Ao Kuang Returns to the Solo Lane!

Hello and welcome fellow demigods to my (what is this, third? Fourth? Been a while...) latest guide! My name is MaddJack, and I'm a fairly new addition to the Smitefire community (though I've been involved in Smite since beta). If you have any concerns about my validity or skill as a Smite player, I'll be the first to admit I'm no pro. Nevertheless, I'll leave a solo Ao Kuang video from my YouTube channel so you can judge for yourself here.

I've also gathered some additional stats from previous games in order to further support my theory here:

Without further ado, let's begin talking about how Ao Kuang shall return to all of his former glory in the solo lane, with the addition of a few new tricks!

Though in his previous incarnation Ao Kuang dominated the solo lane with mighty storms and killer dragons, his newest life grants him the role of a melee magical mage (the triple M), much like Freya, though with a shorter range. He's got more burst under his belt than most assassins (and mages for that matter), and some pretty intense mobility.

Pros

EXTREMELY high burst
Very high mobility
Great poking mechanic
One of the best recolor skins in the game (in my opinion)

Squishiest squishy that ever did squish
Very weak clear early game
Exceptionally mana hungry
Initiation doubles as escape
No tornadoes D:

Looking at his skills, it becomes pretty clear right off the bat that this guy is designed for the jungle, what with all of his burst. However, with some slight tweaks in utilization and item build, he becomes a force to be reckoned with in the solo lane as well.

King's Sword
Ao Kuang's passive grants him extra magical power that is constant, recharges over time, and can mean the difference between a kill and Serqet escaping with 5% health. It's also important to note that in times of mana trouble, his charges may be used to cast abilities. This comes in handy if you wasted your mana on a failed gank and are now being chased by angry mid and solo laners.

Water Illusion
This ability doubles as an initiation/escape tool and a damaging ability. The clone Ao Kuang leaves behind can be detonated by hitting 1 again before it's vanished on its own to deal the same amount of base damage as your Wild Storm, but plus 70% of your magical power as opposed to storm's 50%. Now, I'm NOT saying clear with this ability by ANY means. Never clear with your escape if you can avoid it (exceptions can be made for Agni, who has more cc than anyone can handle). But if you're being chased by a low health enemy, this ability could change a life threatening chase into a secured kill, while getting away safely.

Dragon Call
This is Ao Kuang's main damaging ability when it comes to gods, but keep in mind that it is NOT the first one I rank up for good reason. The damage from this ability is astronomical by itself, and can easily assist in securing early kills. However, it's clear potential is **** unless paired with Wild Storm. I max that ability first because of the short cooldown, the clear and poke potential, the ability to use on-hit item effects, and its insanely good scaling. While Dragon Call is ideal for dealing damage and slowing enemies (via it's secondary ranged effect), it just isn't as versatile as Wild Storm.

Wild Storm
The epitome of poke and the rock bottom of clear potential (early game) rounds itself out in Ao Kuang's third ability. This is a He Bo-ish ability in its area and burst, but also applies on-hit item effects like Mercury's Made You Look, putting it at the top of my maxing list for its overall versatility. Keep in mind that this ability will utilize the steroid from Dragon Call, making the Dargon King's poke all the more effective.

King of the Eastern Seas
Ahhhh the ultimate. I just love it. Ao Kuang's ultimate combines the melee range of Serqet's ultimate with the knockup of Khumbakarna's ultimate, the landing damage of Thor's, and the execute range of Thanatos's, without the messy tower diving business. A lot of his mobility comes from this ability because if he successfully executes an enemy, he will become a badass dragon, fly into the sky, and land at the area of his choice, dealing damage as he lands. And the range of his landing is not at all too shabby! You can travel from solo lane to mid lane in the blink of an eye.

Here's what an ideal assassination with Ao Kuang's kit would entail:
Activating Dragon Call before popping Water Illusion (so as not to set off your stealth prematurely), then opening the assault with a barrage of Wild Storm and Dragon Call-infused basic attacks, finishing off with King of the Eastern Seas if they haven't already succumbed to the might of the Dargon Lord. To simplify:
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Ao Kuang's build focuses on fixing his issues with sustain and mana, utilizing the two absolutely essential core items: Book of Thoth and Bancroft's Talon.

