Diaochan: Unrelenting Lady Shiva

Build and Guide Diaochan: Unrelenting Lady Shiva

Cheat Sheet
Skill Build

Accounting for Diaochan's recommended combo, leveling up Diamond Dust over her other two abilities allows for faster execution over time.

Items

Frosty’s Revenge, Boomstick, Enchanted Kicks, Hecate’s Diadem, Soaring Aura, Holy of Holies

Arcana

Focusing on relatively inexpensive mid-tier arcana, Corruption, Revelation and Corrosion are your go-to picks for Diaochan. Swap Corrosion for Spellbound if you’re looking to play a little safer.

Talents

Flicker, Sprint, Daze

Introduction
If you’ve played just about any other high fantasy game in the past you’ve likely come across the idea of a ‘frost mage’ – magic-users who do nothing but chill their opponent to the bone. Adored for their crowd-control capabilities, Diaochan is on hand to deliver the very same fate to characters whether they’re on the Antaris Battlefield or practising their craft in the Flatlands.

Diaochan is a simple enough caster who focuses on a combo that, while not set in stone, certainly weaves together in a very specific way. Shoehorned into the control role thanks to the slows, snares and freezing effects of her abiltiies, they can just as easily be abused by her if her allies aren’t on hand to make the most of the opportunities she creates. Playing aggressively usually isn’t the best course of action for many mages, but Diaochan practically begs for it

Skill Build
Her passive ability ‘Ice Queen’ couldn’t be easier to understand. Her attacks and abilities deal additional damage to frozen targets. Diamond Dust is Diaochan’s only more capable of freezing targets to the touch, so making the most of this tiny window of opportunity is her claim to fame.

Chilling Frost is a true harassment tool. Thrown out with no notice, it doesn’t have a massive AOE effect, but it’s usually enough to strike a target from a distance thanks to its non-existant cast time. Once hit, targets are ‘marked’, giving you 5.5 seconds to hit them with a second Chilling Frost to root them in place briefly. They’re slowed during it’s duration, so aiming isn’t much trouble; but Chilling Frost sits on a base 5-second cooldown, so you’ll have to be fast on the finger to land a successive shot early on.

Diamond Dust is one of Diaochan’s more satisfying moves. This is a targeted AOE strike similar to Chilling Frost. Rather than being an instant cast, however, targets have a brief chance to avoid its telegraphed landing zone before taking the hit and being frozen in place for a short period. Remember; frozen targets take additional damage from Diaochan, so you’ll want to unleash the cold winter hell during this time.

One of the best ways to strike hard and fast during a successful Diamond Dust is with Diaochan’s ult – Blizzard. It’s a simple name for a simple skill. Channeled for a maximum of 5.3 seconds, anyone within a wide radius around Diaochan will be slowed considerably while taking high damage with each tick. Easily interrupted by a stun, grab or untimely death, Blizzard gifts Diaochan with 600 additional armor to help fend off assassination attempts as the snow swirls around her. This can be manually cancelled early on, but riding out its full duration is what you want to be doing.

Landing a concurrent blow with Chilling Frost with its base 5-second cooldown can be tricky. Missing out on any bonus cooldown reduction by leveling up, it’s best to use this ability in tandem with Diamond Dust to strike for additional damage while your target(s) are frozen.

Diamond Dust, on the other hand, does see its cooldown time reduced with each additional point, so grab this at Level 2 and focus on lowering the recast time to bring it more in-line with Chilling Frost first. Blizzard will be our aim in the long run, so level this up whenever you’ve given the chance.

Pick up Chilling Frost from the start, grab Diamond Dust right after and keep your focus there. Dip a point into Blizzard when able.

Talents
Flicker, Sprint and Daze all compliment Diaochan’s resourcefulness here, but Flicker stands above the rest. Usable in a pinch, Flicker allows Diaochan to quickly close the gap between her targets after a hit thanks to her long-range attacks. Likely slowed, snared or frozen at this point, blinking a short distance forward should allow her to follow up with another attack, inflicting whichever movement inpairing effect she didn’t open with. It also allows her to position herself in closer to a group of targets and unleash Blizzard with ease, ensuring targets hit by the slowdown effect can’t just take two steps out of its range. This works the other way, too, allowing Diaochan to quickly avoid a bad situation or repel out of controlling effect of a foe like Grakk or the brutal swing of Arthur.

Sprint works much the same way. It lacks the element of surprise Flicker allows, but lasts far longer. Best used to help harass the enemy team in a bigger fight, Diaochan can rush into battle and throw her moves down while still staying mobile enough to react to any incoming trouble. You can run and hold her Chilling Frost reticle in place so that you’re always ready to blast anyone who looks like a good target.

