Who’s Ruling the Safe Lane in Dota 2 Patch 7.38b? The Must-Pick Carries Right Now

The Blix team is back with an in-depth look at Patch 7.38b, and we’re starting with the safe lane—where legends are forged and late-game dreams become a reality. As professional players grinding through the Immortal Draft, we’ve tested the latest changes to identify the strongest builds for Position 1.

This patch introduces new elements, ability tweaks, and some significant shifts in the meta. We’ve narrowed our focus to three standout carry heroes: Dragon Knight, Chaos Knight, and Lifestealer. These builds aren’t just random selections; they are refined through hours of playtesting and analysis to give you an advantage in lane, mid-game, and beyond.

Dota 2 Carry Art

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Dragon Knight – Fire Dragon Facet: The Unstoppable Laner

Dota 2 hero: Dragon Knight

The Dragon Knight (DK) has consistently been a dependable carry hero, but the introduction of the Fire Dragon facet in Patch 7.38b has taken him to a new level. At Blix, we’ve been using this hero continuously, and we can confidently say he’s a game-changer for safe lane players who enjoy dominating early and scaling effectively throughout the match.

Why It Works

The Fire Dragon facet significantly enhances DK’s Elder Dragon Form (R), giving it massive area-of-effect (AoE) potential and turning his auto-attacks into splash damage attacks during this ultimate ability. The real highlight, however, is his reworked E ability (Dragon Blood). This ability now provides bonus damage starting at 10 at level 1 and scaling up to 30 at max level. This damage applies when denying creeps and also reduces enemy attack damage by 33%. As a result, DK excels at denying creeps, effectively securing his own farm while simultaneously starving the enemy offlaner.

Dota 2: Dragon Knight Facets Stats

Additionally, Dragon Blood offers a 100 bonus AoE that can be amplified by talents and upgrades to his ultimate, allowing for an increase of up to 50%. This means your Q (Breathe Fire), W (Dragon Tail), and splash attacks can hit entire waves and even entire teams. However, there’s a trade-off: his previous cleave ability is gone, so you’ll need to use his ultimate as often as possible to maintain pressure on the enemy.

Skill Build

Aim to have 1 point in Q, 1 point in W, 4 points in E, and 1 point in R by level 7. Maximize your E first to gain an impressive bonus damage of 20–30 by level 3. This damage makes last-hitting and denying much easier, allowing you to maintain complete control of the lane unless the enemy can burst you down.  

At level 1 or 2, you can put a point into Q for wave clear or W for the stun, depending on the matchup; however, prioritize leveling E. Make sure to take R at levels 6, 12, and 18 to unlock the splash damage and area-of-effect stun potential.

Dota 2 Dragon Knight: Most Popular Skill Build

Item Build

We’re sticking to the tried-and-true Dragon Knight (DK) formula—don’t let the patch notes lead you to overcomplicate things. Start with a Wand, Bracer, and Power Treads for early stats and sustain. Next, rush an Armlet to enhance your right-click damage, followed by a Mask of Madness to maintain mana and increase your attack speed. 

From this point, adapt your build to the game: consider Sange and Yasha for a kite-heavy matchup if you need mobility, or a Black King Bar (BKB) if magic damage is overwhelming you. In the late game, items like Silver Edge or Daedalus can transform you into a physical damage powerhouse. 

Some players are experimenting with Maelstrom since cleave is no longer available, but we believe it’s a trap. DK isn’t meant to be a magic-damage dealer; he’s a right-click hero who scales with his ultimate, dealing 20 damage at level 6 and 100 at level 18. Stick to the physical damage build.

Dota 2 Dragon Knight: Item Build

Playstyle

On the lane, use your E ability to deal bonus damage and deny as many creeps as possible. With the 33% damage reduction, you’ll be able to bully most opponents out of the experience range. Once you reach level 6, use your ultimate ability frequently to clear waves, harass enemies, and secure kills with area-of-effect stuns. In the mid-game, you become a formidable presence in team fights—position yourself to maximize splash damage and stun multiple opponents. Items like Armlet and Mask of Madness (MoM) provide you with the sustain needed to engage in battles, so don’t hesitate to take the frontline. In the late game, you transform into a scaling threat; focus on surviving burst damage while dealing significant physical damage with your item upgrades.

