Mages...squishy, squishy mages. But boy, can they pack a punch.
Overpowered (S-Tier):
Ah Puch: Very high burst damage when comboing his
Undead Surge and
Corpse Explosion. Ticking or multi-hit damage via Huge AOE ult and his
Fleeting Breath. Combined with
Gem of Isolation (build it early), his lack of escape/mobility is more than compensated with his high level of control and damage, as long as he is played properly.
Discordia: Easy to confirm AOE poke damage combined with some control provides incredible damage potential. Only a short range jump makes her somewhat vulnerable, so she should be played on the periphery of a teamfight, but that jump also allows her to get around dangerous obstacles.
Nox: Huge CC abilities, good damage output, and a type of escape by hiding in teammates' shadows. Can really lock down enemies for others to finish.
Zeus: Possible A-Tier due to his lack of escape. However, his damage potential in a teamfight is massive and easy to apply from distance, which pushes him into S-Tier.
Balanced (A-Tier):
Agni: Good damage potential and a nice dash that can be used as a form of escape. Other than comboing 2 abilities to create a stun, he lacks CC.
Anubis: His mobility/escape is B-Tier (read: none), but
his damage output is S-Tier. Has enough CC to make him very effective in 1 v 1 and teamfights as long as he's not focused by the entire enemy team.
Ao Kuang: Similar to
Loki, he can disappear for short periods, and his ult easily secures kills (and then gets him to safety). Doesn't have a lot of teamfight potential, but that ult gives him solid kill secure functionality.
Baron Samedi: Although he has no escape, he has great potential in the middle of a teamfight.
Wrap It Up in particular is a powerful teamfight CC ability that can chain to multiple enemies, and his ult gives him some great control. As long as he positions himself well, he can not only deal good damage, but also provide CC, debuffs, and situational group healing.
Chang'e: Moderate damage, but her abilities have wide AOE, which work incredibly well with items like
Gem of Isolation to help her control the field. Her
stunning ult in a teamfight can be a game-changer. Although she lacks an escape, she's got a built-in
Aegis Amulet!
Chronos: Has a variety of ways to attack, including an AOE-type ticking nuke and quick basic attacks when built that way. His ult can also save his life AND get him back into the action quickly.
Freya: She's
MINE, but the Fatalis -> Ring nerf hurt her. She still has some amazing damage potential, especially with access to attack speed items overall, but the loss of mobility means she won't be able to box quite as effectively.
He Bo: Decent damage from afar, and high damage potential up close, but lacks a true escape, which makes getting close risky business.
Hera: The jury is out on her...from the looks of her kit, she'll be a decent mage but nothing standout, especially in a teamfight.
Isis: She outputs good damage, has a good long-range stun, and low cooldowns (her ult gives her an automatic 10% CDR VERY QUICKLY). Her ult can also be a huge healer in a teamfight, and doubles as a zoning tool.
Janus: His teleport can still work on some walls (e.g. the sides), and he can drop it on the floor for temporary relief from damage, but it's not fully an escape. Good damage output though.
Kukulkan: He's got an easy-peasy, fire-and-forget wave-clear and high damage output. With a lack of escape, best to play him on the perimeter.
Merlin: Only listed here because he's a new god and is yet to be evaluated in Arena. Looks to have good overall potential, and being a new god usually means he'll start out strong.
Nu Wa: Lacks a bit of burst unless comboing on her minions, and her ult, though it can secure kills, is weak but does allow her to get out of some damage for a time.
Poseidon: Some might put him in S-Tier for his AOE abilities, and in particular,
Release The Kraken!, but he lacks an escape, making him an easy target.
Ra: Although he lacks an escape or even a good dash, his waveclear and teamfight presence keeps him relevant.
Scylla: Another that might be A-Tier, but she's got a true escape, a strong root, and a crazy burst ult that can chain into multiple kills, though it's difficult to land. Extremely effective if her teammates can keep the enemy's attention.
Sol: With multiple targets in a teamfight, her passive and self-healing will help keep her in a fight and doing good damage. She also has a great - though delayed -
Aegis Amulet-type ability.
Thoth: He's got some good damage at safe range, but it can be difficult to connect his shots. He also has an escape, though it has a long CD, so he needs to be careful.
Vulcan: Poor mobility and his turret is vulnerable, but he can still output a ton of damage, especially with his ult getting a nice speed-buff, allowing him to more easily hit his huge AOE on multiple targets.
Zhong Kui: Unique for a mage. Often built somewhat tanky, and has some great AOE abilities that slowly tick away enemies' health. Even though he doesn't really have burst potential, he is a great teamfighter. Lacks CC and an escape.
Underpowered (B-Tier):
Aphrodite: Aphro is a great partner, but her abilities are less effective in a full teamfight. Her healing can be nice, but is easily countered with anti-heal. She has some decent damage output, but she just isn't best-suited for Arena play. Can be very effective with the right teammates, though, and good timing on her Ult can save teammates.
Hades: He's got some really good burst and an effective ult if timed properly, but that ult is typically easy to escape. Really needs good team support to be effective, otherwise he can be caught and burst down.
