The Ultimate Guide To Creeps In Dota 2

Creeps are an essential part of Dota 2’s gameplay, serving as the primary source of gold and experience – the game’s entire economy relies on the existence of creeps. Understanding creep mechanics is one of the first steps a new Dota 2 player must learn to figure out how the game is played. Here is everything you need to know about the creeps in Dota 2.

What Are Creeps In Dota 2?

Creeps are computer-controlled units that spawn periodically throughout the game. This means even the best Dota players can’t control creeps by default unless spells or items are used to manipulate them. Creeps are divided into various categories, each serving unique roles and spawning at distinct timings, making them highly predictable. 

The cornerstone of Dota 2 gameplay is interacting with these creeps, as killing them will reward players with gold and experience, which are used to make heroes stronger. 

Types Of Dota 2 Creeps

There are three types of creeps in Dota 2: lane creeps, neutral creeps, and Roshan. Each creep type has a specific purpose in the game. 

Lane Creeps

Lane creeps in Dota 2 are the primary creep units. A group of lane creeps spawn in the three lanes of the map every 30 seconds. Once spawned, creeps from each side will march down their respective lanes until they eventually meet the opposing creeps, where they will begin attacking each other in place. 

Types Of Lane Creeps

There are three types of lane creeps:

Melee Creeps:

• Wield swords and can only attack enemy units in melee range. 
• Have high durability, making them tankier than other lane creep types.
• Provide moderate gold and experience bounties.

Range Creeps:

• Wield staffs and can attack enemy units at range. 
• Have low durability, making them more fragile.
• Provide higher gold and experience bounties compared to melee creeps.

Siege Creeps:

• Attack enemy units at far range.
• Have incredibly high durability and immunity to certain spells.
• Appear in every 10th creep wave (every five minutes).
• Deals additional damage to towers and structures.

A group of lane creeps is called a “creep wave”. A standard creep wave consists of three melee creeps, and one ranged creep. As the game progresses, more melee and ranged creeps will be added to subsequent waves. Siege creeps also spawn every 10th wave. 

Creep Equilibrium

A common term in Dota 2, “creep equilibrium,” refers to the position on a lane where opposing creep waves meet and fight in place. The equilibrium can be controlled and/or manipulated for safe farming.

Players can influence creep waves by attacking, pulling, or performing “creep aggro” mechanics to shift the meeting point to their advantage. Essentially, the goal in laning is to have the creep waves meet as close as possible to your allied tower for increased safety. 

Understanding Creep Aggro

Creep aggro is the behavior that determines how lane creeps target and attack units. Players can manipulate the aggro, allowing them to control creep equilibrium in their favor. 

Here is the gist of how creep aggro works:

• Aggro Triggering: Lane creeps will attack the nearest enemy unit, attacking an allied hero within a 500-unit radius. If you attack an enemy while standing next to a creep wave, all enemy creeps will switch their target to you. 
• Re-Aggro: You can also draw creeps’ attention to yourself by issuing an attack command on an enemy hero and canceling it right after, so you do not end up attacking the enemy player at all. However, the attention of creeps will still be redirected to you. 

Players can continuously aggro creeps and run closer to their tower after every aggro. Slowly but surely, the creeps will continue walking closer and closer to the desired location, assuming the enemy player doesn’t try countering it. 

Neutral Creeps in Dota 2

Neutral creeps are computer-controlled units spawn in jungle camps scattered across the map. These camps exist on both the Radiant and Dire sides, but neutral creeps will attack any hero that provokes them, regardless of which side they belong to. Hence, the term “neutral” creeps. 

Neutral creeps are a great way for carry Dota heroes to farm up the gold they need for items.

Types Of Neutral Creeps

Each neutral camp on the Dota 2 map is categorized based on its difficulty and the rewards it offers. There are four different types of neutral creeps:

1. Small Camp: The small camp is the weakest group of neutral creeps in Dota 2. It is commonly used to pull creeps to the lanes and can easily be farmed in the early game. 
2. Medium Camp: The medium camp is a step up in difficulty. Creeps in this category aren’t too strong and reward heroes moderately. 
3. Big Camp: The big camp features stronger neutral creeps. With the increase in strength, creeps in this camp provide more gold and experience. 
4. Ancient Camp: The most potent camp is the ancient camp. Neutrals in this camp are extremely strong and tanky, making them difficult to farm. However, they provide significant rewards when killed. 

