[Compendium] An Arena League guide

Hello there! I am an avid arena player and I am very excited about the new arena league, which I am sure everyone reading this will have tried playing and you will have noticed that the games are much more intense and you see something normal arenas lack most of the time: TEAMWORK. You are absolutely right, teamwork is key to winning Arena League games.

When you start an arena league game you will first be prompted with the picking phase. A lot of people argue that team composition does not matter as much as skill does, but to that I say: why would you handicap yourself? Picking is absolutely crucial and here we will cover the information you will need to perform well.

Before you start playing Arena League, make sure that you have most or all of the gods that will be listed in this chapter.

a) Banning

You should proceed differently when banning gods depending on whether your team chooses first or second.

Picking first

Alternatively, you may opt to ban Chronos, but since your team chooses first, the other team will likely have to ban him or you will be able to pick him.

Picking second

Top priority.


If they pick Zeus, go ahead and pick Loki to counter him. Zeus usually stands on the back and thus when the enemy team decides to initiate, Zeus is an easy pick off.

b) Worthy gods

Here I will provide you with the Gods I have found to be top choices from my experience in Arena League games. That does not mean that you can do well with others!
Tier 1: , , , , , (depending on matchup), .
Tier 2: , , (even Tier 1, in the right hands), , , .
Tier 3: , , , , , , , .

c) Picking

i. Communication

Before picking, each member of your team should determine which role they are going to perform: tank, bruiser, mage or adc (attack damage carry).

ii. Picking

In the current system, you can only play gods that you have mastered, so make sure that your last player has a good that will be beneficial to your team.
The picking order is very important. Since there are different tier gods, the best ones will be picked up faster. If you are the first player picking and your 4th member wants to play Zeus and you want to play Odin, definitely pick Zeus first and the 4th or 5th player will choose Odin later for you.
Make sure that at least 1 or 2 gods in your team can clear waves fast, because your tank should not initiate unless the wave is cleared.

iii. Good setups

Picking order matters, so make sure you pick priority gods first. Here is an example of a good team composition:
Zeus, Zhong Kui, Xbalanque, Athena and Hun Batz/Thor

Example of an initiation:
1. Athena jumps on the primary target (Poseidon) and taunts him.
2. Xbalanque pops his ultimate and denies vision to the enemy team.
3. Thor immediately starts ulting as he notices Xbalanque has popped his ultimate. The enemy team is not aware that Thor is in the air.
4. Meanwhile Zhong Kui has slowed and stunned some targets.
5. Thor smashed his hammer in the ground catching 2 gods.
6. Hun Batz uses ultimate on these 2 targets.
7. ??? Profit.

iv. Counterpicking

The enemy team will try its best to make a good team composition and you have to try to deny that as much as possible. I cannot provide you with all the information related to counter picking, as it is too much to handle in this guide, but think about each possibility to counter each god.

Some gods are easy to counter. Take Odin, for instance. Any god with a leap will be able to jump over his fence, granting his ultimate useless.

Likewise, some gods are HARD to counter. Xbalanque, for one. His ultimate cannot be stopped.

a) Items

At the start of the game, I advise you to purchase some health and mana potions, as staying in lane is very important as your team should try to initiate when you outnumber them or at least in equality.

Actives are very important, also. are nice almost in every matchup, especially those against Ares. and are two items that I feel are underrated and some that you should take a look at, if you haven't already.

b) Buff camps

Start at the speed buff camp. If possible, try and attack both the orange and the red camps. Then, a mage should head up to the middle and clear the wave as fast as possible for two reasons: your team will have a better experience split; and your creep wave will wander freely towards the gate and the enemy team will have to stop this (with your minions attacking them). Also, some enemies will be still trying to clear the orange camp (hopefully) and be heading towards middle. That is a good situation to try and catch first blood.

Buff priorities: Orange goes to the tank, unless he decides not to take it. Red goes to someone with ranged abilities so that he can harass the enemy team. Blue goes to healers or mana dependant gods.

a) Roles

i. Tank

Initiation is the most important thing in Arena. As a tank, for first role is to communicate with your team and tell them who is your priority target. These are normally mages with no escape mechanisms such as dashes (think of Agni here).

Besides initiating, you should try to protect your weakest allies. Athena is very good at doing that and its why its my preferred tank.

Know when to retreat. Your allies will be taking damage and therefore, they will be backing off before you have to do. If you end up alone, you die. Prevent that.

ii. Bruiser

Some bruisers are very good initiators. Tyr is an excellent example. With blink, he will be able to 1+2+3+1 combo an enemy, giving the rest of the team an easy kill. During the teamfight, try to either secure kills or CC the opponents with highest burst.

iii. ADC (Attack Damage Carry)

Follow your tank. He is the heart and soul of the game and you should love him. He is like your mother, you do not question him. If he initiates, you take the big guns and wreak havoc. Hit and run. You are squishy. It is important to stay alive.
Be sure to have an eye for your bruiser, as he may be setting an easy kill for you.

iv. Mages

Kill minion waves. I cannot stress this enough. Every time a creep enters your gate, you lose 1 ticket. Moreover, if you kill that wave, you are actually stealing the enemy tickets. Therefore, your tank should not initiate unless the enemy creep wave is cleared.

Follow your tank. He is the heart and soul of the game and you should love him. He is like your mother, you do not question him. If he initiates, you take the big guns and wreak havoc. Hit and run. You are squishy. It is important to stay alive.

Be sure to have an eye for your bruiser, as he may be setting an easy kill for you.

v. Assassins

A special thanks to Xeran_, who advised me to add this category.

Even though late game you will be able to dish tons of damage and thus be able to carry your team, assassins should play differently than ADC. While ADCs want to stay near the tank, assassins should try to sneak in and pick off targets out of position. You do not jump in the middle of the teamfight only to die. For example, if you are playing Loki and a teamfight has just begun, backdoor the enemy team and pick off Zeus, who is busy popping his ultimate on your team.

b) Warding

In some games, you will want to ward the jungle, depending on the enemy team composition. For instance, you should always ward when there is a Loki or a Thor in the enemy ranks.

c) Jungling

Try to take buffs as much as possible with the help of your teammates. When someone is jungling, your team does not initiate and you have to try your hardest not to be initiated.

d) Voice chat

Try to take buffs as much as possible with the help of your teammates. When someone is jungling, your team does not initiate and you have to try your hardest not to be initiated.

e) Map awareness

Know where everyone is. You should never fight when you are being outnumbered. You should never chase when you are being outnumbered. Chasing should only be done if its an easy task. If you end up killing the enemy only to die, both teams will go 5 tickets down and there was always the possibility to not get that kill. Only chase if you have good odds to survive.

f) Positioning

Tank has to be upfront. ADC and mages behind the tank. Bruiser and Assassin should try to flank (use the pillar to your advantage). Do not stand too close, but close enough so that when someone initiates, you can follow. When playing against Ares and other AoE gods (Athena), positioning becomes even more crucial.

g) How do I win?

Do not look at your KDR. Look at tickets instead. Try to be conservative. Hit and run. Kill enemies and retreat. Clear all minion waves by last hitting them. Late game, if you are ahead bet your win on creeps. The enemy team will have to push themselves and pressure promotes making mistakes. Take advantage of them.

I thank you so much for taking the time to read this guide and I hope it has been useful to you. There is simply too much to cover and many strategies, picks and what not may not be found here, which does not mean that they are inferior at all. Remember, the key to success is TEAMWORK.

TL;DR: Sorry for the wall of text.

Empty list.

[28/10/2013] Added the assassin role and the positioning chapter.