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Gold
 
 
Greevil's Greed icon
▶️ Now that's how you make gold.
Alchemist

Gold is the currency used to buy items or instantly revive your hero. Gold can be earned from killing heroes, creeps, or buildings.

Reliable & Unreliable Gold

A player's gold is split into reliable gold and unreliable gold.

  • Reliable gold  : Passive gold receive every seconds; Gold gained from activating bounty runes.
  • Unreliable gold : Any other source (Hero kills, Creep kills, Building destroys, Hand of Midas, Track, etc).

The difference between the two is how each one is spent:

  • Dying only takes away gold from the unreliable gold pool.
  • Buying items uses up the unreliable gold first before falling back to reliable gold.
  • Buyback uses reliable gold first.

Hovering the mouse courser over the gold display in the HUD shows brings up a tooltip showing reliable and unreliable gold totals.

Net Worth

A hero's net worth is the sum of their gold and the cost of all the items they own, no matter where they are on the map. An item that has been consumed or destroyed doesn't count towards net worth, since it doesn't exist anymore. While it's usually used as an indicator of the player's performance, gameplay-wise it affects unfavorably the cost of buyback, and the amount of gold gained by hero kills on both sides.

Some items however aren't factored in certain conditions:

  • Items in the inventory of a unit of the enemy team.
  • The following items on the ground:
    • Gem of True Sight icon Gem of True Sight
    • Divine Rapier icon Divine Rapier. Note that as soon as an enemy of the owner picks it up for the first time, the item will be owned by the one who has it in their inventory.
  • The items obtained by randomizing the hero pick, found by the Trusty Shovel icon Trusty Shovel, or Town Portal Scroll icon Town Portal Scrolls obtained by dying or from the Boots of Travel icon Boots of Travel.
    • If any of these is part of a stack of items, they are always consumed first.

Some consumables grant a buff that increases the target's net worth by the cost of the item when used, in order to not decrease the team's net worth:

Acquiring gold

Starting gold

Every hero starts with 600 Gold gold and 1 Town Portal Scroll icon Town Portal Scroll at the beginning of the game. If the player randoms, they are given a Faerie Fire icon Faerie Fire and an Enchanted Mango icon Enchanted Mango as well. None of these free items can be sold.

Periodic Gold

Each player passively receives 1 Gold reliable gold every 0.67 seconds (starting from 0:00 on the game clock), which results in 90 Gold gold every minute, at the start of the game. This periodic gold increases over time based on the in-game clock.

Time in Game GPM From This Time Onward
0:00 90 Gold
12:00 94.8 Gold
30:00 99.8 Gold
45:00 105.5 Gold
62:00 112.8 Gold
87:00 120.5 Gold
112:00 129 Gold
140:00 139 Gold
175:00 150.5 Gold
Other Passive Gold Gain Sources

Talents

Gold Income
Talent icon
Ability
Passive
Affects
Self
There is no description for this ability.
Gold per Minute Bonus: Varies

  • Increases the hero's periodic gold per minute income.
  • Gold granted from the talent is unreliable gold.
  • The following values exist:
    • 30/60/90/120/150/180/210/240/300/420


No hero has this talent.

Bounty Rune

Main Article: Bounty Rune

Bounty
Ability
No Target
Affects
Self / Allies
Grants bonus Gold.
Initial Spawn Team Gold: 40
Next Spawn Base Team Gold: 36
Next Spawn Team Gold Bonus per Interval: 9
Team Gold Bonus Interval: 300
Turbo Mode Multiplier: 2

  • Grants reliable gold to each hero of the team that activates the Rune.
    • A small golden particle effect briefly bursts from the player, visible to everyone, while an ally-only overhead text displays the amount of granted gold.
  • Besides the initially spawned runes, Bounty Runes grant
    EXPR
    Gold 36 + 9 per 5mins per hero.
    • Activating a Bottle icon Stored Bounty Rune grants gold based on the time at which it is activated.
    • Bounty Rune replenishes 2 Bottle icon Regenerate charges, unless it already had more than 2 Regenerate charges.
  • In Turbo Mode, the granted gold is doubled, despite the notification message showing standard values.


