Updated:
20 Sep 2019
What are the best items for each individual Hero?
With the arrival of new items, Dota Underlords is starting to find a shape for itself. Since the Open Beta is still active, people still get a chance to get better and better at everything.
One very important aspect of the game is represented by the items that have a high impact on the gameplay. With such a large influence on your units, it is best to know wherethe item goes and why it’s best to be on that specific unit. This aspect will influence the outcome of your next fight in a lot of situations, and you either win or lose.
Since we want to usually win and create fun and interesting builds, it’s best to know why the item is better on that specific unit. With this in mind, I’ve created this build in order to have a greater understanding of why this item works best on every unit in the game.
One thing to always keep in mind when it comes to picking your items is the fact you want to achieve a specific build. Based on the following list, you will get an idea of what items you want and the ones that don’t fit your build.
| Unit | Item | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Abaddon | Bracers of Desperation | This item can save one of your important units in times of need. Abaddon is also a very tanky unit and by the time he reaches 30% HP, he would have already cast his Aphotic Shield once |
| Octarine Essence | The Octarine Essence will allow Abaddon to cast his ability multiple times. More shields are always welcome | |
| Alchemist | Vanguard | Usually you want your Alchemist to survive long enough to cast his Acid Spray. Vanguard will help him survive long enough to get his cast at least once |
| Mekansm | Since Alchemist will always frontline, a Mekansm will help him survive longer and he is usually positioned so that he can heal other units around him | |
| Anti Mage | Mask of Madness | Because Anti Mage has a passive for an ability, the silencing effect of Mask of Madness will not affect him. Also, he will drain mana faster |
| Moon Shard | This is the best attack speed item in the game, Anti Mage scales very well with AS | |
| Arc Warden | Maelstrom | Two Maelstroms are extremely powerful. With the copy of the Arc Warden you will deal a high amount of AoE damage |
| Big Time Contract | This item will get multiplied on the Arc Warden and with the Blood-Bound units around, you will hit like a truck | |
| Axe | Blade Mail | Axe tends to have a lot of HP and his ability, Berserker’s Call also gives him armor. The longer he lives the more damage your Blade Mail will do |
| Radiance | Since Axe has a lot of durability on the battlefield, Radiance will get enough time to damage the enemy units | |
| Batrider | Because Batrider only has 20 mana, Arcane Boots will trigger instantly and your units will cast their abilities faster | |
| Moon Shard | Batrider has the potential to obliterate units in seconds due to his Sticky Napalm ability. Attack speed is very good when the enemy units are more vulnerable to his attacks | |
| Beastmaster | Octarine Essence | Beastmaster has shown time and time again how impactful his ability is. Octarine Essence allows him to cast it even more often |
| Refresher Orb | This will double the burst your Beastmaster is capable of and that is obviously very good | |
| Bloodseeker | Helm of the Undying | Bloodseeker is a very squishy unit but the lower on HP he gets, the more attack speed he gains. Helm of the Undying will keep him alive to take down more creatures before he dies |
| Skull Basher | Since Bloodseeker gets more attack speed with every drop of HP he loses, this item will turn your unit into a stunning machine | |
| Bounty Hunter | Mask of Madness | With the Scrappy buff, Bounty Hunter is also a contestant for the Mask of Madness. With him being an Assassin, the faster he attacks the more chances to critical strike |
| Blink Dagger | With Blink Dagger, your Bound Hunter will get his ability almost instantly which can end up in one less unit for your opponent | |
| Chaos Knight | Battle Fury | Demons have a +50 True damage buff when they are the only demons on the board. Battle Fury will allow your Chaos Knight to cleave through your enemies and deal damage more effectively |
| Octarine Essence | Another good side of the Chaos Knight is his ability, Chaos Bolt. His CC is very valuable in the Knights composition and this item will allow him to cast it more often | |
