Dota 2's 7.31 update: Ranking all the new Aghanim's Shard upgrades
Dota 2's 7.31 update has turned the game on its head.
Some of the biggest changes in the update include a new hero in Primal Beast, a rework for Techies, three new items, and more.
Aside from those eye-grabbing changes, some of the more underrated yet influential changes in 7.31 include new Aghanim's Scepter and Aghanim's Shard upgrades for a variety of heroes.
In this article, we will be looking at all the new Aghanim's Shard upgrades in 7.31 and rating how good they are:
Abaddon
Reworked Shard. Causes Mist Coil to deal Abaddon's attack damage on impact (applying on-hit effects) and increases Curse of Avernus base slow by 10%
This adds extra damage to the Mist Coil while applying one stack of Curse of Avernus as well as improving its slow. This Shard upgrade works well with the level 25 talent 400 AoE Mist Coil, and is more suited for core Abaddon, as the hero rarely reaches level 25 as a support.
This Shard only becomes truly worth purchasing at level 25, which is very late in the game for it to be useful. Abaddon doesn’t flash farm well and has better items he can get to contribute to his team.
Rating: C
Batrider
Reworked Shard. Flaming Lasso no longer disarms you. Your attacks apply 1 stack of Sticky Napalm
This is what Batrider had years ago when introduced — his ultimate didn’t disarm him and he could hit people while using Lasso. That mechanic saw players buy Mask of Madness on Batrider and kill cores all over the map.
Batrider can now go for that item build so long as he gets the Aghanim Shard.
It’s important to note that Bat’s attack applies Sticky Napalm regardless of whether he is using Lasso or not, which greatly increases his killing potential.
Rating: A-
Brewmaster
Shard now grants Void Brawler stance: Grants Brewmaster 20% Status Resist and a 25% movement slow for 2 seconds on attack. Effects are tripled if Brewmaster is affected by Cinder Brew
An interesting Shard ability that provides Brewmaster with his fourth stance. This might be one of the weaker shards, as Brewmaster already has three useful stances and fitting in a fourth one might be difficult to juggle.
With the rework to Drunken Brawler, Brewmaster’s place in the meta will take some time for players to figure out.
As such, it’s hard to accurately rank this Aghanim’s Shard for now. Still, it does have its uses when combined with Cinder Brew, as 60% Status Resist and a 75% slow is incredible on paper.
Rating: C+
Io
Reworked Shard. Passively grants Io 10% spell lifesteal. Increases Overcharge spell amplification by 10% and causes it to also share Io's current spell lifesteal with any Tethered units
Io now provides 24% spell amplification and 10% spell lifesteal for himself and allies during Overcharge. This could go well with cores who also deal some magic damage, such as Bloodseeker and Outworld Devourer.
Heroes such as Leshrac and Pugna would also benefit greatly from Io getting this Shard. Overall it looks like a core upgrade at 15 minutes in certain drafts and would allow snowballing cores to completely take over the map.
Rating: S
Legion Commander
Reworked Shard. Legion Commander gains 4 armor for every hero hit with Overwhelming Odds and 0.5 armor for each creep. Increases Overwhelming Odds duration by 8 seconds
Well, there goes support Legion Commander. The hero lost her ability to give allies magic immunity, and in return got bonus armor while using Overwhelming Odds.
This helps the hero survive during team fights and duels, and the bonus duration also means the buff lasts 15 seconds, the same as the spell’s cooldown.
This is a solid shard for the hero when played as a core, but overall feels like a downgrade compared to the previous Aghanim Shard.
Rating: B
Lina
Reworked Shard: Lina's spells deal 10 more damage for each Fiery Soul charge
Lina now gains Fiery Soul charges whenever a spell hits an enemy. If a spell hits three enemies, she gains three charges.
The issue with this Shard is that it is challenging for Lina to hit multiple enemies with her spells and the bonus damage is quite lackluster.
At full charges, Lina’s Dragon Slaves goes from 310 damage to 380. Not exactly game-winning.
Overall, one of the weaker Shard upgrades in the game, similar to Lina’s previous Shard. But it’s very early in the patch and perhaps pros will find a way to use it.
Rating: D
Marci
Added Shard. Rebound can be set to autocast to throw the target instead of rebounding off them
Marci’s Shard allows her to Rebound allies and throw them instead of jumping on them.
This gives her fantastic save potential as well as the ability to help an ally initiate. Who needs a Blink Dagger when Marci provides a free 800 range blink?
Marci’s Shard upgrade is worth purchasing later in the game after she gets a few of her core items. While the save is great to have, there are better items to have in the early and mid-game.
Rating: B+
Mirana
Reworked Shard. Grants +1 Leap Charge. Sagan pounces, dealing 150 damage in a forward cone to units within 500 range of Mirana and slowing them by 30% for 2.5 seconds
Sometimes, it’s the simplest upgrades that are the best, and I believe that’s the case with Mirana’s new Aghanim Shard.
Mirana’s Shard rework gives her an extra nuke and slow to her arsenal. Leap now does 150 damage and slows enemies for 2.5 seconds. With the extra Leap charge, Mirana can theoretically do 600 damage by using all her Leaps against an enemy.
It’s a lot of extra damage to have 15 minutes in.
This will likely be one of the most purchased Shards in the game due to the extra mobility, damage, and slow it provides.
With the Shard, Mirana has more kill potential, can clear creeps efficiently with Leap and Starstorm, and has more mobility with the bonus Leap Charge.
Rating: S
Omniknight
Reworked Shard: Grants Degen Aura. Slows enemies within 400 radius of Omniknight by 40%
This Aghanim Shard for Omniknight is perfect when playing the hero as a core, and completely useless otherwise.
