The best week 1 upgrades to take for Aghanim’s Labyrinth

Aghanim’s Labyrinth upgrades make Dota 2’s toughest PVE game easier for everyone.

In normal Dota 2, grit, skill, and teamwork are the only paths to victory. In Aghanim’s Labyrinth, winning or losing depends a lot on what buttons you press in the main menu. Aside from the draft, arcane fragments and the upgrades they purchase are the biggest factors for whether your run goes belly-up or ends with a dead primal beast. Here’s the best way to spend your first week’s arcana fragments depending on your playstyle.

Free potion upgrade makes Aghanim’s Labyrinth easier

The very first Aghanim’s Labyrinth upgrade to rush is the starting potion. The total cost of reaching it is 1,800 arcane fragments, which is just below the first week’s upgrade limit. Along the way, you’ll also grab extra bottle duration, one bonus agility, and 50 bonus starting gold. The starting potion upgrade is located just to the right of the starting point.

Potions are used to cast upgraded versions of spells from other heroes. They come in a variety of types, including Purification, Ravage, Echo Slam, and more. Arcanist’s potions grant the effect of an arcane rune, which is perfect for casters like Lina and Snapfire. Aghanim’s Labyrinth potions are great for saving your team’s hide at the last second during a difficult level. The downside is that they occupy an inventory slot, which makes them slightly less useful in the later levels.

Cleave makes melee heroes viable

Melee heroes have distinct advantages in normal games, but Aghanim’s Labyrinth is a different beast. Getting close to enemies in order to deal damage can lead to chain stuns, body blocks, or just instantly dying to a massive amount of simultaneous damage. There is compensation for that problem, but it’s locked behind Aghanim’s Labyrinth upgrades.

Cleave upgrades apply a small amount of cleave to all melee attacks. 4% doesn’t sound like much, but using one less attack to kill a swarm can make the difference in Venomancer or Tiny rooms. There are two cleave upgrades located on the center-left and top sides of the upgrade trees. 8% cleave is especially potent with heroes like Tusk and Ursa, as it affects Fury Swipes damage and Walrus Punch.

Shard rerolls makes your builds consistent

If your Aghanim’s Labyrinth teammates have already gotten the free starting potion upgrade, feel free to reach for the minor shard reroll on the left side of the upgrade tree. This upgrade allows you to generate a new set of shard upgrades for your spells. This path includes the cleave talent mentioned above and some extra starting gold, both of which are very useful.

Many hero combos rely on specific shard upgrades to make their builds work. Just remember that this upgrade does not affect the legendary shard upgrade from the very beginning of the game. It will grant you a new level of consistency for all the other upgrades. If you want to focus on making Omniknight’s Purification a 100% heal with four seconds of cooldown, this Aghanim’s Labyrinth upgrade will make it easier.