Ao Kuang, how "bad" is he really?

Forum » Theory Crafting » Ao Kuang, how "bad" is he really? 9 posts - page 1 of 1

Now, I've heard left and right that Ao is the "worst character in the game" on par with some Loki claims flying around. Now there's been this and that, so many changes to the characters and the items and the maps and all that everything's just kind of shaky no matter when you look at it, but..it begs the question. Why is this God considered bad? I mean, he has a pretty decent kit - a wide skillshot that does splash damage and slows all that it hits, a speed-buff which gives...well, pretty good movement on bonus for how many enemies are around him (max if there's 1 ally nearby), a typical circle DoT, which ~hangs on after leaving the targeted area~ for additional DoT damage, and an ult that is probably the #1 hardest hitting with the widest path and longest reach in the game, though an ungodly (lulz) start-up time.

Now, compared to some other...well, direct attackers, this might seem a bit...off. Though, in notion that only seems to contribute to the fact that....well, everyone sees Ao Kuang as a mage, especially considering his passive which is 5% of his maximum mana being turned into magic power. It all seems well and good, but...really. Let's change the perspective on this.

Now, for those that play League, everyone knows of the ****ty Season 2 "tanky meta" that dominated every game. You don't see that in Smite, but..well, if you think about it...Ao..

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Let's play a Numbers game here. At level 1...
Ao Kuang: 0 physical, 15.5 magic, 16 armor, 30 magic resist, 370 movement, 0.88 AS. 433 HP/310MP

The targeted full build includes , , , Warlock's Sash, , and - accompanied with two of these three skills: Sprint, , and .

To start off, we'll talk about the issue of movement speed without boots. Of course, with absolutely nothing Ao had 370, but with Sprint and/or , that kicks him up to 407 movement and 444 with both, 520.6 and 531 when activated. Combined with the rank 5 Slither, that makes Sprint a minimum/maximum of 579.1/645.7 and with Heavenly Agility a min/max of 588.4/655. 532.9/599.5 with both abilities; 597.6/664.2 with Sprint active and not Heavenly Agility - 606.9/673.5 with Heavenly Agility active and not Sprint - 671.6/738.2 with both of them activated at the same time.
Seems sufficient enough for me, no?

Now for the item build. Usually, I start off with my movement ability and either a or after scouting the lane before minions spawn and retuning to choose which is more appropriate, along with spending the rest on potions as needed to stay in lane.
As the game progresses, I go about getting the rest of the items and whatnot, if I'm playing the tank role, getting the last, earlier if I need to be the damage.

Now, when you reach a full build and max out the Warlock's Sash stacks, it adds up to a total of
Ao Kuang: 0 Physical, 582.5 Magic, 208 Armor, 90 Magic Resist, 407/444 Movement (508/532.9 base, 581/599.5 max with Slither), 1.03 AS. 2435 HP/2525 MP

Now, we take a look at the extra stats tacked on at the end.
gives an additional 20 Armor and M.Resist.
adds an additional 50 magic power.
grants +50 Armor and M.Resist.
And then there's the rest of all that jazz that the potions give.

Add in the damage and armor jungle buffs, the , , and , along with the , that brings the totals up to:
Ao Kuang: 0 Physical, 831.8 Magic, 313 Armor, 195 Magic Resist.

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Now, what does all of this mean? Statistically, Ao Kuang is broken by mechanics. Realistically, it means absolutely nothing. SMITE is much too variable compared to other games, just by the fact that EVERYTHING is a skill shot, making things rather difficult to analyze.

Now, most people just overlook the Eastern Dragon. Me? I find him incredibly fun to play and my strongest character, just as I find Twitch to be the same in League, if not a different role, so chances are I'm not going to just give up on him either way. Others? Well, this is something to make people think.

Thoughts?

Posts: 8

I think is fine. He's the hardest hitting magic god in the game and because of that he doesn't really need the support that the "top tier" magic gods like and have.

A lot of what you mentioned just seems to prove that. The only thing that you're lacking in your build are other magical penetration items. Voidstone is good for squishies, but he would be countered hard early/mid game if he was faced against anyone with decent magical protection. However, by late game he seems to be able to amass so much magical power that it doesn't even matter.

Also, has two slows and good Kuang players will be able to kite you almost indefinitely or at least until help has arrived.

I think most people give him a bad reputation because he is difficult to play since he lacks the hard stuns that other gods have and smart players will focus him so he doesn't snowball.

Memorable (10)
Posts: 154

wrote:

I think most people give him a bad reputation because he is difficult to play since he lacks the hard stuns that other gods have and smart players will focus him so he doesn't snowball.

Not only that but his "escape" really isn't, and is pretty much the only god with an escape that does not. I'm not saying that Slither isn't good or useful, it definitely is, just don't expect to get away easily with it without a head start. If Ao hits you with his damage combo, then slithers and jukes until his cooldowns are refreshed he's much more dangerous.

Ao and Loki are two of the squishiest gods in the game and no hard cc aside from their ults so of course people are going to have a hard time playing them and deem them weak as a result.

Notable (4)
Posts: 121

And just that quickly this entire post is invalidated from the full-system change this patch. :|

But at least boots are obsolete for anyone not buying the physical damage ones. >_>

Posts: 8

Quoted:

And just that quickly this entire post is invalidated from the full-system change this patch. :|

But at least boots are obsolete for anyone not buying the physical damage ones. >_>

Ahah. Completely true.

I wonder how he fairs now? I haven't really looked into it or seen him in games.

Memorable (10)
Posts: 154

Considering the new Focus stat, he's not as affected as others, unless you were somehow really dependent on the slow from his Squall.

Posts: 8

Quoted:

And just that quickly this entire post is invalidated from the full-system change this patch. :|

But at least boots are obsolete for anyone not buying the physical damage ones. >_>

Allow me to noob it up here - so are you saying that buying speed > boots of the magi? I have always felt that the additional speed + stats early game was worth it, but please correct me so that I may see the meta-light.

Notable (4)
Posts: 121

wrote:

Buying boots and buying speed as a stat are two different things.
Boots give you a speed-upgrade that is calculated in percent (% <-), while buying the stat increases your base speed, wich thereby gets also augmented by the boots.

Ao Kuang has a base movement speed of 370, Boots of the Magi (1/2/3) increase this value by 10/15/21%, making it 407/426/448 for 700/1345/1925 gold.

For 700 gold you get 37 movementspeed
For 1345 gold you get 56 movementspeed
For 1925 gold you get 78 movementspeed

For 700g you could buy 3 movementspeed upgrades, upgrading it by 30 (with 40 gold left over).

For 700g you could have bought Boots of the Magi 1, wich gives you 37 Movementspeed, 20 mana and 20 magical power.

I'd say base movementspeed way more expensive earlygame since you don't get much out of it for its price. Always buy it later, when you already upgraded your boots.

Ziggs [14:65]: try to hold ez at tower, ill ult
Tristana [14:59]: he'll blink away
Ziggs [15:03]: no he wont
Tristana [15:06]: u sure?
[All] Ziggs [15:10]: HEY ERZEAL
[All] Ezreal [15:14]: whaeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
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Notable (4)
Posts: 107

Thank you Husonaut. That is how I looked at it tactically. That is why I don't understand why Delrin and SmellyHarry feel that boots are obsolete, unless I'm pitifully missing some sarcasm.

I am legitimately curious about this and would appreciate any further insight.

Notable (4)
Posts: 121

Ao Kuang, how "bad" is he really?

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