Arena Guide Part 4 - Arena Offense Teams

In Part 4 of the Arena Guide Series we will look at the essential components of Arena Offense (AO) teams. First we give sample AO teams for early to mid game using farmable and more easily attainable units. Then we look at optimal end game AOs and why they work.

Early AO Teams

Arena is an extreme case of working with what you have in the early game. You will have limited options and your best bet often will be to use your highest level units that have your best runes. For players in this stage of progression it is a great idea to set just one monster on Arena Defense so you hover around the same bracket and can ensure AO wins (and thus glory points).

The upside of the early game is that most of other players in your Arena bracket are also in the same boat. There are a few common progression units that work together well on AO. Here are some examples of starter AO teams that may not be flashy but will get the job done, units are listed by turn order with the leader having an (L).

Bella > Darion > Lapis (L) > Raoq
- Bella and Darion defense break for Lapis and Raoq to do their damage.
- Lapis moves first to soften the enemies so that Raoq can kill.
- The goal here is to get the enemy team low enough so that Raoq can get at least one extra turn with Team Up and his passive.
Bernard > Sieq > Bella > Lapis (L)
- Bernard buffs +ATB so rest of team can move uninterrupted.
- Sieq buffs +ATK and +CR to increase damage output.
- Bella applies -DEF to highest threat unit and Lapis kills that unit.
- This team will work well against squishy or very slow Defenses.

Every early game player should have a Bella and most starter AO will include her since she is such a high value unit, providing -DEF, single target buff strip, +ATB and Heal. In the teams above Darion, Lapis and Raoq can be switched out for any better damage dealer you may have pulled, Bernard can be replaced with Megan, etc. The point is you can substitute units you have that fill a similar role.

Attainable AO Teams

As you build your monster box and start farming G10 and D10 you will be at a point where it may make sense to build a unit or two specifically for AO so you can farm Glory Points more efficiently. There is high variability between players boxes at this stage of progression and what you choose to build will depend heavily on what you have pulled. Keep in mind that your goal is to make a team that works together not an individual unit. For any given role there are many substitutes you can make.

You will want to include at least one Defense Breaker, preferably AOE. If you do not have an AOE -DEF, try to include two or more reliable single target -DEF units. Of secondary importance are +ATB, +ATK, and Stun/Freeze units, try to include these when it makes sense to but do not skimp on -DEF to include these secondary effects. All other skill effects are nice to have if they come for free. Below are some examples of attainable teams that incorporate late game AO strategy. Units built specifically for AO are in bold and are units that continue to have be useful as you progress. We exclude 5* units and top tier 4* AO units since our purpose is to demonstrate how to make do.

Aquila > Luer > Lapis (L) > Reno
- Aquila gives you the option to Buff Strip if the enemy has Chloe or buff otherwise.
- Luer apply AOE -DEF for your DD.
- Lapis uses AOE skill to soften enemies for Reno
- Reno clean up.
- This is a very standard +ATK, -DEF with two AOE DD team. You can substitute any +ATK, any AOE -DEF and any AOE DDs here.
Bernard > Bella > Trevor (L) > Kona
- Bernard buffs +ATB so rest of team can move uninterrupted.
- Bella applies -DEF to highest threat target
- Trevor attacks with second skill to self buff +CR
- Kona gives Trevor another turn with +ATK to finish first target or soften second highest threat.
- This is a single DD AO with three supports providing the DD more turns and healing. Trevor can be replaced with any damage dealer that has one turn kill potential.
- This strategy will yield slower wins but can be very reliable.
Bernard (L) > Bella > Darion > Tanya
- Bernard buffs +ATB so rest of team can move uninterrupted.
- Bella and Darion apply -DEF for Tanya.
- Tanya self buffs +ATK and +CR then kills highest threat.
- This is similar to the previous AO with a single DD. In this variation you have more -DEF and less heal which ideally results in faster wins. Tanya is good here because she self buffs but she can be replaced with any DD that has one turn kill potential, Kahli for example.
Bernard > Gemini > Tyron (L) > Darion
- Bernard buffs +ATB so rest of team can move uninterrupted.
- Gemini Buff Strips, applies AOE -DEF and potentially stuns if built Despair.
- Tyron uses AOE Freeze.
- Darion, built for damage in this team, kills highest threat.
- Since your team has speed buff and the enemy team is Stunned/Frozen, your units will get another round of turns ensuring the win.
Megan (L) > Purian > Bulldozer > Copper
- Megan uses +ATB and gives +ATK and +DEF for Bulldozer and Copper.
- Purian uses +ATB and buffs +CR for Bulldozer and Copper.
- Bulldozer kills a Fire or Wind threat.
- Copper kills a Wind or Water threat.
- This is a variation of a very common Guild War offense using Bulldozer and Copper. These units Ignore Defense damage is great for picking off enemy units one by one.
- Having double +ATB means you can rune Bulldozer and Copper more heavily for damage.

The common threads between these teams are supports chosen to maximize DD kill potential and planned turn order. Use these examples to construct a winning AO with your box.

