Mastering the Top 5 Essentials in Arena of Valor to Outplay Every Assassin as a Marksman

When you climb the solo rank ladder in Arena of Valor and find yourself constantly harassed by enemy assassins as a marksman, how do you play to make them fear and hesitate to threaten you? This is undoubtedly a hot topic that Mytour's gamers are currently interested in and still searching for answers.

The marksman is not only the core but also the main source of damage for the team, so it's not surprising that the enemy always targets the AD first. Below are tips that I always apply when playing solo rank to dominate the assassins and make them less aggressive. 

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Note: Build Shock-Resistant Gear

Marksman's item build often prioritizes damage-dealing items to ensure a primary source of damage for the team. However, gamers should not stick to a monotonous equipment style with items like Claves Sancti, Gilded Greaves, and Bow of Slaughter. In some cases, you may need to adapt or use unconventional item builds to survive in combat. 

In unfortunate situations where the enemy assassins become too formidable early on, and your team is losing gold, it becomes essential to build items that resist damage early. For physical assassins like Nakroth, Zuka, Kriknak, you can go for Gilded Greaves, Aegis, or opt for Null-Magic Mantle and Sonic Boots if facing magical assassins like Liliana, Murad, or Lauriel. 

A crucial point to note is not to over-prioritize defensive items just because you fear the enemy jungle is ahead. As a marksman, if you lack any damage-dealing items, your shots are as effective as mosquito bites. Adjusting your itemization strategy should only apply to 1-2 items at the beginning. 

For example, when taking Tel'Annas solo against an overpowering Kriknak, you can replace Gilded Greaves with Sonic Boots and add Aegis in the second slot. Afterward, return to building essential attack items like Claves Sancti and Bow of Slaughter to withstand his combos. After the 10th minute, with strong attack items, you can sell Aegis to get other offensive items. 

Pay attention to the minimap 

Having the skill to check bushes and observe the minimap is essential and extremely crucial in any position during a match, not just for Marksmen. However, as a core role, this action needs to be performed more frequently. By monitoring the minimap, you can make predictions about the enemy jungle's movements, including their Mid or Top, allowing you to ping for team support and safely retreat to a lower position.

In addition to map checking, teammates should avoid going solo or farming aggressively without vision or team presence. If you are under pressure, try to call teammates to wait for minions to come down for shared farming, maintaining your power progression. A small tip I often apply when playing solo rank as an AD is to try to move with your back against a safe location. In simpler terms, if in the side lanes, move with your back against the nearest wall to avoid being exposed if you accidentally hit the enemy's map or minions. If you are in Mid, lean against the side where teammates have cleared the monsters and minions to hide from sight.

Optimizing Abilities in Combat

Maintaining position is crucial when playing as an AD, and players need to constantly check the mini-map while using abilities wisely. Avoid engaging too deeply in combat without determining the position of the enemy Assassin.

Typically, Junglers tend to rush into the post-combat phase to clear camps or circle around to avoid enemy tanks, aiming to dive into the backline to disrupt the primary damage dealer. So, if you've used all your skills just to chip away at the tanky frontliners, such as Warriors or Blockers, when the enemy Jungle jumps in, you'll have no tricks left to defend or evade them. Therefore, the key here is always choose a position in the heart of the team to shoot, behind Support and Warriors, parallel, or in front of Mid to get proper cover. Especially, optimize the use of skills to cope with situations where team fights are lacking members.

Considerations when picking heroes

When playing solo, what do you fear the most? For Marksmen, it's the situation where the Support is in love with someone else, and you are left unprotected every second during the match. So, the best way to climb ranks with a Marksman while avoiding Assassins is to prioritize picking AD heroes who can self-sustain, self-defend, or simply those with mobile skills for easy evasions. 

Currently, the Marksman position in this 2023 S3 season has many hot picks for climbing ranks. However, when it comes to solo rank and being self-reliant, there aren't many. Mytour suggests for you Marksman heroes who can handle themselves like Elsu with Watchers to scout the map or stealth ability while moving, Hayate with the ability to glide using Phantom Arrow for evasion and escape, Joker with Trick Shot removing all slowing effects on himself and providing physical damage immunity when needed. With these cards, you can entirely fend for yourself if you know how to use your skills and have a bit of movement skill. 

Good luck 

Solo queue difficulty is partly influenced by the team; no matter how well you play, if you're unlucky with a disorganized, unplanned team, you're likely to lose a star. So, if you're fortunate enough to match with a good team, with an efficient Support using optimal items, consistently providing vision for your shots, or a Mid providing standard cover, ganking at the right time for farming and engaging in combat, then it's even more fantastic. Of course, this depends a lot on luck. 

If solo rank feels too stressful and exhausting due to a losing streak and constant bad luck with 'faulty' teams, then immediately join S-Game's Discord. Find and team up with Arena of Valor players here to grind rank every day. Remember, if you want to climb the ranks, you can go solo, but if you want to go far, experience the taste of Heroic Battles, Challenge Battles once, then go as a team. I'm confident that you'll find quality comrades alongside S-Game's gamers.