A rating list of the strength of heroes (characters) in Arena of Valor organized and separated by tier ranking with an explanation for their placement on the list.

Update 2/15/2018: Added TeeMee

List includes heroes (champions) from the Europe, North America, South America, and Southeast Asia (Malaysia/Philippines/Singapore) servers.

Arena of Valor Hero Tier List

Overview

Welcome to the second edition of the Samurai Gamers Arena of Valor Hero Tier List! This list is an attempt to rank heroes, referred to as champions in League of Legends, based on their effectiveness in all levels of ranked play. It is based off of our opinion, with weight given to high-level players’ opinions (including our recently signed team) 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 considered based on heroes’ potential in solo-queue, without the need for heavy team cooperation or organization. That all said, we added an extra symbol to our legend to denote characters whose value changes dramatically in an organized team.

Changes From the First List

Added suggested roles for each hero – see explanation below

Added descriptions for each hero explaining their placement

Added Wonder Woman, Tulen, Xeniel, and Lindis

Added the # mark for heroes who place higher in organized or cooperative teams

It is our belief that nearly all of the heroes in Arena of Valor feel very strong – even the heroes at the bottom of this list are capable of wreaking havoc in the right hands. Credit Arena of Valor for creating a game in which the weakest heroes don’t exactly feel weak. However, the strongest heroes in the game are simply too versatile – too much mobility, too much damage, too much utility – for the bottom-tier heroes to keep up. Being powerful in one way isn’t enough: heroes in Arena of Valor need to be universally powerful in all facets of the game to be considered top-tier. So, without further ado, let’s get 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 Batman can practically win a game by himself (and thus belongs in Tier 1 or S), whereas a weak Batman can completely sink a team (and would belong to Tier 3 or 4).

“*” denotes a hero whose rating is dependent on how strong the opposition is. Well, in this case, how weak the opposition is. For example, Grakk is practically Tier 1 against opponents who do not dodge his Devil’s Chain. Against experienced opposition, however, he is mostly ineffective.

“#” 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.

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.

– 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.

– 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. In short: you’re not solo-laning.

– 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. In short: you’re not solo-laning. Support – Characters who fare much better when travelling with a damage-dealing ally. These are technically all “roam” characters.

– Characters who fare much better when travelling with a damage-dealing ally. 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 hide under the tower in the Abyssal Lane.

– Follow up on your team’s initiation by bringing the heat. Otherwise, just poke. Position-wise, you roam or hide under the tower in the Abyssal Lane. Mid – Solo-lane early game, roam when you’re sufficiently farmed up.

Tier S

Tier S is pretty self-explanatory – these heroes are the best of the best, and can carry games by themselves. The combination of superior damage, mobility, and/or utility for each character is what sets them apart.

Hero Role Description Violet 1. Damage

2. Jungle Violet has an exceptional range and damage potential that can’t be overlooked. Even with the recent buffs to all other marksmen, Violet continues to shine as the queen of the battlefield. Maloch 1. DS Lane

2. Roam Maloch packs both fantastic damage and survivability, making him a fearsome foe even when outnumbered. He can jump right into the enemy team and rough them up while soaking up damage for his team. Murad Jungle This guy is bonkers. Murad’s mobility is obscene and his damage is nearly as impressive. Furthermore, he is untargetable as he casts his AoE ultimate. Child, please. Ryoma 1. Roam

2. DS Lane Ryoma is able to maintain significant levels of attack and mobility without sacrificing survivability. He is an extremely solid force both alone and in team fights. On top of this, his sultry baritone voice can cause even the most callous of hearts to flutter. Lauriel 1. Mid

2. Roam With extremely spammable abilities, Lauriel can burst down enemies while maintaining fantastic mobility. She is doubly terrifying when facing enemies who rely on skill shots. Good luck with that, chump. Zill 1. Jungle

2. Roam A fantastic mage assassin, Zill is able to rush on top of enemy heroes with his ultimate and quickly burst them down. The blinks in his kit allow him to get close to his opponent before casting his ultimate, in which Zill in untargetable.

Tier 1

Heroes in Tier 1 are either superior in a specific role or are generally useful in a wide variety of situations, though they are not peerless like the heroes in Tier S.