Stacking Neutral Creeps

Stacking neutral camps is a crucial Dota 2 mechanic that allows players to maximize their efficiency and gold gain when farming. Players can draw neutral creeps out of their camps before the next minute. A new set of creeps will spawn if done correctly, creating a “stacked” neutral camp. 

How to stack neutral camps:

1. Attack the neutral camp around the 53 to 55-second mark. The exact timing differs between camps. 
2. Pull the creeps out of their camp spawn box as the game timer is about to enter the next minute. 
3. A new set of creeps will spawn while the current creeps are being dragged outside of the camp. 
4. Now, there will be multiple groups of creeps standing in the same camp. 

Stacking is incredibly beneficial for farming, as core heroes can clear groups of creeps at once, making it very time-efficient. 

Roshan

Roshan is the most powerful of the neutral creeps in Dota 2 and plays a significant role in the game as a primary Dota map objective. Slaying Roshan rewards a team with gold and experience as well as additional rewards, mainly the Aegis of the Immortal.

The Aegis revives its holder upon death, giving them a second life. However, Roshan offers additional drops as the game goes on, making him even more crucial in the late game. 

Where Is Roshan Located?

Roshan can be found in his pit, which is either on the Radiant or Dire pit. The former is located in the bottom-right corner of the map, while the latter is on the top-left. He transitions between these two pits every five minutes and travels through the Twin Gates. 

Roshan starts the game in the Radiant pit during day time. After five minutes, when it turns night time, Roshan will take the portal to the Dire pit.

He continues this cycle every five minutes, making his whereabouts predictable. 

What Rewards Does Roshan Offer?

On top of the Aegis of the Immortal, Roshan grants more items after each time he is defeated.

1. First Roshan Kill: Aegis of the Immortal 
2. Second Roshan Kill: Aegis of the Immortal and Roshan’s Banner. 
3. Third Roshan Kill Onwards: Aegis of the Immortal, Roshan’s Banner, Cheese (if slain in the Radiant pit), Refresher Shard (if slain in the Radiant pit) and Aghanim’s Blessing (if slain in the Dire pit).

Roshan Respawn Mechanics

After Roshan is killed, he respawns within 8 to 11 minutes. The exact respawn time in this frame is entirely random, but you can always base it on the minimum and maximum respawn window. 

Eight minutes after Roshan falls, teams tend to prepare for his respawn by setting up vision near the areas to have an advantage in the upcoming fight.

Keeping track of Roshan’s estimated respawn timer is crucial. A pro tip is to always keep track of the game time when Roshan is killed. Next, type the timer in the chat box, select the message with Ctrl + A, and then copy the timer to your clipboard with Ctrl + C. Once done, you can always open the chat box and hit Ctrl + V to see the timer you copied earlier. 

Creep Farming Priority Throughout A Dota 2 Game

Dota 2 is a game of resources, so farming efficiently is crucial to gaining a net worth advantage to become more substantial than the enemy team. Players must prioritize the different types of creeps at various stages of the game for optimal gold and experience gain.

Let’s break down the creep farming priority throughout a Dota 2 game. 

Early Game Creep Prioritization (0 – 15 Minutes)

Neutral creeps do not get stronger over time. As a result, it is often difficult for most heroes in the game to clear through neutral camps with ease unless equipped with an ability to do so. 

So, the primary focus in the early game is farming lane creeps. 

• Lane creeps are the most important source of income in the early game. Heroes are focused on farming in lanes, which is why the “laning phase” exists. 
• Players must focus on securing last hits to secure gold and also denies to prevent enemies from maximizing gains.
• Range creeps in Dota 2 provide players with a higher bounty, and should be prioritized. Casting spells to secure a contested range creep last hit is almost always worth it in the early game. 

The secondary focus is farming neutral camps:

• Core heroes that have downtime have the ability to clear out neutral camps in between waves.
• Heroes are equipped with different abilities, with some allowing them to farm big camps, while others can only farm medium camps.
• Support heroes can focus on stacking camps, preparing for when core heroes can clear them out. 

