Arena of Valor (AoV) - Arena of Valor Hero Tier List (Fifth Edition)

A rating list of the strength of heroes (characters) in Arena of Valor organized and separated by tier ranking with an explanation for their placement on the list.
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Update July 3, 2018: Added Marja

Update June 23, 2018: Added Arum

List includes heroes (champions) from the Europe, North America, South America, Southeast Asia (Malaysia / Philippines / Singapore), and India servers.

Arena of Valor Hero Tier List

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Overview

Welcome to the fifth edition of the Samurai Gamers Arena of Valor Hero Tier List! This list is an attempt to rank heroes based on their effectiveness in all levels of ranked play. It is based off of our (Master-rank) opinion, with weight given to high-level players’ opinions and certain heroes’ ban, pick, and win rates in professional matches.

Keep in mind that heroes are judged on their own merits, and not as part of very specific team compositions – though being viable in multiple situations is a big plus. Therefore, the list should be viewed based on heroes’ potential in solo-queue, without the need for heavy team cooperation or organization. That all said, we’ve affixed separate symbols to characters whose value changes dramatically when played either solo or in an organized team.

Changes From the Fourth List

  • Added the ~ mark (see below)
  • Added Rourke

When we started making our hero tier lists, we decided on a format that would be easy to understand for all players. Despite the plethora of marks we affix to heroes, at its core the tier list gives a general rating for players to use as a guide – and, of course, to provide fodder for those who disagree with us. While other tier lists (we’re linking to Darkbreaker’s video because we like him, not the other way around) will split heroes into different roles, often listing the same hero multiple times, we felt that that sort of format is overly complicated. After all, who can remember how good each individual hero is and in each role? (The answer is people who don’t need this tier list.)

Further, most heroes in Arena of Valor typically don’t see their value change too dramatically if placed in a different role – they’re either good or they’re not. If professional teams are fine with drafting three solo-laners, then you should be, too.

That said, there are a few heroes who more-or-less need to be played in a certain role, or else you’ll start having issues. For example, playing Butterfly in one of the lanes because your team already has a jungling Batman is a very bad idea. Therefore, we’ve introduced the ~ mark, to indicate heroes whose value diminishes by one or more tiers if they’re not played in their primary role.

SSuperman

When we added Tier SS in the third edition, we did so because there was a clear distinction between the so-called “god-tier” heroes and your run-of-the-mill overpowered heroes. However, we slowly began to sour on heroes like Ryoma and Violet, who can be countered under certain circumstances. In addition, it didn’t make much sense to drop other heroes because they were difficult to play and not give the same treatment to Murad (the fact that he’s not constantly picked or banned in pro play helped our decision a bit).

We briefly considered raising heroes like TeeMee into Tier SS, but figured it made more sense to have Superman in a tier of his own. Though he has a bit of a learning curve, it’s not as steep as many other heroes, meaning he can have an outsized impact on a game no matter the player level.

Hero Trends

For the first time in the history of our tier lists, Tier 1 has the largest number of heroes at 19. Meanwhile, Tiers 3 and 4 have a mere 14 combined. Though we’ve always argued that the heroes at the bottom are capable of winning at all levels, it’s nice to see a large concentration of viable heroes at the top. However, if the trend continues, we may have to combine tiers 3 and 4, and split up some of the other tiers so that there’s more distinction between heroes.

Customary Reminder

Before we get to the list, we need to remind everyone that all the heroes in Arena of Valor are capable of winning at very high levels – yes, even those down in Tier 4. Picking a hero from the top of this list won’t immediately vault you to Master rank, just like buying a new tennis racket won’t turn you into Roger Federer. Playing any hero in any role requires good game sense, knowledge, intuition, and practice. And if you’re most comfortable making plays with good ol’ Ignis, don’t let those meanies in the match lobby bully you into switching to someone more “meta.”

Now, on to the list.