Optimal AO Teams

The AOs in this section are the dream teams of Summoner’s War. They are considered optimal because they clear quickly and there are very few ADs that they are weak to. Most players in the highest Arena Grades use a variation of one of these teams because they are so efficient and reliable. These teams have high rune requirements and require precise speed tuning to reach their full potential. You will see that the one common thread among optimal AO teams is that they have an answer for Will runed AD.

Lushens

The goal here is to leverage Lushens AOE Ignore Defense to clear the enemy in one round of moves. Lushen teams work well because they do not require you to bring an additionals unit to address enemy will runes and apply -DEF. This has been a tried and true AO since the beginning of time. Here are some sample Lushen AOs.

Bernard (L) > Sieq > Lushen > Lushen
- This is the standard Lushen AO.
- Sieq can be replaced with Aquila, though Sieq is better for cleaning up Fire units that survive Lushens.
Bernard (L) > Bastet or Megan (L) > Lushen > Lushen
- This is a variation that lowers the SPD requirements for your Lushens but increases the CR requirement to 100%.
- Choosing between this version and the first is often a matter of the runes you have available.
Leo > Bastet or Megan (L) > Lushen > Lushen
- Leo’s passive is leveraged here so that Lushens can be built for full damage output.
- This variation is less reliable as it is weak to Will runed enemy ATB Boosters and Leo passive being resisted.
Bastet or Megan > Lushen > Jamire (L) > Kona, Teon, Racuni, etc.
- Jamire and a unit that grants an immediate turn are used to let your single Lushen use Amputation Magic twice.
- The benefit of this type of Lushen team is that you only need runes for one Lushen.
- The draw back is that you need Jamire and a very fast Lushen since Bastet and Megan have higher Speed Tuning requirements for rest of team than Bernard.

At the highest levels of Arena, the first Lushen is sometimes built with lower damage and Despair runes to counter Nemesis Healers and the second Lushen is sometimes built with Will runes to prevent stuns from interruption units like Amduat. Lushen teams are weak to Fire heavy AD.

Cleave

The goal with cleave teams is also to clear in one round of moves. Galleon is generally core to cleave comps but the DD can be substituted with any monster that has a strong AOE nuke. Here are some sample cleave AOs.

Tiana > Galleon > Zaiross > Alicia (L)
- Counters Nemesis healers with Zaiross Reset.
- Has very high one round clear potential as this comp effectively has three guaranteed AOE nukes with Alicia’s built in extra turn.
Tiana > Galleon > Teshar > Sige
- Uses a Dark DD to avoid glancing.
- Relies heavily on killing in one round since neither DD brings additional utiility of -ATB, Reset, etc.
Tiana > Galleon > Jun > Julie
- Variation using 4* monsters.
- Slightly lower kill potential than Zaiross, Alicia team but should be very reliable nonetheless.
Tiana > Galleon > Seara (L) > Taor
- Seara brings SPD Lead giving Tiana a higher chance of moving first against Buff Strippers.
- Both Seara and Taor bring utility in the form of Bomb Stun and Freeze providing a safety net in case nukes do not kill.
Tiana > Galleon or Bastet or Megan > Seara (L) > Lushen
- Hybrid between Lushen and Cleave. Since Seara Bomb and Lushen Amputation Magic both Ignore Defense, you are able to replace Galleon with Bastet or Megan to lower SPD requirements of DD.
- Will be weak to Defenses stacked with Fire units.

Cleave comps often expect to give up first turn against Speed AD and are thus runed Will Shield. Tiana can be replaced with Triton, Chiwu, Giana, Aquila, etc. but this requires your other units to be more tightly Speed Tuned. These teams will generally be less successful since Tiana is the only Buff Strip that ignores the Accuracy/Resistance check. Bernard, Orion, Kabilla, etc. can replace Tiana to go for first turn but these teams become very weak to enemy Will runes since Galleon will not be able to apply -DEF.

To have flexibility against more Defenses you want your DDs to be of different elements. Cleave teams can be weak to strong healers like Praha and Ariel that run Will Nemesis Nemesis, in this case the healer can potentially cut between your two DD nullifying the damage done by the first. The only way to avoid this is to make your units faster.

Bombs

These teams rely on Ignore Defense damage and Stun from Bombs for clear speed efficiency and safety. Tiana and Seara are core to Bomb teams, without these two units this type of AO will not work. There is very little room for variation since there are only four AOE Bombers in the game.

Tiana > Galleon or Bastet or Megan > Liebli > Seara (L)
Tiana > Galleon or Bastet or Megan > Dover > Seara (L)
Tiana > Galleon or Bastet or Megan > Malaka > Seara (L)
Tiana > Galleon or Bastet or Megan > Taurus > Seara (L)

Galleon is the preferred +ATK unit since Seara’s third skill does high damage and benefits from -DEF. Bastet or Megan can be used instead to lower SPD requirements of bombers. These teams are limited only by rune quality with their one weakness being the Accuracy/Resistance check.