2.10 Hero Tier List

Vainglory Update 2.10 is sure to leave everyone wet as Lorelai splashes onto the scene. The aquatic keeper of eggs finds herself in a very strong position in both the lane and the captain roles. Rona has finally crossed the donkey bridge to pass Celeste for the top spot in the lane. In the captain spot, the backline ladies reign supreme with Lyra and Lorelai, while Ardan remains a strong pick and escorts the beautiful horned duo. Finally, Skye has taken on a new role of chief zombie killer as the jungle been taken over by the undead, Alpha and Krul.

“My mom always said I’d be good at something. Who would have guessed it’d be killing zombies?”

Vainglory Hero Tier List

SOMETHING NEW: We’ve added arrow symbols to tell you how much a hero’s ranking has changed compared to our last tier list. Up arrows indicate that a hero has moved up in tier or position, and that this hero is more effective this update. Down arrows indicate that a hero has moved down in tier or position, and that they are less effective this update. However, it’s important to note that we didn’t simply take the difference between rankings for these numbers—new heroes or heroes that are removed are not factored into position change numbers. This will more accurately represent a hero’s change in power level.


CARRY

Nightmare

ronaRona (New) A new foe to the lane, Rona has been provoked for several updates now with buffs to her survivability, but previously could only dip her toes into the fight before being shut down by other bruisers wielding Posioned Shiv. Coupled with attack speed, especially in the way of Breaking Point, Rona’s Mortal Wounds from Foesplitter is up just every few seconds, countering the major sustain-based meta against heroes like SAW, Blackfeather and Skaarf.

Celeste (↑8) Celeste also dominates the galaxy with recent energy buffs and a restoration to weapon power junglers. Heavy burst damage and AOE make quick work of the leading junglers in 2.10. Before she unlocks Heliogensis’ bonus range on its overdrive at level 8, however, be wary of enemy units looking to make a show out of her short range and squishy health pool.

Lorelai (New) As the newest addition to the Halcyon Fold, Lorelai’s bubbly personality takes a nose dive to top of the carry list with SEMC’s “new hero genes.” Lorelai holds her own against ranged and melee heroes with a stun, slow and self-cast barrier — also benefiting her allies — all scaling with crystal power. Frostburn coincides well with her crystal basic attacks to hold Rona, Blackfeather and other top melee heroes at bay. Enemies aren’t quite sure what to make of the little mermaid naga, but counters evoking burst damage will soon become prevalent to rain on her parade.

Kind of a Big Deal

sawSAW (↑10) WEAK MEN SAY SAW BEEFY FOR FIRST TIME IN EVER. SAW SAY DUNG POO. BIG BEEF ALWAYS THERE, JUST COOK. PREHEAT 350° AND FORGET LIKE LIMIT STARBUCK PETAL. TAKE OUT, CHECK. LOAD GRACIE, CHECK. PUSH TURRET, HALF CHECK.

gwenGwen (↑7) The Law of the Fold returns for a second round of bullets and justice! An increase in weapon jungler picks and crystal ratio/cooldown buffs to Gwen’s Buckshot Bonanza make way for her crystal path to emerge as a niche pick against long ranged enemies like Celeste and SAW, who otherwise would be out of the deputy’s warrant on weapon builds. Timely stuns and slows are still enough to send Gwen back to academy training.

Vox (↓3) Taking a step down from his SoundCloud takeover, Vox’s short range can be heard from outside of his headphones. While still a viable pick with Poisoned Shiv in a sustain-based meta, the same symphony as before isn’t there to keep him alive in the fight to the top charts. Vox still plays well as a safe draft pick when left with no other options, or when facing immobile heroes with delays between their brute attacks like Celeste, Skaarf and Reim.

baronBaron (↓2) Much like Gwen, Baron’s buffs (also focused on his crystal path) to Porcupine Mortar’s cooldown and energy cost bring him in line with burst carries. Extensive range from Porcupine Mortar traps heroes lacking mobility in a rain of damage and slows, setting up zone control for his team to advance on the frontline. Just hold on for a few more years, and you’ll be able to play Vainglory on more than a visor. Maybe a computer … oops.

jouleJoule (↑5) Joule fits in as a reliable counter to top carries like Rona and SAW through Rocket Jump’s stun and Big Red Button’s mega-range. Despite boasting a hard outer shell with her perk and high damage output on weapon and crystal paths, Lyra and Lorelai’s capability to disrupt Joule’s mobility outweighs any new machinery at this point.