Legend

Symbols

All heroes can be strong or weak given a particular situation. We’ve done our best to rank them based on their average strength, but some heroes’ levels fluctuate wildly depending on their circumstances:

  • “+” denotes a hero whose rating is highly dependent on the player’s skill – more so than your typical hero. For instance, a capable Yorn can dish out insane damage from afar while pushing towers relentlessly (and thus belongs in Tier 1), whereas a Yorn who is constantly out of position will be the deciding factor in a decidedly bad way.
  • “^” denotes a hero who performs better in a solo queue setting than in an organized or cooperative team environment. In the typical chaos of ranked play, Tel’Annas will demolish anyone who gets caught in her attack range, while teams who play together will jump her the instant they smell an opportunity.
  • “#” denotes a hero who is much more effective in an organized or cooperative team setting. Though Mina can’t do much by herself, she is a terror if her team cooperates with her.
  • “~” denotes a hero whose value diminishes by one or more tiers if not played in their primary role. For the sake of your teammates, please don’t try to play Butterfly in a lane.

Play Rate / Win Rate / KDA

A few weeks after the third edition went up, we added the Win Rates, Play Rates, and KDA of heroes, taken from the official Arena of Valor site. Those numbers haven’t changed – we’re still unsure what time period the numbers were from – but we’ll try to secure updated numbers from Tencent or Garena in the future.

Roles

These are different from the roles delineated in the game; instead, they are the roles (1 being their primary role) that optimize the character’s functionality throughout a game of Arena of Valor.

  • Jungle – You’re the jungler. Go do jungly things.
  • DS Lane – Dark Slayer Lane. You’re good at solo-laning. Sit in the corner and soak those minion waves.
  • Roam – A nebulous term meaning you should be looking to make plays by invading, contesting objectives, or ganking with your team. Sometimes, though, you’re the one sitting behind a tower clearing waves 1v2 while your teammates have all the fun.
  • Support – Characters who fare much better when travelling with a damage-dealing ally. If you’re alone, it’s because you’re scouting out the enemy or purposely allowing teammates to farm more experience and gold. These are technically all “roam” characters.
  • Damage – Follow up on your team’s initiation by bringing the heat. Otherwise, just poke. Position-wise, you roam or are in the Abyssal Lane.
  • Mid – Solo-lane (middle) early game, roam when you’re sufficiently farmed up.

Note that “Roam,” “Support,” and “Damage” can all refer to characters who start off a typical game in the Abyssal Dragon lane.

Tier SS

More or less the God Tier, these heroes are so powerful, it usually takes multiple heroes on the opposing team to take them down.

(Click on a hero for ability mechanics, attack and ability ranges, hero guides, item builds, and more)

Hero Role Win Rate Play Rate KDA
Arena of Valor SupermanSuperman 1. DS Lane
2. Roam
49.0% 1.9% 6.5
Despite a nerf in the damage of his frost breath, Superman’s effectiveness remains largely unchanged. He is just now further encouraged to use Kryptonian Strength while in Flight mode to ensure maximum damage as he buffets enemies around the field.

Tier S

Tier S heroes can feel unfairly strong, though there is a bit of counter play possible.

(Click on a hero for ability mechanics, attack and ability ranges, hero guides, item builds, and more)

Hero Role Win Rate Play Rate KDA
Arena of Valor ArumArum
Added 2018/06/23
1. DS Lane
2. Anything but mid
Despite her obvious weakness against ranged heroes, Arum’s unparalleled effectiveness against melee heroes and her ability to shut down mobile, hit-and-run style assassins put her squarely in Tier S. Snare and Uncaged are also unorthodox but effective methods for sieging towers, making life hell for the opponent. At the AWC boot camp, Arum has gone from picked to first-picked to first-banned as the top teams in the world realize how effective she can be.
Arena of Valor The FlashThe Flash 1. Mid
2. Jungle
The Flash is able to dive under towers and burst down enemies without fear of much damage to himself. He is a very capable assassin and can be exceptionally difficult to stop due to his high mobility.
Arena of Valor LaurielLauriel 1. Mid
2. Roam
51.4% 1.9% 7.2
The previous nerfs that Lauriel received brought her down to a much more manageable level. That said, she still holds a great deal of potential in fights, able to completely slaughter enemy teams in the later stages of the game.
Arena of Valor MalochMaloch 1. DS Lane
2. Roam
50.8% 0.1% 6.7
Maloch was re-scaled to rely more on attack damage throughout the game. This does not look to overly hinder his performance in game, he still able to cull heroes while surviving high amounts of damage.
Arena of Valor XenielXeniel DS Lane

Xeniel remains a very powerful support whose pressure covers the whole battlefield while alive. He can give his entire team a second wind when entering the fight, then tank enemy fire and blast chunks away of their health with his abilities. Because of the success that Xeniel has enjoyed at lower levels, we’ve removed the “+” mark from him.

