Ever since Aghanim's Labyrinth debuted as a mode within DotA 2, it’s received nothing but praise and the fact that the queues for it are so short is a testament to the fact that players are thoroughly enjoying it and playing it constantly. There’s quite a lot that makes this mode such a treat to play through and we’re here to talk about what it is and why it’s so enjoyable.

At its core, Aghanim's Labyrinth is a dungeon crawler style experience in which you’ll get to choose from a select variety of DotA 2 heroes that have been modified to an extent in order to be viable within the mode itself. There are quite a few different heroes to choose from ranging from strength heroes like Omniknight to Intelligence heroes such as Disruptor and, given the variety of heroes to pick from, there are several effective team compositions that you can form that will be able to rampage through the rooms as long as you play your cards right.

The gameplay of Aghanim's Labyrinth consists of queueing up in a squad of four and fighting through several different rooms that keep on getting increasingly difficult in order to eventually get to the final room where you’ll face the boss Aghanim himself. There are standard rooms with the usual kinds of monsters for you to slay, then there are elite rooms in which things become more challenging and, finally, there are boss rooms in which you’ll have to battle against fearsome bosses such as Aghanim himself. The core gameplay is thoroughly entertaining and what’s most enjoyable about it is the fact that, as you progress through the labyrinth, you’ll earn shards that can be used to upgrade your hero’s abilities in various ways and these upgrades not only make these abilities much more fun to use but, as you’d expect, they make them significantly more powerful and impactful as well which is essential to survive in the later stages.

The key to survival in Aghanim's Labyrinth is to play around your squad and maintain effective coordination at all times or the waves upon waves of foes will eventually wither you down and take the whole squad out. One of the most effective strategies is to have a dedicated member of the team to leash and pull around the mobs while the rest of the team deals damage to them, much like how it’s done in a lot of challenging MMORPG boss fights. Executing a strategy such as this one, especially with players you’ve randomly queued up with, might be a bit challenging at times but it feels incredibly rewarding and satisfying when pulled off properly and these are exactly the kind of moments that make Aghanim's Labyrinth such a delight.

Alongside all this, it’s worth highlighting that Aghanim's Labyrinth also offers some pretty lucrative rewards for players who can get the fastest and most effective runs through it and top the weekly leaderboards. These rewards include cosmetics like the Waterlogged Shoes for Kunkka or Aghanim’s Interdimensional Baby Roshan Courier so, if you think you’re skilled enough, it’s definitely worth it to try and make an effort to reach the top of the leaderboards for a chance at these rewards.

Overall, though, Aghanim's Labyrinth is an extremely well designed mode that utilizes DotA2’s core gameplay mechanics effectively to make for a thoroughly entertaining dungeon crawler experience that doesn’t disappoint.