Dota Underlords: Best Items Tier List
The best items in Dota Underlords explained and split into five tiers depending on their strength and usefulness.
I have split the best Dota Underlords items into five tiers going from Tier S to D based on the impact they have in a game, and explained why we should prefer them and in which situation. Ultimately, you should try building the higher tiered ones in almost any lineup.
For ease of use, the items in each tier are sorted based on their in-game tier, and I have also indicated their bonus and effect.
You can also find initial items placed at high tiers because they are strong in their own time frame (early and mid game) or they scale well into the late game.
Ultimately, your item choices also depend on personal preferences and tactics, and it is fundamental to take into account the synergies of your lineup.
Note that each creep wave in Dota Underlords has a chance to drop tier 1,2,3,4 or 5 items depending on the round considered. Check out the drop rate by round for more info.
Tier S Items
Tier 1
Chainmail
+10 Armor.
Embarrassment of Riches
Neutral rounds offer one additional item choice.
Soul Sucking Syphon
Allied units 1 cell away from Warlocks heal for 25% of all damage caused by abilities and items.
The damage reduction provided by Chainmail scales well in the late game as higher tier/star heroes also have a larger health pool.
Having a lot more or a lot less armor has a big impact on the damage mitigated and received. On the other hand, armor only works against physical damage, while health helps also against magic one.
For this reason, Vitality Booster is a valuable item in the early game (I placed it in tier A), but it becomes pretty much pointless later on.
If you consider also healing/regenerative abilities (such as lifesteal), armor gains an even greater edge over raw HP. Soul Sucking Syphon is extremely valuable in a Warlock lineup because it boosts immensely the overall survivability of the team.
Tier 2
Arcane Boots
When the equipped hero has greater than 50% mana, restore 25 mana to all allies 1 cell away. (once per battle)
Coordinated Assault
Troll units give +25 Attack Speed to allies 1 cell away.
Fall From Grace
Human units count as Heartless instead when counting Alliances.
Smuggler
Quality of items from neutral rounds are offered from 1 wave higher.
Unstoppable
Warriors survive for an extra 2 seconds after receiving a killing blow.
Attack Speed doesn’t influence only the physical DPS of a unit. The faster your heroes attack the target, the quicker they will build their mana to cast their ultimate ability. This is the reason I value so much Coordinated Assault in a Troll composition.
The armor reduction bonus provided by Heartless is excellent at all stages of the game, and particularly in the late game; Fall From Grace is necessary if you wish to maximize it.
Tier 3
A Higher Class of Criminal
Units in shop offered as if you were 1 level higher.
Final Flash
Mages reset their cooldown and get full mana when below 30% health.
Hunter’s Focus
Hunters deal 10% extra Attack Damage for each other Hunter attacking the same target.
Pocket Sand
Assassins blind enemies 1 cell away from where they land for 2 seconds (50% miss chance and 50% less mana when attacked).
Dota Underlords is based on synergies, so most of the top items are those boosting the specific synergies you are going to use in a match.
Armor of the Unyielding Mask loading screen for Juggernaut - Valve
Tier 4
Black King Bar
Equipped hero becomes Magic Immune for 7s once the first enemy has 100% mana. (once per battle)
Daedalus
+80 Attack Damage. 30% chance to Critical Hit for 235% damage.
Maelstrom
25% chance on attack to cast chain lightning for 100 damage to 4 targets.
Moon Shard
+80 Attack Speed.
Radiance
Burns enemies up to 2 cells away for 60 damage per second.
Refresher Orb
Refresh all cooldowns and restore 50 mana after casting an ability. (once per battle)
Black King Bar is the best defensive item in the game as it makes the unit completely immune to magic damage for a long amount of time.
In Tier 4, we also find the highest-damaging items in Dota Underlords:
Maelstrom and Moon Shard drastically boost the DPS of any auto-attacker. There is no composition in which they are a wrong choice. The latter can also be used for faster mana regeneration on heroes who need it to charge their ultimates earlier and earn an advantage in team fight.
Radiance is amazing on any tanky hero as the longer the unit survive, the more damage this item will unleash on the battlefield.
Daedalus is overpowered on right-clicker heroes, and particularly with some alliances, such as Hunters. Most Hunter units have a solid attack speed, and their bonus provides a chance of quickly performing a second attack, so they have the potential to inflict several critical hits.
Refresher Orb can be game-changing on the right hero, but it isn’t 100% reliable because having the item doesn’t guarantee that your unit will survive long enough to cast a second ultimate. I love using it on a two-star (so he will be able to withstand more attacks) Enigma because Black Hole is just so strong when placed correctly.
Tier 5
Expanded Roster
+1 Unit cap.
No explanations required. You should pick Expanded Roster in any situation as adding an extra unit on the battlefield will always bring a noticeable power boost.
Tier A Items
Tier 1
Brooch of The Martyr
+50% Mana gained from receiving damage.
Vitality Booster
+250 Health.
Tier 2
Big-Time Contract
Equipped unit is Blood-Bound in addition to its other types.
Brooch of the Aggressor
+100% Mana gained from attacks.
Mask of Madness
Hero is silenced. +10% Lifesteal. +40 Attack Speed.
Octarine Essence
Reduces ability cooldown by 50%.
Tooth and Claw
Savage units apply a stackable 10 damage/s bleed on attack.
Big-Time Contract is super powerful on the right lineup (mostly mage ones) and if placed on a compatible DPS such as Shadow Fiend.
Tooth and Claw is actually a strong item and helps to achieve win streaks in the early game, but Savage units are a bit underwhelming and this passive loses its effectiveness in the late game.
Tier 3
Eye of Skadi
+400 Health. Slow enemies on attack.
Hood of Defiance
+50% Magic Resistance. +10% Health Regeneration.
