I'd like to announce the development of Relic Arena, a standalone version of our popular custom game in Dota 2. Jenkins and I recently ran a Kickstarter that was funded within 24 hours. Our Team is currently hard at work on it!

Relic Arena will be a free-to-play 8-player auto battler on PC and Mobile. In Relic Arena, you equip heroes with real-life historical relics. Each relic grants a hero a unique ability, with powerful branching upgrades.

You also pick a historical Leader that will provide a unique benefit to your lineup.

The current plan is to have a closed Alpha ready in March 2024, with a Beta towards the end of the year, and the eventual release in Q1 2025.

For more information, visit the Relic Arena Website and be sure to Wishlist on Steam.

I've been working on a custom game in Dota 2 for about a year now and it has finally been released! It is a mix between Ability Draft and Autobattlers such as Auto Chess/Atomic War/Underlords. If you're interested, check out the following resources:

Website: https://www.abilityarena.com/
FAQ: https://www.abilityarena.com/faq
Discord Community: https://discord.gg/NRDjuTPNvS
Reddit Community: https://www.reddit.com/r/abilityarena
Download Link: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2865676075

We were thrilled to work with Valve at TI 10, and we were even happier to see such positive reception for our extension. I thought it would be fun to make this post about what features we added for the historic tournament as well as talk about our future plans.

This is how many interactions we had during TI 10:

Unique Viewers: 16,620,379

Mouse Clicks: 198,207,810

Mouse Hovers: 883,350,375 (yes that's almost a billion)

Skill Videos

This allowed viewers to see how spells worked from a visual standpoint

Cheering

This feature allowed viewers to cheer for their teams, which resulted in cheering sound effects being played on stream

Scoreboard

This allowed viewers to look at the current items for each respective player from one panel

Full Item shop (including neutrals)

This allowed viewers to look up every item in Dota 2

Predictions (with Steam/Twitch account integration)

With Steam hook-up, this allowed players to predict certain things within the game itself. It also enabled item drops woot!

Side menu (including tournament standings, localization etc.)

The side menu as a whole gives us a lot of options going forward. Being able to see the bracket/schedule is a crucial part of any tournament. In addition, the localization allowed Russian and Chinese speaking viewers to experience the extension in its entirety. And lastly, the settings panel gives users the option to disable the extension reminder.

Mobile (Android & iOS)

This was added to our basic extension a while ago. We are still working on getting more advanced functionality added for the future.

In the coming weeks, we plan to integrate many of these features into the basic extension that you are all used to seeing on Dota streams.

What is our plan going forward?

We plan to keep our extension free to use for general streaming use. If you are a tournament organizer, please contact us for quotes on licensing for our separate tournament extension.

As a viewer, if you 'd like a streamer or tournament to use our extension, let them know!

My good friend bukka and I have recently launched a Twitch extension that you may have already seen being beta tested called Dota 2 Tooltips. If enabled by the streamer, it allows the viewers to check out cool information from the game, including but not limited to Hero skills, Aghs, Shards, and items. The tooltips will also show recent changes made via Dota patches.

Who is this for?

Our target audience for this tool is streamers. When enabled by a streamer, viewers will be able to use the extension instantly. This is very helpful for both newer players and veterans alike. Keeping up with all the Aghs, Shards, and general changes feels impossible these days. We hope this extension will allow viewers to get the information they seek with very little effort.

This version of the extension is NOT intended for tournaments. If you are a tournament and would like to use a specialized version of this extension, please contact us.

Is this free?

For the viewers, all the base features of this extension will always be free. For the streamers, we are keeping it free for now so we can get a better idea as to how much servers will cost to maintain an extension of this kind. We may keep it free, but we also might add a subscription fee for bigger streamers. At the moment it is impossible for us to know. If you have any ideas for a good way we can make additional revenue without ruining the experience, please let us know via twitter.

At this time, we are not allowing this extension to be used for free by tournaments. If you are a tournament organizer and would like to use this, please contact us.

How does it work?

Streamers will install the extension, along with a GSI (Game State Integration) file in their Steam folder. GSI is officially supported by Valve, and if you have any RGB peripheral, chances are there is already an existing file in your folder. Depending on the mode, this GSI file allows the extension to see limited information from the game.

You may have seen similar extensions for some tournaments. Keep in mind that they have someone physically in the lobby, so ALL information is available to them.

For us, it's not that easy. We use the GSI file to see what is available, but also periodically scan the Twitch thumbnail in order to recognize what heroes are in your actual game.

What are the different modes included?

An indicator will pop up on screen when the streamer enters a different state of the game.

Spectating Mode is enabled when the streamer is spectating a game via DotaTV or Replay. In this mode, we gain the most information. The top bar becomes available right away and the bottom hud works for all heroes.

Gaming Mode is enabled when the streamer enters a game themselves. Information is more limited here. The top bar works after a delay (up to 3 min) and the bottom hud will only work for the hero they are playing.

Basic Mode is not recommended as only the top bar will work (with a delay). This mode simply means the streamer has not setup their GSI file properly.

This graphic shows the differences between modes:

What devices will this work on?

This works on Desktop & Android devices. IOS will come soon. The Desktop version is an interactive overlay, while mobile is more of a side panel available when the chat window is open. On mobile you are not able to mouse over the spells like on desktop. Instead, we've provided UI showing the 10 heroes in the game and their general information.

I'm a viewer, how do I install this?

You don't need to! Feel free to poke your favorite streamers to remind them you want to use this.

I'm a streamer, how do I enable this for my stream?

This following graphic explains the installation process. Visit the extension page here.

What additional features are you planning for the future?

We have quite a bit planned for the future. The following are some things we have on our radar:

• Support for ios devices
• Item Shop
• Current items for top bar in Spectating Mode
• Hero Skill Video integration
• Ability Draft support
• Much faster scan recognition
• Pro Player MMR (similar to twitch bots you see)
• Facecam info!
• More customization
• Custom hero support for POG (Path of Guardians)
• Non English language localization
• …and much more!

Anything else?

Nope, but thanks for reading and supporting us! We hope to make Dota more approachable with this extension. Any changelogs will be posted on my twitter (@SUNSfanTV).

This is probably the most important and daunting project I've ever taken on. All of my past Aghs rankings were based on criteria that I made myself. Part of it was scientific, but part of it was also subjective.

Taunting in Dota 2 is a very important aspect of the game. Some might say, it's more important than the game itself. The mindset that goes into taunting your enemies, can have an effect on your real life. Therefore, knowing which taunt to equip and which heroes to avoid, can be the difference between life and death.

That is why I have created this fool-proof power ranking. Some might disagree with where each respective taunt should be in the list, but just remember that tens of thousands of hours have been put into the meticulous research required to create this. As a result, just know that this list is correct in every aspect. If there is a mistake, even a typo, it was fully intended. I'd like to thank Elon Musk for helping me develop the criteria needed to come to the proper conclusions, as well as my boy bukka for translating this data to the website itself. Thank you for reading, and thank you for taking taunting in Dota 2 so seriously.

Labels: The following will help you understand what you're looking at.

Uptime: This basically means how long of a period your taunt goes on for vs how much time it is on cooldown.

Boots Icon: This is green if you can use the taunt while moving. As you might imagine, taunts that cannot be cast while moving are rated quite poorly by comparison.

Videos: All videos are in webm format and should be viewable on any device. We've included "Autoplay" and "Mute video" toggles at the top left in order to enhance you viewing experience.

Scoring Criteria:

Flashiness: How obvious it is that you are taunting. This can include particle FX, sound FX, or simply the animation itself.

Tilt Factor: How tilting it is to see this taunt in the perfect situation. What we found through our exhaustive research is that not all taunts are created equal in this department.

Fun Factor: How fun it is to cast the taunt itself. It can't be a good taunt unless you enjoy using it yourself.

Note: Although the numbers are important, they do not tell the entire story. As in life, certain anomalies exist in which we need to ignore the scoring system entirely.

76

Drow Ranger

Keep an Ear Out

Rare

73.91%

UPTIME

1.00

Flashiness:

1

Tilt Factor:

1

Fun Factor:

1

What a truly awful taunt. If you didn't know any better, this could be considered a typical idle animation.

75

Antimage

The Magic Ends Here

Rare

48.94%

UPTIME

1.33

Flashiness:

2

Tilt Factor:

1

Fun Factor:

1

The arm movement on this is hilariously lackadaisical.

74

Axe

Come and Get It!

Rare

48.65%

UPTIME

2.67

Flashiness:

2

Tilt Factor:

4

Fun Factor:

2

Honestly the idea behind this isn't that bad, it's just that it is not noticable at all, especially if there are creeps battling around you.

73

Broodmother

Spider Shuffle

Rare

52.50%

UPTIME

2.67

Flashiness:

4

Tilt Factor:

2

Fun Factor:

2

We're starting to get a bit more flashy here, but still not good enough.

72

Lina

Get Burned

Mythical

62.71%

UPTIME

3.00

Flashiness:

5

Tilt Factor:

2

Fun Factor:

2

This one is pretty bad, but the small fire effect puts it just high enough to not be the worst.

71

Natures Prophet

Shredding the Lute Invisible

Mythical

51.92%

UPTIME

4.67

Flashiness:

5

Tilt Factor:

4

Fun Factor:

5

I actually would LOVE this one if they added some sounds. But watching this without any sound effects makes me quite angry.

70

Grimstroke

Harsh Critique

Rare

52.94%

UPTIME

4.67

Flashiness:

4

Tilt Factor:

5

Fun Factor:

5

This is the worst rated taunt that you can move while using. Congratulations Grimstroke, you made a question mark on the ground. This taunt SUCKS.

69

Juggernaut

For Death and Honor

Rare

64.81%

UPTIME

4.83

Flashiness:

4

Tilt Factor:

5.5

Fun Factor:

5

Unfortunately zero sound effects for what could have been considered passable for its time.

68

Juggernaut

Sharp Blade

Mythical

71.64%

UPTIME

5.50

Flashiness:

5

Tilt Factor:

6.5

Fun Factor:

5

This reminds me a lot of the Pango taunt. This would of course be rated much higher if you could move while using it.

67

Crystal Maiden

Beautiful Snowangel

Rare

74.00%

UPTIME

5.67

Flashiness:

7

Tilt Factor:

5

Fun Factor:

5

Pretty flashy for a non-moving taunt, but why no sound effects?

66

Natures Prophet

Victory Jig

Rare

63.33%

UPTIME

5.83

Flashiness:

6

Tilt Factor:

5.5

Fun Factor:

6

Another amazing Nature's Prophet taunt ruined by not having sound.

65

Techies

Techies Squint and Laugh (with Swine of the Sunken Galley)

Prismatic: Explosive Burst

46.51%

UPTIME

5.83

Flashiness:

7.5

Tilt Factor:

6

Fun Factor:

4

This is quite flashy, but no mobility AND no sound FX.

64

Techies

Techies Squint and Laugh

Rare

46.51%

UPTIME

6.00

Flashiness:

8

Tilt Factor:

6

Fun Factor:

4

Slightly more flashy than his other version, but with the same problems.

63

Pudge

Shake Your Money Maker

Mythical

76.14%

UPTIME

6.00

Flashiness:

5

Tilt Factor:

6

Fun Factor:

7

This is one of the best non moving taunts simply because it's a fat man shaking his junk. Oh and the screen shake at the end is quite a nice touch.

62

Dark Willow

Thorns and All

Immortal

69.15%

UPTIME

6.00

Flashiness:

6

Tilt Factor:

6

Fun Factor:

6

An Immortal taunt with no sound effects. SHAME

61

Sniper

Quick Draw!

Rare

48.48%

UPTIME

6.33

Flashiness:

5.5

Tilt Factor:

7

Fun Factor:

6.5

Very boring and very quick. Well maybe that is the point.

60

Witch Doctor

Celebration of Death

Rare

68.83%

UPTIME

6.33

Flashiness:

6

Tilt Factor:

7

Fun Factor:

6

Easily the best non-mobile taunt. Iconic to say the least.

59

Luna

Selemene Leap!

Rare

48.57%

UPTIME

6.33

Flashiness:

6

Tilt Factor:

6

Fun Factor:

7

Very quick and very spammable.

58

Magnus

Mag Power!

Rare

47.06%

UPTIME

6.50

Flashiness:

6

Tilt Factor:

5.5

Fun Factor:

8

This is a simple taunt, that won't really affect your enemies in any way, but still something you won't mind using all the time

57

Clinkz

Xylobones

Rare

68.52%

UPTIME

7.00

Flashiness:

6

Tilt Factor:

7.5

Fun Factor:

7.5

This is my least favorite taunt that introduces music. It's not terrible, it's just not as good as the rest.

56

Winter Wyvern

Pleasant Distraction

Rare

72.73%

UPTIME

7.00

Flashiness:

6.5

Tilt Factor:

7

Fun Factor:

7.5

Not the craziest taunt, but still something fun to use from time to time.

55

Phoenix

Cold Breakfast

Rare

85.71%

UPTIME

7.00

Flashiness:

7

Tilt Factor:

7

Fun Factor:

7

Here we have one of the highest uptime taunts, but its just because there's a freaking egg on the ground.

54

Techies

We Have Liftoff

Rare

61.54%

UPTIME

7.17

Flashiness:

7.5

Tilt Factor:

7

Fun Factor:

7

Finally some sound FX are added for a techies taunt, but it still kind of dissapoints. Maybe our expectations were too high for you little buddy. You're supposed to be the king of trolls.

53

Slark

RazorFlip!

Immortal

44.74%

UPTIME

7.83

Flashiness:

6.5

Tilt Factor:

9

Fun Factor:

8

This is a very popular taunt. Overall it's ratings based on our criteria are quite solid as well. Unfortunately for slark, this taunt has the worst uptime of any taunt in the game, which is why we find it down here.

52

Riki

See Me Now

Rare

72.41%

UPTIME

7.17

Flashiness:

6

Tilt Factor:

7.5

Fun Factor:

8

Reggae for someone who smokes it up seems quite appropriate. But at the same time, this hero is invisible for most of the game.

51

Storm Spirit

In the Spirit of Peace

Mythical

70.77%

UPTIME

7.33

Flashiness:

8

Tilt Factor:

7

Fun Factor:

7

I love the idea behind this taunt as it introduces multiple poses. It's very zen-like which fits the theme.

50

Troll Warlord

Troll's Groove!

Rare

65.96%

UPTIME

7.33

Flashiness:

7.5

Tilt Factor:

7

Fun Factor:

7.5

The tap-dancing Troll is not the most amazing taunt in the world, but I'd say it is still solid.

49

Phoenix

Order Up!

Rare

85.71%

UPTIME

7.33

Flashiness:

8

Tilt Factor:

6

Fun Factor:

8

This is the 2nd version of the Phoenix taunt, both of which tout a very high up-time. This one is just clearly better because cooked eggs are more delicious.

48

Clockwerk

Do the Robot!

Rare

63.24%

UPTIME

7.33

Flashiness:

7

Tilt Factor:

7.5

Fun Factor:

7.5

The animation itself is OK, but the sound FX probably carried this taunt to this spot.

47

Weaver

Exterminated

Rare

57.89%

UPTIME

7.33

Flashiness:

7

Tilt Factor:

7

Fun Factor:

8

Even though the up-time on this is not great, it's a quick and annoying taunt for a hero who is very elusive.

46

Gyrocopter

Do a Barrel Roll!

Rare

57.14%

UPTIME

7.33

Flashiness:

6.5

Tilt Factor:

7.5

Fun Factor:

8

A classic, but probably not quite as good as Batrider.

45

Batrider

Hang Loose!

Rare

67.69%

UPTIME

7.33

Flashiness:

6.5

Tilt Factor:

7.5

Fun Factor:

8

A simple animation, similar to Gyro's, but the voicelines are great.

44

Windranger

Your Prefer Arrows?

Immortal

58.97%

UPTIME

7.50

Flashiness:

7.5

Tilt Factor:

8

Fun Factor:

7

Now we start to get into some taunts that can actually tilt. Imagine seeing those hearts after 10 consecutive shackles that should never have hit.

43

Pugna

Check This Out!

Rare

74.58%

UPTIME

7.50

Flashiness:

7

Tilt Factor:

8

Fun Factor:

7.5

A solid taunt for a hero who can be very annoying.

42

Antimage

Bring It On

Rare

73.91%

UPTIME

7.50

Flashiness:

7

Tilt Factor:

8

Fun Factor:

7.5

Finally a worthy taunt for our boy Anti-Mage. It has the mobility needed and gives off the vibe that you are actually contributing to your team's victory, when in reality you are just stuck in the jungle farming all game.

41

Tiny

Rolling Stone!

Rare

51.52%

UPTIME

8.50

Flashiness:

8

Tilt Factor:

8

Fun Factor:

9.5

This taunt is an anomaly. It rates well with our criteria, but has absolutely horrendous uptime, thus the current placement. Overall it is a very fun taunt to use, but we unfortunately can't ignore the numbers completely!

40

Venomancer

Bananadancer

Rare

72.73%

UPTIME

7.50

Flashiness:

6.5

Tilt Factor:

7

Fun Factor:

9

Good squishy sound effects: check. High Up-time: Check. Take advantage of Bananamancer meme: Check.

39

Shadow Shaman

Shaman Dance

Rare

78.95%

UPTIME

7.50

Flashiness:

7.5

Tilt Factor:

7.5

Fun Factor:

7.5

This is a very underrated taunt. It provides some solid dancing skills from our Rhasta friend and also sports an extremely high up-time.

38

Earth Spirit

Dirt Surfer

Rare

77.78%

UPTIME

7.67

Flashiness:

7.5

Tilt Factor:

7

Fun Factor:

8.5

Surfer dude Earth Spirit is legit. I'm not sure how tilting it can be, but it sure is fun to use.

37

Legion Commander

Fearless Cadence

Rare

71.64%

UPTIME

7.67

Flashiness:

8

Tilt Factor:

7

Fun Factor:

8

LC has a serious business taunt with a good drum beat.

36

Beastmaster

Beat Master

Rare

58.49%

UPTIME

7.67

Flashiness:

9

Tilt Factor:

7

Fun Factor:

7

Speaking of drums, Beastmaster beats the shit out of his.

35

Faceless Void

Timeless Classic

Rare

74.24%

UPTIME

8.00

Flashiness:

8

Tilt Factor:

8.5

Fun Factor:

7.5

Every carry needs a taunt they can spam to oblivion.

34

Slardar

Flopper

Rare

64.81%

UPTIME

8.00

Flashiness:

8.5

Tilt Factor:

7.5

Fun Factor:

8

Nutcracker theme with good splash effects makes this a good taunt.

33

Ancient Apparition

Cold Hearted!

Rare

68.00%

UPTIME

8.17

Flashiness:

9

Tilt Factor:

8

Fun Factor:

7.5

Rock music combined with Windrunner's heart. A good taunt for one of the most annoying heroes in the game.

32

Invoker

The Master Juggles

Immortal

81.40%

UPTIME

8.17

Flashiness:

7.5

Tilt Factor:

8

Fun Factor:

9

Not the flashiest taunt, but it sports a very high up-time and is a ton of fun to use.

31

Centaur Warrunner

Battle Dressage

Rare

64.81%

UPTIME

8.33

Flashiness:

9

Tilt Factor:

8

Fun Factor:

8

CENTAUR!!!

30

Tusk

Fight Me!

Rare

70.18%

UPTIME

8.33

Flashiness:

7.5

Tilt Factor:

8

Fun Factor:

9.5

Probably the best thought out taunt. Absolutely love this.

29

Crystal Maiden

Making Friends

Mythical

115.63%

UPTIME

8.33

Flashiness:

8

Tilt Factor:

8

Fun Factor:

9

Building a snowman with high pitched music is great and all, but the fact that this taunt has 115% uptime is ridiculous.

28

Lich

Ice Cold Baller

Rare

76.83%

UPTIME

8.33

Flashiness:

8.5

Tilt Factor:

7.5

Fun Factor:

9

Lich is basically playing with a basketball. You knew this was going to be highly rated.

27

Enigma

Enigmatic Style

Rare

71.67%

UPTIME

8.50

Flashiness:

8

Tilt Factor:

8.5

Fun Factor:

9

Missed a great opportunity to make the sound cue fit more with the WACKY WAVING INFLATABLE ARM FLAILING TUBEMAN & it unfortunately does not work with eidelons. Despite all this, a truly awesome taunt.

26

Phantom Assassin

Deadly Grace

Rare

76.67%

UPTIME

8.67

Flashiness:

8.5

Tilt Factor:

8

Fun Factor:

9.5

All the carries seem to have this type of music, which is cool. I love the movements from this as it makes me think of the Matrix.

25

Pangolier

Foolish Gallantry

Immortal

66.67%

UPTIME

8.67

Flashiness:

9

Tilt Factor:

8.5

Fun Factor:

8.5

A much better version of one of Juggernaut's taunts.

24

Vengeful Spirit

The Royal Raspberry

Immortal

77.33%

UPTIME

8.83

Flashiness:

8.5

Tilt Factor:

9

Fun Factor:

9

This is truly a classic and fits the definition of a taunt probably better than any others.

23

Rubick

Giddy Up!

Rare

63.64%

UPTIME

8.83

Flashiness:

8

Tilt Factor:

9

Fun Factor:

9.5

The crazy thing about this taunt is that it doesn't look like anything special, but it still tilts you and is super fun to use. Who doesn't want to ride around on an imaginary horsey?

22

Death Prophet

All Sparkles n' Rainbows

Rare

76.71%

UPTIME

9.00

Flashiness:

9

Tilt Factor:

9

Fun Factor:

9

A classy taunt for a classy lady. The rainbow is pretty random but I love it.

21

Brewmaster

Barrelmeister

Rare

69.35%

UPTIME

9.00

Flashiness:

9

Tilt Factor:

9

Fun Factor:

9

Love the carnival feel to this taunt

20

Monkey King

Goin' Bananas

Common

68.63%

UPTIME

9.00

Flashiness:

8.5

Tilt Factor:

9

Fun Factor:

9.5

This taunt is quite flashy and a ton of fun to use. The fact that it drops a banana at the end is the true clincher though, lets be real. Oh, and it is somehow a COMMON?!

19

Mirana

Cat Wrangler

Rare

67.31%

UPTIME

9.17

Flashiness:

9.5

Tilt Factor:

9

Fun Factor:

9

This one is hilarious as it turns Mirana's mount into a carousel at the fair. It kind of messes with the enemy too as they don't really know what direction you are facing.

18

Skywrath Mage

Chicken!

Mythical

69.35%

UPTIME

9.17

Flashiness:

8

Tilt Factor:

10

Fun Factor:

9.5

A better version of the Venge taunt, but of course they are truly linked at the end of the day.

17

Shadow Fiend

Fiendish Swag!

Rare

64.58%

UPTIME

9.17

Flashiness:

8

Tilt Factor:

10

Fun Factor:

9.5

Hearing this taunt while he destroys you mid is one of the most tilting things in the game.

16

Alchemist

Ogre Hop

Immortal

73.33%

UPTIME

9.17

Flashiness:

8.5

Tilt Factor:

9.5

Fun Factor:

9.5

Easily one of the most fun & spammable taunts in the game.

15

Lion

To Hell and Back!

Immortal

76.39%

UPTIME

9.17

Flashiness:

9

Tilt Factor:

9.5

Fun Factor:

9

God I hate this fucking hero.

14

Wraith King

Fit to Rule

Rare

76.39%

UPTIME

9.17

Flashiness:

9

Tilt Factor:

9

Fun Factor:

9.5

This taunt is so fun to spam, especially considering your skeletons follow suit.

13

Pudge

Skip to the Good Stuff!

Mythical

70.49%

UPTIME

9.33

Flashiness:

9

Tilt Factor:

9.5

Fun Factor:

9.5

Jump roping with this fat mess makes all your missed hooks worth it.

12

Kunkka

Step Lively

Mythical

73.68%

UPTIME

9.33

Flashiness:

9

Tilt Factor:

9.5

Fun Factor:

9.5

Great music and terrific dance moves from Kunkka.

11

Spirit Breaker

Raging Bull

Rare

73.85%

UPTIME

9.33

Flashiness:

9

Tilt Factor:

9.5

Fun Factor:

9.5

This is very spammable and quite annoying. It came so close to the top 10. I'm still questioning it myself.

10

Zeus

Heavenly Jump!

Mythical

54.55%

UPTIME

9.33

Flashiness:

9

Tilt Factor:

9

Fun Factor:

10

Horrible up-time, but it truly fills a need to have something nastalgic and simple in the game. A true masterpiece.

9

Ursa

Not Just Your Average Bear

Rare

71.15%

UPTIME

9.67

Flashiness:

10

Tilt Factor:

9.5

Fun Factor:

9.5

We've had taunts that are annoying to listen to as an opponent, but this one strikes fear into you considering which hero it is.

8

Chaos Knight

Orderly Chaos

Rare

69.84%

UPTIME

9.67

Flashiness:

9.5

Tilt Factor:

9.5

Fun Factor:

10

The trumpets make this one so much more unique to me than a lot of the other sound FX we've heard thus far. Plus the fact that it works on your illusions makes this top tier.

7

Omniknight

Bathed in the Glow

Rare

73.44%

UPTIME

9.67

Flashiness:

9.5

Tilt Factor:

10

Fun Factor:

9.5

What an annoying prick.

6

Jakiro

Fluid Mechanics

Rare

76.00%

UPTIME

9.67

Flashiness:

9.5

Tilt Factor:

9.5

Fun Factor:

10

Such a beautiful and classy song. One of the best taunts of all time.

5

Natures Prophet

Make It Rain

Immortal

78.08%

UPTIME

9.83

Flashiness:

9.5

Tilt Factor:

10

Fun Factor:

10

Oh look, another Nature's Prophet taunt. Only this time it owns. It has it all, the music, the dance moves, and the flashiness.

4

Tidehunter

Backstroke!

Mythical

63.64%

UPTIME

10.00

Flashiness:

10

Tilt Factor:

10

Fun Factor:

10

I might have stretched the numbers for this one, but it's such an amazing taunt. Having a hugely modeled hero with easily the most ridiculous cosmetics on their back splashing is incredible. It's also quite old school, releasing in 2015.

