Dota 2 has layers of complexity that players aim to understand and master. One of the game’s most important aspects is itemization. Purchasing the right item and utilizing it is crucial to improve your strengths, best your farm, and win teamfights among many other things. 

Throughout a game, players progressively upgrade their inventory, purchasing an entirely new item or upgrading their current ones. While there are hundreds of items to learn about, in this guide, we are going to focus on the most expensive ones.

What are expensive items in Dota 2?

Expensive items in Dota 2, of course, have the highest gold cost in the game. Some items may share similar prices but one could be easier to get. This is because certain items have easier combinations made up of cheaper items. 

For example, the Hand of Midas is harder to purchase despite being similar in price to the Rod of Atos. 

• Hand of Midas (2200g): Gloves of Haste (450g) + Recipe (1750g)
• Rod of Atos (2250g): Staff of Wizardry (1000g) + Vitality Booster (1000g) + Recipe (250g)

Although the prices are about the same, the item combination plays a role in whether or not an item is easy to purchase. The more expensive the combination items, the more difficult it is to save for. 

A key piece of information is that if your hero dies, a portion of your gold will be deducted. Thus, players require discipline and arduous farming in order to obtain expensive purchases. 

There are also many different expensive items, some of which aren’t very common in games. These are situational items that are often picked up on specific heroes or when needed to counter certain problems.

It is key for you to understand the functionality of all Dota 2 items. This way, you can assess the best item choices for your situation. So in this guide, we’ll dive into the top 10 most expensive Dota 2 items, learn their functionalities, and the best situations for each item.

10. Mjollnir - 5500g

The tenth most expensive item in Dota 2 goes to the Mjollnir. It adds +25 Damage and +90 Attack Speed but its key function lies in its passive and active spells.

The active spell, Static Charge, allows you to place a charged lightning shield to a target unit. This shield has a 20% chance to release a 225 magic damage at nearby attackers and 4 additional enemies. This shield effect lasts for 15 seconds.

Meanwhile, the passive spell, Chain Lightning, grants you a 25% chance to release a bolt of electricity that leaps between 12 targets within a 650 radius when your hero attacks. This bolt deals 180 damage to each unit striked and also pierces evasion.

Mjollnir Item Combination

Mjollnir is an expensive upgrade with the combination of an upgraded item, a basic item, and a recipe.

• Maelstrom (2950g) + Hyperstone (2000g) + Recipe (550g)

Suitable Heroes

Mjollnir is a common purchase among heavy right-clickers, mainly those in the carry position. If your hero has high Agility and deals high damage, Mjollnir is a suitable choice. Heroes who often purchase the Mjollnir are Sniper, Juggernaut, Medusa, Arc Warden, and Faceless Void.

9. Divine Rapier - 5600g

Divine Rapier is a high-risk high-reward item in Dota 2, holding a high price for an incredible damage upgrade. But the only downside to the item is it will drop on death. This makes a Rapier purchase a massive gamble.

With a 5600 immense gold cost, the Divine Rapier offers you +100 Damage and extra toggle-able passive, Transmute. You can toggle it to give you a +25% bonus Spell Amplification or +250 bonus Attack Damage. 

The Rapier is the only item in Dota 2 that can't be destroyed. The courier also cannot pick up this item after being dropped. 

So how does the drop actually work? If a hero equipped with a Divine Rapier dies, the item drops to the ground and can be picked up by any hero. If the ally hero picks it up, the Rapier cannot be used unless in the hands of its original owner. But if an enemy hero picks it up, they can use the Rapier. The item cannot be exchanged among the enemy and will only drop on death.

Divine Rapier Item Combination

The Rapier consists of two expensive basic items:

• Sacred Relic (3400g) + Demon Edge (2200g)

Suitable Heroes

Divine Rapier is an intensely high-damage item that is often purchased during the late game for desperate scenarios or a stomped game. The item can deal game-changing damage despite the high risk of it being dropped, thus the Rapier being a large gamble. 

Heroes who often purchase the Rapier include heavy right-clickers such as Phantom Assassin, Luna, and Gyrocopter. 

8. Helm of the Overlord - 5725g

Helm of the Overlord is our eighth most expensive item in Dota 2. This item offers you these passive stats:

• +21 All Attributes
• +7 Armor
• +7 Health Regeneration

The highlight of the Helm of the Overlord is its active ability - Dominate - which allows you to control one neutral target unit without an expiration limit. With a 45-second cooldown, you can quickly accumulate more controlled units over time. On top of that, once you Dominate a unit, the unit becomes stronger and faster. 

The upgrades given to a controlled unit are 380 Movement Speed, 1800 Max Health, +70 base Attack Damage, +12 Health Regen, +4 Mana Regen, +7 Armor, and ability level up.

