Ranking Every Neutral Item In Dota 2 Patch 7.41b - Part 1

It's been a while since we did a tier list of Neutral items in Dota 2. There have been a lot of changes to the system, and in this list we will look at the items themselves, without any enchantments.

Be aware that the items are rated based on how well they do their intended job. This list is extremely subjective, and it's unlikely you'll agree with each ranking. However, we do believe this will serve as an overall solid baseline for people who want to know more about picking the best early neutral items.

Ranking every tier 1 neutral item in Dota 2 patch 7.41b

C-tier

Possessed Mask

Every time you attack, you gain 5 health back. Not 5%, just 5 flat health back. Early on, that's probably better than 5% anyway, as most heroes are dealing less than 100 damage when they get their tier-one neutral.

But does that make Possessed Mask worth picking up? Probably not. There seem to be better items for pretty much anything you want early on. Jungling? Chipped Vest. Hitting enemies? Dagger of Ristful to kill, Ash Legion Shield to stay alive. Looking for some health? Pollywag Charm provides pretty solid sustain and can be used on allies. And really, the rest are also better pick ups. 

For Morphling, Possesed Mask is pretty good, but everyone else has way better options. 

Duellist Gloves

20 Attack speed sounds pretty nice early in the game, but the main issue with Duellist Gloves is that you have to be within 1200 range of enemy heroes. For cores who wish to farm early, this item does nothing most of the time (though it can serve as an early warning system). For people who wish to engage enemies, 20 attack speed is... I mean it's fine, but is there really no better tier-one option for skirmishes? 

Overall, a fairly underwhelming item that requires too much to be useful. 

B-Tier

Stonefeather Satchel 

One of the few neutral items that provides extra stats, in this case either 12 movement speed or 3 armour. I like the extra stats, but the item's abilities are quite lacklustre.

Getting a 30% bonus or reduced movement from forced abilities is...mostly whatever, really. It's kind of nice to use it when being tossed by Tiny or forced by allies to safety. But in reality, you'll just stick to whichever suits you more until you upgrade to tier two.

Another issue is that you won't encounter much forced movement in the first 15 minutes of the game anyway. Nobody has a Force Staff, and how many abilities even move heroes? You aren't countering a whole lot here.

If it weren't for the extra stats, this item would be in C-tier, but movement speed is so hard to come by that Stonefeather Satchel gets B-tier (barely).

Dormant Curio

It's important to remember Dormant Curio does nothing by itself; it buffs the next pickup by 30%. That's nice, but it means that for the first 15 minutes you are essentially a neutral item behind others. 

However, if nothing tickles your fancy, then Dormant Curio is a legit pickup. I usually prefer to take something at tier-one, as here is usually at least one valid pickup, but that isn't always the case, and Curio is great to buff up your mid-game later on.

Not amazing, but never bad, Dormant Curio feels well suited for B-tier. 

Weighted Dice

One important thing to note is that weighted dice do not increase your base damage by 6. It increases your base MAX damage by 6. To explain, let's say your hero damage is 50-60; picking up weighted dice makes it 50-66, not 56-66. Which means, on average, you will gain 3 more damage points, along with the Loaded ability. 

Originally, I wasn't a fan of this item, as Loaded didn't add much damage or gold. On most heroes it added about 2 damage, while most creeps gained about one extra gold when killed. It's not much of a bonus, but it does add up if you're farming efficiently, both in extra damage and gold. 

Still, it's not exactly a massive benefit, and while far better than before, weighted dice deserve their spot in B-tier and no higher.

Occult Bracelet

While the description is a bit confusing, the basic summary is that every time the wearer is hit, the Occult Bracelet provides a total of two mana back. This can stack up to 10 mana returned for five attacks within five seconds. More than five attacks refresh the duration, instead of adding more stacks.

The Occult Bracelet is great for heroes who wish to farm but tend to absorb attacks while doing so. The issue is that most heroes would prefer to burst down camps as soon as possible. Early camps do decent damage, and it's not worth taking longer to defeat them just to restore more mana. There are also better jungling options in tier 1, such as Chipped Vest, Forager's Kit, and Weighted Dice.