3

Lifestealer

Chain Break Dance

Mythical

73.77%

UPTIME

10.00

Flashiness:

10

Tilt Factor:

10

Fun Factor:

10

Yet another carry with the aggressive music, but Lifestealer's dance moves are what really get me here. Takes the best of a lot of taunts and makes it his own.

2

Undying

Funk of the Dead

Rare

73.53%

UPTIME

10.00

Flashiness:

10

Tilt Factor:

10

Fun Factor:

10

A true instant classic. Undying moonwalking to this music brings joy to all, except for those being tilted of course. And during this process I learned that the taunt sound has a much lower bass when in his ulti form. Very cool!

1

Leshrac

Party On? Party Off!

Immortal

76.47%

UPTIME

10.00

Flashiness:

10

Tilt Factor:

10

Fun Factor:

10

Was there any question on who was #1? The goat man shall live on as having the best dance moves in Dota 2. Congratulations Jay Leno, you've made something of yourself.

Luna

The Cat Dancer!

Rare

This is a bonus taunt. To my knowledge, it is the only taunt every removed from game (and later replaced by Selemene Leap). Why in Gaben's beard was this removed? The sound alone would instantly make this a contender for best taunts of all time. We must start a revolution to get the Meow back in the game immediately! Credit to totite tetito for lost clip.

Better late than never right?

Firstly thanks to the community for asking for this. I wasn't sure if I'd do this until I started getting a lot of messages about it. Even though making a ranking of this nature is quite time-consuming, I always find the process enjoyable.

If you read the following text prior to the rankings themselves, you will be rewarded with something very special.

I'd like to thank Brax and syndereN for not only looking the list over to make sure I didn't make any grave errors, but for giving a lot of great feedback overall. In addition, thanks to n0tail and w33 as they gave some good words of advice despite simultaneously preparing for the major. Also thanks to bukka for helping set this up on this site as always.

If you've made it this far, I will give you a little present. You see, a lot of people have argued about past rankings, which as I stated above is encouraged. The problem is they never bothered to read the criteria. Anyone can come up with their own power rankings based on whatever criteria pops in their head. But as a result of actually reading the above text I present you with the following. Whenever typing your opinion, follow it up with the text 'Believe me, I know what I'm talking about'. If you do this, people will know you have done the requisite reading in order to have an educated opinion. If you do not see this in their text, then you should consider their opinion null and void. And please, let's not spoil the fun. Don't tell the uninformed of the secret word.

Aside from that, here are a few extra things you might want to know before perusing the list.

The last list was for 7.06, which in Dota is a million years ago. The differential that is shown is for that, which of course can be misleading because of the fact that so many more Aghs exist (most of which by the way are quite good now). Either way, I thought leaving that differential would be interesting at the very least.

What do the labels mean?

New: This means the hero never had an Aghs before

Reworked: This means either the hero's current Aghs was reworked or they previously had one in our last rankings and it has been redone in some way. This includes heroes that temporarily didn't have Aghanim's (ie. Tiny & Night Stalker).

Updated: This is for the cases where something was added or subtracted to an Aghanim's upgrade. This is reserved for things more impactful than mere number tweaks.

Some heroes will have different text to accompany the general notes. Here are the two types you might see:

1. Old - This talks about what the Aghs was like since our last post (7.06)
2. Notable Changes - This refers to impactful changes made to the specific skill the Aghs alters. The changes listed will not be extensive. They are only the ones I felt were significant enough to mention.

Lastly, you'll also see a green or red arrow, indicating if the Aghs has gone up or down since our last post. Of course with more Aghs being introduced and Heroes changing quite a bit in patch 7.20, this isn't a great indicator of past strength, but instead we've simply left it in for the entertainment value.

That's it! If you made it this far, give yourself a pat on the back. Remember, this is a complete fluff piece, so don't take it too seriously. Thanks for reading!

PS: Remember that you can click the arrows on the right to read more!

Biggest Drop: Alchemist (-100)

Biggest Climb: Morphling (+77)

NEW

117

Lycan

Summon Wolves

Causes one of the three creep waves to include two wolves. You cannot control the wolves, but they are considered your units. These wolves have the same movement speed as lane creeps. They also provide half gold and xp bounty.

Notable Changes

Reworked Howl to grant bonus attack speed, armor, and HP regen to Lycan and all allied heroes and units under their control (7.20).

SUNSfan's Notes

Wow. There's so many different routes I could go with this, but I'll try to keep this short. I could be wrong, but this is quite possibly the worst Aghs upgrade that has ever been in the game. I've brought up the idea to some pros that if they allowed you to choose which lane these wolves go to, it would be marginally better. But marginally better is still terrible. There's nothing more to say other than this is too random to be even close to passable.

116

38

Leshrac

Pulse Nova

While Pulse Nova is active, Lightning Storm will hit a unit within a 750 radius every 1.75 seconds

SUNSfan's Notes

This Aghs actually has a lot of potential if certain tweaks were made. Right now the Lightning Storm only works while Pulse Nova is active. And it's not even a real Lightning Storm as it will not bounce at all. If it cast the normal spell, then this would be amazing. Or if the current spell worked passively instead of only during the ult, then it would be decent at the very least. Right now, it's just not great.

NEW

115

Terrorblade

Metamorphosis

After casting Metamorphosis, a wave travels outwards in all direction causing enemy heroes to become feared for 3 seconds upon impact. Wave starts traveling after 0.6 seconds and has a travel speed of 1000. Spell immune units do not get hit by the wave. Has a global sound effect.

SUNSfan's Notes

This is a bit of a weird Aghs. The effect can actually be OK if you want to hit buildings, but can be counter-productive if you want to hit enemies. Also with such a long cooldown on Metamorphosis, you're barely ever getting any use out of this. Bad!

REWORKED

114

25

Beastmaster

Wild Axes

Wild Axes have no cooldown and can be used again once they have returned to Beastmaster.

Old

Cast range increase (600 ⇒ 950 & cooldown reduced (70 ⇒ 45)

Notable Changes

Wild Axes no longer pierce spell immunity (7.20). Level 15 +65 Wild Axes damage Talent moved to Level 20 and changed to +75

SUNSfan's Notes

The old Aghs was very boring so I'm glad they revisited this hero. I don't know about this though. Some pros think it might be OK, while others think it is absolute garbage. I'd love to be wrong, but I tend to agree with the latter assessment. Being able to cast Axes constantly sounds cool since it amplifies damage coming from you and your creatures, but alas I don't think that is a very effective way to play Beastmaster.

113

26

Lifestealer

New Skill (Assimilate)

This ability allows you to eat teammates, where they will be invulnerable and spell immune. They can eject themselves from your body, dealing 300 AoE damage.

SUNSfan's Notes

This is actually one of the most fun Aghs in the game, unfortunately that doesn't make it good. Eating a Pudge w/ rot on while you have a radiance is HILARIOUS though. If you haven't tried it, please do. In normal scenarios, I could see this being good with Storm spirit or Nature's Prophet, as you can globally gank with 3+ heroes. You can also eat a teammate as they are initiated on in order to mitigate damage.

NEW

112

Troll Warlord

Battle Trance

Reduces Battle Trance cooldown to 35 seconds and allows it to be cast on allied or enemy heroes. Last half duration on enemies. Cast Range 525.

Notable Changes

Reworked Battle Trance. Does not effect allies anymore and will force Troll to continuously attack the closest enemy unit within range, prioritizing heroes. Damage cannot kill you during this mode. Also grants Troll bonus lifesteal, attack speed, and movement speed. Applies a basic dispel on cast (7.20).

SUNSfan's Notes

This one is so weird. The cooldown reduction alone is pretty incredible, but the problem is this skill is a bit situational for an ultimate. Generally, you want to use it when you are low because if you activate it at the wrong time, it can really screw you. Thus I feel the cooldown reduction is only really amazing for buyback situations. As for being able to use this on teammates/enemies...it sounds absolutely awful. This is one of the most troll abilities in the game with Aghs, pun intended.

UPDATED

111

17

Chaos Knight

Phantasm

Reduces cooldown (145 ⇒ 110) & allows it to be cast on allied hero with 1200 range. Also reduces incoming illusion damage from 260% to 180%.

Notable Changes

Scepter now also reduces incoming illusion damage from 260% to 180%. No longer has 50% chance to spawn extra illusion. Increased number of illusions from 1/2/3 to 3. Reduced illusion damage from 100% to 50/75/100%. Reduced duration from 42 to 30 (7.20).

SUNSfan's Notes

So the cooldown reduction is better than nothing, but definitely low compared to other upgrades. Using this on a hero other than yourself sounds really weird but could definitely work with a support CK...which isn't really a thing. The reduction of incoming damage for the illusions is pretty good though.

110

29

Magnus

Shockwave

Increases travel distance (1200 ⇒ 2000) and speed (900 ⇒ 1200) of Shockwave & causes it to come back. Return wave slows by 60% for 2 seconds and does half damage to creeps.

Notable Changes

Shockwave Scepter max range increased from 1725 to 2000. Shockwave Scepter speed increased from 1200 to 1500 (7.22). Shockwave pulls hit enemies towards the center and towards Magnus. Regular Shockwave slows movespeed by 60% for 0.75 seconds (7.20).

SUNSfan's Notes

This Aghs is nothing special, but it's not like its bad. It improves your Shockwave by essentially adding more damage and a slow. But compared to other Aghs in the game, this does not hold up well.

109

77

Outworld Devourer

Astral Imprisonment

Grants 2 charges of Astral Imprisonment with a 12 second replenish time. Increases range (450 ⇒ 750) and damage areas stack

SUNSfan's Notes

This is often discussed as one of the worst Aghs in the game. I guess that is technically true, but that's mainly because other Aghs are just so good. Adding a second charge and more range to Astral is certainly helpful, but in a lot of cases just underwhelming.

108

28

Lich

Chain Frost

Cast range increase (750 ⇒ 850), Infinite bounces, Damage increase (550 ⇒ 600)

Notable Changes

Chain Frost damage increased from 250/375/500 to 250/400/550 (7.22). Reduced Chain Frost cast time from 0.4 to 0.3 (7.18). Chain Frost damage increased for both normal ability and Aghs (7.16)

SUNSfan's Notes

This barely increases damage and cast range at this point. And the inifinite bounces sounds incredible but rarely comes into play. This is a very uninspiring Aghs that I'm expecting to get changed in the future.

107

45

Phantom Lancer

Spirit Lance

Spirit Lances bounce up to 5 times

SUNSfan's Notes

This is a nice way to build up your illusions super fast and synergizes quite nicely with the level 15 +125 Spirit Lance damage talent. Having said that, this is still pretty underhwelming in practice as PL doesn't really have trouble creating illusions in a hurry.

106

21

Doom

Doom

Suspends duration when within range (900 AoE), removes positive buffs, breaks passives

SUNSfan's Notes

The fact that this will suspend the Ultimate indefinitely sounds really cool, but in practice rarely comes into play. But being able to remove positive buffs and break is really good in certain games. Overall this is an OK upgrade.

105

54

Bristleback

Nasal Goo

Goo is AoE (825)

Notable Changes

Scepter AoE increased from 750 to 825. Viscous Nasal Goo has a base armor reduction of 2, on top of the reduction per stack (7.17). Goo's armor reduction per stack buffed to 1.4/1.8/2.2/2.6 (7.20). Goo's manacost changed from 25 to 12/16/20/24 (7.21).

SUNSfan's Notes

This has gotten a bit better over time thanks to the buffs to Goo. And the 825 AoE is quite massive. With this upgrade you'll be able to spam Goo in the same way that Quill Spray is used, in order to keep up Warpath stacks. This is probably not the pickup if you are trying to use Goo against Linken Sphere however, but that is the only real situation where this is bad. Overall a pretty underrated Aghanims.

104

29

Axe

Battle Hunger

Causes Battle Hunter to be a 400 AoE target ability that will reduce enemy damage by 30%.

Old

Units afflicted by Battle Hunger will have their damage output reduced by 30%. Also, if an enemy hero is killed with Culling Blade, Battle Hunger will then be cast upon enemies in a 700 AoE

SUNSfan's Notes

I feel like this just sounds better than it actually is. Being able to reduce multiple enemy's damage by 30%, all while boosting your movement speed sounds amazing. But in practice, being able to dispel this feels like a very common occurence. All in all, it is certainly better than it used to be, but not quite as OP as it sounds.

103

27

Medusa

Mystic Snake

Causes Mystic Snake to turn enemies to stone for at least 1 second. Adds 0.3 seconds per bounce

Notable Changes

Mystic Snake no longer deals pure damage to units affected by Stone Gaze, now always deals magical damage (7.20).

SUNSfan's Notes

There was a time where the Stone Gaze debuff would instantly kill illusions, which made this upgrade situationally amazing. Unfortunately, those days are gone. Being able to turn people to stone can certainly be good in games where a lot of physical damage is to be had. But in a lot of cases it can mess with any magic damage output. With the right communication this is still a pretty decent upgrade.

102

45

Legion Commander

Duel

Longer duration (5.5 ⇒ 8). Only LC and opponent can take damage from eachother. Applies spell immunity to Legion Commander

Notable Changes

When the caster wins the Duel, the current level of Press the Attack gets applied to self (7.20). Duel Victory damage bonus increased from 10/14/18 to 10/18/26 (7.18).

SUNSfan's Notes

Alas one of my favorite Aghs in the game. Unfortunately it is just too situational to be good. On the positive side, if you are balling out of control you can easily take out an enemy for free. And even if you're not, you can isolate a a crucial enemy for a very long period while your team focuses on the rest of their team. But from the other side, we've seen this be a complete disaster in games. Without the right communication, a lot of spells can be wasted on an enemy who will take zero damage. We've even see this throw a professional game. Be safe out there kids.

REWORKED

101

100

Alchemist

Other

Can still give Aghs to teammates, but when equipped for himself, he will gain +30 Damage and 6% Spell Amp for each Scepter that he supplied to allies at any point in the game.

Old

Give an Aghanim's Scepter to a teammate

SUNSfan's Notes

Last time we rated Alchemist Aghs based on the fact that he could give other heroes the buff (plus it gave stats). For the purposes of this hero, this time we will ignore that part and focus solely on the buff it gives him. If you're able to give every ally an Aghs, you will gain +120 damage & 24% Spell Amp. This isn't that bad of an effect, but is completely dependent on how many Aghs you give away. It's nice that there is more incentive now to do so, but the effect isn't anything to write home about.

NEW

100

Templar Assassin

New Skill (Psionic Projection)

Grants new ability which allows you to teleport to any Psionic Trap after a 2 second channel. Does not break Meld. Cooldown 30. Manacost 100. Detonates the psionic trap on arrival.

Notable Changes

Meld applies the armor debuff before the attack damage is applied. The debuff also stacks from multiple attacks and duration was increased from 10 to 12 (7.21).

SUNSfan's Notes

This is a very interesting upgrade. Being able to meld onto one of your traps can have game-winning implications. But having said that, it feels a bit inconsistent to be that good. But still, it allows you to move around the map pretty freely which is always a good thing. There's also a cool trick where while Melding you can wait for Meld to come back off cooldown and then activate Psionic Projection. Once teleported you can strike with Meld and then do a second Meld which can be absolutely devasating when combined with the Level 20 Meld Armor Reduction talent and the 25 Meld Bash.

REWORKED

99

53

Windranger

Windrun

Adds 2 charges to Windrun and increases movement speed by 45%.

Old

No damage reduction (30% ⇒ 0%), reduces cooldown (60 ⇒ 15), removes penalty from Unique Attack Modifiers

SUNSfan's Notes

This rework isn't super popular as Aghs has been a staple on the carry-centric Windranger for years. Although a disappointing change, having two Windruns is pretty nice, especially if you combine it with the Level 25 cooldown reduction. You can almost Windrun perpetually. The movement speed increase is quite noticable as well.

98

2

Dazzle

Shallow Grave

Gives a 500 AoE to Shallow Grave

Notable Changes

Shallow Grave Scepter radius increased from 450 to 500

SUNSfan's Notes

It sounds OP on paper, but from a consistency standpoint it's not as good as it sounds. But being able to grave yourself, which then will spill over to ally heroes in range isn't a bad thing. Overall I think this can definitely be amazing in the right situations.

97

9

Oracle

Purifying Flames

Faster cast point (0.3 ⇒ 0.1), lowers cooldown (2.25 ⇒ 1)

SUNSfan's Notes

Very rarely will you get to see this in action, but it's honestly pretty good. The cooldown reduction means you can spam this at will and you might be surprised at how good the cast point reduction feels. In a lot of ways this just adds additional damage to your enemies and increases your healing output.

96

19

Natures Prophet

Wrath of Nature

Increases damage (170 ⇒ 205), and creates treants if units are killed within 4 seconds

Notable Changes

Wrath of Nature no longer pierces spell immunity (7.20).

SUNSfan's Notes

In the right hands this is quite good as you can continue to push the pressure from across the map. And if you get a hero kill with your ult then those big boy treants can really go to work. For a good portion of people this will feed a lot of needless gold though.

95

13

Dark Seer

Wall

Illusions deal more damage (100% ⇒ 140%)

Notable Changes

Regular Wall of Replica Illusions from 90 to 100% attack damage and reduced illusion damage taken from 300% to 200%. (7.14). Uses vector targeting, slow no longer pierces spell immunity, increased cast range & reduced cast time (7.20).

SUNSfan's Notes

This is a very boring upgrade and I wouldn't be surprised if it get changes at some point. But even though its boring doesn't mean its bad. Being able to increase the damage output of certain enemy hero's by 40% can be significant. But alas it isn't consistent.

NEW

94

Arc Warden

New Skill (Rune Forge)

Grants new ability which creates a random Rune in front of you. Cooldown 60. The selection of Runes include Bounty and Powerup Runes

SUNSfan's Notes

This is probably the weirdest upgrade in the game. It is all based on chance. You give your hero and it's Tempest Double yet another skill to use. In some situations for late game it can truly help (Double Damage), but sometimes it will just come up empty (Bounty). And of course the other runes can be great in the right situation, but will it ever come? Only Gaben knows.

93

27

Earth Spirit

New Skill (Enchant Remnant)

Grants the Enchant Remnant ability, which allows you to turn a hero into a Stone Remnant for 3 seconds. After that period, the hero will shatter, dealing 300 damage in a 300 AoE.

SUNSfan's Notes

How far this hero has fallen. In our very first Aghs list (version 6.88) this hero was ranked 6th! Back then, if you had Aghs, you would get Enchant totem AND could pull allied heroes with grip. The grip mechanic is now reserved to a Level 25 talent as it was extremely powerful. In it's current state, this Aghs can still be poweful but requires good coordination. The range of Enchant totem is absolutely abysmal, so you either have to land your mobility skills correctly or have a Blink Dagger already. If you are actually able to kick an enemy into your base, then this Aghs can still be devastating.

REWORKED

92

33

Antimage

Mana Void

Mana Void kills add +70 seconds to the highest cooldown ability on the enemy hero. Cooldown starts once the enemy respawns. Also increases the stun duration by 1 second. If the target dies during this period it is still counted as a Mana Void kill.

Old

At one time it caused Spell Shield to passively block and reflect a targeted spell once every 12 seconds. Then it was impemented as part of Spell Shield itself, and thus the Aghanim's was deleted.

SUNSfan's Notes

Adding a full second to the stun of Mana Void is nothing to scoff at (1.3 seconds total). And the 70 seconds added onto certain heroes abilities can be completely game-winning. Keep in mind that if you are ever to pick this Aghs up via Roshan (or 7th slot), it is already late game, so this can have a huge effect. I can also forsee certain situations where a hero is tempted to buyback after being afflicted with this, simply in order to make certain that his big ultimate is ready for the next team fight.

91

33

Jakiro

Macropyre

Increase cast range and distance (1400 ⇒ 1800), increases damage (180 ⇒ 225 per second), increases duration (10 ⇒ 30)

SUNSfan's Notes

This is a decent upgrade as from a high-ground perspective you will be able to clear two waves of creeps very easily. For teamfights this usually won't change much unless you are fighting near the Roshan pit. Enemy heroes will just simply ignore that region of the map, which of course could be the entire point.

90

45

Silencer

Glaives of Wisdom

Causes Glaives to pierce Spell Immunity & deal 100% more damage to silenced enemies

Notable Changes

Reduced Glaives of Wisdom intelligence as damage from 70% to 85% (7.21).

SUNSfan's Notes

You don't see a carry Silencer all too often, but if you do, this item will be a part of the build. Getting 2x damage against silenced targets is nice, but the BKB piercing is the important buff. BKB can bring an end to Silencer carry as it proves as a very good counter, but buying an Aghs can mitigate that to a degree.

89

8

Kunkka

Ghostship

Boat Drags units (200 Radius) & travel distance reduced (2000 to 1000)

SUNSfan's Notes

This is actually not that bad of an upgrade, it's just that you would never want to buy it. Fortunately for Kunkka, we're not considering that fact with this list. The fact that the boat starts where you are, means this is incredibly easy to hit multiple heroes with. It definitely takes some getting used to, but after some practice I think this would be a solid upgrade.

DISCLAIMER: Not actually approved by Purge

88

5

Naga Siren

Song of Siren

Heals allies for 10% per second

SUNSfan's Notes

So being able to heal your entire team for 70% of their HP sounds completely bonkers. The issue is that in order to get full value, you will need to use it in the middle or tail end of a fight. That means you won't have your song for initation. So on paper its crazy and in practice it's quite good, but inconsistent.

REWORKED

87

78

Tiny

New Skill (Tree Volley)

Grants a new channeling ability. Every 0.4 seconds a random tree within 525 range of your hero will be thrown towards the targed AoE. Deals 120% of your damage to enemies in that area. Target AoE 400. Cast Range 1300. Max Channel 2.4 seconds. Cooldown 12. Manacost 150.

Old

Previously changed the following: Toss damage increase (65% ⇒ 80%), Attack range increase (85), Cleave, Bonus damage to buildings (75%). This was partially implemented for a new skill and then his Aghs was removed.

SUNSfan's Notes

This is a fun one. The first time I read this I thought it was awful, but to my surprise the range is HUGE for not only volleying the hits, but finding trees. This means you can essentially be in the middle of any lane and not worry about running out of ammo. But it still has some downsides. It's not great for sieging or defending as there are not many trees in the base. Overall a very interesting upgrade.

86

13

Underlord

Atrophy Aura

Causes half your current bonus damage to allies in a 1200 AoE. Also increases the bonus damage duration (60 ⇒ 100 seconds)

Notable Changes

Atrophy Aura grants Underlord a permanent 2/3/4/5 attack damage bonus for every enemy hero dying with the debuff. It also no longer pierces spell immunity and the radius was increased from 900 to 1200 (7.20).

SUNSfan's Notes

I think this is a little on the underrated side. It works a lot like Sven's Aghs, but has a lot more variability to it. It can have a much higher ceiling, but also a much lower floor. All in all it does feel like a win-more item. If you win a team fight with this badboy, you can take a throne with a couple buddies in no time.

85

14

Crystal Maiden

Freezing Field

Applies Frostbite to units that have been standing in the Freezing Field for over 2.5 seconds

Notable Changes

Freezing Field cast time from 0.3 to 0. Frostbite no longer applies a 0.1 second mini-stun on cast (7.20). Freezing Field now grants 20 armor to the caster while channeling (7.21).

SUNSfan's Notes

With the improvements to Freezing Field, this upgrade got marginally better. It's in a similar boat to Enigma in the fact that you can't guarantee you'll be able to channel this for long. Getting a free Frostbite on a target is pretty huge though, so the potential is certainly strong. But if you can't channel for those precious few seconds, then this Aghs does literally nothing.

84

19

Tidehunter

Gush

Cast range increased (700 ⇒ 2200), becomes AoE (260 Radius), Lowers cooldown (12 ⇒ 7) and does a small ground reveal on units that are hit

Notable Changes

Gush Scepter upgrade radius increased from 240 to 260 & the distance increased from 1800 to 2200

SUNSfan's Notes

This is a pretty cool upgrade that doesn't get a lot of love. Lowering the armor of several heroes at once, while also slowing them can really turn a fight. And being able to increase the armor reduction from 7 to 12 with the 20 talent is insane. The range is completely absurd for this as it can help you defend against most pushes.

83

56

Mirana

Starstorm

Passively triggers Starstorm every 8 seconds. Does not trigger if the enemy doesn't see Mirana.

Notable Changes

Scepter upgrade trigger rate improved from 10 to 8 seconds (7.22).

SUNSfan's Notes

Once a staple for Mirana is now only seldomly picked up. But with our criteria it is still quite good. It gives you a lot of farming potential and extra damage in fights.

82

32

Enigma

Black Hole

Adds current level of Midnight Pulse to Black Hole

SUNSfan's Notes

If you could guarantee a full duration Black Hole, this would be the best Aghs in the game. And even despite the inconsistency, this is still a good upgrade. Keep in mind that the Midnight Pulse will only be active during the Black Hole itself, meaning it will not be cast on the ground and persist afterwards. But the damage WILL stack with an actual Midnight Pulse. So if you're getting decent Black Holes in a game, you can literally kill an entire team by yourself.

81

37

Venomancer

Poison Nova

Damage increase (90 ⇒ 125 per second), cooldown reduced (100 ⇒ 60)

Notable Changes

Increased Scepter Poison Nova damage per second from 60/85/110 to 75/100/125 (7.21). Increased Poison Nova damage per second from 30/55/80 to 40/65/90 (7.20). Increased Poison Nova duration from 16 to 18 (7.14).

SUNSfan's Notes

Kind of a boring upgrade, but still very effective. The cooldown reduction is pretty massive and the damage increase essentially turns this into a level 4 ability.

80

13

Huskar

Life Break

Increases damage (44% ⇒ 65%) and reduces cooldown (12 ⇒ 4)

Notable Changes

Life Break slow increased from 40/50/60% to 60% (7.22).

SUNSfan's Notes

Huskar has always been such a weird hero, but I use do love this Aghs. The cooldown reduction and increased damage is so massive. The fact that you're not taking additional damage from it is a huge plus as well. If you combine this with the cast range talent at 20, you'll be bouncing from hero to hero with no care in the world.