Arena of Valor TulenTulen 1. Mid
2. Roam
49.8% 2.3% 7.1
Tulen has climbed to the top of the mage pack simply by avoiding many meaningful nerfs. The pressure that he brings to his lane can give his team an early advantage and allow him to snowball into the late game, all while staying very mobile.
arena of valor TeeMeeTeeMee 1. Support
2. Roam
It is hard to ignore the pick, ban, and win rates that TeeMee has in professional play. His ultimate alone can win team fights, ensuring that his team retains a numbers advantage throughout. Even without that, the control and damage that his abilities offer keeps him useful whenever the ultimate isn’t available.
Arena of Valor RyomaRyoma 1. DS Lane
2. Jungle
51.3% 1.3% 6.7
While he has not been directly nerfed recently, when reevaluating what makes a hero SS, we decided that Ryoma doesn’t have the complete game dominance that Superman has. His immense early-game potential continues to make him a monster in either the lane or the jungle, however, and his carrying potential remains very high.
Arena of Valor MuradMurad+~ Jungle 48.9% 1.6% 6.7
Another to fall without a nerf, though this is more due to a rethinking of the SS rank. Murad has a very high potential for damage without having to risk himself very much in return. He is exceptionally squishy though, and relies on early farm to take off in game, keeping him from having the same devastating impact as Supes.

+Tier Range: SS to S

Arena of Valor ZephysZephys 1. Jungle
2. Roam
52.4% 1.3% 7.3
Zephys remains the game’s premier jungler. Boasting high damage, durability, and mobility, Zephys excels both in eliminating single targets or assisting in team fights..
Arena of Valor VioletViolet 1. Damage
2. Jungle
50.0% 4.3% 6.6
Violet has received a number of nerfs as well as suffered from other changes to the game as to not be the clear front-runner among heroes anymore. That said, her poke and mobility remain primarily in tact, allowing for those who love the marksman to easily succeed in matches.
Arena of Valor The JokerThe Joker 1. Mid
2. Jungle/Roam
49.3% 1.8% 6.8
While not a marksman in the normal sense, The Joker is very capable when playing like an assassin. Aside from his immense damage and poking potential, he also is able to survive the current meta due to Pick a Card, Any Card making him a very slippery hero.
Arena of Valor LilianaLiliana+ 1. Mid
2. Roam

Another hero who had a near 100% pick/ban rate Valor Series regular season, Liliana remains an exceptional mage. She has a high amount of poke damage and mobility with which she can dominate the battlefield. The recent nerfs bring her more in line with the rest of the game, but she remains a very powerful force.

+Tier Range: SS to 1

Arena of Valor Kil'GrothKil’groth 1. DS Lane
2. Jungle
47.7% 0.1% 6.1
After evaluating Kil’groth’s recent buff further, we’ve gotten a better sense of just how far he has improved. This patch moves some of the active power of Enraged Spear into its passive, though he remains a split-pushing and tower-wrecking machine.
Arena of Valor MaxMax+ 1. DS Lane
2. Roam

Max is not only a very capable hero, but completely changes what heroes the enemy can choose. Marksmen and immobile mages are easy pickings for the Wunderkind and thereby will have to be played extremely cautiously or avoided entirely to have a chance in the match.

+Tier Range: SS to 2

Arena of Valor Wonder WomanWonder Woman 1. DS Lane
2. Roam
50.4% 1.7% 7.1
Wonder Woman continues to grow in popularity due to her potential for damage while maintaining large amounts of survivability. Both a great initiator and brawler, Wonder Woman’s damage and distributed shields make her a big asset to whatever team she’s on.

Tier 1

The best of the “balanced” heroes, this is the largest that Tier 1 has ever been.

(Click on a hero for ability mechanics, attack and ability ranges, hero guides, item builds, and more)

Hero Role Win Rate Play Rate KDA
Arena of Valor ThaneThane~ 1. Support 50.5% 2.6% 6.3
Thane offers a lot to his team as both a tank and a support, able to absorb a large amount of damage for his team while setting up large plays with his abilities. His ultimate allows him a bit of damage as well, keeping him from being completely helpless if the last one standing in a skirmish.
Arena of Valor RazRaz+ 1. Mid
2. Roam
46.6% 2.1% 6.0

Despite a small buff to his poking fireballs, we didn’t feel Raz was at the same level as the Tier S mages. While powerful and capable of great plays, the leaders of the mage class are just too powerful for him to be considered on the same level.

