A set of unusual Dota 2 couriers has sold for over $200,000

Dota 2 items have plummeted in value over the last 18 months, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t still some unique items getting moved for huge sums of money.

A set of rare unusual Dota 2 couriers were sold for a whopping $200,000 in cryptocurrency. The transaction was spotted in blockchains by a Redditor who also identified the specific couriers being sold.

It is unknown who the buyer is beyond the fact that he is Russian, but the seller has a bit of a history when it comes to selling rare Dota 2 items for top dollar. According to the Redditor, the player known as PAADA had previously sold another rare courier for $38,000.

The collection that moved for $200,000 was a set of seven couriers with pink and purple-tinted Legacy prismatic gems equipped with Ethereal Flame ethereal gems. Legacy prismatic gems are literally unique relative to their peers. Originally, prismatic gems were of a random color determined by random RGB values with those values being displayed on the item’s name. 

This system was eventually dropped due to the possibility ugly colors, but it resulted in many one-of-a-kind gems. Today, prismatic gems are one of several predetermined colors such as blue or gold.

The set of couriers that moved for $200,000 are all different shades of pink and purple. Among them are a Stumpy, Mighty Boar, Fearless Badger, Morok’s Mechanical Mediary, Trusty Mountain Yak, and two Enduring War Dogs. Each one is a different shade, and each one is likely worth thousands of dollars.

While high-dollar Dota 2 items such as the Dragonclaw Hook and the Golden Ornithomancer Mantle have dropped in price recently, some rarities are still fetching a lot of money.

How do I get unusual couriers in Dota 2?

Unusual couriers are obtained in Dota 2 as a rare reward from certain treasures, particularly ones released between 2013 and 2014. It is estimated that players have a 1% chance of getting an unusual courier from the right chests. Which colors are available vary from chest to chest. 

For example, the Lost Treasure of the Ivory Isles can yield unusual couriers with six different colors, while unusual couriers from Treasure of the Emerald Polycount will always have a “Deep Green” prismatic gem. Completing these are ethereal gems that determine how the prismatic gem manifests, with Ethereal Flames gems appearing as a fire around the courier while Luminous Gaze gems give the couriers glowing eyes.