79

14

Slark

Shadow Dance

Reduces Shadow Dance cooldown (60 ⇒ 30) and causes it to be active in a 425 AoE, hiding allied heroes

Notable Changes

Shadow Dance Scepter range increased from 325 to 425 (7.22). Increased Shadow Dance duration from 4 to 4.5 (7.20).

SUNSfan's Notes

This might be in a much higher tier than you were expecting, but again, you have to remember the criteria. Being able to reduce the cooldown by 50% for such an important skill is HUGE. The fact that you can hide teammates is pretty weird, but can certainly be helpful in some situations.

78

17

Spirit Breaker

Nether Strike

Cast range increase (700 ⇒ 950), Adds AoE (350), lowers cooldown (60 ⇒ 20)

Notable Changes

Scepter cast range increased from 850 to 950 & radius increased from 250 to 350 (7.22). Nether Strike now knocks enemies back for twice the distance (7.14).

SUNSfan's Notes

The fact that this makes your ultimate AoE doesn't really come into effect that consistently. When it does, it can certainly have a big impact. But the cooldown reduction is the real story here. From 60 seconds to 20. That is absurd for an ability that pierces magic immunity.

77

14

Ogre Magi

New Skill (Unrefined Fireblast)

Adds a new skill: Unrefined Fireblast (Damage: 275, Stun Duration 1.5, Cooldown 6, Mana cost 60% of current mana)

Notable Changes

Several buffs to Multicast percentages spanning multiple patches

SUNSfan's Notes

Essentially having a second Fireblast is extremely helpful for Ogre. Of course the main issue is the mana cost. But luckily for you it is based on current mana, meaning you will always have enough in the tank to use it.

76

50

Chen

Holy Persuasion

Can take over 1/2/3 Ancient Creeps

SUNSfan's Notes

This does feel like more of a luxury for Chen, but Ancient creeps can be pretty strong. They are far more durable than regular neutrals, which means they can take further advantage of Divine Favor's HP regen and Holy Persuasion's attack damage bonus.

75

5

Viper

Viper Strike

Decrease mana cost (250 ⇒ 125) & cooldown (30 ⇒ 10), increases range (500 ⇒ 900)

SUNSfan's Notes

The cooldown reduction on Viper Strike is really nice as it will allow you to use this skill multiple times in fights & from a very far distance to boot. Some think this ability is a little underwhelming in general, but remember that the slow will persist through magic immunity so it will always be useful in games.

74

21

Sven

God's Strength

Grants bonus damage (125%) to allies in 1200 AoE

Notable Changes

Increased God's Strength scepter radius from 900 to 1200 (7.20).

SUNSfan's Notes

Contrary to popular belief, the increased bonus damage to allies is based off of the ally's attack & not Sven. Either way, this provides a lot of extra physical damage for fights and base pushing. The range is completely ginormous as well.

REWORKED

73

17

Elder Titan

Echo Stomp

Causes you to become spell immune while channeling and for 2 additional seconds per affected enemy hero.

Old

Slow duration of Earthsplitter increased (5 ⇒ 6) & Disarms

SUNSfan's Notes

I don't think we'll truly know how good this upgrade is for some time. But in theory it allows you to channel Echo Stomp with very little chance of being interrupted. The magic immunity afterwards is also helpful as you can freely beat at people with your giant stapler.

72

19

Winter Wyvern

Arctic Burn

Arctic Burn becomes togglable (30 mana per second), removes limit on number of attacks per target

Notable Changes

Arctic Burn Scepter manacost per second reduced from 40 to 30 (7.22).

SUNSfan's Notes

So essentially this means the Arctic Burn debuff will refresh itself everytime you hit someone. So this certainly is not too bad of an aghs just from that perspective. Unfortunately it does cost mana per second, but being an intelligence hero with a high int gain of 3.6 comes in handy. Being able to use this whenever you want in order to terrain walk and attack from a ridiculous distance is great. We've seen some pros dabble with this with a right-click carry Wyvern build. It didn't work great, but is still fun to think about.

71

3

Juggernaut

Omnislash

Duration increase (3.5 to 4.5) & decreases cooldown from 140 to 70

Notable Changes

Omnislash reworked to leap toward an enemy unit with an attack, then slashing other nearby enemy units at an increased attack rate while being invulnerable (7.20). Cooldown increased to 140 (7.21).

SUNSfan's Notes

Jugg's ult was changed since the last time we did this list, but his Aghs is basically the same idea. You get an extra second of attacking, which in Juggernaut's world is a life time. This is just a terrific upgrade for a hero who deals so much damage in his ultimate to begin with.

UPDATED

70

10

Razor

Eye of the Storm

Causes Eye of the Storm to strike two different units instead of one and can damage structures.

Old

Faster strike interval (0.5 to 0.4), can target structures

Notable Changes

Eye of the Storm scepter no longer inceases attack rate. It now hits up to two different units strike instead of one (still affects buildings) (7.22).

SUNSfan's Notes

This Aghs + Refresher combo has not been the most consistent pickup, but don't let that fool you. It has been something to truly fear. Based on the changes to this upgrade, it is worse for taking singular towers, but much better in basically every other scenario.

NEW

69

Phantom Assassin

Blur

Blur has an instant cast time and applies a dispel. Anytime you get a hero kill, your abilities are refreshed. Reduces Blur cooldown to 12 seconds.

Notable Changes

Blur reworked to provide a passive evasion and an active ability which causes PA to go invisible unless nearby enemy heroes (7.20).

SUNSfan's Notes

This is definitely not the upgrade we were expecting for PA, which makes it all the more intriguing. The cooldown reduction from Blur is pretty drastic, especially when you consider that the duration of Blur is 25 seconds. So being able to cast this repeatedly is strong in its own regard. As far as the refreshing of her abilities, it seems like a cool addition that incentivizes aggressiveness. Sometimes you would jump into a group of people with BKB activated in order to destroy someone. Now if you do that, you won't really have to worry about your cooldowns as you can just restart the process, or just use Phantom Strike on an allied unit to retreat.

68

11

Bounty Hunter

Shuriken Toss

Allows Shuriken Toss to bounce twice on each hero & stuns for .75 seconds. Also increases cast range from 400 to 800.

Notable Changes

Shuriken Toss cooldown from 9 to 8. Scepter now increases cast range from 400 to 800. Level 20 Talent increased from +75 Shuriken Toss Damage to +125 (7.22).

SUNSfan's Notes

When this was first introduced it sounded really cool, but in practice just did not work very consistently. But since they changed being able to Track people and maintain invisiblity, I feel like it got a lot more viable. And now that they've increased the cast range I think it's just legitimately good.

67

14

Tusk

New Skill (Walrus Kick)

Walrus Kick (Knockback distance:1400, Damage: 350, Move Speed Slow: 40%, Slow Duration: 5, Stun Duration: 1, Cooldown 8, Manacost: 100

SUNSfan's Notes

I've always been fascinated by this upgrade but you rarely get to see it. Luckily for Tusk, our criteria allows him to get one for free! The range on this kick is absolutely absurd & the fact that it pierces immunity means you can take a BKB carry out of a fight for a considerable amount of time.

66

32

Sniper

Assassinate

Changes Assassinate into an AoE Spell. Will lock on all enemy heroes in a 400 AoE and launch a 2.8x critical strike & procs headshot

Notable Changes

Headshot now knocks enemies back by 10 range upon proccing (7.21). Headshot damages and pierces through spell immunity (7.18).

SUNSfan's Notes

This is one of the Aghs that looks really odd at this high of a tier. On our last list it was considered garbage because you had to itemize for it specifically and buying the Aghs itself felt counter-productive. With the latest patch, however, getting an Aghs via a 7th item or Roshan is not out of the question. And if you are at that point of the game, chances are you do a LOT of damage. You pretty mujch have to take the cast time improvement at 20. But if you think about the power of this Aghs, given the fact that you don't have to have it in your inventory, it starts to sound really good.

65

17

Shadow Fiend

Necromastery & Requiem

Increases max souls (36 ⇒ 46), Requiem returns to SF & Heals

Notable Changes

Requiem of Souls no longer pierces spell immunity (7.20).

SUNSfan's Notes

This has always been a decent pickup when you go for the magic damage build. Extra souls means more right click damage and more damage to your ultimate. And the fact that you can heal from it is icing on the cake.

64

50

Undying

Decay

Strength steal increase (4 ⇒ 10)

SUNSfan's Notes

It's a little bit difficult to rate for a hero that is just considered bad right now. But increasing the strength steal from 4 to 10 is kind of insane. You're getting an Ogre Axe in stats for every single hero you hit.

REWORKED

63

51

Abaddon

Borrowed Time

While Borrowed Time is active, anytime an ally takes more than 525 damage while within 1600 range of Abaddon, an individual Mist Coil will automatically fire towards that ally. Also increases duration of Borrowed Time by 1 second.

Old

Longer duration (6 ⇒ 7) & 50% redirect damage in 1200 radius

Notable Changes

Level 15 Talent reduced from +75 Mist Coil Heal/Damage to +60

SUNSfan's Notes

Abaddon's previous Aghs was completely bonkers. Providing a set amount of damage reduction is consistent and quite powerful. Now units will get healed by your Mist Coil, which is a cool effect, but overall still a nerf. The range increase is certainly helpful, but the fact that heroes are more susceptible to burst damage is unfortunate. And unfortunately it does not work with level 25 Mist Coil AoE talent. Having said that, it's not like this still isn't good. We're talking about a drop of 50 ranks, so it's easy to be negative. But I think it still provides a similar function as before, albiet in a slightly less efficient way.

NEW

62

Mars

God's Rebuke

God's Rebuke cooldown is now 1.4 seconds during Arena of Blood. Resets God's Rebuke cooldown when Arena of Blood is cast.

SUNSfan's Notes

I didn't like the fact that you could only make use of this Aghs while your ultimate is up. But it's hard to argue with how good it is during the Arena. Plus, Mars' ultimate has an unsually low cooldown. As long as you can withstand the mana requirements, you can get several Rebuke's off during the ultimate with ease. Mars' is typically hard countered by BKB and his only real weapon against it is Rebuke. So being able to cast this multiple times can really help him contribute in a way he's not generally accustomed to.

UPDATED

61

11

Omniknight

Guardian Angel

Longer duration (8 ⇒ 10), becomes global and affects buildings

Notable Changes

Guardian Angel Scepter now also provides +40HP/sec regen (affects buildings still)

SUNSfan's Notes

We're back to being able to heal buildings again, woot! Not having to worry about the positioning of your hero is great and having another potential way to fortify your buildings globally (and heal) is nice.

60

18

Queen of Pain

Sonic Wave

Increases damage (520 ⇒ 610) and lowers cooldown (135 ⇒ 40)

Notable Changes

Sonice Wave damage from 500 to 520 & Aghs from 590 to 610 (7.21). Sonic Wave knocks back enemies over 350 range over 1.4 seconds upon hitting them (7.20).

SUNSfan's Notes

The damage increase from both the upgrade itself and patches throughout the years are nice, but the drastic cooldown reduction is the main reason this is in this tier.

REWORKED

59

57

Night Stalker

Void

Void is now applied in a 900 AoE around you. Also increases the Void ministun duration from 0.1 to 0.6 and reduces the cooldown by 2 seconds.

Old

Previously gave unobstructed vision at night until that was included in his reworked ultimate, thus they deleted his Aghs.

Notable Changes

Aghanim's removed (7.21). Darkness was replaced with Dark Ascension (7.20).

SUNSfan's Notes

Almost nothing can compare to Night Stalker's old Aghanim's Scepter. It was so incredibly broken. Since the last list, a portion of that was included in his new ultimate, and his Aghs was deleted. And even though his new Aghs isn't quite as god tier as his original, it is still very good. The fact that you are typically going to be trying to run in the vicinity of as many heroes as you can with Crippling Fear means that this AoE Void synergizes perfectly. The lowered cooldown and mini-stun duration make this very powerful indeed.

NEW

58

Monkey King

Wukong's Command

Spawns a monkey soldier near you every 3.5 seconds. These soldiers last 12 seconds. Soldiers do not spawn if you are invisible or on trees. These soldiers can attack any target (however, they will not attack buildings if you are not within 500 range of them).

SUNSfan's Notes

Good god this one is hard to rate. Some people swear by it & others are yet to be convinced. One thing it is really good for is tower pushing. It also helps you farm quite a bit. And if you have the right items (Echo Sabre, MKB, Diffusal), it can be absolutely deadly in a lot of situations. Being able to hop out of a tree and guarantee yourself a timely friend to beat on your target is really nice. Lastly, and I'm not sure if this is considered a bug, but you can solo Roshan without aggroing him at all. If that stays in the game then this upgrade is even better than advertised.

NEW

57

Dragon Knight

Elder Dragon Form

Adds a 4th level to Elder Dragon Form, a Black Dragon. Gaining Scepter increases the level of your ultimate by one. The Black Dragon has 50% more Corrosive Damage, Splash Damage, and Slow amount. It also increases your attack range to 600 and grants you +30% Magic Resistance.

Notable Changes

Added Black Dragon Form (7.22). Poison and frost breath no longer pierce spell immunity. Splash damage is no longer applied on missed attacks. Splash damage percentage was normalized (7.20). Increased Frost Breath movement/attack speed slow from 30/30% to 40/40% (7.21).

SUNSfan's Notes

We finally got our Dragon Knight Aghs & it hilariously ends up actually being the Black Dragon. With this upgrade, DK still suffers from the fact that he is restricted heavily by the cooldown of his ult. But it is hard to argue how big of an upgrade this is. Being able to gain a level on DK form is really helpful depending on when you pick this up. The extra corossive damage is kind of whatever, but the splash and slow increase are unbelievable. 30% Magic resistance is also really random but a welcome addition. The 600 range is an increase from 500 as well.

NEW

56

Slardar

Slithereen Crush

Creates a puddle of water that is considered a river for bonuses. Provides +35HP regen, +12 Armor, and +40% Status Resistance while in a Puddle or River (in addition to the normal Guardian Sprint River bonuses). Puddle AoE is 550. Puddles last for 25 seconds.

Notable Changes

Increased Slithereen Crush damage and movement/attack speed slow, but reduced stun duration from 2 to 1 (7.20). Guardian Sprint no longer amplifies incoming damage (7.12). Guardian Sprint applies 700 movement speed haste while inside river (7.07).

SUNSfan's Notes

This is such a cool upgrade for Slardar. To be clear, all the bonuses you get work in the river without any Crush action needed. And although I'm not sure if you pick this, the level 25 talent that lowers the cooldown of Crush is too funny when you have this upgrade. Overall it helps you tank, initiate, and sustain. Love it!

55

6

Riki

Tricks of the Trade

Increases ultimate duration (5 ⇒ 10) and allows you to target an allied hero, thereby hiding inside of them for the duration

Notable Changes

Tricks of the Trade hits a random enemy unit within the area, instead of all at once. Can also hit non-hero units. Attack interval reduced from 1 to 0.4 (7.12).

SUNSfan's Notes

Increasing the duration from 5 to 10 is massive, especially when you have some DPS items. But being able to go inside an ally can be completely game breaking. The entire down-side of this ability is being locked to a specific location that enemies can get out of. But comboing this with an initation/tanky hero can be game winning.

54

14

Techies

Remote Mines & New Skill

Increase cast range (500 ⇒ 700), increase damage (600 ⇒ 750). Allows Minefield sign to hide Techie's spells from detection.

SUNSfan's Notes

This is a required item on Techies and it's easy see why. The damage increase is very big and the cast range is always helpful. Being able to play mind-games with the sign is also what Slacks would call "Mental Warfare" and he's not wrong.

NEW

53

Pangolier

Shield Crash

Shield Crash casts a 2-attack Swashbuckle every 90 degrees around your hero.

Notable Changes

Replaced Heartpiercer with Luckyshot (7.20), then tweaked it several times. Now it disarms & reduces armor (7.22).

SUNSfan's Notes

Oh man, this is probably my favorite new Aghs in the game. I theory crafted that if you just go a couple damage items then this becomes absolutely ridiculous. The problem is pro players like to build complete utility on my boy Pango (Crimson/Pipe etc). I'm happy to report that a lot of pros have been trying to add a little DPS with aghs and have had very positive results. If you get the Aghs around level 15 and take the 2 second cooldown of Shield Crash while in Boulder, you start blowing kids up.

52

2

Puck

Dream Coil

Link break damage increase (500 ⇒ 700), Link Break stun increase (3 ⇒ 4.5), Coil duration increased (6⇒ 8), Link Break stun goes through spell immunity

Notable Changes

Dream Coil's leash debuff no longer pierces spell immunity, unless Aghs is purchased (7.21). Dream Coil now applies the leashed status on linked enemies, preventing them from casting teleportation and mobility abilities (7.20). Dream Coil no longer deals damage upon cast. Increased link break damage from 200 to 500 & Aghs link break from 300 to 700 (7.07).

SUNSfan's Notes

Aghs upgrades a lot of aspects of this spell. The stun break duration going up to 4.5 seconds is really good, but the real reason you buy this upgrade is because the break pierces BKB. That alone makes this a high tier pick.The fact that you literally can't TP out of this thing also ensures that one way or another, heroes will be stuck there for a while.

51

15

Batrider

Flaming Lasso

Deals 100 damage per second and grabs a second target within 450 range

Notable Changes

Scepter secondary search radius increased from 400 to 450. Flaming Lasso deals 20/40/60 damage per second by default. Flaming Lasso cooldown increased from 100/80/60 to 100/90/80 (7.22).

SUNSfan's Notes

The 100 damage per second is obviously nice, but the secondary target is the reason to pick this up. This alone can win you a fight with very little way to respond from the enemies. It is definitely not as consistent as some other Aghs up here, but I feel the game-winning potential is there in spades.

50

15

Luna

Eclipse

Increases cast range (0 ⇒ 2500), increases beams (12 ⇒ 18), no limit per unit, shorter interval (0.6 ⇒ 0.3), and shorter duration (6 ⇒ 5.1). Can cast AoE or on other units

Notable Changes

Increased number of regular Eclipse beams from 5/8/11 to 6/9/12 (7.21).

SUNSfan's Notes

Lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of damage. Being able to cast this from range is huge. And combining this with the Lucent Beam damage & Lucent Beam mini-stun talents at level 20 and 25 make this upgrade just plain stupid.

49

27

Necrophos

Reaper's Scythe

Lowers cooldown from 120 to 40

Notable Changes

Reaper's Scythe respawn time reduced from 45 to 35 at level 3 (7.22). Reaper's Scythe Aghs cooldown increased from 25 to 40 at level 3 (7.19). Increased cooldown of Reaper's Scyth from 100 to 120 (7.07).

SUNSfan's Notes

Remember when this used to prevent buy backs? Those were the times...or were they? Anyway, this has received some nerfs but it is still quite powerful as the cooldown reduction is quite large indeed.

48

32

Bloodseeker

Rupture

2 charges. 40 second replenish time

Notable Changes

Rupture is lethal again

SUNSfan's Notes

So Rupture got some changes...and then they were undone. So we're kind of back to where we were in our last list actually. Having said that, having 2 Ruptures is really nice for obvious reasons. And you get each of them on a 40 second cooldown as opposed to the default 60.

47

18

Visage

Familiars

Summons 3rd Familiar

SUNSfan's Notes

This is a required pickup for a hero that relies so heavily on his Familiars. Adding a third one is crucial as the extra damage and potential stun duration can make a big difference.

46

33

Ancient Apparition

Ice Blast

Longer duration (10 ⇒ 17)

Notable Changes

Ice Blast can no longer be seen on the minimap by enemies if they have truesight. Regular Ice Blast duration increased by 1 at all levels.

SUNSfan's Notes

This is a must have item for this hero. The duration increase not only adds damage, but also more time for you to finish off any heroes hit. The concept of being able to prevent healing is very strong and that's the reason Ice Blast is such a powerful spell.

45

27

Tinker

Laser & Missile

Lasers bounce to all units with a 400 radius, and increases missiles (2 ⇒ 4)

Notable Changes

Reduced Scepter Laser bounce range from 650 to 400 (7.10).

SUNSfan's Notes

Some might find this to be a bit high because this hero is not very popular/good right now. But regardless of that, I feel that this Aghs in itself is terrific. Double your rockets and basically being able to Laser an entire team is so dumb. When the hero was popular, this was a pickup for a reason.

44

11

Drow Ranger

Marksmanship

Splinter attack (2 targets within 375 AoE with 50% Damage Reduction)

Notable Changes

Marksmanship bonus damage now treated as regular single instance of damage that can be crit. Marksmanship bonus damage increased from 120 to 120/130/140. Marksmanship no longer instantly kills Ancients & only pierces base armor (7.22) Marksmanship reworked to have a 40% chance to kill a creep instantly and deal 120 damage to heroes (7.20).

SUNSfan's Notes

This hero has had some changes and despite the recent nerfs, her Aghs is still really good. The splintered attacks can proc Marksmanship and this combined with a Maelstrom can wreak havoc on enemy lineup (or just creep waves lol).

NEW

43

Grimstroke

New Skill (Dark Portrait)

Grants new ability which creates an ink illusion of a target enemy hero. Illusion lasts 15 seconds and is magic immune with +30% movement speed. Takes 350% incoming damage and deals 150% outgoing damage. Cooldown 35. Manacost 200.

SUNSfan's Notes

This is one of the newest additions to the game. It can be a little game dependent as at times you might not have the best enemy to copy. But if you do, it will literally deal more attack damage then them. This isn't to even mention the fact that it will be magic immune and carry over any enemy auras.

42

14

Meepo

Divided We Stand

Adds another Meepo

Notable Changes

Replaced Geostrike with Ransack which will steal health from enemies with each strike, thus healing all other Meepos. Divided We Stand Meepo clones now only take 40% of any experience they get.

SUNSfan's Notes

Players aren't really buying this anymore and are opting for more experimental builds. But remember these Aghs are free! The idea of this Aghs is similar to Visage, but instead of an extra gargoyle, you get another freaking hero. Extra DPS for our boys, but also another way to die.

41

23

Lone Druid

Spirit Bear

No bear leash & bear survives if lone druid dies

Notable Changes

Added Passive skill Defender to bear which redirects 30% of damage from Lone Druid while within leash range Also replaced Rabid with Spirit Link ability, which increases attack speed of both bear and Lone Druid, causing damage each one does to heal the other. (7.20)

SUNSfan's Notes

In many games this item can be extremely beneficial and is the cause of many destroyed barracks. You obviously will need to have a farmed bear, but when you do it can be devastating. We've seen pros utilize the no-leash mechanic masterfully. Playing against someone able to do this can make you feel helpless in a lot of ways.

NEW

40

Clinkz

Skeleton Walk

Creates two skeletons near Clinkz when exiting Skeleton Walk. Increases Skeleton Walk speed by +30% and unlocks max movement speed.

Notable Changes

Searing Arrows damage & manacost reduced (7.22).

SUNSfan's Notes

I wasn't really sure about this one initially, but pros seem to really like it. It adds a lot of damage in your ganks and the increase of movement speed is no joke. If you wait for the cooldown on Skeleton Walk to come back up while invisible, you can create 4 skeletons to deal even more damage by just quickly activating the skill again and attacking.

39

13

Gyrocopter

Other

Adds side gunner, which passively attacks every 1.1 seconds

SUNSfan's Notes

An extremely potent item for Gyro who just wants to attack things. The fact that it will proc items like Maelstrom or MKB is kind of dirty, but being able to attack while stuned is the most game-breaking part about it, especially when you take lifesteal into account.

UPDATED

38

48

Bane

Brain Sap

Decreases the cooldown of Brain Sap (11 ⇒ 1.5) & allows it to pierce spell immunity. Also reduces cast point by 50%

Notable Changes

Brain Sap Scepter now reduces cast point by 50%

SUNSfan's Notes

The cooldown reduction looks like a typo doesn't it? The problem for Bane of course is being able to actually use this without getting stun locked/silenced/killed. The changes to the cast point are very noticable which is great for a hero with such clunky animations. But if you're able to find the space in a fight to Bran Sap consistently, it is really devastating, especially considering the piercing of magic immunity.

37

12

Ursa

Enrage

Cooldown reduced (30 ⇒ 18), allows use while disabled

SUNSfan's Notes

The cooldown reduction may not seem that drastic, but need I remind you that this is an ultimate on an 18 second cooldown? But even though that is quite good, considering you can increase your DPS while mitigating 80% of incoming damage while this is on, the real reason this upgrade is amazing is because you can use it while stunned. Because of the fact that it dispels on cast, means you can theoretically allow the crowd-control to be cast before you counter them.

36

26

Timbersaw

New Skill (Chakram)

Gives you a second Chakram

SUNSfan's Notes

Chakram is an ultimate that does Pure damage and has a ridiculously low cooldown. You now have 2 of them. This increases Timbersaw's DPS by quite a lot and as a result is a very good upgrade.

35

12

Enchantress

Impetus

Attack Range increase (575 ⇒ 740)

Notable Changes

Impetus range increased from 550 to 575 (7.22).

SUNSfan's Notes

A completely core item on Enchantress that helps her DPS into the late game. This is very powerful considering Impetus will pierce magic immunity.

34

15

Clockwerk

Hookshot

Cooldown from 40 to 12

SUNSfan's Notes

This is a huge cooldown reduction for a very underrated spell. You can use this multiple times in fights to initiate, re-initiate, escape via heroes/creeps, or even just move around faster.

33

Faceless Void

Chronosphere

Decrease cooldown (120 ⇒ 60)

Notable Changes

Chronosphere radius increased from 425 to 450 (7.22).

SUNSfan's Notes

This is a boring one as it simply just reduces the cooldown. But you have to take into account how important Chronosphere can be. It is one of the best teamfight abilities in the game and you are reducing the cooldown by 50%. This is a huge upgrade for Void.

32

2

Zeus

New Skill (Nimbus)

Grants Zeus a new ability named Nimbus (creates a cloud anywhere on the map for 35 seconds that will cast Lightning Bolts on nearby enemies. Cooldown is also 35 seconds.

Notable Changes

Nimbus Lightning Bolt interval is no longer affected by cooldown reductions (7.20). Decreased Nimbus radius from 500 to 450 (7.19).

