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The Aghanim’s Shard was introduced in Dota 2 with patch update 7.28. Since then, with numerous balance patches leading up to patch 7.29c, some support heroes in Dota 2 have gained an edge over others.
While core heroes are the ones responsible for building up a massive net-worth from the laning phase to mid-game, the support has to ensure a smooth transition. Support heroes are the ones that play a huge role in the laning phase, as depending on which one is in the mix, the game takes different directions.
But sometimes, with the purchase of the Aghanim’s Shard upgrade, some supports can shift the momentum of a Dota 2 game entirely. This article features five of the best supports that can make a difference with the Shard upgrade.
Best Aghanim’s Shard upgrades for support heroes in Dota 2
5. Dazzle
Dazzle is one of the most offensive support heroes in Dota 2. With Dazzle’s Poison Touch ability, players can apply damage over time (DoT) to several targets in front of them. At the maximum level, this ability throws a total of eight projectiles that affect the targets in front of Dazzle.
Upon purchasing the Aghanim’s Shard upgrade, the Poison Touch ability gets modified. The units affected by Poison Touch additionally get hexed for 1.25 seconds. This makes Dazzle one of the most broken support heroes with a Shard upgrade.
4.Crystal Maiden
Crystal Maiden (CM) is one of the most passive-aggressive support heroes in the game. While she can deal heavy amounts of damage and apply a disable in the early game, her slow movement speed and low HP stops her from being too aggressive.
CM’s ultimate, Freezing Field, allows her to deal massive amounts of damage while slowing anybody within an 810 AoE. But with this spell being a channeling one, CM cannot move, and enemy heroes have the opportunity to move out of the AoE.
But with the Shard upgrade, her ultimate no longer remains a channeling ability. During the cast-time of Freezing Field, CM can move around, attack enemy units, and cast abilities, making it one of the most broken Shard upgrades.
3. Shadow Shaman
Shadow Shaman is one of the most versatile support heroes in Dota 2, and he can be played in either position 4 or 5. His abilities range from nukes to disables, with a massive tower-pushing ultimate ability that spawns serpent wards which attack anything the hero chooses.
With the Shard upgrade, Shadow Shaman’s third ability, Shackles, gets an upgrade. Prior to Shard, Shackles allowed Shadow Shaman to shackle an enemy unit for up to 7 seconds from a 400 unit range. With the Shard upgrade, not only does the cast range increase from 400 to 525, but four serpent wards spawn around the target, attacking them for 7 seconds.
2. Lion
Lion is one of the few support heroes in Dota 2 that never goes out of meta. No matter the patch, this hero can be always picked with the hopes of winning a game of Dota 2.
The Shard purchase modifies Lion’s Mana Drain ability. With the Shard upgrade, instead of one target, Lion can now drain mana from three different enemy heroes, while being spell-immune during the channel time.
Before the purchase, anybody can stop Lion from draining mana. However, after the purchase, Lion can only be stopped from draining mana by either running away while being slowed or applying a spell-immunity piercing stun.
1. Witch Doctor
Witch Doctor (WD) is a support hero in Dota 2 that quite literally has no bounds. While this hero usually follows the usual itemizations of a support, there is huge room for modifications. Depending on how a Dota 2 game is going, WD can purchase either defensive or aggressive items.
But among other purchases, one item is a must for winning a game of Dota 2 - the Aghanim’s Shard. With the Shard purchase, WD receives an additional ability in his arsenal called Voodoo Switcheroo.
This ability is extremely handy in situations where Witch Doctor is under direct enemy attack. Upon activation, this ability turns WD into a death ward for 2 seconds - a period during which WD is completely invulnerable. In extreme conditions, this ability can turn a fight around entirely by negating the enemy’s initiation.