Skaarf (↑0) Skaarf’s Spitfire and Goop combo trap Krul, Reim and other immobile melee heroes in a position for the team jungler to finish his victims off. However, Skaarf’s inability to traverse through the map quickly makes for him to be shut down by the enemy team pushing out his jungler, ultimately swinging a gold advantage in their favor.

petalPetal (New) Another new face to the carry list, Cloud9’s infamous Sorrowblade/Tornado Trigger/Tyrant’s Monocle lane Petal quickly caught on among the masses. Since then, however, players have adapted to her heavy reliance on captains setting up her positioning and rushed her before this occurs. Against weak early game heroes like Blackfeather, Celeste and Vox, the bug overlord remains a critical pick to counter their otherwise sustainable late game.

kestrelKestrel (↓3) Nerfs to Glimmershot and Active Camo in Update 2.10 have moved Kestrel’s damage away from mowing down squishy carries and toward a situational draft pick against tanky heroes. She remains a solid flexible pick into either the lane or jungle, but with a significantly lower damage output, we won’t be seeing as many highlight reel snipes.

Blackfeather (New) Blackfeather’s lane dominance was short-lived following nerfs to the damage output from Feint of Heart. An increase in the damage generation required per Breaking Point stack also amounts to Blackfeather needing to stay in the fight for a continued time; where often ranged carries are protected longer. While still scaling exceptionally well into the late game, Blackfeather is unable to fend for himself in the early stages with a decreased barrier gain, short range, and low damage output.

glaiveGlaive (↓5) Making a return from prehistoric times, Glaive has a bone to pick with his fellow heroes. Glaive holds his own in the lane with easily the best ganking tool in the way of Afterburn and AOE critical attacks. This combined with his base weapon lifesteal and tankiness prowess other lane carries like Rona, Blackfeather and Idris. Unfortunately, he’ll have to sniff this one out a little longer if ranged enemies track him down first.

Impressive

idrisIdris (↓9) Idris took quite the tumble from the top of the pack to where he places now. On his weapon path, long ranged heroes like Celeste, Skaarf, and SAW push him out of his own territory before he can gather enough gold to argue back. Meanwhile, Idris’ crystal path still struggles with a cross-decision between damage and survivability.

Adagio (↓3) With a reintroduction of crystal lane carries, Adagio occasionally fairs well with additional sustain-based heroes on his team. A heal, damage modifier, slow, and stun are all great assets with the reigning junglers. However, pressure, weapon power, stickiness, and lane ganks are not words a friendly angel wants to hear.

Ringo (↓6) Ringo hasn’t hit it big in a number of updates. A shift of focus to sustain builds like Poisoned Shiv & Breaking Point do not accent his play style to stay close to the fight, and an absence of early game pressure and harassment doesn’t increase his odds. Either that or the other arm is gone, too!


JUNGLER

Nightmare

Alpha (↑15) Alpha is back and comes in as a strong crystal and weapon power jungler with one of the highest sustained damage outputs through Core Charge and Prime Directive. Early game jungle control where enemies are unlikely to take down her reboot health pool can create a massive gold and objective advantage for her team. The recent global energy buff also allows Alpha to power through her reboot phrase at rapid speeds. This window only decreases with core cooldown items on her crystal path like Aftershock.

Skye (↑14) Skye zips through the jungle as a substantial pick with high damage and mobility through the mid and late stages of the game. Though susceptible to crowd control and burst damage, Skye is a strong counter to close-ranged heroes like Krul and Reim, but caution should be taken when playing against burst assassins and peel-heavy junglers.

krulKrul (↑5) Krul brings great initiation, damage, and survivability, and offers high late game potential to his team. Additionally, he coincides well with an influx of Poisoned Shiv. Captains versed in allied buffs and enemy lock-down like Ardan, Catherine and Lyra set Krul up to stick to his targets. Although this isn’t achieved through poor positioning, if the early game goes well, Krul morphs into a tanky brusier — dealing damage over the course of the fight.

