Dota 2/Items

Dota 2 has a very vast selection of items, each having their own effects. Most items can be bought from the Main Shop by the fountain, but some items can only be bought from the Secret Shop.

Basics

These items will grant basic effects and usually serve as components for better, more expensive items.

Consumables

Name	Picture	Cost	Effect	Use
Clarity		50	Restores 100 mana over 30 seconds. Effect stops if user is attacked	A good starting item for mana-heavy heroes, especially if you will be spamming abilities in lane.
Tango		90	Eat Tree - Consume a tree to restore 115 hp over 16 seconds. Comes with 3 charges.	A good starting health regen item for any hero. It isn't interrupted by attacks or cost as much as a Healing Salve, but takes longer to heal and heals less.
Healing Salve		100	Regenerate - Restores 400 hp over 10 seconds. The effect will be lost if the user is attacked.	Another starting health regen item. Heals more health quickly than the tangos, but the effect can be easily cancelled. It's usually a good idea to buy one of both at the start to get some versatility in health regen.
Smoke of Deceit		100	Makes the user and every nearby allied heroes will become invisible as well as gaining 15% movement speed for 40 seconds. Moving within 1025 range of an enemy hero or tower will drop the invisibility. Has a cooldown of 90 seconds.	An item usually picked up by gankers to slip by Observer Wards and gain the element of surprise when ganking. Also commonly used on the whole team when trying to force a teamfight or eliminate an important hero like the enemy carry.
Town Portal Scroll		135	Teleport - Teleports the user to a targeted friendly building. Has a cooldown of 65 seconds and costs 75 mana.	It's a good idea to always carry a TPS wherever you are, as it reduces the time taken to go back to the fountain to heal then returning to the lane. You can also switch lanes at a moment's notice, either to farm or push an undefended lane or to help defend a tower.
Dust of Appearance		180	Reveal - Reveals invisible heroes in a 1050 radius AoE for 12 seconds. Has a cooldown of 60 seconds and costs 5 mana.	Usually bought by supports to counter an enemy hero that relies on invisibility, like Bounty Hunter or Riki. Also bought if you suspect the enemy is going for a smoke gank.
Animal Courier		150	Carries items from your base to you and your allies. It also has an inventory of 6 slots and can use some items that don't require mana like Healing Salves on enemy heroes. It is magic immune, but only has 45 hp. If it dies, it will give an 175 gold to every enemy hero. It will respawn in 3 minutes, during which your team cannot access the items that the courier was carrying.	The courier is one of those items your team simply can't do without. The trip from a lane to the fountain's main shop or the secret shop is very long, so running all the way back to buy something will mean you are missing a lot of farm in the lane. If you're a support buy either this or wards at the start of the game.
Flying Courier		220	Upgrades an existing Animal Courier. The courier can now fly across terrain and trees, letting it reach your allies faster. It also gains a new ability called Speed Burst which makes it move at the maximum movement speed for 20 seconds, but has a cooldown of 40 seconds.	It's recommended to get a Flying Courier after the game has progressed for some time as the reduced time for the courier to travel between the fountain and your team is very helpful.
Observer Ward		200	Places a ward that grants vision of a 1600 radius of area. These wards last for 6 minutes, have invisibility and has a restock time of 6 minutes in the shop. Comes in pairs.	The Observer Ward is absolutely crucial to victory. Vision of an area is an extremely powerful tool as it can detect enemy heroes entering your jungle going for a gank. It can also be used to guard rune spots or block neutral creep camps. If you are playing the support, either get this at the start or the courier, and always remember to buy a new pair of wards once the previous one expires.
Sentry Ward		200	Places a Sentry Ward that grants true sight, which reveals invisible units, in a 950 radius area around it. They are invisible, lasts only 3 minutes but doesn't have a limited stock.	Sentry Wards are usually used for counter-warding, which is the tactic of revealing enemy Observer Wards so your team can destroy them. Since vision is so important for either team, denying them vision by taking out their Observer Wards can give your team an immense advantage. While it can also be used to reveal invisible enemies, usually a Dust of Appearance will be enough.
Bottle		600	Regenerate - Refills 135 hp and 70 mana in 3 seconds. Comes with 3 charges which can be replenished when near a fountain. It can also be used to store runes for later use, which will also fully replenish the charges in the bottle.	Almost always picked up for the hero soloing mid. It helps them stay in lane against constant harssment as well as granting your team rune control, which a solo mid hero can easily do as they are close to both rune spots. Bottled up runes can come into handy when going for a gank or a push.

Attributes

Attributes are items that increase your Strength, Agility and Intelligence. They are also components for stronger items.

Name	Picture	Cost	Effect	Use
Iron Branches		53	+1 to all attributes	Iron Branches is a very cost-effecient item. 3 branches give the same effect as a gauntlet, a slipper and a mantle for only about a third of the price. It gives you a good mix of survivability and damage. If you bought all your starting items and have leftover gold, and don't plan to save for any items, get iron branches. It is also a required component for making a Magic Wand or a Mekansm, the former a staple item for almost all heroes while the latter a very good support item. There's a reason it's nicknamed the GG branches.
Gauntlets of Strength		150	+3 strength	Usually picked up by fragile heroes for more survivability or strength carries for damage. It can then be upgraded into a Bracer or an Urn of Shadows, both of which are items that increase your survivability.
Slippers of Agility		150	+3 agility	A starting item for carries, especially agility carries. It can be used to make early-game carry items like a Poor Man's Shield or Wraith Bands.
Mantle of Intelligence		150	+3 intelligence	Less common than other starting attribute items, it's usually picked up by mana-starved heroes or ability-reliant spellcasters. It can be used to make a Null Talisman, a common early game item for spellcasters.
Circlet		185	+2 to all attributes	Usually picked up to finish a Bracer, a Wraith Band and a Null Talisman.
Belt of Strength		450	+6 strength	Can be made into Power Treads which is a common boot upgrade or into powerful late-game items Sange, Necronomicon or Skull Basher.
Band of Elevenskin		450	+6 agility	Can be made into Power Treads or into a Yasha.
Robe of the Magi		450	+6 intelligence	Part of Power Treads recipe. Can also be made into a drum, a blademail, a diffusal blade, a quarterstaff or a veil of discord.
Ogre Club		1000	+10 strength	Used to make the powerful late-game items Aghanim's Scepter, BKB or Sange.
Blade of Alacrity		1000	+10 agility	Used to make an Aghanim's, a Diffusal Blade or a Yasha.
Staff of Wizardry		1000	+10 intelligence	Used for making a variety of items, which are an Aghanim's, a Dagon, an Eul's, a Force Staff, a Necrobook or a Rod.
Ultimate Orb		2100	+10 to all attributes	Used to make the potent late-game items Eye of Skadi, Scythe of Vyse, Linken's Sphere and Manta Style

Upgrades

These items are usually combinations of basic items. Some of them require you to purchase a recipe to complete the item.

Secret Shop Items

These items can only be gotten at the secret shop, and are components for making powerful late-game items.