Dota 2: the map objectives guide for patch 7.41e — Roshan, the Gravekeeper, shrines, and portals

The International 2026 kicks off on August 13 in Shanghai, and the patch the tournament will be played on is the one you'll be queuing into ranked with this Sunday: 7.41e. A game of Dota 2 is rarely decided by a single item or pick, but rather by a handful of appointments locked into the clock: the Roshan pit, the Tormentor, the Wisdom Shrines, the Lotus Pools, the Watchers, and the Twin Gates.

The problem is that 7.41 has completely redrawn that corner of the map. The Tormentor areas have been lowered below the lane and moved closer to the Lotus Pools, the Twin Gates have shifted back toward the edge of the map, and above all: Roshan and the Tormentor have had their side preference reversed. The reflexes you built up in 7.40 will now send you into the wrong pit.

A quick note on terminology: the French client doesn't translate any item or ability names, but it does translate map entities. What the community calls the Tormentor is officially the fossoyeur in Valve's French patch notes, the Watcher becomes vigile, the Twin Gate becomes portail, the Lotus Pool becomes bassin de lotus, and the Shrine of Wisdom becomes sanctuaire de Wisdom.

The objective timeline you need to know by heart

Everything hinges on the day/night cycle: a full day lasts 10 minutes, split into two equal halves — day from 0:00 to 5:00, night from 5:00 to 10:00, and so on. This cycle alone dictates Roshan's position and the Tormentor's.

Roshan: the right pit, at the right time

Roshan has two pits, both located in the river: the Radiant one at the southeastern end, the Dire one at the northwestern end. Since the swap introduced in 7.41, he now occupies the Dire pit during the day and the Radiant pit at night. He doesn't move during the first fifteen minutes, then relocates with every natural shift of the cycle, i.e. every 5 minutes — artificial day and night effects from Luna, Night Stalker, or Phoenix don't affect him.

This trek is far from harmless: Roshan flattens everything in his path, dealing 200 damage and knocking units back 150 units. He can stop up to five times to cast Slam or Throw. Any support crossing the river without checking the clock risks getting caught by Throw: 200 damage on the first throw, 300 on the second, and up to 600, plus a percentage of current HP that increases over time — roughly 10.5% at 20 minutes, 15.5% at 30 minutes.

His stat sheet explains why attempting Roshan too early ends in disaster. He starts with 6,000 HP, 30 armor, 55% magic resistance, and 25% status resistance, then gains 130 HP, 0.4 armor, and 7 damage every minute.

The three mechanics that cause failed Roshan attempts

• Spell Block: it negates a single-target spell every 15 seconds. Use up the shield with a spell that doesn't matter before you drop your big disable.
• Roar of Retribution: if the team that killed him last time comes back to take him and brings him below 85% of his health, he roars. The roar is announced across the entire map, disarms for 2 seconds within a 600 radius, and increases the damage you take by 25% for 12 seconds. He triggers it even while stunned or silenced: your second Roshan has nothing to do with the first.
• Pit vision: the entrances block ground vision and it's impossible to place an Observer Ward or a Sentry Ward inside. Since patch 7.41c, aerial vision doesn't get through either: Clockwerk in Jetpack, Night Stalker under Dark Ascension, Monkey King in the trees, or Visage's familiars no longer see the inside from outside, nor the reverse. Only True Sight applied from outside still reaches into its radius.

As for the loot, the first death only grants the Aegis of the Immortal, which expires 5 minutes after being picked up. The second adds the Roshan's Banner; from the third onward, the team also gets the Cheese and the Refresher Shard. Roshan respawns between 8 and 11 minutes later, without the exact time being revealed — only Templar Assassin's innate Third Eye provides it.

The Gravekeeper: only one on the map, and it moves every 5 minutes

Since patch 7.38, there is only one active Gravekeeper at a time, and the minimap only shows one icon, indicating where it is or where it will appear. Its first appearance is fixed at 20:00 since patch 7.39, and it comes back 10 minutes after each death. It also follows the day/night cycle, but as a mirror of Roshan: since patch 7.41, it occupies the southeast corner, Radiant side, during the day, and the northwest corner, Dire side, at night. The two objectives are therefore always at opposite ends of the map.

New in patch 7.41e: when it teleports from one pit to the other, the Gravekeeper dispels projectiles in flight. A Mirana arrow or a Sniper's Assassinate launched just before the switch gets thrown away.

Its health is fixed at 1: everything hinges on Unyielding Shield, a barrier that absorbs all types of damage. It starts at 3,000, gains 50 per minute of game time, and regenerates 20 per second, plus 5 per minute. Around the thirtieth minute, you therefore need to get through roughly 4,500 points of barrier that rebuilds at over 150 per second: chipping away gets you nowhere, you need a clean burst window. Add 55% magic resistance and 25% status resistance since patch 7.41.

• Reflect sends back 30% of the damage received, increased by 1.5% per minute, split evenly among enemy heroes within a 1,200 radius. Worse: if the source of the damage is a non-hero unit and no hero is in the area, that unit is instantly killed. Sending in a Spirit Bear or summons alone means losing them.
• The Shining triggers on the first attack and burns nearby enemies for 10 seconds, dealing 20 damage per second increased by 2 per minute, shared among the targets present: the more of you there are, the less each one suffers.

On death, Alleviation leaves behind a 900-radius aura for 15 seconds, healing 2.25% of max health per second. A detail many overlook: it benefits both teams. Engaging on the spot right after means handing the enemy the regeneration you just earned.

The reward goes to one of the two players with the lowest net worth who doesn't yet own the Aghanim's Shard; that player gives up 175 team gold in exchange. Once all five Shards have been handed out, every death grants 415 gold to each player. If it's your carry who needs it, don't wait: the Shard costs 1,400 gold in the shop starting at 15:00.

The Wisdom Runes: the free experience everyone forgets

Both Wisdom Runes first activate at 7:00, then every 7 minutes according to game clock, regardless of when you actually collected the previous one. You just need to stay within 300 units for 3 seconds. The experience goes to a random hero among those present, as well as to the ally with the least experience on the team.

Patch 7.41 changed the scaling: 200 experience points on the first activation, then 300 more each time — 200, 500, 800, 1,100. In a long game, that's an entire level for a support. And an enemy hero present in the area no longer pauses the countdown: it now rewinds it.

Lotus pools, watchers, and shrines

The lotus pools produce a Healing Lotus every 3 minutes, with a cap of 6: a pool ignored for 18 minutes is a full pool. Each lotus restores 125 health and 125 mana, stacks up to 3, and can be shared. Three Healing Lotuses merge into a Great Healing Lotus, and two Greats into a Greater one. Picking one up takes 1.5 seconds for the first, then 30% less for each subsequent one: clear out a pool in a single pass rather than three trips.

The watchers are captured in 1 second and provide vision for 7 minutes. Their range has dropped from 800 during the day to 450 at night since patch 7.40. An enemy watcher can be disabled by channeling it again: it then becomes unavailable for 2 minutes for both teams. Be careful, its appearance updates through the fog: the enemy will know you took it.

The shrines require 4 seconds of channeling and 30 mana, with no cooldown, and mana is refunded if interrupted. Two limitations: they don't dispel projectiles targeting you, and since patch 7.41e, a root interrupts the channel, just like a leash does. It's no longer a reliable escape option against Treant Protector or Broodmother.

What to change starting with your next game

Three habits are all it takes. Check the day/night cycle before calling an objective: starting at 15:00, Roshan and the gravekeeper swap sides every 5 minutes and remain opposite each other. Plan your second Roshan like a fight, not like a farming route, since Roar of Retribution warns the enemy. Finally, place vision on the Wisdom Runes and lotus pools: the cumulative scaling introduced in patch 7.41 has turned them into contested objectives, not bonuses to pick up in passing.

It's also the best framework for following The International 2026 starting August 13: when a team smokes the river for no apparent reason, watch the clock. Nine times out of ten, they're positioning for an objective that hasn't appeared yet.