+Tier Range: S to 1

Arena of Valor OmenOmen# 1. DS Lane
2. Jungle
An excellent duelist, Omen boasts exceptional damage potential and survivability. Standing as one of the few ways to decisively lock down Superman makes him a very useful safeguard against the Man of Steel as well.

#Tier Range: S to 1

Arena of Valor JinnarJinnar 1. Roam
2. Mid
48.4% 0.3% 6.6
Buffed again, Jinnar is just a tier below the meta mages of Tulen, Lauriel, Flash, and Liliana. While he doesn’t have the damaging potential of some of his peers, his durability and clear speed make him a strong choice when looking for an alternative mage.
Arena of Valor LU-BULu Bu+ 1. DS Lane
2. Jungle
48.8% 1.3% 6.2
He’s strong, he’s durable, and he can slip out of crowd control. Lu Bu has a lot going for him when looking for a powerful Dark Slayer lane hero. His ability to quickly close distance on his prey and lock them down with his abilities only further his potential for havoc.

+Tier Range: S to 1

Arena of Valor Wu KongWukong~ Jungle 48.8% 1.9% 6.6
Now able to disengage from fights, Wukong can completely dominate the early game and survive through the mid game. His attacks hit hard and his abilities make him very slippery: a combination that can make him very hard to deal with when fed.
Arena of Valor AliceAlice#~ 1. Support 54.1% 1.1% 7.2
While we had thought the meta had left her behind, some talented Alice players began showing just how powerful the adorable mystic can be. Couple this with a number of buffs in the most recent patch and she’s squeaked her way back up into being a very useful support pick.
Arena of Valor OrmarrOrmarr 1. Support
2. Roam
47.9% 1.0% 5.9
While unable to really carry by himself, Ormarr’s heavy control potential can make him a valuable asset to his team. He can roam around the battlefield and set up gank after gank to give his team an early lead before causing havoc from the middle of team fights.
Arena of Valor ZillZill~ 1. Jungle
2. Roam
48.4% 1.4% 6.9
Zill has a large amount of burst at his disposal, able to quickly tear down any enemy he catches out in the open. His mobillity allows him to both excel at jumping on enemies from hiding and at escaping from fights that start to turn against him.
Arena of Valor RourkeRourke 1. Jungle
2. DS Lane
Rourke possesses large amounts of damage and survivability and is able to destroy enemies he catches alone. To top all of this off is a number of mobility abilities which ensure that he has no problem travelling the battlefield. The fact that his passive doesn’t affect his own attacks is a bit disappointing, however.
Arena of Valor MorenMoren 1. Damage
2. Jungle
48.6% 0.3% 6.3
A recent surge of popularity has brought Moren back onto people’s radars. The marksman is able to deal out very respectable amounts of damage while boasting higher durability than any of his ranged peers. He shines brightest when played in the jungle, able to farm towards his power spike at an accelerated pace.
Arena of Valor ZukaZuka 1. Jungle
2. DS Lane
48.6% 0.8% 6.3
Zuka can do large amounts of damage while also disrupting enemy heroes. Despite not having much durability, his mobility will allow him to pull out of fights when things are looking rough and his damage will ensure that enemies don’t last long.
Arena of Valor ArthurArthur^ 1. DS Lane
2. Roam
49.7% 6.6% 6.5
Durable, mobile, and packing decent amounts of damage, Arthur is a great choice when your team needs a frontliner. His ability to sprint around the battlefield will ensure that he is almost always able to participate in fights, and his lack of mana dependence will allow him to spam his abilities off cooldown.
Arena of Valor AiriAiri 1. DS Lane
2. Jungle
49.0% 1.0% 6.6
Untouched by the recent patch, Airi remains a powerful assassin. Her extremely high mobility makes her very slippery and her abilities offer her large amounts of killing potential as well. While she excels most in the Dark Slayer lane, she can be a competent jungler as well.
Arena of Valor ChaugnarChaugnar+ 1. Support
2. Roam
51.9% 1.0% 6.9

With heroes relying more on diving and bursting down opponents than control effects and sustained fights, Chaugnar has lost some favor recently. He remains very powerful in terms of both offensive and defensive capabilities as well as possessing an invaluable purge of control effects for his team.

