Dota Underlords items grant a wide variety of buffs to individual heroes as well as passive buffs that last the entire match. Like heroes, items all have a tier level, with low-level items present in tier one at the start of the game, and powerful tier five items unlocking close to the end of a match.
The majority of these items can be assigned to a hero, with a weapon like the Maelstrom boasting a chance to cast a 100 damage lightning attack that chains to four enemies. Alternatively, you can acquire passives like Vicious Intent, which dishes out an additional point of damage to your opponent for every surviving unit and summon if you win. Unlike Dota Auto Chess, each hero can only carry one item, so you can’t stack one hero with a heap of buffs to win. Another difference is that there are only a few rounds where you can acquire loot, and not only do they always occur in a set order, they also guarantee an item every time. These loot rounds pits your team against increasingly challenging minions – if you win you choose one item from a selection of three, if you lose the computer randomly selects one for you.
As Dota Underlords items roll randomly, it’s very tricky to build strategies off them, but the best Underlords players are able to react to a strong item and build it into their plan of attack. Below you’ll find a Dota Underlords tier list, as well as a brief rundown of what we consider the S-tier items of the lot, which are the most powerful items for their in-game tier and usefulness.
Dota Underlords items tier list
Dota Underlords tier one items
- Blight Stone
Offensive item
Target gets -3 armour - Brooch of the Martyr
Support item
+50% mana gained from taking damage - Chainmail
Defensive item
+5 armor - Claymore
Offensive item
+21 attack damage - Embarrassment of Riches
Global item
Neutral rounds offer one more item choice - Gloves of Haste
Offensive item
+20 attack speed - Hood of Defiance
+50 magic resistance and +10 health regen - Tranquil Boots
Support item
+100% move speed and +16 health regeneration - Vitality Boost
Defensive item
+250 health
Dota Underlords tier two items
- Aegis of the Immortal
Global item
Prevent your next loss of life and destroy Aegis - Arcane Boots
Support item
When equipped hero has greater than 50% mana, restore 25 mana to all allies 1 cell away (once per battle) - Big-Time Contract
Support item
Equipped unit is Blood-Bound in addition to its other types
- Blade Mail
Defensive item
Reflects 30% of damage taken back to the attacker - Blink Dagger
Support item
At the start of the battle, teleport behind enemy lines to the enemy farthest away from the equipped hero - Brooch of the Aggressor
Support item
+100% mana gained from attacks - Fall from Grace
Global item
Human units count as Heartless when counting Dota Underlords alliances - Smuggler
Global item
Quality of items from neutral rounds are offered from 1 wave higher - Helm of the Undying
Defensive item
+5 Armor. Equipped hero survives for an extra 4.0 seconds after receiving a killing blow. Undying units, if they are in the undying state, will never deal damage to the opponent, but will still count when determining which side won a round - Summoning Stone
Global item
Allied summoned units have +150 health and +30 attack speed - Force Staff
Support item
When the equipped hero takes damage from a melee attack, push the attacker up to 6 cells away (10s cooldown)
Dota Underlords tier three items
- Mekansm
Support item
When equipped hero has less than 50% health, heal allies up to 3 cells away for 250 health (once per battle) - Maelstrom
Offensive item
25% chance on attack to cast chain lightning for 100 damage to 4 targets - Bracers of Desperation
Support item
Equipped hero resets their cooldown and gets full mana when below 30% health. Attack target’s magic resistance is reduced by 30% - Poaching Knife
Offensive item
Equipped hero has a 30% chance of producing 1 gold when they kill an enemy. Attacks against units with less than 20% health crit for 200% - Dawning of Ristul
Global item
Healing for both crews is reduced by 50% - Sacred Relic
Offensive item
+60 attack damage - Skull Basher
Offensive item
+25 attack damage and a 25% chance to stun targets for 1.5s - Vanguard
Defensive item
+250 health and a 50% chance to block 70 damage when attacked - Mask of Madness
Offensive item
Hero is silenced. +10% lifesteal and +40 attack speed - Octarine Essence
Support item
Reduces cooldown by 50%
Dota Underlords tier four items
- Battle Fury
Offensive item
Melee only. Melee attacks cleave 30% damage to nearby units - Black King Bar
Defensive item
Equipped hero becomes magic immune once the first enemy has 100% mana (once per battle) - Eye of Skadi
Offensive item
+400 health. Slows enemies on attack - Daedalus
Offensive item
+80 attack damage and a 30% chance to crit hit for 235% damage - Dagon
Offensive item
Deal 800 damage to a random enemy unit that has 50% or less health (once per battle) - Friends and Family Discount
Global item
All units are 1 gold cheaper - Moon Shard
Offensive item
+80 attack speed - Refresher orb
Support item
