Aghanim’s Scepter and Shard are the most used items in Dota 2

Dota 2 used to be all about armor, magic resistance, magic immunity, damage, and mobility. But nowadays, the game puts a lot of emphasis on buying an Aghanim’s Scepter and even an Aghanim’s Shard.

The latter will be obtained by most players in a natural way, by killing Tormentors. But some will still need to purchase it, unless their team has a strategy to steal the opposing side’s Tormentor.

Nobody expected this trend five years ago, because back then Aghanim’s Scepter was not a great item in most cases. Not every hero had an Aghs and if they did, it wasn’t very good. But now, this item either gives you a powerful ability or upgrades one or more existing abilities that your hero already possesses.

The Aghs Meta

The main weakness of Aghanim’s Scepter used to be that it gives a lot of different stats that aren’t necessarily useful. For 4200 gold, you could buy a Black King Bar, two mobility items, most of the components for a powerful armor, or some damage-dealing item.

The alternatives were so good that almost no carry hero would buy an Aghs. But now that most heroes have powerful Aghanim’s Scepters, it’s often optimal to purchase one.

In the case of some heroes, Aghanim’s Scepter has become an absolute necessity. Take Spectre for example. Her ultimate was replaced with an ability that used to be granted by Aghs. And her new Aghs grants her the former ultimate. Under these conditions, you want to buy an Aghs as quickly as you can under these circumstances.

According to Dotabuff, as soon as Spectre has this item, her win rate goes up dramatically, to nearly 65%. That’s even higher than Radiance (58%), which is a very powerful item right now because it’s relatively cheap and deals a lot of damage. Not to mention the fact that it protects you from nearly 30% of all incoming attacks.

Another hero that thrives with an Aghs is Slark. His Pounce becomes almost as good as a Blink Dagger when you have this item. And on top of that, you can also use it twice in succession. This means that you can easily escape certain death or make sure that your targets do not get away from you.

In the case of Ember Spirit, Aghanim’s Scepter is still a luxury item, but its utility is very high.

Header: Valve Corporation