Dota 2 Patch 7.39 brings new Neutral Items and the return of Poor Man's Shield

Spring has sprung in Dota 2 with Patch 7.39 bringing in new Neutral Items, as well as rotating out some of the older ones.

Valve has just released a new update for Dota 2, with patch 7.39 bringing in some massive changes. Alongside new Facets for heroes, multiple quality of life changes, and hero balances, there are a fair number of tweaks to Neutral Items. With a few being cycled out, some returning favourites, and a sprinkling of new ones, below is a breakdown of all the changes.

Out with the old, in with the new

When it comes to Neutral Items in Dota 2, Valve are constantly changing things up to keep the meta fresh. In patch 7.39, we have a total of 8 new Neutral Items. Additionally, 4 older items are returning, while quite a few are being cycled out, with a chance of returning at some stage down the line.

Cycled Out

Starting with the Neutral Items being removed, below is a list of the items we will no longer be able to obtain in Dota 2.

• Orb of Destruction
• Pig Pole
• Trusty Shovel
• Gossamer Cape
• Iron Talon
• Nemesis Curse
• Ninja Gear
• Ceremonial Robe
• Mind Breaker
• Ogre Seal Totem
• Magic Lamp
• Pirate Hat

While all of these Neutral Items are no longer available, there is always a chance that we will see them making a triumphant (or hated) return in future patches.

Returning Neutral Items

As mentioned previously, there are a total of 4 returning Neutral Items. These items have been tweaked for their reintroduction into Dota 2.

Chipped Vest

• Returning as a Tier 1 Neutral Artifact.

• Passive: Chipper – Every time you are attacked, you return 30 damage to heroes and 20 damage to creeps.

Psychic Headband

• Returning as a Tier 3 Neutral Artifact.

• Active: Psychic Push – Pushes the target enemy away from you 400 distance.

• Dormant Curio increases push distance from 400 to 520.

Helm of the Undying

• Returning as a Tier 5 Neutral Artifact.

• Passive: Death Delay – Survive for an extra 5 seconds after receiving a killing blow. Enemy heroes dying with 1200 units extend this effect by 5 seconds.

• Dormant Curio increases base duration from 5s to 6.5s.

Poor Man’s Shield

• Returning as a Tier 2 Neutral Artifact.

• Passive: Damage Block – Grants a 50% chance to block 30 damage from attacks on melee wielders, or 20 damage on ranged. Chance to proc increased to 100% against hero attacks.

• Dormant Curio increases the damage block from 30/20 to 39/26.

One of the best aspects of the returning Neutrals is the inclusion of Poor Man’s Shield. The item has been loved by the Dota 2 community for quite some time, and it always stings just a tiny bit when it is removed.

New items

New Neutral Items are always a welcome addition to Dota 2. In the previous section, we mentioned one in particular linked to almost every Artifact: Dormant Curio. This new item heavily influences the choice of items, buffing them by 30%.

Dormant Curio

• New Tier 1 Neutral Artifact.

• Passive: Hidden Potential – Neutral Artifacts you choose while holding Dormant Curio will have 30% increased potency.

• Provides an Unleashed enchantment which improves some stats of the next non-curio Artifact that you’ll choose while crafting. Improved stats will have a special icon in the description to indicate that it is improved by Dormant Curio.

• This enchantment is tied to the next non-curio artifact that you select. It will be saved as long as you keep the upgraded artifact. Selecting a new one will make you lose the Unleashed enchantment.

• This enchantment cannot be retained with Techies’ Spoon’s Stash Facet.

Kobold Cup

• New Tier 1 Neutral Artifact.

• Active: One for the Road – Increases movement speed of all allies within 1000 units by 10% for 6 seconds.

Sister’s Shroud

• New Tier 1 Neutral Artifact.

• Passive: Veiled – Whenever your health falls below 50% you gain a +200% evasion bonus for 8 seconds. Each attack negated by evasion reduces this evasion bonus to 0.25x of its current value.

• Passive: Last Caress – Veiled cooldown is only reset if the wearer dies of kills an enemy hero.

Jidi Pollen Bag

• New Tier 3 Neutral Artifact.

• Active: Pollinate – Spread pollen on enemies within 700 units, decreasing their Health Restoration by 20% for 12 seconds and dealing 12% of the target’s maximum health as damage over the duration.

• Dormant Curio increases total maximum health damage from 12% to 15.6%.

Dezun Bloodrite

• New Tier 4 Neutral Artifact.

• Passive: Blood Invocation. Increases Spell Area of Effect by 15%, but Spells now also cost health equal to 35% of their mana cost.

• Dormant Curio increases Area of Effect bonus from 15% to 19.5%.

Giant’s Maul

• New Tier 4 Neutral Artifact.

• Passive: Crushing Blow – Your next attack is a critical strike that deals 150% of your attack’s regular damage. Hitting an enemy with an empowered strike weakens them, decreasing their movement speed by 10%, attack speed by 15%, and cast speed by 20% for 4 seconds.

• Dormant Curio increases the critical damage from 150% to 195%.

Outworld Staff

• New Tier 4 Neutral Artifact.

• Active: Self-Exile – Removes the caster from the world, making them invulnerable and disabled for 0.7 seconds. Caster loses 5% of their maximum health on return. This damage is not lethal, but it mutes Blink Dagger and similar items after the effect.

• Dormant Curio increases duration from 0.7 seconds to 0.91 seconds.

Divine Regalia

• New Tier 5 Neutral Artifact.

• Passive: Exalted – Increases outgoing damage by 20%. If the wearer is killed, the item permanently loses the current Enchantment and turns in Disgraced Regalia.

• Dormant Curio increases the damage multiplier from 20% to 26%.

Disgraced Regalia

• New Tier 5 Neutral Artifact. Created if the wearer of Divine Regalia dies.

• Passive: Fallen – Has nothing to provide one who dared to die.

In addition to the 8 new Neutral Items, many of the already present ones have been adjusted with new tooltips relating to their increased potential from Dormant Curio. These additions can be found via the official patch notes.

Enchantments

Enchantments have been almost entirely nerfed. Alert, Brawny, Mystical, Tough, and Crude have all seen decreases in their utility and stats. However, Quickened, Vampiric, and Wise were all buffed, to give additional bonuses.

Patch 7.39 for Dota 2 comes with a multitude of changes to the game. Some of the biggest remain in the Neutral Item category, with the addition of Dormant Curio and the return of Poor Man’s Shield. It will be interesting to see just how much the meta evolves within the new patch as we step closer to The International 2025.