Blix Pro Insight

Dota 2 hero: Dragon Knight

The Area of Effect (AoE) scaling is more significant than it appears. With the level 25 talent and a fully maxed ultimate ability, your splash damage and stun radius become so large that you can hit backline supports without needing to dive in. If you time your ultimates correctly, you’ll feel like a raid boss.

Tips

• Breathe Fire’s damage reduction component is a big deal in team fights, especially since it reduces total attack damage, including +dmg items. Don’t save it for kill stealing, use it early on in a fight.
• The damage over time from “Corrosive Dragon” facet attacks work on towers. This is what makes DK such a mean pusher early on.
• The healing reduction from “Frost Dragon” facet attacks reduces HP gains on targets similar to how a Spirit Vessel would.
• Attacks from your illusions do not apply Wrym’s Wrath or Elder Dragon Form debuffs.
• The transformation into Dragon Form is nearly as useful as the Dragon Form itself during the laning phase. No one ever expects you to suddenly go full Dragon and whip out a ranged stun in the span of no seconds. People know how far to stand away from a DK in Knight form and people know to stand much further back from a DK in Dragon form. Don’t give them the chance to adapt.

Counters

• Silver Edge Breaks DK’s Dragon Blood innate. Most DK’s skimp on survivability since they can rely on this innate passive for tankiness, so Silver Edge can go a long way for killing DKs. So can heroes with Break abilities like Viper’s Viper Strike or Phantom Assassin’s Agh’s Shard Fan of Knives.
• Spirit Vessel, Skadi, and Shiva’s can reduce the HP regen he gets from his Dragon Blood innate.

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Chaos Knight – Fundamental Foraging Facet: The Tempo King

Dota 2 hero: Chaos Knight

Chaos Knight (CK) has undergone a transformation in 7.38b that has the Blix team excited. The new Fundamental Foraging facet turns him into a tempo-driven carry who capitalizes on early advantages to create game-ending leads. If you enjoy aggressive farming and significant power spikes, this update is perfect for you.

Why It Works

Fundamental Foraging allows Chaos Knight (CK) to access neutral items that are one tier above the current game stage. For example, he can obtain an Iron Talon at minute 5 or a Tier 5 item at minute 35. This advantage is extraordinary for a safe lane carry. At minute 5, CK can farm the ancient camp behind his tower using the Iron Talon, providing him with a gold and experience lead that no other carry can match. 

Dota 2: Chaos Knight Facets Stats

Additionally, with an improved cast range on his Q ability, Chaos Bolt, CK’s potential for laning and ganking becomes extremely high. His illusions remain powerful, and the recent patch has not diminished his core strengths. With these advantages, CK becomes a tempo king who naturally scales throughout the game.

Skill Build

Aim for a skill build of 3-1-1-1 by level 6, prioritizing Q-W-E-R. Maximize your Q ability first to increase the stun duration and deal more damage, as it is essential for harassing opponents and securing kills. Taking a point in W (Chaos Strike) early will enhance your critical strike chance and lifesteal, while investing in E (Reality Rift) at level 4 will help with illusion synergy and reduce your opponents’ armor. Be sure to take R (Phantasm) at levels 6, 12, and 18 to summon your army and dominate team fights.

Dota 2 Chaos Knight: Most Popular Skill Build

Item Build

Start with Wand, Raindrops, and Bracer to survive the lane. Rush Power Treads and Armlet to capitalize on your base damage and illusion scaling—Armlet’s toggle pairs perfectly with CK’s lifesteal. Post-Armlet, you’ve got options: Sange and Yasha for mobility, stats, and chase potential is our default, but Orchid into BKB works if you’re hunting solo kills. Late–game, Heart of Tarrasque makes your illusions unkillable, or Manta Style adds even more chaos (pun intended). Check ProTracker—CK’s itemization hasn’t shifted much, and that’s a good thing.