Mid Game Creep Prioritization (15 – 35 Minutes)

In the mid game, core heroes will purchase items that help them become stronger and farm creeps more efficiently. 

The primary focus becomes a mix between lane creeps and neutral camps:

• Lane creeps are still the best source of gold throughout the game, so core heroes should continue prioritizing creep waves. 
• Purchasing farming items on core heroes allows heroes to farm more efficiently, opening access to farm camps quickly.
• Farming the “triangle” area is vital for scaling cores. These are the three camps close to the Secret Shop on each side, consisting of two ancient camps and one large camp.
• Heroes with excellent farming potential can chew through ancient stacks, so supports should begin preparations as soon as possible. 

Situational farming is also crucial when farming in the mid game. Heroes begin to roam in the mid game, making it unsafe to farm creep waves when enemy heroes go missing:

• If ahead or when enemy heroes are showing on the opposite side of the map, farm aggressively by pushing creep waves and farming in the enemy jungle.
• If behind or when enemy heroes are missing, avoid farming creep waves and focus on “safe farm,” which refers to farming deep jungle camps on your side of the map. 

Late Game Creep Prioritization (35+ Minutes)

In the late game, heroes have an easy time clearing creep waves and neutral camps. The problem focuses on whether you’ll be caught doing so. 

The primary focus is split-pushing lanes and farming jungle camps in efficient patterns:

• Lane creeps in Dota 2 are still the top farming priority in the late game. Players should split-push lanes to gain map control and prevent enemies from moving freely. 
• Since farming ancient camps is no longer an issue, it is crucial to think of efficient farming patterns to clear as many camps as possible before the next minute hits. 
• Pressuring enemy structures by shoving creep waves will often force an enemy hero to defend, making it difficult for the team to make five-man moves. 

Some late game strategic farming tactics include:

• Safe Farming: All heroes on the map are vulnerable to ganks in the late game, considering that heroes become highly mobile. Avoid unnecessary farming when enemies are missing, and allies are far away. 
• Split Push: Shove creep waves whenever possible. Creeps are walking wards. The further your waves are pushed in, the more information you have on the map. 
• Controlling Roshan: When Roshan is up, farm around his location, helping the team ensure better positioning for an upcoming fight. 

Best Items To Farm Creeps in Dota 2

Farming creeps efficiently and quickly is the key for core heroes to scale into the late game. Some heroes are naturally gifted with farming abilities, while others must purchase some of the best items in Dota to enhance their ability to clear waves, neutral camps, and stacks, for faster gold accumulation.

Here are some of the most popular farming items in the game – you’ll definitely see one of these items in almost every game. 

Battle Fury

Battle Fury is a farming item for melee heroes that provides them with cleave damage, dealing bonus physical damage in a cone around the primary attack target. 

This item is fantastic for farming as it helps heroes cleave through ancient stacks and split push lanes without showing on the map for too long. 

Battle Fury is best-purchased on melee heroes that rely on physical damage, such as:

• Anti-Mage
• Juggernaut
• Phantom Assassin 
• Kez

Radiance

Radiance is an item commonly purchased on melee heroes that provides the wielder with evasion and a burn aura that deals magic damage to all nearby enemies, including creeps.

Radiance is not only a prominent farming item but also amazing in fights. It is practical for heroes who are tanky and love to go in the middle of fights and maximize the burn aura spread.

The Radiance item is perfect for tanky heroes who want to stay alive in fights, but also farm creeps efficiently to scale into the late game:

• Spectre
• Alchemist
• Wraith King
• Brewmaster

Maelstrom and Mjollnir

Maelstrom, upgraded into a Mjollnir, creates a chain lightning effect that strikes multiple enemies with magic damage, making farming waves and camps much easier. The chain lightning effect is based on a chance per hit. 

The Maelstrom (or Mjollnir) is perfect for agility and ranged heroes that have high attack speed, making use of the proc chance. A faster attack speed means more auto-attacks, leading to a higher frequency of activation.

Maelstrom also helps its users with team fights to deal additional magic damage. Popular heroes that purchase this item are:

• Juggernaut
• Sniper
• Windranger
• Faceless Void