SUNSfan's Notes

Global abilities seem to always be very strong based on the fact that you just don't need to be there. With this Zeus gains two of those abilities. And one could argue this is more important than his ultimate in many scenarios as the extra ministun can help chase down enemies, especially if you combine it with the level 20 bolt mini-stun talent.

NEW

31

Spectre

New Skill (Shadow Step)

Grants new ability which allows you to perform a single target unit Haunt. Cooldown 70. Manacost 180.

Notable Changes

Haunt illusion damage dealt from 40/50/60% to 40/60/80% (7.20). Haunt illusion damage dealt from 40% to 40/50/60% (7.14).

SUNSfan's Notes

This is another upgrade that might look weird in this tier, but remember in our criteria the heroes receive their Aghs for free. On paper this one does sound a little weird as it is a crippled version of your original ult, except you also have to have vision of the target. There are scenarios where you can save your long CD ult in order to just gank an enemy in vision with your team and that is certainly nice. But in the late game if you use this on an enemy support in conjunction with your regular Haunt, they will just die. With the level 25 talent your illusions will deal 120% damage. Being able to delete a hero right away is very powerful.

30

24

Nyx Assassin

New Skill (Burrow)

Gives burrow skill. Max HP and mana per second regen (1.5%), reduces incoming damage (40%), longer impale cast range (825 ⇒ 1350), lower impale cooldown (14 ⇒ 7), increase mana burn cast range (600 ⇒ 1050), spiked carapace becomes AoE (300)

SUNSfan's Notes

I think I overrated this Aghs a bit last time, but that doesn't mean it's not good. I think the one knock on it is that you sometimes start playing a little different style as you become a monster at defending or just being a pest from range. But there is no denying the fact that this is an incredible item as it improves all your skills in so many different ways.

29

1

Shadow Demon

Demonic Purge

3 charges with 60 second replenish time. Breaks passives

Notable Changes

Demonic purge continuously dispels the target over the entire duration, instead of only once upon cast. No longer roots non-hero units for initial 3 seconds. Reworked slow to decay more smoothly. Increased duration from 5 to 7 & increased cooldown from 40 to 60

SUNSfan's Notes

This is kind of an underrated ultimate, which I can understand since it's not very flashy. But it is very effective and being given 3 is just crazy. The slow pierces BKB and there aren't many spells that can break in the game.

28

3

Witch Doctor

Death Ward

Bounces up to 4 times & provides True Strike to Death Ward

Notable Changes

Increased Death Ward attack damage from 75/125/175 to 85/135/185 (7.22). Increased Death Ward attack damage from 60/105/150 to 75/125/175 (7.20).

SUNSfan's Notes

Everyone's favorite item for Witch Doctor has stood the test of time. It is still stupid good. Piercing evasion is great, but the bounces going from 0 to 4 is a little ridiculous. This transforms a full duration ult from a good amount of damage into "Hey guys I just won the fight for us" kind of damage.

27

16

Lina

Laguna Blade

Pure damage and goes through spell immunity

SUNSfan's Notes

Lina can really drop off once the BKB's start to wrack up, so getting this item feels like a must in many games. It allows her to stay online and continue deleting heroes at will.

26

2

Shadow Shaman

Mass Serpent Ward

Increases attack range (600 ⇒ 875), and attacks two units at the same time

Notable Changes

Spawns in a circular formation instead of square (7.20).

SUNSfan's Notes

This is a base destroyer. We've all seen Rhasta with a refresher take down an enemy's tier 4's and Throne in the blink of an eye. Not much more description needed.

25

12

Storm Spirit

Electric Vortex

Adds 475 AoE

Notable Changes

Electric Vortex no longer slows the caster's movement speed by 50% for 3 seconds on cast.

SUNSfan's Notes

This is sure to be a controversial one for those that didn't read the criteria. But of course that isn't you right? Storm Spirit being able to initiate at both great speeds and distances while stunning a quite big area around him seems completely broken on paper. We've seen this win some games in the past, but most likely will see a lot more now that Aghs will be an easier commodity to come by.

24

15

Skywrath Mage

All Spells

Causes all of Skywrath Mage's spells to target a second random enemy within 700 radius of primary target

Notable Changes

Increased Mystic Flare total damage from 1400 to 1600 (7.21)

SUNSfan's Notes

This is an absolutely terrific upgrade for Skywrath. You get two of every spell. How is that not insane? We're ignoring the Mystic Flares that hit nothing by the way...

UPDATED

23

20

Keeper of the Light

Illuminate & Spirit Form

Allows Illuminate to heal allies during the day for the same amount as its damage values, and causes Illuminate to not require channeling.

Old

Constant Spirit Form, Illuminate Heals during day, unobstructed vision during day

Notable Changes

Scepter now causes Illuminate to not require channeling. Also provides heal (7.22). Removed Mana Leak, Recall, and Spirit Form with new ultimate Will-O-Wisp. Aghanims no longer grants unobstructed vision during day (7.20).

SUNSfan's Notes

A lot has changed for Kotl. His previous Aghs was super broken. And almost all of it has returned to him minus the clear-vision. Being able to channel Illuminate is extremely helpful and the heal during days makes pushes so much easier. Once this is picked up, both teams will start playing around the day/night cycle.

NEW

22

Io

Spirits

Spirits now passively spawn around you constantly every second (max of 5 spirits at a given time)

Notable Changes

Level 20 Talent changed from Tether Grants Scepter Bonus to +15 Armor. Spirits no longer slow - now moved to a talent (7.22). Spirits slow enemies upon exploding, merged Spirits In & Out into one spell (7.14).

SUNSfan's Notes

I didn't want to believe, but every single professional player I've talked to is adament that this Aghs is very good. Having spirits constantly on means you are increasing your DPS by a lot. This probably would have been higher if it were not for the fact that these Spirits no longer slow on impact. And unfortunately for Io, he can no longer provide Aghs to teammates.

21

2

Treant Protector

Overgrowth & New Skill (Eyes in the Forest)

Gain Eyes in the forest ability. When Overgrowth is cast it will deal 175 damage per second, and will also effect enemies that are near an Eye

Notable Changes

Overgrow duration increased from 3.25/4/4.75 to 3.5/4.25/5 (7.22). Overgrowth duration increased slightly and Scepter Overgrowth is no longer limited to just units near enchanted trees (7.21).

SUNSfan's Notes

Vision is the most important thing in Dota. That's what this Aghs provides. Of course it can be countered, but it requires a lot of time and resources for your enemy. And if you guys have been around a while you will remember that Treant's ult always did damage. This was taken away. Then it was added for his Eyes. Now the Aghs becomes the old ult again. We've come full circle, kind of.

20

49

Lion

Finger of Death

Adds AoE (325), damage increase (850 ⇒ 1025), lower cooldown (40 ⇒ 20), lowers mana cost (650 ⇒ 625)

Notable Changes

Finger of Death now places a debuff on the target on cast which lasts 3 seconds. If the target dies while it has the debuff, Finger of Death's damage permanently increases by 40 (7.20 & 7.22)

SUNSfan's Notes

Huge damage and cooldown reduction for a hero that can scale thanks to his "somewhat" recent changes. And the fact that he can sustain the mana because of Mana Drain means this is a perfect item for Lion.

19

4

Pudge

Meat Hook

Increases damage (360 ⇒ 450) and lowers cooldown (12 ⇒ 4)

SUNSfan's Notes

The damage increase is nice but we all know the reason you get this bad boy is because of that juicy 4 second cooldown. Even the worst Pudge will hit an impactful hook now and again. This just allows you to spam it until you do so.

NEW

18

Dark Willow

Shadow Realm

Attacking no longer takes you out of Shadow Realm. Each attack still has bonus damage based on the duration of the buff.

Notable Changes

Base attack time increased from 1.3 to 1.5. Shadow Realm damage ramp up time increased from 3 to 3.5 (7.22).

SUNSfan's Notes

This is a crazy-good Aghs. It provides you with ridiculous single target DPS which can scale with your level 25 attack speed talent. The spell on its own makes you untargetable, so at times it feels like you are just playing with your food.

17

75

Wraith King

Reincarnation

Nearby (1200 Radius) slain allies will transform into a wraith for 7 seconds

SUNSfan's Notes

I absolutely love this Aghs and I think it is criminally underrated. Giving an extra 7 seconds for your allies to not only attack, but cast ALL of their abilities is so amazing. It also gives you 7 extra seconds to figure out what you want to do with those droppable Gems and Rapiers you've been carrying around. You can pass the gem to an ally, or simply just TP back to base to ensure they stay safe and sound.

UPDATED

16

5

Brewmaster

Primal Split

Earth gains Thunder Clap, Storm gains Cinder Brew, and Fire gains Drunken Brawler. The brewlings also gain +100 movement speed.

Notable Changes

Grants Brewlings +100 movement speed. Cinder Brew replaces Drunken Haze & Drunken Brawler becomes an active ability (7.20).

SUNSfan's Notes

This requires even more micro, which means 99% of us will suck at using this. But every single Brewling gaining an ability in addition to the +100 movement speed added recently makes this one of the most impactful Aghs in the game to be sure.

UPDATED

15

23

Phoenix

Supernova

More attacks to destroy (11 ⇒ 13) and can bring ally inside. Also allows you to cast sunray while in egg form

Notable Changes

Scepter now also allows you to cast Sun Ray and turn its direction while in Supernova. Even without Scepter, Supernova now causes your abilities to refresh on cast instead of at the end of the spell (7.22). Increased Supernova stun from 2.5 to 3 at level 3 (7.17). Supernova turns night into day & the effect radius was increased from 1000 to 1300 (7.12).

SUNSfan's Notes

This is definitely one of the most impactful upgrades in the game. The two extra attacks may not seem like much,.but it really starts to add up (especially with the level 25 +3 hit count talent). There comes a certain point in the game where enemies stop trying to kill the Egg. But being able to bring an ally inside with you while refreshing both your abilities is so broken. The only reason this is not in tier 2 is because it can sometimes back-fire with a vengeance. And the new addition of casting Sunray while inside is truly a sight to behold from both an offensive and defensive standpoint.

14

7

Centaur Warrunner

Stampede

40% damage reduction, terrain walking

Notable Changes

Stampede increased cooldown from 90/75/60 to 110/100/90 (7.20). Increased Stampede slow duration from 1.8 to 2.3.

SUNSfan's Notes

This had to drop a bit because of so many quality Aghs being buffed and added to the game. But a global 40% damage reduction + terrain walking is still filthy. The only downside I can think of is the fact that you are more hesitant to use this as a means to initiate since you will waste the damage reduction upgrade.

13

55

Earthshaker

Enchant Totem

Enchant totem now works as a leap (1100 range)

Notable Changes

Increased Enchant Totem cast range from 900 to 11 (7.18).

SUNSfan's Notes

What used to be considered a meme item is now completely core on ES. It synergizes so well with the hero as he just wants a way to get in and out of fights. So with Blink/Forcestaff/Shadow Blade and this Aghs I think he is covered. By the way, the range is INSANE.

12

1

Pugna

Life Drain

Removes cooldown

Old

Used to also increase damage

Notable Changes

Increased damge of Life Drain level 4 from 300 to 350 (7.22). Life Drain no longer pierces spell immunity on enemies (7.20). Increased damage of Life Drain from 250 to 300 (7.08).

SUNSfan's Notes

This normally has a 22 second cooldown, which means you can typically only use it once in a fight. With no cooldown you can do whatever the hell you want. The downside of course is that it's single target, but being able to heal yourself, give mana to yourself, heal your teammates, and damage enemies sounds pretty good to me. Being able to do that with 0 cooldown is a huge power spike. Oh, and you can kill illusions quickly too.

11

6

Disruptor

Static Storm

Damage increase (300 ⇒ 420 per second), duration increase (5 ⇒ 7), mutes items

SUNSfan's Notes

The damage and duration increase are terrific of course, but the muting of items makes this a god tier aghs. It's an actual AoE Doom. If you could consistently count on getting two or more heroes stuck in the Kinetic Field/Static Storm combo, this would easily be the best upgrade in the entire game. Alas it is not as consistent, but still very strong.

UPDATED

10

31

Warlock

Chaotic Offering

Creates 2nd golem with reduced stats

Notable Changes

Chaotic Offering Scepter now lands the 2nd Golem 0.4 seconds after the first, rather than both at the same time (7.22). Increased Golem attack damage and reduced backswing (7.21). Increased Golem HP (7.14). Increased Golem's attack damage (7.12).

SUNSfan's Notes

Adding the second ministun was a great addition, but this has always been an amazing Aghs. Golems are building destroyers and are difficult to kill, especially when coupled with either of Warlock's 25 talents.

9

11

Sand King

Burrowstrike

Doubles cast range and travel distances (700 ⇒ 1400). Caustic finale is added to heroes stunned

SUNSfan's Notes

Burrowstrike without any upgrade is one of the best disables in the game as it can stun multiple heroes all the while transporting Sand King. Doubling the range to 1400 is actually incredible. In conjunction with a Blink Dagger or even a Forcestaff means he can initiate from more than a screen away. Adding Caustic Finale to heroes hit is certainly the icing on top.

8

16

Vengeful Spirit

Nether Swap & Vengeance Aura

Charge Replenish time reduced (70 ⇒ 10), allows swapping with non-hero units & allows you to cast abilities with your Vengeance illusion.

Notable Changes

Vengeance Aura no longer creates invulnerable illusions of dying allies affected by aura. Instead it creates a regular illusion of Vengeful Spirit when she dies, which lasts until killed or Vengeful Spirit revives, deals 100% damage and takes 150% damage. Aghanim's no longer makes Nether Swap spawn an illusion on death, but instead unlocks the illusion's ability to cast spells. Nether Swap has 2 charges that replenish every 90/80/70 seconds instead of a 45 second cooldown. Reduced cast range from 700/950/1200 to 700/850/1000 (7.20).

SUNSfan's Notes

So things have changed from last time. Your passive gives you the illusion every time you die, which used to be only with Aghs. But now your ult comes with 2 charges. So the cooldown reduction from 70 to 10 becomes even better considering you have 2 swaps to work with. In addition, your illusion gains all your abilities REFRESHED. That is absolutely absurd. You'd also be surprised how often the swapping of non-hero units can be useful. Because of the low cooldown you can reliably use this for escapes or just general faster movement.

REWORKED

7

77

Morphling

Morph

While Morphed, you gain +35% cooldown reduction, +50% manacost reduction, and +600 cast range

Old

Previously gave the Hybrid ability, which created a replicate of a target ally hero for 20 seconds, which can cast all non-ultimate abilities. This was implemented as his new Ultimate and his Aghs was removed from the game.

Notable Changes

Morph cast range increased from 600 to 1000 (7.08). Original Morphling Aghs removed. Morph renamed to Attribute Shift. New ultimate named Morph which changes your form to match a targeted enemyh, gaining their basic skills. (7.07)

SUNSfan's Notes

This one I wasn't sure about, but the pros are unanimous. This is a ridiculous Aghanim's Scepter. With Aghs, it will take any skills you aquire from an enemy and upgrade them into the Aghs version. This means Morphling is particularly amazing when playing against Dark Willow, Pudge, Sand King and many others. In addition, you can coordinate this ahead of time by taking the 20 talent that allows you to copy teammates.

NEW

6

Ember Spirit

Fire Remnant

Fire Remnant cast range is 3 times longer and initial remnant movement speed is 2 times faster. Max number of charges increases from 3 to 5. Activate Fire Remnant costs no mana.

Notable Changes

Level 25 talent reduced from -25 Remnant Change Restore Time to -20 (7.22d)

SUNSfan's Notes

Ember Spirit is an elusive hero in general. This upgrade takes that up a couple notches. Even when slowed his ultimate moves quite fast and the range is completely stupid. It is larger than a couple normal sized screens for god sake. Increasing the charge counter from 3 to 5 is also really massive, but having a 25 mana cost for Fire Remnants might be the most important aspect of this upgrade. If you combine all of these crazy buffs to his level 25 talent that lowers the recharge cooldown of Fire Remnants, then you are looking at one of the best Aghs ever.

NEW

5

Broodmother

Spin Web

Increases Spin Web max count from 8 to 20, movement speed from 70 to 100%, and removes movement speed limit.

SUNSfan's Notes

With 20 webs you can cover a very large portion of the map. You pretty much don't have to worry about running out of them at that point. And the increase in speed and removal of the cap means you will consistently go faster than any hero you are playing against, even if they have haste. All of these changes increase the potency of Broodmother, who can even make great use of it without having a ton of farm first.

4

4

Weaver

Time Lapse

Reduces cooldown (40 ⇒ 16), Can cast on allies (1000 range)

SUNSfan's Notes

You typically will only see this on support weaver, but with our criteria we don't take that into consideration. The reduction in cooldown is big, but being able to cast on allies from a ridiculous 1000 range is just amazing. You can consistently apply chip damage to a tower on an elongated siege without worry of dying. And in fights it can turn the battle in the blink of an eye. Being able to essentially reset someone's HP after the enemy has thrown a lot of resources at them has got to make this one of the strongest upgrades in the game.

NEW

3

Death Prophet

Exorcism

Anytime an enemy is affected by your spells (Crypt Swarm impact, Silence debuff, Spirit Siphon target) or when you attack an enemy, a ghost will fly out and hit the enemy for double the usual damage then return to you with life. These ghosts apply a 100% slow for 0.3 seconds.

SUNSfan's Notes

An Excorcism spirit greeting your enemy with each auto attack, or any of your 3 base skills adds up to a lot of damage. The slow (although a bit delayed) is very helpful as it is considered physical, meaning it will go through magic immunity. But just having a way for DP to deal damage to buildings without having to rely on her ultimate is huge. And we've already seen pros start to build items like Assault Cuirass instead of Shivas as the minus armor + attack speed synergize perfectly.

2

2

Invoker

Invoke

Reduces cooldown (6 ⇒ 2) & adds one level to the stats provided by Quas, Wex, and Exort on all Invoked spells.

Notable Changes

Invoke no longer has a manacost (7.16).

SUNSfan's Notes

Aghanims used to give no mana cost benefit, now its part of base spell. In theory this weakens the idea of Aghs. But regardless of how popular Invoker may or may not be currently, it's hard to argue how much impact this upgrade has on him. Having that many spells available to you in such quick succession is game-changing.

1

4

Rubick

Spell Steal

Cast range increase (1000 ⇒ 1400), lowers cooldown (16 ⇒ 2), and upgrades spells

SUNSfan's Notes

The number one Aghs in the game is undoubtedly Rubick's, which is fitting considering his lore. It has always been a top-notch upgrade, but it has gotten infinitely better now that every single hero has an Aghs upgrade. Of course not all of them can technically be stolen, but those are the vast minority. And it's not even just the fact that everyone has Aghs, it is the fact that Aghs in general have been improved across the board. Even low tier items can be considered good in the right situation. Add all of the above to the fact that you get 400 extra range, and a ridiculous cooldown reduction from 16 to 2, and you have yourself the best upgrade in the entire game. Infinite possibilities.

Hey guys, I just wanted to announce the schedule of the new podcast I'm doing with the great syndereN. We will be doing this every Tuesday for the foreseeable future (details below).

In case you're out of the loop, this will be a weekly show that will debut on twitch and then immediately uploaded to both Youtube and all available podcast apps. Links and schedule are listed below.

We plan to talk about whatever the hell we want. But typically this will revolve around current events in the esports scene as well as community submitted topics and questions. Episode 1 in video-format can be found here:

Schedule:

LIVE on twitch on Tuesdays @ 2AM PST (11 AM CEST)
Twitch Channel: (http://twitch.tv/sunsfantv)

Uploaded later in the day here:
Audio Podcast: (http://sunsfan.gg/podcast)
Youtube Channel: (http://youtube.com/dotacinema)

If there are any expected delays we will be sure to post on our twitter accounts. We hope you will be watching/listening in some form or another. We really appreciate the reception so far and hope you will continue to give us great topics and questions each week. The best place to do this would be on the Youtube videos or our twitter accounts. Thanks for reading and we hope to see you every Tuesday!

I’ve gotten a lot of messages over the past few months wondering where I’ve been and what my plans are going forward. It’s kind of a complicated answer, and I’m personally not a fan of saying much unless I can elaborate fully. If there’s one thing I’ve learned with my experience in life, it’s that nothing is black and white and people tend to draw their own, often incorrect, conclusions. That’s why I feel I should give you my perspective, even though it may end up as a wall of text. Sorry about that.

I think the easiest way for me to accomplish this is to talk about what I did over the last year or so in the Dota space. Obviously this is a small amount of time in the grand scheme of things, but this is long enough as it is.

The TLDR (if you wish to read no more) is that I am fully invested in Artifact. This doesn’t mean I will be quitting Dota by any means, but I have taken an extended break from the game. Below you can read more details as to how I arrived at this decision. I included pictures for those that suffer from ADD.

Tournaments

DotaPit

In November of 2017 I attended DotaPit Season 6 as a caster. This was in large part because a lot of other talent decided not to go for whatever reason. Although I’m never a huge fan of travel, I’ve always found that Croatia is one of my favorite places to visit, so I jumped at the opportunity. This tournament also took place after a huge patch in Dota, and I found it incredibly fun to cast as a result. I was penciled in to cast the finals, but decided that Maut deserved it more as he had a long history with DotaPit.

Midas Mode

Midas Mode came a few short weeks later. I wasn’t really involved with the planning of the tournament, as this was a Slacks special. It was one of the most fun experiences of my life. It was the perfect combination of Moonduck casual craziness and our usual impromptu style.

Captains Draft 4.0

Then in late December and early January came Captains Draft 4.0, one of the best and worst experiences of my life. I don’t know how to write about this experience in a short amount of text, but I’ll do my best. The prep for this tournament was a long and arduous process. It took the better part of a year of constant work to pull this thing off. In terms of workload, it was a literal 2-person operation. Sajedene and I put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into this project. There were many times we weren’t sure if it was possible to pull off, as Moonduck as a whole had never done an actual LAN event before. And because of the prep needed for Midas Mode, we were stretched very thin.

One thing I learned from organizing this tournament is that it takes a SHIT ton of time and money to pull off. We also did not get a great time-slot. It is fairly common knowledge that Q1 of any year is a terrible time to run a tournament, as sponsors will be hard to find. Not to mention the fact that it was just at the start of a new year, which meant a lot of tier 1 teams declined our invite. Of course, this was all we had to work with. We applied for many other times of the year, but this was the only one available. Later we would learn that several other organizers got multiple slots secured, yet many of their events never materialized.

In terms of sponsorship, we got a lot of help from EventsDC. Without them, we would never have accomplished anything. Even with their support however, we had to make a decision months before the tournament itself. We still didn’t have enough money to pull it off and we were at the point of no return. There were talks of whether we should just cancel the event, even though we’d already announced things. I felt like this was our one chance to prove ourselves to the community, so after a lot of worrying and deliberation, I put in a substantial amount of my own money up front to keep things going. There seems to be a meme out there about how rich I am. I’m not really sure how this started, but I can assure you it is far from the truth. As I talked about in my blog a few years ago, I kept $0 of the prizepool from DC’s TI6 run.

Fast-forward to the tournament and things go pretty smoothly. I was obviously quite nervous about the event, especially since I was casting and would be largely unavailable for any of the big-picture decisions needed. Luckily we had plenty of people step up. Sajedene took care of the project as a whole, Slacks did the event content, and bukka was an absolute god. A lot of other people helped out and I can’t tell you how much it was appreciated.

The event as a whole was definitely a success. We had some hiccups to be sure, but I think it was one of the more memorable events of the year and I’m proud of that. It was my first time casting a LAN finals before, and I didn’t let the fact that it was my own tournament ruin that for me (haha). In terms of financials, I was able to at least get a good portion of what I put in because of ticket sales and additional sponsors we found. In the end however, the event was still a big net-negative for me in the financial department.

Bucharest Major

In March of 2018, I, along with some Moonduckers, were invited to the Bucharest Major by PGL. Due to some small miscommunication internally, I thought I was going as a caster. When I found out I was a panelist, I became super nervous. People who follow me know that I can be very self-deprecating on camera. That is actually how I am in real life as well. In terms of paneling, I’d never really done it on an official capacity and as a result was never really comfortable doing it before, but during this tournament I started to feel more comfortable day by day and the audience seemed to enjoy it.

Super Major

And then the final event, the Super Major in China. I won’t really get into this as much, but I was invited as a panelist again by PGL. Things went quite well until I had to leave abruptly because of a family death. I have to give a shout out to PGL, who flew me back home immediately at their own cost.

TI8

Weeks later, the invites for TI8 came out and I wasn't on the list. I won’t lie, I took this hard. Over the course of my career covering Dota, I have been telling other people (and myself) that not being invited to an International is not a death-sentence. I think that was more about me trying to make myself and others feel better about our misfortune. The reality of the situation is the fact that not being invited to TI is a huge deal for every personality, as the invites for the next few months will go exclusively to those who worked TI.

I think the main problem is that the only tangible thing we as personalities can do to try and gauge our worth is reddit. It sounds weird to say, but it has become very obvious over the course of the last few years that reddit truly dictates most things in the Dota space. And if you go back through any of the tournaments that I talked about above, every single one had at least one prominent thread of positivity towards me specifically. This sounds a bit egotistical to type, but I have to stress that this is the only barometer we as personalities can use to truly understand our overall worth. Suffice to say, I thought the overwhelming support of reddit gave me my best chance to finally get invited.

Once I got over the initial disappointment, I started to think about my career as a whole. I finally came to grips with the fact that I’m just not what Valve is looking for in a personality for their event. Once that set in, I truly began to understand. I can’t really blame Valve for this. If I’m organizing an event myself, I will hire people I know will work well together and that I enjoy working with. If that does not include me, then I will have to live with that. I think the thing that bothered me more than anything is the fact that there were some people invited that have literally never done anything in the Dota space before. Between that and the fact that I’ve only been invited to one International in my career (and even then I wasn’t even on the main stream or on camera), really solidified in my mind that it’s just never going to happen.

