Ares

Ares is a UR (EX) Warrior from the Illusion Veil faction. While often overshadowed by the “big three” (Athena, Apollo, Poseidon) in early discussions, she is recognized by the community as a top-tier Bruiser/Frontline DPS.

She excels in long-duration fights where her unique combination of HP-scaling damage and high sustainability allows her to act as a secondary tank that “lives forever” while dealing massive physical damage.

Strategy

Key Abilities & Passive Effects

Godfist (Overdrive): Ares delivers a medium-range rectangular AOE pummel that deals 600% Attack as physical damage and knocks enemies back.
- The “Execution” Mechanic: When at full energy, the skill deals additional damage equal to 44% of her Max HP.
- Punishment Synergy: If the [Punishment] debuff is active, this bonus HP damage is doubled, and the target is stunned for 4 seconds.
True Damage & Lifesteal: Community veterans highlight her ability to ignore enemy defenses and convert damage dealt into health. This lifesteal + damage conversion is what makes her nearly immortal in late-game scenarios.
Fast Energy Cycle: Ares is noted for generating energy much faster than average warriors, allowing her to spam her Overdrive and maintain crowd control.

Strategic Build Recommendations

Minimum Viable Investment:
- 3-Purple Stars: Provides enough base stats to survive the initial burst of mid-game stages.
Recommended Investment:
- 8 Copies (Red Star): Unlocks her Passive Level 4, which is widely considered her most critical power spike for late-game story and PvP Arena performance.
Stat Focus:
- Max HP: Essential. Because her Overdrive damage scales directly with her health pool, HP is both a defensive and offensive stat for her.
- Lifesteal & Crit: Enhances her sustainability and ensures her physical hits bypass the “bruiser” threshold into “carry” territory.
- Energy Recharge: To capitalize on her fast energy generation, many players focus on gear that accelerates her ultimate timing.

Team Synergies

Ares works best in “attrition” teams that can protect her long enough for her to cycle her Godfist ultimate.

The “Punishment” Synergy:
- Core Members: Ares + Atanith.
- Strategy: Atanith is the most reliable way to trigger the [Punishment] effect. This combo allows Ares to double her HP-based damage and lock down enemies with guaranteed stuns.
The Double-Frontline Bruiser:
- Core Members: Ares + Athena.
- Strategy: Athena takes the initial aggro and taunts, while Ares acts as a secondary “off-tank” that cleans up the clumped enemies with her rectangular AOE.
PvP Burst Counter:
- Core Members: Ares + Gabriele.
- Strategy: Ares provides the consistent frontline pressure and stuns, while Gabriele focuses on executing the targets Ares has softened up with her true damage.

Community Tips

PvP vs. PvE: While she is “decent” in PvE, the community ranks her as SS-Tier in PvP. Her ability to ignore defenses makes her a nightmare for heavy tank compositions.

Boss Shredder: Because her damage is percentage-based (Max HP), she is a hidden gem for high-HP guild bosses and world encounters where traditional DPS might struggle with defense caps.

The “Wait for Loki” Debate: Some users argue that Ares is a luxury unit. If you are F2P and already have a built Athena, the common advice is to save Mythic Tickets for Loki (Summoner meta) or Artemis (Arcane meta) unless you specifically need a physical carry for Illusion Veil trials.