Overall, Occult Bracelet is fine, but rarely the best option for tier 1.

A-Tier

Kobold Cup

For six seconds, the wearer and all nearby allies gain 10% movement speed. This ability costs 40 mana and has a 40-second cooldown.

If you are looking to run around the map, chase down enemies, and escape early rotations, then Kobold Cup is a fantastic item. The early mana cost is slightly pricey, but it's well worth it. For heroes such as Spirit Breaker, it's common to keep this up until tier-3 in some games. Great item, but the mana cost keeps it from being S-tier.

Dagger of Ristful

Dagger is an interesting item. You pay 100 health to deal 25 more damage per hit. This is quite a bit of a health cost but can be mitigated by  a few heroes (Faceless Void Timewalk, Weaver Timelapse). Plus, it's not like players are new to using health for gain. I'm looking at you, Soul Ring.

25 damage is a tonne of extra damage early on, and heroes who hit quickly will notice a massive increase in their DPS. I don't often pick this item, though, as I typically play ranged supports, but its value is undeniable and its spot in A-tier is well earned.

Pollywag Charm

Increase an ally's regeneration by eight for 14 seconds, which is a total of 112 hp returned. This ability comes with a 45-second cooldown, which is a bit long. Healed units also walk 10% faster in water.

Pollywag Charm is very nice. It keeps you and your allies topped up between fights or just while moving from camp to camp in the jungle. The versatility of using it on yourself or others makes it fantastic to have. It's not a whole lot of health, nor is the bonus movement speed very noticeable, but it's just solid overall and worth its A-tier placement.

Chipped Vest

I struggled between putting this in B or A tier, but in the end Vest is either at the top of B or the lowest of A. Regardless, it's a solid option for nearly every hero.

When attacked by enemies, you return 30 damage to heroes and 15 to creeps. This makes Vest significantly better for heroes who absorb hits (Centaur, Clockwork) than for ranged spellcasters (Keeper of the Light, Zeus). However, Vest is still a decent pickup if you intend to jungle for a significant portion of the early game. 

While a bit situational on who can best utilise it, Chipped Vest is a very good option on most heroes.

S-tier

Ash Legion Shield

What an incredible tier-one Neutral item. For six seconds, the user and all nearby allied-controlled units (heroes, summons) have a 160 physical damage block barrier. This barrier is improved by armour. The ability has no mana cost and comes with a 40-second cooldown and a 20 movement speed penalty.

Ash Legion Shield is obscenely strong. Everyone is going to right click a bit early on, and this allows you and your team to shrug off a lot of it. You can use this to dive from towers or ignore Bristleback completely for a few seconds. I've kept to tier two in many games when facing several physical damage dealers.

While jungling, Ash Legion Shield provides way more sustain than something like Pollywag Charm (more damage block, lower cooldown). You just can't go wrong with this item, and it is the best pickup 90% of the time.

Forager's Kit

Ah, the Forager's Kit, the poor man's trusty shovel. The newly introduced neutral item allows highlighting certain nearby trees. If you stand next to one of those trees for a second, you get one of four items. A 30-gold bag, a mushroom that heals 10% of a hero's max health, a mushroom that restores 50+2% of a hero's max mana, or a nut that provides a permanent +1 to a hero's main attribute. All items also provide a bonus when held in inventory, though they are all small.

Forager's Kit is fantastic, as every drop from it is very useful. Health and mana regen are both great for keeping you on the map, while extra stats are always useful. 30 gold isn't much, but it's probably more valuable than you'd get from weighted dice. The fact that these items can be used to aid allies gives Forager's Kit incredible versatility as well.

That's our tier list for every neutral item in Dota 2, part one. We aim to go through every tier, so check back here for more!

READ MORE: Quinn and KingJungles: Different Perspectives on Dota 2

Featured Image Source: Valve