Arena of Valor (AoV) - Airi Hero Guide

A guide to Arena of Valor's Airi, the Kunoichi. Airi steps around the battlefield to quickly deliver high amounts of damage and control effects to her foes.


▼ Hero Class Guides
List of Item Builds
AoV WarriorWarrior AoV TankTank AoV AssassinAssassin
AoV MageMage AoV MarksmanMarksman AoV SupportSupport


Arena of Valor Airi

Overview

Airi is a melee warrior/assassin that can deal massive amounts of damage over a short period of time, can initiate well, is great at picking off heroes, and has some good crowd control abilities. But be careful when playing her, as she is very vulnerable when her skills are on cooldown.

Strengths

  • Capable Initiator – Airi is also a great initiator, as she has a gap closer that can be used three times in a row. Combined with her strong burst damage, she can quickly start a team fight and maim the enemy team, moving between squishy targets to pick them off.
  • Great at Picking Enemies Off– Airi, as an assassin with strong burst damage, can easily pick off enemy heroes. By observing the map and finding isolated enemy heroes, she can quickly kill them before pushing their lane or starting a team fight with a number advantage.
  • Good Crowd Control – Airi has two stuns in her kit. Spin can easily be aimed while Ryuu has an initial slow followed up with a stun to those affected by the slow. These are both great tools in disrupting team fights.

Weaknesses

  • Squishy – Airi has a low health pool for a Warrior. She will need to build a bit tankily to compensate for this, hindering her choices when it comes to damaging items.
  • Vulnerable when Shadow is on Cooldown – Shadow can be cast three times in a row and, as such, can be used to quickly get in and out of fights. If Shadow is on cooldown, Airi will no longer have a way to escape and will be much more susceptible to attacks.

Hero Basic Strategy

Laning Strategy

  • Airi is strong in lane, Spin a powerful tool when laning. The shuriken toss can be used to harass her opponent or as a set up for ganks and engagements. Poke the enemy whenever possible. This will not only minimize their gold income but will chip away at their health to make a fight heavy in Airi’s favor possible later.
  • When facing two opponents alone, you will obviously be at a disadvantage. Use Spin to last hit minions at a safe distance as well as poke the enemy whenever possible.
  • Airi’s basic combo is using Spin to immobilize the enemy before moving in close and activating Ryuu. Continue to fight with normal attacks, casting Spin again whenever possible for maximum damage. Shadow is best used to disengage if things turn sour rather than used offensively.

Level Progression

  • Airi has potential to kill an enemy in the early game with a gap closer and a disable already available at level two. You can harass enemies and slowly whittle their health away until able to fully commit to a kill. Max Spin first if you wish to deal more damage or Shadow if you want more mobility.
  • As Airi progresses in level and gains access to her ultimate, she will be able to roam the battlefield to gank and quickly kill enemies.
  • Once you reach the mid-game, utilize your role as an assassin to quickly kill squishy enemies. You can also surprise your enemies by using Shadow to jump at them through walls.

Battle Strategy

  • Laning: Airi is great at harassing enemies with her kit. That said, she won’t necessarily always have an advantage in lane. In a disadvantageous position, you can focus on collecting gold and getting levels using Spin to last hit minions. Remember that you can always use your Shadow as an escape if things get too sticky.
  • One on One: Airi thrives on one on one matchups. Her burst damage allows her to tear down foes before they have much chance to react.
  • Roaming and Ganking: Airi excels in roaming and ganking with her great CC and gap closer. She can initiate ganks in lanes by using her stun to start the fight. Catching fleeing enemies can also be easily done with Shadow. This can be used three times in a row to chase a target relentlessly. Keep in mind, though, that exhausting Airi of her Shadow leaves her rather vulnerable.
  • Escaping Fights: Airi has several great escape tools. You can use Shadow to pass through thin walls or Spin to stun pursuing enemies. Ryuu additionally grants a speed boost when used.

