Welcome! Stop what you’re doing—because the midlane meta just shifted, and if you’re not adapting, you’re already falling behind. In patch 7.39b, Death Prophet has quietly risen from situational pick to broken, S-tier status. We’re talking about a hero that flexes between roles, crushes lane matchups, and shreds objectives like they’re made of paper.
This isn’t hype. It’s fact. And the proof is in the pro scene, where players like Kyotaka from Aurora Gaming are abusing DP’s new power curve to devastating effect—even in matchups that used to counter her completely.
In this comprehensive guide, we’re breaking down exactly why Death Prophet is dominating right now in 7.39b and how you can abuse her to climb in ranked play. From early lane mechanics to mid-game teamfight tips and ideal itemization routes—this is everything you need to know. Let’s get ready for this amazing Dota 2 Boost Guide.
Why Death Prophet Is Suddenly OP in 7.39b
The buffs in recent patches have significantly altered Death Prophet’s early-game strength and consistency.
Key Buffs That Changed Everything:
- Crypt Swarm Damage: Increased at level 1 by 15. That may not sound like much, but in midlane, it turns DP into a last-hit machine and guarantees ranged creep control.
- Spirit Siphon Scaling: Insanely efficient at level 2. Healing, damage, and uptime are all strong. This makes her trades unbeatable if timed well.
- Exorcism Talent Synergy: Her upgraded Aghanim’s Scepter creates bonus spirits on spell casts, giving her reliable slow, burst damage, and chase potential.
When you combine those changes with her naturally tanky stat line and snowball potential, you get a hero that is almost impossible to shut down in competent hands.
Laning Phase: Owning Midlane With Simplicity
Crypt Swarm Spam = Lane Control. The level one Crypt Swarm now hits harder, meaning DP can secure ranged creeps even when pressured. With its short cooldown and manageable mana cost, you should use it on cooldown to farm, harass, or both.
Tip: If you line up two creeps with your enemy, double-value hits are where you begin to generate real pressure.
Spirit Siphon Discipline
Early Siphon usage is where most DP players go wrong. Don’t spam it at level 2 unless you’re certain of a trade. Kyotaka demonstrated excellent patience—waiting until level 4 before committing a single Siphon charge, ensuring maximum efficiency.
At level 4, Siphon becomes a 300-damage + healing spell. Use it when the enemy oversteps, and you’ll win nearly every trade.
Bottles, Boots, and Null Talismans
Your standard laning build should be:
- Bottle (first big item)
- Boots → Treads
- Wand (timing based on match)
- Null Talismans (for mana sustain and early spell power)
- Treads offer synergy with her attack speed talents later and help keep her aggressive during trades.
Level 6 Timing: The Real Power Spike
When DP hits level 6, she becomes arguably the strongest hero on the map in terms of teamfight and objective control.
Contest Wisdom and Power Runes
You don’t just sit in lane. You rotate. You bring support(s). You contest wisdom runes, or you dive a tower with Exorcism.
DP’s Exorcism, especially with the Spirit Collector shard passive, gains power with every hero death on the map (yours, enemy, or allies). This results in 50% more ghosts by the 20-minute mark in active games. That’s absurd, and it scales well even in slow-paced matches.
Ganking With Ulti
Don’t pop Exorcism just for farming or passive pushing unless you know there’s no fight coming. Your best use case is:
- Popping Exo
- Rotating with support
- Diving an overextended core or contesting tower + rune
Play aggressively, but always have a backup plan (like Oracle’s ultimate or Wand charges) to keep you alive during dives.
The Secret Midgame Power Spike: Aghanim’s Scepter
The Aghanim’s Scepter turns DP from a lane bully into a full-blown teamfight carry. Every casted spell triggers an extra spirit that deals bonus damage and slows enemies.
- This item solves DP’s biggest flaw: mobility and sticking power.
Why Aghs Is Mandatory:
- Q, E, and auto-attacks trigger extra spirits
- 100% slow for 0.3s means you can actually stick to targets
- Great synergy with Treads + Level 10 talent (+40 attack speed)
- Massive boost to both farming speed and damage per second
You can begin to solo kill heroes who get caught out by a Silence + Siphon combo followed by Q spam. This item pushes DP into carry status, allowing you to take map control and dictate engagements.