Hero Role Description TeeMee

Added 2/15/2018 1. Support

2. Roam

3. Damage Despite debuting on English-speaking servers just last week, TeeMee have already shown themselves to be extremely strong – the only question is whether they should already be in Tier S. With a game-changing ultimate, two different stuns, and one of the best passives in the game (not to mention the potential to build for crazy damage), TeeMee are forces to be reckoned with – even if we hate having to use plural form for the gassy brothers. Batman+ 1. Jungle

2. Roam Batman has a very impressive early game and his stealth offers him a lot of ganking ability. While his damage falls off later in the game, his stealth can still offer a lot to teams as a form of scouting and surprise. A proficient player can quickly rack up kills to make up for his weaker late game, allowing him to act at S-tier levels. Superman 1. DS Lane

2. Roam Despite recently being nerfed, Superman is a very strong hero who excels at brawling and initiating team fights. His damage and utility make him a huge benefit to most teams. The Joker 1. Mid

2. Roam The Joker is a slippery hero who can deal large amounts of burst damage to enemy heroes. His damage and slippery mobility make him a solid pick as damage dealer. Arthur 1. DS Lane

2. Roam Arthur is able to not only fill several roles on the team – tank, deal damage, clear waves, hinder enemies – he excels at all of these roles. Raz+ 1. Mid

2. Roam Those stupid fireballs. Raz is great at sticking to heroes and murdering them in cold blood. He continually harasses his foes with fireballs at virtually no cost, making laning against him a nightmare. His abilities are a bit unique in how they move Raz, and require a bit of practice to use effectively. Alice 1. Support

2. Roam A premiere support, Alice can be a huge part of her team by providing them with shields and stunning her enemies. While less noticable than others in their contribution to the team, Alice can lift her teammates up on her tiny shoulders to where they can crush their opponents. Lu Bu 1. DS Lane

2. Jungle Lu Bu is a powerful duelist able to flip fights that would otherwise be in his opponent’s favor. He is a solid pick for the dark slayer lane with pokes and control effects that allow him to regularly bully his opponents. Zephys 1. Jungle

2. Roam A jungler who is extremely capable at both jungling and ganking. Furthermore, he is surprisingly durable and great at dueling foes, adding a lot to both his team’s damage output and survivability. Airi 1. Jungle

2. DS Lane A cunning assassin, Airi possesses a heavy amount of mobility, some crowd control, and an ultimate that significantly buffs her as it deals damage. Airi’s ganking ability can give her team an early lead and will allow her to pick off squishy targets later in the match. Thane 1. Support

2. Roam Thane is a great support tank, able to deal out a lot of control effects and even some damage – his ult not requiring DPS items – as he soaks up damage for his team. He is a great initiating tank that can fit almost any team. Tel’annas 1. Damage

2. Roam Tel’annas is a scary marksman who can be nearly impossible to escape after being targeted by her. Her fantastic range allows her to harass heroes or even towers from an unmatched range and make her a great damage dealer. Wukong+ Jungle Wukong has fantastic ganking capabilities, each one of his abilities aiding his mobility and letting him approach and stick to enemies with ease. The monkey king excels at picking off enemies and roughing up squishies in team fights. His unique play style can make him difficult to master, however, and requires practice. Zuka Jungle Similar to Wukong, Zuka has fantastic mobility which he can use to chase and stick to enemies. His kit allows him to gank starting from level 2, giving his team an extremely early lead. Tulen 1. Mid

2. Roam With exceptional damage and mobility, we wavered on whether to put Tulen as S or 1. His risky play style can leave him vulnerable, but his damage and mobility can make him a terrifying opponent. Xeniel+ DS Lane Xeniel is an exceptional tank who is able to safely split push without worry of missing out on team fights. His shield makes him great at damaging enemies while mitigating damage sent his way. He requires a lot of situational awareness to use effectively, however, an eye needing to always be on his allies. Ormarr 1. Support

2. Roam A CC machine, Ormarr is amazing at disrupting the enemy team and setting them up for his allies to finish off. He has stuns, knock ups, and slows that can rip apart enemy teams, making him a very capable member of almost any team.

Tier 2

The heroes rated in this tier are still capable of carrying a game given the right situation, but certain flaws keep them from being in Tier 1.

Hero Role Description Fennik 1. Damage

2. Jungle Fennik has the capability to deal out large amounts of burst damage, making him viable either in lane or in the jungle. He is a respectable choice for teams, able to pull his weight if the player is proactive in their farming. Wonder Woman 1. DS Lane

2. Roam The iconic DC hero is a bruiser who is great at initiating on and roughing up the enemy team. Wonder Woman sports an excellent balance of offense and defense, making her a nice off tank in most line-ups. Slimz+ 1. Damage

2. Jungle High mobility and a high-damage, stunning spear make Slimz excellent at ganking. In addition, he has some damage buffs that can allow him to tear down even the tankiest of enemies. He has a very high skill cap, however, particularly because making full use of Leap of Vitality requires great situational awareness. Jinnar 1. Roam