Artifact

Taking everything I just wrote into account, combined with the fact that I have been absolutely obsessed with Artifact, means the transition makes that much more sense for me. Artifact hasn’t exactly gotten off to a great start, but I have faith that Valve will add things over time in order to right the ship. I think with their new mindset of consistent balance changes in addition to the expansions planned, this game will get to the place we all wanted it to be. This of course won’t happen overnight, but as long as Valve is dedicated to making it great, then I feel very comfortable continuing to support it. I think one thing I can say is that my love for the game at its most basic level is not manufactured. Some in the community have called me a shill, which I find hilarious. I’m making less money now than ever. But I needed a change and I truly enjoy Artifact. I’ve even picked up streaming, which I do around 3 times a week (http://twitch.tv/sunsfantv). For me, it can be more exhausting to play than Dota, but I don’t feel as much stress from a streaming perspective. It is much more chill which I of all people can appreciate. Some other stuff I’ve been working on include the Youtube channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/artifactcinema) & Artifaction website (https://artifaction.gg/). The latter is a project started in collaboration with Slacks, Cyborgmatt, Noxville, and my boy bukka. It has in my humble opinion the best learn section for people starting out with Artifact. Plus you can take a Harry Potter-like quiz in order to find out which Artifact House you belong to. As per norm, we are the masters of fluff.

Keep in mind that just because I haven’t touched Dota in a while, doesn’t mean I’ll be cutting ties. I’ll still be doing DotaCinema stuff like Fails of the Week (yes it’s still alive) assuming Slacks actually shows up. And perhaps in the future I’ll be a part of some Moonduck tournaments.

Finally you can stop reading

So all in all, this last year had a lot of ups and downs for me personally and professionally. I was a panelist at 2 Majors, cast at Midas Mode & 1 Minor, and then organized and partially funded the only DPC LAN that people could attend in the US. And all I really have to show for it is a lighter wallet. Having said that, I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything. Over the course of my career I’ve been a Youtuber, owned a team, founded a studio, commentated, paneled and organized tournaments. After listing that out, I can safely say I’m a pretty lucky person. And I’m looking forward to what is next in my career.

I hope trying to be transparent with the last year has helped you understand what I am up to these days. Worrying about assumptions or how people will take things I say can be very tiring, but honestly that passion and support is what makes doing all this worth it. Thanks for reading, friends.

First off, I'd like to apologize for taking so long. It's actually embarrassing how many hours this took me. But alas I still find it fun, so it all works out!

It is very cool to see the Aghanim's Scepter evolve over time. When it was first introduced in Dota 1, it was only for a few heroes and the upgrades were fairly generic. Now almost every hero can build it, and the variety in upgrades is becoming quite diverse. Kudos to Icefrog & Valve for making a boring item into something that can not only help heroes scale later in the game, but also define new playstyles for certain heroes. At this point I'd say a vast majority of the Aghanim's Scepters listed below are good, which definitely wasn't always the case.

Remember that the comparisons made are to my last list, and some changes in ranking are based on me simply changing my mind about an item, especially after play-testing it myself. Others can be attributed to changes in the game, both direct and indirect. I’ve also notated changes to the hero that I feel would impact an Aghs purchase in some way.

Since the last list was before 7.00, I've also listed talents that synergize with the Aghs itself. A lot of the talents indirectly help the heroes, but we're going to try and stick with upgrades that help the Aghs more directly. Example: gold/min will help a hero get Aghs faster. I didn't include XPM even though in some cases it would help the upgrade be more effective.

98 of the 113 heroes now have Aghs. The ones that currently do not are: Arc Warden, Broodmother, Clinkz, Death Prophet, Dragon Knight, Ember Spirit, Io, Lycan, Monkey King, Phantom Assassin, Slardar, Spectre, Templar Assassin, Terrorblade, and Troll Warlord.

I was not strongly influenced by stats, but I still reviewed and considered them. I didn't want to notate a lot of them for fear of being too technical. Thanks to Noxville (@followNoxville) for reference.

Thanks to some of the people that helped with feedback: shane (@shaneomad), brax (@braxlikesdota), Trent (@TrentPax), Glex (@thatguyglex), and syndereN (@syndereNdota). And finally thanks to bukka (GET A TWITTER ALREADY BRO) for the site & Nikki (@Sajedene) for the graphics.

The criteria is more or less the same as last time. Click below if you want to read more about it. If you are looking to give feedback, I implore you to read the criteria first to better understand the perspective in which this was designed.

There will probably be some mistakes so let me know if I've missed anything (@SUNSfanTV). Enjoy.

Most Overrated: Anti-Mage

Most Underrated: Shadow Shaman

Aghanim's of the Future: Riki!

Biggest Drop: Earth Spirit, Morphling, & Dazzle (-61)

Biggest Climb: Outworld Devourer (+55)

Aghs Suggestions: Based on a lot of the recent Aghs added to the game, it's evident Valve values unique ideas, as opposed to the more straight forward upgrades (like Juggernaut). I was looking at the remaining heroes with no Aghs, and I thought a couple of them could actually benefit from less convoluted upgrades. Here are my stupid ideas:

• Dragon Knight - Permanent Dragon Form
• Slardar - Corrosive Haze works on allies as a buff for half the value

Changelog:

v1.0

• Released

v1.1

• Treant Protector - 9 to 23
• Zeus: 44 to 34
• Luna: 25 to 35
• Enchantress: 33 to 47
• Drow Ranger: 51 to 55
• Underlord: 82 to 73
• Juggernaut: 61 to 74
• Kunkka: 73 to 97

Tier 10: US West Pubs (Complete Dumpster)

NEW

98

Sniper

Assassinate

Changes Assassinate into an AoE Spell. Will lock on all enemy heroes and illusions in the 400 AoE and launch a 2.8x critical strike & procs headshot on player-controlled units

Talent Synergies

Level 10: +5 Mana Regen. Level 20: 25% Cooldown Reduction.

SUNSfan's Notes

Here's an item that would be pretty cool to build a team around. And you'll have to do just that. That's right. For this to be viable, you'll have to build an entire team around picking up this item on Sniper. Why is that? For it to be effective, you have to build complete glass-cannon (hello Rapiers). When you build glass cannon, you die easier, which means you need a lot of assistance from you team. I can't see this being more than a thing you mess around with in a pub, but I'd love to be wrong here. Also note, that although not mentioned, the ministun from the original Assassinate still applies to enemies. By the way, if you see someone trying this in a pub, just get blademails. EZ GAME!

97

20

Kunkka

Ghostship

Boat Drags units (200 Radius) & travel time reduced (3.1 ⇒ 1.55)

CHANGES

Ghost Ship now always crashes where Kunkka targets it.

Talent Synergies

Level 20: +120 Gold/Min

SUNSfan's Notes

So apparently this changes the way boat works. There was a recent change that made it easier to cast boat, making it land wherever you click. To prevent abuse, the Aghs right now reverts back to the original design, meaning it becomes more difficult to cast again. Since it actually makes the skill worse in many ways, I have to put this in this horrendous tier for now. I'm not sure if this will be fixed in the future, or if they will just think of an entirely new idea. Either way, it is really bad in its current form. Keep in mind that heroes can still use items and skills while being dragged. This includes BKB and Manta. Not sure if it's a bug, but if you use manta while being dragged, your 2 illusions will still be dragged to the end point, but you will not. All in all, this feels more like a support Kunkka item, which typically will have a hard time farming this up. The level 10 talent certainly helps. In the end, this is one of the biggest unknowns considering we rarely see it in action. Quick, someone get Attacker's opinion!

REWORKED

96

60

Dazzle

Shallow Grave

Gives a 450 AoE to Shallow Grave

CHANGES

Old Scepter used to increase the armor per second gained/lost with Weave

Talent Synergies

Level 15: +100 Cast Range

SUNSfan's Notes

I don't know man. This actually seems terrible. Dazzle's last Aghs wasn't great, but I find it hard to believe that this one is better. In the very rare circumstance that Dazzle can build this, you have to believe there are more impactful items to purchase for your team. A lot of the Aghs this low are terrible because they don't fit the hero build whatsoever. That really isn't the case for Dazzle as he only has money issues. He'd love to have an Aghs. The problem is the effect is just plain awful.

95

20

Sven

God's Strength

Grants bonus damage (125%) to allies in 900 AoE

CHANGES

God's Strength attack bonus reduced from 200% to 160% to make up for 40 Strength gain.

SUNSfan's Notes

In theory, could be considered semi-viable on a support Sven, but that isn't something we've seen to be viable in years. Keep in mind that the 900 AoE is an aura that stays around you during the duration.

NEW

94

Chaos Knight

Phantasm

Reduces cooldown (130 ⇒ 110) & allows it to be cast on allied hero with 1200 range

CHANGES

Phantasm Illusion damage taken from 200% to 260%.

Talent Synergies

Level 20: +120 Gold/Min. Level 25: 20% Cooldown Reduction

SUNSfan's Notes

Much like Sven, this would work on a support CK, which isn't too common at the moment. In theory, it could be a very powerful Aghs with the right lineup. Unfortunately Chaos Knight has trouble farming, and the 120+ Gold/Min talent comes too late at level 20.

Tier 9: Slacks' Career (For the Memes)

NEW

93

Slark

Shadow Dance

Reduces Shadow Dance cooldown (60 ⇒ 30) and causes it to be active in a 325 AoE, hiding allied heroes

Talent Synergies

Level 20: 10% Cooldown Reduction

SUNSfan's Notes

The only thing appealing about this new Aghanim's upgrade is the reduction in cooldown for Slark, which is quite significant from 60 to 30 seconds. You'll probably have a difficult time fitting this into your skill-build, but it can probably be quite good in some scenarios. In it's current iteration, the fact that it works on teammates is pretty gimmicky, as the range is quite low and the regeneration won't work on them.

92

9

Wraith King

Reincarnation

Nearby slain allies will transform into a wraith for 7 seconds

SUNSfan's Notes

The way this works is if your teammates (or you) die, they will come back to life for 7 seconds and be able to cast any of their abilities that were off cooldown. The Level 25 talent that applies Wraith Fire blast to enemies in an AoE is super cool. Unfortunately it doesn't do jack for his Aghs. As for the upgrade itself...I really want this to be a thing. And I think it could definitely work in some random pub games, but I just can't see this being good yet. A cool trick is if you have a Gem/Rapier you can TP back to base as a wraith in order to drop the aformentioned item safely in base.

91

13

Winter Wyvern

Arctic Burn

Arctic burn becomes togglable, removes limit on number of attacks per target

CHANGES

Default Arctic Burn flight duration increased from 6 to 8 seconds

Talent Synergies

Level 15: +50 Damage or +20 Movement Speed. Level 20: +120 Gold/Min. Level 25: +15% Arctic Burn Slow

SUNSfan's Notes

One day in the future, carry Wyvern will be a thing. And when it's a thing, Aghs will be purchased on her. Other than that it is extremely difficult to justify the purchase when there are so many other utility items to invest in.

90

27

Elder Titan

Earth Splitter

Slow duration increased (5 ⇒ 6) & Disarms

CHANGES

Earth Splitter radius increased from 300 to 315

SUNSfan's Notes

I definitely had too much faith in this Aghs before, as we see it drop dramatically. It sounds nice on paper, but the disarm is only going to be good against certain heroes and is NOT like Halberd in that it can easily be removed. Plus you'll find much more efficient items to buy on ET in general.

89

16

Beastmaster

Primal Roar

Cast range increase (600 ⇒ 950 & cooldown reduced (70 ⇒ 45)

Talent Synergies

Level 20: 12% Cooldown Reduction

SUNSfan's Notes

Don't get me wrong, I don't think this is a garbage tier upgrade. I just think that all upgrades above this are better. So by comparison, you can argue it's garbage, but looking at it in a vacuum, perhaps not. The cooldown reduction is OK, and the range increase is quite good. But if you pick this up on Beastmaster, it means you have WAY too much gold.

88

19

Oracle

Purifying Flames

Faster cast point (0.3 ⇒ 0.1), lowers cooldown (2.25 ⇒ 1)

CHANGES

Purifying Flames cast range from 800 to 850. False Promise duration increased from 9 to 10

Talent Synergies

Level 15: +60 Gold/Min. Level 25: +250 Cast Range

SUNSfan's Notes

This is a difficult one to rate because this hero is rarely played, and when he is they don't buy Aghanim's. This of course doesn't mean it's a bad upgrade. Many times in history we've seen players underestimate a certain upgrade on a hero. It will then lay dormant until someone figures out how strong it is and abuses the crap out of it. I'm not saying that's where we're at with the Oracle Aghs, it might just be awful. But if I'm wrong about 1 Aghs in this tier, it might be this.

87

33

Lifestealer

New Skill (Assimilate)

You gain the ability to eat teammates

SUNSfan's Notes

I love this upgrade, but even I can't find a justification to keep it as high as it was before. The drop from last time is pretty huge, but in all seriousness, it shouldn't have been that high to begin with. I think it's too difficult to fit this into Lifestealer's item build. In theory, it can be quite strong though. Being able to gank a lane with 3 heroes in 1 body is nothing to scoff at. But in the end, this feels like an upgrade you will only see if it is gifted to you by a benevolent Alchemist.

Tier 8: syndereN's Face (Overrated)

REWORKED

86

14

Bane

Brain Sap

Decreases the cooldown of Brain Sap (11 ⇒ 1.5) & allows it to pierce spell immunity

CHANGES

Old Scepter used to increase the DPS for Fiends Grip & cause Nightmare to be cast on units attacking Bane while he channeled his ultimate.

Talent Synergies

Level 20: +175 Cast Range. Level 25: +200 Brain Sap Damage/Heal

SUNSfan's Notes

On paper alone, this Aghs is incredible. It lowers the cooldown of Brain Sap to a ridiculous 1.5 seconds and allows you to cast it through magic immunity. Not to mention his Level 25 will add +200 damage to it. That's 500 pure damage every 1.5 seconds. The only issue is Bane will have a very hard time farming this, unless he makes a crazy transition into a mid hero. And even if you happen to farm this on a support Bane, you're still going to have trouble staying alive. If the enemy has any common sense, they will just burst you first. All in all, this is a very powerful upgrade, but not the most realistic unfortunately.

85

17

Doom

Doom

Longer duration (15 ⇒ 16), suspends duration when within range (900 AoE), removes positive buffs, breaks passives

CHANGES

Increased Doom damage per second slightly.

Talent Synergies

Level 10: +80 Devour Bonus Gold. Level 20: +40 Doom DPS

SUNSfan's Notes

The +80 gold talent has helped Doom farm a lot more efficiently, but the hero still seems a little lack luster. In the games he is picked, you still don't see him pickup an Aghs either, as many other items hold a higher priority. When they took the "break" mechanic away from Doom itself and applied it to only be a part of his Aghs, I thought this item would see some play. But alas, it ain't happening. The duration suspending mechanic is also a little gimmicky, but could technically be quite good in specific circumstances.

84

60

Morphling

New Skill (Hybrid)

Hybrid Ability. Creates a replicate of a target ally hero for 20 seconds, which can cast all non-ultimate abilities

Talent Synergies

Level 15: 12% Cooldown reduction

SUNSfan's Notes

Support Morphling isn't too common, but is always interesting to see. Stunning heroes for over 4 seconds with 1 button is also hilarious. As for the Aghs, well...it's weird. It's really weird. I'm sure in some lineups it can be strong, but getting an Aghs on a support Morphling will be difficult to come by. The hero you copy MUST be an ally, which is unfortunate for when you are behind in the game. I imagine heroes like Terrorblade would be strong to pair this up with since his Metamorphosis is not an ultimate. But the point is, if you have to build your entire lineup around an Aghs, the lack of versatility can end up biting you. Keep in mind that the cooldown reduction talent does NOT apply to hybrid targets, but will slightly reduce cooldown of Hybrid itself.

83

41

Naga Siren

Song of Siren

Heals allies for 10% per second

CHANGES

Song of the Siren cast time increased, cooldown increased, and range increased

SUNSfan's Notes

This is one of those upgrades that in theory is amazing. You heal your team for 70% of their MAX HP. But, there is no way you pick this up on a core Naga, unless you want it as your 8th or 9th item (aka backpack). But even for support it isn't the most consistent item. Think about how you want to use your Song. This item does nothing when you use it as a means to initiate. It's only good if you want to reset in the middle of a fight, which you can't always count on happening.

82

18

Dark Seer

Wall

Illusions deal more damage (90% ⇒ 140%)

CHANGES

Wall of Replica no longer deals 150 damage. It now slows for 1 second.

Talent Synergies

Level 10: +100 Cast Range. Level 20: +10% Cooldown Reduction or +75 Vacuum AoE

SUNSfan's Notes

Dark Seer is one of those heroes that can have so many different routes in terms of itemization. Because of this, I think Aghs is a bit low on the radar. It is certainly good in those games where the enemies have heroes that you really want illusions of, because they will end up doing more damage than the original hero! But all in all, there are plenty of other items you can prioritize, making this a pretty weak Aghs in my opinion.

REWORKED

81

11

Magnus

Shockwave

Increases travel distance and speed of Shockwave & causes it to come back. Return wave slows by 60% for 2 seconds and does half damage to creeps.

CHANGES

Old Scepter used to provide an Empower aura that would also work on ranged units to gain splash attack.

Talent Synergies

Level 10: +15% Spell Amplification. Level 15: +90 Gold/Min.

SUNSfan's Notes

The previous Aghs was pretty awkward, so I'm glad it's gone. It's too early to really rate this new one. On one hand, I can see this helping you farm. Not to mention the fact that the buildup for Aghs is pretty nice for Magnus. You can also see how this synergizes with RP, which if used correctly allows you to apply a guaranteed slow to the units you've stunned. Overall I'd say this doesn't seem like an amazing Aghs, but definitely serviceable.

80

20

Lich

Chain Frost

Cast range increase (750 ⇒ 850), Infinite bounces, Damage increase (460 ⇒ 550)

CHANGES

Chain Frost cooldown reduced slightly while the slow duration was reduced. Default Chain Frost slow increased from 50% to 65%.

Talent Synergies

Level 15: +125 Cast Range. Level 20: +120 Gold/Min

SUNSfan's Notes

The previous Aghanim's used to increase the movement & attackspeed slow from 30 to 50%. Now the spell slows for a whopping 65% by default. That is a definite nerf to the Scepter upgrade. Now with a measly 100 extra range, 90 extra damage and infinite bounces (very unreliable), this Aghs isn't looking so hot anymore.

NEW

79

Bounty Hunter

Shuriken Toss

Allows Shuriken Toss to bounce twice on each hero & stuns for .75 seconds

CHANGES

Fixed Shuriken Toss interrupting the chain if one of the targets is spell immune (for aghs)

Talent Synergies

Level 20: +75 Shuriken Toss Damage

SUNSfan's Notes

On paper this sounds truly awesome. The Shuriken will bounce twice and stun for a much longer duration. Of course, in practice this is much harder to pull off. I think this is a luxury item on Bounty Hunter, and the double stun feels very inconsistent. But always having that .75 second stun can be pretty nice. This is one I'd have to see in action more.

REWORKED

78

6

Leshrac

Pulse Nova

While Pulse Nova is active, Lightning Storm will hit a unit within a 750 radius every 1.75 seconds

CHANGES

Old Scepter used to provide more damage for Pulse Nova.

Talent Synergies

Level 10: +15 Movement Speed. Level 15: +400 Mana. Level 20: +5% Spell Amplification. Level 25: +3s Lightning Storm Slow Duration.

SUNSfan's Notes

Another one of these Aghs that is so new we can only rate on potential. This kind of reminds me of the Gyro Aghs, except you have to be casting your ultimate in this case. Lightning Storm is a very underrated skill for Leshrac overall, so I can see some potential here. Keep in mind that by going for this build means you have to bypass the Diabolic Edict at 25, which is a huge upgrade to ignore. In theory, this sounds like a potential fix to an issue Lesh players have been having since time immemorial. "When do I cast Lightning Storm". Once you are farmed enough, stopping to cast Lightning can be a real pain. This is because you want to be moving around as much as possible spreading that AoE damage. Having an Aghs gives you a way to have a poor man's Lightning Storm without stopping, which sounds pretty nice at first glance. The big caveat is that it only hits 1 unit, meaning it won't bounce like the normal spell. So in the end, although Aghs is a great build-up for Lesh, this upgrade feels very underwhelming. Either the effect needs to be buffed to be an actual Lightning Storm proc, or keep it the way it is and make it proc without the use of your ultimate.

77

24

Natures Prophet

Wrath of Nature

Increases damage (170 ⇒ 205), and creates treants if units are killed by it

CHANGES

Reduced base damage of Wrath of Nature but increased damage per bounce. Aghanim's no longer increases number of bounces.

SUNSfan's Notes

To the inexperienced this will just feed gold to the enemies, but to the savvy it can make a huge difference in your split pushing. This is definitely not an upgrade you'll want to get every game.

NEW

76

Medusa

Mystic Snake

Causes Mystic Snake to turn enemies to stone for at least 1 second. Adds 0.2 seconds per bounce

SUNSfan's Notes

This is a pretty cool upgrade. It seems the Dark Moon event was a playtest of sorts for this idea. Medusa is very item dependant, so the question is whether she can even build this. I think as far as the stats are concerned, they are perfect. She makes use of every component, unlike many other heroes in the game. As for the effect, it's hard to say for sure, but I'd say it's below average in general practice, but AMAZING vs illusions. The reason for this is because the stone form debuff automatically kills all illusions. Keep in mind that this also works as a way to stop TPs or general channeling spells.

REWORKED

75

5

Axe

Battle Hunger

Units afflicted by Battle Hunger will have their damage output reduced by 30%. Also, if an enemy hero is killed with Culling Blade, Battle Hunger will then be cast upon enemies in a 700 AoE

CHANGES

Old Scepter used to lower cooldown & increase damage threshold of Culling Blade

Talent Synergies

Level 10: +3 Mana Regen. Level 25: +100 Battle Hunger DPS

SUNSfan's Notes

The tooltip says Battle Hunger will be cast in an AoE "after a successful Culling Blade". One would think this only works on heroes, but it apparently works on creeps, despite Culling Blade going onto cooldown afterwards. This item has a pretty high potential (especially if you dunk someone in a crowd). I'd say it's still a bit underwhelming though. It's extremely difficult to gauge the strength until we see more games with it. For now we are going to be conservative and leave it here.

Tier 7: Bruno's Wardrobe (Flashy but All Over the Place)

74

2

Juggernaut

Omnislash

More slashes (9 ⇒ 12), decreases cooldown from 110 to 70

Talent Synergies

Level 10: +20 Damage. Level 15: +20 Attack Speed. Level 20: +8 All Stats. Level 25: +20 Agility

SUNSfan's Notes

This is a decent Aghs, but the extra 3 slashes isn't just damage, but more time for you to do a number of things, including blinking away (if you have a blink dagger of course). The cooldown reduction ensures you have this for every fight as well. Also keep in mind that pretty much all of his talents make his ultimate better as well.

NEW

73

Underlord

Atrophy Aura

Causes half your current bonus damage to allies in a 900 AoE. Also increases the bonus damage duration (60 ⇒ 100 seconds)

SUNSfan's Notes

This Aghs is very interesting as it allows your allies to gain damage based on how much you've collected via Atrophy Aura. The duration lasting 40 seconds longer is pretty nice too. Overall though, it feels very momentum based. In other words, only good if you are snowballing. Despite this, it still sounds strong in theory, and the build-up is very nice for Underlord. We're hoping this will get some play in the future, but it is way too early to tell the true power level of this upgrade.

72

31

Omniknight

Guardian Angel

Longer duration (8 ⇒ 10), becomes global and affects buildings

CHANGES

GA cooldown increased by 10.

Talent Synergies

Level 10: +60 Gold/Min

SUNSfan's Notes

I definitely overrated this Aghs last time. It's OK, but nothing more. The global reach can be clutch for sure & having another way to fortify you buildings is legit. But heroes are still likely to itemize against this (diffusal) and this upgrade does nothing to prevent it.

REWORKED

71

10

Crystal Maiden

Freezing Field

Applies Frostbite to units that have been standing in the Freezing Field for over 2.5 seconds

CHANGES

No longer increases Freezing Field damage, no longer increases movement & attackspeed slow. Now causes Freezing Field to apply Frostbite to any unit that has been standing in the AoE for 2.5 seconds. Freezing Field cooldown lowered.

Talent Synergies

Level 20: +12 Gold/Min or +50 Freezing Field Damage. Level 25: +1.5s Frostbite Duration

SUNSfan's Notes

Her previous Aghs was boring, but still pretty decent. The new one sounds completely godlike if you're able to pull it off. But will you be able to consistently cast for over 2.5 seconds? Maybe, maybe not. Either way, I think we can all agree that technically speaking this new Aghs is less consistent than the previous, but its ceiling is higher. So in the end it's around the same ranking for me right now until I see more.

70

11

Viper

Viper Strike

Decrease mana cost (250 ⇒ 125) & cooldown (30 ⇒ 10), increases range (500 ⇒ 900)

CHANGES

Viper Strike now deals its first tick of damage immediately. Viper Strike cooldown rescaled to be lower at levels 1-2.

Talent Synergies

Level 25: +80 Viper Strike DPS

SUNSfan's Notes

I'd say this is a pretty solid Aghs pickup. Nothing terrible, nothing amazing. You can definitely farm this on Viper, but do you really want to rely that heavily on your ultimate? I'd say this Aghs is dependent on the game.

69

7

Lion

Finger of Death

Adds AoE (325), damage increase (850 ⇒ 1025), lower cooldown (40 ⇒ 20), lowers mana cost (650 ⇒ 625)

CHANGES

Aghanim's Finger of Death radius slightly increased.

Talent Synergies

Level 10: +75 Cast Range. Level 15: +90 Gold/Min. Level 20: +8% Spell Amplification

SUNSfan's Notes

A 1025 damage AoE nuke with a 20 second cooldown seems pretty good in theory. Especially considering you have the ability to mana drain consistently. In practice it feels a bit lackluster though. And getting the Aghs is pretty luxury considering the host of items you need in order to survive as a support. In most cases it feels like a quick way to push a wave of incoming creeps. But there is always opportunity to make a huge play hitting multiple enemy heroes in one shot, which is partly dependent on your team's hero composition.

68

3

Earthshaker

Enchant Totem

Enchant totem now works as a leap (900 range)

CHANGES

Increased Aftershock damage slightly & Enchant Totem has True Strike.

