Arena of Valor (AoV) - D’Arcy Hero Guide

A guide to Arena of Valor's D'Arcy, the Archmagus. D'Arcy uses high damage and mobility to take down foes and support his allies.


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AoV WarriorWarrior AoV TankTank AoV AssassinAssassin
AoV MageMage AoV MarksmanMarksman AoV SupportSupport


D'Arcy AoV

Overview

D’Arcy is a feisty control mage who excels at darting about the battlefield and dealing massive amounts of magic damage on enemies. He is a capable duelist and, in the right hands, can be a threat in the middle lane. His abilities allow him to push lanes quickly. His Dimensional Cube and Dimensional Portal are also exceptionally strong during team fights.

Strengths

  • Excellent Harass – D’Arcy’s kit makes him a pain to deal with in the lane. His Dimensional Walk and Dimensional Cube are great abilities to harass his lane opponent and push the lane.
  • Great Ganks and Team Fights – Dimensional Walk is great for ganking the side lanes or responding to threats. His Dimensional Cube + Dimensional Portal combo grants him immense burst damage as well as the ability to turn team fights to his team’s favor.

Weaknesses

  • High Skill Curve – Much like any other combo Mage, D’Arcy’s kit demands to be mastered. It is essential to note when his Dimensional Force is up for a powered up combo, as well as when to use his abilities during pressure situations to maximize his use in matches.
  • Low HP Target – D’Arcy has relatively low HP, and when he can’t access his Dimensional Walk or Dimensional Force, he can be burst down rather easily. In team fights, he is also a priority target, thanks to his damage and setup potential.

Hero Basic Strategy

Laning Strategy

  • Make sure to hit your lane opponent with basic attacks and abilities so that you can charge up Dimensional Force. Once you fully charge your passive, target your lane enemy with your normal attacks or abilities as best as you can to zone them out.
  • Once you’ve got the lane advantage on your enemy, watch the side lanes. D’Arcy’s Dimensional Walk allows him to gank the side lanes and assist his teammates.
  • Take note where you place your Dimensional Portal – it can be used offensively and defensively, so it is best to assess whether you need to engage or disengage first before throwing your ultimate.

Leveling Progression

  • Level up Dimensional Walk first so that you have a more consistent way of dealing additional damage and escaping. Once you’re more comfortable with D’Arcy’s laning phase, you can opt to get Dimensional Cube for added lane pressure.
  • Dimensional Walk is a good tool for ganking lanes. Be on the lookout for lanes that need assistance.
  • Late game, your role will be the initiator, thanks to your Dimensional Portal. Once you catch the opposing team, then bombard them with Dimensional Cube and enhanced attacks with Dimensional Walk and Dimensional Force.

Battle Strategy

  • Solo Battle: Maximize Dimensional Force by tagging your enemy with normal attacks and abilities. Once you get a fully charged Dimensional Force, you can bully your opponent with enhanced attacks. Take note of Dimensional Walk’s defensive uses as well. If you’re on the wrong side of a poking if, use Dimensional Walk to avoid getting damaged.
  • Team Battle: Use Dimensional Portal to set up team fights. Once you tag your enemies with your ultimate, follow up with Dimensional Cube for massive damage. You can further increase your burst damage if you fully charge your Dimensional Force before casting Dimensional Cube. Other combos include charging Dimensional Force, casting Dimensional Portal on enemies, casting Dimensional Cube, and then teleporting in the area via the second usage of Dimensional Portal to lay waste on your opponents.
  • Escaping the Battle: As a general rule, it is best to always have Dimensional Walk at the ready. This is D’Arcy’s go-to escape ability. You can also use Dimensional Portal to hold enemies back, provided you hit them with your initial cast.

Abilities

Arena of Valor - D'Arcy Dimensional Force (Passive) – When D’Arcy’s normal attacks and abilities land on enemies, he gains Dimensional Energy (depletes rapidly when he exits combat). When at full energy, he enters another dimension for 8 seconds, immediately restores 20% of lost mana and the cooldowns on Dimensional Walk and Dimensional Cube are immediately reset. He also gains 20% movement speed while in another dimension, and his next Dimensional Walk or Dimensional Cube will be enhanced.
  • Make sure to have Dimensional Force ready as often as possible, since it enhances your overall damage. Take note that even D’Arcy’s normal attacks help charge Dimensional Force, so don’t be afraid to throw normal attacks in between your abilities.
Arena of Valor - D'Arcy Dimensional Walk – D’Arcy enters a different dimension for 1.5 seconds, during which he cannot be targeted, is immune to control effects, his movement speed is increased by 20%, and he takes considerably less damage. After using this ability, his next normal attack within 5 seconds is enhanced with a longer range and deals an additional 300 (+0.8 AP) magic damage, as well as reduces target movement speed by 60%. Attacking or using abilities while he is in a different dimension will cancel this effect immediately.

