Arena of Valor Raz Guide: Combos, Energy, and Burst Build

To play Raz effectively in Arena of Valor, poke enemies from safe range with Skill 2, enter all-in engagements with at least 80% energy, and chain your displacement abilities to knock targets back into your team. Raz functions as both a long-range artillery poker and a high-burst mage assassin, relying entirely on disciplined energy management and directional mobility to secure kills without getting eliminated.

Energy Management and the Shifting Steps Passive

Raz uses an energy bar rather than mana. Missing skills leaves him stranded with no mobility, making resource discipline his most important fundamental mechanic.

Shifting Steps Passive: Casting any ability allows Raz to perform a short directional dash upon skill completion. Additionally, his third consecutive normal attack becomes an enhanced punch that deals bonus damage and knocks enemies backward.
Energy Refunds: Landing Power Surge (Skill 2) or Rising Uppercut (Skill 1) refunds 25 energy.
The 80% Rule: Never commit to an all-in dive below 80% energy. If you miss an ability during a dive, the missing refund will leave you unable to complete your combo or dash away to safety.
Defensive Reset: When farming or scouting, use the passive dash after Skill 2 to hop backward out of enemy retaliation range while waiting for cooldowns.

How to Execute Raz Combos

Raz transitions between long-range neutral poke and close-range crowd-control chains. Soften frontline and backline targets with fireballs first before committing your full kit.

Standard All-In Execution Combo

Use this sequence once an enemy carry is within engagement range:

Power Surge (Skill 2): Launch a fireball to slow the target and reduce their magic defense.
Passive Dash: Use the directional movement dash granted by Skill 2 to immediately close the gap.
Rising Uppercut (Skill 1): Knock the target airborne, preventing them from reacting with defensive talents such as Flicker or Purify.
Explosive K.O. (Ultimate): Dash through the airborne enemy to push them backward toward your teammates or away from their tower.
Enhanced Normal Attack: Trigger the passive forward punch to inflict a second knockback and finish the kill.

Ultimate + Flicker Redirection

When priority squishy targets hide behind tanks, use Flicker during your ultimate animation:

Cast Explosive K.O. toward the target area.
Immediately flash behind the target before the skill windup completes.
The redirected hitbox will knock the backline carry out of their formation and directly into your advancing team.

Recommended Item Build and Arcana

Because Raz relies on securing takedowns within a single crowd-control window, his equipment should prioritize flat magic pierce, ability power, and situational survival tools.

Item Slot	Item Choice	Purpose
Boots	Enchanted Kicks	Flat magic pierce for early burst; swap to Gilded Greaves against heavy crowd control.
First Core	Boomstick	Adds area burst damage to Skill 2 poke.
Second Core	Hecate's Diadem	Provides a massive percentage increase to total ability power.
Penetration	Evil Secrets / Staff of Nuul	Bypasses magic defense items like Medallion of Troy.
Utility	Arctic Orb	Grants temporary invulnerability after diving; sell for Blade of Eternity late-game during cooldowns.
Finisher	Holy of Holies	Delivers maximum raw ability power alongside supplementary maximum health.

Arcana Setup

Equip the following Arcana configuration to maximize early-game damage and ensure fluid attack chaining:

10x Desolate: Magic Attack and Magic Pierce
10x Guerrilla: Movement Speed and Attack Speed (accelerates passive third-attack triggers)
10x Flurry: Magic Attack and Magic Pierce

Wave Clear and Roaming Strategy

Raz has narrow, single-target wave clear compared to linear control mages because Skill 2 stops at the first unit hit. Clear mid waves efficiently using angles rather than standing directly in front of the minions:

Stand diagonally to the incoming minion wave.
Fire Skill 2 at the front melee minion.
Dash alongside the minion line and cast Rising Uppercut to lift all three minions at once.
Use the enhanced passive basic attack to push the minions into a tight cluster, finishing them with standard basic attacks.

After clearing the wave, avoid walking through open river water. Rotate through your jungle and set up ambushes in the brush near the Abyssal Dragon or Slayer lanes. If an ambush fails or extra enemies collapse on you, reverse your combo: cast Rising Uppercut backward over terrain and use Shifting Steps to escape to safety.