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The most popular neutral items in Dota 2 patch 7.34b
Dota 2 patch 7.34b has been here a while and the meta has matured enough that most heroes have settled into their power level. Nature's Prophet dominates the meta, Ogre Magi can't buy multiple Hand of Midas anymore, and Sand King has faded back into irrelevance after one week in the spotlight.
Each patch also has its meta of neutral items, with some of them being considered "must-pick" while others are almost always ignored. In this article, we will look at which neutral items are making waves, and which are being left behind in the immortal bracket.
The most popular neutral items in Dota 2 patch 7.34b for each tier
Tier one: Occult Bracelet
Showing up over 15% of the time is Occult Bracelet and it is easy to see why. The item provides nearly as many stats as Pig Pole, along with a little magic resistance and mana regeneration on top of it.
Most heroes struggle with managing their mana in the early game and an extra 2.5 mana regeneration goes a long way to solving that. The extra magic resistance is also helpful in warding off damage in early skirmishes when most incoming damage is from enemy spells. Still, it's only 5% now, which is nice but not that helpful.
Arcane Ring and Fairy Trinket are the next most picked-up neutral items, further emphasizing the importance of managing your mana after the laning stage.
Tier two: Vambrace
Flexibility is the name of the game at the 17-minute mark, and no item showcases that better than Vambrace.
Worried about dying? switch to strength and enjoy 176 extra health and 8% magic resistance. Do you want to farm faster? go Agility, and you are working with a total of 18 extra attack speed. Are you a spell caster and want a little extra oomph to your spells? switch to intelligence and you'll enjoy a (slight) increase in your magic damage.
Whatever you need, Vambrace can provide some of it, which is why it's the most popular neutral item in tier two, showing up 14% of the time.
To nobody's surprise, Philosopher Stone is in second place because we all love gold, Meanwhile, Ring of Aquila comes in third, thanks to its decent all-around stats and useful aura.
Tier three: Titan Sliver
It's a close race in tier three, with only a 0.2% difference between the winner and second place. But in the end, Titan Sliver is the most popular neutral item in tier three.
Versatility and a wide variety of useful bonuses have been the trend with this list so far and it continues in tier three. Titan Sliver provides twice as much magic resistance as Vambrace, with a sprinkling of status resistance and extra damage as well.
This makes it an item that anybody can use, after all, who doesn't want to be stunned for a shorter time or shrug of a Finger of Death?
The bonus physical damage makes it a more suitable item for cores than supports, but anybody can make solid use of it.
Psychic Headband gets the silver medal, allowing ranged spell casters to push enemies away, along with keeping their distance in team fights. Quickening Charm gets the bronze medal, more health regeneration and shorter cooldowns are always useful.
Tier four: Spell Prism
When it was introduced, Spell Prism provided 20% cooldown reduction, 12 to all stats, and four mana regeneration. The item provides half those benefits now and yet it is still the most popular tier four neutral item.
Alright, so 12% isn't half of 20% but it almost is, and that 12% cooldown reduction is enough for the item to show up as much as it does.
Spell Prism also provides five to all stats, which is....nice. I mean it's the same as a Pig Pole and that's tier one, so you're not picking this up for the stats. Or the flimsy mana regeneration.
Ninja Gear comes in second place and it's easy to see why. Smoke is a limited and valuable resource and having one for yourself allows you to roam around the map alone to find pickoffs or plant deep wards. The extra movement speed and agility are nice bonuses.
Third place goes to Mind Breaker, which is probably the best DPS item in tier four. It provides 45 damage that isn't reduced by armor and 30 attack speed while silencing enemies? yes please.
Tier five: Mirror Shield
Very very few games reach the 60-minute mark, extremely few. Mirror Shield is the most picked item in this tier and it only shows up 0.14% of the time.
Mirror Shield is the easiest tier-five item to use, it provides 10 to all stats and combines the effects of a Linken's Sphere and Lotus Orb active without needing to be used. It's an amazing defensive item to have.
Echo Shield comes with a 12-second cooldown, so it can proc multiple times during extended engagements, firmly putting Mirror Shield in the S tier of neutral items.
Ex Machina is only slightly behind, with a 0.13% appearance rate. Refreshing big powerful items such as Black King Bar, Abyssal Blade, Satanic, Hex, Ex Machina does it all while providing near physical immunity with an extra 20 armor.
In third place, we have Giant's Ring. You can walk over cliffs, get a huge amount of extra strength and movement speed, and deal three to four times the damage of Radiance when you get on top of enemies. What's not to like?
What do you think of this list? did you see your favorite neutral items here? or are you thinking of adjusting your picks in the future? Let us know in the comments below.
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Image source provided by: Valve