Helm of the Overlord Item Combination

The Helm of the Overlord requires an upgraded item, a basic item, and a recipe:

• Helm of the Dominator (2625g) + Ultimate Orb (2800g) + Recipe (300g)

Suitable Heroes

The Helm of the Overlord is an item specific for unit control, so most heroes who purchase this item have some sort of aura buffs and micro elements. For example, the Beastmaster is a frequent Helm of the Overlord user due to the hero's Inner Beast passive which allows increased Attack Speed to all controlled units. Heroes of similar style include Lycan, Visage, and Chen.

7.  Gleipnir - 5750g

Next, is the Gleipnir, a commonly purchased item. Despite a high price, this item has universal functions suitable for a lot of heroes. The Gleipnir provides tons of good stats:

• +25 Damage
• +25 Attack Speed
• +24 Intelligence
• +275 Health

Aside from the juicy stats, its most exciting function also lies in the active spell, Eternal Chain. This spell lets you root all enemies in a target 350 radius for 2 seconds inflicting 165 damage.

As the Gleipnir is an upgrade from Maelstrom, this item also picks up and improves the passive of the item. Gleipnir has the Chain Lightning passive which grants a 25% chance on attack to release a bolt of electricity that leaps between 4 targets within a 650 radius, dealing 140 Magical Damage to each. 

Gleipnir Item Combination

Gleipnir is built from the combination of two upgraded items and a recipe.

• Maelstrom (2950g) + Rod of Atos (2250g) + Recipe (550g)

Suitable Heroes

Gleipnir is a popular item in Dota 2, mainly due to its efficient upgrades and great functionality. Heroes of all types, mainly those with an area spell, no stuns, or semi-damage heroes. Gleipnir users often include Lina, Weaver, and Windranger.

6. Parasma - 5975g

Parasma is the sixth most expensive Dota 2 item with a 5975g cost. This expensive purchase offers you a lot of stats upgrades, which are as follows:

• +40 Intelligence
• +40 Attack Speed
• +8 Armor
• +1.5 Mana Regeneration
• +300 Projectile Speed

On top of the generous stats, Parasma also provides two passive abilities, Witch Blade and Magic Corruption. Witch Blade causes your attack to have True Strike and applies poison to the attacked unit for 4 seconds. This poison slows the enemy by 25% and deals 0.75x your Intelligence as damage every second. 

The next passive, Magic Corruption, buffs your attacks to reduce the enemy's Magic Resistance by 20% for 4 seconds.

Parasma Item Combination

Parasma comprises a combination of an upgraded item, a basic item, and a recipe.

• Witch Blade (2775g) + Mystic Staff (2800g) + Recipe (400g)

Suitable Heroes

Parasma is not so commonly purchased but it comes in handy for specific heroes that has high Intelligence but deals a lot of right-clicks. This item helps buff not only the Intelligence stats, but also adds Attack Speed along with other bonuses. Heroes who often pick up the Parasma include Puck, Storm Spirit, and Winter Wyvern.

5. Disperser - 6100g

Disperser marks the first item on this list entering the +6000g cost. It provides a boost of +40 Agility and an additional +10 Intelligence. But its active spell is what makes this item worth the cost.

As it is an upgrade of the Diffusal Blade, this item possess similar and increased functionality. The active spell, Suppress, slows a target for 5 seconds if they are an enemy. If targeting an ally, the ability grants bonus Movement Speed and 40% Slow Resistance for 5 seconds. The caster gains the same buff benefit on cast.

The Disperser also provides a Manabreak passive ability, which makes each of your attacks burn 40 mana from the target and deal 1 physical damage per burned mana. 

Disperser Item Combination

The Disperser is built from the combination of an upgraded item, a basic item, and a recipe.

• Diffusal Blade (2500g) + Eaglesong (2800g) + Recipe (800g)

Suitable Heroes

The Disperser is not usually the go-to item among many heroes as it has specific perks and is very costly. Most of the times, heroes would prioritize upgrading other items first unless the Disperser buff is necessary. Heroes who often pick up the Disperser include Phantom Lancer, Slark, and Medusa.

4. Abyssal Blade - 6250g

The Abyssal Blade is the fourth most expensive Dota 2 item. Despite such a high cost, it is an incredibly handy item and is often purchased by carry heroes. The Abyssal Blade provides these stats upgrades:

• +35 Damage
• +250 Health
• +10 Health Regeneration
• +10 Strength

Its greatest function lies in the active and passive abilities. The Abyssal Blade has an active spell, Overwhelm, which lets you stun a target enemy for 1.6 second. This stun pierces Spell Immunity such as the Black King Bar effect.

This weapon also provides a Bash passive, which comes from its combination item, Skull Basher. The Bash allows melee heroes a 25% chance on hit to stun the attacked target for 1.2 seconds plus dealing 120 Physical Damage. On the other hand, ranged heroes have a lower chance at 10%.

Next, the Abyssal Blade also offers a Damage Block passive which grants the hero a 60% chance to block 70 damage from melee heroes and 35 damage from ranged heroes.

Abyssal Blade Item Combination

The Abyssal Blade is built from the combination of two upgraded items and a recipe.

