The Best Carry Heroes of Vainglory

Vainglory is a MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) in which players choose specific characters (which are called heroes in Vainglory) to battle online for victory. Vainglory was developed and published by Super Evil Megacorp. Victory in each battle is obtained by destroying the enemy crystal, which in Vainglory is called Vain Crystal. Each hero in Vainglory features unique abilities and gameplay, and excels at different aspects of the game. It is important to understand the differences of the heroes of Vainglory in order to choose the hero most adequate to the team composition and to the strategy.

In Vainglory, considering that the main objective in each battle is to destroy the enemy team's Vain crystal, it is required of players to deal high amounts of damage to enemy team heroes, while also defeating the enemy team's minions and destroying the enemy team's turrets. In order to accomplish these objectives, teams often have in their composition multiple carries, which are heroes in Vainglory that are able to deal high amounts of damage.

These carry heroes are often chosen by players who enjoy playing solo and carrying their team to victory, a reason why these heroes belong to the "Carry" role, which in Vainglory is the class of high-damage dealing heroes. Most often than not, these heroes are high-ranged damage-dealers, in the sense that they can deal damage from afar. For this reason, for players who understand how to position their heroes, these heroes can be used to deal high amounts of damage, and are often used in the lane.

Vainglory tier lists of carry heroes, or lane heroes, appear often, and change often. As the lane is perhaps the most disputed location in the battles of Vainglory, due to its high rate of gold, it is quite reasonable that players always look for an edge, using hero top tier lists. Considering that the meta of Vainglory, such as of other MOBAs, changes over time, these top tier lists are often temporary, and they reflect more often specific gameplay changes of latest patches than the core gameplay of heroes, which remains mostly unaltered for years. For this reason, while meta top tier lists can be useful for higher ranks and professional gameplay, most players can do well if they understand the abilities of the hero, the heroic perk of the hero, and use the best builds for each situation and team composition. For this reason, I did not make a heroes top tier list based on the current meta, but rather a list of the best carry heroes of Vainglory based on their gameplay and possibilities in the game. Players who enjoy carrying their teams to victory may wonder which are the best carry heroes of Vainglory.

The best carry heroes of Vainglory are Skaarf, Saw, Blackfeather, Vox, Kestrel, Skye, Magnus, Gwen, Kinetic and Ringo, due to high damage and siege potential.

10 - Skaarf

Skaarf is one of the early heroes of Vainglory. While Skaarf is one of the heroes with the least mobility, being somewhat slow and without any dash skill, Skaarf is able to deal vast amounts of damage when combining their A and B skills, as these two skills complement each other in terms of damage.

Playing well with Skaarf as a carry requires a good positioning, as Skaarf is quite vulnerable due to their lack of mobility. However, with strategic positioning, Skaarf can be effective at dealing high amounts of damage either to single enemies or in team fights, and is very effective at taking down enemy turrets in the lane.

One of the downsides of playing as Skaarf is that its main method of dealing damage, its A ability, is easily evaded by more skilled players. For this reason, while Skaarf is an excellent choice for early ranks in the game, it can be more difficult to play as Skaarf in higher ranks. However, a well-positioned Skaarf and a player experienced and skilled with Skaarf can still do high amounts of damage in any rank.

9 - Saw

Saw is one of the most controversial heroes in Vainglory. He is often considered the choice for trolls and toxic players, and for this reason unfortunately this hero has a bad reputation in the game. However, in the right hands, Saw is an excellent choice for a carry hero as Saw is able to deal high amounts of damage, and is able to have a high mobility if the player understands how to use Saw's A ability.

Saw can deal expressive amounts of damage either to single enemies or in team fights, and is able to effectively take down enemy turrets. For skilled players, Saw can effectively turn the tide of battles in Vainglory and carry teams to victory. However, in many cases, after engaging in a fight Saw cannot easily evade incoming attacks except with its A ability. For this reason, it is important to consider adding some portion of life-steal to Saw's build, in order to recover health points proportionally to the damage dealt.

While Saw is an excellent choice for a carry hero for skilled players, I did not include it higher in my list because many players play Saw without previous experience or knowledge of the hero, and in these cases Saw may not be a good choice. However, in the hands of skilled players, Saw would certainly be top 3 in my list.

8 - Blackfeather

One of my personal favorite heroes of Vainglory, Blackfeather is most often used as a jungle hero, even though Blackfeather technically is a carry hero. The reason Blackfeather most often is used in the jungle rather than in the lane is because, unlike most other carries, Blackfeather is a close-combat hero, lacking a ranged basic attack, even though he has abilities that enable him to close distances in split-seconds.