Abilities

Most gold-granting abilities grant unreliable gold, and there are only a few items and abilities that are able to directly grant gold to the player in different ways.

1 Requires Talent talent.
2a Requires Aghanim's Scepter icon Aghanim's Scepter.
2b Requires Aghanim's Shard icon Aghanim's Shard.
3 Only upon refunding the ally's Aghanim's Scepter icon Aghanim's Scepter or Aghanim's Blessing icon Aghanim's Blessing.
Reliable Gold Sources

Hero kills

Hero kills grant unreliable gold to the killer. The first hero that is killed in a match gives a bonus 135 Gold unreliable gold to the killer; this is called ▶️ First Blood!. Bonus gold is also awarded for stopping kill streaks.

When a hero dies to enemy creeps or an enemy tower and has not been damaged by any enemy heroes in the last 20 seconds (regardless of distance between heroes), the kill gold is split among all enemy heroes. When a hero dies to enemy creeps or an enemy tower and has been damaged by only one enemy, that enemy is credited with the kill. When a hero dies to enemy creeps or an enemy tower and has been damaged by two or more enemies, the gold is split equally amongst all heroes that assisted. Damage negation to 0 credits as assist too.

Every time a hero kills an enemy hero, the killer is awarded unreliable gold using the following formula:

Hero Kills Base Gold First Blood Gold
125 Gold 135 Gold

Kill Streaks

As a hero accrues multiple kills without dying that player is said to be on a Kill Streak. An additional gold bounty is granted to the player that ends another player's kill streak; this is sometimes called Shutdown Gold. Kill streaks start at 3 kills and increase for each kill up to 10 kills, but do not increase beyond 10 kills.

The streak bounty is defined by the following formula:

Streak length Streak name Streak value
0, 1, 2 N/A N/A 0 Gold
3 ▶️ Player is on a killing spree 60
4 ▶️ Player is dominating 100
5 ▶️ Player is on a mega Kill streak 150
6 ▶️ Player is unstoppable! 210
7 ▶️ Player is wicked sick 280
8 ▶️ Player is on a monster kill streak 360
9 ▶️ Player is GODLIKE 450
10+ ▶️ Player is beyond GODLIKE, someone kill them!! 550
Announcer responses are customizable

The following deaths do not stop kill streaks or count as ▶️ First Blood!:

Assists (AoE gold)

Allied heroes within 1500 radius of a killed enemy, including the killer, receive experience and unreliable gold if they assisted in the kill. To qualify for an assist, the allied hero either has to be within the given radius of the dying enemy hero, or have damaged or debuffed the enemy hero. Note that the assist counter on the scoreboard only counts assists if the player dealt damage or applied a debuff to the victim, or if they applied a buff to the killer, but gold and experience are awarded independently of the "assist" counter.

The amount of assist gold received is the same for the killer and all assisting heroes. It is calculated using the following formula:


(30 + Victim Net Worth x 0.038) x k / Number of Heroes

k = Net Worth difference factor

For leading team k = 1 - (Net Worth difference / Net Worth of leading team)

For losing team k = 1 + (Net Worth difference / Net Worth of leading team)

Buildings

Main Article: Buildings

When an enemy tower is destroyed, unreliable gold is awarded to each player on your team. The player that got the last hit on the building is credited with destroying it and receives some bonus unreliable gold. If a tower gets denied, both teams get 50% of its team gold bounty. If no player gets the last hit and the tower instead dies to lane creeps, no player gets the extra bonus gold.

