Best Neutral Items in Dota

The addition of neutral items adds yet another layer of depth to the already complex game that is Dota 2. Though these items are “free,” they can still be game-changing, offering powerful advantages that can shift the outcome of skirmishes, teamfights, or even entire matches. Here are the best neutral items in Dota 2 for every tier. 

Best Neutral Items in Dota 2 

Tier 1 Neutral Items

Chipped Vest

What it does: 

• Passive: Chipper – Everytime you are attacked, you return 30 damage to heroes and 20 damage to creeps.

Why it’s good: 

Chipped Vest is the best quality-of-life item in Dota 2. You pretty much have a mini Blade Mail that helps you farm jungle camps quickly. 

Best heroes to get it on: 

• Any melee core hero.
• Melee supports (Clockwerk, Ogre Magi).

Pollywog Charm

What it does: 

• Active: Ribbit – Increases the health regeneration of a target ally by 8 for 14 seconds.

Why it’s good: 

Pollywog Charm is a useful item for early game sustain, as it essentially heals for 112 health, which is as much as a Tango would heal – except you have infinite uses at zero cost. 

Best heroes to get it on: 

• Any Dota 2 support hero (use it on cores or yourself).
• Agility heroes that have a difficult time sustaining in the jungle (Spectre, Weaver, Juggernaut).

Occult Bracelet

What it does: 

• Passive: Rites of Eloshar – Each time the wearer is attacked they gain a stack of 0.4 mana regen, up to 5 stacks. Stacks last for 5 seconds.

Why it’s good: 

The Occult Bracelet is a very useful item for heroes that require mana to farm or participate in fights. With maximum stacks, you’re pretty much getting 2 mana regen, which is a third of a Clarity. 

Best heroes to get it on: 

• Any melee core hero that has low mana regen.
• Melee supports that have low mana pools (Clockwerk, Ogre Magi, Earthshaker, Treant Protector).

Tier 2 Neutral Items

Searing Signet

What it does: 

• Passive: Burn Through – Instances of magic damage from spells over 55 ignites enemies, causing them to take 90 magic damage over 6 seconds.

Why it’s good: 

Searing Signet is hands down the best Tier 2 item on heroes that have any form of nuking abilities. In the mid-game, when Tier 2 items drop, most of the best Dota 2 heroes with wave clearing abilities lack just a little bit of damage to one-shot creep waves – Searing Signet solves this issue for many heroes. 

Best heroes to get it on: 

• Support heroes with nukes (Lion, Witch Doctor, Rubick, Shadow Shaman).
• Core heroes with wave-clearing nukes (Queen of Pain, Zeus, Necrophos, Shadow Fiend).

Tumbler’s Toy

What it does: 

• Active: Vault – Propels your hero forward 300 units. Tumbler’s Toy gets disabled for 3 seconds if its owner receives damage from a player source.

Why it’s good: 

Tumbler’s Toy works as a mini Blink Dagger and is the best neutral item in Dota for heroes who can initiate but lack cast range or mobility in the early game. It’s best on support heroes that want to position on the outskirts but also seek the option to go in for a stun.

Best heroes to get it on: 

• Support heroes that will buy Blink Dagger later (Lion, Shadow Shaman, Rubick).
• Core heroes that can initiate (Magnus, Earthshaker, Axe).

Mana Draught

What it does: 

• Active: Bottoms Up – Restores 70 + 3% of the caster’s maximum mana over 6 seconds. If the hero is attacked by an enemy hero or Roshan, the effect is lost.

Why it’s good: 

Mana Draught is an amazing item for heroes that require mana to farm quickly or function properly. It also replenishes percentage-based mana, meaning it’s very helpful for heroes that have high mana pools. This item removes the need for buying Clarities in the mid-game. 

Best heroes to get it on: 

• Mana-hungry support heroes (Shadow Shaman, Witch Doctor, Rubick, Techies).
• Core heroes that use mana to farm (Shadow Fiend, Queen of Pain, Drow Ranger).

Tier 3 Neutral Items

Serrated Shiv

What it does: 

• Passive: Gut ‘Em – Attacks have a 20% chance to have True Strike and deal 8% of the target’s current health as bonus physical damage. Deals a flat bonus of 200 against Roshan.

Why it’s good: 

Serrated Shiv is just a great item for any core hero who depends on right-clicks to deal damage. A 20% chance to deal additional damage to targets means heroes with high attack speed benefit the most. 

Best heroes to get it on: 

• Any right-clicking agility core (Juggernaut, Sniper, Drow Ranger, Slark).
• Some melee strength cores (Sven, Lifestealer, Wraith King).

Whisper of the Dread

What it does: 

• Passive: Tunnel Vision – Grants 10% bonus spell amplification but decreases the wearer’s daytime vision by 15% in return.

Why it’s good: 

Whisper of the Dread provides you with a ton of bonus spell amplification. In fact, 10% spell amplification is as much as a Kaya gives you. 

The reduced daytime vision does make it harder to react to incoming ganks in the daytime, but in full-on teamfights, the rest of your team will provide full vision, making the side effects relatively negligible. 

