I want to talk about a controversial item in dota 2, the Aghanim's Scepter. Why does it become controversial? Because so many heroes in dota 2 have aghanim upgrade. It can upgrade spells, grant new spells, reduce spell cooldown, etc. Aghanim's scepter itself costs 4200 gold and grants a few attribute, health and mana bonus. At its price, I think that bonus is not worth. But the ability upgrade is the thing that makes aghanim is a core item is some heroes. So, is Aghanim's Scepter a good item? Well, the answer depends on the hero you use.
Here's the criteria that I use to make this list
- Does the hero really need aghs? (Weight: Heavy)
- Is there better item for the hero than the aghs by the cost and the effect? (Weight: Heavy)
- Can the hero farm aghs? (Weight: Medium)
- How good could it potentially be? (Weight: Medium)
- In what stage of the game is the aghs usually purchased? (Weight: Low)
Remember that it's my own criteria. You can have your own criteria and you can disagree with me. Feel free to give your opinion about this list.
Tier 1: High priority item on hero, very strong upgrade, constantly game-changing
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1. Mirana
2. Night Stalker
3. Clockwerk
4. Invoker
5. Meepo
6. Windranger
7. Keeper of The Light
Tier 2: Core item on hero, strong upgrade, situationally game-changing
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8. Pugna
9. Rubick
10. Tiny
11. Treant Protector
12. Sand King
13. Ancient Apparition
14. Timbersaw
15. Techies
16. Lina
17. Tinker
18. Enchantress
19. Nyx Assassin
20. Venomancer
21. Chen
22. Warlock
Tier 3: Luxury item on hero, good upgrade, situationally strong
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23. Ursa
24. Disruptor
25. Chaos Knight
26. Shadow Demon
27. Queen of Pain
28. Witch Doctor
29. Skywrath Mage
30. Naga Siren
31. Earth Spirit
32. Visage
33. Shadow Shaman
34. Crystal Maiden
35. Weaver
36. Omniknight
37. Necrophos
38. Shadow Fiend
39. Drow Ranger
40. Batrider
41. Faceless Void
42. Dazzle
43. Pudge
44. Puck
45. Centaur Warrunner
46. Abaddon
47. Doom
48. Dark Seer
49. Undying
50. Ogre Magi
51. Anti-mage
52. Vengeful Spirit
53. Bounty Hunter
54. Elder Titan
55. Nature’s Prophet
Tier 4: Extension, very situational item
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56. Luna
57. Razor
58. Riki
59. Zeus
60. Viper
61. Tidehunter
62. Morphling
63. Legion Commander
64. Bane
65. Lone Druid
66. Storm Spirit
67. Juggernaut
68. Spirit Breaker
69. Brewmaster
70. Phoenix
71. Slark
72. Lion
73. Jakiro
74. Enigma
75. Oracle
76. Phantom Lancer
77. Huskar
78. Leshrac
79. Lich
80. Beastmaster
Tier 5: Weak upgrade, just for fun
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81. Sniper
82. Bloodseeker
83. Earthshaker
84. Axe
85. Magnus
86. Wraith King
87. Silencer
88. Lifestealer
89. Winter Wyvern
90. Sven
91. Gyrocopter
92. Bristleback
93. Kunkka
94. Tusk
95. Outworld Devourer
The real crime for me is Lone Druid's Aghanim's Scepter upgrade. Having a global Spirit Bear is a phenomenal amount of map presence while the druid doesn't risk anything. It's fairly important to buy just to take the pressure off the Summon Spirit Bear cooldown, but the power to push and farm two locations on the map at once is just amazing. He won't require it to be relevant, but in most of my games I will see a need for it eventually. No other item can really make Lone Druid have this sort of impact, since he needs to be near his bear for it to attack.
I think sven can be a little higher on the list as whole team dd can be pretty nasty to deal with. I also think that vengeful spirit's upgrade can be moved to extension whereas storm spirit's can be moved to luxury. Other than that, I more or less agree with the list.