Building Team Bounty Deny Bounty Last Hit Bounty Last Hit Total No Last Hit Total Denied Total
Regular Turbo Regular Turbo Regular Turbo Regular Turbo Regular Turbo Regular Turbo
Tower (Tier 1) 90 Gold 180 Gold 45 Gold 90 Gold 110‒130Gold 220‒260Gold 560‒580Gold 1120‒1160Gold 450 Gold 900 Gold 225 Gold 450 Gold
Tower (Tier 2) 110 Gold 220 Gold 55 Gold 110 Gold 130‒130Gold 260‒260Gold 680‒700Gold 1360‒1400Gold 550 Gold 1100 Gold 275 Gold 550 Gold
Tower (Tier 3) 125 Gold 250 Gold 62.5 Gold 125 Gold 150‒130Gold 300‒260Gold 775‒795Gold 1550‒1590Gold 625 Gold 1250 Gold 312.5 Gold 625 Gold
Tower (Tier 4) 145 Gold 290 Gold 72.5 Gold 145 Gold 170‒130Gold 340‒260Gold 895‒915Gold 1790‒1830Gold 725 Gold 1450 Gold 362.5 Gold 725 Gold
Ranged Barracks 90 Gold 180 Gold 90 Gold 180 Gold 90‒135Gold 180‒270Gold 540‒585Gold 1080‒1170Gold 450 Gold 900 Gold 450 Gold 900 Gold
Melee Barracks 155 Gold 310 Gold 155 Gold 310 Gold 90‒135Gold 180‒270Gold 865‒910Gold 1730‒1820Gold 775 Gold 1550 Gold 775 Gold 1550 Gold
Effigy Building - - - - 68 Gold 136 Gold - - - - - -

Lane creeps

The bounty for regular lane creeps increases by 1 Gold gold every 7 minutes 30 seconds, while the bounty for super creeps increases by 1.5 Gold.

In Turbo Mode, the bounty for regular lane creeps increases by 3 Gold gold every 2 minutes 30 seconds, while the bounty for super creeps increases by 4.5 Gold.

Lane Creeps
Unit Starting Bounty Turbo Mode
Flagbearer Creep
Melee Creep Radiant model
Flagbearer Creep 34‒39 Gold 68‒78 Gold
Lycan Lane Wolf
Lycan Wolf model
Lycan Lane Wolf 15 Gold 30 Gold
Mega Flagbearer Creep
Mega Melee Creep Radiant model
Mega Flagbearer Creep 20‒26 Gold 40‒52 Gold
Mega Melee Creep
Mega Melee Creep Radiant model
Mega Melee Creep 20‒26 Gold 40‒52 Gold
Mega Ranged Creep
Mega Ranged Creep Radiant model
Mega Ranged Creep 19‒25 Gold 38‒50 Gold
Mega Siege Creep
Siege Creep Radiant model
Mega Siege Creep 59‒72 Gold 118‒144 Gold
Melee Creep
Melee Creep Radiant model
Melee Creep 34‒39 Gold 68‒78 Gold
Ranged Creep
Ranged Creep Radiant model
Ranged Creep 43‒52 Gold 86‒104 Gold
Siege Creep
Siege Creep Radiant model
Siege Creep 59‒72 Gold 118‒144 Gold
Super Flagbearer Creep
Melee Creep Radiant model
Super Flagbearer Creep 20‒26 Gold 40‒52 Gold
Super Melee Creep
Melee Creep Radiant model
Super Melee Creep 20‒26 Gold 40‒52 Gold
Super Ranged Creep
Ranged Creep Radiant model
Super Ranged Creep 19‒25 Gold 38‒50 Gold
Super Siege Creep
Siege Creep Radiant model
Super Siege Creep 59‒72 Gold 118‒144 Gold

Neutral creeps

Main Article: Neutral creeps

When stacking neutral creeps, the stacking player gains gold equal to 30% of whatever the allied player farming the stacked camp gets.