In the last year, Omniknight would often put one point in Degen Aura and skip the rest for extra stats. Degen Aura was a terrible skill for support Omniknight, and that applies to the Shard as well.
If Omniknight is played as a core, though, this could be a solid purchase for the hero. It all depends on how viable the hero is as an offlaner.
Overall this looks like one of the weakest Aghanim’s Shard reworks in Dota 2 patch 7.31.
Rating: D-
Puck
Reworked Shard: Causes Phase Shift to attack all enemies within attack range +200 radius of Puck
The new Shard is also an old ability. Well, Talent, to be more precise. Puck had a level 10 talent that provided Phase Shift attack, and now the hero can have it again with the Shard. This opens up possibilities for a more DPS-based item build for Puck.
While I consider this Shard a core item for DPS focused Puck builds, it also has value if Puck goes for a more spell amplification item build.
The bonus damage is always appreciated, and thanks to the extra attack range, will easily land on multiple enemies per Phase Shift.
Rating: A
Pugna
Reworked Shard. Life Drain can target your Nether Ward, causing life drain to refract to all enemy heroes in range of the ward for 70% of its damage. The effect is interrupted if the ward is destroyed. Increases Nether Ward cast range by 350
An interesting addition for Pugna that allows him to Life Drain his Ward and it Life Drains all nearby enemies for reduced damage.
This provides the hero with more team fight contributions, and works well with long-duration AoE stuns such as Reverse Polarity and Black Hole.
For only 1,400 gold, this is another Shard I believe will do very well in Dota 2 patch 7.31.
It’s probably best to get other core items for Pugna first, though, as this Shard only shines during large team fights that occur after 30 minutes in the game.
Rating: A-
Shadow Demon
Reworked Shard. Repeatedly applies a basic dispel on the target allied unit, removing negative buffs for the duration. At the end of the duration, the unit is healed. Units under the effect of Disruption can still be affected by Demonic Cleanse.
An excellent ability for Shadow Demon that allows him to make allies immune to negative status effects for seven seconds.
This won’t remove stuns, but has the same properties as a Lotus Orb, removing things such as Track and Nightmare.
It’s a bit situational, as some games won’t have enemies who use a lot of debuffs, but even then the Shard provides a 300/400/500 heal at the end.
For 1,400 gold, it’s a fantastic upgrade for the hero.
Rating: A+
Sven
Reworked Shard. Warcry is undispellable and passively grants 5 armor to all allies in a 1200 radius
Fifteen years ago, Sven’s Warcry was an aura that provided allies with 2/3/4/5 armor.
Fast forward to 2022 and Sven’s Warcry now provides a passive 5 armor to allies. It’s been a wild ride and here we are back where we started.
Warcry cannot be removed from allies and in total provides 20 armor and 20% bonus movement speed. With Talents, the ability lasts 11 seconds and can provide up to 30 armor or 28% movement speed. Those are very strong buffs that cannot be removed with the Shard.
It’s more suitable for support Sven, but cores can benefit from it as well. Overall one of the best Shards in Dota 2 patch 7.31.
Now we just need to wait and find out if Sven is actually playable in the upcoming meta.
Rating: A-
Tinker
New Ability granted by Shard. Throws a grenade towards a unit, dealing 50 damage, teleporting it 600 units away from tinker and reduces their cast and attack range by 40% for 3 seconds. Mana cost: 150. Cooldown: 15s. Cast Range: 700. Projectile speed: 1900
Everyone’s favorite enemy hero has just received a new Aghanim Shard, and it is quite interesting.
The new Warp Flare teleports enemies 600 units away, and then reduces their offensive range by 40%. The projectile speed is quite fast, making it near impossible to dodge.
You know what Tinker needs? Another way to stay alive, and that’s what Warp Flare gives him.
It’s not enough that the hero can use Blink Dagger while being damaged, no no. He must now also have an ability to push back enemies, making him even more elusive.
The downside of the Shard is that it doesn’t deal much damage, but overall it looks solid for Tinker players later in the game when they want to have as many defensive options as possible.
Rating: B
Vengeful Spirit
Reworked Shard. Bounces once on an enemy, prioritizing heroes. Increases Cast Range by 100.
Magic Missile can now target two enemies, prioritizing heroes.
With all the talents chosen, Magic Missile is a 1.7-second stun that deals 560 damage on a 6.25-second cooldown on two heroes while piercing spell immunity.
On paper, this looks like a powerful upgrade for Magic Missile. It’s also easy to use, as there should be at least one enemy hero next to the one targeted for Magic Missile.
The bonus cast range allows Vengeful Spirit to play a little safer during team fights, something the hero desperately needs.
It’s a slightly conditional Shard upgrade, as it relies on enemies being relatively close to each other, but it’s still well worth purchasing in most games.
Rating: A
Zeus
Reworked Shard. Whenever Zeus attacks or casts an ability on an enemy, it deals 9% of their current HP in damage
Zeus’ old Static Field ability is now a Shard Upgrade. It deals 9% of the enemy’s current health whenever Zeus hits them with a spell or basic attack.
This is basically a core item on Zeus, as the bonus damage is too good to ignore. Whether it’s worth rushing the Aghanim Shard at 15 minutes is another matter.
Regardless, at some point in the game, Zeus will have to buy the Shard.
An interesting aspect of the Shard is that it procs Static Field on right-clicks as well. That’s an unusual change for the hero and a bit of a head-scratcher, as Zeus never wants to be close enough to right-click anyone.
Perhaps we might see some DPS build for Zeus in the upcoming DPC season?
Rating: S
That’s all the Aghanim Shard upgrades in Dota 2's 7.31 update. Which are you most excited to try and think will have the biggest impact in the game?
Otomo is a long-time gaming enthusiast and caster. He has been playing games since he was 10 and is the biggest Dota 2 fan.
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