Tier 1 Items Guide - SAMURAI GAMERS

A guide to the various tier one items in Arena of Valor. We detail the use of each and their priority in regards to other tier one items in the game.

Every high tier item in Arena of Valor is made up a number of tier 1 and tier 2 items. Whenever the guide talks about the priority of an item, it is in regards to other tier one items. Tier one items will virtually never compare to any items of a higher tier if they can be afforded. To view just the items and their attributes, go to our items list.
Item Builds

Attack

Short Sword

Attack Damage +20

The most basic of attack items, Short Sword will be the first item purchased by many warriors, assassins, and marksmen as they build their way up towards higher attack items. While not a huge advantage, the raw attack power will generally boost a physical hero’s lethality much more than attack speed. The added attack strength helps heroes a lot in farming, allowing heroes to gather gold to get larger, more impressive items more quickly.

Recommended Heroes and/or Situation:

Assassins and marksmen should regularly take Short Sword over other ingredient items. The attack boost will increase their farming potential and the speed at which they can complete the bigger item. Warriors can opt for this over more defensive components if they have been doing well avoiding or soaking enemy attacks.

Dagger

Attack Speed +10%

A simple attack speed boost, Dagger can provide heroes an avenue of harassing enemies or marksmen some additional ability to kite. Heroes that specialize in on-hit effects are particularly fond of Dagger, as it allows them to apply the effects much more regularly. Similarly, heroes like Valhein and Yorn who have effects that occur every X auto attacks benefit more from attack speed than other heroes.

Recommended Heroes and/or Situation:

Marksmen are the most likely to benefit from Dagger, they needing the attack speed to maintain their DPS. Some other heroes can benefit as well, on-hit effect centric heroes as mentioned before as well as any whose abilities decrease with each successful hero attack.

Gloves

Critical Chance +12%

The root of items that increase critical strike chance, Gloves will find their way into the inventories of most damage based classes at one point or another. Being able to regularly critical strike enemies can increase a hero’s power exponentially. That said, the meager gains of Gloves generally aren’t worth taking over other damaging items.

Recommended Heroes and/or Situation:

Again, marksmen are the primary users of critical strike and therefore the most likely to be picking it up at one point or another. Other recipe materials should generally be picked over gloves, though, as the critical chance they provide on their own is much less likely to contribute to fights than even a marginal amount of attack damage or speed. When given a choice, go for the more reliable damage.

Bloodied Club

Attack Damage +10
Life Steal +8%

While granting less attack damage than Short Sword, Bloodied Club easily makes up for it with the life steal it provides. Even the tiny amount it possesses can give physical hero more staying power in the lane and keep them from having to return to base as often.

Recommended Heroes and/or Situation:

All physical heroes benefit from Bloodied Club due to the survivability it offers. Purely offensive heroes should take this over the ingredients of other items they are building so that they can stay in lane longer than they could without the additional survivability. Marksmen particularly benefit from the item, attacking from a distance allowing them to heal without taking any damage in the trade. Warriors and assassins also heavily benefit from taking Bloodied Club over other component items.

Chainhammer

Attack Damage +40

A stronger, more expensive item than Short Sword, Chainhammer offers a flat attack damage boost. Furthermore, Chainhammer offers more damage per gold spent than Short Sword. As such, it is strictly a better value than Short Sword.

Recommended Heroes and/or Situation:

Chainhammer should be picked before any other tier one items if it is available. The damage offered at the price is fantastic. It is not advised to wait out buying lower items to wait for Chainhammer, however, as the attack strength the lower items bring will make grinding out chainhammer easier.

Magic

Spell Tome

Ability Power +40

The most basic of ability power items, Spell Tome will be a common purchase for mages and supports alike. All heroes start out with 0 ability power, so it is doubly essential for mages to start building their power as early as possible.

Recommended Heroes and/or Situation:
As stated earlier, mages and supports benefit the most from ability power, it offering extra damage, larger shields, or greater restores to their abilities. Because of this, it will generally be taken before other stats whenever building up an item. As with attack power to physical classes, the extra ability power can also help the magic hero farm up the gold to buy the other components to their item faster.

Lapis Ring

Max Mana +300

Mana is not only an important stat to casters, but to many tanks and some warriors as well. Having a healthy mana pool ensures that a hero will be able to keep casting their abilities regularly without having to return to base.

Recommended Heroes and/or Situation:
Lapis Ring’s importance starts to fall off as the match goes on and the hero’s mana pool naturally grows. That said, picking up a Lapis Ring, even when not planning to build it into a bigger item, can be useful during the laning phase. The extra mana can translate into several instances of an important skill either to help farm or escape from an enemy when needed.

Pendant of Faith

Mana +10 / 5 sec

Increasing mana regeneration can be extremely valuable in staying sustained in the lane. The additional mana can allow casters to harass foes often with their abilities without fear of running dry. This, in turn, allows them to regularly have some mana available when necessary and prevent them from needing Restore or the health packs to top off their mana.

Recommended Heroes and/or Situation:
Due to its extremely low price, buying one or two Pendants of Faith can be useful. Remember to sell them off later in the game, however, as the slots will be better served by larger items when you can afford them.

Ancient Scriptures

Ability Power +80

Similar to Short Sword and Chainhammer, Ancient Scriptures is a strictly better version of Spell Tome with a higher price tag. In terms of cost-effectiveness, Ancient Scriptures beats out Spell Tome, providing more ability power at a lower cost-per-point.

Recommended Heroes and/or Situation:
Casters should take Ancient Scriptures over any other tier one item when able, the amount it offers at the price too good to pass up. That said, as usual, higher tier items are more effective and beneficial, so should be taken over any tier one item, including Ancient Scriptures.

