Arena of Valor (AoV) - Sephera Hero Guide

January 18, 2019 Taku Bou Arena of Valor (AoV) 0

A guide to Arena of Valor's Sephera, the Water Ascendant. Sephera continuously pokes the enemy from a distance with Water Spirits, using healing and invulnerability spells to keep the opponent at bay.


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

Sephera

Arena of Valor Sephera

Sephera Overview

Sephera is a mage/support who likes to poke her enemies from afar with Water Spirits. In fact, it’s really her only reliable source of damage. Wall of Water is a tricky engage tool to use, while Tide of Life is her “panic button” when things get hairy. Though Sephera’s secondary role is Support, her healing is more of an added bonus rather than something to be relied upon, especially for teammates.

Strengths

  • Great at Poking – Water Spirits is on a very short cooldown to begin with, and is easily reduced further by the following enhanced attack (which, while not included in the description, has increased range). Use it at will.
  • Great Sustain – Living Water allows Sephera to stay on the battlefield so long as she has mana to spare, as any ability can be used at any time to trigger it. This allows Sephera to win poke battles with the vast majority of heroes
  • Hard For Assassins to Kill – Tide of Life is a great escape tool when ambushed by an assassin, one that most mages don’t have the luxury of possessing.

Weaknesses

  • Only One Reliable Damaging Ability – Though there are ways to combo it (see below), Wall of Water is tricky to land, especially against foes familiar with The Water Ascendant’s kit. Meanwhile, Tide of Life has a very long cooldown and is Sephera’s best escape tool, so the times you can use it aggressively are few and far between.
  • Bad at Dueling – Related to the above bullet, Sephera really just likes to endlessly poke people with Water Spirits. While some other mages can respond to too-close-for-comfort foes by blowing them up with a single combo, Sephera physically can’t land Wall of Water on anyone up in her face. Occasionally you can bait them in and use Tide of Life at the last second to finish them off, but that’s usually impossible if you’re both starting the fight from full health.
  • Vulnerable Without Tide of Life – Sephera has no on-demand stun and her only movement speed boost is on an ability with a relatively long cooldown. If opponents can bait out Tide of Life, getting the jump on her is a piece of cake if she’s even a little out of position.

Hero Basic Strategy

Laning Strategy

  • Sephera can play either the mid lane or solo side lane. Her ability to poke from afar allows her to play the side lane a bit like Marja.
  • We advise against playing Sephera as the team’s solo support. Though her secondary role is Support, that’s only because she can heal allies – you wouldn’t want Mganga as the only support on your team, would you? More specifically, she has neither a “panic button” for her allies when they get jumped (the heal from Tide of Life takes nearly two seconds, while the heal from Living Water is too minuscule) nor a great engage tool (Wall of Water is way too unreliable).
    • Okay, fine. You really want to play her as a support. Just be warned that the rest of this guide won’t cover her in that role. Instead, here’s a mini guide: Play her like a mix of Chaugnar and Alice, constantly slowing opponents with Water Spirits and trying to land Wall of Water. Use Tide of Life much more liberally than normal, as you’ll have enough defense to take more hits since you’ll be building her tanky. Focus primarily on getting Tide of Life back up as quickly as possible by attacking after Water Spirits.
  • Living Water doesn’t damage minions or monsters, so jungling with her is not the best idea (which is unfortunate because Loki’s Curse works well on her). However, if you do decide to jungle, make sure to hit multiple monsters at the same time with Water Spirits to decrease your clear time. If not, you’ll take way too long to clear.

Leveling Progression

  • Water Spirits is the obvious choice at level 1. Less obvious is what to do afterward: we advise that you continue to prioritize it over Wall of Water throughout the game as well. Though Wall of Water decreases in cooldown and increases in damage, you’ll be using Water Spirits about four times as often as you’ll be using Wall of Water.
  • Though Tide of Life doesn’t get a cooldown speed reduction, the healing and damage bonuses are still worth leveling it over Wall of Water every time

Battle Strategy

  • Solo Fights: Poke, poke, and poke some more. Once they’re low, use Wall of Water to begin to close the gap, then follow up with Water Spirits and an auto attack to slow them down. If they’re running from you, the ring should land right on top of them. Though it may be tempting, resist the urge to finish off the opponent with Tide of Life, as you’ll be a sitting duck if an enemy rotates over. That said, if they turn to fight you instead of running into the ring wall, Tide of Life can be used to ward off death before they can finish you off.
    • If you can successfully hide Wall of Water’s ring (don’t damage anyone with Living Water – see the ability mechanics below or on her stats page), then suddenly ambushing the opponent with a guaranteed stun is certainly worth it. The combination of Wall of Water, Water Spirits, and the enhanced attack will chunk most squishies pretty badly.
  • Team Fights: More poking. Try to hit as many enemies with Water Spirits as possible (remember: they don’t bounce like other heroes’ abilities, so you’ll need to be in range of multiple heroes when you cast it). Using Wall of Water is a bit tricky, though you can catch multiple members if used successfully. That said, unless you can predict where the opponent will be (you’re following up an ally’s stun, the opposing heroes like to stand and fight in the same place, etc.), wait until either you or the opponent needs to run away. That way, the movement speed boost can be used to either chase them down or escape. Tide of Life can be used if the opposing melee heroes try to jump you, or you’re in danger of dying in general. Only use it to heal allies if you don’t feel you’ll need it soon and they desperately need it.
  • Escaping the Battle: If possible, try to get away using only Wall of Water for the speed boost and Water Spirits for the slow. If Tide of Life is needed, time its use so that it mitigates the most damage and/or control effects: using it in a panic may be a waste if your opponents’ abilities are on cooldown. Once the invulnerability is up, jam Wall of Water and Water Spirits and hightail it out of there. In certain situations, you might want to turn for a moment if it means the ring wall will land. Also, while stopping to attack may be dangerous, it may be useful to do so after using Water Spirits if there’s a couple seconds left on Wall of Water’s cooldown.

Abilities

Arena of Valor Sephera Passive Living Water – Passive – When Sephera uses any of her abilities, she triggers additional powers in the water, dealing 201 (+0.15 AP)ˀ magic damage to the nearby enemy hero with the lowest HP, and heals the nearby ally hero with the lowest HP for 134 (+0.1 AP).
  • When not in battle, Sephera can use her abilities to heal herself or allies, even if there isn’t a target nearby
    • The range for healing and damaging is the same length as Water Spirits
Arena of Valor Ability 1 Water Spirits – Sephera summons a Water Spirit that attacks 3 enemies nearby (prioritizes enemy heroes), dealing 300/340/380/420/460/500 (+0.4 AP) magic damage and reducing their movement speed by 50% for 1 second. Her next normal attack after using this ability deals an additional 250/280/310/340/370/400 (+0.3 AP) magic damage and reduces cooldowns of all abilities by 1 second.
  • Important: The enhanced attack after using Water Spirits will have longer range than normal, making it very easy to connect after using Water Spirits
  • Water Spirits is Sephera’s bread-and-butter ability. Everything in her kit is tied to her ability to land both the ability and the subsequent auto-attack.
    • Because Wall of Water can be unwieldy and Tide of Life is her best escape tool/panic button, you’ll be relying on Water Spirits for the vast majority of your damage. Though each cast deals significant damage, don’t get carried away and try to engage someone after chunking them for 1/3 their health – continue to poke until you can get a good combo off (see Wall of Water)
  • The fact that Water Spirits can be used to heal (via Living Water) even when there is no target nearby is a blessing (because free healing) and a curse. Unlike other auto-targeting abilities (Azzen’Ka‘s Dust Devil and Jinnar‘s Force Orbs come to mind), Sephera will neither automatically move within range of a target nor will the ability be unavailable until someone is in range. Therefore, players need to be very aware of the exact range of Water Spirits and make sure that enemies are within range if they intend to deal damage.
    • While we’re here, Water Spirits doesn’t bounce like Azzen’Ka’s or Jinnar’s abilities either, so don’t try to damage a hero by using a minion wave
  • The enhanced attack can be used within five seconds of using Water Spirits (the same length as Apocalypse *hint hint*), so you can prepare an enhanced auto attack and get two of them off in succession.
    • Unlike Apocalypse, there is no cooldown for the enhanced auto attack
  • Use enhanced attacks on minions or monsters in order to reduce the cooldown of Sephera’s other abilities
Arena of Valor Sephera Ability 2 Wall of Water – Sephera increases her own movement speed by 40% for a short period of time. After 1.5 seconds, a wall of water spawns, dealing 300/360/420/480/540/600 (+0.4 AP) magic damage to nearby enemies and stunning them for 0.75 seconds.
  • Enemies will only get stunned if they are in the ring surrounding Sephera! Enemies who are too close will not be stunned.
  • Opponents cannot see the wall ring if Sephera is hidden in the bushes, though Living Water will reveal Sephera (and the ring) if she damages an enemy. Make sure to start Wall of Water more than 800 units away if you wish to hide yourself and the ring.
  • Sephera’s standard combo is Wall of Water → Water Spirits → attack (the 2nd and 3rd parts of the combo occur before the ring lands, unless you can stun them from a bush). As long as you continue chasing the enemy and they don’t run back toward you, they should fall perfectly on the ring and get stunned.
    • Wall of Water’s cooldown timer starts immediately after activating it, so you can start lowering the cooldown on the next use (by attacking after using Water Spirits) even before the first stun lands.
    • If you can successfully hide the ring from your opponent (don’t damage them with Living Water!) then the guaranteed stun and damage is worth it. Hit them with the stun and follow up with Water Spirits as usual.
  • Similar to Grakk‘s Devil’s Chain, Wall of Water is easiest to land on unsuspecting targets or those who are running away. If in the middle of a fight where the enemies are focused on what you’re doing, wait to use it for chasing or escaping. Using it haphazardly will make it easier to dodge.
Arena of Valor Sephera Ultimate Tide of Life – Sephera enters a whirlpool, healing nearby allies for 500/650/800 (+0.75 AP) and dealing 600/800/1000 (+0.9 AP) magic damage to nearby enemies. She cannot be targeted for 1.7 seconds while inside the whirlpool.
  • Sephera cannot use Tide of Life while stunned, and it doesn’t remove slows (though she will be immune to stuns while it’s active), so make sure to use it preemptively if you anticipate a lot of damage coming your way
  • Though it does a decent amount of damage, it does less than one Water Spirit + enhanced attack (with Apocalypse equipped). Therefore, it’s not a great idea to use it offensively unless the opponent is very low on health.
    • In general, you’ll want to poke with Water Spirits and save Tide of Life for your escape only, since the cooldown is so high
    • One exception to the “save it for defense” rule is that Sephera can use it to snipe a low target hiding under the tower, like Marja does with Ghostwalk. Just be aware that Sephera cannot use other abilities while invulnerable, so plan your attack accordingly.
  • Unlike most ultimate abilities, Tide of Life’s cooldown doesn’t go down when leveled up. Make sure to liberally use Water Spirits to reduce its cooldown between fights.
  • Between battles, Tide of Life can be used to heal your team. Just make sure you have enough time to get it back up again using Water Spirits.

