Items
Gold turns into decisions.
There are over two hundred items and they are bought, not unlocked — every hero can buy every one of them. These eight come up in nearly every match, so they are the ones worth knowing first.
Accessories
| Item | Cost | What it does | Who buys it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boots of Travel | 2,500 g | Teleports to any friendly unit or building on the map. | Farming cores who cannot afford to walk. |
Armor
| Item | Cost | What it does | Who buys it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black King Bar | 4,050 g | Grants a few seconds of immunity to most magic and disables. | Almost every core, almost every game. |
| Heart of Tarrasque | 5,000 g | A large pile of health, and it regenerates fast out of combat. | Strength heroes who intend to be attacked. |
Artifacts
| Item | Cost | What it does | Who buys it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blink Dagger | 2,250 g | Teleports a short distance. Goes on cooldown when you take damage. | Initiators who need to arrive before they are seen. |
| Eul's Scepter of Divinity | 2,725 g | Throws a unit into the air, invulnerable and unable to act. | Supports saving allies, and anyone dispelling themselves. |
| Aghanim's Scepter | 4,200 g | Upgrades the hero's ultimate — a different upgrade for every hero. | Anyone whose upgrade happens to be a good one. |
Weapons
| Item | Cost | What it does | Who buys it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Desolator | 3,500 g | Attacks reduce the target's armour for a few seconds. | Physical damage carries pushing high ground. |
| Divine Rapier | 5,600 g | An enormous amount of damage. Drops on death for anyone to pick up. | People who have already decided how the game ends. |
A note on the prices
Costs move with every patch, and some of these have been changed more than once a year for a decade. Treat the numbers above as roughly right, not as a shopping list.