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Doom Orb
Shoes of the Magi
Polynomicon
Focused Void Stone
Gem of Isolation
Rod of Tahuti
Doom Orb
Purification Beads (Old)
Aegis Amulet (Old)
Healing Potion
Mana Potion
Shoes of the Magi
Polynomicon
Gem of Isolation
Book of Thoth
Rod of Tahuti
Breastplate of Valor
Ethereal Staff
Focused Void Stone
Winged Blade
Soul Reaver
Purification Beads (Old)
Aegis Amulet (Old)
Girdle of Inner Power
Potion of Magical Might
Elixir of Power
Doom Orb
Shoes of the Magi
Polynomicon
Gem of Isolation
Soul Reaver
Rod of Tahuti
Doom Orb
Shoes of the Magi
Polynomicon
Gem of Isolation
Focused Void Stone
Rod of Tahuti
Doom Orb
Shoes of the Magi
Polynomicon
Gem of Isolation
Breastplate of Valor
Rod of Tahuti
Y
B
A
X
Ao Kuang guide! I've been playing Smite since May 2012 upon release, initially with my brothers and friends in premade normal games, but now typically with friends I've met through Smite when I'm not solo queuing. Though this is my first guide here on Smitefire, I intend to make this guide as in-depth as those made by the more prominent writers on the site. Therefore in this guide, I will attempt to share my knowledge of more than 800 games with Ao Kuang. Ao Kuang has significant strengths but sadly weaknesses as well. It is a good idea to pick Ao Kuang if your team lacks any AoE damage god, is in need of a mid-lane god or if you have a heavy CC team in general. More specifically, Ao Kuang synergies well with CC team compositions but becomes an easy target against heavy CC compositions as well.|
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AO KUANG'S LOREAO KUANG'S QUOTESVIDEOS RELATED TO AO KUANG THAT ARE WORTH WATCHING
Graceful Winds |
Whenever people hear the name Ao Kuang, his passive should clearly be what first comes to mind. What it does is that it gives you an additional magical power equal to 5% of your total mana, which is why he is mostly built with mana items. In the late game with my builds you have around 2700 mana, which gives you around 135 additional magical power. |
Squall |
A very useful ability not just for you, but for your teammates as well as it'll help melee gods stick to their target a lot easier. Never use this on minions or for poking. It'll just eat up all your mana before you know it, and leaving you without any major results as well. Use this and Slither to keep your Polynomicon up and running in team fights when you have it.
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SQUALL
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Slither |
This ability is superb when you realize you're in the wrong spot of a team fight and need to get out of there, or to quickly catch up with an fleeing enemy. It's also a very strong ability if you use it together with Squall to keep Polynomicon up, as they both only have a 7 second base cooldown. This gives you slow immunity for 1 second upon activation as well.
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SLITHER
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Tornadoes |
The main ability of Ao Kuang. This brings forth huge tornado with a wide area of effect range that adds a massive damage over time effect on enemies within it. The damage over time effect also refreshes if an enemy remains, or steps back into it. This ability is used for out-zoning Assassins and Hunters from team fights, or to keep them from feeling out of one. |
TORNADOES
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Spirit's Tempest |
This is Ao Kuangs ultimate. It can be breath-taking if used properly, but its also very difficult to hit with; as well as making a very distinctive sound upon activation. Use it only if you know that it will hit; otherwise use it defensively, or else youll be drawing a lot of attention to you. It works really well with Ares  No Escape and Hades  Pillar of Agony for example.
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SPIRIT'S TEMPEST
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As you probably know gods can only have a maximum of two actives per game, and they cannot be sold once you've purchased them. Because of this, it is important for you to figure out what actives you're in need of the most before you get to mid game; this is very important as they will help you a ton when it comes to staying alive and to dodge enemy abilities.
For your first active I recommend that you go for something that protects you from crowd control and/or damage, so definitely grab a 
Purification Beads or 
Aegis Amulet.
FIRST ACTIVE: PURIFICATION BEADS VS. AEGIS AMULET Girdle of Inner Power, or buying yourself an escape for when it's needed such as 
Combat Blink. You could also pick both Aegis Amulet and Purification Beads for a stronger survival. Or 
Heavenly Agility for better mobility.
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SCARED SISSY BUILD! |
MAN MODE BUILD! |
BEAST MODE BUILD!