Dota 2 Chaos Knight: Item Build

Playstyle

Make the most of your abilities early in the game—pick up the Iron Talon by minute 5 and farm the Ancients if your lane allows for it. Utilize Chaos Bolt’s extended range to secure last hits or push the offlaner back, then build momentum with Armlet and illusions. Your power spikes align with neutral item tiers at minutes 5, 15, 25, and 35, so time your aggression around these intervals—push towers or engage in fights when you have a fresh item advantage. In the mid-game, you become a ganking powerhouse with Phantasm; in the late game, you transform into a split–pushing and team fight–winning force. Don’t overlook the ancient camp trick—it’s a strong tactic that professional players are starting to exploit.

Blix Pro Insight

Dota 2 hero: Chaos Knight

The timing of Tier 5 items at minute 35 is crucial if you’re ahead. Dropping a Book of the Dead or Apex while the enemy is still on Tier 4 means game over. Play wisely in the early stages, and you’ll reach that spike every time.

Tips

• If you land a close range stun, it may be worth saving Reality Rift to gap-close after the stun wears off if you don’t need the armor debuff.
• Reality Rift does not break enemy channels.
• If you cast Reality Rift on a debuff immune/BKB’d enemy, you’ll just get teleported straight to them instead of meeting in the middle.
• Reality Rift grabs any illusions you own within a 1375 radius. This includes Rifting in illusions of allies created with Agh’s Scepter Phantasm.
• This is fairly common knowledge, but please turn on your Armlet before you Phantasm. Congratulations, you got super beefy illusions with no HP drain. This is also true pre-Manta or pre-Illusion rune for any hero.
• You can toggle your Armlet while TPing.
• You can start in INT Treads and swap while in the Phantasm delay to get your illusions to spawn with AGI treads. You can’t get them to STR because INT -> STR is two ticks, which can’t be performed in time.
• If you’re about to die, take a risk and send one of your illusions where you wanted to go while you sit still. Most people will assume you have garbage micro and continue pursuing whichever one is moving.
• Like with Manta Style, re-casting Phantasm from a Refresher will replace the old illusions, not create an additional set of illusions.

Counters

• Reality Rift and Chaos Bolt have amusingly long cast times. If you’re getting chased by CK, use tree fog liberally to juke his spells.
• CK cannot Reality Rift when rooted/leashed.
• Winter Wyvern can be an annoying hero for CK to deal with. Cold Embrace makes it nigh impossible for him to kill targets, and Winter’s Curse can turn his own Phantasm illusions against himself.
• Any level of Dagon can instakill illusions. As do spells like Dazzle’s Agh’s Shard Poison Touch, Disruptor’s Glimpse, Lion’s Mana Drain, Pudge’s Meat Hook, Pugna’s Life Drain, Skywrath Mage’s Mystic Flare, and any Hex.
• Enchantress is a notable CK counter since Untouchable makes her very difficult to kill early by CK alone and she can easily steal Phantasm illusions with Enchant.
• Because Phantasm illusions spawn one “tick” after the real CK emerges from the banish, you can attack+move the ground right underneath the Phantasm before it ends and you’ll always start attacking the real CK (assuming no other targets are closer to draw your attack+move aggro).
• Ghost Scepter can buy you valuable seconds if CK Rifts you into his illusion.
• Creating illusions of an enemy Chaos Knight has a chance to spawn an additional illusion thanks to his Reins of Chaos innate.

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Lifestealer – Fleshfeast Facet: The Tanky Terror

Dota 2 hero: Lifestealer

At first glance, Lifestealer may not seem like a “meta–defining” hero, but the Fleshfeast ability introduced in patch 7.38b has positioned him as one of the strongest carries in the update. The Blix team believes he is an underrated pick that is poised to excel in the safe lane—and we’re here to explain why.

Why It Works

Fleshfeast increases Lifestealer’s maximum HP by 25/35/45/55 for each hero kill, stacking infinitely as you accumulate kills. Additionally, his W ability, Open Wounds, refreshes its cooldown whenever a unit dies while under its effect—this is almost guaranteed to happen during team fights since it spreads naturally. Open Wounds also heals allies for 50% of the damage dealt, making it an unexpectedly valuable utility spell for the team. With Radiance, Armlet, Sange, and Yasha receiving no nerfs, Lifestealer can develop into an unyielding frontline tank that thrives in chaotic situations.

