Arena of Valor (AoV) - Mina Hero Guide

A guide to Arena of Valor's Mina, the Reaper Queen. Mina uses her scythe to pull enemies close and keep them there for allies to attack.


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List of Item Builds
AoV WarriorWarrior AoV TankTank AoV AssassinAssassin
AoV MageMage AoV MarksmanMarksman AoV SupportSupport


Overview

Mina is a tank character who relies on her high defense and control abilities to trap enemies and shift battles into her team’s favor. While not the best damage dealer, she has thick skin that will require exceptional offense to pierce. Furthermore, her abilities allow her to draw opponents into inescapable fights, forcing battles to happen on her terms.

  • Strengths
    • Great Control Abilities Mina’s Death Scythe and Dark Dominion are great at keeping enemy heroes near and in place for your allies to attack. They can also be used to rope in heroes who venture too close, forcing a team fight to start on your terms.
    • Impressive Defense A pure tank, Mina’s defensive stats are among the best in the game. She is able to get in and soak up a lot of damage for her team, even forcing enemies to attack her with her ultimate.
    • Strong Laning Presence The combination of Mina’s control abilities can make her very frustrating to fight against in the lane, especially for melee heroes. The ability to draw people under towers or towards waiting teammates and keep them there makes her someone to tread lightly around.
  • Weakness
    • Poor Mobility With no movement abilities or speed buffs, Mina has a hard time getting around. You will have to stick close to your team to avoid letting a fight start without you.
    • Low Offensive Ability Most builds for the Reaper Queen focus primarily on buffing her impressive defense. As a result, her offensive capabilities get neglected and end up underwhelming. Your role will mostly be controlling your opponents and setting up kills for your allies rather than getting kills yourself.

Hero Basic Strategy

Laning Strategy

  • With Mina, you will want to be assisting another hero in one of the side lanes and roaming around the battlefield. Move between the lanes and set up ganks by pulling unsuspecting enemies into you before taunting.
  • Try and zone out your opponents from the creeps by using your Whirling Scythe and Sweet Revenge abilities. Pull enemies towards you for a kill if their health drops low.
  • When alone, you can use your passive to clear minion waves. This can also be done underneath towers to give your own minions time to attack.
  • Your high defense will allow you to be a bit more aggressive than other heroes, but don’t overdo your harassment. Dying early hurts more than any reckless move is worth.

Leveling Progression

  • Start by maxing your Death Scythe ability, putting levels in Whirling Scythe when necessary. Level up your ultimate, Dark Dominion, whenever you are able. The utility and slow of Death Scythe make it an obvious pick over Whirling Scythe, as Mina does not benefit much from extra damage.

Battle Strategy

Solo Battle – If able, pull your enemy to you while standing under a tower. Follow up with your ultimate to keep them close and force them to attack you. As a result of their attack, the turret will focus its attention on them. Use Whirling Scythe off cooldown and basic attacks to assist the tower in killing your foe. If not near a tower, try to drag the opposing hero into a creep wave to fight. Unlike most heroes, Mina’s passive will make her a much more capable fighter in an enemy minion swarm than she would be outside. Walk alongside enemies if they try to escape, attacking every time a basic attack is available. While alone, you are much more likely to cause the enemy to flee than you are to score a kill. As such, don’t feel disappointed by a low kill score.
Team Battle – Mina should be the one to start team fights by pulling an enemy into her team. Do not trigger your ultimate right away, as Death Scythe slows the enemy as well. Spring your ultimate as the captured foe nears its edge. This gives their allies time to move into range to be captured as well. Your ultimate will force those affected to attack you as well as prevent them from using their abilities. Continue to assist in the fight by assaulting the enemy with Whirling Scythe and using Death Scythe to draw in any enemies trying to escape.
Escaping the Battle – Mina’s only option when trying to escape is to run. Refrain from fighting while your team isn’t around, as it is very easy for Mina to get caught while she is alone.

Abilities

Sweet Revenge – Passive – When taking damage, Mina has a chance to counterattack, dealing (+1 AD)ˀ physical damage to nearby enemies.

  • Sweet Revenge triggers at time of damage calculation.
  • Sweet Revenge can trigger in response to attacks from towers.
  • Sweet Revenge can trigger in response to damage from abilities, magical or physical.