Blackfeather can be a formidable hero and deal high amounts of damage through extended periods of time, but the downside of Blackfeather is that he is usually on the weaker side in the early game, making him a poor choice for early teamfights. For this reason, depending on the rank you are playing, if your team decides to engage in teamfights in the early game, most often Blackfeather will be often at disadvtange. However, in the middle and late games, Blackfeather is a strong carry and is able to dominate team fights, especially with certain life-steal builds and in skilled hands that know how to use Blackfeather's high mobility abilities. Just as with Saw, I included Blackfeather in this place in my list due to the skill required to play well with this hero, although in the skilled hands, I would certainly place Blackfeather in top 5.

7 - Vox

Vox is one of the favorite carry heroes for higher ranks. Vox is able to deal high amounts of damage, is able to use different builds, either in weapon or crystal paths, and has a high mobility when compared to other carries.

The downside of playing as Vox is that this hero has a shorter range of attack when compared to other ranged carries. For this reason, Vox must always stand in a shorter range to his enemies, making him somewhat vulnerable, and requiring a high position skill from the player in order to avoid taking damage. For this reason, while Vox is an excellent carry, I positioned him lower in my list, as this hero requires more skill from the player. However, with skilled players, Vox is an incredible carry.

6 - Kestrel

Much like Vox, Kestrel is able to deal high amounts of damage, but requires a shorter range than other heroes in order to deal damage. Another downside, unlike Vox, is that Kestrel has a lower mobility, as this hero lacks any dash abilities. On the other hand, Kestrel's A ability is able to pierce through enemy minions and reach enemy heroes, as long as these aren't very far away from the minions, and Kestrel is able to become invisible through her B ability. When combining her B and A ability and the right positioning, Kestrel can deal increased burst damage in her first shot. For this reason, Kestrel can be useful for ganking enemy heroes and for dominating the lane. However, Kestrel is a hero that requires skill.

5 - Skye

Skye is likely one of the heroes in Vainglory that can deal the highest amounts of damage combined with a high mobility. Due to these unique characteristics, Skye is a formidable warrior either in the lane or in the jungle. Considering her unique advantages, Skye is often used in the highest ranks of Vainglory.

On other hand, precisely due to her high mobility and unique skills, playing Skye requires a considerable amount of skill and experience from the player.

4 - Magnus

Magnus is a carry that is able to deal high amounts of damage while keeping a safe distance from enemies. The unique abilities of Magnus allow him to attack enemies and in some cases also stun them, and with the right builds, Magnus is able to deal high amounts of damage which can make great difference either in teamfights or in lane disputes.

At the same time, Magnus is a beginner-friendly hero in the sense that this hero does not require as much experience as some other carries, and for this reason, is an excellent choice for players starting in Vainglory.

3 - Gwen

Gwen is a great choice for a carry hero. Gwen is able to deal high amounts of damage with burst builds, due to her passive ability. Most of Gwen burst builds include dealing high damage through critical hits and first-hit builds, that take advantage of her passive.

Other viable Gwen builds include increasing her DPS (damage per second) through increasing attack damage and attack speed. However, these builds not only do not take as much advantage of her passive, while they also will generally be in disadvantage when compared to carry heroes that have abilities that increase their attack speed, such as Ringo.

Compared to other carry heroes, Gwen sacrifices attack speed for increased mobility. Her B ability enables Gwen to escape certain situations, while also increasing her movement speed, which be useful either to escape situations of disadvantage or to reach team fights at the right moment.

2 - Kinetic

Kinetic is a high DPS carry, much like Ringo, that benefits from extended fights due to her passive ability, which increases her damage the more times her A ability is used. Thus, skill players can use Kinetic's A ability to continually increase her damage, to a certain extent, which is incredibly beneficial in prolonged teamfights and sieges.

Kinetic also has a very useful high mobility ability, her B ability, which is of extreme value when escaping dangerous situations in Vainglory, or to evade certain abilities of enemies. I also consider Kinetic a beginner-friendly hero, in the sense that the gameplay of this hero can be easily learned.

1 - Ringo

Ringo is one of the earliest heroes of Vainglory. The gameplay of Ringo is beginner-friendly, in the sense that it can be easily learned, and with the right builds, Ringo can easily become a high-damage-dealing DPS.

Ringo's A ability is useful for slowing down enemy heroes, while Ringo's B ability increases his attack speed. When using builds that increase his attack damage and attack speed, Ringo can be a very useful hero, especially in the early ranks of Vainglory in which most players do not understand how to create proper defensive builds.

The downside of playing as Ringo is that in higher ranks his attack speed can be more easily countered by experienced captains that understand how to use items such as Atlas Pauldron to decrease Ringo's attack speed.