Aghanim’s Labyrinth – Is It Worth It?

Aghanim’s Labyrinth is Dota 2’s latest Battle Pass and its features are dangerously useful. I say dangerously because they almost cross a dangerous line called Pay to Win. Here’s what I mean.

Aghanim’s Labyrinth In-Game Features

Aghanim’s Labyrinth can be bought for just $7.49 and what you get is quite spectacular. If you’re not an expert at the game, its features can be extremely useful.

Neutral Item Recommendations

Whenever your team finds a neutral item, Aghanim’s Labyrinth assistant feature gives you the best recommendations for your hero. These recommendations are based on actual data from live matches.

Rune Spawn Indicator

This is where Aghanim’s Labyrinth Battle Pass is pushing the limits. And it’s not shy about it either. It’s well-known that you need to spend a bit of mental energy to keep track of when each rune will spawn, so Valve decided to simplify things by offering players the ability to just see that information and time their actions perfectly.

But, to gain access to this feature, you need to buy the Battle Pass. So you’re clearly incentivized to take an action that some might call Pay to Win. It’s not actually Pay to Win, but you have to admit, it does give novice players an important advantage.

Another valuable information that’s provided by this feature is the type of rune that’s about to spawn: bounty, water, or power.

Average Gold Bounty Counter

This is where Valve is really playing with fire. Because this feature of Aghanim’s Labyrinth gives players the ability to see how much gold a group of creeps can give you in total, assuming you will land every last hit. And it’s not just for lane creeps. It’s for neutral creeps as well. For newer players, this is a very valuable feature that can help you to optimize your movements around the map.

Controller Support

A very useful feature provided by Aghanim’s Labyrinth is the controller support. From now on, if you want to play with a controller instead of a mouse, you can. This is an evolving feature that’s likely to be used by quite a few people who are used to playing arcade and sports games. Furthermore, it’s a feature that makes entices people to buy the Steam Deck, which will become available early next year.

Arcanas

When it comes to cosmetics, Aghanim’s Labyrinth excels. At level 333, you will get the Dread Retribution arcana for Drow Ranger. And arguably, this is the coolest Drow set anyone has ever seen.

Of course, this is not the only cool item you will decide to buy Aghanim’s Labyrinth and then level it up. There’s a level 235 reward for Mirana, called Mirana’s Dark Moon Armor. This is a very beautiful skin with lots of effects. And at 277, you get something special for Hoodwink. The custom wards and towers are also cool looking.

Verdict

Aghanim’s Labyrinth is definitely worth the cost. Unless you’re already playing in the Ancient bracket or above, its features will offer you a significant in-game advantage over those who haven’t bought the Battle Pass.

 

Photo credit: Valve