Arena of Valor (AoV) - Arena of Valor Tier List (Eight Edition)

His speed and lethality have bumped the insect assassin up into our highest tier. Kriknak is just too oppressive when used competently. His damage can rip all but the tankiest of enemies apart before they have time to react, and his high mobility makes him difficult to escape from or catch up to when fights break out.

Being such a polarizing character, we wanted to see what the pros thought of Elsu before making any determinations. Based on the first weekend of the AIC, it appears they fear him as well. Which makes sense, considering he’s a hero with a high skill floor and ceiling – and pros have, by definition, the best skills in the world. Just don’t be that guy (or girl) who uses him improperly and becomes the reason for your team’s loss.

Riktor has been high on the pick/ban priority list since he burst onto Taiwan’s server nearly two months ago. Not much has changed since, as his ability to win most matchups in the solo lane while being an excellent dive assassin in team fights has maintained his lofty status in the AIC – despite receiving some small nerfs. Though his potential on the ladder is heavily tied to player skill, those wishing to climb will want to prioritize learning him.

Lindis isn’t hit as hard by the Soulreaver changes as Violet, able to get by just fine with Scorching Wind. She remains a terror in the jungle, even if the changes to monster gold growth has slowed down her progression a bit. Assassins have been finding their way back into the jungle recently, though, so Lindis players will additionally have to pay more attention in fights to avoid getting jumped.

Max remains very influential with his global presence and health-whittling passive. The boy wonder can jump onto stray squishy heroes and tear them down, leaving his team at a heavy advantage in team fights. With the recent changes encouraging more immobile marksmen in the Abyssal lane, Max players suddenly have more targets to choose from.

With an immense amount of burst damage at her disposal, Liliana remains a very potent force in the midlane. Her incredible mobility serves the dual purpose of keeping her out of trouble and indirectly allowing her to build as burst-y as possible since she has an escape built in. Minions aren’t even a problem when it comes to striking enemies, Shining Light a point target ability rather than a line shot.

Xeniel can be the deciding factor in a number of team fights. The heal and damage reduction that he provides can greatly swing momentum into his team’s favor. In addition, he makes an excellent tank, his large health pool augmented by regular shields. What’s more, the angel has a global presence, able to sweep into any fight no matter his distance at the time. The latest meta shifts have boosted Xeniel’s influence, as Angelic Splendor is a great panic button to hit when the team’s back line is getting dived by an assassin.

#Note: it may seem strange that we have a solo-laner as a hero who especially benefits from good team play, but Omen is a special case where his teammates need to be able to play around his split-pushing capabilities and capitalize late-game on opportunities he creates with Death’s Embrace

Raz’s power has been more and more evident lately with several high-profile players picking the mage up. With high amounts of damage and mobility at his disposal, Raz can tear enemies up before slipping into safety. He additionally has a decent amount of crowd control to keep enemies in place or push them into your team.

Another character who was at risk of falling, not because of his own strength but because of the heroes around him. He can deal quite a bit of damage, able to burst down squishier foes in a single hit. Above that he is still a rather durable tank and can knock enemies around with a suite of control abilities. While he might struggle against some of the now more powerful Slayer lane heroes, Skud remains a rather strong hero who can both excel when alone in lane or with his allies in a team fight.

Continuing her rise in popularity, Mina is widely considered the best true (non-flex) support. She is able to hook enemies in with her scythe before locking them to her with a taunt. In addition, she is quite durable and can deal okay damage if built that way. Mina is almost completely reliant on her team, however, and thereby will need some organization if players want to succeed with her.

Chaugnar indirectly suffers as a number of heroes that relied on their control effects have gained immunity to cleanses. That said, the chaos elephant can still free his allies from other control effects while tanking for his team and damaging enemies. His heavy presence in fights makes him a valuable choice for support. Aggressive players can find a lot of use from that support and cause a lot of chaos on the battlefield.

Similar to Mina in that players have been enjoying his rather powerful support capabilities lately. With careful aim, Grakk can snatch players away from their teams and drag them to an early demise. The Glutton additionally can lock groups of heroes down with is ultimate, World Devourer. One downside of Grakk is that he is very hit-or-miss, both literally and figuratively: the outcome of the game can depend on whether or not Grakk is hitting his hooks.

Players have started to remember why Valhein was so bad before and the surprise of his sudden rise has faded. Add that with a few nerfs to his passive damage, and Valhein is in a much more manageable place. This is still assuming that players build a hybrid Valhein heavy on health. A typical marksman build will drop the demon hunter down a good two tiers.

Another who has suffered a bit with the nerfing of jungle marksmen. Slimz himself received some rather direct nerfs as well, his ability to disengage now much more limited than before. The Trustworthy will still be a capable carry and deadly damage dealer, but players will need to be much more careful with positioning than before.

A capable assassin, though one who falls short in a lot of respects. While able to dish out a lot of damage, this is all primarily early game. Batman will fall off later game, especially if he can’t keep a consistent string of kills. He is able to transition into more of a warrior role, but is a bit lackluster in that capacity in comparison to other warriors. Players who are practiced with him will be able to do quite a bit in matches, though many might find themselves falling short.

The recent changes to Aleister really cleaned him up and turned the Loki look-alike into a much more capable hero. He still has a few quirks that we’re not overly fond of – stunning himself to cast his ultimate being one of them – but he has shown himself to be much stronger now. Players can use his zoning potential to dominate the lane and shift into locking heroes completely down in team fights.

While the current meta supports melee junglers at the moment, Nakroth doesn’t have quite the capabilities of other assassin junglers when it comes to immediately blowing a target up. Nakroths who try to jump in and out of fights will find themselves taking more damage than dealing it, particularly since Nakroth isn’t exactly the type of hero to snowball an early game lead. That all said, part of Nakroth’s issue is that current pros are stubbornly sticking to Leviathan when we feel that the new Soulreaver could bring him up a notch.

+Tier Range: S (if you’re Vex) to 4

Butterfly has found a nice place in the game with her new mechanics. The assassin can now effectively get into fights, chase down targets, brutally murder them, and retreat to safety. While she doesn’t have the same utility as other stand-out assassins, she remains a rather safe pick for the jungle. Further, if the search for blow-em-up style assassin junglers continues, Butterfly could actually move up.

A decent marksman who received quite a few buffs in the most recent patch. Wisp will be enjoying a number of new toys, from a faster Barrel Bomb to a Shock and Awe that slows targets. The latter is particularly useful, as it helps prevent enemies from simply stepping out of the area. There is very little wrong with Wisp at this point (save a meh passive), but she still doesn’t have quite enough to be considered tier 1. Maybe another meta shift or creative build will pick her up in the future.

Now with a stronger early game, Yorn will have an easier time reaching his damage heights. Sadly, this safer early game came at the cost of not being able to do quite as much damage late game. Still, the marksman packs an incredible punch and will be a huge benefit when it comes to tearing enemies down. His reliance on positioning and damage-and-damage-only kit stand in the way of him getting much higher than tier 2.

Ilumia just doesn’t have much going for her. We suppose her ultimate can be nice in team fights? Knowing where enemies are periodically is nice too we suppose. The rest of her kit is very lackluster though, lagging behind other mages in damage or control or both. While mastering her difficult play style to the point of actually being effective in games may be rewarding, no amount of mean comments from Ilumia mains will change our position, barring a radical change in her kit or the meta.

Zanis is the definition of a snowball hero. If he can get a quick lead, he’ll do great, but if he can’t, it’s curtains for the dragoon. The lack of a reliable dash to get to the back line in team fights is especially painful. The good news is that Zanis is a very good Clone Clash hero.

Veera keeps getting numbers buffs when she needs some mechanical tweaking to really get ahead. She is far too situational of a hero, only really excelling at duels. As soon as another enemy steps in, she won’t be able to get that sweet instant kill. This in turn leaves her open to attack, where she’ll almost definitely die.