Book of Thoth --> This is the core-iest of your core items, eventually satisfying your mana hunger while providing another 140-200-ish magical power at max stacks. His clear improves 100% and his mana is no longer an issue, which is why I recommend rushing this item first.

Bancroft's Talon --> This is the central source of Ao Kuang's sustain, providing him with a cool extra 100 magical power, 12% lifesteal, and a passive that heals him even more as his health drops. And with the short cooldown on Wild Storm, this item allows you to stay long enough to burst your enemies down and survive all at the same time.

Shoes of the Magi --> I know, I know, "Not getting boots till third item!? Are you crazy!?!?" Well yes. Yes I am. But that's not why I chose this order. I chose it for the same reason I chose to max his 3 before his 2, because the others are just far more important than his movement speed. He needs the mana and sustain if he wants to survive long enough to actually farm enough gold for his boots. Back to boots... I choose the penetration boots over CD because as a burst mage, the pen is more important to him than the ability spamming. Plus, since his 3 is so quick to come up, there's really no need.

Demonic Grip --> Once Ao Kuang has his mana and sustain, attack speed is the best way to go. In addition to a nice 25% attack speed boost, 60 magical power and some passive penetration are also his, courtesy of Demonic Grip.

Obsidian Shard --> With the extra magical power and 33% penetration, this is the best item for any burst mage heading into late game, and the Dargon Master is no exception.

Rod of Tahuti --> This can be switched (order-wise) with Obsidian Shard if you have the money and don't desperately need the pen, so as to get more damage from the highest magical power item in the game.


Substitutions

Doom Orb is a fair substitute for Book of Thoth if you're looking for cheap power fast and think you can survive long enough to get it and keep it, but I'd recommend against it due to his need for mana and overall the Book is just the better option. However, if you're more up for a quick fix and no mana, this is the item for you.

Gem of Isolation makes chasing down enemies a breeze, jumping abilities or not, because as long as you got some ability damage on them, your dragon speed will close the gap before they can say "Gank!"

Void Stone is traditionally the best item for dealing magical damage and penetration while defending against other magical types as well.

Telkhines Ring ranks a little below Void Stone as far as magical protection goes, but it makes up for it with 10% attack speed, magical power, and a passive that adds 40 magical damage to all of your basic attacks, which really synergizes well with his Wild Storm. However, either Demonic Grip or Void Stone are still overall better options.

Hastened Fatalis is simply beautiful on Ao Kuang, and if I had a seventh item slot it would be my first pick, might even push Rod and Shard back a bit so I could get it fifth. However, when choosing between Fatalis and Rod or Shard, generally one of the latter two are going to be the better bet. But if you find that damage isn't really your issue, but keeping up with targets is, then this combined with Gem of Isolation will get the job done in seconds flat.

Actives

Actives can be a real nightmare since you can't sell them once you've left your fountain, but worry not! There is hope, in the form of helpful tips when selecting active items...

Combat Blink I know what you're thinking: "But he's such a mobile god! His escape literally is a blink!" Well, that's true, and a damaging ability as well. But with the vanishing mechanic on it, it's more suited for a initiation in most cases, therefore, Kuang still needs a way out. Hence, the Combat Blink. Greater Sprint also works fairly well for the same purpose of course.

Shielded Teleport is almost required on any solo laning gods, because you need to make sure you're in lane as often and as long as possible. Your trips back to base should be carefully planned on whether your teleport is up or if you can get back in time to defend.

Fist of the Gods is some extra CC that Ao Kuang so desperately needs. It's great to make sure your enemies take the full damage from Wild Storm and Dragon Call without weaseling their way out of it.

Aegis Pendant is my preferred choice of Aegis items because Ao Kuang is all about mobility, so an active that keeps him rooted to the spot? Meh. Maybe not. However, if facing CC like Ares's ult and you don't feel like buying beads, the rooting Aegis may just be your cup of tea.

