Dota 2 7.29c: Top 5 insanely broken Aghanim's Shard upgrades for core heroes

Update 7.28 saw the introduction of Aghanim's Shard in Dota 2, and after various balancing patches, some core heroes find themselves with a massive advantage in the game. Considering the roles available in Dota 2, core heroes take up the safe, mid, and off lanes.

Core heroes are the ones who are expected to amass as much farm as possible from the laning phase. They are also expected to defeat their enemy hero in the lane to come out on top with a net-worth advantage in the mid-game stage.

The Mistwood Update -- Introducing Hoodwink & Dota 7.28 — https://t.co/PCYhzSixMH #Dota2 pic.twitter.com/qPod9rJIPy

— Wykrhm Reddy (@wykrhm) December 17, 2020

Given that Aghanim's Shard becomes purchasable at the 20-minute mark of a game, most core heroes can afford to purchase this shard to boost their respective abilities.

This article features five of the best core heroes who can turn the entire outcome of a game based on their Aghanim's Shard upgrade in Dota 2.

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Best Aghanim's Shard upgrades for core heroes in Dota 2

5. Axe

Axe features more than 89% win rate in the game where the hero builds an Aghanim's Shard. Aghanim's Shard is definitely one of the most aggressive items for Axe in Dota 2. This shard grants Axe with the passive ability to proc his Counter Helix even when hitting enemies with basic attacks.

Considering the massive amount of pure damage Counter Helix deals, Aghanim's Shard is definitely one of the strongest items on Axe when playing aggressively.

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4. Queen of Pain

One of the most fearsome mid-lane heroes, Queen of Pain receives a massive buff to her Blink ability with the Aghanim's Shard upgrade. Queen of Pain releases two sonic booms, one where she is blinking from and one at the spot she blinks to.

Both these sonic booms affects a 300 AoE and deal 175 damage while also silencing all enemy units caught in the radius for 1.75 seconds. This upgrade allows Queen of Pain to annihilate support heroes within moments.

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3. Drow Ranger

One of the strongest core heroes in Dota 2 7.29c, Drow Ranger's Aghanim's Shard upgrade provides a massive buff to her Frost Arrows ability. Drow Ranger applies a Hypothermia stack on enemies with each basic attack of Frost Arrows. These stacks last for seven seconds and can be applied up to seven times on the same hero.

Aside from granting 5 bonus damage for each stack on an enemy hero, the Hypothermia stacks explode after the seven-second duration to deal 60 magical damage for each stack while also slowing all heroes in a 650 unit radius by 40% for a duration of 2 seconds.

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2. Phantom Assassin

One of the most fearsome heroes in Dota 2, Phantom Assassin receives a new ability with the Aghanim's Shard upgrade. The Fan of Knives ability allows her to throw out sharp daggers in a 550 AoE.

Fan of Knives deals a staggering 16% of the enemy's maximum health pool as pure damage while also applying a break debuff that negates all passive abilities. Considering the amount of damage this ability does, Phantom Assassin becomes one of the most unstable yet one of the strongest glass canons in Dota 2.

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1. Bloodseeker

The Masked Guy of the Day is...Bloodseeker from Dota 2! pic.twitter.com/yscUPlrP19

— Daily Masked Guys (@DailyMaskedMan) February 2, 2021

After recent updates made Bloodseeker shift to the off-lane, the developers have finally blessed the hero with an upgrade that makes it one of the most dangerous carry heroes in Dota 2. Bloodseeker's Aghanim's Shard upgrade massively boosts his Bloodrage ability to deal 2% of the target's maximum health pool as pure damage while also healing himself for the same amount with each basic attack.

The passive attack speed that the hero receives from his Thirst ability combines perfectly with the extra pure damage and lifesteal from the upgraded Bloodrage to make Bloodseeker almost unkillable in Dota 2.