Tips and Tricks: The Side Shop

The side shop primarily offers early-game items with the clear intentions of helping you stay in lane longer without having to utilize the courier absurd amounts in the first few minutes.  For instance, some of the most commonly purchased items from the side shop are:

Boots are extremely valuable early game, allowing you to catch up for kills or escape from ganks.  They can be purchased AND fully upgraded to either Phase, Power Treads, or Arcane boots entirely in the side shop.

Ring of Health is another extremely common pickup from the sideshop.  It helps a ton in lane sustain, especially as a carry aiming to grab a quick battlefury or someone looking to rush an early vanguard.  Unfortunately, a full perseverence cannot be completed from the side shop alone; but that's what the courier is for, simply send him to the secret shop for a void stone and fly him over.  Be sure to micro him properly so he doesnt fly over anywhere dangerous, though.

Morbid Mask is another item offered, which can be great for an Ursa working towards a Vlad's or a Drow Ranger aiming to grab a Helm of the Dominator.  The lifesteal offered follows the overall theme of the side shop, allowing some lane sustain, and also opens up opportunites to kill nearby jungle creeps for health if you take a bit of harassment damage from your opponents.

Both Stout Shield and Quelling blade can be purchased here.  This is fantastic for melee carries who made the wrong decision on which one to get with their starting gold.  If you grabbed a quelling blade hoping for easy last hits but are taking a ton of harassment, pick up a stout shield!  If you happen to unexpectedly be against their double melee lane with a great support to zone them out, pick up the quelling blade to make sure you won't miss any last hits.

But these are well known, extremely common uses for this great shop.  Let's take a look at some stuff that you may not have realized.

If you plan on getting a Poor Man's Shield as a hero like Antimage or Rikimaru, it's probably safest to first get the stout shield with your starting gold then buy the slippers from the side shop.  You will get the harassment protection early on, but still have that small bonus 6 agility on it after a mere 300 more gold.

A full helm of the dominator can be made at the side shop, combining the Helm of Iron Will and the Morbid Mask.  This is extremely valuable on any hero that likes dominating jungle creeps for bonus auras, more crowd control effects, or to stack ancients.  Oh, and the lifesteal is nice, but that's just an extra bonus right?

A much less common item than those mentioned above, but an entire Oblivion Staff can be made from only items at the side shop.  Orchid Carriers like Clinkz or Storm Spirit can benefit a lot from picking up one or pieces of one in lane.  Also useful if you are doing something extremely unadvisable like rushing a refresher orb on Bristleback.

Blink Dagger is an often forgotten item that is available at the side shop, if only because by the time a hero grabs one they usually have been or will be roaming the map for ganks/teamfights.  A good idea could be to set up a push on the side tower at around the time your Batrider or Tidehunter has 2150 gold for their blink, and then to catch the enemies unaware when they come to defend  but don't expect your initiator to have a blink just yet.  The first use of a Blink Dagger is the most surprising and could potentially give your team a huge lead, so try to make good use of it!

 

Just because an item can't be enitrely completed from the Side Shop, however, doesn't mean that you can't make use of the shop at all.  Here's a few examples of ways to make great use of what's available to you in lane.

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Picking up a ring of protection with your starting gold is a fantastic idea as many heroes.  Either Ring of Basilius or Tranquil Boots can be made out of it while in lane, giving you some mana regen for you and your allies or a bit more health sustain.  In fact, picking up TWO rings of protection with your starting gold can get you both Tranquils AND a Basi Ring, which can be good on heroes like Naga Siren or Gyrocopter that can benefit from a bit of extra mana as well as extra health.

An entire soul ring cannot be made at the side shop, but if you bring a recipe with you to lane you can complete it there.  This is an extremely powerful way to get early momentum on heroes like Dark Seer or Broodmother who benefit a lot from Soul Ring in lane.  Getting a soul ring up quick allows you to ensure lane dominance through spell usage, by allowing you to farm freely with ion shell or broodlings or simply allowing you to spam your heal as Omniknight or Dazzle. 

By the time you get a Butterfly it is long, long past the laning stage of the game, but that doesn't mean the sideshop is useless.  Purchasing an Eaglesong at the side shop for the first part of this item is the usual route most agility carries take.  What this means is that the next time you have 2700 gold to complete it, you can simply stop by the side shop while pushing your lanes and buy both the Quarterstaff and Talisman of Evasion there.  This frees up courier time for your allies, and allows you to potentially surprise your enemies with a big item pickup before the next fight.

 

So let's end here with the most important item that you could possibly buy at a Side Shop:

TP Scrolls!  Don't forget to always have one on you, and if you don't they are purchasable in 3 spots on the map.  As a support, try to grab one from your side shop early to stop potential dives on your allies.  As a carry, grab one early to evade potential ganks.  As ANYONE, always have one in your inventory at all times.  Unless, of course, you have Boots of Travel!