Gold and experience are the two primary resources in Dota 2, dictating your hero's power level and item progression.
Gold:
- Last Hitting Creeps: The most consistent source of gold. Landing the killing blow on an enemy creep grants a significant amount of gold.
- Hero Kills: Killing enemy heroes grants a large bounty, shared among nearby allies.
- Assists: Participating in a hero kill (dealing damage or providing buffs/debuffs) grants assist gold.
- Tower Kills: Destroying enemy towers grants gold to the entire team.
- Roshan/Outposts: Securing these objectives provides team-wide gold bonuses.
- Passive Gold: All heroes passively gain a small amount of gold over time.
- Bounty Runes: Grant gold and experience when picked up.
Experience:
- Creep Kills: Being near an enemy creep when it dies grants experience, even if you don't last hit.
- Hero Kills/Assists: Participating in hero kills grants experience.
- Roshan/Outposts: Securing these objectives provides team-wide experience bonuses.
- Experience Runes: Grant experience when picked up.
Efficiently acquiring gold and experience is vital for staying ahead of the enemy team and reaching your hero's power spikes.