Reddit User Compares Revenant ’s Brooch and Daedalus Efficiency

A Dota 2 fan known as mglassen conducted a study and demonstrated that Revenant ’s Brooch and Daedalus offer different values depending on the stage of the game and the opponent's characteristics. While Daedalus wins in overall damage output, Brooch leads in the "damage per gold" ratio, making it a more advantageous choice for aggressive snowballing. The study results were published on Reddit.

mglassen conducted an in-depth analysis comparing the effectiveness of these two items based on the target's armor and magic resistance as well as the hero's initial damage. The visualizations showed:

Daedalus provides more damage in most situations, especially against targets with low to medium armor.
Revenant ’s Brooch excels in cases where the enemy hero has 60+ armor and low magic resistance.
Considering gold efficiency, Brooch appears stronger in almost all situations except for the extreme late game.

Additional graphs help visually assess these findings. In the first set of graphs (pure damage), Daedalus dominates in all cases except against heroes with exceptionally high armor. In the second set (damage per gold), the situation changes—the yellow areas indicate that Brooch offers better cost-effectiveness in most cases.

Brooch - Daedalus Dmg(1:Brooch Higher, -1:Daedalus Higher)
Brooch - Daedalus Dmg(1:Brooch Higher, -1:Daedalus Higher)
Brooch - Daedalus Dmg/Gold(1:Brooch Higher, -1:Daedalus Higher)
Brooch - Daedalus Dmg/Gold(1:Brooch Higher, -1:Daedalus Higher)

The calculation formulas indicate that Daedalus gives an advantage with a 225% critical strike, whereas Revenant ’s Brooch relies on magic damage and defense penetration. This makes it an effective tool for quickly breaking through enemy defenses.

These results could significantly impact item choices in certain situations. If the game drags on, Daedalus remains the undeniable choice. However, if the team has the advantage and wants to close out the game as quickly as possible, then Revenant ’s Brooch is the best option for efficient resource spending.

This study confirms that item selection in Dota 2 should not only be intuitive but also based on calculations and effectiveness in a specific match. Future updates might change this gap, but currently, Daedalus seems stronger overall, while Brooch is better for effective snowballing.