In Dota, item choices are just as if not more important than actual hero picks. Getting the proper item to help out your team could easily mean the difference between a won or lost teamfight, or could give that extra push to a lane to take down towers. This article is going to take a closer look at Aura items in particular, giving recommendations of who should purchase it and when.

Aura Stacking
Before talking about the items and their auras, it’s important to mention that similar aura items do not stack. This means that the 5 bonus armor from Assault Cuirass and the 2 from Ring of Basilius do not combine to a bonus of 7 armor for your team. Instead, the highest aura stat gain is the chosen option, meaning that the 5 armor of Assault Cuirass would be granted and the 2 armor from Ring of Basilius is essentially ignored.

Illusions and Auras
Another important interaction of Auras is based on illusions of heroes. The illusions themselves do in fact carry the aura, but they do not actually benefit from it themselves. This means that while Phantom Lancer illusions could have the lifesteal animation, they are not actually lifestealing but allied melee units around the illusions would. Exceptions to this rule are movement speed and attack speed based bonuses.

Early Game Auras

Ring of Basilius

AURA MANA REGEN: 0.65
AURA BONUS ARMOR: 2

Basi ring is a really strong early game item that gives your lane some cheap mana regen. The important thing to mention about it is that there is actually an active component of it, which when used causes the aura to benefit your lane creeps. Giving your creeps the 2 bonus armor from this aura will end up pushing your lane, so make sure that it’s only on when you intend to actually push. Basilius is best if picked up earlier on supports or semi-supports, such as a lane support Jakiro or a pushing focused Nature’s Prophet.

Ring of Aquila

AURA MANA REGEN: 0.65
AURA BONUS ARMOR: 2

Aquila is a combination of the early game agility wraith band and the previously discussed Ring of Basilius. They share the same aura, so all the pushing info applies to this ring as well. The interesting part about Aquila, however, is that the agility makes it an extremely strong item on mana dependent agility carries in lane. Heroes like Clinkz, Drow Ranger, Weaver, and Sniper can greatly benefit from the stats and mana regen. It’s best gotten quickly in lane, as the .65 mana regeneration means a lot more in the early game than it does late game.

Headdress

BONUS REGEN: 3

Headdress is an extremely important item for someone on your team to pick up. In an ideal situation two people will do this, for the sole purpose of it building into essential teamfight items of Mekansm and Pipe of Insight. The regen aura provided by Headdress is reasonably strong as well, especially on creep oriented heroes like Enchantress, Chen, Enigma, or Nature’s Prophet.

Mid-Game Auras

Vladmir’s Offering

AURA LIFESTEAL: 16%
AURA BONUS DAMAGE: 15%
AURA BONUS ARMOR: 5
AURA MANA REGEN: 0.8

Vlad’s is a very popular item pickup in most public games, but a lot of the time it’s not the most ideal item for the situation. The bonus armor and mana regen are very helpful for the team, and the lifsteal and damage aura make it tempting for the carries to grab quick. However, the damage bonus is percentage based, so the earlier you get this item the weaker it is for you. This means that grabbing a Vlad first on Anti-Mage does not give you as much damage as a Yasha or Battlefury would, and typically it’s better to have more damage earlier.

In fact, often times a support is the best option to pick up the Vladmir so that the carry can get the aura and not have to give up an item slot. Support heroes that are good carriers of Vlad’s for their team are heroes like Chen and Nature’s prophet. Other heroes that can benefit from having one themselves are Ursa, Lycanthrope, Meepo, and Brewmaster.

Drum of Endurance

AURA ATTACK SPEED: 5
AURA MOVE SPEED: 5%

Drums are an often overlooked item in public games, but are an extremely potent midgame item choice. The aura gives a bit of attack and move speed, and the active is extremely useful for giving a burst of movement and damage for chasing. This is best picked up early and is very strong on supports or gankers, but can work on most heroes due to its strong build up and cost efficiency. Popular choices for drum carriers are Dragon Knight, Invoker, Tiny, Bounty Hunter, and Beastmaster.

 Mekansm

BONUS HP REGEN: 4

Aside from the active given by Mekansm, which is extremely potent and should be gotten on every team, there is also a small regen aura similar to Headdress. Like Headdress, it’s best on support heroes that can also farm quickly or are at least being given some farm as the heal from the item is better the earlier you get it. This includes but is not limited to Enigma, Chen, Enchantress, and Nature’s Prophet. There really isn’t much more to say about Mekansm, just make sure your team has one.

Late-Game Auras

Assault Cuirass

AURA ATTACK SPEED: 20
AURA BONUS ARMOR: 5
ARMOR REDUCTION: 5

Assault Cuirass is an extremely powerful late game item for most carries and is especially potent against heavy physical damage teams. The armor bonus is always helpful and the armor reduction even effects enemy towers. On top of all this armor buffing and debuffing, it gives amazing attack speed. Grabbing an AC late game makes your team tankier and the enemies team less tanky, and it even helps push towers. Good carriers of Assault Cuirass include Dragon Knight, Lycanthrope, Doombringer, Skeleton King, Tiny, and Slardar.

Shiva’s Guard

AURA ATTACK SLOW: 25%

Shiva’s Guard is another often overlooked pub item, but the attack slow aura it provides is nothing to scoff at. On top of this, the active gives a 40% slow and a respectable 200 damage to enemy heroes. Like Assault Cuirass, it’s very strong against right click heavy teams, and especially so versus melee heroes thanks to the slow the active can give. Picking one up versus a heavily melee physical team can easily turn the tides of battle late game. Good carriers of a Shiva’s Guard are Death Prophet, Doombringer, Batrider, Tinker, and Necrolyte.

Aura Items are very important in Dota, benefiting the whole team and subtly changing teamfights from the moment they are purchased. Remember, every game of Dota is different, so make sure you think your item choices through and keep in mind all the different options. There are times when it may be better to help your team with an aura rather than getting another item for yourself!