Dota 2 mid lane in 7.39c — the heroes, the items, the playstyle

Dota 2 mid lane in 7.39c

Mid lane is the most important lane in Dota 2 patch 7.39c. The 7.39c patch buffed the safelane (more XP, less harass) and nerfed the offlane (less gold from camps), which means the mid laner has more impact than ever. If you win mid, you win the game. If you lose mid, you're playing from behind.

This guide covers the heroes, the items, and the playstyle you need to dominate mid in 7.39c.

The meta heroes

The 7.39c meta has 5 dominant mid heroes. Pick one of these if you want to climb.

Invoker

The most-played mid in 7.39c. Invoker's versatility is unmatched — he can play the lane as a quas-wex (right-click + escape), exort (push + magic damage), or quas-exort (tank + teamfight).

The 7.39c build:

• Starting items: Tango, Salve, Iron Branch x2, Null Talisman, Mantle
• Early items: Null Talisman → Boots of Speed → Maelstrom
• Core items: Maelstrom → Aghanim's Shard → Black King Bar → Octarine Core → Refresher Orb
• Aghanim's Shard: 1400 gold — adds Tornado Snap, a new ability that gives Invoker a strong disable

The playstyle: Hit level 6, push the wave, then rotate to the safelane or offlane for ganks. Invoker is strongest in the early-mid game; fall off in the late game if you can't get pickoffs.

Storm Spirit

The second most-played mid. Storm Spirit's Ball Lightning (ultimate) lets him gank from across the map.

The 7.39c build:

• Starting items: Tango, Salve, Iron Branch x2, Null Talisman, Mantle
• Early items: Null Talisman → Boots of Speed → Bottle → Arcane Boots
• Core items: Arcane Boots → Orchid Malevolence → Black King Bar → Sheepstick → Refresher Orb
• Aghanim's Shard: 1400 gold — adds 1 charge to Ball Lightning

The playstyle: Win the lane with remnant harass, then snowball with early ganks. Storm is strongest in the mid game; falls off in the late game.

Puck

The third most-played mid. Puck's Illusory Orb + Phase Shift combo is the strongest escape in the game.

The 7.39c build:

• Starting items: Tango, Salve, Iron Branch x2, Null Talisman, Mantle
• Early items: Null Talisman → Boots of Speed → Bottle → Arcane Boots
• Core items: Arcane Boots → Blink Dagger → Aghanim's Shard → Octarine Core → Refresher Orb
• Aghanim's Shard: 1400 gold — adds 1 charge to Illusory Orb

The playstyle: Poke the enemy mid, then use Phase Shift to dodge their spells. Puck is strongest in teamfights; use Blink Dagger to dive the backline.

Lina

The fourth most-played mid. Lina's Light Strike Array + Dragon Slave combo is the strongest level-2 burst in the game.

The 7.39c build:

• Starting items: Tango, Salve, Iron Branch x2, Null Talisman, Mantle
• Early items: Null Talisman → Boots of Speed → Bottle → Arcane Boots
• Core items: Arcane Boots → Aghanim's Shard → Octarine Core → Refresher Orb → Boots of Travel
• Aghanim's Shard: 1400 gold — adds 1 charge to Light Strike Array

The playstyle: Win the lane with Light Strike Array + Dragon Slave combos, then push the tower and rotate. Lina is strongest in the early-mid game; falls off in the late game.

Ember Spirit

The fifth most-played mid. Ember Spirit's Sleight of Fist + Searing Chains combo is the strongest teamfight ultimate in the game.

The 7.39c build:

• Starting items: Tango, Salve, Iron Branch x2, Null Talisman, Mantle
• Early items: Null Talisman → Boots of Speed → Bottle → Phase Boots
• Core items: Phase Boots → Maelstrom → Aghanim's Shard → Octarine Core → Refresher Orb
• Aghanim's Shard: 1400 gold — adds 1 charge to Fire Remnant

The playstyle: Win the lane with remnant harass, then snowball with Searing Chains. Ember is strongest in teamfights; falls off in the late game.

The itemization

The 7.39c meta has 4 core items for every mid. Build these in this order:

1. Bottle (650 gold) — the rune control item. Get this by 2:00 in the game.
2. Boots of Speed (500 gold) → Arcane Boots (1300 gold) or Phase Boots (1500 gold) — the boots. Get these by 5:00.
3. Maelstrom (2700 gold) — the farming item. Get this by 12:00.
4. Aghanim's Shard (1400 gold) — the power spike. Get this by 15:00.

After these 4 items, the build depends on the hero. Most mid heroes build one of:

• Black King Bar (4200 gold) — the anti-magic item
• Orchid Malevolence (4000 gold) — the silence item
• Octarine Core (5000 gold) — the cooldown reduction item
• Refresher Orb (5500 gold) — the double-ultimate item

The playstyle

The 7.39c mid lane playstyle is simple: win the lane, then gank.

Lane phase (0-10 minutes)

The goal of lane phase is to get the last hit advantage and deny the enemy mid. The 7.39c meta favors:

• Aggression in the first 3 levels — if you can get a level-2 kill, you snowball.
• Rune control — check the river runes every 2 minutes. Power runes (double damage, haste, regen, illusion, invisibility) can swing the lane.
• Tower diving — if you can kill the enemy mid under their tower, do it. The 7.39c tower armor reduction makes dives more effective.

Mid game (10-25 minutes)

The goal of mid game is to translate the lane win into team wins. The 7.39c meta favors:

• Ganking the safelane — the buffed safelane is the most important lane to gank.
• Taking towers — after a successful gank, take the tower.
• Joining fights — mid heroes are strongest in 5v5s. Join every fight you can.

Late game (25+ minutes)

The goal of late game is to close the game. The 7.39c meta favors:

• Pushing — mid heroes with wave clear can push out side lanes.
• Baiting — mid heroes with disables can bait enemy initiators.
• Bursting — mid heroes with burst damage can delete enemy carries.

The mistakes to avoid

The 7.39c mid lane has 5 common mistakes. Avoid these if you want to climb.

1. Not checking the runes — power runes spawn every 2 minutes. If you're not checking, you're losing value.
2. Not warding — mid lane wards cost 75 gold. They prevent ganks. If you don't ward, you'll die to ganks.
3. Not buying Bottle — Bottle is the most gold-efficient item in the game. If you don't buy it by 2:00, you're behind.
4. Not joining fights — mid heroes are strongest in 5v5s. If you're farming jungle, your team is losing.
5. Not building BKB — magic damage is the most common in 7.39c. If you don't build BKB, you'll get nuked.

The final tip

The most important tip for 7.39c mid lane: the first 5 minutes decide the game. If you win the lane, you win the game. If you lose the lane, you lose the game. Focus on the lane. Focus on the runes. Focus on the denies. Everything else is secondary.

---

See our Dota 2 ranked climb guide for a broader look at climbing in 7.39c, and our Dota 2 hub for the full hero roster and meta analysis.