| Clockwerk | Assault Cuirass | Because Inventors usually stick together and act as a frontline, Assault Cuirass is the perfect choice for Clockwerk. The item effect will affect all the other units and make your frontline unkillable |
| Vanguard | Since Clockwerk scales very well with HP, Vanguard is a good item to have. This item will also affect his explosion | |
| Crystal Maiden | none | |
| Disruptor | Refresher Orb | Static Storm is one of the strongest CCs in the game. Double Static Storm is usually a win condition |
| Helm of the Undying | This item will guarantee one cast from your Disruptor no matter what | |
| Doom | Battle Fury | Being a Demon, Doom already has a high DPS. Equipping him with Battle Fury will help him achieve his full potential |
| Refresher Orb | Double silence is always a good thing to have | |
| Dragon Knight | Moon Shard | Dragon Knight scales very well with attack speed and Moon Shard is the strongest item to offer that stat. Once he gets his Red Dragon form, doing cleave damage at a faster pace will help your Knights to supply their lack of damage |
| Daedalus | Since Dragon Knight has a good amount of damage when he transforms, it’s always good to run Daedalus and wait for the critical strikes | |
| Drow Ranger | Mask of Madness | This unit has a passive ability and it does not get affected by the silencing effect |
| Daedalus | With a fair amount of attack speed, Drow Ranger could also use some critical strike | |
| Enchantress | Arcane Boots | Enchantress has a very low amount of HP and most of the time you want her to get her ability off before dying. Arcane Boots will allow her to do that |
| Brooch of the Martyr | This will allow Enchantress to cast her spell faster | |
| Enigma | Scythe of Vyse | Enigma is already a Shaman but having an extra polymorph chance is always good. This item will keep your Enigma safe |
| Refresher Orb | Enigma has an ability capable of destroying the strongest builds out there, double Midnight Pulse will most certainly do the job | |
| Gyrocopter | Poaching Knife | Due to Gyrocopter being a Deadeye unit, this item will have a higher chance to proc. Gyro will always go for the low health units and you will be able to gain more gold due to the Poaching Knife |
| Daedalus | This unit has the highest base attack speed in the game, which means more crits from Daedalus | |
| Juggernaut | Big-Time Contract | After the buffs Juggernaut received, he’s become a very good unit. Big-Time Contract is a very safe bet on a unit that can become spell immune and also attack while being able to survive burst damage |
| Vanguard | This will allow your Juggernaut to get his ability off multiple times | |
| Keeper of the Light | Helm of the Undying | Because the Keeper of the Light struggles a lot with mana problems, sometimes he ends up going down without casting his ability. Equip it on this unit, place it in frontline and you will guarantee a cast |
| Target Buddy | Placing this item next to your Keeper of the Light will protect it from any Assassin or threat out there | |
| Kunkka | Refresher Orb | What is better than one boat? Two boats |
| Vanguard | This item will keep your Kunkka safe enough for him to get his cast off | |
| Lich | Refresher Orb | Due to the slow that is applied by his ability, Lich can become a complete monster with a Refresher Orb |
| Helm of the Undying | Sometimes, your Lich could die without getting his cast off. This item will ensure this unit gets it off | |
| Lina | Octarine Essence | This item will allow your Lina to get a second cast before it dies and burst damage is always good to have |
| Bracers of Desperation | Another option for Lina to get her second cast off | |
| Lone Druid | Refresher Orb | With the Druid trait, this item allows the Lone Druid to get two bears. Double CC is always a game changer |
| Bracers of Desperation | This is another option for the double bears | |
| Luna | Mask of Madness | Due to Luna having a passive ability, the silencing part of the Mask of Madness does not affect her. Also, the more attack speed, the more glaives you’ll have flying around the enemy board |
| Moon Shard | Another good option for the Luna to increase her dps. This item comes second after Mask of Madness due to the lifesteal bonus | |
| Lycan | Moon Shard | Once Lycan transforms, he gains a 40% chance to crit. Attack speed scales very well with crit |
| Summoning Stone | This item will buff the units that Lycan summons. They also have crit and more attack speed and HP is always good | |