Daze won’t be viable in as many situations as the other two Traits listed above, but can absolutely be played to Diaochan’s advantage. Once you’ve scouted out a team fight and notice the opposite side grouping closely together, you can run in (with the help of your team) and stun them all in place. This way you’re guaranteed enough time to freeze them with Diamond Dust. Get a little closer and follow up with Blizzard to deal devestating damage while they’re still frozen in place.

Equipment
Ensuring each of our hits is easier to pull of than they already are, Frosty’s Revenge is our first item build. It awards significant early ability power, a modest movement speed increase that allows us to push our boots back to our third purchase, and throws in sizeable Magic Defense – something Blizzard doesn’t give.

Boomstick is, undeniable, our second item. Diaochan attacks from afar more often than not, and Boomstick’s explosive effect shares a very similar cooldown time with the best tool for the job – Chilling Frost. Enchanted Kicks come in third place with 75 Magic Pierce being just the tip of the iceberg.

We follow this up by continuing to beef up Diaochan’s Ability Power with things like Hecate’s Diadem, Soaring Aura and Holy of Holies. Adamant to our aggressive playstyle, Soaring Aura applies additional Magic Defence reduction when Diaochan goes all-in with Blizzard. The additional Magic Pierce from Hecate’s Diadem shows it worth here, with the flat 35% Ability Power increase practically breaking records with each of these three items giving out lavish amounts of raw Ability Power on their own. Rhea’s Blessing is a fine choice for more cautious types who feel the HP boost from Holy of Holies and Armor increase during Blizzard won’t be enough to keep them alive, but we’re focusing on raw power and the right moment here.

Arcana
If you’ve played any other mage excessively in Arena of Valor you likely already have the optimal Arcana on hand. Diaochan benefits the most from Ability Power, Magic Pierce and Cooldown Speed, but Magic Defence and Magic Life Steal certainly have their benefits.

When you’re just getting started, look no further than a simple Talisman/Absorbtion/Disruption spread with Tier 1 arcana. All three are well-rounded stats highely beneficial to someone who attacks as often as Diaochan.

Heading into Tier 2 arcana as early as possible is always a wise move. They’re relatively inexpensive and offer far more bang for your buck. Much like Tier 1 arcana, a quick and easy spread looks like Corruption/Revelation/Corrosion and is easily the recommended choice for an aggressive magic with real stopping power. Swapping out Corrosion for Spellbound offers more survivability with Magic Life Steal and Magic Defense, but Corrosion offers both Ability Power and Magic Pierce – two desirable magic stats.

Tier 3 arcana offer higher values to offset their higher costs, but retain much of the same idea as their less expensive variants. Violate, Devour and Hex are the best all-round picks here, but you can swap the first two out for Enlightened and Sap if you think you’re getting enough Magic Pierce through item picks. This way you gain similar Ability Power but have a little more Magic Life Steal to keep you going in a riskier Blizzard assault.

Early Game
Diaochan’s early game plays far more like a harassment-type character than a control mage. Chilling Frost as an unusually long cast range, and you’re even free to aim it as you move, allowing for some devious drive-by casts as you bait an opponent within your own range (and out of their own) and strike them as you back off again. Even ranged characters like Krixi can’t reliably fire back early on, so use this opportunity to fire a shot ever time Chilling Frost is available.

Your true aim, however, is Diamond Dust. If you’re fast on your feet, you’ll want to bait the target into Chilling Frost and quickly follow up with Diamond Dust. They’ll be slow enough from the first attack to be a sitting duck when it comes to aiming your freeze, and any auto-attacks thrown out at a frozen target will hit with more force.

You’ll still have to predict the direction they’ll attempt to flee if you have to travel slightly to launch the follow-up. You won’t be able to land a second Chilling Frost for additional damage while they’re frozen, but it might just give you enough time to jab them again once it’s off cooldown. You won’t deal extra damage, but the resulting snare might allow for another auto-attack.

Mid Game
Auto-attacking a frozen target isn’t the best course of action. You’re only option when it comes to hitting a frozen target early on, Diaochan’s limited auto-attack range and low damage means you’ll need to learn to be fast if you’re hoping to maximize damage output in as little time as possible.

Grabbing the Sage (blue) Buff is a good start when roaming becomes the norm. The cooldown reduction and passive mana regeneration will help a lot here, but you early item picks should serve a similar purpose for whenever the buff isn’t available. Taking on opponents in a 1v1 match-up isn’t too much of a struggle if you’re focused. Hit them with Chilling Frost, follow up with Diamond Dust, and unleash Blizzard as they’re frozen.

