Dota 2 Items Guide - What You Need to Know

Introduction

Dota 2 is one of the most popular MOBA games in the world that has been around for nearly eight years now. However, those of you who are old-school players know that Dota 2 origins from DotA, which was a custom map in Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne. At one point, this custom game became more popular than Warcraft itself and developed its esports scene. As a result, Valve teamed up with the creator of this fantastic map called IceFrog, and together, they've released a standalone version of the map called Dota 2. Since its launch back in 2011, Dota 2 became one of the biggest and leading esports. Numerous tournaments all over the globe have some of the highest prize pools out of any game. 

However, before you can start dreaming of becoming a millionaire from Dota 2, you need to learn how to play this very complex game. One of the key elements to this is learning everything you can about the available items. There are over 150 different items, so it won't be easy, but we got your back.

General things to keep in mind

• The most crucial point to remember from this guide is that Dota 2 is a very dynamic game. This means that there is no strict item build on every character. Some items might do wonders in some scenarios and be utterly useless in others. Of course, there are some Core items for each hero that are a must, but we will take a look at them later in this guide.
• Your item choices in Dota 2 should be based on two main things - the role you're playing and how you want to play this role. For example, if you pick Ember Spirit, there are two popular ways to play him. The first is entirely based on his physical damage capabilities, whereas the other is mainly focused on doing magical damage. Both of them are very good, which means that it all comes down to what enemies are you facing and what you prefer. Needless to say, the item choices in both cases are entirely different.
• Another important thing when it comes down to items is that you shouldn't try to save a lot of gold before buying something. Don't get us wrong, of course, it's worth waiting a little bit to get a specific item, but that doesn't mean you have to stay "naked." The best thing to do is to spend your gold gradually, meaning that you have to buy the items for the specific timing of the game. In other words, you purchase new game items during the early game and late game items during the late game.
• If you ever played League of Legends and you die, nothing happens in terms of your gold. You will only suffer by not accumulating gold while you're dead. However, the situation is entirely different when it comes down to Dota 2. If you die here, you will lose a certain amount of gold, depending on your level, net worth, and most important - current kill streak. There are certain situations where you can lose 500+ gold. In order to avoid such a thing, you should invest in early to mid-game items before you start saving up for the "big things."

Which items to get?

This has to be one of the most common questions that every single new Dota 2 player asks. There are numerous hero guides out there that can give you some advice on what to go for, but keep it in mind that everything in Dota 2 is situational. You always have to think and decide which item is the best for the given situation. For example, players don't buy a Black King Bar on heroes such as Puck, for example, but when there are a lot of spellcasters from the enemy team, this item becomes precious.

The cool thing is that Valve added in-game guides a couple of patches ago that help a lot. In most cases, the things there are pretty accurate in terms of the general item choices, which makes the life of new players a lot easier.

After you buy the first starting items (tangoes, salves, early stats, etc.), you have to start thinking which items are worth buying. Here are a couple of things you need to know in order to make the best choice:

• The first thing to keep in mind is the type of hero you're playing - Strength, Agility, or Intelligence. This is very important because, in 90% of the cases, you need to get as much of that stat as possible. Every single one of them offers a different kind of bonuses - strength provides HP and health regen, agility gives MS & AS,  and intelligence provides a bigger mana pool, mana regen, and spells power. Of course, that doesn't mean you need only to buy items that contain your primary stat. After all, every single hero needs HP to survive, so you need to diversify your item choices. Luckily, most items provide stats in all categories, which make your life easier.
• Try to counter your enemies.  This might seem like a no-brainer, but we're repeating it because the sooner you start implementing it, the better. Always try to think which item will work best in the given situation. Do you need that extra 60 damage, or is it better to survive the initial burst?

Neutral Items

The Outlanders update introduced an entirely new thing in Dota 2 called Neutral Items. Unlike those from the shop, the only way in which you can get your hands on those is if you kill the Neutral Creeps. Of course, the drop is not guaranteed, which means you might spend a lot of time "farming" them. Despite that, it's worth giving them a shot because some of them are broken.

 This was our general Item guide for the new Dota 2 players out there. We truly wish you luck and remember, if you want to become good at the game, always think about what items are the best for your current game!

Check More of our Dota 2 Guides:

Tier 5 Dota 2 Neutral Items Overview

Dota 2 Items Guide: What You Need to Know

Dota 2 Items Guide: Top Six Support Items