Along with abilities, items also play a huge part in shaping the trajectory of the game. More kills get you more gold, which results in more items! With six slots allotted to every hero, there must be a balance of both offensive and defensive items. You can never go wrong with a few defensive items, they save your life!
To ensure you don’t end up feeding to the enemies, we bring you this list of the 10 best Defensive items that make you hard to kill, essentially wasting your enemies’ time and allowing your team to follow up to save you.
10. Glimmer Cape
This magical cape turns you and your allies invisible for 5 seconds. This is great but at the same time, the targetted unit also gets 50% magic resistance under its effect which makes it a great defensive item. Costing only 1950 gold, the Cape is great on support heroes trying to save their teammates or themselves from ferocious enemies!
Why is Glimmer Cape great for defense?
- Turns the targetted hero invisible
- Low Fade Time
- 50% magic resistance to targetted hero
9. Solar Crest
This mysterious talisman has saved millions of lives by blessing the targeted unit with armor. Solar Crest has been a life save ever since its addition to the game. It provides the caster and the targetted friendly unit with 6 bonus armor for 12 seconds along with increased movement and attack speed. In the case of an enemy, the bonuses are reversed.
Why is Solar Crest great for defense?
- Increased armor for allies
- Armor and movement reduction for enemies
8. Shiva's Guard
Shiva’s Guard is one of the few items on this list that can be used both offensively and defensively. You get 15 added armor along with 30 intelligence which can help you immensely if you’re a squishy spell caster. On activation, Shiva’s Guard emits a freezing wave which deals 200 damage and slows the enemy for 40% of their movement speed. This slow is impressive and lasts for 4 seconds.
Why is Shiva’s Guard great for defense?
- Increased armor and intelligence
- Damage and slow for enemies
- Reduces healing of enemies by 25%
7. Aeon Disk
Ever since the addition of this item to the game, the support players have gained more confidence as Aeon Disk provides them with a safety net that causes them to stop taking damage after a certain % of the HP and it purges off any enemy spells. Smart players disassemble the items on the Disk and quickly assemble them if they think there is a threat to their life.
Why is Aeon Disk great for defense?
- The barrier that can save you from death
- Great for both supporting and carry heroes
https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Aeon_Disk
6. Crimson Guard
If the enemy team consists of heavy physical hitters, then you need some physical resistance to them! Crimson Guard fills the gap by offering you an insane damage block that protects you from the menacing swords and other weapons wielded by your foes. Along with providing you immense armor, the guard blocks 75 damage from each attack on activation, this safeguards the buildings as well as your allies! You may essentially save the game if you purchase this item against physical damage heroes.
Why is Crimson Guard great for defense?
- Provides armor to both the hero and the team
- Requires no mana to activate
- Also works on towers
5. Lotus Orb
Heroes with lethal single targetted abilities hate this item! Lotus Orb reflects single targetted abilities cast back to the caster, along with the debuffs they also get the damage dealt back to them. This item is quite underrated and is rarely seen in pub games due to its difficulty, as you have to press it on yourself as the enemy is going to cast a spell on you! But with enough practice and dedication, you can become a pro at dodging spells efficiently.
Why is Lotus Orb great for defense?
- Reflects all single targetted spells on usage
- Purges off any debuffs
4. Linken’s Sphere
With the plethora of single targetted skills, we may think that it’s wise to just get a BKB, but not in all situations will you be able to react to press BKB after getting stunned or disabled! That’s when Linken’s Sphere comes into the picture, it protects you from single targetted spells by essentially acting as a barrier, popping once the spell is used! This gives you enough time to react or retreat!
Why is Linken’s Sphere great for defense?
- Can save you from life-threatening spells
- Also works as a warning sign, indicating you to head back in case the sphere pops
3. Guardian Greaves
Most games are a vicious tug of war and bloodshed. All you may need is one single heal to turn the fight around! Guardian Greaves provides you with just that, not only does it heal you and your allies in a certain AoE, but it also purges off any enemy debuffs that you may have on you. The best part about this item is that it doesn’t even cost any mana, you read it right! You may cast it while getting chased down by an AM or even by the Invoker!
Why is Guardian Greaves great for defense?
- Doesn’t require any mana to activate
- Immense heal
- Purges off any debuff
2. Wind Walker
When we talk about the ultra-late stages of the game (60+ mins), we are often left with fewer choices to itemize. Wind Walker is an item that is always seen picked up by at least one player on each team. The saving and escape potential on this item is quite a deal! It sets up your ally or yourself in a cyclone, making your or your ally invulnerable and moving along in a direction that you can control.
Why is Wind Walker a great defense item?
- You can escape and save your allies
- Disrupts enemies spells
1. Black King Bar
This may be a controversial choice for the number one item on this list of the best defensive items but hear me out guys, Black King Bar saves lives! You may be on a roll, killing enemies and gaining net worth left and right, but in the case of a 5 man gank, you can lose control and die pretty quickly. A Black King Bar can prevent that and make you last longer or scare your enemies away. We can never stress the importance of this item much, no matter your MMR bracket or matchup, this item will always be a crucial component of the game.
Why is Black King Bar great for defense?
- Magic Immunity for 9 to 6 seconds, depending on use.
- Even if the spell pierces magic immunity, it won’t deal any damage but the effect will go through.
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