2. DS Lane Jinnar is a solid mage who can go toe to toe with enemies rather than hiding behind enemy lines. He is capable at pushing lanes and scuffling with heroes, making him a decent pick when the team needs a mage. Natalya 1. Damage

2. Roam Natalya has a lot of damage at her disposal, able to burst down enemies with her powerful skill combo. A situationally-aware Natalya can burst down an enemy team clumped up in the jungle, where many team fights take place. Taara* 1. DS Lane

2. Roam Taara is a beefy tank who gains more attack damage the lower her health is. She is capable at sticking to foes and damaging them with her mighty hammer. Despite being a very capable tank, she can be easily countered if the opposition builds either Curse of Death or Tome of the Reaper. Chaugnar+ 1. Support

2. Roam A support tank capable of nullifying enemy control effects, Chaugnar can be a very valuable asset to his team. He can free his team from the opponents’ initiation or disables and allow them to fight freely as he throws out his own control abilities. Chaugnar is different than most tanks in that his ultimate requires precise timing and can be wasted if users aren’t careful. Peura/Payna 1. Support

2. Roam Peura is a fantastic help to her team, healing and buffing her allies as she stuns and debuffs enemies. She can keep her ally in lane healed and her team alive in team fights, potentially snowballing games after won team fights. Peura’s ultimate can be shut down with CC, however, and she is completely reliant on allies to make any impact in the game. Gildur* 1. Damage

2. Roam A durable mage, Gildur is great at harassing enemies and suppressing them in fights. He can poke entire teams when they group together and adds to his durability with each spell he casts. While he’s listed as a sub-tank, it is best to build him completely as a mage. Nakroth+ Jungle Nakroth is an agile assassin who can move in and out of fights with ease. He possesses a heavy amount of burst damage and can quickly kill unsuspecting foes. He fell in rank because the meta is focusing recently on more durable junglers and Nakroth is not as able to contribute as much to the late game as other ganking heroes. Azzen’Ka 1. Damage

2. Roam Azzen’ka offers a lot of control to his team as well as a respectable amount of damage. Dust Devil allows him to poke at the backline via the frontline or minion wave, while Sand Punch and Sand Wraith in combination is a great counter-engage to opponents tired of all the poking. Kil’groth 1. DS Lane

2. Jungle Able to quickly deal large amounts of damage with his basic attacks, Kil’Groth can be an extremely dangerous warrior to go up against. His damage is fantastic, even if he can have trouble sticking to his target. Cresht 1. DS Lane

2. Support Cresht is a supportive tank who excels at baby sitting his team’s carries by shielding them and peeling away enemies as they approach. His ultimate, while requiring a special resource to activate, is extremely powerful, modifying his abilities, boosting his attack, and giving him a powerful shield. Astrid 1. DS Lane

2. Roam Astrid is a warrior who loves to bully her enemies in lane. She can shield herself from enemy attacks and gain immunity from damage as she dishes out her punishment. Skud# 1. Support

2. Roam A warrior who is able to sustain himself excellently in lane, Skud can be a great initiator and brawler for his team. Skud holds a lot of CC to corral his opponents before sending them to his team for slaughter. While able to contribute a lot to his team, Skud requires a lot of coordination with your allies to be effective. Preyta 1. Mid

2. Roam Preyta can lay down immense amounts of damage with his suite of spells. He is great at harassing his enemies and pressuring his lane, able to shift into a terrifying battle-mage when he uses his ultimate.

Tier 3

Tier 3 is where heroes start to feel a bit deficient in one way or another. For example, though Diao Chan has extremely potent CC abilities, you’ll have a hard time landing them on the mobile heroes in Tier 1 or S.

Hero Role Description Butterfly+* Jungle One of the faces of Arena of Valor, Butterfly is a capable assassin who can jump from enemy to enemy, picking off each one. Butterfly can deal large amounts of damage while maintaining some survivability, but can have difficulty getting close enough to heroes and thereby requires some skill when approaching enemies. She is much stronger at lower ranks where people don’t know how to deal with her as well. Yorn+ 1. Damage

2. Mid Yorn can deal more damage than almost any other hero in the game, even able to solo the Dark Slayer later in the game. In addition, his ultimate can allow him to contribute to fights all around the map and to pick off heroes who have just managed to escape. That said, Yorn has very little way of controlling his enemies and no form of escape, making him very vulnerable in fights. Mganga 1. Mid

2. DS Lane Mganga is an interesting hero who both damages enemies and heals allies with his poison. While excellent at jungling for a mage, Mganga is extremely squishy if he focuses on building damage and can easily be ignored if he focuses on building survivability, making it difficult for him to find a good balance. Mina# 1. Support

