We take a look at how good the 4 reworked support Aghanim’s Scepters from Dota 2 patch 7.33 are.
A massive new patch always brings in new Aghanim’s Scepter upgrades, and Dota 2 patch 7.33 was no different. The patch brought a total of 14 new or reworked Scepters, and because the item is so unique on every hero, a change in the Scepter has the power to make a or break a hero.
Of the 14 new Scepter upgrades, 10 were for cores. A few days ago, we took a look at the Aghanim’s Scepter ratings for the reworked core Scepters from patch 7.33. Here, we look at how good the Scepter upgrades from patch 7.33 are for supports on a scale of 0 to 10.
Rating Aghanim’s Scepters for supports is a lot trickier than for cores. 4200 gold is a big commitment for an item, especially for supports. A lot of times, a position 4 or position 5 hero has to forgo a strong Scepter to buy items that will benefit the team. A rating of 0 means you will lose because of the Scepter, and would rather destroy a free Aghanim’s Blessing from Roshan than consume it. A rating of 10 means it’s difficult to lose once you get the Scepter, and you pretty much have to get it every game. The list of ratings starts with the Scepter upgrades that are the worst of the lot and proceeds in ascending order towards better ratings.
Dazzle (5/10)
Shadow Wave: Now upgradable by Aghanim's Scepter. Allows casting Shadow Wave on enemies to release an Inverse Shadow Wave. The inverse wave bounces amongst enemies, dealing damage to them and healing any nearby allied units for 150% of healing and damage values of Shadow Wave. Dazzle also performs an auto attack on every enemy hit by the inverse Shadow Wave.
Dazzle is definitely in the top 5 heroes to have had the most reworked Scepters through the ages. The issue is, none of them sticks as most of his Scepter upgrades are only viable if he is played as a core, and that includes his new Scepter upgrade which the Shadow Priest received in patch 7.33. Dazzle’s main role as a support is to keep his team healthy, and he has to position himself accordingly. Of course, there is the offensive aspect of Shadow Poison and the disable it brings with the Aghanim’s Shard, but the first priority is healing allies with Shadow Wave and getting off team fight changing Shallow Graves.
When Bad Juju gave a straight up cooldown reduction, core Dazzle made sense as he could really ramp up with a Hand of Midas. But with the current Bad Juju, where the cooldown reduction comes at the cost of HP when the ultimate active is used, it doesn’t make too much sense. If the Shadow Priest is played as a core, especially in an offlane role, this Scepter would make sense on him as it would be a combination of damage and healing. But for a support Dazzle, the Scepter does not add too much value.
Oracle (6/10)
False Promise: Aghanim's Shard Upgrade moved to Aghanim's Scepter. Grants 0.15s fade time invisibility to the target as well as 0.25s improved BAT and +25% Spell Amplification.
Oracle was one of the many heroes whose Aghanim’s Shard upgrade was shifted to an Aghanim’s Scepter upgrade in Dota 2 patch 7.33 with a few improvements. As a Shard, this upgrade was quite strong. It doesn’t seem like much when you first think about it, but because of the small fade time, a hero on whom False Promise is used can keep transitioning in and out of the fight and becomes extremely difficult to target without detection. To get a comparative sense, Shadow Blade has a fade time of 0.3 seconds. Oracle’s ability is half of that, so the hero, right after an action, becomes invisible pretty much instantly.
Does the 0.25 seconds improved BAT and +25% Spell Amplification make it worth the increased 2800 gold? Not really. The improvements are good, but more often than not, the hero on which False Promise is used will be looking to get away from the fight. And with detection, the invisible aspect of the Scepter upgrade is totally negated. Not something worth getting on Oracle. But if the team has a magic damage siege engine like Leshrac, the spell amplification could come in really handy, especially when Bloodstone is active. In those cases, the Aghanim’s Blessing from Roshan can be prioritized to be given to Oracle"
Techies (8/10)
Minefield Sign: Now upgradable by Aghanim's Scepter. Increases effect radius to 1000 and duration to 4 minutes. When an enemy hero gets within 200 units of the sign, the entire 1000 radius area becomes a minefield for 10 seconds. Enemy units will take 300 damage for every 200 units moved. Minefield area is visible to enemies once activated. The sign is destroyed after the minefield expires. Only one sign can exist at a time.
Techies, even as a position 4 hero, is meant to inflict damage on the opposition. And his new Scepter helps him do that, in team fights and in high ground defenses. Once the minefield is triggered, all enemies in it take damage when they move. And the minefield can be planted right at the location of an enemy hero, causing it to go off. It can be a great follow up to Blast Off!
According to Dotabuff, Aghanim’s Scepter is the second most purchased item on Techies this month, which shows its value.
(taken from Dotabuff)
Venomancer (8/20)
Poison Nova: Now a passive ability granted by Aghanim's Scepter. Creates a ring of poison upon death of Venomancer or an enemy hero infected with Venomous Gale. Also triggers if Venomous Gale is dispelled from an enemy hero. Enemies hit by the Poison Nova take non-lethal damage over time and have their magic resistance reduced. Radius: 900. Duration: 10s. Max HP as Damage: 3%. Magic Resistance Reduction: 30%. Travel Speed: 550. Cooldown: 10s.
Typically in life, you want to stay away from anyone who spreads toxicity. But when you’re playing Dota 2 with Venomancer, you want to spread as much toxicity as possible. Venomancer’s new Aghanim’s Scepter upgrade does just that. Is it as strong a Poison Nova as the one with Scepter pre patch 7.33? No. But it is still quite potent, and isn’t something that can be easily dodged. If an enemy hero hit with Venomous Gale uses BKB, not only does the hero send out the ring of poison, but the target is also affected by it, and starts taking damage as soon as BKB wears off. The only way to prevent Poison Nova from self infliction is to use Cyclone (Eul’s active), and that will still affect heroes in the vicinity. Definitely a Scepter worth the 4200 gold. Keep in mind though, that if a target affected by Poison Nova dispels Venomous Gale, a new Poison Nova will not be triggered.
The new Venomancer is also a versatile hero this patch. According to Team Spirit’s offlaner Magomed "Collapse" Khalilov, the hero can be played in a position 2 (mid), position 4 or position 5 role.
In a mid role, Scepter can literally be the first item Veno buys; or maybe second after Spirit Vessel. Just like Techies, according to Dotabuff, Aghanim’s Scepter has been the most used item on Venomancer this month.
(taken from Dotabuff)
That’s all for the reworked Aghanim’s Scepter ratings from Dota 2 patch 7.33. In the days to come, GosuGamers will have ratings for the reworked Aghanim’s Shard from patch 7.33.
