Medallion of Courage is one of the most underrated Dota 2 items. Its use rate is somewhere around 1/400, which clearly indicates that players don’t like or don’t know how to use this item. But the truth is that it offers you a lot for the amount it costs.
Medallion of Courage can be bought in the first five minutes of the game if you want. And what it does is this: it gives you +1.5 mana regen, which translates into at least 90 mana per minute, as well as armor (+5), which translates into +30% HP against physical damage. So if you have 1000 HP, you basically get 300 HP and +1.5 mana regen for just 1025 gold.
On top of that, if you’re playing aggressively and have a teammate on your lane that can set up good exchanges with the enemy side, you can use this item offensively to lower a target’s armor by 6 for 8 seconds. Or, if your ally needs extra armor, you can give him +6 armor for 8 seconds.
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Good Medallion carriers
The perfect Medallion carriers are support heroes and offlaners that can greatly benefit from mana regen and armor, and already have some ability to reduce a target’s armor.
For example, Slardar reduces enemy armor by 10 with his ultimate when he’s just level 6. Add on top of that a Medallion and it’s -16 armor at level 6, which essentially brings a target’s armor to 0 or below 0 in the early game. In exact numbers, the target’s effective HP against physical damage will be 50% lower. That’s spectacular.
You can further improve the effectiveness of this strategy by purchasing a Blight Stone, an Orb of Corrosion, or even a Desolator. Assault Cuirass is another option, but such items usually become viable after the 25-minute mark.
One hero that greatly benefits from Medallion of Courage is Vengeful Spirit. Her Wave of Terror already reduces armor by 6 for 8 seconds. That number goes up to 10 at level 15 if you choose the appropriate talent. Add a Medallion on top and it’s -16 armor without any other bonus effects from you or your teammates.
But now imagine that you use this tactic and have a Phantom Assassin or a Templar Assassin on your team. Such heroes tend to buy a Desolator. The effect is devastating.
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