• Skull Basher (2875g) + Vanguard (1700g) + Recipe (1675g)

Suitable Heroes

A lot of carry heroes tend to grab an Abyssal Blade during the late game. This item has universal base items that are the Skull Basher and the Vanguard. Combining these items for a useful immunity-piercing stun is a no brainer for most melee heroes. You can find heroes like Anti-Mage, Spectre, Lifestealer, Slark, and Bloodseeker opting for an Abyssal Blade during the late game.

3. Bloodthorn - 6625g

We enter the top 3 of the expensive items list in Dota 2! The third place goes to Bloodthorn which stands high at 6625g. This item offers a lot of great stats upgrades:

• +10 Intelligence
• +100 Attack Speed
• +3.5 Mana Regeneration
• +6.5 Health Regeneration
• +10 Damage

Bloodthorn is an upgraded version of the Orchid of Malevolence, which gives a reliable Silence effect. The active spell, Soul Rend, lets you silence an enemy target for 5 seconds. During this silencing effect, all attacks on the target will deal additional damage and have True Strike. 

At the end of the silence duration, the targeted enemy will receive an additional 60% of all damage taken during the 5-second silence as magical damage.

Bloodthorn also has a passive spell, Pierce, which grants each of your attacks a 40% chance to pierce through evasion and deal bonus Magical Damage.

Bloodthorn Item Combination

The Bloodthorn has a four-piece combination comprising an upgraded item, two basic items, and a recipe.

• Orchid of Malevolence (3275g) + Javelin (900g) + Hyperstone (2000g) + Recipe (450g)

Suitable heroes

Bloodthorn is a situational but also a common pick-up in Dota 2. This item offers a powerful silencing function and is often picked up to counter high versatility heroes such as Puck and Queen of Pain. It is also great to boost your damage during the mid-game. Heroes like Storm Spirit, Puck, Arc Warden, and Chaos Knight.

2. Upgraded Blink Daggers - 6800g

Though technically these are three separate items, we grouped the Blink Dagger upgrades into a single item on our list. It only makes sense to do so.

The Blink Dagger can be upgraded into three different Blinks, with each offering a specific stat boost for either Strength, Intelligence, or Agility. Let's break down the stats upgrade and additional functions below:

Blink Dagger Upgrade Item Combinations

The upgraded Blink Daggers have similar item builds for the different attributes. Each require two basic items and a recipe.

• Overwhelming Blink: Blink Dagger (2250g) + Reaver (2800g) + Recipe (1750g)
• Swift Blink: Blink Dagger (2250g) + Eaglesong (2800g) + Recipe (1750g)
• Arcane Blink: Blink Dagger (2250g) + Mystic Staff (2800g) + Recipe (1750g)

Suitable Heroes

Although the three Daggers are similar to each other, not all of them are popular choices. The Overwhelming Blink is the most favored with a lot of heroes building into it during the late game. You can find heroes like Primal Beast, Pudge, and Legion Commander grabbing an Overwhelming Blink.

The Swift Blink is also a pretty popular choice especially for heroes like Juggernaut, Templar Assassin, and Ursa. The Arcane Blink, on the other hand, is a more unusual pick with situational pick ups on heroes like Tinker.

1. Wind Waker - 6825g

Cue the drum rolls! The most expensive Dota 2 item is the Wind Waker which boasts a high 6825 gold cost. The Wind Waker is a powerful item that is often purchased during the late game. 

The Wind Waker offers +30 Movement Speed, +3 Mana Regeneration, and a whopping +35 Intelligence. But its active ability, Cyclone, is the main star of the show. Cyclone lets you sweep a target unit up into a cyclone, making them invulnerable for 2.5 seconds. This Cyclone can be cast on yourself, enemy units, or allied units.

Wind Waker Item Combination

The Wind Waker is a combination of an upgraded item, a basic item, and a recipe.

• Eul Scepter of Divinity (2625g) + Mystic Staff (2800g) + Recipe (1400g)

Suitable Heroes

The Wind Waker is a solid choice for many heroes during the late game. Its escape mechanism which allows you to avoid attacks while repositioning is a game changer and can lead to many clutch moments. Heroes like Zeus, Skywrath Mage, and Void Spirit greatly benefit from the Wind Waker as it helps them reposition while waiting for certain spells to go off cooldown.

A Secret Expensive Item

The list above sums up the top 10 most expensive items in the Dota 2 items list. However, there is an item that boasts an insanely high cost that you can't quite spot in the Dota 2 inventory. We present to you the Dagon! It starts as an inexpensive item but it can be upgraded multiple times with many Recipes, causing its cost to grow higher.

A Dagon Level 1 starts at a humble 2850g cost. With continuous Recipe stacks, the Dagon Level 5 goes up to a 7450 gold cost! More than 500 gold more than our "official" most expensive item on the list. Do you think Dagon Level 5 should be considered an item on its own and fit into our official list? Let us know!