Purchase purpose
Positioning access and the first move in a fight. It adds no ordinary stats, so its value is measured by the openings it creates.
Dota 2 · item · 7.41e
Blink Dagger
Positioning access and the first move in a fight. It adds no ordinary stats, so its value is measured by the openings it creates.
2,250cost0direct purchase22 role benchmarks
BL
Valve item icon · OpenDota constants
Valve item icon · OpenDota constantsWhen it works
The team can follow the initiation immediately and the map offers an objective for the position gained.
Where it breaks
A late Blink without smoke, vision or follow-up can become an expensive way to arrive under focus first.
Replay question
How often did the item start a useful fight, and how often did it merely shorten travel?
Professional purchase window
OpenDota · 7.41eNot one minute, but the middle of an observed sample.
P25 and P75 bound the middle 50% of first purchases. This is professional-match context, not a mandatory target for ranked play.
CORE
shownCores
19.3median · min
045 min
- middle 50%
- 15.4 - 25.5 min
- share of role players
- 47.4%
- first purchases
- n 1115
SUPPORT
shownSupports
26.2median · min
045 min
- middle 50%
- 21.6 - 31.9 min
- share of role players
- 56.4%
- first purchases
- n 913
Role conclusion
In the current snapshot, the cores median arrives 6.9 min earlier. Purchase rate: cores 47.4%, supports 56.4%. The gap describes role jobs, not one universally better order.
Cost and build path
2,250 goldA completion is only as useful as the path toward it.
DIRECT
This item is bought directly. There is no useful intermediate component between saved gold and the finished effect.
Auditable stat pricing
Money Meta · auditablePrice only what has a clean base-item reference.
Active abilities, auras, slot compression, build convenience and unique effects are never assigned invented gold values.
UNPRICED ≠ ZERO
The item has no supported explicit stats. That does not mean zero value: the decision depends entirely on its mechanic and timing.
Mechanics outside the percentage
What cannot honestly be reduced to stat cost.
Mechanic names identify the item. Check exact live wording and numbers in the Dota 2 client; the atlas evaluates the decision rather than replacing the game description.
- activeBlink
Continue comparing
Components and nearby budget decisions.
Methodology and sources
Snapshot fetched: August 31, 2026
OpenDota supplies observed purchases and item constants. Money Meta calculates quartiles, transparent stat pricing and interpretation. Valve defines the current patch boundary.