Top 5 Support Heroes in Arena of Valor who excel in jungle matchups in Season 3 of 2023

If you're not a frequent player of SP but still want a reliable, strong Support card that brings many benefits to the team, then you should play Helen. She's likened to a mobile healing altar.

As mentioned earlier in this article, this meta sees the rise of incredibly hot Marksmen with the ability to carry the team effectively, such as Valhein, Tel’Annas, Capheny,... and pairing them with Helen proves to be extremely efficient. If the opponents aren't too defensive, these duos can completely dominate and destroy the lane rapidly. Among them, we can't ignore the duo Valhein - Helen, which is not only popular in ranks but also widely used in tournaments by professional players. With such overpowering strength, the game publisher had to intervene and nerf both of these Arena of Valor heroes.

Helen isn't suitable for those with hot-headed tendencies who like to dominate the game because truly playing Helen requires strategy, initiating fights, dealing pseudo damage is just like a fairy tale. The rhythm of playing with Helen needs to heavily rely on teammates. If the team is aggressive and plays recklessly, then we should follow suit, but if teammates are cautious or accompanied by less agile heroes, then we should slow down. Currently, although Helen's full magic build still boasts the most terrifying healing, players should also consider getting 1 - 2 defensive items to avoid being shocked by damage before being able to heal teammates.

Zip

For those who enjoy jungle invasions and backdooring, choosing Zip is a must. He's truly an all-around and versatile Support in Arena of Valor, very worth playing this season. It's worth noting that in Season 3 of 2023, Zip replaced Arum as one of the most banned heroes, so picking him isn't easy.

With Zip, players can adopt an aggressive playstyle by creating situations where they pull teammates and enemies together to initiate fights. Especially with an Icebreaker and a Rolling Thunder, enemy AD carries will find themselves in dire straits. Another advantage of this hero is his ability to pull minions, causing significant annoyance, not only forcing opponents to fall behind in the early game but also opening up opportunities for early turret takes and easier backdooring.

A tip for playing this card well is if you want to effectively backdoor with Zip, you should use Calculated Risk along with cooldown reduction items so that after you've pulled and rolled into the enemy base, Zip has an extra use of his second skill to continue pulling and preventing enemies from clearing minions. In the early game, it's better to prioritize leveling up skill 1 because while skill 2 creates some annoyance by pulling minions, skill 1, whether you're invading jungle, fighting early, counter-jungling, or farming mid, all provide effectiveness and high annoyance.

Chaugnar 

Chaugnar isn't exactly a Support hero in Arena of Valor that deals heavy damage or exerts strong crowd control effects. Frankly speaking, the elephant doesn't fit the bill as a Support hero foundation because its crowd control effects are even inferior to Helen.

However, Chaugnar is an incredibly good counter Support, especially when facing off against enemy teams with multiple strong crowd control heroes like Dirak, Thane, Gildur, Lorion, Qi, Ilumia,... Particularly when encountering deep lockdown compositions like Thane + Wukong or Kaine, Chaugnar comfortably shields Marksmen with sufficient crowd control through his Chaotic Rift, and can use his eyesight to scout with support items. Conversely, if the enemy lineup is all poke or split push, Chaugnar is quite challenging to play.

The early game for Chaugnar is just the tip of the iceberg, not too much annoyance, but once equipped with 2 - 3 defensive items, Chaugnar truly becomes a force to be reckoned with. Chaugnar can synergize with teammates to roam freely thanks to Chaotic Rift and his second skill, stacking immense damage reduction, plus a Weakness Aura, it's a game changer. If you want to increase control for the elephant, consider pairing with allies like Krixi, Dirak, Qi, Wonder Woman, and a Florentino. Especially when facing Gildur or Grakk, consider adding a Disrupt item as Chaugnar can easily fall victim to enemy ultimates.

Thane 

When it comes to a versatile Support hero in Arena of Valor, adept at handling various matchups even against hard counters like Chaugnar or Y’bneth in lane, it's Thane. Although if Chaugnar pairs with Thane, the later the game goes, Thane becomes increasingly powerless in team fights and struggles to make impactful plays with Flicker combined with his second skill to reposition enemies. But in the early game, Thane outperforms Chaugnar.

This Support hero embodies all the essential qualities needed, such as tankiness, mobility for vision control, effective damage soaking, continuous crowd control, or the ability to initiate fights when necessary. Especially, if the team needs a caretaker to take good care of the Marksman, then Thane can fully meet that demand. Thus, Thane is quite versatile, even if the team lacks damage, this guy can make up for it with his ultimate, slicing through enemies with low health by half.

Currently, many players fail to grasp the essence of this lad's character, hence they can't fully utilize the benefits that Thane brings. Sometimes, players get too carried away by his intrinsic abilities, rushing in prematurely and regretting it, or they're too timid, failing to maximize his potential to engage and harass enemies. Therefore, players need to carefully choose the timing to engage in combat to allow this lad to unleash his full potential.

Maloch

The new definition of a damage-carrying Support in Arena of Valor is undoubtedly Maloch. In the late game, Maloch only needs two damage items, and a swing sometimes deals 3-4k pure damage. At this point, not just squishy Marksmen and Mages, but even Tanks and Supports cry out in pain. With a late-game HP pool of around 7-8k, just one or two swings from him are enough to send them back to base.

One thing you might not know is that Maloch is the ace up the sleeve to play against teams with Helen, the mobile healing altar, because when enemies gather for healing, to Maloch, they're like delicious prey waiting to be devoured. However, if faced with the duo Valhein - Helen, Maloch struggles a bit in the early stages.

Another point to note is that when picking Maloch as Support, his ability to protect seems close to zero, especially when facing multiple Assassins on the enemy team. So, opt for agile carries who can fend for themselves like Hayate, Elsu, Joker,... Additionally, Maloch lacks continuous crowd control effects, so the team also needs additional crowd control like Ilumia, Aleister, Dirak,... Playing Maloch sometimes requires swift and decisive actions, but at times, it also requires slowing down a bit, especially when facing Zuka, Yan, Lauriel, Liliana, Tulen, Hayate,... You need to calmly aim skill 1, wait for enemies to dash, and anticipate their direction before unleashing the skill, that's when the accuracy is high. Finally, don't stack Maloch's full damage too high to avoid being picked off and losing the ultimate because Maloch doesn't have a pressure-reducing ultimate ability, which greatly reduces his threat.

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