Magic Ring

Cooldown Speed +10%

Cooldown speed can be an extremely valuable skill to certain heroes of all roles, their abilities often their main source of damage. Being less hindered by cooldowns can exponentially increase a hero’s power.

Recommended Heroes and/or Situation:
Magic Ring is most valuable to heroes who aren’t dependant on mana, cooldowns the biggest thing holding back their abilities. Cooldown speed is valuable on mana dependent heroes as well, they just having to maintain a healthy mana pool to keep up with the additional ability uses.

Defense

Ring of Vitality

Max HP +300

HP is an important stat to every hero in the game, no one able to excel when slain. Ring of Vitality is the most basic way of padding out your health bar and keeping you alive through scuffles.

Recommended Heroes and/or Situation:
Ring of Vitality can be useful on any hero, though will be most often picked up by tanks and warriors. Its priority depends on the hero’s role. The more defensive their role, the more important it is for them to pick up Ring of Vitality over other tier one items.

Light Armor

Armor +90

Light Armor is the most basic form of physical defense in the game. As a character builds armor, the damage they receive from physical sources falls. Armor is a very valuable tool when facing teams heavy with warriors, marksmen, and assassins.

Recommended Heroes and/or Situation:
Armor should be made a priority by tanks and warriors who are needing to counter enemy physical carries. Armor grows less effective the more you get, so the priority of Light Armor over other tier one items falls as a result.

Gladiator’s Gauntlets

Magic Defense +90

Magic defense is an important stat to build when going up against strong enemy magic damage dealers. Gladiator’s Gauntlets helps defensive heroes shake off the damage from abilities, allowing them to stay in the fight for their team.

Recommended Heroes and/or Situation:
Gladiator’s Gauntlets should be prioritized when casters or abilities are giving you a lot of trouble. However, like armor, there are diminishing returns on the defense that magic defense gives as the player gets more and more. As a result, the importance of getting more falls after the player has stacked up a bit.

Talisman of Strength

HP +30 / 5 sec

Talisman of Strength helps sustain heroes in lane, allowing them to stay out farming gold and experience longer. It only builds into a single item, making it a much less common pick than other items. That said, it can still be a very useful tool during the laning phase.

Recommended Heroes and/or Situation:
This will generally be a low priority item after the laning phase ends. That said, its tiny cost can lead it to be a decent pick to assist with laning, even if not later built into another item. The item will have paid for itself if it lets a player stay in lane to get gold from 3-4 minions that they otherwise wouldn’t have.

Necklace of Vitality

Max HP +600

Following the pattern of Chainhammer and Ancient Scriptures, Necklace of Vitality is a strictly better version of Ring of Vitality. The extra efficiency comes at a greater cost, though the value offered by the item and its occupation of a single item slot make up for this.

Recommended Heroes and/or Situation:

Necklace of Vitality only builds into a single item, limiting the amount that it will be selected in matches. If the player needs a bit of extra health in a pinch, it can be useful, but is generally less useful than other defensive choices.

Movement

Boots of Speed

Movement Speed +30

The most reliable way of increasing movement speed, Boots of Speed is required by virtually every hero. The ability to move around the map, chase, and escape cannot be understated.

Recommended Heroes and/or Situation:
Heroes typically grab Boots of Speed after their first core item, occasionally as their first. At the very latest, players should take boots of speed as their third item. This is only if their hero is already fairly mobile to begin with.

Jungling

Kukri

Requires Punish talent to purchase. Once 2nd or 3rd tier jungling equipment is purchased, the Punish talent will become Frostbite. Frostbite deals damage to enemy heroes and reduces their movement speed.

Hunter: Deals 20% extra damage to monsters and receives 20% more experience from killing monsters.

Kukri is a very important item to junglers. The item gives them the experience boost they need to be able to quickly get through the monsters and start ganking the lanes. It is unique in that it can only be purchased by heroes equipped with the Punish talent.

Recommended Heroes and/or Situation:

This should always be taken by heroes who plan on jungling, with very little exception. The damage it provides isn’t necessarily unmatched, but the experience boost is invaluable.

Support

Wind Stone

Wind Stone	Movement speed +5% Mana per second +8	Wage: Gain 5 gold and experience every 3 seconds if your gold or experience is the lowest on the team.
SG Note: Only one support item is allowed per team

Unlike the wind items it builds into, Wind Stone really lacks on stats. That said, the 5% movement speed buff means you can potentially forego boots in order to build into your next wind item a bit quicker. In the meantime, roaming the map and providing vision for the team will allow you to take advantage of the Wage passive, since you’ll have the least gold on your team.

Recommended Heroes and/or Situation:

Wind items are to be taken over water items when your hero is heavily focused on roaming: gaining vision of the enemy for your team while setting up ganks. Wage helps gain back some of the gold and experience lost by roaming, while Distinction rewards successful ganks.

Water Stone

Water Stone	HP per Second +20 Mana per Second +10	Devotion: Gain a stack of Dedication Buff every 30 seconds. Stacks up to 2 times. If a unit dies within 800 units, consume a stack of Dedication Buff to grant the nearest ally 15 extra gold and 40 experience.
SG Note: Only one support item is allowed per team

Water Stone eventually builds into either Tidecaller’s Mark or Purifying Bracers, items that are primarily focused on aiding allies, both while laning and in skirmishes. Before you build up to them, though, you’ll be able to periodically grant your carries a bit of gold and experience while slowly regaining any HP or mana you’ve lost.

Recommended Heroes and/or Situation:

Water items are to be taken over wind items when your priority is protecting your damage dealer(s) at all costs. Devotion mitigates some of the gold lost by your ally when they have to share bounties with you, and Tidal Force will keep nearby allies topped off, reducing the need to teleport back to base.