Arena of Valor (AoV) - Kriknak Hero Guide

A guide on Arena of Valor's Kriknak, The Scarabim. Kriknak is a burst assassin hero who uses his high mobility to close in on his prey for the kill.


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Arena of Valor Kriknak

Kriknak is an assassin hero who is able to traverse the map at high speeds. In addition, he possesses a high burst damage combo which can tear through enemy heroes very quickly. These traits together make him a very adept jungler and ganker.

Overview

  • Strengths
    • High Burst Damage – When utilizing his basic ability combo, Kriknak will be able to destroy his opponents’ health extremely quickly. He has high natural damage, great attack damage scaling, and an ability that scales with the opponent’s health, allowing him to square off with more durable enemies as well.
    • High Mobility – Through both his second and ultimate abilities, Kriknak is able to cover large amounts of ground very quickly. This makes him great at chasing enemies as well as offers him a very quick jungle clear speed.
    • More Durable than Other Assassins – With more favorable defensive stats than other assassins and some reliable HP and mana restores, Kriknak can shift into playing as a warrior later in the game. This is important, as assassins fall off in effectiveness as the game goes on.
  • Weakness
    • Predicatble Attack Pattern – Kriknak will almost always go through the same motions to attack. A hero with a predictable pattern is easier to plan against than a hero whose moves can be varied.
    • Very Weak to Control Abilities – While more durable than other assassins, Kriknak still is vulnerable when his rhythm is stopped. Avoid getting stunned or slowed whenever possible.
    • Very low Control – Kriknak will have trouble sticking to more mobile foes, lacking any slows or stuns outside of his ultimate. Players will have to buy control items like Hyoga’s Edge or Frost Cape to keep enemies from fleeing too easily.

Hero Basic Strategy

  • Laning Strategy
    • Like most other assassins, you will be starting the game in the jungle and moving out to the lanes to gank after gaining your ultimate ability.
  • Leveling Progression:
    • Start by picking your first ability, Terrifying Plague. This is your main damage dealer, the damage from the mark stacking with Bite for huge damage potential. In the early game, your second ability can help you quickly navigate the jungle. Using it to jump over the walls and barriers in the jungle makes Kriknak one of the fastest junglers in the game. Using both abilities well can lead to holding both jungle buffs and your ultimate ability before the game’s two-minute mark.
    • Gank often, your abilities have a low cooldown, lessened even further by the jungle buffs you should regularly be collecting. Your job is to alleviate pressure from the lanes by killing the opposing heroes or causing them to retreat.
    • Return to killing jungle monsters whenever enemies are playing too conservatively for you to attack.
  • Battle Strategy:
    • Ganking: Due to his passive, Kriknak has a very clear attack pattern that he must follow to maintain maximum damage. Each ability should be followed by a basic attack to make use of Bite’s bonus damage. Use your ultimate to approach the lane before jumping next to your opponent. Attack with a basic attack before hitting them with your Terrifying Plague and attacking again. Finally, use your Horn Rush to finish them off to the best of your ability. If this wasn’t enough to finish them off or get them to the point where a few auto attacks would kill them, retreat.
    • One on One: Follow the same basic attack pattern that you would while ganking. As an assassin, you want to get your damage in as quickly as possible. Your limited HP makes you very vulnerable to incoming attacks and control abilities. Use your Horn Rush and Drone Drop to keep close to your enemy or to escape if things start looking too rough.
    • One on Two: As an assassin, your specialty is one on one fights. As such, you should find a single enemy (preferably a support or marksman) and stick to them. If the opponents have strong control abilities, try to lure them into missing before going in for a kill.
    • Team Fights: Wait for your tanks and warriors to initiate and draw the enemies’ attention before going in yourself. Use your mobility abilities to get you behind the front lines where you can attack the enemy marksmen and supports with your normal combo.
    • Escaping the Battle
      • Use your Horn Rush to dash through walls and shake enemies who lack any mobility abilities of their own.
      • Your ultimate increases your movement speed for a period before you jump, allowing for easier escape. Do not be shy about using the jump itself to put distance between yourself and an enemy either.

