Most MOBAs have a flow to them that, after a while playing, you’ll slowly get used to. In our combat basics guide, we referred to this back and forth as the “footsies” that players of opposing teams engage in, and which becomes like second nature after playing for some time. It’s like a dance where players meet to exchange damage or kill minions, and then go back to their lines to keep pacing back and forth until the next opportunity arrives.

These footsies are a quintessential element of these MOBAs. However, even if you’re the best at trading damage and last hitting minions, you’ll get nowhere if you don’t have the right team comp. It’s true that a good player can make all the difference in a MOBA. However, not even the best players can go against character archetypes and their strengths and weaknesses. Even though you’re the best there is at footsies, you’d be hard-pressed to kill a tank with a support hero in Arena of Valor, for example.

If learning to move around the battlefield and trading damage with your enemies is half the battle in Arena of Valor, then learning about character types and their capabilities is definitely the other half. With that being said, let’s dive in and take a look at the character types we can find in this mobile MOBA.

Tanks and Their Responsibilities

Tanks are among one of the weakest types of characters in terms of offense in most MOBAs. In fact, it’s not their job to kill enemies outright, but rather to soften them up so their allies can clean up. However, they do have a massive responsibility in the fact that it’s their job to hold the enemy’s attention and prevent their assassins from reaching your mages. They can also bully around other warriors and move them around the arena, inflicting them with slows and stuns to keep them grounded and vulnerable.

Playing a tank is lots of fun, but requires a cool head at all times. After all, it’s not uncommon, as a tank in a MOBA, to find yourself surrounded by 3 enemies all wailing on you. In these situations, you must stay focused and make split-second decisions to keep yourself alive and the enemy team shut down. Even if you’re going to die in a moment, you can still inflict the enemy with status conditions that will give your team the push they need to prevail in the encounter.

If you’re a tank, don’t be afraid to poke the enemy or to jump in when you think you can snag a kill. Also, you’re on point for initiating teamfights. In other words, if you jump in, your team will surely follow suit. Be responsible and don’t engage in unnecessary fights; the fate of your squad depends on your leadership. In Arena of Valor, fortune favors the brave!

Warriors and Their Responsibilities

As we mentioned in a previous guide, Warriors in a MOBA are “light” versions of tanks. They sport massive HP pools and usually build defense and armor, making them very resilient to physical damage. However, in contrast with tanks, warriors usually have skill sets oriented towards offense, and are far more dangerous as they can easily take down the more fragile characters in a matter of seconds.

Warriors are the bullies of Arena of Valor. They have skills that allow them to quickly close the distance and, while they’re not as bursty as assassins or mages, they can whittle down a foe far quicker than a tank can.

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Regardless of the specific MOBA, the standard gameplay of a warrior consists in getting up close and personal to the enemy and sticking to them like a booger sticks to a kid’s nose. This is because the warrior’s main weakness is getting kited. In other words, if a warrior is slowed or stunned, and can’t catch his prey on time, he’ll probably die before ever being able to lay on finger on the target. Therefore, playing this type of character in Arena of Valor takes a lot of timing, courage, and a bit of luck as well.

Assassins and Their Responsibilities

The speedy and elusive assassins are the ones you should fear when you’re wandering alone around the map. These characters have a penchant for ambushing and defeating their victims in a matter of seconds—sometimes even quicker than that! While very fragile, assassins have many mobility skills that allow them to sneak away when compromised, or to jump to a fleeing foe.

Assassins in Arena of Valor are ideal either for a mid lane, where they can farm a bit of gold before going to gank other lanes, or in the jungle where they can level up by defeating neutral mobs. Either way, their main concern is racking up kills and snowballing the team to victory. A good assassin can carry an entire team either by obtaining the highest number of kills, or enabling others to get the last hit on enemies.

However, they are worthless without good support and proper communication as they are easily overwhelmed if caught off guard.

Mages and Their Responsibilities

In Arena of Valor, mages are similar to assassins in that their role is to get as many kills as possible. However, where assassins do so via quick ambushes and swift attacks, mages weave powerful spells and launch them at their foes, destroying them from a distance. It’s not unusual for a mage to defeat the most squishy enemies with two or three well-placed spells.

Mages have the additional perk of dealing magic damage. In this sense, while most tanks and warriors naturally develop armor and HP, they’re still vulnerable to spells unless they compensate by building magic resistance. However, since warriors usually build offensively, mages are the only ones that can stop these bullies in their tracks.

Marksmen and Their Responsibilities

The ranged physical attackers in Arena of Valor have a very specific and pivotal role: Carrying the team. We know that this may sound like a lot of pressure, but it’s the truth. A good marksman, upon reaching max level and finishing their item build, can dispose of any enemy in just a few hits. This is because, as opposed to other character types that rely on their skills, marksmen hit really hard with their auto attacks. A critical can often hit as hard as a mage spell.

Marksman is, arguably, the hardest role to play as it requires ample farming, staying alive, and not leaving your lane for the first half of the match. The BlueStacks Keymapping Tool can help tremendously for this purpose. Nevertheless, these heroes require lots of gold to finish their build, which takes a lot of farming. Additionally, if they attempt to fight the enemy before their farm is finished, they’ll probably get defeated since their skills are much weaker than others without the necessary gear.

If required, a marksman can leave their lane early and go to the jungle to finish farming. This is especially true when the lane tower falls too early and farming in the lane becomes too dangerous.

Supports and Their Responsibilities

The most straightforward role in Arena of Valor. Support heroes have skills to disrupt the enemy team, to heal their allies, or to provide many helpful effects. These heroes are varied, so their exact utility varies in every case. Nevertheless, the role remains the same: To support the marksman in the bottom lane, and then to disrupt the enemy team when a teamfight breaks out.

Like we said on another occasion: Knowing your role in Arena of Valor is half the battle. Every hero has its own perks and skills, which can vary greatly one from another. However, by knowing what’s expected from you according to your role, you can work with your teams towards securing a swift and easy victory.

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