1.7 Tier List – By The Role

This iteration of the Tier List is going to be separated into three sections: Lane, Jungle, and Support. I’m hoping to use this format moving forward on all future tier lists as well. I feel it’s better to do a fair comparison between strength of different heroes that share a role, rather than comparing apples to samsungs.

All positions are organized to countdown to the hero that I feel is best in that specific role.

All views shared are my own. In past lists the value of certain heroes was defined beforehand, and likewise, this tier list is based on my solo queue experience. Solo. No allies. No party. Just me against the Pinnacle of Awesome world. Your experience may vary! However, I’m very open to feedback, so leave a comment or slander me on Twitter!

lane carry

8  Petal brings a lot of fun gameplay because her munions are fun, and explosions are fun, and cute creatures are fun! At certain times in the game Petal feels very dominant with her munion army running amok and her superior attack range being a real issue for some heroes. While she can be built as a weapon or crystal carry, she is still reliant on her munions to carry her through the early game. Also, her weaker seeds and munions can be a good way for her lane opponent to heal with Book of Eulogies.

7 SAW also has an impressive kit that scales with both weapon or crystal builds. Effective positioning on him is difficult, thanks mostly to his perk, which slows him down as he gains stacks of Spin Up. Crystal power SAW can still cause enough disruption to contribute effectively in team fights, and if built weapon power, SAW can decimate a team without hard forms of crowd control.

6 Adagio is mostly played as a support/roam hero, but he has the tools necessary to have strong lane presence against some of the best laning heroes. His Gift of Fire can heal minions, and splashes onto nearby enemies, dealing impressive amounts of damage, and keeping Adagio fueled in lane. Agent of Wrath works well with a coordinated team, but is also beneficial when used on himself or an ally with high attack speed.

5  Skaarf has been making a resurgence this latest patch. Against the right enemies, Skaarf can be too much of a problem to handle. His Spitfire being a three-second cooldown before CDA means that Skaarf can constantly have someone burning. Also, with Goop lasting longer this patch than before, Skaarf is bullying heroes, minions, and turrets better than ever before. This flame-slinging pigeon-lizard feels powerful in games, so watch where you step!

4 Joule is the only melee hero who made it into this category, but it is well-deserved. Joule was played a lane carry after her latest set of updates that gave her more reliability and consistent damage. Probably my favorite aspect of Joule is the fact that she can be built either weapon or crystal and have a completely different playstyle with each. Weapon Joule can crit me into next week with Thunderstrike. Crystal Joule turns me into a squishy spot on the Fold with Big Red Button. Choose your build carefully!

3 Celeste is my favorite crystal power carry. Her ability to fight 1v3 is amazing. Her damage output is consistent, and her impact in games can be very high. The best Celeste players are the ones who know how to play the early lane, how to get those early last hits to get the essential early items to turn her into a snowball of purple starry explosions! Stick it out until level eight, get a few items, and never look back.

2 Vox completely turned over a new leaf in this latest patch, transforming BACK from a weapon carry to a crystal lane carry! Originally considered one of the stronger crystal carries, Vox continues to see popularity since the changes to Sonic Zoom and Pulse. His teamfighting potentially isn’t diminished, as his attacks bounce between enemies, and his ability to kite was also improved. Vox is very safe in lane, and very dangerous in the late-game.

1 Ringo finally has his time to shine as the weapon carry master of the lane-iverse! Thanks to his attack reset and attack speed boost from Twirling Silver, Ringo can pump out impressive damage at level one, which can help his team set the tempo of the game. With a quick Tension Bow purchase, Ringo becomes a real terror, and takes his early game advantage and turns it up to 11.

jungle carry

6 Rona has some neat defensive capabilities with the bonus damage reduction from her Into the Fray ability. ShinKaigan has provided video guides on how to be an effective contributor on a team as Rona. Luckily, the community in solo queue hasn’t discovered crystal Rona yet! With a 100% CP ratio on every one of her abilities, I’m surprised this hasn’t exploded yet.

5 Joule loses a bit of power moving from the lane to the jungle, but is also an effective brawler in the jungle, thanks to her durability and ranged attacks that don’t require a target. She’s good at checking bushes, stunning multiple enemies, and also farms at an efficient rate. I think weapon power Joule is the more frequent result of a jungle Joule, but either are viable.

4 Taka lost a bit of damage from his ultimate in the latest patch, and has been seeing more play as a crystal carry than a weapon build powerhouse. I think weapon provided better situations for the hectic gameplay of solo queue, where Taka could transition smoothly from an assassin to a warrior with surprising sustain. Taka‘s stealth is a really fun juking mechanic that gives Taka some serious outplay potential!

3 Glaive is proof that Vainglory is a game on the internet, because cats are in. Glaive‘s high base health is definitely attractive to new and experienced players. When built correctly, a Glaive can pounce to a back line, quickly auto-reset with a guaranteed critical strike, and trigger his Bloodsong to deal immense damage, potentially deleting a hero.

2 Krul could imaginably be the strongest hero in the game, but my opinion might be slightly biased. Krul received a number of buffs this patch, the most important one being that minions spawn at 20 seconds, meaning teams are walking past their jungle minions to try to invade against a Krul. With the changes to Bonesaw I’ve been seeing more Tornado Triggers on Krul, and I agree with that purchase as long as there’s a Breaking Point to go along with it.

1 Koshka is so great at clearing the jungle that it would be hard not to consider her the best jungle carry. She scales very well with defensive and crystal items, allowing her to take hits and keep on coming. Thanks to her great mobility and hard crowd-control, Koshka can be a presence at every stage of the game while being built in a variety of ways, depending on what her team needs, making her a Swiss army knife in solo queue.

support

4 Ardan scales really well with health, and has been played as a weapon carry on the odd occasion. As a support, Ardan excels when his team can coordinate with his ultimate. Ardan also enables every hero in the game with his Vanguard, which is a unique tool for turning battles. His ultimate combines so well with other heroes’ ultimates that the different combinations actually have nicknames!

3 Fortress works really well with teams built around chasing a target down. Fortress does a great job at getting his nose into fights and disrupting teams through enabling his team to chase. When I’m playing Krul I love having a talented Fortress on my team because people cannot escape. His ultimate provides great vision, which is very enabling in solo queue!

2 Adagio brings multiple powerful area-of-effect abilities that enable allies or himself, turn battles in his favor, or disable the enemy team. Adagio can be played aggressively to dominate with his powerful range right from the get-go, or he can be a catalyst to catch people out of position. Thanks to his extreme range and well-designed kit, Adagio is a prime pick for solo queue support.

1 Catherine is the queen, and not just the stormqueen. She’s also the queen of solo queue. Her dominance is highlighted by her single-target stun that is a universally understood ping that means “kill this target.” Catherine moves efficiently between jungle camps, and has a kit built for Fountain of Renewal and other critical support items. Thanks to having two forms of crowd-control, Catherine encourages the enemy team to invest into more Reflex Blocks.

That wraps up the different tier lists! If you see a hero moving up the ranks, take them out for a spin! Think someone is out of place? Drop a comment or message me on Twitter!