+Tier Range: S to 1

Arena of Valor KriknakKriknak~ 1. Jungle
2. Roam
47.6% 0.4% 7.0

Kriknak received a number of changes that give the assassin a much heavier focus on building attack damage than survivability. His overall damage will be higher throughout the game and thereby he will be even more of a burst machine. Though he rose to Tier 1, Kriknak’s lack of durability and heavy crowd control is what leaves him inferior to the Zephyses of the world.

Arena of Valor CreshtCresht 1. DS Lane
2. Support
49.6% 1.4% 6.7
An expert babysitter, Cresht can act as a very versatile support and tank for his team. His peeling and protecting abilities can make his team mates very difficult to target under his protection. Cresht’s powerful ultimate converts him from a strong babysitter into a powerful brawler, offering him large amounts of damage and a thick shield.
Arena of Valor PreytaPreyta 1. Mid
2. Roam
49.6% 0.3% 6.7
Capable of high damage from a long range and buffeting enemies around the field, Preyta has distinguished himself as a powerful mage. When able to properly line up his shots, the dragon rider can completely destroy those caught in his blasts.
Arena of Valor LindisLindis~ 1. Jungle
2. Damage

Lindis’ recent surge in popularity has show us her potential in the jungle. Her clear speed is very respectable due both due to her damage and mobility in the jungle. Furthermore, she can farm and move in safety due to the scouting mechanics of her abilities.

Tier 2

Tier 2 remains filled with heroes, all of whom can legitimately be played at professional levels.

(Click on a hero for ability mechanics, attack and ability ranges, hero guides, item builds, and more)

Hero Role Win Rate Play Rate KDA
Arena of Valor SlimzSlimz+ 1. Damage
2. Jungle
50.0% 0.5% 6.7

Receiving a tiny buff this patch, Slimz remains widely the same as he was before. The higher attack speed will ensure that he can make more use of his passive and ultimate abilities, but the current meta is stacked against marksmen. Slimz can do well when able to surprise enemies, but takes longer to hit his power spike than many other marksmen.

+Tier Range: 1 to 3

Arena of Valor FennikFennik~ 1. Jungle
2. Damage
47.2% 0.7% 6.2
Fennik has a fantastic jungle clear speed and rips through towers like they were made of paper. This can lead to a quick start to matches and a lot of early game pressure. However, Fennik’s power drops off late game where many other marksmen start to hit their power spike.
Arena of Valor Diao ChanDiao Chan 1. Damage
2. Roam
48.5% 1.5% 6.5
The recent buffs were enough to drag Diao Chan out of the dregs and up a ranking. The addition of another slow will make the sorceress’ spells much harder to avoid and getting caught by them much more lethal. The only down side is now people will have to hear the travesty that is her voice work more frequently.
Arena of Valor BatmanBatman+~ 1. Jungle
2. Roam
51.1% 0.9% 7.5

The more of Batman that we see, the more that we think that he doesn’t quite stack up to the other high tier junglers. His damage falls off too far late game and people are picking the squishy heroes that he preys on less and less with the current meta. His early-mid game remains strong enough to keep him from falling too far, however, and creative players can still find uses for the Caped Crusader after his damage falls off.

+Tier Range: 1 to 3

Arena of Valor NatalyaNatalya 1. Damage
2. Roam
48.8% 1.9% 6.8
With another boost to her abilities’ travel speed, it will be harder for Natalya to miss her abilities. This in turn makes her a more powerful force when facing down enemies on the battlefield. Her lack of mobility is still a sticking point, however she is slowly inching her way out of tier 2.
Arena of Valor TaaraTaara^ 1. DS Lane
2. Roam
49.3% 1.0% 6.5
The addition of another heal to her kit will make Taara a beast in lane in theory, however it puts more emphasis on her main weaknesses: Curse of Death and Tome of the Reaper. To really stand out, Taara will need something to help her out should someone get one of those items, as at the moment it completely cripples her.
Arena of Valor NakrothNakroth+~ Jungle 43.5% 0.5% 5.9

When used by Vex, Nakroth looks like he belongs up with Superman. However, this is a special exception rather than how many will find Nakroth. If hit in the mid-late game sessions, he will be burst away very quickly.