Neutral Creeps
Unit Bounty Stack Value Turbo Mode Turbo Mode
Stack Value
Alpha Wolf
Alpha Wolf model
Alpha Wolf 34‒36 Gold 68‒72 Gold
Ancient Black Dragon
Ancient Black Dragon model
Ancient Black Dragon 78‒82 Gold 156‒164 Gold
Ancient Black Drake
Ancient Black Drake model
Ancient Black Drake 39‒45 Gold 78‒90 Gold
Ancient Frostbitten Golem
Ancient Frostbitten Golem model
Ancient Frostbitten Golem 39‒45 Gold 78‒90 Gold
Ancient Granite Golem
Ancient Granite Golem model
Ancient Granite Golem 78‒82 Gold 156‒164 Gold
Ancient Ice Shaman
Ancient Ice Shaman model
Ancient Ice Shaman 78‒82 Gold 156‒164 Gold
Ancient Rock Golem
Ancient Rock Golem model
Ancient Rock Golem 39‒45 Gold 78‒90 Gold
Ancient Rumblehide
Ancient Rumblehide model
Ancient Rumblehide 39‒45 Gold 78‒90 Gold
Ancient Thunderhide
Ancient Thunderhide model
Ancient Thunderhide 78‒82 Gold 156‒164 Gold
Centaur Conqueror
Centaur Conqueror model
Centaur Conqueror 56‒62 Gold 112‒124 Gold
Centaur Courser
Centaur Courser model
Centaur Courser 18‒20 Gold 36‒40 Gold
Dark Troll Summoner
Dark Troll Summoner model
Dark Troll Summoner 42‒48 Gold 84‒96 Gold
Fell Spirit
Fell Spirit model
Fell Spirit 14‒15 Gold 28‒30 Gold
Ghost
Ghost model
Ghost 25‒27 Gold 50‒54 Gold
Giant Wolf
Giant Wolf model
Giant Wolf 20‒24 Gold 40‒48 Gold
Harpy Scout
Harpy Scout model
Harpy Scout 16‒18 Gold 32‒36 Gold
Harpy Stormcrafter
Harpy Stormcrafter model
Harpy Stormcrafter 27‒29 Gold 54‒58 Gold
Hellbear
Hellbear model
Hellbear 32‒40 Gold 64‒80 Gold
Hellbear Smasher
Hellbear Smasher model
Hellbear Smasher 64‒68 Gold 128‒136 Gold
Hill Troll
Hill Troll model
Hill Troll 20‒24 Gold 40‒48 Gold
Hill Troll Berserker
Hill Troll Berserker model
Hill Troll Berserker 19‒21 Gold 38‒42 Gold
Hill Troll Priest
Hill Troll Priest model
Hill Troll Priest 20‒22 Gold 40‒44 Gold
Kobold
Kobold model
Kobold 5‒7 Gold 10‒14 Gold
Kobold Foreman
Kobold Foreman model
Kobold Foreman 21‒23 Gold 42‒46 Gold
Kobold Soldier
Kobold Soldier model
Kobold Soldier 14‒16 Gold 28‒32 Gold
Mud Golem
Mud Golem model
Mud Golem 24‒26 Gold 48‒52 Gold
Ogre Bruiser
Ogre Bruiser model
Ogre Bruiser 24‒28 Gold 48‒56 Gold
Ogre Frostmage
Ogre Frostmage model
Ogre Frostmage 30‒34 Gold 60‒68 Gold
Satyr Banisher
Satyr Banisher model
Satyr Banisher 14‒16 Gold 28‒32 Gold
Satyr Mindstealer
Satyr Mindstealer model
Satyr Mindstealer 22‒26 Gold 44‒52 Gold
Satyr Tormenter
Satyr Tormenter model
Satyr Tormenter 62‒68 Gold 124‒136 Gold
Shard Golem
Shard Golem model
Shard Golem1 8‒12 Gold 16‒24 Gold
Skeleton Warrior
Dark Troll Summoner Skeleton Warrior model
Skeleton Warrior 4‒6 Gold 8‒12 Gold
Tormentor
Tormentor Radiant model
Tormentor 250 Gold 500 Gold
Vhoul Assassin
Vhoul Assassin model
Vhoul Assassin 18‒20 Gold 36‒40 Gold
Warpine Raider
Warpine Raider model
Warpine Raider 50‒52 Gold 100‒104 Gold
Wildwing
Wildwing model
Wildwing 18‒20 Gold 36‒40 Gold
Wildwing Ripper
Wildwing Ripper model
Wildwing Ripper 60‒66 Gold 120‒132 Gold
Roshan model Roshan 200‒290 Gold
+ 135 Gold
- 400‒580 Gold
+ 270 Gold
-

1 Shard Golems do not provide the stacking player any gold, since they have other spawning conditions and are therefore not counted as part of the Mud Golem camp.