Dota 2: Lifestealer Facets Stats

Skill Build

Aim for a skill build of 1-1-4-1 by level 7, specifically in the order of Q-W-E-R. Maximize E first, this ability significantly boosts your movement and attack speed, enabling faster farming and increased damage in battles. Put a point into Q (Rage) at level 2 to gain magic immunity for better trades, and invest in E (Feast) at level 4 to enhance your sustain and damage. Take R (Infest) at levels 6, 12, and 18 for improved mobility and burst damage.

Dota 2 Lifestealer: Most Popular Skill Build

Item Build

Begin with Tango, Quelling Blade, and either Bracer or Wand for stats. Next, purchase Phase Boots, followed by Armlet to enhance your early fighting strength. After that, build Radiance to improve farming efficiency and deal burn damage in fights. 

Sange and Yasha will give you a significant mid–game boost, providing survivability, chasing ability, and additional stats all in one item. At this stage, consider getting BKB to counter magic-heavy teams, while Basher can be upgraded into Abyssal Blade for locking down elusive targets.

Dota 2 Lifestealer: Item Build

In the late game, you can either stack health with Heart or add utility to your build with Assault Cuirass.

Playstyle

In the lane, use Open Wounds to harass opponents and secure kills. Its spread means that each creep death can refresh the ability, allowing you to maintain a slow on enemies. Once you have Radiance, farm aggressively and then join team fights to stack HP with Fleshfeast. You’ll act as a tanky frontline who benefits from getting kills—consider pairing with allies like Leshrac or Zeus for significant healing from your W ability (50% healing is no joke). 

In the mid-game, you’ll be hard to kill; in the late-game, you’ll be nearly impossible to burst down. Focus on surviving encounters and picking off squishy targets to keep your stacks rolling.

Blix Pro Insight

Dota 2 hero: Lifestealer

Open Wounds is underrated—many players don’t realize it heals teammates. Coordinate with a nuker or right-clicker, and you’ll transform fights into prolonged engagements. This characteristic makes Lifestealer a team player disguised as a selfish carry.

Tips

• Lifestealer’s Feast innate allows him to deny allied creeps at 75% HP instead of the standard 50%.
• You can Infest and Control ancient creeps at the 2nd level of Infest.
• Midasing a creep that has Open Wounds on it will heal you.
• Using the “Iron Talon” neutral item on a creep that has Open Wounds on it will heal you.
• Infesting applies a basic dispel on your hero, except it is a rare dispel which also dispels buffs in addition to debuffs. For example, if you activate a rune, you’re going to lose its buffs when you Infest an ally.
• Consider Infesting an ally if they’re about to die. You give any Infested target a bunch of HP and move speed. Even if you immediately pop up, you still give them the burst heal of HP.
• You can toggle your Armlet while TPing.
• Remember to turn on Armlet before picking up Shield or Illusion runes.

Counters

• Ghost Scepter, Force Staff, Blink Dagger, and Shiva’s Guard are all great pickups against a Lifestealer. As is a TP scroll if he hasn’t gotten a Basher yet.
• Be aware that Lifestealer can’t cast Unfettered while he’s silenced, feared, or hexed. He can only strong dispel himself under disables like stuns or roots.
• Every initiator becomes twice as fearsome when Lifestealer is out here Infesting his teammates. Storm Spirit, Clockwerk, Batrider, Io, Spirit Breaker, Nature’s Prophet, etc, are all Mk. IV Lifestealer Bombers.
• Illusions of Lifestealer don’t copy his Feast innate buff stacks. If you click on Lifestealer and he doesn’t have a number on his Feast buff, it’s an illusion.

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Final Thoughts

Patch 7.38b has provided safe lane carries with some outstanding tools, making Dragon Knight, Chaos Knight, and Lifestealer our top picks for dominating the meta. Dragon Knight excels in lane control and AoE scaling, Chaos Knight brings tempo spikes and chaos through illusions, while Lifestealer offers tanky sustainability. These characters cater to various playstyles, whether you are a mechanical expert who excels at denying creeps or a strategic thinker who carefully times neutral item drops. 

We have tested these builds in the competitive Immortal Draft, and they are effective. Now it’s your turn to take them into ranked matches and climb the ladder. Stay tuned for more 7.38b content from Blix, as we will break down the other roles. In the meantime, farm smart, fight hard, and secure those victories! We also recommend visiting the Reddit thread for more Dota 2 content.