The uniqueness of each Dota 2 game match requires players to be able to adapt to different situations and scenarios. This may include choosing a hero to match the opponents' counter pick, different options for pumping the character's abilities, as well as items to collect on the hero, including situational items that are determined by different components of the game. Each character, depending on their role, has a number of specific artifacts that suit them best. In this Dota 2 itemization guide, we will check the best artifacts for each role and why you should buy it.

Items for 5 position

Each character in a role belongs to one or more roles. Depending on the conditional number of their position, the priority of the hero's farm is determined. The first position should maximize its farm, that is, get as much gold as possible. The fifth position does not farm, and its income is very limited. Therefore, as a result, supporters are limited to some items until the end of the game, since active abilities play a major role in them. However, this does not mean that these heroes do not buy artifacts at all, but everything is situational and depends on whether you can afford them.

You should always analyze the situation and understand what you or your team lacks. Supports are always focused on supporting and rescuing their team, so you should choose items that will cover these needs. Usually, these are artifacts that can "take the enemy out of the game" for a short time, preventing them from catching up with you or an ally, or from using their ability to the fullest. An example of such an item would be Eul's Scepter of Divinity, which elevates the owner, removing negative effects, or an enemy target.

Healing Salve, Tango, Mango, and Clarity are consumable items that restore some health or mana of the hero on whom these items were used. At the beginning of the game, supporters should stock up on several of these consumables to maintain their health on the line and to be able to use abilities more often. Also, having an additional restorative item will be useful for the carriers with whom this support is standing or for another hero who will be nearby. It is advisable to buy them from time to time during the game so that allies outside the base do not have to buy them themselves or return to the base.

Observer/Sentry Wards are one of the most important items, as they provide visibility within a certain radius or reveal the invisibility of enemy units and wards. At the beginning of the game, there are only two wards available, which are mainly placed on hardlane and midlane. Wards are primarily the responsibility of support staff, so they should always be purchased and placed in the most appropriate places.

A Magic Wand is an item that accumulates charge every time an enemy nearby uses its abilities. It will be a great in-game item that will help save you in dangerous situations when you need to heal.

Arcane Boots — boots that, when activated, give mana to allies around. Often there may be situations where this is the only item that the support team has until the end of the game, if they have not managed to get something more. Since support is mostly for heroes with active abilities that require mana, this item is a must-have.

Blink Dagger — gives additional mobility to the owner, and is also suitable for heroes who need to instantly take a favorable position to use their abilities or escape in battle.

Glimmer Cape — grants +25 resistance to magic damage, and activating the item on allied heroes grants them invisibility and protection against magic damage, making it a good item to save yourself or your team, but only if your opponents do not have Dust of Appearance.

Aeon Disc — if your hero is too "fragile", this artifact will help you escape from an accidental ambush or during a battle, giving you strong dispel and resistance to effects and elusiveness for a short period.

Ghost Scepter — when activated, gives the wearer an incorporeal form, preventing enemies from attacking you with physical damage. However, the hero becomes less protected against magical damage. Therefore, you should buy this item if your enemies do not have powerful spells that can instantly kill you under the artifact's influence, such as Finger of Death or Dagon.

If the support manages to get more gold, you can buy Black King Bar if the use of basic abilities, including ultimates, is often interrupted by enemy abilities.

Aghanim's Scepter is a very situational item that improves one of your abilities, and therefore it is worth taking in those variants when it plays a significant role in future battles that you cannot do without.

Items for the 4 position

The fourth position is also a support, but in a slightly different direction, they are more active throughout the game, especially in the beginning, running from one line to another, helping their team win lines. That's why they are called roamers or gankers. Since the attack must be sudden, Smoke of Deceit will be a necessary expendable to help you approach enemies without giving yourself away under the wards.

Since the roamer often runs between the lines and fights with enemies, he needs something that will heal him after the battle. Usually, these are consumables, as in the case of the 5th-position sappers. Alternatively, you can take Tranquil Boots, which restore the wearer's health if they are not attacked for a certain period. But it can also be Arcane Boots with their subsequent improvement to a better artifact.

Since it's easier for them to get gold in battles or by feeding the enemy forest somewhere, the number of support items that the hero can stock up on is higher. This means that you can buy an item that will work for the team and heal allies, and it will be Mekansm, and later Guardian Graves based on the two previous artifacts mentioned. There are situations when this item is taken by a hero of a different position, which we will mention later, and therefore the gold can be spent on other control or support items.

Depending on the abilities of the hero and enemy characters, you can take Blink Dagger or Force Staff, it's good Dota 2 support items for escape or initiation. The latter pushes both the hero and allies to escape or catch up with the target, as well as enemies to disrupt their positioning in battle. 

If the enemy team has "fat" heroes, then it is advisable to buy Urn of Shadows / Spirit Vessel against them, which gradually reduces the enemy's health as a percentage, as well as its ability to regenerate. Depending on the situation, you can take Solar Crest to reduce/increase the target's armor.

Against enemies with targeted abilities, it is better to buy Linking Sphere and Lotus Orb, which block and reflect enemy spells, respectively, which will help save an allied carrier, midlaner, or initiator.

A good option would be to collect at least one item under the enemy's control. This can be an Orchid of Malevolence if the enemy team has many mages with dangerous spells, or even one that causes a lot of problems for your heroes. If you need more control, you should add a Scythe of Vase. Rod of Atos is suitable for situations where the enemy is very mobile and difficult to catch up with.

