Overall
Atheus controls the battlefield through a beast cage — a persistent zone that traps enemies inside, punishing escape attempts with damage, stuns, and stat reduction. Inside the cage, enemies can't dodge, take amplified normal attack damage from the entire allied team, and are blocked from using ultimates while under his spiritual stagnation debuff. His survivability comes from Wood Protection, a stacking resource earned through attacks and skills that absorbs any hit exceeding a threshold of his max health. Excess stacks convert into healing, and each stack permanently increases his stats. His AoE skills stun and apply stagnation, cutting enemy damage output significantly. The cage also pulses with the effects of his other skills, turning it into a kill zone. He's a lockdown tank who traps enemies in unfavorable terrain and gets harder to kill the longer he fights.
Skills
Torrent Hunt
UltimateSends a torrent toward the densest enemy cluster, creating a beast cage that traps enemies. Those trying to leave take damage, get stunned, and lose tenacity. Low-tenacity enemies inside take heavily increased damage. The cage pulses with his other skills' effects.
Spiritwood Blessing
PassiveAlternates between Oakshield Arm attacks (gain Wood Protection) and Deercrown Staff attacks (stun). Stacks up to 6 layers of Wood Protection that absorb hits exceeding a max-health threshold. Excess stacks convert to healing, and damage accumulates before calculating when protected.
Purging Evil
ActiveDeals AoE damage and inflicts spiritual stagnation, reducing enemy damage output. Stagnated enemies cannot use ultimates. Grants Wood Protection for each enemy hit. The beast cage also applies this effect within its range.
Nature's Breakthrough
ActiveErupts enchanted wood from the ground, dealing AoE damage and stunning nearby enemies. Grants multiple stacks of Wood Protection on completion. The beast cage also applies this effect within its range.
Signature Item
Cycle of Life
While a beast cage exists, all allies deal greatly increased normal attack damage. Enemies inside have dodge and magic suppression stripped. Stagnated enemies inside cannot use ultimates.
Furniture
Furniture
Each Wood Protection stack permanently increases Atheus's buffer and insight stats.
Engravings are not listed here because they upgrade existing skills directly. See the Skills tab for engraving effects alongside each skill.
Atheus waves his Deercrown Staff, unleashing a torrential siege with the area most concentrated with enemies as the target area. The torrential siege deals AoE damage to enemies in its path for 300% of his Attack Rating and stops upon reaching the target area. After stopping, the torrential siege knocks the enemies in the target area back slightly, toward the center of the area, and stuns them briefly. Then, Atheus generates a beast cage lasting 12 seconds at the target location. Any enemy that tries to leave the beast cage takes damage equal to 170% of Atheus’ Attack Rating and is knocked back slightly and stunned briefly. This effect can be triggered against each enemy up to 1 times every second. When an enemy leaves the cage, their Tenacity is reduced by 30 points for 5 seconds. Only 1 beast cage may exist at a time during a battle.
When using some of his skills, Atheus earns Wood Protection, which can be stacked up to 3 times. When receiving damage from a single attack that exceeds 10% of his max health, Atheus can spend 1 stack of Wood Protection to resist this damage. Once he has acquired the maximum stacks of Wood Protection, any more Wood Protection received will be converted into 5% of his max health. Atheus uses his Deercrown Staff and Oakshield Arm alternately to carry out normal attacks: When using the Oakshield Arm to attack, he earns 1 stack of Wood Protection; When using the Deercrown Staff to attack, he stuns the enemy for 0.5 seconds.
Atheus taps the ground with his Deercrown Staff, unleashing a cleansing deluge that deals damage to nearby enemies for 330% of his Attack Rating and inflicts spiritual stagnation on them for 5 seconds. When under spiritual stagnation, damage dealt by an enemy is reduced by 25%. Each time Atheus inflicts spiritual stagnation on 1 enemy, he receives 1 stacks of Wood Protection.
Atheus leans over, strikes the ground with his Oakshield Arm, and induces the enchanted wood to break out of the ground, dealing damage to nearby enemies for 260% of his Attack Rating and stunning them for 4 seconds.
Cycle of Life
Enhances: Edict of NatureWhen a beast cage exists, normal atack damage dealt by Atheus and his allied heroes is increased by 45%.
Enemies within the range of a beast cage have their Dodge and Magic Suppression reduced by 60 and 20 points respectively.
Enemies within the range of a beast cage have their Dodge and Magic Suppression reduced by 120 and 40 points respectively.
Enemies within the range of a beast cage are unable to use their Ultimate skill when under spiritual stagnation.
When a beast cage exists, normal attack damage dealt by Atheus and his allied heroes is increasedby 90%.
Each time Atheus acquires a stack of Wood Protection, his Buffer is increased by 10 points.
Each time Atheus acquires a stack of Wood Protection, his Insight is increased by 10 points.
Any beast cage on the battlefield deals the effects of cleansing deluge within its range.
Any beast cage on the battlefield deals the effects of nature’s breakthrough within its range.
Within Arena of Heroes, Legends' Challenger Tournament, Legends' Championship, Treasure Scramble, and Heroes of Esperia: