Arena of Valor FAQ

Overview
Every game must have a set of rules governing how players, objects, abilities, and more interact, even though doing so in the tutorial would be quite tedious. The same applies to Arena of Valor, therefore we tested the game and looked up any questions players might have. Although we’ve previously addressed many of the queries, there are a few reasons why we’ve chosen to create a FAQ post:

The answers are rather dispersed around the website, so gathering them here makes things a little bit simpler (some people might not know that we listed stat caps in our items basics article, for instance)
Sometimes a piece of information is noteworthy but not enough to warrant a whole article (not to mention it makes it even harder to find if there are too many posts)
The comments part of this page is a wonderful place to express any questions you might have because sometimes, something that appears clear to us (like being able to change your item build while playing a game) is not so obvious to everyone else.
This page will be regularly updated as we test new information, just as our Glossary. Please make sure to ask any questions you may have regarding Arena of Valor in the comments section below.

(Our Database page has a lot of the early details we’re providing; if you’re interested, visit there.)

Basics of Items
How much do things cost to buy?

They recoup 60% of its initial cost when sold.

Is there a maximum amount you can have of a particular stat?

Yes, based on how much you can spend on items during a game, most stats have a cap or some other kind of built-in maximum. For a list of the stat caps, visit our article on items basics (and other items basics, naturally).

Are passives stackable?

Passives are frequently described as “unique passives,” in which case their stacking is contingent upon the names being distinct. A unique passive won’t duplicate if you purchase the same item twice. Similar to this, they won’t stack if you purchase two things with the same special passive name, such as Belt of Clarity and Gaia’s Standard.

What occurs if I purchase two jungle items?

You must start building stacks on the second item after purchasing a second stackable jungle item because you will lose stacks on the first item if you do. The inability to have stacks on two items at once makes it very expensive to purchase two jungle items.

“Nearby” or “further damage”-style words
What does “nearby” signify in the descriptions of abilities and items?

The definition of “nearby” in Arena of Valor isn’t predetermined in any way. It can be 150 units, 200 units, or 200 units with the additional restriction that the impact will last for a short while after you depart. Check our items and hero sites for each situation as we have measured the majority, if not all, of the ranges of things and abilities (let us know if we haven’t).

Why does it mention it will deal “extra damage” on some abilities yet have all the damage summed up sequentially on others, like Arthur’s Holy Guard?

Damage that is not directly added to the base amount is not handled the same way as additional damage. On a critical hit, “Further damage” is not increased and, if it is physical, does not result in additional life steal. However, much like they do with regular damage, pierce effects do boost additional damage.

What on earth does the phrase “+0” in the ability description mean?

Abilities only display the current scaling because everyone starts with 0 ability power, thus if you’re looking at a hero in the selection screen, it will read +0. Abilities show how the damage scales with attack damage or ability power. But don’t worry, we took the care to record the scaling numbers for each hero and list them on their attribute pages. If you’re still unclear, we also published an article describing ability multipliers.

Crowd management
What is CC?

Visit our glossary now.

What distinguishes a knock-up from a stun?

The only apparent distinction is that a knock-up, like Krixi’s Nature’s Wrath, reveals heroes hiding in bushes so you can use abilities and attacks on them.

How do calculations on slows operate?

Similar to speed boosts, slows are calculated using a percentage based on your base movement speed. For instance, if I wear Gaia’s Standard and my movement speed is 400, the boost in speed will be 400 x 5%, or 20. If I then purchase Frosty’s Revenge, the percentage will not compound and will be doubled by the higher number, but rather my speed will be enhanced by 400 x 5% = 20 once again (bringing me to 440 with both goods). Then, if my adversary has Frosty’s Revenge equipped and uses an ability to attack me, I will be slowed by 400 x 20%, or 80. I won’t let 440 x 20% = 88 slow me down. With Gaia’s and Frosty’s on and damaged by an ability aided by Frosty’s, my movement speed will be 440 – 80 = 360.

Your base movement speed can currently only be increased by footwear.

What is meant by “resistance”?

The duration of CC affects is decreased by the percentage stated when the word “Resistance,” which can be found on Gilded Greaves and abilities like Max’s Liftoff and Lu Bu’s Conqueror, is present. For instance, if I am hit by a 1-second stun but have 30% resistance, I will only be stunned for 0.7 seconds. Incoming damage is not lessened by resistance.

Assessing Damage
How are defenses against magic and armor calculated?

The formula for damage reduction is

damage reduction is equal to either armor divided by (600) or magic defense divided by (600).
Thus, damage dealt to a target is determined as follows: damage dealt = damage incoming * (1 – Armor / (Armor + 600))

So, how is Pierce determined?

You didn’t finish the article we linked to above, to start with. In any case, you recalculate the armor% by subtracting the pierce number from the armor number. If the pierce is based on a percentage, take that percentage out of the initial raw figure and then recalculate the armor percentage.

Is raw armor piercing calculated first, or armor pierce based on a percentage?

In Arena of Valor, percentages are always calculated last.

Should I purchase HP or armor?

You decide. However, we did determine the value of armor relative to HP (and only defending against physical damage).

Can real damage be diminished?

If the item or ability refers to “damage reduction,” then yes.

Should I invest in critical chance or armor pierce?

Depending on the hero you’re using, but we’ve created some comparison tables so you can check. Keep in mind that heroes with attack-enhancing abilities, such as Yorn and Violet, as well as Slimz and Wukong, who benefit from critical hits since the total amount of specified damage is multiplied, benefit from critical hits as well.

Critical Hits and Life Steal
What distinguishes Magic Life Steal from Life Steal?

Only regular attacks and normal attacks that have been improved by an item are affected by life steal. Armor piercing and critical hits are particularly crucial because the more damage you give, the more life steal you receive. However, abilities like The Joker’s The Killing Joke do not apply life steal, and items marked “extra damage” like Fafnir’s Talon do not increase life steal.

When magic damage is dealt, including additional damage from items like Loki’s Curse and Apocalypse and damage auras from items like Leviathan and Mantle of Ra, Magic Life Steal, on the other hand, offers healing whenever any magic damage is dealt.

The quantity healed by Magic Life Steal when it comes from an AoE ability is something to keep in mind. This is done to compensate for the fact that the ability will be providing simultaneous healing from several sources. Due to the fact that AoE skills are simply more prevalent in the game, this will occur much more frequently than single-target abilities. Normal attack modifiers, such as those from Kahlii’s Powerful Hymns or Jinnar’s Samsara, and guaranteed hits, such as those from Veera’s Mesmerize or Valhein’s Curse of Death, are a few instances of single target abilities that would receive the full healing benefit.

What distinguishes critical chance from critical damage?

Increasing your critical chance will boost your chances of dealing a critical hit, which typically deals twice as much damage as a regular strike. The damage you give on a critical hit is increased by critical damage, more than doubling it.

When Violet’s Tactical Fire hit me on a critical hit, it did more damage than a normal strike would have done but less than twice as much as it would have had she not used tactical fire. I’m…confused.

For the majority of heroes, a critical hit on an enhanced strike multiplies all AD scaling up to 1.0 but not the additional damage from the ability. Let’s imagine I utilize Righteous Fervor and I’m Arthur at level 15 with 350 AD. The base damage would be 305 Plus 1.0 AD, or 305 + 350 = 655 (we won’t bother about armor for this). But if I dealt a critical hit, it would only multiply the AD portion, not the whole total. 305 + (350 * 2) = 1005 would be the damage from a critical hit.

Only the portion of the AD scaling up to 1.0 is multiplied if it is greater than 1.0. For instance, Violet’s Tactical Fire delivers 475 + 1.15 AD at level 15. If she made a critical strike, the damage would be 475 + (1.0 AD * 2) + 0.15 AD, not 475 + 2.3 AD as it was with Arthur.

(The calculations above all take into account a “regular” critical hit with no additional critical damage.)

However, there are few significant outliers to this rule, including Wukong and Slimz.

Towers Are they damaged by abilities?

Generally speaking, no. Only if the ability clearly states that it will damage buildings or if it strengthens a regular assault. Here is a comprehensive list of techniques to boost tower damage.

Super minions have been seen before, but how can I make them appear?

Super minions will spawn in a lane after all three towers in that lane have been destroyed. Five super minions will appear in each wave after taking out all nine towers: three in the middle, one on top, and one on bottom.

Which traits—critical, item passives, etc.—are applicable to towers?

All of your questions are answered in our tower guide, however here are some details:

Towers are affected by the special passive of Fenrir’s Tooth, but not by that of Fafnir’s Talon.
On towers, critical hits are impossible.
Towers are affected by armor penetration, although armor reduction from equipment like the Spear of Longinus doesn’t apply to them. Instead, true damage is dealt to towers, dealing the full amount specified.
On towers, life theft is not possible, but life gain (such as Kil’groth’s Enraged Spear) is.
Monsters, minions, and more
Monsters spawn when?

Normal monsters begin appearing at :28, followed by Golems and Seagles :30, the Spirit Sentinel : 1:50, the Abyssal Dragon : 2:00, and the Dark Slayer : 6:00.

How frequently do spawn minions?

It’s difficult.

How much gold do I gain when I defeat monsters and minions? Who are the heroes?

All of the rewards are listed in this article.

I’ve heard that by killing opponents, I can take their Sage Buffs and Might Buffs. Is this a fact?

Yes.

Other
The length of a unit

In-game, about a centimeter.

Once the game has begun, is it possible to change your item build?

Yes, there is a button in the Shop’s lower left corner.

How is drafting carried out? Who issues the prohibitions? With another player, how can I switch heroes? How can I modify my item build and Arcana page now that I am familiar with the heroes?

The player in the fourth slot, or the second to last to pick, is now the first to be banned because the June 2018 patch added two bans. The player who has the last pick receives the second ban. The Abyssal Dragon will be in the bottom lane and the Dark Slayer will be in the top lane because the first team to ban and pick is essentially the “blue” team. The epic monsters will be switched if your team picks first and bans second, even though it will appear that you are on the “blue” team.

The option to swap heroes with other players will become available after everyone has made their selection, but it will only do so if both of you own the two characters in question. To get those obtrusive skins out of the way, press “hide” to modify your item build and Arcana page.

Why is Green so against Diao Chan’s voice lines?

Green (or Cody in real life) is adamantly opposed to everything DC as a supporter of Marvel. Including characters beginning with DC.