Mekansm
When the equipped hero has less than 50% health, heal allies up to 3 cells away for 250 health. (once per battle)
Retaliate
Units attacking Scaled units take 80 damage/sec for 3 seconds. This timer resets each time the Scale unit is attacked.
Vanguard
+250 Health. 50% chance to block 70 damage when attacked.
Wicked Intent
Opponent’s healing is reduced by 25% per unique Heartless unit you have.
Items that provide survivability and utility such as Mekansm, Hood of Defiance, Eye of Skadi, etc. have a higher value than raw damage because the longer your heroes are able to stay alive on the battlefield, and the more chances they will have to proc their special ability once or more times.
Barrier Rogue loading screen for Tusk - Valve
Tier 4
Pipe of Insight
+50% Magic Resistance. Once the first enemy has 100% mana, apply a shield that blocks 400 magic damage to allies up to 1 cell way. (once per battle)
Pipe of Insights provides a strong magic shield to all your team, which is particularly effective in the late game when facing Mage lineups.
Tier 5
Assault Cuirass
Equipped hero and adjacent allies have +15 Attack Speed and +10 Armor. Adjacent enemies have -15 Attack Speed and -10 Armor.
Heart of Tarrasque
+1000 Health. Regenerate 2% of Max Health every 1s.
Shiva’s Guard
+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)
Assault Cuirass brings survivability to the whole squad because all the surrounding units get +10 Armor. At the same time, it also increases your damage because it reduces the armor of the opponents and provides bonus attack speed to allied units. Reducing the attack speed of the enemies also weakens their damage and mana gain.
Heart of Tarrasque transforms any unit into an immortal being. I love placing it on a frontliner with a great AoE ability, such as Kunkka: he will often have the chance to survive long enough to cast a second boat.
Shiva’s Guard doesn’t provide only armor, but it also debuffs and nukes the opponent team: the total damage is equal to 1500-200 depending on the number of units affected.
Tier B Items
Tier 1
Blight Stone
Target gets -3 Armor.
Claymore
+21 Attack Damage.
Cloak
+15% Magic Resistance.
Gloves of Haste
+20 Attack Speed.
Tranquil boots
+100% Movement Speed and + 16 Health Regeneration.
I believe it is preferable picking defensive items than damaging ones among the tier 1 choices. They will have a bigger impact at later rounds.
Tier 2
Age of Chivalry
Non-Knight units gain +10% damage reduction for each allied Knight unit 1 cell away.
Blade Mail
Reflects 30% of damage taken back to the attacker.
Completing the Cycle
When a Druid dies, it heals allies 1 cell away over time for 30% of its total health for 6 seconds.
Forged in Battle
Brawny units start the round with +50 Max Health for every unit they have killed.
Indomitable Will
Debuffs last 50% as long on Human units.
Forged in Battle isn’t ranked higher because it isn’t very reliable as Brawny units are not the best damage dealers Dota Underlords, so they won’t acquire kills with consistency.
Tier 3
Sacred Relic
+60 Attack Damage.
Skull Basher
+25 Attack Damage. 25% chance to stun targets for 1.5 seconds.
Tier 4
Dagon
Deal 800 damage to a random enemy unit that has 50% or less Health. (once per battle)
Friends and Family Discount
All units are 1 gold cheaper.
Scythe of Vyse
When the equipped hero takes damage, transform the offending unit into a pig for 4s. (15s cooldown)
Tier 5
Bloodthorn
+70 Attack Damage. When an enemy hero has more than 75% mana, silence them for 5s. Attacks against the silenced hero can’t miss and crit for 140%. (10s cooldown)
Desperate Measures
Your units gain +1% Attack Damage and +1% Mana gain on damage taken/received per 5 points of damage your Underlord has taken.
Tier C Items
Tier 1
Strange Bedfellows
Demon Hunters gain +30% Pure Damage for each unique allied Demon unit.
Unstable Reactor
Allied Inventors explode on death dealing 20% of their Max Health to all enemies 1 cell away.
Tier 2
Aegis of the Immortal
When you would otherwise take fatal damage, take no damage and destroy the Aegis.
Blink Dagger
Teleport to the enemy farthest away from equipped hero and gain 50 mana. (15s cooldown)
Silver Lining
Get 1 charge when you win a fight. When you lose a fight, if charges remain, get 1 gold and lose 1 charge.
Summoning Stone
Allied summoned units have +150 Health and +30 Attack Speed.
Tier 3
Check the Bodies
Scrappy units have a 20% chance of producing 1 gold when they kill an enemy.
Dragon’s Hoard
Dragon units gain 1% Attack Damage for every gold you own at the beginning of combat.
Elusive Targets
Elusive units are invisible for the first 3 seconds of a battle.
Font of Creation
Primordial units spawn Eidolons on death. Eidolons are weak ranged Primordial units that don’t spawn Eidolons.
Force Staff
Push an enemy unit 6 cells in a random direction (10s cooldown).
Shaman Pluck
Units attacking a Shaman have a 17% chance of being turned into a chicken.
Tier 4
Battle Fury
Melee Attacks cleave 30% damage to nearby units.
Vicious Intent
Each of your surviving units, including summons, deal 1 additional damage to opponents if they lose to you.
Battle Fury is often detrimental to your victory as your unit will inflict just a small percentage of its damage to the nearby enemies, which won’t kill them but will surely help them to build their mana and activate their ultimates sooner.
Tier 5
Divine Rapier
+330 Attack Damage. If Divine Rapier is in combat and you lose a round to another player, they get the Divine Rapier.
Recruiter
The first reroll each round is free.
More Dota Underlords Articles:
Header image (Blazing Oblivion loading screen for Dragon Knight): Valve
