Passive
Thickened Blood
Buff
Hylos gains 1.5 extra Max HP for every 1 extra Max Mana he possesses. When out of Mana, Hylos can use his HP for skill casts.
Always active — no cooldown
Hylos
CTierMana-tank roamer who denies space with a stacking damage zone
TankRoamDeals magic
Hylos is a roam tank who converts his mana pool into extra HP through Thickened Blood, then spends it on Ring of Punishment, an area-denial toggle that stacks damage taken and shreds attack speed the longer enemies stand in it. Glorious Pathway turns a chokepoint into a slow trap for enemies and a highway for his own team.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Specialities
- GuardInitiator
The kit is straightforward, but managing mana versus HP costs on Ring of Punishment's toggle takes some awareness during a long fight.
- Beaten by
- 103 hard
- Strong into
- 6
- Best duos
- 10
- Builds
- 2
At a glance
When Hylos is strong
Attributes
- Damage
- 5
- Durability
- 8
- Crowd Control
- 6
- Mobility
- 4
- Utility
- 7
Strengths
- Ring of Punishment stacks damage taken and shreds attack speed the longer enemies stay inside it
- Glorious Pathway grants his team a massive movement speed highway while trapping enemies who cross it
- Law and Order's enhanced basic attack knocks back and stuns, punishing anyone who stands still
- Thickened Blood converts his mana pool into a huge HP buffer, and he can spend HP directly when mana runs out
Weaknesses
- Very low personal burst damage — he denies space rather than winning fights alone
- Ring of Punishment requires enemies to stand in it to matter, so mobile heroes can simply avoid the zone
- No hard escape tool of his own beyond Glorious Pathway's slow immunity while on the path
- Falls behind against long-range poke that punishes him before he can close distance
Skills
Max Ring of Punishment first for the area damage and attack speed shred, level Law and Order for the stun setup, and take the ultimate at levels 4, 8 and 12.
Skill 1
Law and Order
CCDamage
Hylos gains 50% Movement Speed and causes his next Basic Attack within 3 seconds to deal 300–550 (+80% Total Magic Power) Magic Damage to the target, knock back and stun them for 1 second. This damage counts as Skill Damage. The extra Movement Speed rapidly decays over the duration and ends after the next Basic Attack.
- Cooldown
- 12s
- Mana
- 80 → 130
What the terms mean(1)
- Stun
- Basic level Crowd Control: Prevents a target from moving, and using Basic Attacks and skills. Can interrupt some skills.
Skill 2
Ring of Punishment
AOE
Hylos releases the Ring of Punishment, dealing 100–300 (+20% Total Magic Power) Magic Damage to nearby enemies per second while slowing them by 4%–6% and reducing their Attack Speed by 7.5%–15% for 2.5 seconds (up to 8 stacks). Each stack also increases the enemy's damage taken from the Ring of Punishment by 5–20%. The Ring of Punishment consumes 30–150 Mana per second when it's active. Use Again; Hylos cancels the Ring of Punishment.
- Cooldown
- 1s
- Mana
- 30 → 150
Ultimate
Glorious Pathway
Speed UpHeal
Hylos creates a huge pathway in the target direction, reducing enemies' Movement by 75% for 1 second. The pathway lasts 6 seconds. When on the pathway, Hylos gains Slow Immunity and recovers 3% of his Max HP per second.
Our source cuts this description off mid-sentence — the rest is not shown.
- Cooldown
- 40s
- Mana
- 150 → 450
Signature combo
Ring of Punishment on to start stacking damage → Law and Order to stun and knock back a target inside the zone → Glorious Pathway to trap the rest of the enemy team as they retreat.
Hylos builds
Core items in buy order, with the emblem, talents and battle spell that go with them.
Frontline Initiator
7,300g total
Default pick for a roam tank who opens fights and denies space around objectives.
Battle spell
Aegis75s CDBecause the shield is flat and doesn't scale with items, its relative value drops in the late game — it's strongest as a laning-phase and early-mid-game defensive tool.
Swap in when needed
Athena's Shield — Against a burst-magic-heavy enemy team looking to delete him in one combo.
Antique Cuirass — Against a skill-combo-reliant enemy fighter or assassin.
Immortality — Insurance so he can keep initiating fights without fear of a bad engage.
Anti-Marksman Zoner
6,620g total
Against a basic-attack-reliant enemy carry you need to shut down directly.
Battle spell
Vengeance75s CDVengeance rewards being attacked, so it's weakest against burst-and-retreat assassins who land one hit and disengage before the reflect matters.
Swap in when needed
Radiant Armor — Against a sustained magic damage dealer rather than a burst mage.
Oracle — More raw HP and regen for extended objective fights.
Immortality — Lets him keep contesting fights after a bad trade.
Who counters Hylos
The heroes that make this matchup hard, and the mechanic that does it.
KimmyMarksman · MageHardKimmy's long effective range keeps her safely outside Ring of Punishment's radius while she poke Hylos down from a distance.
KarrieMarksmanHardLightwheel Mark's True Damage scales off Hylos's Max HP, so the pool Thickened Blood builds is exactly what kills him, and Phantom Step dashes her clear of Ring of Punishment between procs.
YveMageHardYve's long-range zone control out-damages Hylos from well outside his own area-denial range.