Refresh all cooldowns and restore 50 mana after casting an ability (once per battle) - Scythe of Vyse
Support item
When the equipped hero takes damage, transform the offending unit into a pig for 4s (15s cooldown) - Pipe of Insight
Defensive item
+50 magic resistance. Once the first enemy has 100% mana, apply a shield that blocks 400 damage to allies up to 1 cell away (once per battle)
Dota Underlords tier five items
- Higher Class of Criminal
Global item
Units in shop offered as if you were 1 level higher - Assault Cuirass
Defensive item
Equipped hero and adjacent allies have +15 attack speed and +10 armor. Adjacent enemies have -15 attack speed and – 10 armor - Radiance
Offensive item
Burns up to 2 cells away for 60 damage per second - Bloodthorn
Offensive item
+70 attack damage. When an enemy hero has more than 75% mana, silence them for 5s. Attacks against silenced hero can’t miss and crit for 140% (10s cooldown) - Desperate Measures
Global item
Your units gain +1% attack damage per 5 points of damage your Underlord has taken - Divine Rapier
Offensive item
+330 attack damage. If Divine Rapier is in combat and you lose a round to another player, they get the Divine Rapier - Expanded Roster
Global item
+1 unit cap - Heart of Tarrasque
Defensive item
+1000 health and regenerate 2% of max health every 1s - Shiva’s Guard
Defensive item
+10 armor. Emits a freezing wave that deals 250 damage to enemies within 3 cells and slows their movement and attack speed for 4s (once per battle)
Dota Underlords best items
Now that we’ve listed all of the Dota Underlords items per tier, here are our pick of the best items of the lot, starting from tier one and working up to tier five.
Embarrassment of Riches
Tier one items are pretty lacklustre and won’t be very effective after reaching the middle phase of a match. Therefore, picking Embarrassment of Riches instead of a meagre offensive or defensive item can be absolutely game-changing as it gives you a better chance of rolling legendary items as you approach the end of the game.
Pipe of Insight
Enemy Mage builds can be very tricky to overcome especially if they have a lot of AoE and disruption spells that stop your heroes from getting their abilities off. Pipe of Insight gives a hero of your choice heaps of magic resistance and pretty much nullifies the enemy’s first AoE cast.
Brooch of the Martyr
A handy buff for any powerful spellcasters early on.
Smuggler
This tier-two item doubles up with Embarrassment of Riches to make your item rolls in the middle and end phases of the game much, much more rewarding. Getting a good item roll in here can secure a win for you, so don’t underestimate these global items.
Octarine Essence
Having a unit that can cast twice can win you rounds, making this tier two item worth keeping all the way into the late-game.
Brooch of the Aggressor
This is a very strong mana gain item for its tier and will help you cast more and quicker.
A Higher Class of Criminal
Like the global items we’ve mentioned above, this is a great passive to pick up as it will make acquiring two-star versions of units like Tidehunter, Kunkka, and Keeper of the Light much easier it the late-game. This will save you a lot of rerolls.
Eye of Skadi
Slowing enemies on attack is very powerful, especially for units like Medusa who attack two targets at once, and so slow down two enemies at once. 400+ health will also help you get spells off more efficiently.
Vanguard
Put this on a tank and you can counter mages very efficiently as blocking damage will inhibit your enemy’s mana gain potential.
Refresher Orb
This is incredibly powerful if you’re running a Mage comp or have a couple of powerful casters you want popping off. This is the difference between getting one or two abilities off with your Keeper of the Light per round, which can make all the difference.
Radiance
Lots of area of effect damage against frontline enemies. Give this to a tank and you’ll have a new best DPS units. If you have a Warlock this burn damage will be constantly refueling your lifesteal.
Black King Bar
Lots of strong comps revolve around stunning with magic or dealing massive damage through abilities, so having one unit that can walk straight through a stun and start rampaging behind enemy lines is huge.
Friends and Family Discount
This makes 1-cost units free, and if you can get this early on then you will be able to acquire three-star units without draining your bank.
Expanded Roster
Having one more hero on the board, provided it’s a powerful one, can make all of the difference in a fight. This is invaluable.
Assault Cuirass
This can be placed on any unit positioned with others to make a huge difference. We prefer it on the frontline, where it gives your tanks a massive buff.
More Dota Underlords:
Dota Underlords heroes tier list
Dota Underlords strategy guide
Dota Underlords upgrades guide
And there you have it, a complete rundown of every Dota Underlords item, plus an items tier list showing you which items to pick with each loot round. Some build-specific items are worth grabbing, but are very situational, so we tend to go for passives and globals.