Rarity

Rarity and Quality are properties of items. They are represented in-game by the item's color theme and prefix respectively. Most items have both a Rarity and Quality value. Under rare circumstances, these values can be changed by Valve.

Rarity and Quality are purely cosmetic properties, and have no effect on gameplay.

Rarity
Items are currently classified under the following categories, ordered from most common to least common: Common, Uncommon, Rare, Mythical, Arcana, Legendary, Ancient, and Immortal.


 * Lower rarity items drop more frequently than higher rarity items.
 * Ancient items are never dropped.
 * Deleting an item in the Backpack has a small chance of giving you back an item of the next rarity rank.
 * Example: Deleting a Common item may yield an Uncommon item in return.

Common
The most common type of item.

Uncommon
The second most common type of item.

Arcana
Arcana is a special rarity added in the March 07, 2013 Patch, this rarity directly changes the appearance of the Hero, their mini-map icon, or their abilities. The only Arcana item so far is Fiery Soul of the Slayer.

Quality
The quality of an item can be determined by its prefix.

Strange
Strange is a special prefix for items that track a count of a specific in-game event. Doing so will upgrade the prefix itself.

Example: A newly unboxed Strange Dragonmaw will become an Unremarkable Dragonmaw once it has made 10 kills, which will become a Blooded Dragonmaw once it has made 25 kills, and so on.

Tracked counters are viewable by other players. Other than this, Strange items are no different from regular items. Strange items are obtained from opening hero-specific Treasure Chests. More counters can be added to a Strange item by using a Strange Modifier.

Unusual
Unusual is a special prefix for items that have a special particle effect. To date, only couriers can have unusual quality. Unusual couriers are found in Treasure Chests at an approximately 1-2% chance.

Vintage
Vintage is a special prefix for limited items obtained under certain circumstances. To date, there are two Vintage items.

Tournament
Tournament is a special prefix for items dropped for spectators during a live tournament game. Other than their name, these items are no different from Normal quality items.

Genuine
Genuine is a special prefix for limited items obtained under promotional circumstances. They are obtained as bonus items by purchasing certain merchandise.