Items for the 3 position

The main task of the third-position heroes is to tank and/or initiate all battles. To accomplish these tasks, you need items that increase the hero's survivability and also correlate well with the hero's abilities. Although this is a hardlaner hero who finds it difficult to stand his ground, he has the freedom to farm, unlike in previous roles.

In general, initiator tanks are equipped with something that can absorb or reduce incoming damage, and their main attribute is strength, but not always. This can be Blade Mail, which actively and passively deals damage to the attacker in proportion to the damage dealt. In addition to this item, Vanguard has a chance to block a portion of incoming damage, with the ability to upgrade it to Crimson Guard, which will work for the team as well.

If this is a character who needs not only armor but also attack speed, then you should pay attention to Assault Cuirass. For characters with AoE abilities, Radiance might be a good choice, as it deals occasional damage and misses. However, you should carefully and thoughtfully combine items, as this artifact and Blade Mail do not fit together well. After all, if the hero is hit less often (due to misses), the effectiveness of Blade Mail decreases.

For extra survivability, you can buy Guardian Greaves to heal yourself. However, if your team has this item, it makes no sense to take another one, since the active and passive effects of the item are not added, and therefore there will be no benefit. Against a large amount of magic, you should take Pipe of Insight and Heart of Tarrasque will add a significant amount of health.

If you buy Sange for additional attributes, you can combine it with another item, such as Yasha (agility) or Kaya (intelligence), to cover the need for what you lack — armor, speed, or mana.

Blink Dagger is a must-have for initiators if their own abilities do not provide additional mobility, and it can be upgraded to Overwhelming Blink, which will give additional strength and therefore health. Initiation is always a risk of being controlled, and therefore either Linking Sphere or Lotus Orb, and in addition, Black King Bar, are needed against this. So as you can see, the best Dota 2 offlane items are artifacts that give your hero more survivability.

Items for 2 positions

Midlaners and carry are the main positions in the game. The heroes in these roles must deal as much damage as possible to the enemy, and therefore need items that enhance their abilities and also cover some weaknesses. 

The first one can be active after the early game stage, helping the allies to strain the enemy team while the main carrier is farming, but the midlaner himself needs many items. If the hero often runs from line to line and requires a lot of resources, you can buy a Bottle to collect runes, which means having charges for mana and health.

Each midlaner is situational, and therefore the Dota 2 item builds will be different. Some heroes need constant farming and experience to gain abilities of the desired level and be able to fight, while others just need to get one item like Orchid of Malevolence to get to the active phase right away. This item is mostly taken by heroes who have a mobile ability and strong procrastination to reduce the chance of being controlled or the victim running away while the ability is on recharge. It also serves to deal more additional damage and close the issue of lack of mana regeneration.

Heroes whose main strength is physical damage take an item that will help unleash this potential at an early stage. This can be Desolator or Maelstorm, which will help farm and deal a lot of damage to enemies. Other heroes may have unique situations where they need an item that will help them realize their abilities with it. Best midlane items: for example, Outworld Devourer with his Astral in combination with Meteor Hammer. Which allows him to deal damage, cast an item, help the target in the astral, stun it, and attack under the effect of the modifier of the first ability. He will also finish it off with an ultimatum. Or Windranger, who, with Focus Fire and Maelstorm, can kill her target at 6th level, unless interrupted by enemy allies or other circumstances.

Items for the 1 position

While the midlaner plays mainly on the strategy of farm-fight-farm, the carry plays mainly on farm. The carry should participate only in cases where this battle will be beneficial for himself and the team. The carry should not send him to the tavern due to the lack of the ability to fully participate in the battle without the necessary items. That's why a carry must devote all his time to item farming to be sure to be ready for battle.

Depending on the type of hero, the first Dota 2 carry items may differ, but it is almost always something that will help him farm even more. Such artifacts are Maelstrom, Battle Fury, and Radiance. Each character collects artifacts for their type of damage, which can be divided into tunnel and burst. The first type is heroes and items that can deal instant damage, but its effectiveness decreases over time, while burst damage gains strength over time.

In the first case, you need artifacts that will allow you to kill the target as quickly as possible, checkmate armor reduction (Desolator), stun (Basher), and critical damage (Daedalus). Items that improve tunnel damage are Manta Style, which is suitable for heroes with illusions (Phantom Lancer, Naga Siren) or burning abilities (Anti-Mage); Diffusion Blade — burns mana and slows down the target, Monkey King Bar — has a chance to pierce the target's armor for additional damage, and Eye of Skadi.

Of course, these items can be combined and should be purchased depending on the needs of a particular situation. For heroes with high attack speed, items that give stun or can activate a passive ability of an item, such as Maelstrom's Lightning, are suitable. Shadow Blade is used for heroes who need to approach the target unnoticed and take it out of the game if the hero does not have any mobile abilities like Blink. For a higher attack speed, take items that give this indicator or agility: Echo Sabre, Sange and Yasha, Moonshard. 

For additional armor and protection, the hero can take an Assault Cuirass or Abbysal Blade. Some heroes lack survivability or health regeneration and therefore need something for vampirism, Vladmir's Offering and Satanic are suitable for this. Divine Rapier is an item that is taken purely for the sake of high damage at the late stage of the game when the attack power is not enough. In other situations, taking it is not always advisable, as losing the item can give the opponent an advantage.

Conclusion

Dota 2 has a lot of items, including intermediate items that are components of entire artifacts. However, in each case, this set of items can be different and depend on different components, and therefore each situation and hero should be considered separately to say exactly what exactly and why you should collect. But this guide should give you the general logic of the approach to item selection. If you find it difficult to decide what exactly to buy, you should use the in-game Dota 2 item guide for beginners.