The newest hero added to the North American release of Arena Of Valor is Cresht, the craziest sea dweller I’ve ever seen. Unlike a lot of the heroes in AOV , Cresht is incredibly unique; there’s no other MOBA champion I can compare him to. He’s got amazing peel, shields for days and ultimate tidal pool. He’s a tank support that works best with heavy damage marksmen like Fennek and Violet who utilize his amazing engage potential without fear of death or flaming teammates.
Cresht has a passive similar to Tryndamere in League Of Legends , he builds up a rage bar with his basic attacks and damaging abilities. Once the bar is full, he can activate his ultimate which transforms him into a kraken straight out of Greek mythology. A long stream of water shoots out of his belly, knocking back enemies and slowing them while increasing ally speed. His AOE spear swing turns into a tidal pool on the battlefield and his shield jump turns into a massive slowing hop. Basically, the strategy is to hop behind an enemy, spear swing them close to your team and then shoot your tidal wave to really seal the deal. His goal is to soak up all the damage while your team attacks from the other side. Basically, he’s the ultimate engage monster; one that’s not going to die without a serious fight.
I prefer to use him in the bot lane, but he’s also a viable top laner. When he activates his ultimate, his health pool doubles, allowing you to trick enemies into fights they think they can win. There’s nothing more frustrating than chasing a Crest with low health and then seeing him transform into a death machine right in front of your eyes.
Ability Upgrades: I start with Typhoon level one, alternating between that and Aquatic Shield, upgrading my ultimate Metamorphosis whenever possible.
Item Build: Sonic Boots, Frost Cape, Crimson Banner, Gaia’s Standard, Hyoga’s Edge
Cresht is an amazing champion, one that makes other tanks seem worse by comparison. If you don’t feel like using all your gold to buy him, you’re going to have a problem keeping up in higher ranks.