Kind of a Big Deal

ronaRona (↑10) Rona finds herself as a favorable jungle pick for her high damage potential and innate tankiness. Mortal Wounds being on a low cooldown also limits the sustainability from Krul, Reim, Ozo, turning her into a tanky bruiser as well. She becomes a late game berserker in the right hands, but can be countered with peel and further setback.

Blackfeather (↑3) Blackfeather saw an immense amount of play in 2.9, but has since taken a step down from being a thorn stuck to everyone’s side. Though he’s less of a nuisance, Blackfeather still provides strong late game damage whether built crystal or weapon power. Teams should still respect the damage and chasing capabilities he has despite glaring counters.

Reza (↑6) Reza comes in as an mediocre jungler for 2.10. His immense amount of burst damage and gap closers allow him to burn foes down in the mid stages of the game, but does not fair as well into the late game. Here, his common Aftershock purchase to proc with low ability cooldowns falls off as enemies build more armor & shield as opposed to health.

kestrelKestrel (↓4) Glimmershot after Glimmershot, Kestrel finds herself critting down the competition. Though better suited to be played in the lane where gold is more plentiful, she can be used as a deterrent force in the jungle. Kestrel also provides high damage and objective taking capabilities whether built crystal or weapon. Make sure not to overstep your boundaries too far into the fight.

reimReim (↑2) Reim placed as the best jungler in 2.9, and was a consistent ban in competitive and Ranked matches for his easy fortified health generation against other melee heroes. He sits at a more reasonable place for being a slow, melee mage. He’s still formidable against melee compositions, but is very much susceptible to Posioned Shiv and being out-maneuvered / out-ranged.

glaiveGlaive (↓4) Glaive’s bloodlust brings him as a solid jungle pick in almost every situation with a strong displacement in his Afterburn and immense survivability. However, other junglers that utilize sustain more efficiently can still power over Glaive. An increasing amount of crowd control on newly released captains also leave Glaive choosing between using Afterburn as an escape or lock-down.

Celeste (New) Celeste works exceptionally well as a jungler as she can rapidly accelerate her experience gain and Heliogensis range upgrade at level 8 to reach a power spike earlier on. Though high in damage, the additions and changes to the crystal item tree, especially Broken Myth, negate a lot of her potential over time. Because she’s a squishy carry susceptible to crowd control, Celeste is forced to play as far back in the fight as possible.

fortressFortress (New) Due to the prominence of Aftershock and squishy carries, Fortress works well with the cooldown and damage of Aftershock and Law of the Claw coupled with the team fight prowess of Attack of The Pack. Fortress, however, struggles to provide the necessary damage and pressure when facing the discrepancy in power of other bruisers.

petalPetal (↓3) Petal saw some play as a weapon carry in 2.9, but now returns to being a situational counter pick. With the recent changes to the crystal item tree, she can no longer proc and provide an immense slow via Frostburn with her munions’ damage, but can still rival many stealth and bruiser heroes. Trailing her counters like Taka, Krul and Reim will offer the same peel as before.

ozoOzo (↑0) Monkey see, Monkey do — and Ozo seems to have copied SAW with an increase in play. The reworked health changes along with buffs to his healing on Three-Ring Circus make Ozo a situational crystal power bruiser that can bounce his way to victory. Ozo still suffers heavily from Mortal Wounds, but can be a great force with some luck and a strong early game.

Impressive

takaTaka (↑1) Taka has increasingly been ignored over the course of the last 2 updates. The recent crystal tree item changes also limit his damage capabilities, but can still be a reliable counterpick against squishy carries when played crystal.

baptisteBaptiste (↓11) Baptiste has taken quite a stumble from his previous state of power. His overall damage is inherently weaker now with the changes to Broken Myth, but can still sustain and provide high damage against the right heroes. Clockwork’s changes benefit him, however, with a very short cooldown on Bad Mojo.

samuelSamuel (↓8) Samuel is embarrassed by his father in terms of damage and mobility. Although still able to sustain and provide strong objective damage, an increase in bruiser heroes out-sustain and out-class Samuel. Peel from Frostburn and Malice & Verdict still keep immobile heroes at a comfortable distance.

grumpjawGrumpjaw (↓14) Recent buffs have made Grumpjaw a tanky beast allowing him to keep his Living Armor stacks and deal a significant amount of crystal damage. Grumpjaw out-tanks melee junglers with a lack of defense in their kit like Koshka, Glaive and Baptiste. Despite this, he’s still starved of damage, disengage and survivability compared to junglers with a consistent damage output.

