With the Dota 2 Gameplay Update 7.38, entitled Wandering Waters, Valve has decided to change up the game in significant ways, including new water-based Neutral creeps, and a way to farm a new currency, Madstone, all to create neutral artifacts in a completely reworked system.

One of the biggest questions that Dota 2 fans, especially those who haven't played in a while, might have is how you can get the new Madstone currency and what the farming limits are. Let's take a look!

In the new gameplay update, Neutral creeps do not drop Neutral Tokens, and the Neutral Stash has been removed. Instead, players must get Madstone during a match, and collecting enough of this resource will allow you to craft an Artifact and an Enchantment.

To earn Madstone, you must completely clear a Neutral Creep Camp. The player who clears the camp gets two Madstones, while another one Madstone is given to one of their teammates at random. There are some caveats, however, which Valve has explained:

• Dropped Madstone is automatically collected if there are no enemy heroes within an 800 unit radius of the last creep to die and there is an allied hero within 1200 units of the dead creep. Otherwise, it is left on the ground where the creep died and can be collected by either team
• If the player who collects the Madstone is already at their limit (more info below), all of their Madstone is also evenly split between teammates

There is a limit/cap to how much Madstone you can earn, and the cap increases the longer the game progresses. Check out the details below.

• At the start of the game, the Madstone Cap is 0
• At 5:00, the Madstone Cap is increased to 5
• At 15:00, the Madstone Cap is increased to 15
• At 25:00, the Madstone Cap is increased to 25
• At 35:00, the Madstone Cap is increased to 35
• At 60:00, the Madstone Cap is increased to 45
• At 70:00, the Madstone Cap is removed and players can collect infinite Madstone

In Turbo mode, the times these limits kick in are halved. Further, the players who clear a camp get three Madstone, and a random teammate gets two.

Use your Madstone to craft Neutral Artifacts and Enhancements. Good luck! I think the system might need some tuning, but it's definitely exciting and can shake things up. Remember, you need five Madstone to craft a Tier 1 item.

Header image via Valve.