Commentators Shannon "SUNSfan" Scotten and Troels "syndereN" Nielsen assembled a tier list ranking the arcanas in Dota 2. Their ordering put the arcanas for Queen of Pain and Drow Ranger among the leaders, while the Fiery Soul of the Slayer set for Lina was judged the weakest entry in their list.
The pair said the primary criterion for placement was the overall "coolness" of each arcana. They observed that recent arcanas have grown more elaborate and visually striking, which makes many older sets look less impressive by comparison; nevertheless, some legacy arcanas still hold their own against newer releases.
The tier list emerged from a conversation between the casters, who compared individual sets and highlighted which designs and effects still feel fresh and which have aged poorly. Their take reflects subjective taste as much as technical assessment of animation, particle work and thematic cohesion.
Among the newest arcanas are the sets for Vengeful Spirit and Skywrath Mage, introduced in 2024 as part of the Crownfall event. Several items mentioned in the discussion are currently unavailable for direct purchase because they were distributed as level rewards in past battle passes. Recently, however, Valve has shown a tendency to relax strict exclusivity: they returned arcanas for Earthshaker and Windranger to the in-game availability pool.
At the start of 2026, developers made changes in the code for an exclusive Spectre item, a move many interpreted as an indication that the Phantom Advent arcana might soon be included in a treasure or otherwise reissued. Overall, the casters' rankings underline how changes in design standards and Valve's shifting approach to exclusivity continue to shape the community's view of which arcanas are the most desirable.