Valve radically changed Roshan fights in patch 7.41c

In patch 7.41c, Valve introduced one of the biggest mechanical changes in recent months: units with flying vision no longer ignore Roshan pit vision restrictions. Now vision can’t pass into the pit from outside, or outside from inside the pit.

The change directly affects six heroes: Clockwerk, Drow Ranger, Monkey King, Night Stalker, Treant Protector and Visage. For years, all of them were used for safe Roshan scouting — placing a Familiar as a ward, planting a tree with vision, jumping onto a tree near the pit and getting full information about what’s happening without entering the danger zone.

From a tier-1 perspective, Roshan control now becomes much more expensive. Teams lose a cheap and passive way to keep the pit under vision, and are now forced either to risk a support with Smoke or spend an item slot on Gem Of True Sight. The change is especially painful for Visage and Treant Protector drafts — two heroes whose value was heavily built around free information near Roshan.

Indirectly, the patch buffs aggressive teams: the window for sneaky Roshan kills becomes bigger, while trying to “peek” with flying units now requires physical presence inside the pit.

The new mechanic could seriously affect the pro scene already at DreamLeague Season 29, which starts on May 13.