    Abilities

    Arena of Valor Bite Bite – Passive – When Kriknak’s ability hits an enemy, the next normal attack will be enhanced and deal an additional 80 (+1.0 Additional AD)ˀ physical damage.
    • This is the cause of Kriknak’s specific attack pattern, every ability needing to be followed up with an attack.
    • This stacks with items like Frost Cape or Omni Arms which give a damage bonus after using an ability.
    Arena of Valor Terrifying Plague Terrifying Plague – Kriknak summons a plague of larvae that deals 360/420/480/540/600/660  (+1.5 Additional AD) physical damage and inflicts the target with a Mark of Horror. When Kriknak attacks marked enemies, they take additional magic damage equal to  8% of maximum HP (+0.02 for every additional AD), the cooldown of the ability is reduced by 3 seconds, and Kriknak’s mana is restored.
    • As this deals damage based on the enemy’s max HP, it is more effective on tanks than other classes.
    • Keep in mind that the additional damage from Mark of Horror is magical and will be resisted by an enemy’s magic resistance rather than armor.
    Arena of Valor Horn Rush Horn Rush – Kriknak lunges forward with his enormous horns, dealing 390/445/500/555/610/665 (+1.5 additional AD) physical damage to enemies in his path. Every enemy hero hit restores 190/230/270/310/350/390 (+0.6 additional AD) HP for Kriknak.
    • Horn Rush can be used to pass through walls and barriers, allowing Kriknak to move very quickly around the map. When jungling, use Horn Rush to approach monsters directly rather than walking around walls.
    • Horn Rush is a good way to regain lost ground when attacking a character who uses movement abilities themselves, or are using the Talent “Flicker.”
    • When using Horn Rush to pass through a wall, make sure that the guide arrow is fully visible on the opposite side. If there isn’t enough room at the end of the ability, Kriknak will crash into the wall without passing through.
    Arena of Valor Drone Drop Drone Drop – Kriknak takes to the skies, significantly increasing his movement speed for a brief period. When casting this ability while airborne, Kriknak attacks the target area and deals 660/880/1100 (+2.60 Additional AD) physical damage to enemies in the area, reducing their movement speed.
    • Drone Drop is your primary way of initiating on enemies when ganking or entering a fight. Use it to surprise enemies in the lane and quickly overwhelm them with your explosive damage potential.
    • If Drone Drop is not initiated a second time after Kriknak goes airborne, the ability will cancel and go to cooldown after a short time limit.

    How to Counter Kriknak

    • Kriknak heavily relies on his mobility. Try to lock him down when you see him so that he can’t dish out his combos on your squishy allies.
    • Kriknak’s ultimate allows him to move fast around the map. Try to bait him in with your allies when he is using his ult as he is most likely finding someone to gank.

    Hero Item Build

    Clash-Ready Build
    Arena of Valor Soulreaver
    Soulreaver
    Arena of Valor Gilded Greaves
    Gilded Greaves
    Arena of Valor Spear of Longinus
    Spear of Longinus
    Arena of Valor Frost Cape
    Frost Cape
    Arena of Valor Hercules' Madness
    Hercules’ Madness
    Arena of Valor Ancestral Glory
    Ancestral Glory
    Clash-Ready Build
    Arena of Valor Soulreaver
    Soulreaver
    Arena of Valor Gilded Greaves
    Gilded Greaves
    Arena of Valor Spear of Longinus
    Spear of Longinus
    Arena of Valor Frost Cape
    Frost Cape
    Arena of Valor Hercules' Madness
    Hercules’ Madness
    Arena of Valor Ancestral Glory
    Ancestral Glory

    More Kriknak Item Builds

    Hero Arcana

    • Kriknak is an assassin that thrives with movement speed and attack damage, and as such taking Obliterate, Guerrilla and Skewer will enhance those advantages for Kriknak.
    • Going for a crit Arcana build is also possible with Kriknak. We suggest taking up this runes – Rampage, Tyrant and Crusader for a good mix of offense and defense.

    Hero Counters

    Arena of Valor Tank Tank

    • Unlike most other Assassins, Kriknak is able to fight with some tanks, especially in the late game. However, they should still be primarily avoided during the early phase while you are ganking. Don’t try to take them on alone unless you have a significant level advantage.

    Arena of Valor Warrior Warrior

    • Warriors are low priority for you when fighting. Gank them along with allies if you can, but avoid fighting them alone if you can.

    Arena of Valor Assassin Assassin

    • Other assassins will generally have a higher burst than you. That said, getting the first shot in could allow you to get the kill. If you can get the drop on one in a favorable location or when their health is below 70%, go for it.

    Arena of Valor MageMage

    • Mages are very weak to your burst damage, but many possess control effects that can disrupt your combo. Try to always catch them off guard. If you can’t sneak in, attack after drawing out misses from their spells.

    Arena of Valor MarksmanMarksman

    • Marksmen generally will have very little to stop you. You can approach them easily with your ultimate and burst them down before their damage is a problem. Furthermore, their death greatly hinders their team’s overall damage. Focus them whenever possible.

    Arena of Valor SupportSupport

    • Don’t overlook support heroes. Their abilities aren’t flashy, but they can be a huge assistance to their team. Avoid their control effects to the best of your ability and kill them whenever possible.
    Heroes List
    Arena of Valor WarriorWarrior Arena of Valor TankTank Arena of Valor AssassinAssassin
    Arena of Valor MageMage Arena of Valor MarksmanMarksman Arena of Valor SupportSupport

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