Abilities

Arena of Valor Slash SlashPassive – Each normal attack reduces Spin cooldown by 1 second on hit.
  • Spin is a very good poking tool that stuns along with the damage it provides. Optimizing Airi’s passive, a player can use Spin together with Shadow to get in and out of combat quickly while dealing a lot of damage to your enemies.
  • As your skills have no mana cost, you can cast them freely. This is advised in the midst of fights in order to maximize your damage and get the most out of Slash.
Arena of Valor Spin Spin – Airi slings her shuriken to slice enemies along the path, dealing 200/275/350/425/500/575 (+1.1 AD) physical damage and stunning enemies in her path.
  • Spin can be used as a poke due to its significant range and decent damage.
  • It can also be used as an initiating skill to set up Shadow and Ryuu.
  • Use Spin as often as possible when fighting, saving it only when facing an enemy with a channeled ability that will need interrupting.
Arena of Valor Shadow Shadow – Airi charges in the specified direction and deals 100/120/140/160/180/200 (+0.75 AD) physical damage to enemies in her way. This ability can be cast three times in a row before triggering the cooldown.
  • Shadow can be used to get in and out of combat. Since Shadow can be used up to three times before going on cooldown, you can dive low health enemies and then use Shadow again to exit combat.
  • You can also use Shadow to pass through walls, but make sure that you’re pressed up against it before trying.
  • Shadow makes Airi exceptionally hard to chase. Use it sparingly in the middle of fights so that it is available if you need to run away.
Arena of Valor Ryuu Ryuu – Airi leaps up and summons a spirit that deals physical damage and reduces enemies movement speed. Then she strikes the ground, deals the same amount of damage and stuns affected enemies. She also gains a shield that absorbs 250/400/550 (+0.8 AD) damage for every hero hit. Airi is immune to control effects during the ability, gains a 100% movement bonus that decreases over 2.5 seconds and 30% attack speed for 5 seconds.
  • Ryuu does not only deal massive amounts of damage but also slows and stuns enemies.
  • Ryuu also gives bonus movement speed and a shield. You can also use Ryuu to escape from hard CC as she is immune to control effects while casting.
  • Ryuu has a relatively short cooldown, so don’t hesitate to use it in smaller engagements.

How to Counter Airi

  • Airi’s mobility is due to her abilities. She is very vulnerable when Shadow is on cooldown making her very easy to chase and kill.
  • Airi’s passive allows her to spam Spin rather frerquently. This makes her very hard to trade with, the regular use of Spin increasing her damage potential.

Item Builds

SG Recommended Build
Arena of Valor Spear of Longinus
Spear of Longinus
Arena of Valor Hermes' Select
Hermes’ Select
Arena of Valor Mantle of Ra
Mantle of Ra
Arena of Valor Frost Cape
Frost Cape
Arena of Valor Medallion of Troy
Medallion of Troy
Arena of Valor Fenrir's Tooth
Fenrir’s Tooth
SG Recommended Build
Arena of Valor Spear of Longinus
Spear of Longinus
Arena of Valor Hermes' Select
Hermes’ Select
Arena of Valor Mantle of Ra
Mantle of Ra
Arena of Valor Frost Cape
Frost Cape
Arena of Valor Medallion of Troy
Medallion of Troy
Arena of Valor Fenrir's Tooth
Fenrir’s Tooth

More Airi Item Builds

Hero Arcana

  • Airi can deal a ton of damage with an arcana build that focuses on damage. Obliterate, Assassinate, and Skewer give her good amounts of attack damage along with armor pierce and movement speed, empowering her overall killing potential.
  • Running Indomitable, Benevolence, and Crusader is a safer arcana build that lets her survive ganks and critical team fights. This is for players who are newer to Airi.

Hero Counters

Arena of Valor Tank Tank

Airi should generally avoid tanks as they will have too much health to burst and a lot of CC with which they can trap Airi. Once you exhaust all of your spells on a tank, they will pin you down and eventually be able to kill you. Tanks are your lowest priority during team fights, so you should always find squishy enemies to fight instead.

Arena of Valor Warrior Warrior

Warriors are heroes that thrive in head to head combat. They usually can absorb some damage, so you should only engage them when there aren’t any other squishy heroes to fight. But again, take care when going for warriors, as they can return fire if they are able to survive your combo. Warriors are primarily short range, so whittle away their health from afar with Spin.

Arena of Valor Assassin Assassin

If able to activate Ryuu quickly after being engaged upon, Airi should be able to survive or escape an assassin’s combo. After their combo has been exhausted, she can move in for a kill, as most will not have much left after the initial burst.

Arena of Valor Mage Mage

Mages can dish out a lot of damage from a distance, but won’t be able to do much once you close in on them. Close the distance using Shadow and then disable them with Spin, using Ryuu to up your damage and avoid any crowd control they may have.

Arena of Valor Marksman Marksman

Marksmen will almost always be your highest priority targets during teamfights. Marksmen dish out a lot of damage and are capable of melting down even tanks’ HP. Search for the enemy marksman and burst them away with Spin and Ryuu, cleaning up with normal attacks.

Arena of Valor Support Support

Depending on the situation, some supports can sustain the whole team’s HP as well as provide a lot of CC. Although they don’t deal a lot of damage themselves, they are very crucial in supporting the enemy team’s other heroes. Take out supports whenever you can.

▼ Hero Class Guides
List of Item Builds
AoV WarriorWarrior AoV TankTank AoV AssassinAssassin
AoV MageMage AoV MarksmanMarksman AoV SupportSupport

Arena of Valor (AoV) おすすめ記事リスト

Leave a Reply



6 Comments