Summons

Main Article: Summons

Summonned units have static bounties that never change.

Summoned units
Unit Bounty Turbo Mode
Familiar
Visage Familiar model
Familiar 100 Gold 200 Gold
Spirit Bear
Lone Druid Spirit Bear model
Spirit Bear 300 Gold 600 Gold
Warlock Golem
Warlock Warlock Golem model
Warlock Golem 100/150/200 Gold
Upgradable by Aghanim's Scepter. 50/75/100 Gold
200/300/400 Gold
Upgradable by Aghanim's Scepter. 100/150/200 Gold
Tempest Double
Tempest Double minimap icon
Tempest Double1 180/240/300 Gold -

1 Since the Tempest Double is a hero clone, its bounty is not affected by Turbo Mode.

Wards

Wards have static bounties that never change.

Wards
Unit Bounty Turbo Mode
Observer Ward
Observer Ward model
Observer Ward 100 Gold + 4/min Gold 200 Gold + 8/min Gold
Anchor
Tidehunter Anchor model
Anchor 50 Gold 100 Gold
Beetle
Weaver Beetle model
Beetle 32‒34 Gold 64‒68 Gold
Healing Ward
Juggernaut Healing Ward model
Healing Ward 75 Gold 150 Gold
Homing Missile
Gyrocopter Homing Missile model
Homing Missile 50 Gold 100 Gold
Ice Spire
Lich Ice Spire model
Ice Spire 20 Gold 40 Gold
Ignis Fatuus
Keeper of the Light Ignis Fatuus model
Ignis Fatuus 100 Gold 200 Gold
Jex
Dark Willow Jex model
Jex 150 Gold 300 Gold
Lookout
Bounty Hunter Lookout model
Lookout 25 Gold 50 Gold
Nether Ward
Pugna Nether Ward model
Nether Ward 20/40/60/80 Gold 40/80/120/160 Gold
Nimbus
Zeus Nimbus model
Nimbus 125 Gold 250 Gold
Phantom
Grimstroke Phantom model
Phantom 10 Gold 20 Gold
Phoenix Sun
Phoenix Sun model
Phoenix Sun 20 Gold 40 Gold
Plague Ward
Venomancer Plague Ward model
Plague Ward 15/17/19/21 Gold 30/34/38/42 Gold
Power Cog
Clockwerk Power Cog model
Power Cog 16‒20 Gold 32‒40 Gold
Proximity Mine
Techies Proximity Mine model
Proximity Mine 15 Gold 30 Gold
Psionic Trap
Templar Assassin Psionic Trap model
Psionic Trap 25 Gold 50 Gold
Roshan's Banner (unit)
File:Roshan's Banner model.png
Roshan's Banner (unit) 200 Gold 400 Gold
Serpent Ward
Shadow Shaman Serpent Ward model
Serpent Ward 22‒30 Gold 44‒60 Gold
Skeleton Archer
Clinkz Skeleton Archer model
Skeleton Archer 20 Gold 40 Gold
Sticky Bomb
Techies Sticky Bomb model
Sticky Bomb 10 Gold 20 Gold
Tombstone
Undying Tombstone model
Tombstone 125/150/175/200 Gold 250/300/350/400 Gold

Couriers

Animal Courier Radiant model
Courier
25 + 6 Gold per hero level to each player on the killing team
Couriers cannot be killed in Turbo Mode

Selling

Main Article: Item selling

Items can be sold while their carrier is in the range of any shop for 50% of the price they were bought for. They can only be sold by units controlled by the item's owner, unless the item is completely shareable, which makes it sellable by any member of the owner's team, granting them gold instead.