Talent Synergies

Level 15: +50 Damage. Level 25: -2s Enchant Totem Cooldown

SUNSfan's Notes

It's hard to think of this as anything but a meme item, but I feel it definitely has a place. Mobility is the name of the game for Earthshaker, with common purchases being Blink Dagger, Forcestaff, and even Shadow Blade. An Aghs gives you a pseudo blink with a 5 second (and with the talent 3) cooldown. This is definitely a luxury item on Earthshaker, but it's not too shabby overall.

67

11

Huskar

Life Break

Increases damage (42% ⇒ 65%) and reduces cooldown (12 ⇒ 4)

CHANGES

Life Break leap speed increased from 1000 to 1200. Life Break Damage dealt/taken from 35% to 42%.

Talent Synergies

Level 25: +500 Life Break Cast Range

SUNSfan's Notes

Technically this was nerfed since the regular ultimate does more damage now. All in all, it's actually a pretty underrated Aghs. Being able to essentially bounce from target to target is super fun and decently effective. The only issue is this hero is pretty garbage right now, and fitting this into his item build is difficult.

66

60

Earth Spirit

New Skill (Enchant Remnant)

Grants the Enchant Remnant ability, which allows you to turn a hero into a Stone Remnant.

CHANGES

Gripping Targets is not part of Aghanims anymore. It is now a level 25 talent.

Talent Synergies

Level 15: +90 Gold/Min

SUNSfan's Notes

Oh how the mighty have fallen. Earth Spirit's Aghs used to include the ability to grip allied heroes, but that portion has been changed to be a level 25 talent, which Earth Spirits don't see too often. Of course you can still turn heroes into stone and then kick them RIDICULOUS distances away, which can end a game in the blink of an eye. The issue is that it's very inconsistent considering how small the cast range is (125 ). The gripping of allies was by far the most consistent portion of the Aghs, which means this upgrade is not nearly as good anymore.

65

1

Tidehunter

Gush

Cast range increased (700 ⇒ 1800), becomes AoE (240 Width), Lowers cooldown (12 ⇒ 7) and does a small ground reveal on units that are hit

CHANGES

Gush manacost reduced at earlier levels. Aghanim's Gush now does a small ground reveal on units that are hit.

Talent Synergies

Level 20: +6 Mana Regen. Level 25: -6 Gush Armor or 20% Cooldown Reduction

SUNSfan's Notes

The ground reveal is a nice little buff, but overall doesn't change that much. This is an extreme luxury item for Tide, or simply a good anti-push strat option available to you. That -6 Armor is SUPER tempting, but it's hard to pass up cooldown reduction with a skill like Ravage in your arsenal.

64

19

Lone Druid

Spirit Bear

No bear leash & bear survives if lone druid dies

CHANGES

Rabid Attack speed increased, duration reduced slightly, and cooldown reduced. Spirit Bear attack time improved from 1.45 to 1.35

Talent Synergies

Level 15: +50 Spirit Bear Damage. Level 20: +12 Spirit Bear Armor or 50% Spirit Bear Magic Resistance. Level 25: -10s Savage Roar Cooldown or +1.5s Entangling Claws Duration

SUNSfan's Notes

After the temporary horror that was the ranged Lone Druid build, it seems the bear build is coming back. Aghs for Lone Druid is actually quite excellent, but in most cases it's only good if you've gotten at least 4 or even 5 items on the bear. Of course there will be exceptions as always. The bear being leash free opens up a whole new strategy, as you won't really have to risk a lot while split pushing. It also means your actual hero doesn't need to be completely worthless, meaning he can go into the thick of things if necessary since his death is no longer tied to the bear's. The new buff to the attack speed & talent buffs for the bear makes this hero look legitimately scary.

63

12

Ogre Magi

New Skill (Unrefined Fireblast)

Adds a new skill: Unrefined Fireblast (Damage: 275, Stun Duration 1.5, Cooldown 6, Mana cost 60% of current mana)

Talent Synergies

Level 10: +100 Cast Range or +60 Gold/Min. Level 25: +15% Spell Amplification

SUNSfan's Notes

This ability always seemed a bit weird to me. You don't really want to cast it because it uses SO much mana, which of course won't allow you to use your original fireblast as often. But at the same time, if you are already low on mana, or are simply in trouble, then this is amazing because you'll always have a stun. I think overall it's okay, but there are so many better items to be had on Ogre.

NEW

62

Phantom Lancer

Spirit Lance

Spirit Lances bounce up to 5 times

CHANGES

Spirit Lance illusions only give a 5 gold/experience bounty, instead of scaling with levels. Juxtapose max illusions increased from 9 to 10. Phantom Rush agility bonus is now granted before the first hit lands, rather than after. Technically some of his other talents that help his illusions can be considered as buffs to Aghanims (Plus stats, evasion etc.)

Talent Synergies

Level 10: +75 Spirit Lance Damage. Level 15: 15% Cooldown Reduction.

SUNSfan's Notes

This is one that is bound to be somewhat controversial. I think as a hero, PL is pretty bad right now. So no matter what items you get, you'll probably lose anyway. One reason for that is he's very easily countered. But in those special games where there is little to no AoE clear for your illusions, Aghanims is amazing. It allows you to farm faster, deal more damage in fights, and be more elusive since you'll have an army of illusions after 1 Spirit Lance.

61

13

Spirit Breaker

Nether Strike

Cast range increase (700 ⇒ 850), Adds AoE (250), lowers cooldown (60 ⇒ 20)

Talent Synergies

Level 20: +120 Gold/Min or +30% Greater Bash Damage

SUNSfan's Notes

The AoE addition for this is a bit gimicky, but when it works as intended, it's marvelous. But the real draw here is the huge cooldown reduction. In a normal game though, it will be hard to farm this up as Spirit Breaker has issues in that department. Sadly the Gold/Min talent comes a bit late at level 20.

60

7

Razor

Eye of the Storm

Faster strike interval (0.5 to 0.4), can target structures

CHANGES

Eye of the Storm prioritizes striking static linked heroes & no longer has a cast point.

SUNSfan's Notes

This is a pretty solid Aghs that is picked up because of the ability to affect buildings. So if you're having trouble going high ground, this could be the pickup. If not, you're probably better off with something else. Pretty simple actually. The minus armor mechanic does not work on buildings. If it did, this would be up 5 tiers.

NEW

59

Antimage

Spell Shield

Causes Spell Shield to passively block and reflect a targeted spell once every 12 seconds

SUNSfan's Notes

When this Aghs was introduced, many people felt it could potentially be an auto-buy on AM. After the initial hype, it seems the negatives have been exposed. If you need a defensive item on AM, you are more likely to find consistency with a BKB or Linkens. The reason for this is the Spell Shield upgrade can be abused with certain items (forcestaff), certain skills (Charge of Darkness), or disabled with Silver Edge. It could also be completely unplayable vs certain heroes (Nyx comes to mind). But on the other side of the coin, in the right game, this has proven to be a godly pickup. So in the end, I guess you can call this a situational Aghs.

58

23

Jakiro

Macropyre

Double cast range and distance (900 ⇒ 1800), increases damage (180 ⇒ 225 per second), increases duration (10 ⇒ 30)

CHANGES

Macropyre radius increased slightly.

Talent Synergies

Level 10: +8% Spell Amplification. Level 15: +125 Cast Range. Level 20: +150 Gold/Min. Level 25: Macropyre Pure Damage and pierces immunity

SUNSfan's Notes

This hero seems to find farm in pretty much every game and getting an Aghanim's isn't too crazy to see. I definitely had this too low in the last list, which is most of the reason you see it here now. Casting this on a wave during the late stages of the game essentially ensures the opponent's inability to push any further. And although I have yet to see it in game, the level 25 pure damage talent is intriguing.

57

29

Legion Commander

Duel

Longer duration (5.5 ⇒ 8). Only LC and opponent can take damage from eachother. Applies spell immunity to Legion Commander

CHANGES

Scepter now grants spell immunity to your hero during Duel.

Talent Synergies

Level 15: +30 Damage. Level 20: +7 Armor or +10% Moment of Courage proc. Level 25: +40 Duel Damage Bonus

SUNSfan's Notes

Even though it's not listed, the XP Gain talent for LC makes getting Level 25 fairly consistent in pub games. This means the +40 Duel Damage can come into play. I know most people think LC Aghs is complete garbage, and even though it's not listed super high here, I still feel the need to defend it. Occasionally, this is an AMAZING pick up and could win the game for your team. This is because sometimes it's not necessarily about killing the enemy hero, but instead taking them out of the fight for 8 freaking seconds. Of course there is a huge potential pitfall for if your teammates don't truly understand what this upgrade does and just wastes spells (don't feel bad, pros have done it too), but that's not the upgrade's fault. If ignorance wasn't a factor here, this would easily be 1 tier up. The fact that you are now magic immune also helps make it much harder for you to be disabled while going at it in a true 1v1.

56

47

Meepo

Divided We Stand

Adds another Meepo

CHANGES

Meepos now share attributes by default.

Talent Synergies

Level 10: +15 damage or +4 Armor, Level 15: 15% lifesteal or +25 Movespeed, Level 20: +25 attackspeed or 10% evasion, Level 25: -3s Poof cooldown or +400 health

SUNSfan's Notes

The change with all Meepos sharing attributes by default was a HUGE buff for this hero, and a HUGE nerf for the Aghs. Of course, you still can't underestimate having yet another hero to work with. Currently, pro players bypass this Aghs completely. I was going to put this lower, but w33 told me it was still decent so...blame him.

Tier 6: Your One 5k Friend (Pretty Solid)

55

24

Drow Ranger

Marksmanship

Splinter attack (2 targets within 375 AoE with 50% Damage Reduction)

CHANGES

Chain Lightning has a proc cooldown of 0.2 seconds.

Talent Synergies

Level 20: +6% Precision Aura Damage. Level 25: +25 Marksmanship Agility

SUNSfan's Notes

The effects of this Aghs are pretty sweet. They allow Drow to push & farm much faster. The change to how often Lightning procs certainly makes this a bit worse, which is why we see the drop here.

54

4

Puck

Dream Coil

Link break damage increase (200 ⇒ 300), Link Break stun increase (3 ⇒ 4.5), Coil duration increased (6⇒ 8), Link Break stun goes through spell immunity

CHANGES

Dream Coil cooldown reduced.

Talent Synergies

Level 20: +10% Spell Amplification. Level 25: +420 Gold/Min

SUNSfan's Notes

This is a bit of a situational item on Puck, but overall still pretty solid. If the initial stun went through magic immunity then this would be upgraded at least 2 tiers, but alas it does not. The breaking stun however is buffed massively with Aghs, so if you can catch enemies in bad positions, this upgrade really shows its power. But even without it, it is still a solid item to purchase for a couple reasons: 1) The duration is longer no matter what, and 2) If you get to level 25, you can afford literally any item in the game.

53

34

Tusk

New Skill (Walrus Kick)

Walrus Kick (Knockback distance:1400, Damage: 350, Move Speed Slow: 40%, Slow Duration: 5, Stun Duration: 1, Cooldown 8, Manacost: 100

CHANGES

Increased knockback distance of Walrus Kick from 900 to 1400 and increased cast range from 128 to 150. Increased turn rate of Tusk himself as well.

Talent Synergies

Level 10: +40% XP Gain. Level 15: +90 Gold/Min

SUNSfan's Notes

The changes made seem to have brought this into the realm of being viable on Tusk. I didn't include many XP talents, but I felt it was needed for Tusk since it's such a ridiculous number at level 10 (40%). And that gold talent at level 15 will help you on your way to getting an Aghs at some point. Of course, you'll also need some mobility (blink or in some cases shadow blade) in order to perform the proper kick. But if you're able to maintain a relatively high level of mobility, you can semi-consistently kick enemies a RIDICULOUS distance. And remember, it goes through BKB.

52

36

Gyrocopter

Other

Adds side gunner, which passively attacks every 1.1 seconds

CHANGES

Side Gunner attack interval from 1.2 to 1.1.

Talent Synergies

Level 15: +30 Damage. Level 20: +35 Movement Speed.

SUNSfan's Notes

I was a real hater of this item in the last ranking, but I have to admit it has grown on me quite a bit. It's been buffed a bit with the attack interval change, but also with the talents. +30 damage and 35 movespeed really synergize nicely when you have an attack that is essentially free. The really cool thing about this upgrade is that you can still attack while disabled & it will also proc items, which makes getting an MKB, Maelstrom, and Satanic that much more powerful. Looking forward to seeing this more in competitive play as time goes on.

51

28

Bristleback

Nasal Goo

Goo is AoE (700)

CHANGES

Increased Warpath max stacks. Increased Aghs Nasal Goo Radius by 50.

Talent Synergies

Level 10: +2 Mana Regen. Level 15: +4 Max Goo Stacks

SUNSfan's Notes

This is a very cool Aghs in my opinion. It's not an upgrade you'll want to get every game, but it certainly has its place. The negative is it doesn't pop linkens, but the plus side is you can activate goo without a target, thereby taking advantage of the Warpath buff. This allows you to stack up much faster than before.

50

15

Enigma

Black Hole

Adds current level of Midnight Pulse to Black Hole

CHANGES

Blackhole now slowly rotates enemy units as it pulls them towards the center.

Talent Synergies

Level 15: +120 Gold/Min or 15% Cooldown Reduction.

SUNSfan's Notes

This is quite a good upgrade for Enigma, as he is one of the fastest farmers in the game. As for the effect itself, it's pretty damn good. It means you don't have to place a Midnight Pulse before Black-Holing which is always an awkward thing. Of course, if you do happen to place a Midnight Pulse, it stacks beautifully, doing a total of 42.5% MAX HP in pure damage during the Black Hole duration alone.

NEW

49

Riki

Tricks of the Trade

Increases ultimate duration (5 ⇒ 9) and allows you to target an allied hero, thereby hiding inside of them for the duration

Talent Synergies

Level 15: +10 Agility. Level 20: +8 All Stats. Level 25: +0.4 Cloak and Dagger Backstab Multiplier

SUNSfan's Notes

This one might be a little bit of a surprise to see as I don't see many people buying this on Riki right now. But I think it's actually incredible. It adds 4 more seconds of invulnerability (9 seconds with 10 attacks) and allows you to hide inside someone. If you pick this hero, chances are you'll have decent synergy with his ult already, so being able to hide inside of someone is pretty amazing. It's not really an item you want to rush, but something you can definitely look to acquire after your first or second DPS item. Yes, it requires a decent amount of farm for a hero that we typically see in the 4 role, but let's be real, most people play this hero greedily. There is one pretty major bug right now with it though, where if you click yourself in order to ult in place, the channeling time disappears, making it very difficult to know how much longer is remaining. All in all, I predict this item will start to gain traction once teams start realizing how good it is, but hey, this is an opinionated post for a reason, as I could be horribly horribly wrong.

48

2

Shadow Fiend

Necromastery & Requiem

Increases max souls (36 ⇒ 46), Requiem returns to SF & Heals

Talent Synergies

Level 15: +6% Spell Amplification. Level 20: +2 Damage per Necromastery Soul

SUNSfan's Notes

I love this upgrade and I hope we'll get to see it more often in competitive games. If you read the description alone this upgrade is probably below average. But if you take into consideration the talent tree then it will all start to make sense. Doubling the damage of your souls is pretty insane, and this Aghs gives you even more to work with. The heal can be pretty powerful as well. In some ways, it makes more sense to play SF as a pseudo nuker, buying items to help you gain better ulti positioning. But I think this item can still be really good on a regular SF build, we just haven't had the chance to see it too much yet.

47

27

Enchantress

Impetus

Attack Range increase (550 ⇒ 740)

Talent Synergies

Level 15: +50 damage. Level 25: +6% Impetus Damage

SUNSfan's Notes

Increasing the attack range was such a unique way to buff Enchantress until we were introduced to the Dragon Lance, which incidentally stacks with the upgrade.This is also an item that she can take full advantage of (stats) and can actually attain on a reasonably consistent level. Don't forget that her level 15 gives her damage, which of course still translates to her ult in the end. Part of the reason for the dip is mainly because we just don't see this hero very often anymore.

46

21

Windranger

Focus Fire

No damage reduction (30% ⇒ 0%), reduces cooldown (60 ⇒ 15), removes penalty from Unique Attack Modifiers

Talent Synergies

Level 25: +150 Attack Range or 30% Cooldown Reduction

SUNSfan's Notes

This is such a hard Aghs to rate, because the stats behind it contradict how this looks on paper. On paper this is an amazing Aghs, which is why we ranked it so highly last time around. Reducing 0% of your damage with Focus Fire is insanely powerful. With a decent sample size, Windranger has a 26% winrate in pro games with Aghs. Without? 45%. I don't usually look into the stats too much, but this one feels like the exception. It indicates that the mid windrunner that typically buys Aghs is just horrible right now, while the support iteration that does not purchase it is...better. So the dip in ranking for this upgrade is mostly attributed to the hero just being bad in the core role right now.

REWORKED

45

29

Silencer

Glaives of Wisdom

Causes Glaives to pierce Spell Immunity & deal 100% more damage to silenced enemies

CHANGES

Old Scepter used to cast Arcane Curse on all enemies affected by Global Silence

Talent Synergies

Level 15: +60 Gold/Min. Level 20: +30 Attack Speed. Level 25: +200 Attack Range

SUNSfan's Notes

This is arguably the most viable Aghs introduced in the last year. Core Silencers have run into issues once BKBs are picked up. With this item, that isn't really a problem anymore. And if the units happen to be silenced, then you essentially have a double damage rune during those precious seconds. I think this is terrific upgrade.

44

2

Venomancer

Poison Nova

Damage increase (80 ⇒ 110 per second), cooldown reduced (100 ⇒ 60)

SUNSfan's Notes

This is almost equivalent to having a level 4 version of this spell. The difference is the cooldown is reduced even further than expected which helps make this pretty core on Venomancer. The fact that there are no talents that really boost this any further goes to show that Icefrog probably thinks this upgrade is good enough at its current state.

43

- 0 -

Lina

Laguna Blade

Pure damage and goes through spell immunity

Talent Synergies

Level 10: +125 Cast Range. Level 20: +6% Spell Amplification

SUNSfan's Notes

This is quite a solid pickup as magic immunity can be a bit of a pain for Lina. This item essentially means she will not fall off in the mid-to-late game.

42

2

Queen of Pain

Sonic Wave

Increases damage (470 ⇒ 555) and lowers cooldown (135 ⇒ 40)

Talent Synergies

Level 15: +90 Gold/Min or 12% Cooldown Reduction. Level 25: 70% Spell Lifesteal

SUNSfan's Notes

The cooldown reduction for this upgrade is absolutely massive & is the main reason for picking it up. It ends up synergizing nicely with the cooldown reduction & spell lifesteal talents as well. Being able to use this ultimate every 40 seconds means you can just spam waves without any repercussion.

41

9

Warlock

Chaotic Offering

Creates 2nd golem with reduced stats

CHANGES

Chaotic Offering manacost increased by 100 & cooldown increased from 165 to 170, both at level 4. Flaming Fists & Permanent Immolation are disabled by break.

Talent Synergies

Level 15: +150 Cast Range. Level 20: Summons a Golem on death. Level 25: +15 Chaotic Offering Golem Armor or Spell Immunity for Chaotic Offering Golems

SUNSfan's Notes

This is probably one of the more popular Aghs on a support hero. Don't get me wrong, I think it's quite good, but I think it's still a bit overrated. Having 2 golems is great, but each one will have reduced stats, which ends up equating to having around 1.5 golems. The level 20 talent is hilarious & if you can somehow get 25 then this Aghs becomes quite a bit better. Technically speaking getting Refresher first would allow you to have 2 full stat golems to work with, but as always, mana issues make that build unrealistic.

40

15

Techies

Remote Mines & New Skill

Increase cast range (500 ⇒ 700), increase damage (600 ⇒ 750), adds Minefield sign

Talent Synergies

Level 15: +200 Cast Range. Level 20: +120 Gold/Min. Level 25: +20% Cooldown Reduction

SUNSfan's Notes

A lot of people felt this should have been way higher because Techies is almost unplayable without Aghs. Honestly, I don't really care. I hate this hero so much. But since I'm writing this list I might as well give a proper description. I don't like the idea of rating an Aghs highly just because a hero "has" to get it. If he is garbage before & then mediocre after, is it really that good of an Aghs? Purchasing consistency is certainly taken into consideration, but it's not weighted too heavily.

REWORKED

39

43

Skywrath Mage

All Spells

Causes all of Skywrath Mage's spells to target a second random enemy within 700 radius of primary target

CHANGES

No longer increases duration or reduces cooldown of Mystic Flare. It now causes all of Skywrath's spells to be sent to a secondary target. Arcane Bolt cast range increased from 800 to 875

Talent Synergies

Level 15: +90 Gold/Min or +10% Spell Lifesteal. Level 25: -4s Ancient Seal Cooldown or +14 Mana Regen

SUNSfan's Notes

This is quite the boost for Skywrath Aghs. If you don't remember the last one, don't bother. It was pretty garbage. This new one seems pretty sweet on paper. The only issue is getting an Aghs on support Skywrath can be difficult. The level 15 gold talent feels like it should be at 10 for a hero that doesn't have great wave clear or easy farming capabilities. Now if we're talking mid Skywrath, then hell yeah get this. Of course, you'll still have lots of trouble against Skywrath's worst enemy: the infamous BKB.

38

9

Phoenix

Supernova

More attacks to destroy (11 ⇒ 13) and can bring ally inside

Talent Synergies

Level 15: +150 Gold/Min. Level 20: +8% Spell Amplification. Level 25: +1s Supernova Stun Duration or +2 Supernova Hit Count

SUNSfan's Notes

Adding 2 hits onto the egg is decent, but this is really about saving teammates, which incidentally will refresh their cooldowns (other than ult). This is about as strong as an Aghs can get, but of course it can be a double edged sword. If the timing is off, you can get both of you killed and throw the game. And it's also somewhat difficult to get this on a Phoenix, although the gold talent can certainly help. If you get to level 25 and choose the +2 hit, your egg is just about unkillable.

37

20

Storm Spirit

Electric Vortex

Adds 475 AoE

Talent Synergies

Level 25: +0.75s Electric Vortex

SUNSfan's Notes

This might seem pretty high for an item that is rarely picked up on Storm Spirit. I guess you could call it a luxury item, but the power behind it is so high, I would feel remiss not to place it here. This Aghs turns his vortex into a pretty damn big AoE, which is completely ridiculous when you think about how low the cooldown is and how good the talents are to accompany it. Despite this, I think even in the best case scenario, Storm will want at least 3 items before thinking about this bad boy. The stats from this item are pretty good for Storm too, although it doesn't really provide you with that much needed mana regen. Keep in mind that with this upgrade, Electric Vortex will go through Linkens, which can be huge if the enemies have already itemized against you. In some ways it's like a mini-ravage on an 18 second cooldown.

36

13

Batrider

Flaming Lasso

Deals 100 damage per second and grabs a second target within 400 range

Talent Synergies

Level 15: +5% Spell Amplification. Level 20: +15% Cooldown Reduction or +35 Movement Speed

SUNSfan's Notes

This was relatively new the last time we ranked it and it turns out it's more consistent than I gave it credit for. The 100 damage per second is nice, but the second lasso is what makes this such a good pickup.

35

22

Luna

Eclipse

Increases cast range (0 ⇒ 2500), increases beams (11 ⇒ 18), no limit per unit, shorter interval (0.6 ⇒ 0.3), and shorter duration (6 ⇒ 5.1). Can cast AoE or on other units

Talent Synergies

Level 15: +40 Lucent Beam damage

SUNSfan's Notes

Perhaps not the most common pickup on Luna, which is why you see the dip in the rankings. But this Aghs is still insanely powerful. Being able to cast it on an initiator or just an area of your choosing is pretty sweet. It also deals TONS of damage in a shorter amount of time. The no limit to lucent beams on one target means someone is likely to die. Don't believe me? Let's do some math. Disregarding magic resistance, a Level 3 ultimate with Aghs will deal 5400 damage in 5.1 seconds. With the talent upgrade you can get up to 6120. Not too shabby.

34

51

Zeus

New Skill (Nimbus)

Grants Zeus a new ability named Nimbus (creates a cloud anywhere on the map for 35 seconds that will cast Lightning Bolts on nearby enemies. Cooldown is also 35 seconds.

CHANGES

No longer increases Thundergod's Wrath damage. Now grants Zeus a new ability named Nimbus

Talent Synergies

Level 20 +0.5s Lightning Bolt ministun

SUNSfan's Notes

Zeus' old Aghs was super boring and generally considered awful (despite pub players building it all the time). Nowadays, it seems the opinion has shifted. This is yet another great team fight skill with global range at Zeus' disposal. If you're not physically there to push out a wave, just simply use this skill instead. It does an admirable job. The +.5s Lightning Bolt also synergizes directly with this skill. Go team NIMBUS! PS: Refresher Nimbus with that talent is legitimately hilarious.

33

6

Faceless Void

Chronosphere

Decrease cooldown (100 ⇒ 60)

Talent Synergies

Level 20: +120 Gold/Min. Level 25: +600 Time Walk Cast Range

SUNSfan's Notes

This is a difficult item to fit on a carry Void, but absolutely core on offlane. The cooldown reduction is pretty huge for a spell of this magnitude. It essentially means you'll have this up for every team fight & skirmish.

Tier 5: Purge's Picks (Seems Good)

REWORKED

32

57

Outworld Devourer

Astral Imprisonment

Grants 2 charges of Astral Imprisonment with a 12 second replenish time. Increases range (450 ⇒ 750) and damage areas stack

CHANGES

Old Scepter used to cast Astral Imprisonment on all enemies hit with Sanity's Eclipse.

Talent Synergies

Level 25: +8% Spell Amplification

SUNSfan's Notes

It's funny. I was almost done with my Aghs list when this latest patch came out and I really flamed the crap out of OD's Aghs, because it still hadn't been changed. I'm happy to say that this is no longer the worst Aghs in the game! At first glance, I know a lot of people's reaction concerning this was underwhelming. But, I think this is actually preetty powerful in the right hands. The stats of Aghs have always been very good on OD, and having two Astrals is terrific, especially considering the damage can stack. I think for lower levels of play this is probably not the best item though. I feel Astral in general is one of the higher skill cap abilities in the game (in team fights). I think higher skill players will love this item, but only time will tell.