How to Counter Sephera

  • Wait for her to use Tide of Life (or bait it out), then strike. Sephera doesn’t have any escape tools other than the slow from Water Spirits and the speed boost from Wall of Water.
  • If she tries to combo you using Wall of Water into Water Spirits, turn to face her so that the stun doesn’t hit. If she wants the stun to land, she’ll have to run away from you.
    • Sephera really only has one reliable damaging ability in Water Spirits, so unless you’re nearly dead after the first hit, you can probably turn and duel her. The worst thing you can do is let her continually poke you with Water Spirits.

Hero Item Build

SG Recommended Build
Arena of Valor ORB OF THE MAGIOrb of the Magi Arena of Valor GILDED GREAVESGilded Greaves Arena of Valor ApocalypseApocalypse
Arena of Valor Spoopy MaskSpoopy Mask Arena of Valor Berith's AgonyBerith’s Agony Arena of Valor HECATE’S-DIADEMHecate’s Diadem
SG Recommended Build
Arena of Valor ORB OF THE MAGIOrb of the Magi Arena of Valor GILDED GREAVESGilded Greaves Arena of Valor ApocalypseApocalypse Arena of Valor Spoopy MaskSpoopy Mask Arena of Valor Berith's AgonyBerith’s Agony Arena of Valor Hecate’s DiademHecate’s Diadem

More Sephera Item Builds

Hero Arcana

  • Sephera wants as much damage as possible, so opt for Violate and Flurry for Red and Green, respectively.
  • Purple can be Devour, Sap, Benevolence, or Guerilla depending on preference.
  • If playing support, go for the standard Indomitable – Benevolence – defensive-green-of-your-choice. Due to the items you’ll opt for as a support, Focus doesn’t fit well with Sephera (you’ll end up getting 30% or 45% CDR).

Hero Counters

Arena of Valor Tank Tank

Tanks aren’t necessarily Sephera’s first choice, but she can easily poke them from afar without much fear of retaliation. Boost those damage stats while lowering the cooldowns for her other abilities.

Arena of Valor Warrior Warrior

Some warriors neglect magic defense so check their build(s) before attempting to deal with them. If they don’t have a great gap closer, then you can poke them for fun like you would with tanks. Just don’t poke the bear too much, because you might have to burn Tide of Life if they get too close.

Arena of Valor Assassin Assassin

Sephera’s ability to safely escape any ambush attempt with Tide of Life makes her a bit of a soft counter to assassins – but you’ll have to play your cards right. Get too aggressive trying to attack one, and they’ll turn on you, forcing you to burn Tide of Life. You’ll then be vulnerable to the next attack, particularly because assassins generally have short cooldowns.

Arena of Valor Mage Mage

Water Spirits’ long range and the heal from Living Water will allow Sephera to win most mage poke battles, provided you effectively dodge at least some of their abilities. However, most mages have better combo potential with their abilities, so try not to get into a close-range duel.

Arena of Valor Marksman Marksman

Similar to mages, Sephera should continue to poke at Marksmen until they’re worn down – do not try to duel them up close. Once they’re about half health, you can jump in with the Wall of Water + Water Spirits combo, with Tide of Life in reserve if they correctly decide to turn back toward you.

Arena of Valor Support Support

We’re sounding like a broken record, but just poke supports from afar, dealing whatever damage you can while reducing your other cooldowns. Supports are never your first priority, but you might as well damage them if they’re going to sit there and take it.

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

Arena of Valor (AoV) Recommended Article List

▼ Popular Articles
arena of valor beginners guideBeginner's Guide arena of valor hero tier listHero Tier List
arena of valor hero class guideHero Class Guide arena of valor armory item listArmory (Item List)
▼ Popular Articles
arena of valor beginners guideBeginner's Guide arena of valor hero tier listHero Tier List arena of valor hero class guideHero Class Guide arena of valor armory item listArmory (Item List)
BACK TO Arena of Valor (AoV) GUIDE

Leave a Reply



Be the first to comment