The best way to play the safelane in Patch 7.38c

The safelane in Dota 2 is known as position 1, and players often refer to this role as the hard carry. Those who play in the safelane are called safelaners, and they hold one of the most crucial roles in the game.

This is because a team's victory or defeat often hinges on the safelaner as the match progresses. As a result, safelaners receive the highest priority in the farming hierarchy. This lane has evolved over time.

In this article, we’ll try to understand the best way to play the safe lane in Dota 2 patch 7.38c.

Safelane basics understanding

The safelane is the lane closest to the particular team’s Tier 1 tower. This formation gives heroes in the safelane an advantage during the laning stage, as creep waves from both teams meet near their tower.

In patch 7.38c, with the relocation of the Twin Gates, staying closer to the tower is more beneficial than ever. The tower provides bonus armour to allied heroes within its range, making it easier to escape or counter ganks.

It’s also the best way to play in the safe lane at the start of the game in the current patch.

Safelaner’s Main Job

Farming and hitting key item timings is the primary responsibility of the safelaner. To excel in this role, players must master last-hitting efficiently and manage lane equilibrium to favour their team.

Maintaining proper lane equilibrium makes it easier for their laning support to trade effectively with opponents. Additionally, carry players typically prioritise safer farm locations on the map while carefully selecting the right items to maximise their gold efficiency.

A safelane carry must lead their team to victory regardless of any circumstances.

At higher ranks, the timing of item purchases becomes even more crucial, as different heroes have unique item power spikes. Efficient farming is essential for a hard carry, as hitting power spikes early can turn the tide of skirmishes in their favour.

Players have different philosophies on how to play the safelane in Dota 2. However, as players climb the ranks, this is the best way to play the safelane in Patch 7.38c.

The Farming Pattern Worth Considering

The Dota 2 map has evolved significantly in recent years. In patch 7.38c, the safelane is now surrounded by two jungles. When farming, high MMR players often avoid the camps near the Tier 3 tower because they are too far from the lane to be efficient. The gold gained from these camps does not justify the time spent clearing them.

Most high MMR players follow an efficient farming pattern that includes four camps in the outer jungle and three camps in the inner jungle. If a player farms all these camps, they can earn around 690 gold upon completion around the 10-minute mark. Moreover, this gold income continues to increase as the game progresses, thanks to the introduction of evolving neutral camps.

The duty of the carry player is to farm in safe spaces until they have enough item to make an impact.

Interestingly, the gold gained from this farming pattern is nearly equivalent to the bounty for killing a hero on a 5x kill streak. With this farming pattern, it will be easier for players to hit their item timing faster.

That’s another crucial pattern one needs to follow while playing the safe lane in patch 7.38c.

The best way to play in the safe lane is to play it safe.

The Importance of Item Timing

Let’s take Phantom Assassin (PA) as an example. She is one of the top meta carries in Patch 7.38c in average to high-level pub games. Her core item progression typically includes Battlefury, Sange and Yasha or Manta Style, and Black King Bar (BKB).

Battlefury allows PA to farm more efficiently. Sange and Yasha provide status resistance and attack speed, enabling her to soak up damage and enhance her attack output. Black King Bar is a crucial pickup, as it grants spell immunity, countering PA’s biggest weakness—enemy disables.

If PA secures these three items before the 25-minute mark, she becomes a major threat on the map.

In high-level games, players often capitalise on item timings, using Smoke of Deceit to secure a pickoff before taking objectives. If no enemy is available for a pickoff by the time PA acquires these items, she can easily take Roshan, a crucial objective.

The Aegis of Immortality, which Roshan drops, grants the player a second life—an invaluable advantage in skirmishes. With Aegis on their carry, teams can snowball to victory.

What Types of Carries are popular in patch 7.38c

The introduction of new jungle camps allowed safelane heroes with strong farming abilities to become top-tier picks. Additionally, the relocation of an Ancient camp near the safelane Tier 1 tower significantly increased the value of these heroes.

the meta safelaners in the previous patch.

However, as the meta evolved, a new type of carry emerged, challenging the dominance of farming-based carries. These newly emerged carries may lack farm-enhancing abilities, but they compensate through itemisation. Unlike the first type of carries, which tend to fall off after 25–30 minutes, these new carries scale exceptionally well as the game progresses.

These carry heroes can initiate as well. Moreover, their damage output is more than enough to insta-kill a backline support hero. Nevertheless, these types of carries are extremely reliant on hitting their item timings.

You can see what the strongest safelane heroes in the previous patch here:

The best safelane heroes in Dota 2 Patch 7.38b

These are the best ways to play the safe lane in Patch 7.38c.