Arduin — Patch 1.63 Verdict
[Liquipedia RPL: C] Pro play (RPL 2026): 2 picks, 0.0% WR, 0.7% pick/ban rate. Note: pro meta may differ from ranked.
Arduin — Warrior Guide
Key Insights
- Bloodlust has a 60s cooldown; it re-arms instantly if you are below 90% HP when the timer expires.
- The healing window lasts 8 seconds, rewarding extended trades over quick bursts. Auto-weave between Rend casts to stack ticks.
- W (Rend follow-up slam) only becomes available after Q lands on a hero. The airborne lasts 1 full second, enough for a free auto underneath.
- Undying Protector's armor shield scales with max HP, and each auto-attack after activation reduces Cull's cooldown by 1 second.
- Post-ult Cull stuns the first target for 1.5 seconds and dashes Arduin onto them. A second Cull is often available before the first stun wears off.
Strengths
Bloodlust makes sustained trades tilt his way at low HP.- Q-into-W airborne is reliable CC without needing tight mechanics.
Undying Protector scales off HP, so raw tank items add burst defense.- Post-ult
Cull: ranged gap-close with a hard 1.5-second stun.
Weaknesses
- Bloodlust's 60-second cooldown leaves a 52-second burst window.
- Q slow is only 2%; mobile assassins walk out before W lands.
- No ranged threat pre-ult; poke laners pin him at range freely.
- Ult's true-damage autos need 3 consecutive hits, impossible vs blinks without Flicker.
Matchups
Abilities
PBloodlust
When Arduin's HP drops below 50%, he enters Bloodlust mode for 8s. During this mode, each auto attack or ability cast restores 2% of max HP (60s cooldown). He re-enters Bloodlust mode immediately after cooldown ends if his HP remains below 90%.
1Rend
Slash a wave of energy forward with his axe, dealing physical damage and slowing enemies by 2% for 2s.
2Rend
If the attack skill hits an enemy hero, Arduin can slam his axe to the ground, dealing physical damage and knocking enemies airborne for 1s.
RUndying Protector
Arduin unleashes power, dealing magic damage to nearby enemies and gaining a shield equal to 10% of max HP for 5s. After the shield is active for 8s, Arduin's next 3 auto attacks deal true damage. Each auto attack that hits a target reduces Cull's cooldown by 1s.
1Cull
Arduin throws his axe in a direction, dealing physical damage and stunning the first enemy hit for 1.5s. He then pulls himself to the axe's location, dealing physical damage to all enemies in range (Arduin is immune to crowd control while using this ability).
Skill Order
Priority: R > Q > W| Skill | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Rend | 1 | · | 3 | · | 5 | · | 7 | · | 9 | · | · | · | 13 | · | · |
| 2Rend | · | 2 | · | 4 | · | · | · | 8 | · | 10 | · | 12 | · | 14 | · |
| RUndying Protector | · | · | · | · | · | 6 | · | · | · | · | 11 | · | · | · | 15 |
Loadout
Golden Body
Protect
ProwessStandard Build
1
2
3
4
5
6Core Combos
Standard Lane Trade
12Walk to close range first so Rend connects on the hero and not a minion, then immediately slam with W during the slow and auto twice under the airborne for maximum Bloodlust healing ticks.
All-in Dive
R12Pop Undying Protector before closing distance so the armor shield absorbs the enemy's burst reaction, land three true-damage autos, then chain into Q-W to extend the kill window after the empowered autos expire.
Post-Ult Cull Lock
R121After the three empowered autos, the first Cull stuns and dashes you onto the target. Each auto after ult also shaves 1 second off Cull's cooldown, so a fast second Cull is often available before the first CC wears off. Chain it to cut off the escape.
Flicker Gap-Close
12RUse Q-W to slow and airborne an enemy who is retreating, then Flicker onto them the moment they land so there is zero gap before your ultimate's armor and empowered autos come online. Ideal when the target Flickered away after eating the Q slow.
Expert Video Guide
[ ROV : Arduin ] 5 เทคนิค โหดครบเครื่อง — MetalBridges
Gameplan
Arduin's first meaningful spike is level 4, when both Rend and its W follow-up are online and he can threaten a real kill in lane. His second and most important spike is the moment Undying Protector activates. That is when you force a fight. With Shield of the Lost completed, the armor-from-HP shield effectively doubles his EHP for 5 seconds, making tower dives survivable against most laners. He does fall off in the very late game against a full-build marksman or mage who can kite him, so close games out in the mid-game window between first and second tower.
Early Game
Levels 1–6- →Farm safely to level 4 and prioritise Sonic Boots completion. Arduin's pre-ult trading pattern is strong but not dominant, so do not overcommit to aggressive trades without Bloodlust active.