X.BorgFighterSoftFire Missiles sprays seven ticks of fire every two seconds and Last Insanity charges through the zone for twelve more, burning Hylos's HP pool down faster than Ring of Punishment can zone him out.
RafaelaSupportSoftRafaela's healing sustain lets her team simply outlast the damage Hylos's Ring of Punishment ticks out over time.
CiciFighterSoftBuoyant Bounce's double leap hops her in and out of Ring of Punishment's radius, and Yo-Yo Blitz keeps attacking from outside it without her ever eating a full stack.
AliceTank · MageSoftAlice's lifesteal sustain heals through Hylos's slow, sustained area damage over a long fight.
ValirMageSoftValir's fire wall punishes Hylos for planting Ring of Punishment in a fixed spot, and his poke keeps Hylos at range.
FaramisSupport · MageSoftFaramis's revive-fueled sustain lets his team outlast Hylos's area denial and mana-draining zone.
MathildaSupport · AssassinSoftMathilda's mobility and shield let her escape Glorious Pathway's slow zone and Ring of Punishment before either does real damage.
Items to build against Hylos
Tough BootsCuts the stun duration on Law and Order and the slow duration on Glorious Pathway, making his lockdown less punishing.
Wind of NatureWind Chant blanks the physical follow-up his team lands after the stun-into-zone combo, though Hylos's own damage is magic.
Sea HalberdCuts the regen he gets from staying on his own Glorious Pathway during a fight.
Hylos is strong into
Heroes whose own counter list names Hylos — the same matchup, read from the other side.
JulianAssassin · FighterHardHylos's aura punishes Julian for staying in melee range through his combo, and his sheer tankiness means the two-skill setup rarely gets him low enough to finish.
ArlottFighter · AssassinSoftHis tanky sustain and CC-heavy kit absorb Arlott's burst combo without dying, punishing the all-in.
EudoraMageSoftHylos's high sustain and defense soak up her burst combo without dying, denying her the one-shot potential she relies on.
LaylaMarksmanSoftThickened Blood turns his huge mana pool straight into extra Max HP, and Glorious Pathway's slow immunity and regen walk him through Layla's damage for most of a fight.
LeomordFighterSoftThickened Blood converts Hylos's mana pool into raw Max HP and Glorious Pathway keeps him slow-immune and regenerating, letting him absorb Leomord's physical damage for most of a fight.
NanaMageSoftGlorious Pathway cuts Nana's movement by three quarters while Hylos regenerates on it, so he walks through her whole poke rotation and closes the gap anyway.
Who to pair Hylos with
Duo partners whose kit completes this one.
NataliaAssassinNatalia's stealth ambush combos with Law and Order's stun for a guaranteed pick on an isolated target.
MinsittharFighterMinsitthar's spear pull chains directly into Law and Order's stun for a longer lockdown on the same target.
SaberAssassinSaber's ultimate lock finishes off targets Hylos has already stunned and slowed with Law and Order and Ring of Punishment.
HanzoAssassinRing of Punishment's slow and attack-speed shred pin enemies inside Hylos's body-blocking bulk, giving Hanzo the uninterrupted contact he needs to stack Dark Ninjutsu to five and land Demon Feast's execute burst.
ZilongFighter · AssassinSpear Strike's defense shred and Supreme Warrior's attack speed turn every enemy Glorious Pathway funnels into his range into a quick duel he wins.
MashaFighter · TankThunderclap's Control Immune lunge lands on the same target Law and Order has just stunned, chaining stun into slow with no gap to escape through.
FannyAssassinFanny's cable-swing combo finishes off targets that Hylos has slowed to a crawl with Glorious Pathway.
SilvannaFighterImperial Justice restrains a hero Law and Order has just stunned, holding them inside Ring of Punishment's radius for the full 3.5 seconds.- FaramisSupport · MageFaramis's revive-fueled sustain and Hylos's tanky frontline create a team-fight presence that's very hard to remove permanently.
ChouFighterChou's kick can punt a target directly into the middle of Hylos's stacking Ring of Punishment zone.
Playing Hylos well
- 1
Toggle Ring of Punishment on before enemies commit to a fight so the stacks are already building
- 2
Land Law and Order's enhanced attack on a target trying to walk out of your Ring of Punishment zone
- 3
Place Glorious Pathway through a chokepoint the enemy has to cross, not just toward your own team
- 4
Watch your mana bar during long fights — Ring of Punishment starts eating HP once mana runs dry
Hylos — common questions
Is Hylos good for beginners?
Yes — his kit is straightforward tank play, with the only real learning curve being managing Ring of Punishment's mana and HP cost during a long fight.
What is the best build for Hylos?
Dominance Ice into Guardian Helmet and Brute Force Breastplate covers HP, durability, and attack-speed shred; swap in Athena's Shield or Antique Cuirass depending on whether the enemy threat is burst magic or skill-combo physical damage.
Which heroes counter Hylos?
Kimmy and Yve are the hardest matchups since both out-range Ring of Punishment's area denial and can poke him down before he closes in.
How does Hylos's Ring of Punishment work?
It's a toggled zone around him that deals repeated magic damage, slows enemies, and cuts their attack speed, stacking up to eight times, with each stack increasing the damage they take from the zone further.