Spending and losing gold

Drafting phase

During the drafting phase in All Pick and Ranked All Pick, the player loses 2 Gold gold per second if they have not picked a hero after the selection timer runs out.

Items

The main purpose of gold is to purchase items. The player with the most gold is able to buy the most powerful items, and therefore has a very strong hero. The items each player buys depend on their role in the team and many other factors.

Item Cost
Abyssal Blade 6250
Aeon Disk 3000
Aether Lens 2275
Aghanim's Blessing 5800
Aghanim's Scepter 4200
Aghanim's Shard 1400
Arcane Blink 6800
Arcane Boots 1300
Armlet of Mordiggian 2500
Assault Cuirass 5125

More...

Death

A hero loses the following amount of unreliable gold every time it dies. Dying does not take away reliable gold.

  • expr
    GoldLoss = NetWorth/40

Buyback

Buyback
Buyback used icon
Ability
No Target
Affects
Self
While dead, the player has the option to buy their hero back into the match, spending money in order to instantly respawn at the fountain.
Base Gold Cost: 200
Networth Gold Divisor: 13
Next Respawn Time Increase: 25
Neutral Set Respawn Time: 26
Cooldown symbol
 480

  • The buyback button appears on the hero portrait while the hero is dead.
  • Buyback only takes from reliable gold first, and then from unreliable gold.
  • Buyback has a base cost of 200 Gold, plus a fraction of the hero's networth, rounded down, using the following formula:
  • The respawn time increase affects the next respawn time. Does not count deaths with Reincarnation.


Due to the high cooldown, high gold cost, and heavy penalties, using buyback should be a thoroughly thought-through action, as it can backfire and cause more harm than good. Scenarios, where a buyback may be a good idea, are when a crucial team fight starts while one is dead, in order to join the fight. Another crucial moment is when the base needs defending, or when having died during a team fight which your team still won and is going for a final push. Buyback should generally not be used to skip death timing to farm, as the gold cost is usually too big to make it ever worth it. Also, the death time penalty gets added on the next death. Especially on high levels, an early or ill-fated buyback can easily lead to a very long respawn time on the next death.

Buyback cost with certain networth values
NetWorthNW Buyback Cost
1k 276 Gold
2k 353 Gold
3k 430 Gold
4k 507 Gold
5k 584 Gold
6k 661 Gold
7k 738 Gold
8k 815 Gold
9k 892 Gold
10k 969 Gold
11k 1046 Gold
12k 1123 Gold
13k 1200 Gold
14k 1276 Gold
15k 1353 Gold
16k 1430 Gold
17k 1507 Gold
18k 1584 Gold
19k 1661 Gold
20k 1738 Gold
21k 1815 Gold
22k 1892 Gold
23k 1969 Gold
24k 2046 Gold
25k 2123 Gold
26k 2200 Gold
27k 2276 Gold
28k 2353 Gold
29k 2430 Gold
30k 2507 Gold

Abandoning the game

After being disconnected from the game for more than 5 minutes, all of the player's gold is equally distributed between the remaining players on their team. This distribution continues every second, so that any gold they gain afterwards gets distributed as well. This distributing stops when the player reconnects, but the gold that got distributed is not reimbursed.

Recent Changes

Main Article: Gold/Changelogs
Version
Description
  • Reworked Gold Assist formula.
    • Old Formula: (30 + (VictimNetworth * 0.038) ) / NumHeroes.
    • New Formula: 10 + ((50 + (VictimNetworth * 0.037) / NumHeroes).
  • Passive Gold per minute decreased by 15%
  • Increased hero kill bounty from 120 + (KilledHeroLevel × 8) + KillStreakValue to 125 + (KilledHeroLevel × 8) + KillStreakValue.
  • Rescaled kill streak gold bonus from 100/135/170/205/240/275/310/345 to 60/100/150/210/280/360/450/550. [?]
  • Kill gold information now shows a breakdown of gold bounty for the killer plus proximity gold.



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