Enhanced: His movement speed is increased by 40% and his HP is restored by 100 (+80% AP) + 10% of his lost HP.

  • Dimensional Walk is your bread-and-butter for poking the enemy. This is especially deadly if you combo this with a fully charged Dimensional Force.
  • Dimensional Walk is also great for ganking side lanes. As a defensive tool, Dimensional Walk also serves as D’Arcy’s lifeline whenever enemy heroes gank him.
Arena of Valor - D'Arcy Dimensional Cube – D’Arcy summons a Dimension Cube at the target area. After 1.25 seconds, the cube explodes and deals  900 (+1.75 AP) magic damage.

Enhanced: The range of the explosion is increased. D’Arcy gains 10 energy for each enemy hit.
  • Dimensional Cube is D’Arcy’s main pushing and area damaging skill. Make sure to cast this on areas where you can hit as many enemies as possible.
  • In team fights, a well-placed Dimensional Cube can take out most of the low-health threats. Make it a point to use the enhanced Dimensional Cube as well when you want to pressure the lanes even more.
Arena of Valor - D'Arcy Dimensional Portal – D’Arcy opens a Portal in the target area, dealing 100 (+0.10 AP) magic damage to enemies within the area and marking their locations. After 2 seconds, marked enemies are teleported back to their original locations and stunned for a short period of time.
Within 6 seconds of using this ability, D’Arcy can use it again to teleport himself to the Portal and trigger and explosion that deals 200 (+1.0 AP) magic damage. The cooldown of Dimensional Cube is immediately reset upon using this ability.
  • Dimensional Portal is a great secondary ultimate to cast with your team’s initiating abilities. This has a lot of synergy with other heroes and can potentially win games easily. Make sure that you and your team combo your abilities accordingly.
  • Defensively, you can use Dimensional Portal to escape potentially one-sided team fights. This can be done by casting this on as many enemies as possible so that they will be teleported away.

How to Counter D’Arcy

  • D’Arcy is reliant on poking his enemies to get his damage rolling. It is best to pick when you will duel with him. After he uses Dimensional Walk, avoid being in range of his normal attacks. Once the ability is on cooldown, burst him down with your own abilities.
  • It is also a good option to coordinate with your jungler or support in order to gank D’Arcy in the lane. The most opportune moment is when he uses Dimensional Walk and his Dimensional Force has no charge.
  • Make sure to zone out D’Arcy as well as you can during team fights. His team will be at a disadvantage since he will not be able to use his Dimensional Cube or Dimensional Portal abilities for support.

Item Builds

SG Recommended Build
Arena of Valor Orb of the MagiOrb of the Magi Arena of Valor Flashy BootsFlashy Boots Arena of Valor Frosty's RevengeFrosty’s Revenge
Arena of Valor Hecate's DiademHecate’s Diadem Arena of Valor BERITH’S AGONYBerith’s Agony Arena of Valor Holy of HoliesHoly of Holies
SG Recommended Build
Arena of Valor Orb of the MagiOrb of the Magi Arena of Valor Flashy BootsFlashy Boots Arena of Valor Frosty's RevengeFrosty’s Revenge Arena of Valor Hecate's DiademHecate’s Diadem Arena of Valor Berith's AgonyBerith’s Agony Arena of Valor Holy of HoliesHoly of Holies

More D’Arcy Item Builds

Hero Arcana

  • D’Arcy works best with offense magic arcana like Violate, Devour, and Hex. These Arcana grant him bonus ability power, magic pierce, magic lifesteal, and cooldown reduction, which allow him to cast his empowered abilities more consistently.

Hero Counters

Arena of Valor Tank Tank

D’Arcy can struggle with tanks because most of them can absorb his control abilities. Avoid targeting them when possible, focusing instead on squishier foes.

Arena of Valor Warrior Warrior

D’Arcy is somewhat okay when dealing against Warriors. Some warriors are tanky enough to make their way through his abilities, but he has Dimensional Walk to aid him.

Arena of Valor Assassin Assassin

When it comes to assassins, D’Arcy is vulnerable whenever he cannot cast Dimensional Walk. If he manages to hit an assassin hero with his Dimensional Cube for the full damage, he has a fighting chance. However, this is easier said than done, because most Assassins are highly mobile and can quickly dodge D’Arcy’s abilities.

Arena of Valor Mage Mage

Like assassins, mages are very squishy and thereby easy to burst down. Be careful, though, as they are able to deal their damage from a range and thereby can more easily get a drop on D’Arcy than other heroes.

Arena of Valor Marksman Marksman

Marksmen are dangerous foes to fight, but can easily be evaded by trapping them with your control abilities. That said, marksmen should always be your first targets in team fights.

Arena of Valor Support Support

Be careful with supports, as they will usually have a way of locking D’Arcy down, leaving him open to enemy attacks.

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

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