Hel: Her healing can be helpful, but if she emphasizes her utility, she loses on long-distance damage. She has absolutely no escape. Common target for the enemy team, and so many anti-healing items can really cut into her support function.
Also, since ur not gonna list shoes/crits/lifesteal items, i suggest you put a reference ro your items guide in that specific chapter.
For
As for Thanatos, yeah that also works. Again, can only provide one example but I can add further comments. Just don't want the comments too be too complex. Good thoughts.
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Of course, the defensive item is a flexible pick up (unless it's
In your opinion, Who has the more functional arachne build for arena? Me or bran? Brans build is in the guide itself, under the items section, physical god builds.
Like I said, SCS is a great item, BUT...it's better if you're facing more physical threat. It's an example build, so I don't account for all things. Also, your build is more forgiving. Earlier protections are just fine, but it means you won't be doing as much damage. It DOES mean you can survive more, even if you make mistakes.
Depending on enemy comp and whatnot, I've gotten
My example build takes better advantage of Qin's passive at an earlier stage, which also pairs well with her passive,
(Also, I added a burst ability build for her as well.
scs isnt just for physical comps. You'd get it for the +50 power, +10% movement, and most importantly: +30 flat pen (total) which STACKS NICELY with the executioner.
For everything it provides, SCS is probably one of my favorite basic attack items.
I'm only offering example builds so people see different use of items and item orders. None of them are "you should only build this."
1 guardian
1 warrior
1 hunter
1 mage
1 abiltiy based bruiser assassin
^most balanced comp i can think of
And no, I'm not always offering the best all-purpose build. That's not the purpose I was after. I'm offering a functional build to show how you'd utilize specific items for a specific purpose.
For example, I usually would choose
In this case I'd also just start Ninja just to more simply set the build up for Qin's. But I still like my original build just fine. It's one example. But I appreciate the feedback and I'll probably adjust and get crusher earlier.
Also, bran, should we involve messages that dont relate to the guide itself to a PM?
Ofc, pestilence offers a fantastic counter to healers as well.
Lifesteal is technically a form of healing, but yes, you're right, and I do always consider Pest to counter lifesteal builds.
Keep in mind also that pestilence is in the tank slash counter item grouping. It was never stated as just a counter item.
But for ***bha, I would concentrate on CDR along with
If I were to organize the items or present it in a specific way, how do you feel it would be most helpful to you? How I present in my individual god guides? Like I do in my Assault guide? Target only very specific topics like counter-building? There are a LOT of items, and a LOT of playstyles that I often change things up depending on my team's comp and the enemy comp.
For the Arena guide, which is perhaps my least-viewed guide on a daily basis, I don't think I'm willing to put in a huge amount of time to doing a full items layout like I did with Assault, but I have ideas, and perhaps I can work up to something more comprehensive.
For now, let's see what my fingers can pump out in a few hours. Look for something later today.
You have a BB coding error on Key Bruiser items, to the left of
I don't like the
You have a BB coding error on Key Bruiser items, to the left of
I don't like the
Check the underlined section in the first paragraph of the Arena Items section for the answer to missing crits.
Reason I kept them out is because 1) that's a lot of additional items I'd have to list, and 2) the purpose of the Arena Items section (also as explained at the top of the section) is to point out items that might have some heightened importance in the mode over perhaps regular usage. I consider crits on specific gods to be fairly standard.
Of all blessings for Arena, I like 3 situationally.
Back to
Also, this is my guide, so what I say goes =P
I call him her and she all the time myself tbh :p
I do appreciate your feedback, don't get me wrong, but what I often see is that people get tunnel vision for teamfights and let multiple waves go.
Proper understanding of the mode is balance.
That said, the guide is meant to give main tips. Minions matter more than many give them credit for. But I also expect people to use common sense. If minions aren't being pushed by the enemy team and there's a big team fight, then of course I'd expect the player to help their own teammates... That should be a given, wouldn't you say?
But if one teammate is gonna die if you don't help them, but you could prevent a wave from getting to your portal, you get the minions. You're talking -5 if your teammate dies, but basically a -12 spread if you don't kill the minions.
I'm really not sure about him yet. He's mostly ability-based, regens basic "mana" to 25% and doesn't use all that much at a time, so he doesn't have to worry about that so much, which means that portion of his sustain is pretty good (great for Solo). He's got some wave-clear in his 1 (great for Solo). He's got an escape (great for anyone, but also functional for Jungle). He really needs to take hits to get his passive up (Solo warriors often take a lot of damage). He's got some control (great for Solo and Jungle).
But I think he's going to need some serious tweaking by Hi-Rez...you said he's A-tier when paired with a guardian or tanky warrior...but...part of what he needs is to be tanky...he needs to be able to soak some damage. So pairing him with another tank, not all that great, I think. At least, that's the way I understand him so far.
*edit* OOPS...this is a comment on the Arena guide...not Conquest, LOL. Ummm...yeah, this mode is probably a lot better for him. Since he doesn't have a ton of control, a main "tank" guardian type would be best to be around...yeah, at first guess, at least when utilized and built well, he'd probably be A-Tier. Sorry about mis-reading!