- →Use Rend to last-hit at range and poke the lane opponent, but only follow up with the W slam when you are sure it will connect. A misread W window on a minion loses you the trade entirely.
- →If the enemy jungler is not visible on the minimap, play toward your tower side after level 3. Arduin has no dash before Cull unlocks and will lose 2v1 scenarios against a well-timed dive.
Mid Game
Post Broken Spear- →Once Undying Protector is online and Shield of the Lost is completed, actively look for 1v1 kills on pushed-up opponents. Your EHP spike here is enormous and most laners are not itemised to deal with it yet.
- →Rotate to Dragon or Dark Slayer contests after securing lane priority. Your ultimate's AoE burst and armor shield make you a serviceable frontliner in skirmishes even at low HP, which is exactly the Bloodlust scenario you want.
- →Stack Cull's cooldown aggressively in teamfights by auto-attacking immediately after Undying Protector. Landing two Culls in one fight is a realistic target and will single-handedly strand one carry.
Late Game
Teamfight phase- →Finalise the Blade of Eternity purchase as your sixth item. The resurrection passive combined with Bloodlust means enemies have to effectively kill you twice, which is near-impossible in a late-game teamfight.
- →Target high-value squishy carries with Cull rather than diving the tankiest enemy. Stun the ADC or mid mage, drag yourself onto them, and let Bloodlust and true-damage autos close the trade.
- →In the final 10 minutes, avoid splitting alone against two-person rotations. Arduin wins sustained 1v1s but genuinely struggles against coordinated 2v1 bursts when Bloodlust is on cooldown.
Pro Tips
- →Track your Bloodlust cooldown as carefully as you track the enemy's ultimate. At 52 seconds remaining, play back-to-tower and farm. At 0 seconds with HP under 90%, immediately look for an aggressive trade.
- →During Undying Protector's armor window, face-tank tower hits while diving. The HP-scaling shield combined with Bloodlust healing can absorb two to three tower shots that would delete most laners, making dives viable much earlier than enemies expect.
- →The Cull dash is unstoppable during its animation, so using it through a Grakk hook or Baldum grab lets you pass through the CC. Niche, but it can win a match on its own.
- →Against burst mages or assassins who spike you in the Bloodlust downtime window, stay deliberately at 55-65% HP. The moment the 60-second cooldown expires, Bloodlust re-arms at its threshold instantly. Do not back to base and top off to 100% HP right before a fight if your passive is coming off cooldown in 5 seconds.
Arduin rewards the disciplined warrior player who treats his passive cooldown as a strategic resource rather than background noise. If that clock is always in your head, you win fights you have no business winning. He suits players who enjoy solo-carry slayer lanes, want genuine kill threat from level 4 onward, and can read when a fight is worth forcing versus when to absorb a losing trade and let the passive re-arm. The single most important habit to build is sitting at sub-90% HP on purpose so Bloodlust cycles back the instant its cooldown expires, making you a permanent threat instead of a hero with a 52-second off switch.
Arduin — Frequently Asked Questions
Is Arduin good in the current ROV patch?+
Arduin is rated A tier on the Thai server this patch. The 0.7% pick rate keeps his win-rate data thin, but the kit is genuinely strong for players who understand the Bloodlust timing window. He is not a meta-dominant pick, but he comfortably outperforms most slayer-lane alternatives in sustained fights and 1v1 situations when piloted correctly.
What is the best build for Arduin?+
The core path is Sonic Boots into Shield of the Lost into Mail of Pain into Medallion of Troy. Stacking raw HP is the point: it makes Undying Protector's armor shield absurdly large. Muramasa and Blade of Eternity close out the build. Muramasa provides the armor penetration to keep your true-damage empowered autos and Rend relevant late game. Blade of Eternity gives you the resurrection, which pairs with Bloodlust to make Arduin effectively unkillable in one rotation.
How do you counter Arduin?+
The cleanest counter is burst-and-escape: spike Arduin hard in the 52-second window when Bloodlust is on cooldown, then disengage before he can land Q-W and start accumulating healing. Quillen and Murad do this naturally. The other option is keeping the fight at range to deny the W slam. If Rend never connects, Arduin has no CC chain and no efficient way to proc Bloodlust.
Is Arduin hard to play / good for beginners?+
Medium difficulty. His combos are straightforward, Q into W into autos, and his passive is self-explanatory. The gap between average and good Arduin players comes down to timing awareness around the 60-second Bloodlust cooldown. Beginners can pick him up and get value immediately, but mastering that passive clock is what pushes him from a decent pick to a genuinely oppressive one at Diamond and above.