+Tier Range: S to 4

Arena of Valor TelannasTel’Annas^ 1. Damage
2. Roam
51.8% 4.4% 6.8
The meta shift away from marksmen has hurt Tel’annas quite a bit despite her kit going untouched for several patches. While she still has the potential to deal out large amounts of continual damage, there are currently too many ways to jump her in a fight for her to be considered anything higher than tier 2.
Arena of Valor PaynaPeura/Payna~ 1. Support 53.4% 0.3% 6.9
Much like Nakroth, Peura’s kit is fine, she just lacks the survivability to really use it. Her relatively short-range abilities require her to get deep into fights. This will make fights very dangerous, the support having to get in close to the enemy team in order to properly assist her allies.
Arena of Valor astridAstrid 1. DS Lane
2. Roam
51.0% 0.5% 6.3
A small buff to her shield will give Astrid a bit of her lost durability back. That said, she still doesn’t have the same impact as some other warriors who can deal large amounts of damage.
Arena of Valor SkudSkud# 1. Support
2. DS Lane
47.2% 0.4% 5.9

Despite having just hit a rather comfortable place with the last patch, Skud finds himself even stronger than before. He has a lot of potential when it comes to setting up fights and displacing enemies for his team, but needs an organized team to really shine.

Arena of Valor KAHLIIKahlii 1. Mid
2. Roam
50.0% 0.5% 6.7
Though buffed in consecutive patches, Kahlii remains a bit behind many of her peer mages. The shifting of Spirtual’s Blessing’s benefits to be partially passive will make her more reliable throughout the game and more capable if her shield is immediately destroyed.
Arena of Valor ButterflyButterfly^~ Jungle 49.8% 6.4% 7.1

Butterfly maintains her place as a lower-tier pub stomp. Her kit allows her to sweep into teams and pick off enemy after enemy with little risk when timed properly. That said, disrupt her early game farm and she’s done.

Arena of Valor MinaMina#~ 1. Support
2. Roam
52.1% 1.1% 6.1

A tank who can be a great support for her team, Mina can excellently set up fights and ganks with her ability combo. She falls a bit shorter of others in that she is rather item dependent for either a tank or a support.

#Tier 1 in organized teams

Arena of Valor WispWisp~ 1. Damage
2. Jungle

A capable marksman, Wisp feels a bit like an off-brand Violet. The changes made to her barrel bomb will make her good at sieging towers and she has the potential to deal out very high amounts of damage, but she has to sacrifice her escape in order to take full advantage of it.

Arena of Valor LumburrLumburr~ 1. Support
2. Roam
52.3% 0.4% 6.6
Lumburr has recently become a favorite among many support players and has seen a lot of competitive play as a result. He also has a rather high win rate in SEA’s server, regularly appearing in the top 10 across ranks. He is very reliant on organized play, however, unable to do much on his own due to rather low damage potential.
Arena of Valor YornYorn+ 1. Damage
2. Mid
50.6% 6.0% 6.5

The introduction of Bow of Slaughter is big for Yorn, helping to alleviate his mobility woes. At the moment we still feel comfortable keeping him here, but will observe how things go to see how Yorn players take the new item.

+Tier Range: 1 to 4

Tier 3

The heroes in Tier 3 lack in mobility, damage, or utility compared to other heroes.

(Click on a hero for ability mechanics, attack and ability ranges, hero guides, item builds, and more)

Hero Role Win Rate Play Rate KDA
Arena of Valor MarjaMarja
Added 2018/07/03
1. Any Lane (no jungle)
2. Roam
Marja is a bit of a jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none hero – except instead of being good at everything, she’s mostly mediocre. She doesn’t have great burst, she’s not the most durable, her CC is underwhelming, her life steal is not good unless very low on health (or played like a marksman), and her mobility/invulnerability is tied to an ability with a relatively high cooldown. Players have had some success with her, which had us initially thinking Tier 2, but most of the heroes in Tier 3 are just as capable of winning games as Marja, so we feel comfortable with her here.
Arena of Valor Azzen'KaAzzen’Ka 1. Damage
2. Roam
52.6% 1.1% 6.7
While having some potential to control the enemy team, players who know how to face Azzen’ka will be able to avoid a lot of his influence in fights. His damage doesn’t make up for the difficulty of his abilities either, making him generally a worse choice than many other mages.
Arena of Valor MgangaMganga 1. Mid
2. Roam
52.7% 2.9% 7.0
Mganga now is able to store two clouds of poison, though this isn’t quite enough to make him much more desirable of a pick. The time it takes to charge stacks of poison cloud is longer than the ability’s previous cooldown. While this would be fine on a burst hero, Mganga’s kit is better suited to drawn out fights. He is capable of many things in a match, but is outclassed in every aspect by other, more popular heroes.
Arena of Valor GrakkGrakk^~ 1. Support
2. Roam
49.8% 4.3% 6.5

