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.
Persephone: This is an initial evaluation, but her kit is very functional for a teamfight, especially when she can place so many of her sprouts everywhere. She is somewhat safe as she has a dash, and her ult, if she hits it, is great for bunched up enemies.
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: Long range poke and good overall damage give him potential. Nerfed a lot to the point I feel he's not the biggest threat anymore.
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.
Olorun: No escape or mobility and his greatest strength is in his ranged basic attacks, guaranteeing he's going to take damage. His greatest function in a teamfight is his ult, but it starts with a very long CD. In this mode, suggest getting some CDR to use his ult more often.
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 a preferred target.
Ra: Although he lacks an escape or even a good dash, his waveclear and teamfight presence keeps him relevant.
Raijin: A good escape and an ult that can control are very helpful. Good damage output at range too, but the time it takes to fully cast makes him vulnerable for a bit, which can be dangerous in a teamfight situation. Possible S-Tier.
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.
how do you feel about the different blessing starts over t2 boots? I have taken quite a liking in [attacker's blessing] because of how quickly it's stacked in arena. (haven't really tried the others tbh)
Also in your start you say the mage should continue clearing camps, however I have noticed with gods with good early game wave clear (think gods like
But for most gods, at this point I prefer skipping any blessings. Usually I'll go
I will disagree with Gulf though, and say that even if you get a Blessing, you should (in almost all cases) be able to finish all 6 regular items before the match ends.
As for the start, depending on how quickly they can clear, I VERY strongly suggest all 5 gods just blow through the 3 buff camps ASAP, and all head together to the middle. When the mage leaves early, it slows the other people down with clear (sometimes the basic attacker gets left alone to clear theirs because everyone else is stupid)...AND if they clear before you're in range, the others miss out on some XP/gold. When the mage DOES leave, it's usually after the 1st camp, though. They get their buff and head right to the middle, because they're selfish and say "hey, I got what I needed, see ya."
Depending on how willing people are to use abilities on the camps, you can get through all 3 very, very quickly. I've been in groups where it takes less than 20 seconds, and in others where it takes over 40 (sometimes because people take forever to buy items). The more efficiently you can clear, the quicker everyone gets to the middle, clears the first wave, and immediately pressures the enemy team. THAT should be the goal, IMO.
on blessings I only think that getting
If you ask me it provides you with a early power spike and possible play because with a good poke god or a decent lvl 3 fight you have it stacked before 1500 gold. (normally you reach 12-15 stacks on the buff camps) and we all know how painful 10 flat pen can be that early. (especially if you manage to go back and pick up pen boots on you mage).
warrior's is harder to stack but also fairly easy and honestly 15 protections is pretty decent in the first few moments of the game (and the 40 mana 40 hp and 3 damage reduction is also quite decent).
do have to say I normally prefer a quick back to finish boots in between and this normally hits around 5 and my teammates without blue basing because mana.
But typical Arena comps I see these days are more like 4 squishies and 1 tank, so that can be a good option.
As for Warrior's...well, I don't feel it's worth it at all. Think about where it's mainly used...Conquest Solo. You mostly are looking to clear minions and exchange hits...but sometimes you will try to bully while the minions are still there. The 3 damage mitigation is effective when you've got lots of weaker hits every second (e.g. minions hitting you). But when you're facing multiple gods whose abilities are doing 100+ damage in the first couple of minutes, that damage mitigation is significantly less functional. I wouldn't bother with it, personally.
gotta say I really dislike the 4 squishies 1 tank comp in arena mostly because the tank with more CC (so in most cases a guardian) can dictate the game.
I acctually prefer a 3 squishy (2 mage (or 1 of them full assassin) 1 adc a support/full tank and a bruiser (can be an assassin or more damage focussed warrior/guardian)
also provides you with a slightly better damage spread compared to 2 high AD, 1 low AD 1 low AP and 1 high AP
True, but I don't think any of the blessings are worth the gold; I'd rather start with a tier 2 item instead.
Added back, Yemoja added also, updated for 6.11.
1) boots
2)
3-4)
Rest depending on class..
also with good crit rate
Against tanks its not so cool but still makes some good dmg.. Or i missing something?
Just going to put in my two cents here...some of what I say will probably align with others. And in this discussion, note that my comments are specifically about building in Arena or other non-Conquest modes.
I do want to clarify that I don't specifically say not to use/buy crit items in the guide (at least to my recollection). In fact, I do list
The main points why you might choose crits or Qin's routes for basic attackers often have to do with the god in question, as well as the enemy comp. For hunters, either route can be okay, but it's often best IMO to go crits when you use a god with an attack speed steroid, like Art or Rama. This allows you to build a bit less into attack speed items, and concentrate on power and pen (since crits scale from your power/basic attack damage). This isn't to say that crits can't have both...
Cost and Power Curve: But some of the items that work best with crit builds are more expensive.
Negatives about crits: Crits, can be partially countered by things such as
Qin's, on the other hand, focuses more on attack speed to take advantage of the item's passive damage bonus. The more often you hit, the more bonus damage you get. A lot of the items that pair well with Qin's in a high AS build are cheaper...things like
Qin's, in addition, is great against tanks that build high health. Often as a hunter, you're going to be in the backline, and your main contact is going to be against their frontline (usually tanks).
One final thing is with regard to Assassins rather than Hunters (since I don't know if you're talking about a specific class). Depending on the assassin, they'll have a stronger function with one or the other.
But some are basic attackers, and those usually want Qin's over crits. Why? In the case of
In the end, as I said at the beginning, most of my build direction preference depends on enemy comp and the god I'm using.
High attack speed is to get the most out of
in most cases looking at late game crit will be better if you need to burst someone down, but qin's takes the top if they are to tanky to be bursted.
Also the crit powerspike is later in a build (the 50% crit mark which a normal crit build hits at item 5) then a qin's build.
Edit: also Qins builds tend to have O-bow which has good teamfight damage.
yeah lower AS makes it more important to acctually hit for your dps
Only on bastet i go to max atack + CDR
if take for example some hunter like Neith or something which first 3-4 items to buy? how much it would cost and lets check dps output
gives:
35(+20 with buff) atack speed
90 atack
45 critrate and +30 critdmg
All this cost 7k gold and enough to start do good dps
for 6700 it could be done with
This is enough to start rly do dmg with atacks. Which items could do so much for this price?
As you said critical is very strong against but it's also more expensive and even then you've to rely on RNG.
In most cases crit is built on God's with AS steroids. When you build into crits % you lose on other important starts like power and speed. Also in most cases you want to build death bringer if you build crit for the damage boost
Nowadays with fail not being such a great crit item must ppl build it in non crit build too
I tested
After building 3 crit items non crit hits are quite rare and with
Malice is very niche, got an internal CD on it.
Heatseeker is late game item. Like your 6th and DMG increases based on target max HP. Check out obow on a non crit build vs crit.
I tested
What you just said made me think of this for some reason. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfRdur8GLBM
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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5.
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Sell
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