Itemization: The Optimal Core Build
Let’s break it down:
- Standard Core Items:
- Treads
- Wand
- Null Talisman x1–2
- Aghanim’s Scepter
- BKB or Blade Mail (depends on matchup)
Why BKB?
You need dispel immunity to walk into backlines, especially against disables like Beastmaster Roar, Shadow Demon Disruption, or Pango’s Rolling Thunder.
When Blade Mail?
When enemies are running high physical burst (Lina, PA, Slardar), Blade Mail becomes a cost-effective armor source and reflects massive damage during Exo.
Luxury Items:
- Blink Dagger: Lets you instantly close gaps and silence high-priority targets.
- Kaya & Sange: Solves mana issues and boosts spell amp.
- Shiva’s Guard: Excellent for armor, anti-healing, and AoE control in clustered fights.
This combination of items turns DP into a full utility-damage hybrid who frontlines, soaks up damage, and outputs consistent, unavoidable AoE DPS.
Teamfighting Like a Boss
DP isn’t a backliner. You’re a pseudo-frontliner. You want to tank and kite while your team follows up.
Positioning Rules:
- Use Blink or terrain to get deep silences
- Pop Siphon immediately on tanky frontliners
- Spam Q to keep constant pressure on squishies
- Only commit Exorcism if the fight looks winnable or you’re taking an objective
Pro tip: In teamfights with Oracle, DP becomes nearly unkillable. Spirit Siphon healing + Oracle ult allows her to tank through anything. This combo is currently one of the strongest in Dota 2.
Managing Exorcism in Objectives
This is the trickiest part of DP gameplay: Do I ult for this tower?
General Rule:
- Tier 1 towers? Yes, especially early with tempo heroes.
- Tier 2 or Tier 3? Only if you have a number or timing advantage.
If you burn Exorcism to hit buildings without proper follow-up or vision, expect to get countered. But if your team knows to disengage after the ult expires, then even mid-game Exos on towers can be worth it.
In solo queue, be cautious—most teams can’t reset post-Exo. So avoid ulting unless you know you can either:
- End the fight quickly
- Retreat safely with no enemy follow-up
Dealing With Counters: When Things Get Hard
Even with all her buffs, DP isn’t invincible. There are a few things that still give her a hard time:
Problematic Matchups:
- Pangolier: His ultimate can stun-lock DP before she gets spells off.
- Beastmaster: Roar disables Exo engagement and boars kite your movement.
- Shadow Demon: Disruption can waste Exo time or save targets.
- Rubick: Can steal Spirit Siphon or Crypt Swarm—both very strong on him.
- High mobility heroes (Storm, Void Spirit): Hard to pin down with Siphon or Silence.
How to Play Around Them:
- Get Blink for faster initiations
- Focus on positioning—don’t get isolated
- Let your frontline bait spells, then enter second
- Time Silence to stop channeling or mobility casts
Talent Choices That Amplify Your Game
Here’s the optimal DP talent tree for 7.39b:
- Level 10: +40 Attack Speed
- Helps you get more ghost procs from Aghanim’s and benefits Treads synergy.
- Level 15: -1.5s Crypt Swarm Cooldown
- Enables spammable nuke and consistent Aghanim spirit triggers.
- Level 20: Spirit Siphon Steals Move Speed
- Improves chase, survivability, and repositioning during fights.
- Level 25: +8 Exorcism Spirits
- The final form. If you hit 25, your teamfight becomes boss-level.
Death Prophet in Pro Meta vs. Pub Games
In pro play, DP is already first-phase material due to her flexibility. She can go:
- Mid
- Offlane
Occasionally even support (in niche drafts)
In solo queue, however, midlane is her strongest lane, where she reliably gets level 6 on time and can start snowballing the map. With how early towers fall and how impactful Exorcism is at contesting wisdom and power runes, she wins games before the 20-minute mark if played well.
Final Thoughts: Death Prophet Is Your Ticket to Rank Ups
Death Prophet in patch 7.39b isn’t just viable—she’s dominant. If you’re a midlane player looking to climb, this is the moment to spam DP before the next patch inevitably nerfs her. With this Dota 2 Boost Guide you know it all now.
She offers:
- Winning lanes in almost every matchup
- Early and reliable objective pressure
- Natural synergy with healing/saving supports
- Flexibility in item builds
- Late-game scaling that can 1v5 teamfights
- So queue up, lock in Death Prophet mid, and get ready to silence the enemy—and your LP losses.