31

4

Witch Doctor

Death Ward

Bounces up to 4 times & provides True Strike to Death Ward

CHANGES

Scepter provides True Strike to Death Ward.

Talent Synergies

Level 25: +175 Death Ward Attack Range

SUNSfan's Notes

Let's rephrase the description on this one. Death Ward now deals 5 times more damage. Of course, we know that isn't completely accurate. The enemies have to all be in the vicinity, and it's always difficult to keep this spell channeled for very long. This is an interesting one though. Witch Doctors can actually farm pretty well, so you see this item a decent amount. But you also need more farm to ensure you can actually keep it channeled, whether it be a glimmer cape, bkb, or in some cases linkens. If you can get THAT much farm, then yeah this upgrade works as advertised. Even without it, the threat is there for you to do massive damage. This is one of the few Aghs on a support that lives up to the hype.

30

1

Shadow Demon

Demonic Purge

3 charges with 40 second replenish time. Breaks passives

Talent Synergies

Level 15: +75 Cast Range or +8% Spell Amplification. Level 25: +400 Demonic Purge Damage

SUNSfan's Notes

What's better than 1 spell? How about 3. This Aghs is incredibly good on both paper & practice. Having the ability to slow & break passives consistently is huge. And if you somehow get to level 25 you will be doubling your Demonic Purge damage. If SD's were able to consistently pick this up, I'd probably have to boost this up at least 2 tiers. But alas, his ability to purchase the Aghs is kind of an issue. Perhaps with the camps spawning every minute we'll see some more camp stacks + Shadow Poison, but it's too early to tell.

29

23

Visage

Familiars

Summons 3rd Familiar

CHANGES

Familiars now have: fixed HP, they are affected by Gravekeeper's Cloak, they have 35% spell resistance instead of immunity, increased movement speed, affected by HP regen, increased attack damage bonus per charge, reduced attack damage recharge time and reduced cooldown. Stone Form no longer refreshes the familiar's attack damage charges.

Talent Synergies

Level 10: +90 Gold/Min. Level 25: +120 Familiars Movement Speed

SUNSfan's Notes

Good god this one is so difficult to rate. I'll admit this is probably a bit lower than it should be, but I have a hard time bringing anything else down. Familiars have been changed pretty drastically as well, mostly for the better. Aghs is also 100% a core build on Visage. The level 10 talent is a pretty good way to accelerate that Scepter, and if you can somehow hit 25, the familiar movement speed is ridiculous.

28

16

Shadow Shaman

Mass Serpent Ward

Increases attack range (600 ⇒ 825), and attacks two units at the same time

CHANGES

Serpent Wards no longer deal splash damage, but attack damage is increased. Aghs updated to also increase attack range of wards from 650 to 875 & makes them attack two targets at the same time.

Talent Synergies

Level 15: +100 Cast Range. Level 20: +4 Wards Summoned. Level 25: +1 Mass Serpent Ward Attacks Health

SUNSfan's Notes

This upgrade is deceptively good. I really think they should make the Aghs Serpent Wards look different in some way because it is quite a shock to get hit by these bad boys when you're expecting the regular old wards. They hurt!

27

12

Mirana

Starstorm

Adds passive Starstorm

Talent Synergies

Level 15: +5 spell amp

SUNSfan's Notes

This hero has come by some real hard times. Her win rate is pretty awful in competitive, both with & without Aghs. I still think the upgrade is terrific and almost mandatory at this point. Regardless of the win rate, I think I had this a little too high in the last ranking, which is most of the reason behind the drop.

26

12

Chen

Holy Persuasion

Can take over Ancient Creeps

CHANGES

Holy Persuasion cooldown reduced from 18 to 10.

Talent Synergies

Level 20: +90 Gold/Min or +1000 Creep Health. Level 25: +2 Holy Persuasion Max Count

SUNSfan's Notes

Despite this not affecting Chen's ultimate anymore, this continues to be a terrific upgrade. The ability to control Ancients is amazing as they are very durable and provide some nice auras.Take into consideration that this item is VERY attainable because of his farming capabilities, and you have a respectable Aghs. The talents that synergize with this upgrade do so in impressive fashion. Being able to increase the HP of your summons & adding 2 more to your max is godly. Unfortunately they come quite late at Levels 20 & 25 respectively. Keep in mind that you can still only have a max of 3 Ancients, but having 3+3 creeps sounds like an easy way to get that aura Battle Pass challenge.

25

8

Ursa

Enrage

Cooldown reduced (30 ⇒ 18), allows use while disabled

SUNSfan's Notes

The cooldown reduction is pretty decent, but being able to cast this while disabled is HUGE. How do fights usually go in terms of the carry position? The enemy will try to disable you before you hit BKB and then proceed to throw everything at you. With this Aghs, you can't really do that. If you disable Ursa, he'll just hit R and then proceed to no damage while shredding you to pieces. Of course kiting him is still the name of the game, but that doesn't really apply to the Aghs itself.

24

11

Vengeful Spirit

Nether Swap

Cooldown reduced (45 ⇒ 10), creates illusion of self on death with refreshed abilities

Talent Synergies

Level 15 +100 Magic Missile Damage. Level 20 +65 damage. Level 25 Magic Missile Pierces Spell Immunity or 20% Vengeance Aura Damage

SUNSfan's Notes

A part of me feels like this should be higher. The cooldown reduction is INSANE for such a fight-winning spell. Having an illusion of yourself (with all your spells off cooldown!) is the icing on the cake. The Illusion will deal 50% right-click damage while taking 150% damage in turn. But I was surprised to learn that her spells will continue to do full damage. Not sure if that's a bug, but it's a small detail either way. I love this upgrade.

Tier 4: Envy's Blog (Powerful)

23

11

Treant Protector

Overgrowth & New Skill (Eyes in the Forest)

Eyes in the forest. Overgrowth does damage (175 per second) when enemies are near an Eye

CHANGES

Eyes in the Forest cooldown increased from 25 to 35

Talent Synergies

Level 15: +90 Gold/Min Level 20: 15% cooldown reduction

SUNSfan's Notes

The gold/min talent helps Tree get to that Aghs at some point in the game, which is especially important for a hero that cannot farm very well. The effect he gets from Aghs is pretty damn amazing, as are most abilities that give vision. Of course the negative aspect of this, is it can be countered by cutting down trees. But on the other side of the coin, you are still forcing the enemies to waste time trying to find the trees you've planted. In addition, being able to place them strategically allows you to deal damage with your ultimate from a global range, which can be very annoying for enemies trying to farm camps or TP away. Overall, there are some counters, but vision is too important in a game like dota. If Treant has enough money, he will almost always try to pick this item up. That alone should paint a picture as to how good this item is.

22

18

Necrophos

Reaper's Scythe

Lowers cooldown from 70 to 25

CHANGES

No longer disables buyback.No longer increases damage. Cooldown lowered from 70 to 25. All respawn talents removed from game.

Talent Synergies

Level 20: +5 Spell Amp.

SUNSfan's Notes

This took a bit of a dip, but it is not as disastrous as some originally thought. The buyback disable was arguably the most game-breaking mechanic in all of dota. Without that & the damage increase, what do you have? It turns out, you still have a pretty damn good Aghs. The cooldown reduction is massive for such a powerful spell. And remember, you still increase the respawn time of enemies & you won't have to worry about any respawn talents anymore.

21

16

Brewmaster

Primal Split

Earth gains Thunder Clap, Storm gains Drunken Haze, and Fire gains Drunken Brawler

CHANGES

Drunken Haze important changes: Not AoE anymore, cast time reduced, movement speed slow increased, miss chance increased at lower levels (slightly reduced at highest), duration decreased. Demolish damage increased, Hurl Boulder cast point reduced, earth spirit's base attack time reduced. Fire spirit has phasing movement. Drunken Brawler crit increased.

Talent Synergies

Level 15: +75 Thunder Clap Damage. Level 20: +2s Thunderclap slow. Level 25: +2000 Primal Split Unit Health

SUNSfan's Notes

Brewmaster's spells have gotten quite a bit of love from both his talents as well as general buffs over the last few patches. This of course means his Aghs is that much more powerful. Even though I don't like to mention the level 25 talents too often (since they aren't reliable to attain), I'd feel remiss not to mention that the +2000 HP for his little buddies is a big deal. When his original Aghs was introduced many years ago, it provided a stat boost to his spirits. This was removed once they added the spell-using functionality. Now you get the best of both worlds. This is one of the highest skill-cap upgrades in the game, which means the sky is the limit.

20

10

Sand King

Burrowstrike

Doubles cast range and travel distances (650 ⇒ 1300). Caustic finale is added to heroes stunned

CHANGES

Burrowstrike no longer applies Caustic Finale to illusions.

Talent Synergies

Level 20: +120 Gold/Min

SUNSfan's Notes

Caustic Finale no longer being applied to Illusions can definitely be a big deal at times, but despite that, this upgrade is still top notch. The item is relatively easy for SK to attain as he does a pretty good job of farming. With this Aghs, Sand King adds yet another way to be an elusive pain in the ass. In a lot of ways it just amplifies the effectiveness of Blink Dagger, Forcestaff, & Sand Storm. Mobility is the name of the game for SK.

19

9

Clockwerk

Hookshot

Cooldown from 40 to 12

SUNSfan's Notes

This dramatic cooldown is very impactful in fights & for general mobility. Blowing this on a neutral camp in order to get away is pretty common as well. Overall this ranking hasn't changed much since last time and I don't think you'll hear many complaints about its placement in this list.

18

16

Tinker

Laser & Missile

Lasers bounce, and increases missiles (2 ⇒ 4)

Talent Synergies

Level 15: +4% Spell Amplification. Level 20: +75 Cast Range. Level 25: +100 Laser Damage or 20% Spell Lifesteal

SUNSfan's Notes

This Aghs is pretty disgusting. Just read what it does again and then read all his talents. Just plain disgusting. How do you go high-ground against this? Having to blow a BKB charge just to hit the towers a few time doesn't seem like a great solution, which means the best way to defeat this is to dive the base, which can always be super risky. Of course you could always just own Tinker early on so he can never afford this right?

17

6

Disruptor

Static Storm

Damage increase (300 ⇒ 420 per second), duration increase (5 ⇒ 7), mutes items

Talent Synergies

Level 10: +60 Gold/Min or +100 Cast Range, Level 20: +10 Spell Amp

SUNSfan's Notes

Most players go for the +60 Gold/Min talent, and this is one of the reasons why we've seen more Scepters than normal on Disruptor. If used correctly, it can be completely game breaking as it's one of the only abilities in the game to be able to mute item usage.

16

3

Bloodseeker

Rupture

2 charges. 40 second replenish time (instead of 60 sec cooldown)

Talent Synergies

Level 20: +14% rupture damage

SUNSfan's Notes

Not much change from last time, because it's still this good. Having 2 Ruptures can completely change the complexion of a team fight, especially considering the damage is Pure & pierces magic immunity. The level 20 talent is also a nice boost, but he remains countered by his long-time arch nemesis, the TP scroll.

15

7

Pudge

Meat Hook

Increases damage (360 ⇒ 450) and lowers cooldown (11 ⇒ 4)

CHANGES

Reduced Hook Speed from 1600 to 1450. Meat hook no longer works on invulnerable units.

Talent Synergies

Level 20: +150 Gold/Min

SUNSfan's Notes

Meat Hook's speed was reduced slightly, but I'd say this upgrade isn't affected negatively. In fact, one could argue that as a result of the hook nerf, Aghs is better than before because missing one isn't the end of the world. In general though, Repositioning spells are super OP in Dota, and although Meat Hook is a skill-shot, it is still no exception. Having it on this short of a cooldown is borderline preposterous.

14

7

Undying

Decay

Strength steal increase (4 ⇒ 10)

Talent Synergies

Level 10: +90 Gold/Min, Level 25: -2s Decay Cooldown

SUNSfan's Notes

In a vacuum, this is one of the best upgrade in the game. Unfortunately it is difficult for Undying to attain in a normal game. That Level 10 talent certainly helps his cause, which is why you see the bump up in differential. And if you can get level 25...GG.

13

4

Ancient Apparition

Ice Blast

Longer duration (10 ⇒ 17)

Talent Synergies

Level 10: +8% spell amp or +60 gold per minute

SUNSfan's Notes

Aghs adds only one thing for AA and that is an extra 7 seconds of duration to Ice Blast. Those unfamiliar with how Ice Blast works might think this is not a big deal, but if you're reading this, chances are you understand. Being able to prevent healing is an exceptionally unique mechanic in the game. And being able to prevent it for that much longer makes this a very powerful upgrade. In addition, the +60 gold talent really helps AA's feel confident in their ability to attain this item.

12

14

Abaddon

Borrowed Time

Longer duration (6 ⇒ 7) & 50% redirect damage

Talent Synergies

Level 20: 15% cooldown reduction

SUNSfan's Notes

This upgrade has proven to be as good as many thought it would be (and then some). Damage mitigation can have a huge affect on late game fights if used at the right time. It is especially great for Abaddon since it synergizes with the rest of his build nicely (blademail, radiance, octarine).

11

7

Pugna

Life Drain

Increases damage (200 ⇒ 300 per second) and lowers cooldown from 22 to 0

CHANGES

Life Drain now grants truesight vision over target. Life Drain cast range reduced from 1200 to 800. Life Drain break distance reduced from 1200 at level 4, to 1000 at all levels

Talent Synergies

Level 20: +150 Cast range. Level 25: +50% Life Drain heal

SUNSfan's Notes

Having a 0 second Life Drain changes so much for Pugna. He can reliably kill illusions & heal teammates (even as a core). This is mainly because you'll be able to just regain the life you lost pretty fast. The vision change is pretty huge as well for heroes that go into fog. The only nerf this has gotten is the cast range, which can be remedied by getting an Aether Lense & skilling that level 20 talent.

10

6

Timbersaw

New Skill (Chakram)

Gives you a second Chakram

Talent Synergies

Level 20: +5 spell amp or +150 cast range

SUNSfan's Notes

The value of having a second copy of a spell all depends on how good the spell is. For instance, Mirana's is passive (which is a plus in terms of mana cost, but a negative in terms of controlling it), but Star Storm itself doesn't scale very well. Blood Seeker's Rupture is probably a better comparison here. But for Timbersaw, Chakram doesn't pierce BKB, so why is it higher here? Well, I'd argue that Chakram is just a better spell all around. It doesn't go through BKB, but it still scales very well thanks to the pure damage. It also helps you farm and clear waves with insane efficiency. As a result of this, the benefits you gain from having a second Chakram are very consistent & should not be underrated.

Tier 3: Puppey's Headset (Game Breaking)

9

2

Tiny

Grow

Toss damage increase (65% ⇒ 80%), Attack range increase (85), Cleave, Bonus damage to buildings (75%)

CHANGES

No changes to Aghs itself, but cleave was changed from a circular area to trapezoid. Also cleave no longer is affected by spell damage amp or spell lifesteal.

Talent Synergies

Level 15: +60 damage, Level 20: +25 attack speed

SUNSfan's Notes

Not much explanation needed here. All in all, still a godly pick up for pretty much any Tiny game. It suddenly makes you a legit one-man tower sieger. His damage & attack speed talents are a pretty good complement too.

8

6

Weaver

Time Lapse

Reduces cooldown (40 ⇒ 16), Can cast on allies (1000 range)

SUNSfan's Notes

When this first was introduced, I knew it was weird, but I had hope. The only issue I had with it is that you need to hit 2 keys in order to Time Lapse yourself, which could be an issue in sticky situations. All in all, if you're playing a support weaver, that really isn't a big issue. Being able to cast this at 1000 range with a 16 cooldown is INSANE. I wouldn't say support weaver is even played that often, but regardless this upgrade is too good to have much lower in the rankings.

7

- 0 -

Centaur Warrunner

Stampede

40% damage reduction, terrain walking

CHANGES

60% to 40% damage reduction.

Talent Synergies

Level 20: +10% spell amp

SUNSfan's Notes

60% to 40% is quite the nerf, but this still remains an amazing Aghs. Just think about how great Abaddon's Aghs is currently. That provides 10% more reduction, except it's not global..and doesn't give terrain-walking. I probably had this listed too low last time, considering how ridiculous it was.

6

4

Nyx Assassin

New Skill (Burrow)

Gives burrow skill. Max HP and mana per second regen (1.5%), reduces incoming damage (40%), longer impale cast range (825 ⇒ 1350), lower impale cooldown (14 ⇒ 7), increase mana burn cast range (600 ⇒ 1050), spiked carapace becomes AoE (300)

CHANGES

Default impale cooldown increased from 13 to 14

Talent Synergies

Level 10: +5 spell amp, Level 15: +50 Impale Damage, Level 20: +120 Gold/Min, Level 25: 200% spiked carapace damage

SUNSfan's Notes

I feel like I overrated this Aghs upgrade a bit in my last list. It's funny though, because I don't remember reading any complaints about this being the previous #2 on the list. Just by looking at how many different things this item upgrades for Nyx, it's easy to understand why that was the case. But, I feel compared to the upgrades listed higher, this Aghs doesn't provide as many game-changing mechanics as the others. That's of course not to say this is a bad upgrade at all. It is still amazing, which is why it remains in the top 10.

Tier 2: Gaben's Blessing (God Tier)

5

5

Rubick

Spell Steal

Cast range increase (1000 ⇒ 1400), lowers cooldown (16 ⇒ 2), and upgrades spells

Talent Synergies

Level 10: +60 Gold/Min, Level 20: +8% spell amp or +75 Cast Range, Level 25: 20% cooldown reduction

SUNSfan's Notes

In hindsight, I had this too low last time. His talents are pretty nice as they not only give him a guaranteed income, but can also increase his cast range even more, or potentially lower the cooldown for something insane that he steals. All in all, a 2 second cooldown means you will have a much better shot at stealing that game-winning spell. This is definitely one of the best Aghs in the game.

4

4

Invoker

Invoke

Reduces cooldown (6 ⇒ 2) & manacost (60 ⇒ 0). Adds one level to the stats provided by Quas, Wex, and Exort on all Invoked spells.

CHANGES

Cooldown with Scepter from 16/8/4/2 to constant 2. Quas, Wex, Exort no longer passively grant attributes. Invoke is no longer an upgradeable ability. EMP from pure to magical & increased damage by 10%. Forge Spirit now only spawns 1 spirit (unless upgraded in talent tree).

Talent Synergies

Level 15: +1 Forge spirit, Level 25: -18s Tornado cooldown or AoE Deafening Blast

SUNSfan's Notes

The nerfs on their own definitely hurt the hero. But considering how much players prioritize getting Aghanims on Invoker, means that they will take full advantage of the cooldown buff, which makes that change in itself quite significant. Having a 2 second cooldown on Invoke that early in the game is one of the biggest buffs he's had in quite some time.

3

2

Keeper of the Light

Illuminate & Spirit Form

Constant Spirit Form, Illuminate Heals during day, unobstructed vision during day

Talent Synergies

Level 25: +400 Cast Range or +200 Illuminate Damage/Heal

SUNSfan's Notes

This is a godly upgrade, that gets even better with the talents introduced (albeit at Level 25). The fact that you never have to worry about activating your ult again is big. Having those 2 extra skills at all times can make all the difference. The unobstructed vision gives your team a massive advantage during the day, and the Illuminate heal makes high-ground offense that much more sustainable. This is an absolute must buy on the hero, as has been demonstrated by many player's efforts to rush it right away.

2

1

Night Stalker

Darkness

Unobstructed vision at night

CHANGES

Hunter in the Night can be activated during the night & provides 2 seconds of flying movement and 1200 night flight vision

SUNSfan's Notes

Vision, vision, vision. Much like Keeper of the Light's upgrade, this provides NS with unobstructed vision, but only during the night. You might be asking, why is Night Stalker at #2, while Keeper of the Light is at 3 with not only the vision mechanic, but a bunch of other upgrades too?! The answer is because NS can manipulate the day/night cycle to his benefit. And even though it's part of Night Stalker inherently, having this vision while limiting that of the enemy heroes, units, buildings, and wards makes this incredibly powerful. His new hunter in the night active is pretty cool for ganking & can definitely give you a poor man's version of the Aghs, but I still feel like the constant vision you get with the upgrade cannot be underestimated.

Tier 1: Icefrog's Concoction (Class of its Own)

1

- 0 -

Alchemist

Other

Give an Aghanim's Scepter to a teammate

CHANGES

Greevil's Greed bounty gold multiplier from 3/4/5/6 to 2. Reduced base bonus gold from 12 to 4, increased extra bonus gold per stack from 3 to 4, and rescaled gold bonus cap from 36 to 28

SUNSfan's Notes

Despite the nerf to bounty runes, it seems Alchemist can still farm up quite a storm. Who would have thunk it? And being able to give upgrades to anyone on your team without actually taking up a slot is completely imbalanced (in a good way). Much like last time, I feel like this is probably the only upgrade on this list that you can't really argue with. It is absolutely amazing in both theory and practice. And with every viable Aghanim's that is added to the game, this mechanic becomes stronger.

For some reason, a lot of people just aren’t sure what my name means. Consider this the definitive history of the name 'SUNSfan', for those that care to know.

I was never very good at coming up with in-game names. Every time I would start playing a new game online I would come up with a new nickname, and I would always want to change it after a couple of months. After enough years of this, I was fed up. I needed to sit down and think of something that I could stick with. Something that would be important to me for years to come. After scribbling down horrible option after horrible option on a notebook page, I finally found what I was looking for: SUNSfan.

So what does SUNSfan actually mean, and why did I choose it? Honestly, it’s about as simple an explanation as it gets. I'm a Suns fan. No, not the Sun that we are currently revolving around (unless you are a flat-earther… then, I actually have no idea what you believe). It means I am a fan of the Phoenix Suns. That's a team in the NBA. You know…professional basketball. Bouncy-ball into hoop thing.

I joke that I was brainwashed as a kid to love the Suns, but it's actually kind of true. My dad had been a season ticket-holder since the inaugural year of 1968, and he started taking me to Suns games as a kid. There was no way he was going to let me be a fan of any other team.

So there you have it. I picked the name SUNSfan for myself because I knew I would always be one. In failure and success alike.

Luckily for me, being a fan of the Suns has taught me a few things:

1. I’ve learned to be patient with success. You see, the Suns have yet to win a championship. This is despite being the the fourth most successful franchise in terms of wins/losses in the history of the NBA. Aside from the last few years, they have been consistently good. Just never the best.
   

2. It has helped me be a loyal person, maybe to a fault. Growing up in Arizona, kids here would constantly tease me for liking the Suns over teams with more championships. In their own home state! I've learned it's always easy to be a fair-weather fan and root for the favorites. But what's the point of that? How can you feel attached to something so passionately, only to throw it aside when they are no longer meeting your standards? It made me appreciate loyalty that doesn’t come with conditions. Because when success is finally achieved, you’ll know you were there for the long haul.

3. It makes me appreciate my family. I have many memories of being in Section 102-103, Row 10, Seat 14 during some amazing times in Suns history with my Dad. In fact, my most vivid memory was during the 1993 Finals against Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls. I was there, standing on that very seat as a 7 year old boy for Game 6. When Horace Grant blocked Kevin Johnson, and the Bulls celebrated their championship, I cried my eyes out. The heartbreak is still with me.

4. It has made me F!@#!$! HATE Robert Horry and Tim Donaghy and... ok ok, let's not get carried away.

I've taken these life concepts (the first three anyway) and done my best to apply them to the projects I work on, from the early days of DotaCinema to the inception of MoonduckTV, and with the creation of Digital Chaos. As you probably already know, the Digital Chaos brand was heavily inspired by the Suns. I picked that purple and orange for a reason!

It would be my dream to work with them someday, especially considering every other NBA team under the sun (no pun intended) is getting into esports. It might seem like a longshot but hey, I’m a Suns fan. If it doesn’t happen today, there is always tomorrow.

That’s the long story of the history of my super straight-forward name. I know many of you never knew what it meant. Hope you enjoyed.

I've been having trouble figuring out what I want to write on this site. What I do know is that I'd like to keep it as a personal blog that mostly relates to Dota 2. I've considered writing about a few controversial topics, but I just haven't had enough time to flesh them out in order to do them justice.

So as a result, I thought it would be fun to write something completely brain-dead. If any of you have followed me in the past, whether it be via casting or any series I'm a part of, I always refer to the strength of an Aghanim's for a specific hero as being a "top 10 aghs in the game". I've said this so many times that it has turned into a running joke. It's finally about time that I come up with my completely arbitrary ranking of the 89 Aghs in the game currently (patch 6.88f).

Feel free to disagree with everything.

Just to note that the criteria for this list is of my own design, meaning there will be flaws…many flaws. But the following is what I kept in mind, and as always there will be exceptions:

Consistency: How often is it picked up? (Weight: Medium)
Theoretical Power: How good could it potentially be? (Weight: Heavy)
Actual Power: How good is it by the numbers? (Weight: Heavy)
Fun Factor: How cool or unique is it? (Weight: Low)
Personal Bias: Go Centaur! (Weight: Infinite)

If anything is made clear by this criteria, it's that there is no such thing as a perfect system for ranking the power and potential of Aghanim's in Dota 2. Perspectives will differ on what makes a good Aghs and no one can be inherently right or wrong. If it was so black and white, I would just list all the Aghs purchased by pro players in order of frequency. But what fun would that be?

Also, just because a hero picks up Aghanim's every game, it doesn't necessarily mean it is strong in comparison to every other upgrade in the game. Sometimes those heroes don't have a better option.

It's pretty obvious that Icefrog (and the beta testers) not only want an Aghanim's upgrade for every hero in the game, but in addition, want them to be viable in some way. This, however, doesn't mean they want all of them to have the same ceiling. The variety in power level is what makes the game fun after all.

Keep in mind that most Aghs upgrades are actually quite good. It was difficult to rank them since there are so many variables to take into account. The beautiful thing about Dota is there are an infinite amount of ways to build and play each hero, and that's why making a list that everyone agrees upon would be impossible.

