Ares
Overview
Ares is the God of War and a T0 Warrior who dominates through relentless self-sustain and True Damage mechanics. Unlike traditional tanks that rely on defense, Ares becomes nearly immortal through lifesteal and damage conversion, while his True Damage ultimate bypasses all enemy defenses. He excels in both PvE boss content and PvP, where he can outlast and eliminate even the tankiest opponents.
Skills & Abilities
War God's Wrath
Active UltimateAres channels divine fury, dealing 650% True Damage to the target with highest current HP. True Damage ignores DEF, Block, and all damage reduction effects.
Special Effect: Because this is True Damage, a 100k HP tank with 50% damage reduction takes the full 650% damage. This makes Ares the premier tank-buster in Dragon Traveler.
Strategy: Use War God's Wrath to eliminate enemy tanks first, then let your team's DPS clean up the squishy backline. Against Athena teams, target her directly to prevent Life Link from protecting her team.
Blood for Blood
Passive LifestealAres converts 40% of all damage dealt (including True Damage) into HP. This lifesteal has no cap and works on both basic attacks and ultimate ability.
Special Effect: When Ares ults for 300k damage, he heals himself for 120k HP instantly. Combined with his naturally high HP pool, this makes Ares nearly immortal in 1v1 scenarios.
Strategy: Build Ares with ATK% to maximize both damage output and healing. The more damage he deals, the more he heals, creating a self-sustaining loop that keeps him alive indefinitely.
Warrior's Resolve
Passive Damage Reduction + TenacityAres reduces incoming damage by 25% and gains 50 Tenacity (reduces crowd control duration by 50%). When below 30% HP, damage reduction increases to 50% for 8 seconds.
Strategy: This skill allows Ares to survive burst damage that would kill other warriors. The emergency damage reduction at low HP synergizes perfectly with Blood for Blood - Ares can drop to 10% HP, trigger 50% DR, then heal back to full with his ultimate.
Why This Tier?
- ✓True Damage Ultimate: Ignores all DEF and damage reduction, making him the ultimate tank killer
- ✓Insane Sustain: Converts 40% of damage dealt into HP, making him nearly unkillable in extended fights
- ✓Anti-Tank Specialist: Hard counters high-defense characters like Athena, Siegfried, and other Guardians
- ✓Faction Versatility: Sanctum Glory provides strong team synergies
- ✓Scales with Combat: Gets stronger the longer the fight lasts, perfect for boss battles and PvP wars of attrition
Stat Priorities & Gear
Best-in-Slot Gear
Berserker's Rage Set (4-piece)
2-piece: +15% ATK
4-piece: Gain 5% lifesteal. At max stacks (5), also gain 20% penetration
Stats Priority
Artifact: Blade of Immortal Wrath
+0: Gain 15% lifesteal on basic attacks
+20: War God's Wrath cooldown reduced by 3 seconds (18s → 15s)
+30: When triggering Warrior's Resolve (below 30% HP), gain Berserk: +50% ATK for 8 seconds
Priority: Rush to +20 for the cooldown reduction - this allows Ares to spam True Damage more frequently. At +30, Ares becomes a true raid boss, converting low HP into massive damage and healing.
Best Team Compositions
Ares Solo Carry (1v9 Comp)
Formation:
Front:
- • Ares (Immortal Tank)
- • Siegfried (Meat Shield)
Back:
- • Scheherazade (Healer)
- • Atanith (Silencer)
- • Marylis (ATK Buffer)
Win Condition: Ares focuses down enemy tanks with True Damage while Scheherazade and Marylis keep him buffed and healed. Atanith prevents enemy interrupts. Ares survives through lifesteal and wins through attrition.
Faction Bonus: 3 Sanctum Glory (Ares, Scheherazade, Atanith) = +15% ATK/HP
Double Immortal Frontline
Formation:
Front:
- • Ares (Bruiser)
- • Athena (Tank)
Back:
- • Hades (Assassin)
- • Gabriel (Mage)
- • Scheherazade (Healer)
Win Condition: Ares and Athena form an unkillable frontline. Athena protects the backline with Life Link while Ares eliminates enemy tanks. Hades and Gabriel clean up weakened targets.
