[Hero Wars Guide]Why Orion and Merlin Became a Standard Pairing

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For a long time, Orion and Merlin were considered incompatible.
However, as of 2025, the pairing of Orion and Merlin has become standard.
Why did this change happen? Let’s find out.

Reasons Orion and Merlin were considered incompatible

The saturation tactics:

Orion traditionally relied on building Energy through normal attacks rather than frequently activating his second and third skills. His strategy focused on repeatedly using his first skill to deal saturation damage. This approach took advantage of Orion’s unique ability to gain additional Energy from passive effects.
When paired with Merlin, the frequency of Orion’s second and third skills increased. While this may sound beneficial, it reduced the activation frequency of his first skill. This shift raised the question of whether saturation damage could consistently outpace the opponent’s healing. In certain scenarios, this dynamic was critical and could determine the outcome of a fight.
The following video talks about it in detail.

Other factors:

One of Merlin’s buffs includes increased magic penetration. In Orion’s saturation attack strategy, this overlaps with the magic penetration buff provided by his first artifact, making Merlin’s advantage less effective.
Orion’s immense firepower comes at the cost of extreme vulnerability. He lacks self-defense mechanisms, making Axel‘s patronage-which provides additional survivability-a more attractive option in many cases.

Reasons Why the Relationship Between Orion and Merlin Changed

Several key developments changed the dynamic:

Orion’s buffs and the unlocking of his Ascension skills transformed him into a hero who performed better by consistently activating skills rather than relying solely on his first skill for saturation attacks.
Merlin’s skill acceleration became very useful for this new play style.
In particular, the unlocking of Orion’s rank 2 Ascension skill played a critical role. However, in scenarios where his Ascension skills are not unlocked, the effectiveness of this combination may vary.
Changes in defense trends have reduced the frequency of scenarios where Orion is vulnerable to one-hit kills. As a result, Axel’s support is no longer essential in many cases, providing more opportunities to use Merlin’s offensive buffs.
Trends in team composition have also increased the effectiveness of quick attacks. Under these conditions, Merlin’s support has become a viable and strategic option.

Strategies to support Orion when using Merlin

Despite his improved synergy with Merlin, Orion remains fragile and vulnerable to certain heroes such as Dante and K’arkh. Here are some countermeasures:

Use Dodge buffs on heroes like Dante or Aurora. While not foolproof, this strategy can be effective in defensive setups where winning by chance is viable.
Block critical hits with Amira. This counters compositions that are boosted by Sebastian‘s critical hit buffs. Since Amira’s skills are not always active, this is best used as part of a broader strategy.
Patronize Khorus with neighboring Intelligence Heroes like Aidan. This gives Orion access to Khorus’ barrier effect, which is limited on its own, but complements other defensive measures.
Place Orion in the fifth position to avoid being targeted by Dante, who focuses on the front four.
Avoid placing Orion in the fifth position against Jhu, who targets backline heroes. Adjust team composition to prevent Orion from becoming a primary target.

Cases where Merlin may not be optimal

While the above countermeasures improve Orion’s survivability, Merlin is not always the best choice. In some scenarios.
Axel’s patronage combined with Dorian‘s blood steal buff will provide more robust protection.
However, these situations have become rare. Outside of Merlin and Axel, there are few patron options, and in most cases, Merlin is now considered the optimal solution.