2. Roam A pure tank, Mina excels at controlling foes and absorbing their abuse. She is extremely dependent on her team, however, unable to finish fights she sets up on her own. Lindis+ 1. Damage

2. Jungle Lindis is a marksman capable of large amounts of damage and map awareness through her kit. Her capabilities are a bit low in comparison to other marksmen, however, making her one of the weakest picks for a damage dealer. That said, should a player build up her damage properly, she can still tear through foes very quickly. Kriknak+ 1. Jungle

2. Roam Kriknak is an assassin who is able to move through the jungle extremely quickly and burst down targets. That said, his burst combo is weaker than other assassins and he needs to switch into playing as a bruiser to survive at all in the late game. Grakk* 1. Support

2. Roam Able to yank enemies into his team, Grakk is a great initiator and able to suppress the entire enemy team with his ultimate. His ability in fights both relies on the player’s skill and how bad the enemies are, fully reliant on his hooks landing. Ilumia+ 1. Damage

2. Roam Ilumia has one of the highest skill caps in the game, players needing understanding of how and when to use her abilities to maximize her potential. She fluctuates from Tier 1 to Tier 4 depending on the skill of her user. Diao Chan 1. Support

2. Roam Diao Chan is a mage who can both set up fights for her allies and deal large amounts of damage with her abilities. These abilities can be very hard to hit, however, and have fairly small areas, making it difficult to use the mage effectively. Additionally, her voice lines are painful garbage, making the act of playing her a struggle in itself. Zanis+ 1. Jungle

2. Roam Zanis’ ability in fights is all over the place. A skilled player who knows what they are doing can rock the enemy team alone, while those who don’t keep up with leveling and ganking are near useless. His damage can be insane, but he lacks the utility of some other heroes in a similar role. Arduin 1. DS Lane

2. Roam Arduin can easily infiltrate enemy teams and rough them up with his giant axe. While he has the potential to either deal damage or soak up damage for his team, he will lack in whichever aspect he doesn’t focus on building and thereby suffer. Kahlii 1. DS Lane

2. Roam One of the best pushers in the game, Kahlii focuses on dealing damage from afar. Her piercing attacks allow her to easily harass foes while laning and her ultimate can destroy enemies who fall into its path. While we have come around some on the hero, some recent nerfs limit her effectiveness late game. Krixi 1. Damage

2. Roam A mage who focuses on harassment, Krixi flits around the battle field whittling down enemies’ health. While able to deal insane amounts of damage, the pixie requires several items to buff up her strength and can be vulnerable when using her ultimate. Moren 1. Damage

2. Jungle Moren is a burly marksman who can duel with opponents that try and get close to him better than most others. He can keep up a steady stream on enhanced attacks and brush off enemy harassment. We had planned on moving Moren up to tier 2 this edition, however recent nerfs dropped him back down to tier 3 for now.

Tier 4

It’s possible for a skilled player to maintain a positive win percentage in ranked play with any of these characters. That said, they just don’t stack up to the heroes above them.

Hero Role Description Veera* 1. Damage

2. Roam A burst mage with a strong combo, Veera can quickly kill enemies she approaches. She suffers from being easy to counter, however, her ult splitting to hit all nearby enemies and thereby lowering her finishing potential. Valhein+* 1. Damage

2. RNG 2nd stun Valhein’s potential for damage is much lower than other marksmen, he instead relying on being able to kite and chase opponents. His stun is his main strength, made even stronger by the chance to chain in a second stun via his RNG based passive. Valhein also rates high on the list of heroes with annoying voice work. Aleister 1. Support

2. Roam Packing several strong control abilities, Aleister can completely shut down enemy heroes. He lacks mobility, however, making him very weak to enemies who close the distance. Furthermore, he can be completely shut down by enemies who have ways to break from control abilities. Lumburr 1. Support

2. Roam Lumburr is a tank who specializes in babysitting his teammates and initiating for his team. He has some good control abilities, but isn’t as good at soaking up damage or stopping enemies as most other tanks in the game. Omega DS Lane Omega is a tank who can quickly rip down towers with his abilities. That said, his gap closer is rather weak and can make it difficult for him to protect his team. Toro 1. Support

2. Roam Toro would be a nice initiator in theory, but doesn’t offer enough to the team to be a better choice than any of the other tanks. His kit can be a bit awkward, as his ultimate is his main way to contribute to fighting. Ignis 1. Damageless

2. Roam Ignis is a damage mage who keeps getting his damage nerfed into insignificance. He has fallen from a nuker to a harass mage, having to lay a consistent barrage of spells on enemies to make an impact in fights.

Past Hero Tier Lists

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