Honor of Kings' latest resident assassin, Arke, has graced the Hero's Gorge, using her deadly skills as an assassin to easily terrorise the enemy backline. She was the last descendant of the Jing Clan, tasked to assassinate Crown Prince Dan. However, she failed and lost her memory – with her name being the only thing she remembers.
Arke is an assassin that can instantly eliminate the opponents' backline with her backstabbing ability, with all her attacks that hit the backs of enemies always guaranteed to be critical strikes. Furthermore, she can also refresh all of her skills if she gets a takedown or an assist, letting her snowball in fights if she finds the right targets to isolate.
Here’s a breakdown of Arke's skills, her best equipment and arcana, and tips on how to play her effectively:
Skills breakdown
Passive: Kiss of Death
All attacks Arke launches from behind her target are guaranteed to crit, while attacks launched from the front are guaranteed to not crit. Her initial Critical Damage is 125%, and every 1% Critical Rate grants an extra 0.5% Critical Damage. Arke's damage when attacking non-hero units from the front is increased by 20%, and her damage to non-hero units is capped at 2,000.
Skill 1: Arclight
Arke wields her twin blades and attack 2 times, each dealing (150 to 250+65% extra Physical Attack) physical damage.
Skill 2: Untouchable
Arke dashes forward quickly and attacks a nearby enemy at her destination, dealing (270 to 450+90% extra Physical Attack) physical damage and marking the enemy for 10 seconds. She also gains 40% Attack Speed for 3 seconds. Her attacks on marked enemies inflict 50% slow for 1 second and reduce Untouchable's cooldown by 1s. She takes 30% less damage from marked enemies.
Only one enemy can be marked by her at a time.
Ultimate: Phantom Dance
Arke goes into stealth mode after a short delay. While in stealth mode, her Movement Speed increases by 40% and she recovers (150 to 300+25% extra Physical Attack+5% extra Health) Health every 0.5 seconds for 4 seconds.
Attacking an enemy will cancel stealth mode and increase her Physical Attack by (120 to 160) for 3 seconds. When an enemy is hit, her Movement Speed increases by 30% for 1 seconds.
Passive: Defeating a hero or assisting refreshes the cooldown of all skills.
Arcana
This build uses four Arcana for Arke: five Stealth, five Hunt, ten Eagle Eye, and ten Unparalleled. These Arcana focus on enhancing her Critical Rate, Physical Attack, and Critical Damage. The bonus physical pierce and movement speed gives Arke that little edge she needs against her opponents to make sure she can land that final blow.
Equipment
1. Rapacious Bite
The bread-and-butter of assassin junglers. Rapacious Bite increases the damage and Cooldown Reduction of Arke after each jungle camp cleared. However, consider making just the Relentless Blade early on, only completing it into Rapacious Bite after buying your first core item, as the stats given by this item don't compensate for its cost if you haven't got the full stacks. This item will track every jungle camp you cleared even before completing Rapacious Bite.
Stats:
+90 Physical Attack
+5% Cooldown Reduction
+8% Movement Speed
Passive - Hunter
When a Basic Attack or a skill hits a monster, it takes (90+60% extra Physical Attack) physical damage every 0.5 seconds for 2 seconds (heroes only take 20% damage, applies only to melee heroes).
Passive - Reward
Increases Physical Attack by 3 and Cooldown Reduction by 0.2% when its wielder or a teammate within 700 range kills a monster for up to 25 stacks.
Before minute 10, deals 25% less damage to minions.
2. Boots of Tranquility
Boots of Tranquility gives Arke the Cooldown Reduction needed to keep spamming her skills. It also provides cooldown reduction for her common skill so she can use Smite more frequently. You can change this to other defensive boots if needed.
Stats:
+15% Cooldown Reduction
Passive - Swift
Movement Speed +60
Passive - Tranquility
Shortens the Cooldown of Common Skills by 15%
3. Axe of Torment
The first core item for Arke. Axe of Torment improves her slow effect with its Maim and furthers her Physical Pierce to massacre the backline faster. The faster you get this piece of equipment, the more deadlier you become to the enemy backline.
Stats:
+85 Physical Attack
+10% Cooldown Reduction
+500 Max Health
Passive - Sever
Increases Physical Pierce by 68 to 180.
Passive - Maim
Skills slow the first enemy hero hit by 10% for 3 seconds. (Cooldown: 8 seconds)
4. Eternity Blade
Arke benefits from Eternity Blade tremendously because of her passive. This item will increase her Critical Damage by a ton, making her attacks more devastating when dealing damage from the back.
Stats:
+110 Physical Attack
+20% Critical Rate
Passive - Relentless
Gains 20% Critical Damage, and every 2% Critical Rate increases Critical Damage by 1% (up to 50%)
5. Master Sword
Master Sword massively increases the damage of Arke's Basic Attack after using her ultimate. She can eliminate the enemy backline with one string combo with ease after completing this piece of equipment. This sword also slightly increases her durability.
Stats:
+80 Physical Attack
+20% Critical Rate
+500 Max Health
+500 Max Mana
Passive - Savagery
Casting a skill increases Movement Speed by 12% for 2 seconds and the physical damage of the next Basic Attack within 5 seconds by 80% of Physical Attack. Cooldown: 3 seconds
6. Cuirass of Savagery
Cuirass of Savagery is the only defensive equipment for Arke. While it provides a bit of Physical Defense, it also increases her damage output as any damage she takes will increase her damage by 2% and Movement Speed by 1%. This will give her a chance to turn a bad initiation to a successful takedown.
Stats:
+30 Physical Attack
+220 Physical Defense
+900 Max Health
+5% Movement Speed
Passive - Fearless
When taking damage, increases damage by 2% and Movement Speed by 1% for 3 seconds, for up to 5 stacks.
Situational: Sage's Sanctuary and Pure Sky (Sky Dome)
There are two pieces of situational items for Arke. Get Sage's Sanctuary to give her a second life if she gets focused too much. But consider buying Pure Sky to make her more durable when fighting enemy fighters or backlines in the late game. You can also upgrade the item into Sky Dome after minute twenty.
Read also Honor of Kings: Shi guide, arcana, and equipment
How to play Arke
Arke's damage in the early game is lackluster as she relies heavily on her core items, namely Eternity Blade and Rapacious Bite, to scale later on. When playing her in the early game, try to gank a lane where the enemy backline doesn't have any means to escape. Always activate your ultimate before engaging.
When Arke gets the Eternity Blade, she can melt anything – even the enemy tank – given enough time. This item is her second power spike after her ultimate and makes her very deadly. However, she is still susceptible to crowd control so make sure she can get in and out quickly before she gets chain controlled.
Arke is an easy hero for a beginner to use, she can get in and out quickly while also having some self-sustain abilities. However, her one-dimensional playstyle might make her opponents read her moves easily. Consider varying your engage timings to confuse the enemy.