Faction Bonus: 4 Sanctum Glory = +20% ATK/HP (meta PvP defense comp)
Boss Killer (Raid Content)
Formation:
Front:
- • Ares (Main Tank)
- • Fenrir (Sub-DPS)
Back:
- • Ifrit (Sustained DPS)
- • Scheherazade (Healer)
- • Marylis (Buffer)
Win Condition: Ares tanks boss mechanics while dealing True Damage that ignores boss defenses. Marylis buffs Ares' ATK to 200%, amplifying both his damage and healing. Scheherazade keeps everyone alive for 5+ minute boss fights.
Counters & Weaknesses
Hard Counters
- Gullveig (Anti-Heal): Applies [Heal Block] which shuts down Blood for Blood, removing Ares' primary survival mechanism. Without lifesteal, Ares becomes just a high-HP target.
- Atanith (Silence): Silencing Ares prevents War God's Wrath from being cast, eliminating his True Damage threat and reducing healing potential significantly.
- Burst Damage Teams: While Ares has sustain, coordinated burst from Hades + Gabriel can kill him before he heals. Focus-fire teams that deal 500k+ damage in 2 seconds can overwhelm even his lifesteal.
Soft Counters
- • High Evasion: Characters like Oberonnie can dodge Ares' attacks, reducing his healing
- • Crowd Control Chains: Multiple stuns can lock Ares down (though Warrior's Resolve reduces CC duration)
- • Percentage HP Damage: Skills dealing % max HP damage hurt Ares' large HP pool
Build Guide & Progression
Early Game (Levels 1-100)
Goal: Establish Ares as sustain frontline
- •Focus on ATK% main stats on Weapon, Gloves, and Ring
- •Use any 4-piece set with ATK bonus (Berserker's Rage ideal)
- •Level Blood for Blood first - this is Ares' sustain foundation
- •Position in slot 1 or 2 (front row) to draw aggro and activate lifesteal
- •Pair with a healer initially until lifesteal becomes self-sufficient
Skill Priority: Blood for Blood > War God's Wrath > Warrior's Resolve
Mid Game (Levels 100-200)
Goal: Transition to self-sustaining bruiser
- •Farm Berserker's Rage 4-piece from Arena Shop
- •Stack ATK% to reach 30k+ base ATK (200k+ with buffs)
- •Unlock Blade of Immortal Wrath artifact and level to +10
- •Add Crit Rate substats (40%+) to increase damage spikes
- •Use Ares as solo tank in Campaign and Arena - he should no longer need healing support
Skill Priority: All skills to level 10+, prioritize artifact to +20
Late Game (Level 200+)
Goal: Become raid boss with True Damage spam
- •Replace with Red-tier Berserker's Rage set (from fusion)
- •Max artifact to +30 for Berserk buff at low HP
- •Optimize substats: ATK%, Crit Rate, Crit DMG, Penetration
- •Use ATK% gems in all sockets (Ruby gems)
- •Pair with Marylis for +80% ATK buff = insane damage and healing
Skill Priority: Max all skills to level 15+, artifact +30 priority
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Ares better than Athena as a tank?
Different roles. Athena protects the team through Life Link and shields (best for squishy carry teams). Ares is a solo sustain bruiser who wins through damage and lifesteal (best when he's your only frontliner). Use Athena for team protection, Ares for solo tank setups.
Should I build Ares with ATK or HP?
ALWAYS prioritize ATK%. Ares' lifesteal converts damage into healing, so building ATK increases both his damage output AND effective HP. A 50k ATK Ares with 400k HP is tankier than a 30k ATK Ares with 600k HP because he heals more per second. Build 70% ATK gear, 30% HP gear.
How do I counter Gullveig's anti-heal?
Bring a Priest with Cleanse (like Ophelia) to remove the [Heal Block] debuff. Alternatively, kill Gullveig first - Ares' True Damage works great against squishy priests. You can also build Tenacity to reduce debuff duration, though this is less reliable.
What's the minimum investment for Ares?
Ares needs at least 6-Star (2 copies) with purple ATK% gear and level 8 Blood for Blood to function. However, he's a late-game scaling unit who truly dominates at 10-Star+ (Red 1) with artifact +20 and 40k+ ATK. Early game, he's just okay. Late game, he's a monster.