Lastly, I've separated these upgrades into 10 tiers. As you'll see, the tiers are not meant to be evenly distributed. They are just there to illustrate what upgrades I feel are within the same strength scale as one another. There is definitely some interchangeability here as well, so try not to obsess over the numbers.

Just remember that this is an opinion piece and was done purely for fun. I'm not claiming to be an expert of any kind; I just really like Aghs and power rankings. All in all, there is no such thing as a consensus with things of this nature, and at the end of the day, this is not a perfect list. With the feedback of the community I'd like to update this as time goes on.

Note: Each rank has a dropdown that explains my rationale.

PS: Special thanks to Sajedene for the graphics & bukka for setting up the article.

Changelog:

1.0 - Released

1.1 -
LC - nerfed to 9th Tier
Sven - Lowered in ranking a bit
Venomancer - buffed to 6th tier
Silencer - nerfed to 8th tier
Oracle - nerfed in ranking a bit
Techies - buffed to 6th tier (I feel dirty)
Meepo - buffed to 3rd tier
Invoker - buffed to 3rd tier

Tier 10: US West Pubs (Complete Dumpster)

89

Outworld Devourer

Sanity's Eclipse

Will cast Astral on affected heroes

I think they actually forgot to update his Aghs upgrade when they changed Astral Imprisonment to not steal intelligence. On some level it could be OK since it technically deals damage, but I'm sorry, based on the sheer fact that Valve forgot to change this means it has to be the worst upgrade in the game.

88

Gyrocopter

Other

Adds side gunner!

Much to some player's chagrin, this isn't the worst upgrade in the game. Its close though…very close. You have to itemize the hero completely different in order to pull this off, and when I say pull this off, I really mean lose the game horribly.

Tier 9: Slacks' Career (For the Memes)

87

Tusk

New Skill

Walrus Kick

This is for the memes. Would actually be quite good if you could choose the direction in which enemies are kicked (vector targeting). This skill is probably better than ranked here, but I'm bitter that something called Walrus Kick is so damn awful.

86

Legion Commander

Duel

Longer duration. Only LC and opponent can take dmg from eachother

The previous iteration of this Aghanims was HILARIOUS (Infinite Duel until someone dies), but things like an infinite nightmare toggle just ruined all the fun. This Aghs is super situational, but mostly awful. It increases the duration of the duel from 5.5 to 8 seconds and it turns it into a true gentle...woman's duel where no damage can be taken from outside sources. This of course is a double edged sword that can be both incredible and horrendous, but mostly horrendous.

85

Zeus

Thundergod's Wrath

Increases damage

Boring. The increase in damage for each respective level is 100, and with Aghs you get a little over 200. Despite this jump, there are at least 10 other items that are better for Zeus.

84

Leshrac

Pulse Nova

Damage increase

Damage increase per level is 30. Aghs adds 60. Similar to Zeus in the fact that many other items will be far more effective.

83

Wraith King

Reincarnation

Nearby slain allies will transform into a wraith for 7 seconds

One of the biggest disappointments in Aghs history. It works thematically, but in practice is pretty bad. Let Alchemist give you the Aghs, as long as you're the last one to receive it.

82

Skywrath Mage

Mystic Flare

Increased duration (2.4 to 12) and lowers cooldown

5 second cooldown sounds cool until you realize each cast is 800 mana.

81

Jakiro

Macropyre

double cast range, double distance, more dmg, triples duration

Lasts for an eternity but still a pretty underwhelming upgrade. Can be used to pretty good effect to push out lanes though.

80

Axe

Culling Blade

Kill threshold from 400 to 550. Decrease cooldown from 55 to 6, Kill speed duration increased from 6 to 10

This is what we call a Level 4 ultimate. Generally not so good.

Tier 8: syndereN's Face (Overrated)

79

Bristleback

Nasal Goo

Goo is AoE

Sounds so cool on paper and can definitely be effective in certain games. But in practice…not so terrific unfortunately. I think this is reserved for if there is an Alchemist in the game.

78

Winter Wyvern

Arctic Burn

Arctic burn becomes togglable, removes limit on number of attacks per target

This isn't something you're going to see too often, but its not horrible. Having Arctic Burn as a toggleable ability is pretty nice actually. The cliff-walking alone is super nice. The 40 mana per second though is not so nice. The original ability lasts 6 seconds for 90 mana. The Aghs version will cost 240 for that duration.

77

Kunkka

Ghostship

Boat Drags units. Travel time reduced

I was so tempted to put this in a lower tier, but ultimately decided against it. I think its good for bad Kunkka players and bad for good ones.

76

Juggernaut

Omnislash

More slashes, decreases cooldown

This is a level 4 ultimate. Not great

75

Sven

God's Strength

Grants bonus damage to allies in AoE

If support Sven ever comes back, then this would be a great pickup. Until then it's well below average.

74

Silencer

Global Silence

Applies Arcane Curse to enemy heroes

This is a very interesting upgrade. Arcane curse being applied to all units seems a little weird at first, since they are silenced and can't cast spells anyway. But if you delve a bit deeper you will see that the curse is paused while units are silenced (other than the slow). With this in mind, casting Global Silence with Aghs will actually slow everyone by 18% (through magic immunity) and the damage per second will begin once the units are not silenced any longer. Despite this, there are more effective items for this price range

73

Beastmaster

Primal Roar

Cast range from 600 to 950. Cooldown from 70 to 45

It's hard to rate this very highly. Compared to a majority of Aghs in the game this is pretty weak-sauce. You're better off getting a Refresher.

72

Bane

Fiend's Grip

Duration from 5 to 7, damage from 215 to 270, mana drain from 5% to 10%. If enemy attacks bane, nightmares them.

An exteme luxury item for Bane, and its not bad. The nightmare mechanic is a little strange, but hey why not?

71

Earthshaker

Enchant Totem

The enchant totem leap

Adds an extra level of mobility, but still kind of a meme.

Tier 7: Bruno's Wardrobe (Flashy but All Over the Place)

70

Magnus

Empower

Aura (50% values for ranged)

Oh my. This was a tough one to rank. The potential for it is so high, but overall I think it's very lineup dependent.

69

Oracle

Purifying Flames

Faster cast point, lowers cooldown

Casting Purifying Flames in quick succession can be pretty powerful, both offensively and defensively. Aghanims is not somethign we get to see often at all, so its hard to put an exact ranking on this bad boy.

68

Doom

Doom

Longer duration, suspends duration when within range, removes positive buffs, breaks passives

How far this hero and Aghs have fallen. The 900 AoE suspension is a pretty cool idea, but I think in practice it's mostly overkill. The real benefits come from being able to break passive abilities and remove positive buffs. Its an OK upgrade,l but other items are better.

67

Razor

Eye of the Storm

Faster strike interval, can target structures

Pretty much only picked up if you really need help pushing high ground. Otherwise I think you'd be better served going for other items. Overall a decent Aghs though.

66

Tidehunter

Gush

Cast range increased, becomes AoE, Lowers cooldown

A luxury purchase on Tide for sure. This isn't too bad of an Aghanims overall though. Dealing damage, lowering armor, and slowing in a large AoE with a 7 second cooldown? Sign me up.

65

Enigma

Black Hole

Adds current level of Midnight Pulse

If you get a full 4 second Black Hole off, this will deal 21% of max HP to enemies (not including the Black Hole damage itself). Add an actual Midnight pulse and that percentage doubles. Its nice to have this option on Enigma, but much like other upgrades in this tier, there are typically more effective items to purchase.

64

Dark Seer

Wall

Illusions deal 140% damage instead of 90%

Normally there are more effective items to get in the game, but being able to create illusions that hit harder than the original source is pretty sweet.

63

Elder Titan

Earth Splitter

Longer slow, Disarms

This is an EXTREMELY long disarm. Of course most of the time you get hit by this ult, you'll probably want to try and run away anyway.

62

Lion

Finger of Death

Adds AoE, damage increase, lower cooldown, lowers mana cost

An extreme luxury item for Lion and probably a bit overrated in pubs. It is great for certain games where the AoE is important or fights are so consistent that a 20 second cooldown is necessary, but typically you can find better things to purchase on this hero.

61

Crystal Maiden

Freezing Field

Damage increase, movespeed slow % increase, Attack speed slow % increase

The damage increase is actually less than what you would expect from a Level 4 version of this skill, but you get the increase in move and attackspeed slow (30 to 50%). Pretty solid upgrade.

60

Lich

Chain Frost

Cast range increase, Infinite bounces, Damage increase, Move slow increase, Attack slow increase

This scales in similar fashion to CM's Ultimate (same jump in Attack and movespeed slow), except you get Infinite bounces

59

Viper

Viper Strike

Decrease mana cost & cooldown, Increases range

A hard upgrade to rate for me because I think its just generally bad on the hero. Other builds are just more effective. But if you take into account how it upgrades Viper Strike, then I think it is justfied to at least put it this high.

58

Puck

Dream Coil

Link break damage increase, Link Break stun increase, Coil duration increased, Link Break stun goes through spell immunity

This is a pretty underrated pickup for Puck. A lot of the numbers scale as you would expect for a Level 4 skill, but the critical change here is the coil duration (6 to 8 seconds) and the fact that breaking the link will stun through magic immunity.

57

Storm Spirit

Electric Vortex

Adds AoE

This will probably be a controversial one. Grabbing multiple heroes with a spell that has an 18 second cooldown should not be underrated . Of course, the main issue is that it is an extremely awkward item to pickup on Storm Spirit, which means it needs to be ranked lower than it's true potential.

56

Huskar

Life Break

More damage and cooldown reduction

The cooldown reduction is quite big (12 to 4 seconds) and the Damage increase is ridiculous (35% to 65%). Sometimes you just can't quite bring yourself to purchase this on Huskar, but if you look at the numbers it's pretty damn good.

55

Techies

Remote Mines & New Skill

Increase cast range, increase damage, adds Minefield sign

This essentially turns Remote mines into a level 4 skill. So its OK, but compared to other Aghs in game, not so much. Techies should still purchase this, but he's also a garbage hero, so perhaps it's best not to judge based on that. The minefield sign is a cool touch though.

54

Lifestealer

New skill

Eat teammates

Oh lord how I love this skill. Kind of awkward to build on this hero, but it can be so effective. Being able to eat someone, and then jump inside someone else means you have a 3 man gank squad at all times. Not to mention eating teammates in a fight could potentially save their life. The potential is very high for this item, but its ranked somewhat low because of the fact that you are building an Aghs...on Naix.

Tier 6: Your One 5k Friend (Pretty Solid)

53

Natures Prophet

Wrath of Nature

Increases bounces, damage, and creates treants if units are killed by it

You can probably justify this being a bit higher on the list, but I've seen so many people mis-use this Aghs that this ranking feels right to me. It is a situational item build for Natures Prophet, not an automatic. If you need to split push, then this is amazing. If you need to kill heroes, this is probably going to be awful.

52

Visage

Familiars

Summon 3rd familiar

I know many people think this should be higher and maybe they are right. I just have a hard time putting this in a higher tier when it "only" improves Visage's ult by 50%.. This is one of those examples where the item is 100% core on the hero, but not necessarily that amazing compared to the rest of the field.

51

Ogre Magi

New Skill

Unrefined Fireblast.

Should this be higher? At first glance it seems like you get a duplicate of your Fireblast skill (similar to Timbersaw Aghs). But the difference here is the manacost, which can either be crippling or a godsend, depending on the situation. It costs 60% of your current mana, meaning you will always be able to cast it. But if you have a lot of mana left, then it just destroys your mana pool entirely. Of course having half the mana cost compared to your Fireblast is pretty handy.

50

Shadow Fiend

Necromastery & Requiem

Increase max souls, Requiem returns to SF & Heals

I love this Aghanims. It allows you to deal more physical & magical damage while healing you afterwards. I think it fits more for the Euls/Blink build, which unfortunately has fallen out of favor (as has the hero itself).

49

Batrider

Flaming Lasso

100 damage per second, 400 radius for double grab

This is definitely more of a luxury pickup for Batrider, but the potential for game winning Lassos is there. And even if you don't catch 2, your lasso at least does damage now.

48

Spirit Breaker

Nether Strike

Cast range increase, Adds AoE, lowers cooldown

You typically will want to go other items on this hero, but this upgrade isn't too bad. The base range and AoE is pretty nice, but the real value comes in the drastically reduced cooldown (60 to 20 seconds).

47

Phoenix

Supernova

More attacks to destroy and can bring ally inside

This could be a game winning upgrade, or game losing. The potential is VERY high, similar to Weaver's Aghs. But there is also potential for failure. Either way I really like the concept behind this upgrade

46

Venomancer

Poison Nova

Damage increase, cooldown reduced

I should try to follow the same logic throughout. This is picked up every game (if possible) by Venomancer, similar to the way Ancient Apparition works. It also helps team-fights tremendously. Despite this, I can't justify putting this on the same level as AA, simply based on the fact that AA's anti-heal is a game-breaking mechanic

45

Lone Druid

Spirit Bear

No bear leash & bear survives if lone druid dies

This upgrade deletes the leash, essentially making the bear an additional hero. This can be super strong in the mid and late game.

44

Shadow Shaman

Mass Serpent Ward

Increased damage of wards

This upgrade comes close to doubling the damage of the Serpent Wards. In theory it should be higher on this ranking, but I don't care

43

Lina

Laguna Blade

Pure damage and goes thru spell immunity

Going through BKB means she doesn't fall off as hard in the late game. Of course she's awful right now, but I'm sure with some slight buffs she'll be in every pub game again.

42

Naga Siren

Song of Siren

Heals allies for 10% per second

Definitely not for carry Naga, but very potent if pulled off correctly. It's like healing ward on crack.

41

Omniknight

GA

Longer duration, becomes global and affects buildings

An extra fortify for buildings! Global range is pretty sick. But its too bad his ultimate doesn't heal anymore. Sorry Slacks.

40

Queen of Pain

Sonic Wave

Increases damage and lowers cooldown

Extra damage is nice, but the significant decrease in cooldown means you can spam this at will.

39

Faceless Void

Chronosphere

Decrease cooldown (100 to 60)

A simple cooldown reduction is pretty damn boring, but this is still a solid pickup since his ultimate is so critical

38

Chen

Holy Persuasion

Can take over Ancient Creeps

This used to be even better. It no longer lowers the cooldown of Hand of God, but Ancient Creeps are pretty durable and useful. Even the Triceratops...kind of.

Tier 5: Purge's Picks (Seems Good)

37

Brewmaster

Primal Split

Brewlings gain spells from regular hero

This was a hard one to rate. Nobody picks this up on Brew anymore, but its so theoretically strong that I had a hard time putting this any lower. Of course Brew really misses having plus stats on his cuddly spirits, but being able to use the spells from your main hero is so powerful. Of course a lot of it depends on how skilled you are at micro.

36

Dazzle

Weave

Radius increase, Armor per second increase

I would say this is an underrated Aghanims. The increased armor per second is nice, but the AoE increase is pretty disgusting.

35

Vengeful Spirit

Nether Swap

Cooldown reduced, creates illusion of self on death with refreshed abilities

This is something we rarely see in professional games, but it's a very high value item for Venge. I always thought this was one of the best upgrades in the game when it only changed the cooldown, which is quite significant (45 to 10). But the Venge illusion is pretty awesome too. You can't use items but every single one of your skills is off cooldown, including Nether Swap. Oh and you can now swap non-hero units for getaways. Pretty insane upgrade.

34

Tinker

Laser & Missile

Lasers bounce, and Increases missiles

This item ensures Tinker as the most annoying hero in the game. Very powerful for teamfights and high ground defense.

33

Ursa

Enrage

Cooldown reduced, allows use while disabled

When Aghanims for Ursa was first introduced, many were skeptical. But it definitely serves a worthwhile purpose on this agility hero. The cooldown reduction is great and being able to cast this while stunned can be super hard to counter. It is picked up quite often by Ursa players, but still a somewhat situational option.

32

Warlock

Chaotic Offering

Creates 2nd golem with reduced stats)

Quite a good Aghs that is picked up very often on the hero. This is simlar to AA where the hero will typically play support and buy a midas for the sole purpose of getting Aghanims at some point. Something that a lot of people overlook is that the stats of the Golems actually decrease when you get upgrade, but of course having 2 is always better than 1

31

Drow Ranger

Marksmanship

Splinter attack

Turns her into a squishy Medusa that deals dumb amounts of damage

30

Sand King

Burrowstrike

Doubles cast range and travel distances. Caustic finale is added to heroes stunned

It is almost like having a second blink

29

Shadow Demon

Demonic Purge

3 charges with 40 second replenish time. Breaks passives

Hard to get for SD, but very powerful. The passive break is somewhat situational but still incrediblely good.

28

Clockwerk

Hookshot

Cooldown from 40 to 12

Boring on paper but the low cooldown makes such a huge difference for this hero

27

Witch Doctor

Death Ward

Bounces up to 4 times

Turns a decent ultimate into an incredible one. You could make the argument that this should be higher, but his ult can be inconsistent at times.

26

Abaddon

Borrowed Time

plus 1 sec duration & 50% redirect dmg

This was a very difficult one to rank. In theory I think this could be significantly higher but I feel like even if it is picked up by Abaddon (which is rare), it is somewhat inconsistent. But the theoretical power is so high with this item that I would feel remiss not to include it in this tier.

25

Windranger

Focus Fire

No damage reduction, reduces cooldown, removes penalty from Unique Attack Modifiers

This pretty much brings the Windrunner carry online. Quite a good pickup.

24

Morphling

Hybrid

Hybrid Ability. Creates a replicate of a target hero, which can cast all non-ultimate abilities

Forget what hero this is for and read the description of Hybrid. You create a version of an allied hero, which can use every non-ultimate ability. You take normal damage and deal 50% damage. In certain lineups this is disgustingly good. By this description alone, I would say this has potential to be a top 5 Aghs in the game, but the fact that it's on Morphling means we have to dock some points away. I suppose a support Morph can pull this off, but that isn't exactly a thing these days. Either way it's a very interesting upgrade and I hope we see more of it in the future.

Tier 4: Envy's Blog (Powerful)

23

Disruptor

Static Storm

Dmg increase, duration increase, mutes items

The only other skill that can mute items is Doom. And this one is AoE. Not bad! It isn't something we get to see too often, but I think the potential for this one is very high and changes the complexion of the game.

22

Pudge

Meat Hook

Increases damage and lowers cooldown

The damage increase is nice, but the cooldown reduction is where its at (11 to 4 seconds). Relocating enemy heroes is a pretty powerful ability. Being able to do that on a constant basis is scary for the opposing team. Throwing out random hooks has never been so fun.

21

Undying

Decay

Strength steal increase

This is the dream for any Undying player. Of course, its not always realistic to purchase unfortunately. But if you DO get it, you steal 10 strength per decay. Thats 200 HP you gain from a shitty 1 man decay. Imagine if you get a 5 man decay. That's 1000 HP!

20

Enchantress

Impetus

Attack Range increase

A very unique upgrade that obviously synergizes perfectly with her ult. Add this in the mix with Dragon Lance and you're suddenly a carry.

19

Bloodseeker

Rupture

2 charges. 40 second replenish time (instead of 60 sec cooldown)

Started as a meme, but as become more of a norm in the past few weeks. It's extremely strong. In many fights you'll find you have time to cast a third rupture which is insane.

18

Pugna

Life Drain

Increases damage and lowers cooldown to 0

A forgotten hero, but an amazing Aghs. 0 cooldown & increased damage is a bit boring in concept, but it works so damn well. Now saving someone, killing illusions, or using it as normal becomes so much stronger.

17

Ancient Apparition

Ice Blast

10 sec duration to 17

The one required item on any Ancient Apparition. It changes the game completely when picked up.Teams are usually hesitant to fight when they are hit by a regular Ice Blast, but with the extra 7 seconds, it makes it almost impossible.

16

Timbersaw

New Skill

Second Chakram

Gives you a second Chakram. As if Timbersaw didn't have enough burst damage

15

Mirana

Starstorm

Adds passive Starstorm

Gives you a second starstorm for free and with a shorter cooldown than the original! Not bad. It has turned her into a completely different hero, but it seems to be for the better.

14

Weaver

Time Lapse

Reduces cooldown, Can cast on allies

It may seem awkward on the hero, but support Weaver is quickly turning into a thing. Either way, this ability is WAY too strong to use on other heroes to not be this high on the list. Especially considering the cooldown gets reduced from 40 seconds to a ridonkulous 16!

13

Luna

Eclipse

Creates huge cast range, increases beams, no limit per unit, shorter interval. Can cast AoE or on other units

People thought this was a meme build, but we've seen it work on countless occasions. Being able to cast this in an AoE or on an intiation hero is incredible. Also, removing the beam limit per enemy makes this one of the highest damage output spells in the game.

12

Treant Protector

Overgrowth & New Skill

Eyes in the forest. Overgrowth does damage when enemies are near an Eye

One thing is clear here. Icefrog really wants Treant protector to have eyes in the forest. They have tried so many times to give him an ability similar to this (dota 1), but it never quite worked out. So it only makes sense that they bring it to his Aghs upgrade. Treant is already considered a mobile ward with his Nature's Guise ability. Eyes of the forest takes this to the next level.

11

Tiny

Grow

Toss dmg increase, Attack range increase, Cleave, Bonus dmg to buildings

This makes you a building destroyer and farming machine. A very unique Aghs that changes the game when it is picked up.

10

Rubick

Spell Steal

Cast range increase, lowers cooldown, and upgrades spells

Similar to the Invoker Aghs, on paper this may seem a little boring but the cooldown decrease is more than significant. We're talking about going from 16 seconds to 2! Also being able to steal an Aghanim's skill from an enemy that can't even afford the item themselves makes the potential of this upgrade for Rubick off the charts

Tier 3: Puppey's Headset (Game Breaking)

9

Meepo

Divided We Stand

Adds another Meepo, increases shared attribute percentage

The benefit of an extra Meepo is obvious. You get an extra Earthbind, Poof, and right clicker. But what makes this upgrade so good is that attribute bonuses from items are shared to all Meepos. Gogo triple Dragon Lance build.

8

Invoker

Invoke

Reduces cooldown & 0 manacost. Adds one level to the stats provided by Quas, Wex, and Exort on all Invoked spells.

On paper this is a very boring upgrade as it's simply a manacost and cooldown decrease, along with adding one level of stats to all spells. But of course it becomes a lot less boring when you're talking about a hero with 10 spells that he can easily spam with this upgrade.

7

Centaur Warrunner

Stampede

60% damage reduction, terrain walking

I love Centaur. Does that make me biased? Yes. But I still think this Aghanim's upgrade is amazing. Being able to reduce 60% of damage for your entire team (globally) is game winning. The icing on this delicious Centaur cake is that they can all run through cliffs and trees as well.

6

Earth Spirit

Grip & New Skill

Grants the Enchant Remnant ability. Also allows grip to pull allied heroes

This was quite hard to rate as you don't get to see it all too often. Let's break this up a bit. Firstly, remember when Earth Spirit was completely overpowered? The main reason for this was his ability to use Geomagnetic Grip on allies. They got rid of that functionality and added it for when you get Aghanims. Its a 13 second cooldown spell that can save allies VERY consistently. Next, this upgrade gives Earth Spirit a new skill that can turn allies or enmies into a stone, which he can manipulate in any way. This is a very strong ability in the right hands.

5

Keeper of the Light

Illuminate & Spirit Form

Constant Spirit Form, Illuminate Heals during day

Shoutout to syndereN on this one. This is an insane upgrade. It permanantly gives you Spirit Form, which means you will forever have 2 skills (Recall & Blinding Light). In addition you will receive clear vision during the day and your Illuminate will heal during the day.

4

Necrophos

Reaper's Scythe

Damage increase & prevents buybacks

This was a tough one to rate. The hero isn't the greatest right now, which can in part be attributed to the fact that there are so many counters to it these days. The damage increase gained by Aghs isn't great either; it scales as if it were just a level 4 skill. So why is this upgrade good? Simple. The fact that you prevent buybacks is probably the most ridiculous thing in Dota 2. No matter how far down you are, you can potentially win with 1 good pick off (or two with refresher). This Aghanim's upgrade is a win-condition in itself, which you can't really say for many others on this list.

Tier 2: Gaben's Blessing (God Tier)

3

Night Stalker

Darkness

Unobstructed vision at night

Remember the IseeDeadPeople cheat command in Warcraft 3? That's basically this, but in an 1800 area around you. Overall, vision wins games. Couple this with a gem and it's pretty easy to gain map control. Also consider the fact that Nightstalker can manipulate the Day/Night cycle to benefit himself, which makes this ability even stronger (especially when compared to KOTL Aghs). In short, the vision this item provides is game-breaking.

2

Nyx Assassin

New Skill

Gives burrow skill. Max HP and mana per second regen, reduces incoming damage, longer impale cast range, lower impale cooldown, increase mana burn cast range, spiked carapace becomes AoE

This upgrade is pretty god-like. It adds more utilty to Nyx than any other item could provide. The funny thing is that burrowing in itself would be an amazing upgrade alone. Despite the one negative of being immobile, you are provided the following pros: constant invisibility, 40% damage reduction, and 1.5% Max HP & Mana Regen. As if that weren't enough, it also upgrades your other abilities: 1) Impale range increased by 450 & cooldown reduced by 6; 2) Mana Burn cast range increased by 300; 3) Spiked Carapace becomes an AoE stun. Plus you get to sexually identify as a Lurker. Pretty much no negatives that I can see.

Tier 1: Icefrog's Concoction (Class of its Own)

1

Alchemist

Other

Give Aghs to teammates

Generally there is a lot of room for debate among this list. This however, is the exception. Giving Aghanim's Scepter's to your teammates is by far the most powerful ability in the game. It is, as they say, game-breaking. Not only is this amazing on paper, but it's equally amazing in practice. The main reason for this is the fact that Alchemist is able to farm a Scepter with relative ease thanks to Greevil's Greed. Take into account that this not only does not take up an item slot, but also gives full stats to the recipient. This is unequivocally the strongest Aghs upgrade in the game.

Bonus Aghs Idea: Dragon Knight gains Elder Dragon form permanently.