Grakk would be better if it was easier for him to land his hook; his contribution to a fight is almost completely reliant on this one ability. The damage from Earthquake and Blood Ritual is small enough that most players can ignore it without worry. His ultimate can be nice if he lands it, but this alone cannot make him a good choice over other support tanks.

Arena of Valor IlumiaIlumia+ 1. Damage
2. Roam
52.9% 0.3% 7.0

Despite a small buff, Ilumia remains too weak to be a viable mage. She is slow, lacks damage, and requires quite a bit of set up to get the maximum potential out of her abilities. With an excellent peeling tank and a very good sense of her abilities, a player could theoretically do well with Ilumia. However, at that point they would be doing even better with Liliana or Preyta.

+Tier Range: 2 to 3

Arena of Valor ZANISZanis+ 1. Jungle
2. DS Lane
50.6% 3.0% 6.7

Zanis has a lot of damage potential, definitely enough to carry games nearly alone. However he relies too heavily on the early game and needs the enemy to make careless mistakes to really take off. If unable to get early kills, he will be stuck either too squishy to survive late game fights or too weak to do any damage to the enemies.

+Tier Range: 2 to 3

Arena of Valor ArduinArduin 1. DS Lane
2. Roam
50.2% 1.5% 6.1
Arduin is close to being a capable warrior, but needs some adjustments before he gets there. His passive is most likely to go off while wandering around the map rather than in fights and he is regularly either too squishy or too offensively weak to be as good of a choice as other warriors.
Arena of Valor KrixiKrixi 1. Damage
2. Roam
49.7% 1.1% 6.4
While starting to get some love from Tencent each patch, Krixi still takes too long to hit her power spike. In addition, she has to put herself into a rather vulnerable position to really affect enemies, making it a bit hard to get out her damage safely.
Arena of Valor AleisterAleister# 1. Support
2. Roam
49.7% 1.3% 6.4

Aleister got some minor tweaks, but still falls short of other mages. He ends up being more capable as a support than as a damaging mage, and can do well as such with an organized team. In solo play, however, most players would be much better off picking someone else.

#Tier 2 in organized teams

Tier 4

Here is our obligatory, “You can still win with Tier 4 heroes.” But why hurt yourself like that?

(Click on a hero for ability mechanics, attack and ability ranges, hero guides, item builds, and more)

Hero Role Win Rate Play Rate KDA
Arena of Valor VeeraVeera 1. Damage
2. Roam
49.1% 1.8% 6.2

Veera has been getting some attention from Tencent lately but still falls off extremely hard once team fights start. Mix this with low mobility and low defenses and you have a hero that will spend more fights dead than she will contributing for her team.

Arena of Valor ValheinValhein+ 1. Damage
2. RNG 2nd stun
49.7% 6.9% 6.4

Stop picking Valhein. Just stop. Yes, he got a small buff. It wasn’t enough. Just stop picking him.

+Tier 3 to 4

Arena of Valor OMEGAOmega DS Lane 49.9% 0.3% 5.9
Poor Omega is very close to being a decent pick for what he can do. He suffers from a terrible animation on his first ability, making it nearly useless when used aggressively, and very poor stats. If the stun from his first ability were instant/near instant, he would immediately jump significantly in viability.
Arena of Valor GildurGildur 1. Damage
2. Roam
49.7% 1.0% 6.2
The more we play with Gildur, the more realize that he’s just not good. This is doubly true on SEA where Garena felt the need to strip him of his shields. He lacks any sort of damage or much soaking potential, causing him to fail as both a mage and a tank. The most embarrassing thing is his passive which effectively lowers his damage output due to how long the animation takes. It is a normal attack that can be dodged by walking away. No, not just by using movement abilities, you can very well just step away when targeted and it will miss.
Arena of Valor ToroToro 1. Support
2. Roam
48.3% 0.4% 6.1
Tencent are so aware that this poor guy is useless that they aren’t even bothering with releasing him in NA/LATAM.
Arena of Valor IgnisIgnis 1. Being Annoying When Frosty’s Revenge is Equipped
2. Roam
51.0% 0.3% 6.7
Ignis needs some damage to be worth picking. He is up with Omega among the low tiers in that their kits have potential, however a long string of damage nerfs has left him largely ignorable by opponents. Hopefully the white wizard will get some love in the future, however some comments from Tencent hints that they have no plans for either Ignis or Omega.

