Every creep round you're offered 3 equipment pieces and keep 1, and a hero can hold up to three plus a Magic Crystal. Which pieces land on which heroes is a real build decision, not an afterthought. This guide groups the equipment pool by the job each piece does — read straight off the items' own effect text — and gives a default loadout per hero role. The full list with exact numbers is on the Items page.
How equipment works
Creep rounds (and Go Go Boxes) drop 3 pieces; you take 1 and the rest vanish. Prioritise pieces for the heroes you're actually building, not whatever looks strongest in isolation.
A hero holds up to 3 equipment pieces. You can move pieces between heroes in the preparation phase, so a piece on an early filler isn't wasted — shift it onto the real carry when it arrives.
The Magic Crystal is a separate slot with its own effect. Most crystals grant a synergy, so the usual play is to put one on a carry to force it into a synergy it isn't naturally part of. More on the crystal system in Basics.
Front line — tanks and bruisers
Defensive pieces exist to keep your front row standing while the back row works. Guardian Helmet (bonus HP plus per-second regen) and Antique Cuirass (HP plus a stacking attack-reduction on whoever hits the carrier) are the reliable stat blocks — start there.
Then add a reactive piece to answer the enemy: Blade Armor reflects a share of basic-attack damage, so it punishes an auto-attack carry; Dominance Ice slows nearby attack speed and boosts mana regen when hit, so it's the answer to attack-speed and skill-spam boards.
Ancient Wrath (taunts nearby enemies and gains defence per attacker) turns one tank into the whole enemy team's target — pair it with central, forward placement. Oracle hands its defence bonus to the whole row, so it's better on a front-row anchor than a lone flanker. Thunder Belt adds periodic HP-scaling magic damage if you want the tank to threaten as well as hold.
Default front-line loadout: Guardian Helmet + Antique Cuirass + one reactive piece (Blade Armor vs a physical auto carry, Dominance Ice vs attack speed or mages).
Physical carries
There are two ways to build a physical carry, and the right one depends on the hero.
Crit line — for heroes that already attack fast: Berserker's Fury (crit chance and crit damage) plus Haas' Claws (more crit, plus lifesteal to keep the carry alive). Add Blade of Despair to execute low-HP targets or Berserker's a second time for raw crit.
On-hit line — for heroes whose value is every attack landing an effect: Golden Staff (attack speed that stacks every hit, up to 50 times) plus Demon Hunter Sword (each hit chunks a percent of the target's max HP — this is your tank-killer). Great Dragon Spear fits here too, adding chances at extra attacks.
In both cases, if the enemy is stacking healing or lifesteal, swap one slot for Sea Halberd — it adds physical penetration and cuts the target's healing.
Default: pick the crit line or the on-hit line to match the hero, fill the third slot with an execute (Blade of Despair) or anti-heal (Sea Halberd) as the lobby demands.
Mages and skill carries
A mage's damage comes from casting, so the first question is how fast it gets its skill off. Spellblade Talisman restores 55% mana the moment battle starts — on a hero with one huge cast, it's often the highest-impact single piece in the game. Purple Buff (mana back after every cast) is the pick for a mage that wants to cast repeatedly instead of once.
For the damage itself: Holy Crystal (flat skill-damage increase) is the baseline; Divine Glaive adds magic penetration for enemies stacking magic defence; Glowing Wand burns the target over time and cuts its healing, so it doubles as anti-heal.
Ice Queen Wand gives spell vamp plus an attack-speed slow on the target — a survivability-and-control option for a mage that's getting focused.
Default burst mage: Spellblade Talisman + Holy Crystal + Divine Glaive. Swap Glowing Wand in against a healing-heavy board; swap Winter Crown (freezes and heals at low HP) in if the mage keeps dying before it casts twice.
Utility — good on anyone
The Basic pieces are team-wide and never bad: Inspire (team attack speed), Retribution (team extra damage), Aegis (a battle-start shield to the carrier and its neighbours), Revitalize (a healing zone when the carrier drops below half HP). Put these on a durable body near the middle of your board so the aura covers the most heroes.
Purify (control and displacement immunity for the first 30 seconds) is a targeted answer — it goes on a carry that an enemy stun or knock-up is deleting before it can act.
Economy and scaling specials: Glory Gloves and the Mirror Devices copy a hero and can hand you gold, which is strong on a board that's ahead and wants to snowball; Claude's Theft Device copies equipment from the pool, effectively giving its holder a full set.
Magic Crystals
You get a Choice Magic Crystal entering Stage II, III and IV. On first use it offers three synergy options — two from the hero's own faction or role, one random — and confirming locks that hero's crystal slot to it.
The point is reach: a crystal lets a carry count toward a synergy it isn't in, which is how a lot of the game's strongest boards hit a breakpoint they otherwise couldn't. Marksman and Stargazer crystals on a damage carry are the textbook examples.
Use the Team Builder's board check to see exactly which breakpoint a crystal would complete before you spend it.