectives as his primary concerns. He also stated his belief that the current Roshan situation needs to change. But even one of the greatest players of all time isn’t sure where it should go in patch 7.31.

“Map changes are also something we haven’t seen in a long time. Let’s see something that’s fun, like just move Roshan somewhere else and see what happens! It doesn’t have to be good. Maybe it will benefit one side more than the other, but it will be something different,” Zai said.

In the current Dota 2 metagame, dire has only a slight Roshan advantage. The dire outpost provides a consistent teleport point for most of the game. The dire jungle high ground is also a great staging ground for a Roshan fight. But those perks are mitigated by several factors. 

The radiant off lane tier one is the closest structure outside of mid, and being an off lane tower makes it a less valuable objective. Wards in the radiant triangle also naturally spot rotations towards the pit. This is part of why radiant still holds a significant advantage over dire.

Where could Roshan’s pit move to?

Zai didn’t offer up any suggestions in the interview, but he stated he’d prefer a rough balancing decision as long as it shakes things up. Even with those loose guidelines, there aren’t many places to plop down the pit. Mirroring his position to the bottom half of the river is one possibility.  The craziest option would be to slap it down in the northwest or southeast corner of the map. Alternatively, it could be integrated into the dire top jungle with the entrance facing south.

Instead of changing where Roshan’s pit is located, Valve could change where the entrance is. It currently points to the very center of the map. While unlikely to happen, pointing it towards the dire jungle could give a reasonable advantage. There’s a much better chance of him returning to his old spot on the south side of the map. 

Roshan’s previous real estate on the south side of the river was directly connected to the dire secret shop. This created clear advantages for both teams. Radiant had the better jungle, but dire had better access to the Aegis. Considering radiant’s current advantage, returning Roshan to his old home could help even things out in the pub scene.