Koshka (↓12) The Yummy Katnip really didn’t go down well as Koshka falls far from her place in previous metas. Koshka has a tough time transitioning from her early game status. Also impacted by the crystal tree reworks, she requires more offensive capabilities to match her previous power spikes, and suffers heavily from a lack of defenses. Other junglers vastly out-class Koshka as the Aftershock damage is not enough to pounce on those above her.


CAPTAIN

Nightmare

lyraLyra (↑2) Lyra returns to the top of the chain! Unparalleled in her healing capabilities, the health changes from 2.8 favor Lyra immensely, and is able to hop on top of any hero with ease while halting enemies attempting to flee. She brings immense sustain and poke damage throughout the game, remaining a top tier captain.

ardan Ardan (↑3) Bringing mobility, survivability, a hard engage, and centuries of dad jokes to the table, Ardan lays the smackdown on almost any foe. Rivaled only by Lyra’s healing, Ardan provides strong protection and zone control to almost any team composition, and is a great frontline tank with the recent health changes.

Lorelai (New) Easily able to control choke points and give teammates a speed boost, Lorelai excels at setting up her team for success and protecting allies from afar with her strong barrier. Positioning pools around allied heroes to gain their empowerment status entails a high skill cap. Remember that Splashdown’s pool speeds up allies and slows down enemies!

Kind of a Big Deal

ChurnwalkerChurnwalker (New) Churnwalker’s debut came in as a utility-based, tanky frontline captain. His Hook & Chain offers hefty displacements and provides him with health regenerative capabilities. The shared damage property allows burst damage heroes like Celeste and Kestrel to spread their damage across even more targets. Missing too often leaves the already immobile Churnwalker out in the open without his regeneration.

Grace (↓1) Grace has fallen off from her former reign in 2.7. While remaining a strong healer with great defensive capabilities, she is often lacking in her once crowned heals. Grace’s Divine Interventions aren’t as impacting without money and experience, but she retains her position as a strong and loyal captain in 2.10.

Catherine (↓3) While still bringing copious amounts of disruption and durability, Catherine’s perk nerf in Update 2.9 deals a blow to her survivability, as well as having a relatively weak early game. However, pairing her reliable stun and silence with Echo provides one of the most prevalent team utility options among the captain field.

lanceLance (↓1) Lance’s flexibility into most team compositions brings an early pick draft advantage, but doesn’t offer as much strength to any team. His ability to frontline and disable opponents coupled with his kit’s offense does not make up for his lack of utility for allies. Landing a triple Gythain Wall stun is great, but not many opportunities will arise for this against ranged heroes.

phinnPhinn (↑1) Phinn hasn’t gotten to shine compared to his swashbuckling counterpart. While benefiting from the health changes and escorting the top melee carries with fortified health, Phinn’s lack of mobility and predictability in his crowd control make him a less than ideal teammate. Phinn also acts a perfect meat shield for poke damage, which will often cut his health in half before the fight even begins.

Impressive

fortressFortress (↓1) Fortress comes down to a situational pick to counter pesky immobile carries, synergize with Rona, or mitigate sustain-based heroes. While Attack of The Pack and Truth of the Tooth offer high damage and team fighting capability, Fortress is far too squishy and lacks the crowd control necessary to set his team up for success early on.

Adagio (↑1) Adagio comes in rather low as a captain in 2.10. Having a mediocre heal and team wide crowd control that is telegraphed fairly obviously, Adagio does not have the skill set necessary to be a top tier captain, but also benefits from health changes immensely. Poisoned Shiv negating the only burst heal Adagio provides isn’t so strong.

flickerFlicker (↓1) Flicker comes in last with even more susceptibility to being caught when making stealthy advancements toward enemy lines. Although very speedy, Flicker is easily displaced on the Halcyon Fold and not nearly as strong in terms of crowd control as his peers.


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