Whirling Scythe – Mina swings her scythe in an arc, dealing 125/150/175/200/225/250 (+1.2 AD) (+70) (2% of own maximum HP) physical damage to all enemies in range.

  • Mina’s main source of damage. It sports average damage that scales better than Death Scythe. However, as it lacks any utility, it is our last choice when leveling.
  • Can be used during the laning phase as a safe way to secure some last hits while alone. Walk into range of the minions, cast the skill, and retreat before your enemies can react.
  • Whirling Scythe neither affects the attack timer or Sweet Revenge. It can be used off cooldown when available without regard to optimal damage.

Death Scythe – Mina pulls enemies to her with her scythe, dealing 150/185/220/255/290/325 (+0.7 AD) physical damage to affected enemies and slowing their movement speed by 50% for 2 seconds.

  • Death Scythe is our first pick to max. Its utility alone allowing you to set up plenty of kills for your team.
  • Death Scythe can pull units through walls.
  • Death Scythe works on minions and neutral monsters.
  • Using Death Scythe resets the attack timer. If you are using it purely for some added damage, wait to use it until after landing a basic attack for maximum efficiency.

Dark Dominion – Mina taunts nearby enemies, making them attack her for 2 seconds. Damage dealt by taunted enemies is reduced by 50%.

  • If Mina moves while enemies are taunted, they will follow her to continue attacking. This can be used to further draw enemies into allies.

How to Counter Mina

  • Mina is weak against heroes who can deal damage from afar. Don’t go near her and try to kite her as much as possible so that she will have a hard time casting her abilities on you.

Hero Item Build

Tank Build
Arena of Valor Mantle of Ra
Mantle of Ra
Arena of Valor Gilded Greaves
Gilded Greaves
Arena of Valor Frost Cape
Frost Cape
Arena of Valor Medallion of Troy
Medallion of Troy
Arena of Valor Crimson Banner
Crimson Banner
Arena of Valor Mail of Pain
Mail of Pain
Tank Build
Arena of Valor Mantle of Ra
Mantle of Ra
Arena of Valor Gilded Greaves
Gilded Greaves
Arena of Valor Frost Cape
Frost Cape
Arena of Valor Medallion of Troy
Medallion of Troy
Arena of Valor Crimson Banner
Crimson Banner
Arena of Valor Mail of Pain
Mail of Pain

Hero Arcana

  • You can build Mina with a very defensive arcana set consisting of Indomitable, Benevolence, and Mythril. This will make her a threat in team fights that is able to soak a lot of damage.
  • You can also try to build Mina with attack damage arcana such as Onslaught, Assassinate, and Skewer. This will give her more offensive capabilities at the expense of her defense.

Hero Counter

Tank

While not threatened by them, Mina lacks the damage to do much to other tanks. Avoid dragging them close in favor of weaker heroes instead.

Warrior

Warriors require a bit of caution. Her damage is too low to bother their defenses and their damage will outpace hers. That said, most Warriors require getting in close to attack, which is where Mina has the most effect. Careful use of your ultimate and liberal use of your abilities can win fights against warriors, but they should remain low priority targets. Keep them off of your allies during team fights.

Assassin

Mina’s defenses are high enough that she can withstand most burst attacks without problem. What’s more, her ultimate will prevent assassins from using their skills. Assassins should be among the easiest to trap and kill during team fights.

Mage

While not as direct of a counter as to Marksmen, Mina has to ability to tank mages rather well. As a tank, it is important to know where your opponents’ damage comes from. Buying a lot of armor when your opponents focus on magic damage is money wasted. As such, Mina should focus on buying items with high magic resist such as Gaia’s Standard or Medallion of Troy when facing teams with lots of magic damage. Her ultimate will prevent them from casting their abilities and Death Scythe can keep them close for attack.

Marksman

Of all the classes, marksmen are the most directly countered by Mina. Death Scythe can eliminate their range advantage, her ultimate keeps them close, and her passive will punish their reliance on quick auto attacks. Marksmen should be your first target in fights and those who you feel safest in approaching.

Support

As a tank, dealing with support isn’t your priority in a team fight. While an asset to their team, the time you spend trying to chase supports would be better spent drawing attention from the enemy carries. Trap them when able while keeping most of your focus on the team’s damage dealers.

Heroes List
Warrior Tank Assassin
Mage Marksman Support

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