Best heroes to get it on: 

• Any spellcasting core hero (Leshrac, Shadow Fiend, Invoker, Puck, Lina).
• Support heroes that deal magic damage (Pugna, Rubick, Silencer, Skywrath Mage, Warlock).

Gunpowder Gauntlet

What it does: 

• Passive: Beat the Crowd – The next attack deals an additional 120 magic damage and splashes to units within 250 units for 50% of the original attack’s damage plus the additional magic damage.

Why it’s good: 

Gunpowder Gauntlet is pretty much what you’d pick up as a right-clicking core if you didn’t roll Serrated Shiv. It’s the next best neutral item for heroes who deal damage with their attacks. 

Best heroes to get it on: 

• Any right-clicking agility core (Juggernaut, Sniper, Drow Ranger, Slark).
• Some melee strength cores (Sven, Lifestealer, Wraith King).

Tier 4 Neutral Items

Rattlecage

What it does: 

• Passive: Reverberate – After the wielder cumulatively takes 180 damage from any source within a time frame, bone projectiles are released towards nearby enemies, dealing 110 damage and slowing their movement speed by 100% and attack speed by 100.

Why it’s good: 

Rattlecage is hands down the most broken neutral item in Dota 2, and some players even retain it after Tier 5 items drop. Its passive effect pretty much gives you a short buffer against burst damage, buying you just enough time to react and pop BKB or use another item or ability to survive an initiation. 

Best heroes to get it on: 

• Any hero in Dota 2. This is unironically the best neutral item in the entire game. 
• However, heroes like Axe or Legion Commander might not appreciate the attack speed reduction on enemies. 

Flayer’s Bota

What it does: 

• Active: Bloodthirst – Grants the wielder 15% bonus attack damage and 30 attack speed for 6 seconds while on cast.

Why it’s good: 

Flayer’s Bota is the dream item to roll for any right-clicking hero. It gives you attack damage and attack speed with literally zero downside. And remember, the bonus attack damage is percentage-based, meaning it scales and benefits heroes with high raw damage. 

Best heroes to get it on: 

• Any core hero that deals right-click damage (Juggernaut, Shadow Fiend, Sniper, Drow Ranger, Slark).

Giant’s Maul

What it does: 

• Passive: Crushing Blow – Empowers the next attack with a 140% critical hit, and slows the target’s movement speed by 10%, attack speed by 15%, and cast speed by 20% for 3 seconds.

Why it’s good: 

If you didn’t roll the Flayer’s Bota, your next best alternative as a core hero is Giant’s Maul. It provides a guaranteed crit that slows enemies down. Overall it’s just a very straightforward and helpful item – no complaints here. 

Best heroes to get it on: 

• Any right-clicking agility core (Juggernaut, Sniper, Drow Ranger, Slark).
• Some melee strength cores (Sven, Lifestealer, Wraith King).

Tier 5 Neutral Items

Book of the Dead

What it does: 

• Active: Greater Demonic Summoning – 
• Summons 2 Necronomicon Warriors and 2 Necronomicon Archers that are under the caster’s control, with strong attacks and several abilities of their own.

Why it’s good: 

Book of the Dead doesn’t feel like the best Tier 5 neutral item for an individual hero, but it’s one of the best neutral items in Dota for the team, so at least one member of the team should have it. 

If the game has exceeded 60 minutes, there’s a high chance that wave management is crucial, as some Barracks and Towers would have already gone down. If the enemy team has a Book of the Dead and your team doesn’t, your team will have a hard time pushing waves. 

Best heroes to get it on: 

• Any hero that rolls bad items (Book of the Dead is a vital team-oriented item).
• Generally support heroes should be the ones to grab it.

Minotaur Horn

What it does: 

• Active: Lesser Avatar – Applies a basic dispel. Grants 50% magic resistance and immunity to pure and reflected damage. For the 2-second duration, any negative effect from enemy spells has no effect.

Why it’s good: 

Minotaur Horn is pretty much a mini BKB. In late-game situations, you can’t afford to be greedy with your BKB usage, as heroes can burst you from hundred to zero in seconds. So, Minotaur Horn works as a nice panic button to ensure you don’t die and can save BKB for another moment.

Best heroes to get it on: 

• Strength offlaners that like going in first (Axe, Pudge, Legion Commander).
• Agility cores that need dispels and immunity (Anti-Mage, Phantom Assassin, Razor, Slark, Drow Ranger).

Divine Regalia

What it does: 

• Passive: Exalted – Increases the wielder’s outgoing damage by 20%. Dying disgraces the regalia, making it lose its bonus, as well as its enchantment.

Why it’s good: 

Divine Regalia is a great item for heroes that deal lots of damage. However, similar to Divine Rapier, it’s a pretty all-in neutral item that is best grabbed either when significantly ahead or when very desperate while behind. Even though dying permanently disables the item, you can always reroll after 10 minutes of play. 

Best heroes to get it on: 

• Heroes that can deal damage from afar (Zeus, Sniper, Drow Ranger).
• Hard carries (Medusa, Anti-Mage, Juggernaut).