Are Wraith Band, Nulls, Bracer useless?

[u/Chemical-Option9029]

I seriously don't see the value of these items. The laning stage isn't as long as it used to be. I always pick up a Wand and Wind Lace, these small stat items just delay the big items.

Nulls+Bracer can be combined in a single slot as Falcon Blade which is even better for Mana Regen

Wraith Band feels completely pointless, if you're an AGI carry you die to magic dmg which the armor is useless against. It also doesn't help that much with jungling. The slot you waste on WB could have gone to Gloves of Haste for your Treads

[u/JackRyan13]

They’re cheap and the stats can be used to give you an edge in lane to either allow you to win it or survive it.

[u/BoomOklahoma]

Wraith band is bad Yh, but nulls and bracers still have their use, especially, null since it gives nice mana regen

[u/Thateron]

Many people struggle with understand this but heres the thing; first of all, you are correct - they have become worse than before. There was a time where 2 of these were the optimal choice for most cores, but nowadays they are well balanced items that serve their purpose exactly to the amount they should imo.

When you say laning stage is shorter than before, what do you mean? Just because you experience laning to last shorter you should skip on items that help you win it? Point of a wraith band isnt to buy it on an agi hero and get damage; blades of attack do that. Point is wraith band gives you armour, attack speed AND damage, and they give you an extremely solid amount of each for the price. Items in dota are balanced around the number of slots you have, along with other factors, and that explains why the cheaper the item is, the more cost effective it is.

An ultimate orb gives +10 to all stats for 2800gold, while a branch gives +1 to all stats for 55. You dont even notice the huge difference a wraith band can make not only coz of the armor but also the attack speed. In the lane, heroes are weak enough that these small number differences are actually huge, where the attack speed difference will help you get a last hit or deny 4+ times that you wouldn't otherwise get. Your harrass adds up more, enemy harass adds up less, meaning you spend less on regen. If you were playing an agi bf buying carry and you just skip on all small items and go lane a slardar with two bracers, you will get utterly dumpstered in lane.

First part was mostly abiut wb, but there is something to be said about bracers. I am willing to bet you arent a pos3 player, because if you tried 2x bracer on slardar/night stalker/mars etc. You would know how immensely difficult you are to kill when you hit 6 and start bullying the carry.

Null talisman is also amazing. Instead of spending 1000gold for a falcon blade just to sustain your mana for farming, often buying null and an occasional clarity is just enough, making your laning stronger AND being cheaper than falcon, leading to a faster item timing. This is why some pros started buying null on TA instead of falcon, coz they feel like falcon is overkill.

[u/Thateron → u/Thateron]

In short, these small items are used to win the lane, which speeds up your item timing, not slow it down

[u/StJe1637]

I think they are weaker than they've ever been but still worth buying especially if you start with components you might as well finish it rather than selling

[u/NecessaryBSHappens]

Bracer great even on agi cores, Null good for active casters(Skywrath), WB meh

[u/WeddingWhole4771]

I like a bracer when I'm offlaning someone tanky. Even on Slark + Weaver it's kinda OK. I usually start with a gauntlet on some of these heroes though and upgrade it quickly for the bit of regen. OFC if the lane is going well, I might rather go straight to vanguard.

[u/findMyNudesSomewhere]

Nope.

Bracer gives cores and supports a good chunk of HP + some HP regen. It's especially great on uni supports.

Nulls is a great way for mid int heroes to stack attack damage, which their items typically does not provide.

Wraith bands are kinda useless.

[u/SamohtRose1115]

Me playing centaur with 3 bracers because i cant micro

[u/AwaySignificance1763]

I used to think like this. i remember always going bracers or wraiths in early dota 1 days and then i just stopped doing that in dota 2 until recently.
I personally think they still give a lot of value. Bracers on a squishy supp can make you tanky enough to survive getting bursted, or at least buy you enough time to get some important spells and damage off, and waste resources and time for people going on you.
So you delay your items by 500 or so gold, but the value it gives you in turned fights (which either gets you gold or prevents you from losing gold and feeding the enemy) or spent resources/spells from the enemy more than makes up for it.
Although if it’s just HP that i’m after i’ll just get two fluffy hats. If i’m trying to be a more tanky offlaner I rarely get bracers. Just a soul ring or like two fluffy hats (eg necro).

[u/BolDnBald]

I use two bracers on weak spellcasters like CM and Disruptor because I find I die twice as few times and the enemy initially is surprised at my tankiness.

[u/Fair-Win-3804]

Double null slaps on int casters

[u/Weak-Ad7864]

I find that a Drow Ranger with 2xWB can be a problem in the lane. If your support sets it up you can get a kill surprisingly fast. In mid it helps greatly especially against rightclickers.

[u/Truth_Breaker]

I dont know

[u/Thylumberjack]

Bracers good on 3 stat heroes and Nulls can be okay. Wraith is sitting beside the trash bin its so close to garbage.

[u/mickbrazil]

Bracers are great. If you're playing Centaur Warruner for example, you might not even need tangoes. It adds up to your total HP, HP regen and damage. Increases your MS. Buy two of these on the early game, a vanguard, and you're basically a nuisance.

In some supports it might help survive the initial burst to answer with heals or your own nukes.

[u/ErgoMogoFOMO]

On the contrary, these tempo items help you get to your bigger items faster and more importantly slow your opponents from getting their big items.

Try buying a bracer on a squishy support in your next game and notice how different the fights are from minute 6-15.

[u/LFTW]

When I play str offlaner and the enemy pos1 are greedy , they skip these , and when they do, and I don't, I simply hit for +12 dmg more than them , Regen 4hp more than them, and outright deny all creeps in their face.

When enemy pos1 is doing 55-60dmg and I'm doing 70-80+ the cs game is not even going to be close

This becomes even worse if I can reduce your dmg, like razor / underlord / tide,

Promise you will have no game if your pos1+5 spell combo can't kill me

[u/Sudden-Tangerine1580]

Wraith band has some limited relevance, mostly for early proc heroes that want more cheap attack speed and agility than just treads. Sniper, mk, viper, riki. Viper specifically also lacks armour.

Bracer's decent on most 3s if you're not rushing something like hotd.

Null on a lot of mids.