The closer you are to your target, the more damage you’ll do in these closing moments, but striking while they’re on ice is the main focus here – don’t worry too much on getting auto-attacks in while you edge closer. Just hit Blizzard and attempt to secure the kill with a second combo if they manage to make an escape. Everything should be off cooldown if Blizzard runs its course.

Try to focus on farming to get the income upper-hand. If ganks are likely, pull back from your lane and let your ally know you’re ready to strike. Having a tankier character bait 2 foes here is usually the perfect time to hit them both. If they’re seperated, use Chilling Frost on the one furthest away as you walk in closer, and throw Diamond Dust under a melee attacker as you get within real range of both targets. Once frozen, unleash Blizzard for maximum damage. Assuming the melee attacker dies, fire whatever remains at the ranged character. Signal your ally to hold tight with the ‘attack’ icon in the top right as you execute the strategy. You don’t want them retreating as you open fire and quickly become the centre of attention.

Late Game
With laning more or less done, it’s time to get dangerous. Attempt to grab the Sage buff whenever possible to keep cooldowns low. You’ll be playing the harassment role heavily here, and throwing out any ability just that little bit sooner can make all the difference.

Thanks to her unnaturally long ability range, Diaochan can afford to jab her targets from a relatively safe distance. You’ll want to me cautious of those with similar range like Yorn or Violet, but they’re also soft enough targets to fall victim to your own combo if you can beat them to the punch. Wait for the moment 2 or more enemies get close enough before you fire Chilling Frost from a distance. This slowdown is usually enough for your team to move in for the kill with the enemy team moving in to support their stricken allies. This should be ample opportunity to aim Diamond Dust to freeze at least 1 more target in place, creating a situation where 3 or more enemies are ripe for Blizzard.

You’ll have to be somewhat closer before starting the combo if you take Daze or Sprint, but having Flicker here will allow you to quickly zap into the middle of your frozen targets and open fire with Blizzard. They’ll break free of their icy prison during this cast, but the additional slowdown effect should keep them from dodging too much of the cold. This is where you’ll gain additional armor from the cast, so ranged attackers and tanks shouldn’t be able to shut you down in the small window they’ll have to counter your attack.

Rinse and repeating this strategy for the last 5-10 minutes of a match is all you’ll typically need to focus on. Jab your targets with Chilling Frost from a distance to keep them on their toes, and move in when your allies act on your slowdowns. Aim to freeze as many targets as you can, Flicker in for maximum Blizzard effectivness and use whatever is left to either slowdown and freeze assailants or continue to push on ahead with enough backup.

FAQ/Tips


Assassins aren’t the real threat to Diaochan. If they’re without a stun, she can freeze them in place and kill them with Blizzard.

Ranged attackers with stuns should be approached with caution. Soak the stun first, retreat and hit with Chilling Frost. Follow up with Diamond Dust and Blizzard if you haven’t taken much damage.

Chilling Frost can be cast while moving. Keep up the assault while staying at a safe distance.

Blizzard grants armor when in use, but does nothing to fend of magical attacks. It isn’t a fluid shield.

Cancelling Blizzard early has its uses – if a target escapes its range, cancel out and throw your 1-2 combo out again finish them off.



Matchups
Diaochan can freeze most of her targets to death before they have a chance to react if her aim is one point. But that’s also her greatest weakness. High mobility targets like Zill, Murad and Butterfly can make quick work of her by dancing around her slowdown and outright dodging her one and only freeze. Caught out, however, and they’ll quickly feel the chill. Stuns are absolutely vital when it comes to stopping the great ice queen in what could be seen as a taste of her own medicine. If Blizzard is already hitting you, she has the armor to shrug you off while you suffer. Brave the cold and stun or move her and you’ll be free to launch the deciding counter attack.

Speed is key here, so stop Blizzard as soon as it appears and go all-in to finish her off. Valhein, Yorn, Slimz, and Moren can pull this off with ease, but Tel’Annas will have to rely on her ultimate to get the job done. Control Tanks like Lumburr and Arduin can put up a good fight, but Diaochan’s magic pierce will reduce the effectiveness of their healthpools.

Pairing Diaochan up with similar champions yealds the best results in the laning phase, as she always wants to make use of her own attacks rather than wait on her allies to capitilize on her slowdowns. Grakk ultimate is a great opportunity for Diaochan to launch her full assault, and she’s great for picking out a target for his hook. But a hasty Grakk will cause problems with her aim if he grabs a character about to get hit by her skills. Blizzard helps here, but you won’t always have Diamond Dust available to freeze a prematurely hooked target beforehand. Avoid firing first if you have knockback tanks like Superman on your side. Instead, pair up with characters like Toro, Lumburr and Alice.