Our first Arena of Valor Valhein build is a hybrid AP+AD build and is likely the one you’re going to want to use most often. It’s a build inspired by one done by reddit user reeveoson, except with some more defensive items to protect yourself with.
You’re going to want to buy a Claves Sancti and your Gilded Greaves first for this Valhein build. The boots will give you movement speed, of course, along with some magic defense, making you more formidable against mages and magic using tanks/assassins. An alternative, though, would be Sonic Boots if the enemy team is more AD heavy, or War Boots if you’re feeling cocky and want the extra attack speed. Claves Sancti is great for this build not just because it gives you the bonus damage, but also because it gives you increased crit and a passive that’ll make you move faster when you crit. This bonus movement speed lets you mess some opponents up by making sure they can’t escape your wrath.
Up next in this AoV Valhein build, you’re going to want to build Rhea’s Blessing, followed by Zweihander. The big bad Blessing is going to give you some AP, cooldown reduction, and a useful passive that gives you a shield when you lose enough health. This beefs up your defenses a little bit until you can get another defensive item. Not only that, but it gives you a nice piece of 25% life steal, making you even more difficult to take down. The Zweihander should be built after because, in addition to its AP, mana, movement speed, and attack speed increasing passive, it will give you bonus damage on your normal attacks based on your AP. If you build the Zweihander first, you’ll miss out on the defensive bonuses provided by the Blessing as well as the AP it provides.
The last two items for your Valhein build will go in order depending on what you’re facing. If your foes are stacking magic resist because of your build or a teammate’s mage build, you’ll want to go straight for Hecate’s Diadem because of its bonus AP (which will benefit your Zweihander) and its magic pierce that will counteract any magic resist. If you’re on the losing end of your AoV match, you’re likely going to want to build the Ancestral Glory first; this will give you more HP and, essentially, a second life that will put you back in battle. That being said, you can swap Ancestral Glory out with a more armor-heavy item or magic resist-heavy item if the enemy team’s comp calls for it.
This next AoV build, inspired by Reddit user reeveoson’s own AP build again, is going to be one you’ll be less likely to use frequently, but it’s kind of a fun, late-game alternative to the more standard Valhein build.
First, you’re going to want to build Apocalypse and Enchanted Kicks. Apocalypse will give you some cooldown reduction along with some much needed AP. Its normal attack-modifying passive will also give you some more damage to help with the laning phase and harassing your foes. The next item in this Valhein build is the magic pierce boots. If, for some reason, your foes are clearly not paying attention to building magic resist, you can swap these out with War Boots or the magic resist or armor boots if you’re needing some more tankiness.
Second up, you’re going to have to choose between Soaring Aura or Staff of Nuul first, then Zweihander, then whichever item you didn’t build previously. The first two items will grant some much-needed AP and either magic pierce or a passive that reduces magic resist. Whichever you choose depends on whether you need more health with Soaring Aura or, if you’re not running into much resistance, the increased cooldown reduction of Nuul. Zweihander, like in the hybrid Valhein build above, will give you bonus normal attack damage based on your AP as a passive. In addition to that, it gives you the attack speed-increasing passive, AP, increased mana, and even more movement speed.
Lastly, you will build your defense item. As you can tell, I’m a fan of Arena of Valor’s Ancestral Glory; it’s like League’s Guardian Angel, but with a pretty low cooldown. However, this can be swapped out with an armor or magic resist item if you need it, or, if you’re dominating, another AP item.
Well, that does it for our Valhein builds for Arena of Valor. Got any suggestions for other builds? Any pure AD builds? Any heroes you want to see builds for? Let us know in the comments.
