Ao Kuang Balanced

The whole point of this build is for having to solo lanes, taking towers and stalling the enemy. Ao Kuang is a fun god with great aoe spells.

Feel free to critique this build as I will keep it updated. If you do not like my purchase order or skill sequence hopefully you can use some of the skill strategies!

Edit 9/3/2012: I modified the item list with a better progression. the last 2 games played I have played with it my k/d was 11/0 and 18/3 while reaching lvl 20 approximately 4 lvls before the average lvl player!

The purchase order is pretty self explanatory.

1st and 2nd
The first one is my preferred purchase order. The Boots of the Magi and the warlock's sash are a must! Seeing Ao Kuang can one hit the entire wave of creep with one tornado, warlock sash gets 60 stacks fast.

3rd (possible 4th)
Gem of Isolation is typically the third item I get because it starts happening around the time when ganks are in full swing and the slow can save you from death and help your allies catch up to finish a kill.

4th (possible 3rd)
Rod of Tahuti I get for more damage as my fourth item. It is interchangeable basically with the third item as I have typically found out that at low lvls squall can be enough of a cc for ganks. If you look at the leader board and you see that you are on par or ahead in the item department you can feel free to safely get this for increased damage to hopefully put you even farther ahead in gold.

5th
Breastplate of Valor is a great choice because of ao kuang]'s passive ability which converts 5% of mana to magical power! So basically you get 75 physical protection/28 magical power/550 mana/20% reduced cd! This will allow you to continuously cast combinations of [[tornadoes, squall, and slither basically as long as you have the mana.

Optional 5th Possible 6th
Pythagorem's Piece is my fifth item only if you have at least two other magical damaging god's on your team. The life steal is also helpful because of how much creep you will be killing it is basically free life regen that can keep you in the battle.

Also Obsidian Shard works well if you have multiple character's stacking magic resistance against you. It does not happen to often that characters besides the tank's will start stacking magic resistance but if they do Obsidian Shard is basically a must if you want to do anywhere close to your true damage potential. Again I would only advise getting it if you have multiple people stacking magical resistance against you otherwise there are way better options!

Magi's Blessing is another great item to get. If you are facing against people that do a lot of magical damage it works wonders with the magical protection! It is great Health and Mana but with Ao Kuang's passive it even gives more magical power. As an added bonus you absorb one ability per minute which means opposing players have to waste mana to just make you susceptible for their ult.

Very Optional Replacement
Some people will choose to Doom Orb but it has a bad downside where when you die the stacks reset. I would only advise this if you are playing extremely safe as late game typically you will not get as much creep kills as you will in the early game.

Intro
Tornadoes should be the first skill leveled to max while putting 1 point into squall/slither/spirit's tempest. The next thing to level up is squall, then tempest rush and finally slither.

Tornadoes
Tornadoes is your main damage dealing move. It is best put on the melee of creep as they are running forward and have it timed so the archers sit in the main nado. If you can catch an enemy god near his creep it is also a great way to get damage in because he is damaged even after leaving the aoe zone.

When pushing a tower, tornado should be placed mirrored to your archers so it hits both the melee creep and kills the archers fast for the most effective push.

Squall
Squall is best used in a combo to finish off a kill or to help push creep faster. Sometimes you may hit an awkward moment when one tornado doesn't kill all the creep running through it because the creep got stronger but with enough mana one squall should be enough to AoE the archers while you place the tornadoes over the melee creep.

Slither
Slither is your escape/chase move. You get a base % speed increase and an increased % for each enemy near you (up to 6). An enemy god will give you the maximum benefit. This means if you are chasing someone down try to cast slither near their creep and you will gain ground faster.

Typically what you can do is if you are running away and being chased you could cast tornadoes directly in front of you if you have the Gem of Isolation which they will be slowed if they run through it and be forced to try to run around to get the kill. Then you can cast slither so not only are they slowed or have to go around the tornadoes (especially slowing them) allowing you to make a clean getaway.

Spirit's Tempest (WARNING: CAN AND WILL THROW ENEMIES OUT OF THE WAY OF ALLIED DAMAGE)
Finally Spirit's Tempest is Ao Kuang's ult. It has a big delay between cast and damage. It is best used when the enemy is distracted, running away straight, and to save a teammate being chased by multiple people.

Most people realize the damage potential when you manage to hit the opponent but the only problem is it can be difficult if the enemy is paying attention. My last point of saving a teammate is what most people overlook.

Unlike most peoples ultimate Ao Kuang's sends enemies FLYING! When your teammate is being chased by 2+ enemies it is ok to cast your ult from far away directly at your teammate. This will do one of two things. Either the enemy will see you cast the ultimate and leave the impact line as to not receive possibly fatal damage, or they will try to finish the kill and if they are unsuccessful they will be sent flying.

Both ways should allow a teammate enough time to escape and that could be the difference in being able to defend a strong push while other allies are down. The cooldown is only 90s which can go by fairly quickly (only 72 if you went with breastplate of valor).

Pro's: Demolishes creep and a great defender/pusher.

Con's: 1v1 typically outmatched if enemies get within range due to no good single target damage and lack of cc. Utilize slither and stay out of range!

Creep
Tornadoes Tornadoes Tornadoes. (More details under Skills: Tornadoes/Squall)

Jungling
You will not be very good at jungling until tornadoes is about lvl 4 which then you will be mediocre at best. If you do not have a jungler utilizing buffs on your team then by all means get mana regen!

Pretty easy when your tornadoes is lvl 4 and squall is lvl 2. you will take a few hits but it is best to cast tornado right in the middle and force the monsters to stay in the tornadoes for the most damage. One squall should hit with enough aoe to at least kill the lesser monsters and the buff should only be a few basic attacks away.

Ganks
This is the major reason to get the Gem of Isolation. If you can catch anyone by surprise it will most definitely be a kill!

You want to use your tornadoes to force the enemy to not go in a straight line while hitting them with squall/basic attack. This will allow a teammate without a movement ability a chance to get another shot in. With your slither it should be no problem catching someone for one last squall.

Team Battles
For big team battles you typically want to force opponents into choke positions for your teammates. Typically if you cast tornadoes against a wall during an engagement it is noticeable enough to make the other team try to avoid taking the extra damage. This will draw all opponents to one side semi-grouped where most mage's ult's will be the most effective! ( He Bo, Agni, Ra, and Anubis come to mind)