| Medusa | Eye of Skadi | Due to her passive ability, Split Shot, Eye of Skadi on Medusa will apply the effect of the item on multiple units |
| Refresher Orb | This item will give your Medusa a second cast of the Stone Gaze. Mass CC is always more than welcome | |
| Mirana | Bracers of Desperation | When Mirana casts her Sacred Arrow, she jumps to the other side of the board. This item will help her in case she gets damaged to cast her ability and get away |
| Octarine Essence | Getting multiple shots of Sacred Arrow is always good to have | |
| Morphling | Bracers of Desperation | Morphling has a lot of mobility due to his ability, Waveform. This item will get him to cast twice, maybe even three time before going down |
| Vanguard | Sometimes you will go against heavy burst compositions, Vanguard will ensure at least one cast from your Morphling | |
| Nature's Prophet | Brooch of the Martyr | You want this item on your Nature’s Prophet so you can get your treants faster |
| Summoning Stone | This will buff your summoned units and give them +150 health and +45 attack speed | |
| Necrophos | Octarine Essence | Necrophos will be part of the Knights line up most of the time and healing has a lot more effect on them than any other alliance in the game. More casts from Necrophos are always welcome |
| Helm of the Undying | This item will keep your Necrophos up for a couple of seconds to get a second cast of the Death Pulse | |
| Ogre Magi | Vanguard | This will keep your meat shield alive for a couple of extra seconds so that your backline can do their job |
| Blade Mail | Since Ogre Magi works as a buffing machine and a meat shield, might as well deal some damage while he’s out at it | |
| Omniknight | Vanguard | Having Omniknight alive longer is always a good thing to have. Vanguard could mean the difference between a saved unit and a dead one |
| Bracers of Desperation | This item will ensure a second cast | |
| Phantom Assassin | Mask of Madness | Phantom Assassin has a passive ability. She doesn’t get affected by the silence; also, more attack speed, more crits |
| Moon Shard | This is the second option for your Phantom Assassin. Attack speed is the best on this unit | |
| Puck | Octarine Essence | Puck is a Dragon and has a secondary ability. Octarine Essence will affect both of his spells |
| Blink Dagger | This will allow your Puck to hit the enemy backline with heavy burst damage | |
| Pudge | Blade Mail | Pudge is a meat shield. Blade Mail will bring extra damage on a unit with 2.5k HP when hitting 2 stars |
| Radiance | Due to the durability of this unit on the battlefield, Radiance will slowly melt away the enemy units | |
| Queen of Pain | Blink Dagger | With the help of the Blink Dagger, Queen of Pain will get her ability off faster and most of the time in the backline |
| Refresher Orb | This is a very good method to delete the enemy backlines | |
| Razor | Arcane Boots | Razor usually sits around the rest of the Primordials. This item is good on him because it will help all your units cast their abilities faster |
| Brooch of the Martyr | This will ensure your Razor gets his cast off faster | |
| Sand King | Bracers of Desperation | This item will allow your Sand King, who is usually placed in the frontline to cast his ability twice |
| Black King Bar | Having this on your Sand King is always an option. This will keep this unit far away from burst damage and ensure it gets his cast off | |
| Shadow Fiend | Black King Bar | Shadow Fiend has a decent amount of damage to begin with but very low health. Black King Bar will protect your unit from burst damage |
| Moon Shard | With the Demon buff on his side, Shadow Fiend can deal a high amount of damage, especially with a lot of attack speed | |
| Shadow Shaman | Refresher Orb | Having double Polymorphs is always a good thing to have |
| Blink Dagger | This item will give your Shadow Shaman an almost instant Polymorph | |
| Slardar | Vanguard | Since Slardar’s ability, Corrosive Haze, turns any unit it touches into a 0 armor unit, it’s good to have him live a bit longer |
| Octarine Essence | With Slardar being a tanky unit, you will get multiple casts of his Corrosive Haze | |
| Slark | Mask of Madness | Slark steals attack speed off the units he attacks. Usually, this unit will get to the point where it has so much attack speed that the lifesteal effect will make him unkillable |
| Moon Shard | This is the second best option for this unit, the more attack speed, the more crits | |