Greater Sprint is NOT a noob item. It is extremely useful for escape (in place of or in combination with Combat Blink), as well as getting to objectives faster and chasing down enemies. For a few seconds, you have a free Hastened Fatalis every 60 seconds. How great is that!



Consumables in Order of Importance

Wards are first are foremost, the most important. Pick them up whenever you can AFTER first back. You gon need your pots first, but THEN you're gonna need major vision to stay ahead in solo lane, as with Ao Kuang or ANY god.

Mana Potion is extremely potent early game, but after you finish your Book of Thoth, take a backseat to Healing Potions and Sentry Wards.

Healing Potion is also extremely helpful in early game, but remains fairly substantial throughout the game due to Ao Kuang's naturally low health.

Sentry Wards are least important because you just need one for Fire Giant and one for Gold Fury every few minutes as it gets closer to late game. Generally the support takes care of them, but if he's underfarmed or just not following the meta, it's up to everyone else.

Potion of Magical Might is really only for games that go longer than 40 minutes, when it just gets to the point where you've bought all of your items, actives, and consumables while still having an excess amount of gold. Pop one of these suckers and you've an extra pick-me-up for a few minutes. Now maybe you can finally END that godforsaken game...

EARLY GAME/LANING PHASE

Early game, your first concern is staying alive. You just need to get enough gold to finish off your Book of Thoth and start mana farming. However, Ao Kuang, like Loki, is a bursty BURSTY solo laner, so with the help of your jungler you could easily pull of a few early kills. As long as you're careful and not dumb about it. Make sure your jungler is the one initiating, because without their support you are done for.

The actual clearing itself can be done in a few easy steps:
1. Pop your Dragon Call.
2. Wild Storm the melee minions.
3. Beat them to death.
4. Either beat or Wild Storm the ranged minions.

Of course, all of these will have to be done quickly and carefully, without letting the enemy laner poke you too fatally, and while hopefully doing just that to them with your 2-3 combo. Once your Book of Thoth is all farmed up, you can start building Bancroft's Talon and prepare to enter mid game.

MID GAME

By this point in the game, you'll hopefully have completed your Book, Bancroft's and Boots (The Three B's). Live by The Three B's. They are your life. But now it's time to start ganking some other lanes, once you have yours under control of course.

Now, you don't wanna be flying over to duo lane with no chance of getting back to your lane in time, so mid lane will be your prime target.

First, you must must MUST make sure you have your lane under control. You could become seriously behind if you get a kill but miss a wave, then let your tower take damage.

Next, refer to the ideal assassination in the skills section.

Now, alert the mid laner to your gank, prepare you kit and your mind, and let him have a face full of dragon rage. If all goes well, you'll have helped secured two lanes for the price of one!

LATE GAME

Late game can be a bit tricky for Ao Kuang, in the same way that it can be for Loki. He is an excellent split pusher with delightful mobility, but he isn't all that great in teamfights.

In late game, Ao Kuang exists to pick off the stragglers. That one enemy going for a blue buff while there's a teamfight in mid lane? Ao Kuang blinks in and melts his face. Neith tries soloing the Gold Fury? Ahahaha not today.

Although the Dargon Conqueror isn't much good in teamfights, that doesn't mean he's useless late game. It's just a matter of finding his strengths. Of course, always be aware of the mini map and chat, because if your team needs you, you need to drop what you're doing and rocket over to assist.

As far as your items go, you should be working on completing both of your actives whenever you don't have enough gold to work on your Demonic Grip, Obsidian Shard, and Rod of Tahuti.

Some Important Key Points:

Loki

Loki

Ao Kuang

And there you have it! Hopefully we can make Ao Kuang viable in the solo lane once more, just as he was in his glorious days of old...

Thank you for sticking around for this guide, I really appreciate any helpful criticism and suggestions, and will try to update this guide as often as I can with the newest tricks and tips for Kuang's solo lane adventures.

I you liked this guide and thought the videos from my channel were helpful, I'd also love it if you subscribed, shared, liked, etc. You is rock star!

Thank you all for sticking with me to the bitter end!