Items

Items are objects sold by shops or dropped from certain creeps that provide an ability, bonus, or other function not tied to a particular hero (exception: the hero's Ultimate upgrade provided by Aghanim's Scepter). They come in a multitude of forms and types.

Most items take up space in a Hero's Inventory, meaning only a finite number can be carried at one time. Recipe items will automatically remove their components from a Hero's Inventory and Stash when they are assembled. Because of this, strategy and thought is required in the order and selection of items to purchase.

Most Heroes can use most items, but some items will provide no effect or cannot be purchased by some Heroes. For example, most heroes with a bash ability cannot purchase Skull Basher, and neither can Pudge or Vengeful Spirit purchase a Blink Dagger (As of patch 6.79, Pudge and Vengeful Spirit can purchase a Blink Dagger).

Heroes generally cannot use items purchased by other heroes, except for Consumables and a handful of exceptions. See Item Sharing.

Some items can be disassembled. See Disassemble.

Most items may be sold back to vendors for 100% refund within 10 seconds after purchasing, but beyond this window items may be sold back for only 50% of its price tag. Some items cannot be sold, for example, Gem of True Sight and Black King Bar.