Recipe

Recipes are a type of item that does nothing on its own, but when combined with the right ingredients allows heroes to create more powerful items.

Recipes cannot be directly found in the shop, but can be purchased by selecting certain items that require that specific recipe to complete. By viewing a specific item in the shop, its hierarchy is displayed, both above and below it. Below the item is the ingredient hierarchy required to assemble it, while above it is the ingredient hierarchy that shows what it can be used to assemble.

Recipes are always purchasable, though they are just harmless and pointless pieces of paper occupying inventory slots. Generally it is better to first purchase items that have some properties.

There are auto combine items which do not require a recipe scroll as the items combine automatically to create it. Examples of these items are, , and.

Some items have multiple recipes. For example, level 1 costs  gold and its recipe costs. Purchasing another recipe upgrades this item to level 2, purchasing another one upgrades it to level 3 and so on, for a maximum of 5 levels. The recipe costs gold for each level.

works with charges (6 charges), and purchasing its recipe again ( gold) refills them, no matter how many of them were used.

has two levels and works with charges as well (8 charges). Purchasing the recipe again ( gold) with the level 1 item upgrades it to level 2 and refreshes all charges, but purchasing it while carrying the level 2 item has no effects and occupies one slot of the inventory.

With items such as and, where charges cannot be replenished to their original levels just by purchasing another Recipe, it is sometimes worthwhile to sell the item, buy another (at half price) and have all the charges back from when you purchased the item the first time.



Trivia

 * The symbol in the middle of the recipe icon is that of the Combine, the antagonists from the Half-Life series. Given that the purpose of the recipe items is to "combine" others into a new item, it seems quite appropriate that this symbol be used.

The Upgrader
Prior the gameplay patch 5.65, upgradable items did not use any recipe scrolls. Instead, smaller upgradable items were combined by basic item components, while some medium and most bigger upgradable items used an item called "Upgrader". The Upgrader itself had absolutely no effect at all and had a cost of 1500 gold. It acted as a common "recipe scroll" for many items.

The following items used to require the Upgrader to be built: