| Hero Information and Guides | |
|---|---|
| Arcana Builds | Item Builds |
| Hero Attributes List | Hero Skins |
| Hero Availability | |
Update August 13: Added Roxie
Update August 20: Krixi placement adjusted
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
Overview
Welcome to the sixth 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 Fifth List
- Removed Win Rate / Play Rate / KDA
- Added short hero descriptions
- Made hero explanations longer
- Added Baldum
Unfortunately, the win rates, play rates, and KDAs that we got from the official Arena of Valor site became too outdated to be useful anymore, so we replaced them with general statements on who the heroes are or how they function. If the rates are updated (or if someone is successfully able to data mine the game – in that case, contact us to let us know) then we’ll list them again. In the meantime, you can check out the old statistics in our past tier lists.
We also made clearer our explanations for why we feel the heroes deserve to be in the tier they’re in, with a longer blurb for each character. Of course, for full rundowns on each hero, click on their portraits for stats, ability + attack ranges and mechanics, guides, item builds, and more.
More Viable Heroes Than Ever
When balancing heroes, Tencent’s strategy so far has been to buff under-powered heroes while giving a proverbial slap on the wrist to the most powerful characters. Thus far, it seems to have paid off: a staggering 56 of 69 heroes (as of writing and not including future updates) reside in tiers S, 1, and 2. We consider Tier 2 a loose cutoff point to be viable enough for competitive play (though, again, this is primarily a solo-queue list), so our hats are off to Tencent for a job well done.
Alone at the Bottom
Similar to our decision in the fifth edition to put Superman in a tier of his own, we decided that Omega and Toro were simply a cut below even the Valheins and Veeras of the world. Of course, buffs to many of the previously Tier 4 heroes helped our decision a bit. The result is a slightly larger Tier 3, which should please all of the Ignis mains who frequent our site.
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’ Toro, 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.
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. We introduced these somewhat vague terms rather than sticking to the standard Jungle-Top-Mid-Bot structure due to the drastically different way in which professional games are played, where there are often two solo-laners and three to four heroes who rotate throughout the map.
Visual List
Here’s a quick list in image form for you social media users out there. Scroll past for full explanations of hero placement.
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 | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Superman |
1. DS Lane 2. Roam |
A mobile, durable, and aggressive sidelaner, Superman can sweep into the battlefield to tear enemy teams apart. |
| The man of steel has speed, damage, durability, and a crowd control cleanse at his disposal, making him a terror on the battlefield. Beyond all of this, however, is his push, able to break up teams and severely displace heroes either for fights or ganks. Despite a recent decrease in power to his health scaling – which was sorely needed – the Man of Steel found himself indirectly buffed as Alice, Frosty’s Revenge, and Frost Cape were all nerfed. It takes a 35% slow to prevent the Man of Steel from flying, so players will have to buy multiple items to keep him down, severely disrupting their builds. The amount that he alone disrupts the match and forces the enemy team to change up their play style keep him head and broad shoulders above any other hero in the game. | ||
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 | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Roxie Added 2018/08/13 |
1. DS Lane 2. Roam |
A very flexible hero, capable of manning the Dark Slayer lane early and being a potent force in team fights into the late game. |
| The comparisons to Arum are obvious: extreme durability, a single-target snaring ult, and an inherent dislike of marksmen. Though Arum will always be the queen of durability when in the midst of multiple heroes, Roxie has the option of running away and maintaining her healing – not to mention her second ability is a much more reliable slow when running away. Comparing Agnie’s Grasp to Snare is a fun exercise among die-hard practitioners of the two heroes as well (actually, “fun” might be the wrong word): Snare is more reliable, but not always usable, while Agnie’s Grasp can be used as long as the target can be reached. We could go on, but the point is that choosing between the two is a matter of preference, and that in and of itself is a good enough reason for us to immediately stick Roxie into Tier S. | ||
| Rourke |
1. Jungle 2. DS Lane |
Durable despite a large amount of burst damage at his disposal and an amazing mustache, Rourke is able to obliterate enemies one-on-one. |
| He would have been SS if the recent bug (extra tower damage) in his kit were a feature. The sailor has a dramatic clear speed in the jungle and a very impressive mix of damage and survivability. His crossbow allows for incredible amounts of burst damage which can be used to either clear jungle monsters, destroy enemy structures, or take down opposing heroes very quickly. In addition, the Captain boasts a rather thick skin, Determination allowing him to keep up rather well in sustained brawls. | ||
| The Flash |
1. Mid 2. Jungle |
The Flash is a mobile assassin capable of rushing in and out of fights and dishing out his damage before enemies have a chance to react. |
| Capable of traversing the map extremely quickly and packing large amounts of burst damage, The Flash can make quick work of any squishy enemy he goes up against. If that weren’t enough, he also possess an untargetable ultimate similar to Murad and Zill, instantly elevating him above a large amount of the competition due to the safety and diving potential it provides. His mobility makes him a pain to fight against, heroes needing some form of hard CC to have a chance of taking him down, much like Murad. Unlike Murad, however, his ultimate isn’t tied to any unlocking mechanics and his passive acts as a type of fourth spell, especially when combined with an item like Loki’s Curse or Apocalypse. The amount of damage that he can deal coupled with his escapes and dodging potential make him a very valuable pick and one of the candidates for best mage in the game. | ||
| TeeMee |
1. Support 2. Roam |
A strong support tank who are able to control the flow of fights with large amounts of crowd control and a powerful revival ultimate. |
| The tanuki brothers offer a lot to fights, possessing a large amount of crowd control, an incredible passive, and a game-changing ultimate. The brothers are able to quickly reach the battlefield with Pooty Poots and latch onto specific heroes with their chain lance. Each of these abilities stun, Pooty Poots in particular stunning everyone in an area around them. Meanwhile, TeeMee and any potential allies don’t lose out on any gold when sharing due to their Scavenge passive. Above all of this is their ultimate, reviving both TeeMee and an ally should they die under their effects. This ability alone is fantastic, forcing the enemy to adapt to a slower fighting pace or else waste their early abilities. The amount that TeeMee cause enemies to play around them as well as the utility they offer keep them a high-ranking pick on the list. | ||
| Tulen |
1. Mid 2. Roam |
An early game mage who excels at finishing off enemies and staying just out of reach of the opposition. |
| Tulen gains a lot of his power from the early game. As his abilities have high base damage to offset poor scaling, he is able to tear down heroes very quickly in the early game. Combine this with high mobility via Lightning Strike and you have a hero who can be absolutely devastating early game. Should he take proper advantage of this strong early game, he can snowball and maintain his advantage all the way to the game’s end. Despite some recent nerfs to his base damage, his overall effectiveness remains about the same. Players will just have to be more aggressive to get an early lead. | ||
| The Joker |
1. Mid 2. Support 3. Roam (Abyssal) |
A marksman who plays more like a mage assassin, The Joker is both able to burst away opponents and slip out of fights unharmed. |
| Despite being labeled as a marksman, The Joker functions much more like a mage assassin. He relies more on his abilities – particularly his passive – than his normal attacks and deals damage in quick bursts rather than a sustained stream. His burst damage is phenomenal, the combination of Canned Laughter and Punchline capable of one-shotting certain heroes past the mid game. And while the Killing Joke requires careful aim, it too can rip through enemy health. The Joker is incredibly slippery as well, with Pick a Card, Any Card allowing him easy escape from physical enemies while Canned Laughter can help him put some distance in between himself and his enemy. He continues to be a valuable pick for teams as a damage dealer and poker, so his place on the list remains unchanged. | ||
| Lindis~ |
1. Jungle 2. Damage |
A marksman who is capable of immense amounts of damage and can quickly and safely move around the jungle. |
|
Lindis is similar to Violet in that her abilities aren’t that impressive overall, but she still manages to deal out insane amounts of damage. Lindis’ damage is sourced in passive effects – she attacks twice coming out of bushes and causes additional damage every third shot on an enemy – and her ultimate. The ultimate is the kicker, as it empowers her attack, can be woven in between normal attacks, and carries all of her on-hit effects and critical benefits. Beyond this, Lindis’ skills allow her quite a bit of safety within the jungle, granting vision of key areas and allowing her to check bushes from afar. She has grown popular in the pro scene and it is easy to see why, her effectiveness earning her a higher place on the list now that it is more easily visible. ~Tier 2 when not jungling |
||
| Max+ |
1. DS Lane 2. Roam |
A bruiser tank with a game changing ultimate who dominates enemies who rely on regeneration effects. |
|
A heavy hitter despite his high durability, Max can tear down enemies with his Static Shock passive. His main draw, however, is his ultimate, allowing him to fly across the map directly to a target. This is lethal to any sort of squishy target, particularly marksmen, and can ensure that a majority of the fights in a match are going to be heavily balanced in Max’s team’s favor. A hero that can singlehandedly disrupt the enemy’s draft is well worth a high place on the tier, his S ranking cemented by his high durability and his true damage passive. +Tier Range: SS to 2 |
||
| Zephys |
1. Jungle 2. DS Lane |
An assassin who boasts a large amount of damage and disruption ability despite his ability to withstand a significant amount of enemy fire. |
| While Lindis may have dethroned Zephys as undisputed best jungler in the game, he remains a strong force. Durable, damaging, and mobile, the business-minded assassin can disrupt enemies with his control and deal hefty amounts of damage all while remaining rather tanky himself. He received a minor range nerf in June’s patch, though that should not do too much to lower his presence in games. Zephys players will just need to be more mindful of when they engage an enemy and from where they approach. | ||
| Violet |
1. Damage 2. Jungle |
A high-damage marksman who is able to roll out of danger and poke enemies with an empowered, long range, high-frequency attack. |
| While no longer the undisputed best hero in the game, Violet maintains a lot of carrying potential. Even after a number of nerfs, Violet can be played either in the lane or as a jungler, the latter position allowing her the ability to quickly snowball. Her Tactical Fire is an escape, a poke, her main damage dealer, and a long-range tower attack all rolled into one. It’s good enough that Violet remains strong despite having close to no passive, an extremely situational second ability, and a nearly pointless ultimate. | ||
| Ryoma |
1. DS Lane 2. Jungle |
A warrior who uses his long range and high damage to burst away opponents before flipping to safety. |
| Ryoma has immense amounts of damage at his disposal, despite it being tuned down from its former glory. The samurai excels at poking and bursting down enemies that wander into range. He dominates the early game, which is rather important in a fast-paced game like Arena of Valor. He takes the place of marksmen in a warrior-focused meta, making him a very popular pick among pros. Damage isn’t the only thing he has going for him either, his Wailing Blade offering an effective stun when enemies are at an ideal range. | ||
| Murad+ |
Jungle | While difficult to play, Murad possesses the ability to dish out dramatic amounts of damage while remaining safely hidden from the battlefield. |
| Murad is a bit of an odd duck, coming close to playing like a mage in fights. A large amount of his power comes from his ultimate, an absolutely devastating area-of-effect ability. Not only does this deal tremendous amounts of damage, he is invulnerable while casting it. While easily the main reason for his placement this high on the list, his ultimate isn’t the only thing Murad has going for him. His other abilities allow him to quickly infiltrate enemy groups in order to unleash his ultimate as well as an escape for when the effect has finshed. This makes him very slippery, which is important given how squishy the assassin is.
+Tier Range: SS to S |
||
| Arum |
1. DS Lane 2. Anything but mid |
A tank who summons lion spirits to damage any who get close and drain the life of her enemies. |
| Able to sustain herself while damaging enemies and a menace when invading the enemy jungle, Arum can be a huge pain to her opponents. This is especially true in a warrior-heavy meta, she a clear counter to front line brawlers. Arum gains more health the more enemies are nearby, allowing her to deal with multiple targets at a time. Her ultimate is a great suppression, completely inescapable once the enemy is affected. As long as she has a bit of durability, this is a great way to set up kills and allow allies to either start a fight at an advantage or finish off an otherwise slippery opponents. While strong on her own, a part of her position in tier S comes from how well she counters a majority of currently meta heroes. | ||
| Kil’groth |
1. DS Lane 2. Jungle |
A warrior that rips towers and enemies apart with his mighty, high-speed normal attacks while safely immune to control effects. |
| Kil’groth has a large amount of damage potential, his normal attacks able to raise in strength to ridiculous levels. He has a number of attack steroids at his disposal, stacking together to both allow him to sustain himself and rip any tower or hero that gets in his path to shreds. The sea beast can be a nightmare when split pushing, constantly drawing over members of the enemy team to defend the Dark Slayer lane. The warrior can also reliably solo kill the Dark Slayer as well, giving his team a bit of passive control over the creature. | ||
| Liliana+ |
1. Mid 2. Roam |
A mage who can shift between a long range nuker and a close-range assassin, able to deal large amounts of damage as each. |
|
With heavy amounts of poking potential, Liliana can completely dominate the middle lane. In human form alone, her abilities allow her to fiercely poke and stun the enemy and quickly clear the minion waves. Her fox form acts as a great finisher, giving the mage a high power nuke along with a number of movement abilities to keep her regularly out of the enemy’s reach. The two forms together also give the mage six effective abilities, ensuring that she always has something at her disposal. Her extreme damage potential and high mobility make her an obvious candidate both for S tier and for Arena of Valor’s best mages. +Tier Range: SS to 1 |
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| Wonder Woman |
1. DS Lane 2. Roam |
A powerful warrior who can either rush into enemy teams or drag low-health targets towards her with her whip before tearing them down with a number of strong attacks. |
| A terror in the Dark Slayer lane, Wonder Woman is able to dish out damage, withstand enemy fire, and sustain herself between brawls. The amazon warrior is additionally an amazing initiator, her Lasso of Truth and Bracelets of Submission both allowing her to subdue enemies so that her allies can sweep in to clean them up. Add all of this damage potential with naturally high defenses and a bit of healing mixed in and you have yourself a top tier bruiser if ever there was one. | ||
| Xeniel |
DS Lane | A strong tank who can both take in and deal out large amounts of damage with his mighty shield and whose presence is felt all across the battlefield. |
|
Much like Max, Xeniel’s presence can be felt all over the battlefield. His global ultimate allows him to split-push lanes without losing the ability to sweep in and help his team should a fight break out. This causes the enemy to constantly suffer from a pushed Dark Slayer lane or risk being engaged 4 on 5 as someone tries to protect the Slayer lane towers. While this alone is a huge advantage, Xeniel’s other abilities don’t lag either. His shield can deal out large amounts of damage while simultaneously protecting the angel from enemy fire, and Malleus works as an effective initiate and chasing mechanism. All in all, Xeniel is an amazing support who causes the entire enemy team to change their play style just to compensate for his presence. |
||
| Maloch |
1. DS Lane 2. Roam |
Possessing a high-damage cleave and an excetional initiating ultimate, Maloch can tear apart enemy teams with his high durability and damage. |
| Maloch is a powerful warrior who can both take in and deal out large amounts of damage. Both Cleave and Plunder deal true damage after a single Cleave connects, ensuring depleted enemy health bars even when built tanky. His shield is another big point to his power as well, allowing him extra durability whenever more enemies are near. This is all before mentioning his powerful ultimate, one of the best initiations in the game. All together, Maloch is a devastating force for whichever team picks him. | ||
| Lu Bu+ |
1. DS Lane 2. Jungle |
A strong warrior who can control enemies with his disruptive abilities and is able to flip flights with a large damage and survivability steroid. |
| Lu Bu’s continued dominance of the top lane has earned him a spot up in the S tier, we unable to deny his twin tails any longer. Lu Bu is a powerful warrior who is able to disrupt enemy teams with his control abilities, deal out large amounts of damage, and maintain a surprising amount of sustain with his ultimate. The warrior can be terrifying to lane against and is nearly immune to harassment due to his low-cooldown ultimate. While lacking when it comes to flashiness, the warrior is very capable in fights and can brawl with the best of them, making him a definite candidate for the top ranks.
+Tier Range: S to 1 |
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Tier 1
The best of the “balanced” heroes.
(Click on a hero for ability mechanics, attack and ability ranges, hero guides, item builds, and more)
| Hero | Role | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Krixi Updated 2018/08/20 |
1. Damage 2. Roam |
A nimble mage who boasts large amounts of firepower when dealing with enemies up close due to her aura-based ultimate. |
| Update: We considered waiting until the next edition to move Krixi up, but with Krixi getting nerfed in the recently released Taiwan patch, and no indication of when the patch will hit other servers, we decided to make the necessary adjustment and move Krixi up between editions. The extra base damage given to Krixi in the June patch, combined with incremental buffs in previous patches, has indeed made a large enough difference that Krixi has truly become a top-tier mage. Now sporting significant damage from the beginning of the game (along with a twice–buffed ultimate), Krixi has showed both in professional and ladder play that she’s a force to be reckoned with.
[Previous Blurb] Having benefited from a number of tweaks and buffs in recent patches, Krixi has gained quite a bit of popularity recently, particularly among western pros and streamers. That said, whether she is actually playing on the same level as other mages or simply flavor of the month is a bit unclear, so we’re only moving her up a single tier for now. Krixi has always had quite a bit of damage at her disposal, her main problems being how long it took for her to hit her power spike and how vulnerable she was to enemy dives. Recent buffs have made her marginally better at escaping from enemies with a shifting of her passive’s movement speed into her ultimate for a better panic button. She additionally had some of her late-game damage moved to the early game, giving her a bit of a head start towards her power spike. |
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| Alice#~ |
1. Support | A nimble support who can boost along allies with speed-enhancing shields as well as trap foes in her powerful control abilities. |
| Don’t let the tiny appearance fool you: Alice is a fantastic support due to her control abilities. Her ultimate in particular can completely disrupt enemy teams, temporarily stripping them of their abilities and slowing everyone in the area down to a crawl. Beyond this, Alice has a nice stun which can be used as a set up for attacks or to peel enemies away from allies if the user masters its aim. Her shield is additionally useful, speeding affected heroes along to and protecting them from enemy abuse. While it might be hard at times to see the girl’s full effect in fights, she can be an invaluable part of any team. | ||
| Lauriel |
1. Mid 2. Roam |
Able to take on several enemies at the same time due to her powerful regeneration and spammable abilities, Lauriel plays like a durable mage warrior. |
| While no longer the broken powerhouse she was before, Lauriel is far from useless. She takes time to hit her power spike, but once there, she’s the same face-rolling 1 on 3 angel that you knew before. She can deal out consistent amounts of damage through her spammable abilities, healing herself all the while. When inside the disk created by Smite, she is an extremely lethal force, constantly turning invincible with Blink and exploding her passive on multiple foes. However, her reliance on her ultimate limits her somewhat and can lead to situations when she doesn’t have the same impact as other mages, keeping her out of tier S for the time being. | ||
| Thane~ |
1. Support | An exceptionally durable tank who is capable of peeling enemies away from allies and set up fights before finishing targets off with his devastating ultimate. |
| Thane offers quite a bit as both a tank and a support. He can lock down enemy heroes for quite a long time with his push + AoE stun combo, and his ultimate acts as an extremely powerful finishing move. The king knight lacks a bit when it comes to mobility and in general can’t do much on his own. These are rather minor flaws for a hero who generally acts as a support, however, leaving Thane an extremely competent tank overall. | ||
| Omen# |
1. DS Lane 2. Jungle |
Omen is a strong duelest who excels at one on one combat and has an unescapable ultimate that traps the target in its range. |
| A premiere duelist and a counter of big man Supes, Omen can be a very valuable hero. His play style makes him a terror in one on one conflicts, and he is rather good at ensuring that enemies can’t run off for help with his abilities. The attack speed steroid that is Thirst makes him very good at tearing down towers as well, making Omen an overall great top lane hero. What keeps him out of S tier is his lack of team fighting potential. While he excels in one on one fights, Omen doesn’t have much aside from his normal attack when up against multiple foes and thereby won’t be as effective as other top laners.
#Tier Range: S to 1 (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) |
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| Jinnar |
1. Roam 2. Mid |
A durable mage who excels at team fighting due to a number of area-of-effect abilities and a shielding ultimate. |
| Despite the love he has received in the form of several buffs in a row and a nice visual redesign, Jinnar continues to not receive much love from the community. We assure you that he has some muscle under that angular poncho, however. The mage excels in team fights, able to affect a majority of the fight’s participants with his AoE abilities. In addition, he is very durable, benefiting from a tanky build and possessing an ultimate that will further protect him from harm. Jinnar is a hero that needs to be played similarly to a warrior on the front lines. He is able to do quite a bit of damage when shown a bit of love and can severely dominate packed team fights. | ||
| Ormarr |
1. Support 2. Roam |
A warrior who enjoys setting up kills rather than gathering large amounts of his own, Ormarr is a crowd control machine and one of the premiere roaming supports. |
| Ormarr is a beast when playing as a roaming support. While not the heaviest hitter in the game, he is a crowd control machine and can single handedly lock down an enemy for an ally to pick off. He is additionally rather durable, able to absorb quite a bit of enemy fire as he knocks fools around with his sword and hammer. He would honestly be S tier if his damage wasn’t low for a warrior, though this is more the sign of proper balancing than too big of a mark against him. | ||
| Zuka |
1. Jungle 2. DS Lane |
An agile assassin who is able to quickly chase down opponents with a multitude of movement abilities and burst them away with empowered normal attacks. |
| Now with some deadlier bonus damage in his arsenal, Zuka has an easier time bursting people down than before. The panda fighter is exceptionally mobile, every one of his abilities acting as a movement ability. This both makes him frustratingly difficult to shake off and hard to take out, he simply fleeing the fight before the enemy has a chance to knock him out. Unlike similar heroes Nakroth and Wukong, Zuka is able to stay up and kicking for a while in team fights and can additionally find success in the Dark Slayer lane. This keeps him in a much more comfortable place than the others, despite sharing a mobility-focused kit. | ||
| Arthur^ |
1. DS Lane 2. Roam |
A warrior who can quickly traverse the map with a spammable speed boost and execute high priority targets in team fights. |
| Easily a hero we are criticised for promoting, but Arthur is far from a weak choice. His high mobility will ensure that he can always get to a fight, even from a distance. He boasts respectable amounts of survivability, allowing him to comfortably take the role of an off-tank, while his damage will ensure that he is both effective in team fights and able to clear minion waves quickly. Sure, you won’t get many cool points for using a free hero, but Arthur is still a capable hero in a number of positions. | ||
| Airi |
1. DS Lane 2. Jungle |
An extremely agile top laner who can sneak up to enemies to attack and zip away to safety with a number of dashes. |
| An agile warrior who excels at poking enemies and slipping away from dangerous encounters. Airi may not have quite the same brawling potential as some other powerful Dark Slayer lane heroes, but she makes up for it with her versatility and extreme mobility. The kunoichi can be played either in the Dark Slayer lane or the jungle, but recently has found more favor in the lane in part due to her potential in stealing jungle buffs. Her mobility allows her to easily zip towards monsters before escaping to safety. Her ultimate, Ryuu, additionally makes her surprisingly tanky in team fights while further adding to her impressive mobility. With so many strengths and only having the minor weakness of lower early game damage, Airi distinguishes herself as an excellent choice when looking for someone in the top lane. | ||
| Moren |
1. Jungle 2. Damage |
One of, if not the most durable marksman in the game, Moren is capable of tearing apart enemies with a stream of attacks. |
| Moren has distinguished himself as a jungler due to the incredible damage output he is capable of late game. In addition, the marksman boasts some rather impressive defenses, allowing for a much more aggressive play style than his fellow marksmen. The gunner is further able to maintain high movement speeds with his Tactical Maneuver, allowing him an easy time re-positioning himself in fights. If this wasn’t enough, Impact Barrage works as a self peeling ability and even allows him to stun enemies when combined with his ultimate. While it takes him a while to turn on, the inventor can be absolutely terrifying on the battlefield. | ||
| Kriknak~ |
1. Jungle 2. DS Lane |
A burst assassin who transitions into a warrior as the game progresses and is able to wear down high-health targets with a percentage based ability. |
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A heavy hitter when it comes to burst damage, Kriknak sports high damage, mobility, and the ability to translate into a more durable warrior later in the game. Bite, Terrifying Plague, and an item like Frost Cape or Omni Arms will all stack together after an ability to allow him to do dramatic amounts of damage in a single hit. Drone Drop and Horn Rush offer him quite a bit of movement as well, allowing the bug to very quickly approach enemies or move through the jungle. As the game progresses, Kriknak can build some tanky items in order to move from burst damage to more sustained damage over time. As his abilities heal him and deal percentage-based damage to enemies, he can be effective in fights even when his attack power is low. This versatility and the sheer amount of early burst that he offers make him a very viable jungle pick. |
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| Cresht |
1. Support 2. DS Lane |
A tank who excels at babysitting allied squishy heroes and can transform into an offensive and defensive juggernaut with his ultimate. |
| One of the game’s best babysitters, Cresht is able to peel away enemies and shield allies like no one’s business. His lack of a reliance on mana is another big plus, allowing him to spam his abilities with abandon in team fights and in lane. That’s not why you were interested in Cresht though, is it? No, you are more interested in the stacked sashimi samurai that is his ultimate. Cresht turns into an absolute monster when under the effects of Metamorphosis, all of his abilities changing and gaining additional damage, his normal attacks strengthening, he gaining a massive shield, and it all starting off with a stunning wave of moisture. This ultimate takes him from good to great, the only thing really holding him from a higher score being its reliance on a rage mechanic. | ||
| Zill~ |
1. Jungle 2. Roam |
A jungling mage who is able to quicly close the distance to his targets with a powerful ultimate that renders him invincible while casting. |
| A melee mage assassin who is able to quickly jump enemies and burst them down with Tornado. Zill has a lot going for him: a powerful ultimate that renders him untouchable while in use, a reliable movement ability for engaging and disengaging, and a high damage poke. Zill shines the brightest in the jungle, his passive upping his damage when dealing with jungle monsters and his ability combo well suited to ganking. The wind spirit isn’t a one trick pony, however, able to effectively lane when needed and possessing team fight capabilities vis-a-vis his capable poke and maneuverability. While not the same unmatched powerhouse that S rank mages and junglers are, the hero is still more than acceptable when filling a team. | ||
| Preyta |
1. Mid 2. Roam |
A long-range siege mage who can transition into a normal-attacking monster after activating his ultimate and absorbing his wyvern’s spirit. |
| A long-range mage who charges up high-powered wave attacks and disrupts enemies with his disruptive bomb. Preyta might require more careful planning than other mages, but his damage can reach immense heights and his presence alone can cause enemies to walk cautiously. When his sieging abilities aren’t enough, the Illest finds additional power in Disciple of the Plague, which powers up his normal attacks with magic damage. This allows him to act as a type of magic marksman when it is active, pummeling enemies with empowered attacks. Disciple of the Plague additionally empowers both of his normal abilities, giving Preyta a bonus empowered cast of each. Preyta is rather fast as well, his admittedly boring passive allowing him a high standard movement speed. If nothing else, this keeps the dragon rider from being helpless should a melee hero try to approach. | ||
| Raz+ |
1. Mid 2. Jungle |
A melee mage who is able to poke enemies with a power fireball before sweeping in and finishing them off with his powerful, magical punches. |
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Nimble and powerful, Raz can be a dominant force. He is a never-ending barrage of fireballs when laning, his energy resource and low cooldowns allowing him to regularly cast his abilities as long as he avoids spamming them all at once. Despite their high frequency, Raz’s projectiles hit hard and open the opponent up to further damage from his other abilities. The boxer is a master of displacement and setting up kills. His uppercut is a nice knock-up, leaving those struck temporarily helpless to further assault. His ultimate, Explosive KO, is a great way to force enemies towards allies while being heavily damaging on its own. Raz’s damage and utility make him a valuable asset and a very desirable mage pick. +Tier Range: S to 1 |
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| Chaugnar+ |
1. Support 2. Roam (both DS Lane and mid okay) |
A support tank who switches seamlessly between poking and harassing the back line while being able to cleanse himself and allies of control effects. |
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Chaugnar is a powerful support tank who also boasts a nice amount of damage in his kit. The chaos elephant’s biggest strength is his ability to purify both himself and allies of control effects, remaining immune to them for a short period afterward. This can completely change the flow of team fights and leave heroes that rely on strong disables helpless. In addition, Chaugnar’s other abilities offer respectable amounts of damage on their own, Energy Surge slowing enemies in a wide cone while providing a number of benefits to Chaugnar himself. All of this together makes Chaugnar a capable baby sitter, a capable tank, and a capable initiator, giving him a healthy spot in Tier 1. +Tier Range: S to 1 |
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| Skud |
1. DS Lane 2. Support |
A brawler who is both able to dish out significant amounts of burst damage and set up ganks for his team with a number of strong control abilities. |
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Skud is a newcomer to the tier, having previously bounced between tiers 2 and 3. He recently benefited from a number of buffs, granting him a hefty amount of damage and pushing him into the spotlight. The increased exposure has let us see more of what the brawler is capable of, and there’s quite a lot to be impressed by. First and foremost, the warrior offers heavy disruption of the enemy team. All three of his abilities provide some sort of control effect, be it a knock up, a slow, or a knock back. The knock back in particular is rather powerful, it able to break up team fights and allow assassins to pick off individual heroes. His damage hits rather hard as well, Power Glove allowing him to absolutely wreck squishier heroes. |
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Tier 2
Most Tier 2 heroes are viable picks in professional competition.
(Click on a hero for ability mechanics, attack and ability ranges, hero guides, item builds, and more)
| Hero | Role | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Slimz+ |
1. Damage 2. Jungle |
Capable of devastating ganks and of quickly tearing down enemy tanks, Slimz uses a large spear to stun from afar before jumping in to finish his target off. |
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While capable of large amounts of damage, Slimz needs quite a bit of gold and set up in order to hit his power spike. The current pace of the game is slanted against slow-developing marksmen, giving him a difficult hurdle to get over right out of the gate. His reliance on careful positioning and late power spike can make him a bit of a risky choice for many and difficult to the rest. That said, it is undeniable that the Trustworthy is capable of large amounts of damage, particular when facing enemies stacked with HP. +Tier Range: 1 to 3 |
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| Fennik~ |
1. Jungle 2. Damage |
Possessing dramatic amounts of burst damage early game, Fennik is a marksman both exceptionally capable at tearing down jungle monsters and enemy towers. |
| Fennik has high amounts of burst damage, making him able to rip apart monsters and towers, especially in the early game. The marksman can carry out very quick ganks, causing enemies to explode before they have a proper chance to retaliate. He is also great at securing objectives, able to quickly solo the Abyssal Dragon and even the Dark Slayer faster than most other heroes. That said, his power falls off later in the game compared to other marksmen and will be vulnerable to enemies after they start to catch up in levels and gold. A player using Fennik will have to try and finish the game early or risk letting all their early-game work go to waste. | ||
| Tel’Annas^ |
1. Damage 2. Roam |
A high range marksman who can tear enemies apart with her quick attacks, provided she can stay in a safe position to do so. |
| A capable carry who got left behind by a meta that hates non-jungling marksmen. Tel’annas has a lot going for her: high amounts of damage, a ridiculous range, and a hefty amount of kiting potential to boot. That said, she is absolutely helpless if an assassin or warrior is able to get close and attack, she fully relying on her teammates to keep her safe. She additionally requires quite a bit of farm to hit her power spike, not able to offer much to the team at all before she has three or four items. The current quick and somewhat warrior-focused meta will make this rather difficult, so Tel’annas players will need to work rather hard to get to a position where they are properly carrying the team. | ||
| Diao Chan |
1. Damage 2. Roam |
With a large amount of crowd control and some moderate damage at her disposal, Diao Chan can greatly disrupt enemies when able to land her abilities. |
| Having been lifted from the lower tiers with a now stackable Diamond Dust, Diao Chan is a capable mage able to completely lock down enemies. Her abilities are rather spammable, dealing quite a bit of damage on their own and slowing or stopping the affected enemies. While still hard to regularly land, the additional charges of Diamond Dust gives Diao Chan a bit of wiggle room when it comes to aiming. This additionally allows her to chain stuns, suppressing high priority targets or enemies that had grouped together. Her lack of an escape mechanism keeps her from really shining, though, leaving her extremely vulnerable to enemies who successfully close the distance on her – a big feature in the current meta. | ||
| Kahlii |
1. Mid 2. Roam |
A long range mage capable to tearing through minion waves very quickly and attacking enemies from impressively far away. |
| An absolute monster when it comes to clearing lanes, Kahlii has benefited greatly from a number of buffs that came her way earlier in the year. The spirit of vengeance has found new popularity as an extreme range attacker, able to bombard distant enemies with her ultimate. Spiritual Blessing, meanwhile, gives her speed, damage, and durability, keeping her alive while allowing her to rotate quickly between lanes. She is one of few mages who still retains some effectiveness when her abilities are on cooldown as well, her normal attacks scaling with magic damage and piercing through enemies. She is an effective midrange hero, if out-shown by more popular picks for the position. | ||
| Natalya |
1. Damage 2. Roam |
A burst mage who can dish out dramatic amounts of damage with her combo when able to land each shot. |
| With an absurd amount of damage at her disposal, Natalya is able to burst down enemy heroes very quickly. Her burst comes in handy in other ways as well, as she has quite possibly the fastest wave clear in the game. Recent buffs help her keep up a constant barrage of punishment, her Arcane Spirits now shortening in cooldown for each that hits her opponents. Add this in with recent projectile speed improvements and Natalya will have a much easier time harassing foes in the lane. She still may have problems when facing agile foes, her abilities ineffective if unable to land. In addition, Natalya suffers from the same mobility problem as some of her other mid-tier mage fellows, unable to do much should an enemy close the cap between themselves and the mage. | ||
| Taara |
1. DS Lane 2. Roam |
A warrior tank who is able to deal out large amounts of damage when her health is low and regenerate any health she is missing with her powerful ultimate. |
| An effective tank who packs a lot of damage and regeneration for when things get close, Taara can make for a rather powerful bruiser. Each of her abilities grant her a bit of additional health when used, her ultimate close to acting as a full heal, even when the battle is raging on. Her damage is rather impressive as well, increasing as her health falls – often baiting enemies into believing they are winning the fight before she turns it around. Taara’s main weakness is an obvious counter, however, she completely shut down should an enemy purchase either Curse of Death or Tome of the Reaper. That said, we were very close to moving Taara up to Tier 1, especially after her impressive performance at the AWC boot camp. | ||
| Nakroth+~ |
Jungle | A capable assassin with large amounts of damage who relies on his exceptional mobility to make up for lacking defenses. |
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One of the most mobile heroes in the game, a good Nakroth is able to rush around the battlefield to gank, split push, and pick off epic creatures without fear of being caught. The assassin additionally has some nice damage as well, able to slice apart squishy enemies before their allies can try to stop him. Nakroth has an amazing early game, but falls off hard later in the game. This is especially the case if you have been carrying early, enemies now focused on taking Nakroth out ASAP in fights. His extremely low durability causes him to get snuffed out rather quickly should he get caught, and if facing a team with hard crowd control – most of the meta heroes at the moment – he will have to be extra careful to not get taken out. +Tier Range: S to 4 |
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| Peura/Payna~ |
1. Support | A pure support who heals and protects allies with her auras while also chain stunning enemies who have grouped together. |
| Peura is a bit odd, though she can find some effectiveness in most teams. I think so, anyway, and I’m the one writing the list*, so there. Fite me. The fawn is able to sustain her team for long periods, her heal keeping them up longer in fights and refreshing them afterwards as to allow for more efficient attacking of objectives like towers or epic creatures. She has some decent crowd control at her disposal as well, able to chain stun with her Forest Sentry as well as stop multiple enemies at once with Nature’s Wrath. Her main problems is needing both ability power for her heal and supporting items to properly assist her team, causing her to split focus and ultimately come a bit short in both regards.
*I let Green have veto power on this one. Don’t blame me – DTwo |
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| Astrid |
1. DS Lane 2. Roam |
An aggressive warrior who can survive large amounts of damage as she makes her assault, going completely immune to it when using her ultimate. |
| A warrior who can become a decent damage dealer when building attack damage. Or was it that she can become a decent off-tank when building durability? Tencent can’t seem to decide, waffling between the two ideas in their tweaks to her build. Either way you build her, Astrid will be far from useless given the damage she can deal / protection she can offer. Her ultimate can act as either an area of effect disable or execution move depending on its timing. It can additionally pull her out of tight situations with the invulnerability it provides while charging. While needing more damage or durability to be considered one of the greats in the game, Astrid stands as a decent warrior who can excel in capable hands. | ||
| Butterfly^~ |
Jungle | An assassin who jumps from opponent to opponent to finish them off in fights, regaining her abilities and health as she does so. |
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Her recent rework has made Butterfly a more capable and viable pick, but not by enough to bump her up a tier. The assassin now has a means of disengaging from fights, something she sorely lacked before. In addition, she scales more with attack damage now than health, meaning that players will be able to squeeze some more damage out of the killer. That said, she still lacks the versatility of some other assassins or the sheer carry potential of others. She is pidgeon-holed as a rather capable finisher without being able to do much engaging or brawling outside of that. |
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| Mina#~ |
1. Support 2. Roam |
A tank who supports allies by drawing in enemies and forcing them into attacking as she whittles away their health with her whirling scythe. |
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While capable of finding a lot of strength when playing with an organized team, Mina is less powerful when alone. The scythe wielder is able to drag foes towards her and trap them there with a taunt, forcing them away from allies so that said allies can either burst them down with attacks or escape to safety. This is great when roaming and setting up ganks and continues to find use in team fights should Mina have built tankily enough to withstand the enemy’s attacks. Her main weakness is not in her own kit, but in how she relies on allies for a follow up after trapping someone. Unless rather fed, Mina will have trouble finishing enemies on her own and thereby can feel underpowered in less organized teams. |
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| Lumburr#~ |
1. Support 2. Roam |
An excellent baby-sitting tank who offers both passive protection to allies and a large amount of crowd control in fights. |
| Having recently found a lot of love from pro players, Lumburr has proven himself to be a useful support tank. With large amounts of crowd control at his disposal, he is great at disrupting enemy teams and protecting allies with armor or shields. We left him in tier 2 as, like Mina, he has very little to offer when on his own and requires careful coordination from the team in order to be effective. While this does not make him bad, it does make him a bit less desirable than other supports or tanks that can do much more when left alone. | ||
| Wisp~ |
1. Damage 2. Jungle |
A marksman able to rip apart clumps of enemies with both explosive ammunition and a long range artillery strike. |
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Wisp is a marksman who is centered around critically striking enemies with both her attacks and abilities. Given that Shock and Awe and the enhanced damage from Loose Cannon benefit from critical damage, Wisp can deliver heavy amounts of damage extremely quickly with either ability. In addition, Shock and Awe has a fantastic range which allows her to attack enemies from virtually unreachable positions, and the somewhat recent Barrel Bomb buff makes her a rather effective tower siege hero. She runs into some problems with Loose Cannon, however, as it’s her main form of escape from bad situations as well as an important damage steroid. Wisp players will constantly be forced to choose between maximizing their damage or saving the ability for escape. In addition, Barrel Bomb is awkward to land and her passive is extremely situational, keeping her from shining as brightly as other marksmen. |
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| Yorn+ |
1. Damage 2. Mid |
Capable of immense amounts of damage that pierces through enemies in a line, Yorn is a powerhouse when able to position himself well. |
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Despite being one of the first heroes that players unlock, Yorn is capable of some of the highest DPS in the game. The flurry of arrows that he unleashes every few hits and after every ability allow him to rip apart enemy heroes and buildings alike. His global ultimate, while at times hard to land, can make him an excellent finisher as well, allowing him to pick off heroes who believed they had successfully withdrawn from the fight. He lacks mobility or a reliable way to peel away enemies, however, leaving him very vulnerable whenever an ally isn’t actively protecting him. This, along with a heavy dependence on positioning, hold back his potential from being truly great. He seems to be going through a painful self-image problem as well, as he’s lost the B-movie charm with his updated voice lines. +Tier Range: 1 to 4 |
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| Batman+~ |
1. Jungle 2. DS Lane |
One of very few heroes with stealth abilities at their disposal, Batman can absolutely destroy squishy enemies left out in the open. |
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Given the stealth tied into his ultimate, Batman is capable of assassination like none other. He is an absolute terror to squishy foes early game, able to burst down enemies while maintaining decent amounts of survivability himself. This is in part due to his Batarang, which deals a tremendous amount of damage when it detonates. He excels at chasing enemies as well, his passive increasing his movement speed in the same way that Superman’s does. Unfortunately for Bruce, however, the Caped Crusader cannot fly, no matter how much he chases his foes. Batman falls off late game, his damage not enough to deal with enemies that have built up their defenses and he himself being vulnerable to hard crowd control. He can offset this a bit by building as a bruiser later in the game, but he falls a bit short of specialized bruisers in both damage and survivability. +Tier Range: 1 to 3 |
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| Wukong~ |
Jungle | Able to completely devastate solo heroes, Wukong relies on critical strikes to deliver heavy amounts of burst damage to enemies. |
| An assassin who is able to swiftly and decisively destroy enemy carries, Wukong can be terrifying to new players. All of Wukong’s abilities empower his next normal attack in a manner similar to Omni Arms or Frost Cape (which are fantastic items for the monkey king, by the way). The additional damage on God of War is also included in critical damage calculations, meaning his crits hit harder than heroes for whom additional damage is kept separate. While this allows him rather immense damage potential, it additionally makes him less reliable than other assassins. Should Wukong fail to critically strike, his damage will be lackluster and his combo will be severely hampered. While he has an escape mechanism built in with his ultimate, the monkey king will have much more trouble handling foes if he finds himself without the favor of RNGsus. | ||
| Mganga |
1. Mid 2. Roam |
With poisons that both damage enemies and heal allies, Mganga excels in drawn out fights with his stacking damage of time effects. |
| Mganga’s stacking poison clouds helped him out more than we previously thought. The jester has a respectable amount of both sustained damage through his poison and burst with his ultimate, provided he can build up stacks on the enemy, of course. While his healing is a bit lackluster, it can be a nice pick-me-up after a brawl and help his allies siege enemy structures just a bit more easily. He still suffers when it comes to mobility, helpless to assassins that manage to get close to him and has a hard time chasing enemies he hasn’t already afflicted with poison. | ||
| Grakk#~ |
Support | A tank who plays like a support, Grakk is capable of dragging enemies to his waiting team or suppress targets with an area of ultimate |
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Grakk got a huge buff with his new silence, now actually able to assist teammates when his hook isn’t available. Devil’s Chain is still his signature move, though, allowing for fantastic initiations if it lands. It can additionally be used to ensure that enemies can’t escape from fights, pulling them back if they try to run or simply moving them further away from safety as the fight continues. World Devourer can lend a lot to fights as well, though primarily when playing in an arranged team. The big boy can suppress the entire enemy team if he gets a good shot in, his allies then able to tear them apart as he holds them in place. This can be rather difficult without ally coordination however, and he cannot do much if left alone. For this reason, Grakk isn’t nearly as valuable of a choice as he is in organized teams, something Thailand’s AWC teams continue to show us. |
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| Baldum |
1. Support 2. DS Lane |
A disruptive tank with the ability to both brawl and pick off targets who are out of position. |
| Without much to go off in terms of professional play, we’re tentatively slotting Baldum in at Tier 2, based on our own experiences playing as, with, and against The Monolith, as well as community hearsay on the tank. Baldum’s Wild Charge is certainly one of the best abilities in the game, setting up enemy heroes on a platter for his team. However, the inconsistency and unwieldiness of Wild Prison is a major negative, particularly when most of the best heroes in Arena of Valor are defined by the power of their ultimate. Add in his weakness to ranged heroes, and we had a difficult time sticking him higher than this, despite how tantalizing it is to have a hero whose damage scales with armor. We will certainly keep an eye on the Arena of Valor World Cup to see if the professionals have anything to teach us about Baldum. | ||
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 | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Azzen’Ka |
1. Damage 2. Roam |
Azzen’ka is able to lock down opponents with a number of control abilities, though they can be somewhat difficult to land. Azzen’ka also suffers from extreme lack of mobility and durability. |
| Azzen’ka recently received a boost to his passive that makes him much better at controlling enemies. Now without a cooldown, enemies will find themselves much less mobile as Azzen’ka continually petrifies them. This won’t amount to too much if he doesn’t have allies nearby to clean up the kills after the enemies are petrified, however. This wouldn’t be too bad if there weren’t a number of other mages who could both control enemies and deal large amounts of damage / be very mobile as well. While decent at area denial and stopping enemies in team fights, there are too many other, better mages for Azzen’ka to rank as much more than a tier 3. | ||
| Ilumia+ |
1. Damage 2. Roam |
A mage capable of locking down the entire enemy team with her ultimate, Ilumia can unleash a steady stream of controlling orbs as she spams her abilities. |
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Illumia has the odd position of being hard to master and lacking much reward to those who figure her out. Her kit requires some set up before fights as well as specific ability usage to get the most out of her abilities, and many will find that these abilities are rather lackluster for all the effort. She has a bit of additional utility now, able to reveal enemy locations in a manner similar to Max, though this cannot be used to regularly check enemy locations due to the ability’s long cooldown. In addition, she is squishy and immobile, making her easy prey to enemies who can get past her front line. The goddess will need quite a bit before she is on the same level as other mages. +Tier Range: 2 to 3 |
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| Zanis+ |
1. Jungle 2. DS Lane |
A warrior who grows in power with each kill or assist that he scores, Zanis is able to rip apart even the tankiest of enemies due to his possession of true damage. |
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Of all the tier 3 heroes, Zanis arguably has the most potential. He is capable of insane amounts of damage while building tankily, able to tear apart squishy and tanky heroes alike. His main problem is his need for kills. The dragoon will be a complete bust if he is not able to get any kills early, his damage coming from his passive. In addition, his gap closer is a simple speed steroid which, while not useless, allows the enemy to see his approach and thereby start an early escape. Had he a bit of potential for coming back after a slow start, he would be much more consistent in quality, though that is sadly not the case for the time being. +Tier Range: 2 to 3 |
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| Arduin |
1. DS Lane 2. Roam |
A warrior with plenty of crowd control at his disposal along with a regular shield and the ability to regenerate lost health with his passive. |
| Arduin got his passive tweaked in the most recent patch, which was huge for the warrior. No longer will he be wandering around the map looking for something to attack for a bit of regeneration. It’s not quiiiiiiite enough to lift him out of tier 3 yet, though, at least based on our observations so far. Players seem more keen on The Spirit, however, so perhaps consistent quality will change our minds. He has a lot of crowd control at his disposal and isn’t exactly a slouch when it comes to damage either. His ultimate allows him a nice bit of mobility when used, though he is very slow otherwise, with abilities that require a significant cast time. Mobile heroes (see: most currently meta heroes) will have an easy time juking around the warrior to get to the squishy allies he’s supposed to be protecting, while the best DS lane duelers still have the upper hand. | ||
| Aleister# |
1. Support 2. Roam |
With a large number of control abilities, Aleister excels at zoning enemies out of fights and setting targets up for his team to pick off. |
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Aleister, along with Skud, looked to have received a nerf but in actuality was buffed. The damage of his passive was lowered, but its internal cooldown was removed in exchange, allowing him many more usages of the effect. In addition, his abilities now grant a charge with each tick of damage rather than at the beginning and end of each ability. This means that Matrix of Woe will cause the passive to activate 2.7 times rather than 0.7 times should an enemy stand within it for its entirety. As with Lumburr and Mina, however, he is reliant on a high level of team coordination to make use of his low-damage, high-control abilities. Further, his standing as a support with the mage tag means that building teams with him is difficult, especially when your teammates aren’t likely to be professional-level theory crafters. Were he to lose a bit more damage in return for some mobility and tankiness (along with a Tank or Support tag), Aleister would actually be quite the solo-queue powerhouse. #Tier 2 in organized teams |
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| Ignis |
1. Being Annoying When Frosty’s Revenge is Equipped 2. Roam |
Dealing sustained damage rather than bursting, Ignis enjoys running around fights and trapping opponents while barraging them with fireballs. |
| Poor Ignis gets ignored again, still trying to find some love from papa Tencent. While the mage isn’t completely useless, able to be a nusiance in the laning phase with his fireballs and fire rain, he won’t be able to act as much more than a support in team fights. His damage is just too pathetic to truly impact the enemy team. It’s a shame, as his kit has a lot of potential to be really effective if the numbers were there. However, a series of nerfs has left him as a pseudo ranged brawler. This might work if enemies weren’t able to completely ignore him when alone. Hopefully he will get the love he needs to rise from the ashes soon, but Ignis mains will need to keep on patiently waiting for that day to come. | ||
| Gildur |
1. Damage 2. Roam |
A control-focused tank, Gildur can set up fights for his allies by trapping groups of enemies with his ultimate or stunning them with his Brilliance. |
| Gildur received a much needed patch recently to bring him up from trash tier, rising to just meh. At least he can deal a bit of damage now. Players who like the gold connoisseur will still be able to set up kills with his stuns, but his awkward passive animation has yet to be touched and he falls behind all other tanks in terms of control, survivability, and mobility, so it is hard to build much of a case for ol’ Gildur. | ||
| Veera |
1. Damage 2. Roam |
Excelling in one on one combat, Veera is a simple mage that can deal large amounts of damage to single targets. |
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Veera is another hero who has gotten a bit of attention from Tencent and no longer sits at the absolute bottom, just close to it. The succubus remains a rather capable duelist, able to deal out large amounts of damage to a helpless, single target. Her recent cooldown reductions and refreshing passive have made her a bit better in team fights as well, now able to semi-spam her high damage abilities. She has to stay up for a while to manage this, however, which can be difficult for poor Veera. As one might notice from looking at her, she has chosen to go without much in terms of defensive covering. If more than a single foe jump her, she’ll be completely unable to defend herself and an easy target to her attackers. |
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| Valhein |
1. Damage 2. RNG 2nd stun |
A marksman who is focused more on attack speed than damage, Valhein can build as either a marksman or a mage as he stun locks opponents. |
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AP Valhein is a bit better now, we guess? Okay, AD Valhein is overall a bit better now as well, given his reliance on attack speed rather than attack damage. The marksman still falls to the absolute bottom of the list when it comes to ADCs, however, and by a rather wide margin. Much like Veera, if attacked by more than a single foe, he will have to hope his admittedly high movement speed is enough to get him out of danger on its own. His damage is also rather lackluster, especially in the later parts of the game when marksmen are supposed to really turn on. If you want an annoying marksman with a grating voice, go play Wisp instead. |
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| Marja |
1. Any Lane (no jungle) 2. Roam |
A magical brawler, Marja rejuvenates her health as she attacks and is able to safely dive under towers to finish off fleeing enemies. |
| As if daring people to say that all heroes are overpowered on release, Tencent let out a real stinker. The hero has a bit going for her, we suppose. She can dive towers well and isn’t completely without damage, particularly once the (hopefully) upcoming patch hits. That said, her magic damage doesn’t scale well, nor does it offer anything outside of the damaging effect. Embarrassingly, many have found that simply building up her normal attacks is more effective than building her as a mage, showing just how ineffective her abilities are. | ||
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 | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Omega |
DS Lane | As all of his abilities damage towers – and two can stun them – Omega can rip down enemy structures rather quickly. |
| Poor Omega. There is a good hero buried in here somewhere, but his animations and numbers just don’t cut it. The fact that his animations of all things are a big problem is rather frustrating, similar to Gildur’s situation. Something is wrong when an enemy can walk safely away from a normal attack modifier. His other abilities aren’t that great either. He has an AoE stun, but it has a significant cast time for its relatively small area. Further, his ultimate, Exterminate, is just Ormarr’s ultimate but without the chance of stunning enemies. We suppose he’s fast, so he can lead enemies who choose to chase him around as a form of distraction? He definitely can tear down towers quickly due to his passive, but so can Omen, Rourke (for now), and Kil’groth while also being able to do other things for their team. | ||
| Toro |
1. Support 2. Roam |
Toro has high durability and thereby can withstand large amounts of enemy fire without much worry. |
| Oh Toro. Poor, innocent Toro. Why does Tencent hate you so? The poor cow has nothing going for him except for his rather incredible survivability. While yes, it is really hard to kill him, players can subvert this by just ignoring him. His second skill paradoxically self-stuns him while making him immune to crowd control, his ranges are too short to be properly used to initiate, he doesn’t offer the team any damage, and his ultimate is a worse version of one of Arum’s basic abilities. One of her basic abilities! He needs… anything, really, to get out of the bottom slot. Some sort of actual utility to the team or a reason for the enemies to attack him. Actually attack him in game, that is, not just verbally attack him for picking such a weak hero. | ||
Past Hero Tier Lists
- Arena of Valor Hero Tier List Fifth Edition – 2018/06/08
- Arena of Valor Hero Tier List Fourth Edition – 2018/04/27
- Arena of Valor Hero Tier List Third Edition – 2018/03/08
- Arena of Valor Hero Tier List Second Edition – 2018/01/26
- Arena of Valor Hero Tier List First Edition – 2017/12/21
Let Us Know What You Think!
Don’t agree with our list? Let us know where you disagree in the comments below or at our Twitter or Facebook.
Arena of Valor (AoV) Recommended Article List
| ▼ Popular Articles | |
|---|---|
 Beginner's Guide |
 Hero Tier List |
 Hero Class Guide |
 Armory (Item List) |
| ▼ Popular Articles | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Beginner's Guide |
Hero Tier List |
Hero Class Guide |
Armory (Item List) |
How do you guys counter the new hero in the solo lane
By new hero, do you mean Amily? She is strong 1v1 hero but weak to CC and can be kited easily. You can figure out the rest, right?
Add Amily and maybe put Valhein in tier 2 or 1.
Welp…. Valhein is meta now.
Think it’s time to release the seventh tier list yet?
I really think that Lauriel deserves a nerf in her rank due to the condition that you need really high skill level to play her in the current Meta.
I would set her to the same level as Nakroth
And I would also recommend to set up Lindis and Roxie to the SS tier because they have the same when not a higher game impact like Superman.
Well, I think then I’m a masoquist, because I love playing Toro, and I think it’s not that bad. Played as a support, and then entering all team fights, it’s a very good hero. In my two accounts I have a 52.5% and a 47.1% of win rate. Also, if you say it’s abilities are too short, maybe you can stay in the bush and come out of there. The combo is first ability, second inmidiatly, and ultimate.
what tier will roxie be in?
Same thing im wondering lol.
What rank will New hero be in
I feel like Arduin deserves at least tier 2. Sure, he’s really slow, but he’s versatile, has strong CC and damage, and was picked quite often in AWC.
His passive is still very crappy tho. His 2nd skill ( shield) should get buffed too. Otherwise I really like that hero.
Please update the Item Builds
Hey can u tell me who is the best toplaner at the moment if played correctly. I would say lu bu and omen but they both got a huge nerf
We generally don’t like splitting hairs so much on the single best hero in a role unless there is a clear front-runner (e.g. pre-nerf Violet.) Lu Bu, Omen, Ryoma, Wonder Woman, Xeniel, and Max all are examples of exceptionally effective top lane heroes and picking between them would start to get rather difficult, especially since their playstyles vary.
Definitely Superman and roxie
I honestly disagree with Baldum’s placement in Tier 2. His Ult is pretty hard to aim, sure, but over time you get better and also, the rest of his kit simply outweighs his only con imho. Played well, and you have a really tanky (this boi is thicc) tank who can disrupt enemy laners very well.
It’s like playing Lindis for the first time and having a hard time aiming her traps. You just need to overcome that *shrug* Although I do understand that even with time it’s still hard, it’s not going to set Baldum back from performing well in games; it’s just going to be hard to bring out his full potential.
We understand your stance and were debating between tiers 1 and 2, however went with two due to his dependence on teammates to fully excel and the nature of his ultimate. That said, Tier 2 is by no means bad and is generally where most heroes should fall in a balanced meta. We will continue watching Baldum over the coming weeks to see how he performs as we gather data for the next list.
Thanks for the reply! I do understand your points on why you guys decided to put him in Tier 2, but lol, I guess we still disagree on that. But yeah, Tier 2 isn’t bad at all, and we might definitely see people getting more and more into Baldum’s potential. I guess maybe then you guys might move him up if the results turn out well, lol.
Thanks guys. That helps a lot.