| Sniper | Poaching Knife | Deadeye units will always bring a lot of economic success when they equip the Poaching Knife |
| Mask of Madness | With a good amount of base damage, Sniper could always give up on his ability, especially when playing Hunters | |
| Techies | Refresher Orb | What is better than one Remote Mine? Two Remote Mines |
| Helm of the Undying | This will ensure that your Techies gets his cast off no matter what | |
| Templar Assassin | Moon Shard | Assassins have had a lot of problems with attack speed. This item will enable your Templar Assassin to crit even more and get her ability off faster |
| Vanguard | Templar Assassin is one of the tankiest Assassins in the game, this item will allow her to get her ability off a lot more and get more value out of her | |
| Terrorblade | Black King Bar | This Demon unit has a powerful kit to begin with. It needs Black King Bar to ensure that it gets the Metamorphosis off. |
| Blink Dagger | This will give your Terrorblade an almost instant cast of his ability | |
| Tidehunter | Refresher Orb | Tidehunter has proven to be one of the best frontliners in the game. His CC can even the odds against any build and what is better than double CC? |
| Bracers of Desperation | This is the second option for this unit, double Ravage is one of the most effective CCs | |
| Timbersaw | Vanguard | With Timbersaw being an Inventor, the more HP it has, the more damage it deals when it explodes |
| Blade Mail | This item will help your Timbersaw increase the damage he deals before going off | |
| Tinker | Brooch of the Martyr | Tinker has a very low cooldown in general. This item will ensure that he also has more mana, for more rockets |
| Blink Dagger | A Blink Dagger Tinker in the enemy backline is always a massive threat, use it only when you think it’s necessary | |
| Tiny | Arcane Boots | With Tiny always being in the frontline and with such a powerful ability, you want Arcane Boots so that you get a faster stun |
| Vanguard | Aside from having a strong AoE CC, Tiny can also act as a meat shield with Vanguard equipped | |
| Treant Protector | Vanguard | Treant Protector is a very good meat shield, especially with an ability that heals him and units 1 cell away. Vanguard will help him survive longer and get more heals |
| Octarine Essence | This will keep your Treant Protector alive a lot longer due to his ability going off more often | |
| Troll Warlord | Mask of Madness | Alongside his passive ability, Troll Warlord benefits a lot from attack speed and lifesteal. Mask of Madness is the best choice for this unit |
| Moon Shard | This item is the second option for your Troll Warlord, attack speed is best on this unit | |
| Tusk | Vanguard | With most of the warriors being meat shields, Vanguard has a great impact on your frontline. Even a D tier unit like Tusk can become decent with Vanguard equipped |
| Brooch of the Martyr | This will allow your Tusk to get his ability off faster and burst damage on one unit is always good, especially in early game | |
| Venomancer | Summoning Stone | This item will empower all your Venomancer summonings |
| Target Buddy | This will keep your Venomancer safe and give him a higher chance to cast his Plague Ward ability | |
| Viper | Heart of Tarrasque | Viper has been one of the strongest frontliners and with a Heart of Tarrasque equipped, you got yourself a one man army |
| Vanguard | This is the second option for Viper, it will help him live longer which means more damage from the Corrosive Skin | |
| Warlock | Brooch of the Martyr | This item will allow your Warlock to get his ability off before dying. Most of the time you will have it frontline so you need this item to proc your possible alliance as well |
| Blink Dagger | When having an active Big-Time Contract, it’s good to run a Blink Dagger and try to suicide your weakest Blood-Bound units | |
| Windranger | Maelstrom | With a 1.11 attack rate, Windranger can deal a lot of damage when using Maelstrom. The more attack speed, the higher the chance to proc the item |
| Skull Basher | With high attack speed , this unit benefits a lot from this item and the stun mechanic it brings | |
| Witch Doctor | Blink Dagger | The Witch Doctor Paralyzing Cask is a decent CC ability but it becomes so much better when cast instantly and in the backline of your opponent |
| Brooch of the Aggressor | This will allow your Witch Doctor to get his ability faster than usual, not the first option but it’s 2nd best after Blink Dagger | |