Past Hero Tier Lists

Let Us Know What You Think!

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29 Comments

  1. As a new player, I’ve seen the demon hunter regularly get MVP status. It seems odd that you’d place him so low in your ranking.

    • In earlier games, players have a much more limited pool of heroes and many are drawn to Valhein due to growing familiar with him in the tutorial. The first few games being padded out with bots can additionally lead to his strength feeling larger than it actually is. He falls off very quickly after ranking up a bit, however, especially when taken out of one on one situations. His damage potential is lower than any other marksman due to poor scaling and his simple abilities restrict him from having many ways to engage with different situations.

  2. Hello SG. Been a fan of your tier list for quite a while. I always refer to your list before purchasing heroes with hard-earned gold.

    I can see that this list is not yet updated with the current patch. Would really love to see the changes soon, when will it come out? Lot of hero adjustments recently and this is probably not accurate as of the moment.

    Keep up the good work guys!

    • We are working on the new list! It is, unfortunately, a bit delayed due to hitting again in the middle of some of the team’s travel, but we will be finalizing the updated list very soon.

  3. I really think aleister and krixi deserves going up tier 3 atleast by now.. Already tested it, a i can say they are more dependable now and can even snowball at some point. Though i may suggest these heroes are not to be picked by inexperienced players since they depend on their skills alot and placement. But yeah, i recommend to reconsider them at best.

    The three best mages though: Lauriel, Liliana, and Tulen deserves the top spot, though i will pick Lauriel more than the other two. She’s still the queen at snowballing and high damage, and even mobility wise as well. She can go 3v1 at best and is not that squishy like the other two who depends alot in their mobility and initiator.

    I hope Superman gets even just a little more adjustment because as you say, he’s just too OP at this point.

  4. i’m new player and i have’t got a chance to try superman but how is he ss since he has to move around and charge up to actually deal damage and he’s 1st skill put’s him in a dangerous postion
    with all that being said should i go for it in early game or other heroes

    • Hes really annoying and could finishes off low health enemy quickly, he can also pushes enemy to his tower too, hes really hard to master tho

    • Hes really annoying and could finishes off low health enemy quickly, he can also pushes enemy to his tower too, hes really hard to master tho, so be careful using him

  5. When will the new tier list be added?
    Considering that the new patch has been released.
    And thanks before. For the hardwork.
    Great site.

  6. Hmm. Would a hero’s rank be lowered if they have their essential or highly efficient item get nerfed? Or is it purely based on the hero themselves? Also could there no longer be a tier SS?

    • We do take items into consideration when working on the tier list. For example, Lauriel got a lot of her sustainability from building Rhea’s Blessing which made her very hard to kill and Violet could get a lot of control from the old Frost Cape. In addition, items can lower a hero’s place on the list, for example, Taara is a very powerful warrior, however, is completely shut down by Curse of Death or Tome of the Reaper.

      We continue to have a Tier SS because Superman continues to be above and beyond all other heroes by a noticeable margin.

      • Superman has so many counters, once he is not flying, he is only a piece of meat, put him back in S with most of the other heroes should be fine.

    • A game career full of abuse. I was so young and doe-eyed, but then a long line of Yorn + Valhein dream teams beat the innocence out of me. Yorn gets a pass because he has the confidence to not wear a shirt.

    • I think it’s not the hate, just maybe.

      Valhein is a decent hero, and very flexible. But the randomness of his passive, and the range of his normals and skills are kinda lack-luster (of w/c kinda impressive for some).

      He’s very popular though, but taking in a higher perspective, he hardly scales, though maybe against fellow MM Violet and Joker.

      This is just my two cents though.

  7. definitely the most accurate and up-to-date tier list in the internet.

    omg why do you hate diao’s voice lines so much?

  8. Thank you for this tier list. I always look up to this site whenever there’s a new update. Keep it up and more power! 🙂