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>> Cost-efficient, and the passive is just beast. This item lets you reach 140 magical power just within a few minutes, and syncs very well with the early game play style of Ao Kuang.20/30/40 Magical Power, 100/150/200 Mana, 3/5/7 MP5, Tier bonus: For each minion that you kill you receive 1 stack, and 2 stacks for each god kill. Every stack gives you +2 magical power, with a max of 50 stacks. Upon death you lose half. |
Doom Orb vs. Book of Thoth vs. Vampiric Shroud
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>> Next up you should buy a pair of shoes so that you can more easily avoid everything that is dangerous, and with the penetration on these shoes you'll look like a boss while doing so!20/35/50 Magical Power, 20/135/250 Mana, 6/12/18% Movement Speed, Tier bonus: +15 Magical Penetration. |
Shoes of the Magi vs. Shoes of Focus
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>> This is the deadliest item for any mage, and syncs incredibly well with the 7 seconds cooldown on Ao Kuang's Squall and Slither, as well as his magical power scale.25/50/75 Magical Power, 4/7/10% Magical Lifesteal, 100/200/300 Mana, Tier bonus: After using an ability, your next basic attack deals +100% of your magical power as additional physical damage. This effect only works once every 4 seconds. |
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>> As your fourth item you'd definitely want some health in order to stay alive better. Gem of Isolation pays off better in short games while Warlock's Sash is better in long games.30/50/70 Magical Power, 50/150/250 Health, 50/150/250 Mana, Tier bonus: Enemies hit by your damaging abilities will move 25% slower for 2 seconds. |
Gem of Isolation vs. Warlock's Sash
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>> This is your last item that will make your abilities shatter the sky, and bring forth the most terrible fate of all to anyone who stands in your way. A must-have item for any mage.25/75/125 Magical Power, 5/10/15 MP5. Tier bonus: Increases your magical power by 25%. |
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>> Once you've finished up the Rod of Tahuti, sell your Doom Orb and replace it with this item for even more damage, along with 8 more MP5.30/65/100 Magical Power, 25/75/125 Mana, 5/10/15 MP5. Tier bonus: You gain 10 mana per stack, and receive 5 stacks for a god kill and 1 stack for a minion kill (max 75 stacks). Additionally, 3% of your mana is converted to magical power. |
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>> The finest physical protection item you can ever find, works like a charm if you're up against a heavy physical damage-team, and also provides some cooldown reduction along with it!15/35/75 Physical Protection, 150/300/550 Mana, Tier bonus: 25% Cooldown Reduction. |
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>> Definitely an option to bring to the table as it provides high amount of magical power, but its passive makes it shine even more. Even against carries, this is a viable as fifth item.30/65/100 Magical Power, 100/200/300 Mana. Tier bonus: When a god takes damage from your abilities, they take 15% of their maximum health in additional damage. If multiple gods are hit, the damage is applied to the one with the greatest maximum health. This can only occur once every 60 seconds. |
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>> Probably the best magical protection item out there right now, works perfectly as magical defense item, and it also provides magical penetration. Just perfect!10/30/40 Magical Power, 10/30/50 Magical Protection, Tier bonus: +25 Magical Penetration. |
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>> This does wonders if you're struggling with staying alive, and on top of that it gives you bonus magical power equal to 2% of your maximum health. Pretty nice, eh?200/400/600 Health, 100/200/300 Mana, 10/20/30 Magical Power, Tier bonus: Provides you with magical Power equal to 2% of your maximum life, which makes this an awesome combo-item together with other health items. |
Winged Wand |
>> A situational item which could be necessary if you're up against a team with a lot of slows, even though it only works once every 30 seconds, it might still be worth it.125/250/375 Health, 4/7/10% Cooldown Reduction, 4/7/10% Movement Speed, Tier bonus: Whenever you're hit by a slow, you become immune to slows, and moves 20% faster for 4 seconds. This effect only works once every 30 seconds. |
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>> This item should have its name changed to "Waste 800g here!". This item provides little to no benefits what so ever, and its passive gets outmatched with Healing Potion's.20 Magical Power, 100 Health, 5 MP5. Tier bonus: Killing an enemy restores 10 health and mana. |
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>> I don't like this item. It costs the same as Warlock's Sash and provides lower stats. It takes 10 minutes to complete as well, which is equal to ~120 minions in one lane.10/30/50 Magical Power, 100/200/300 Health, 100/250/400 Mana, Tier bonus: You gain 20 Health and 2 Magical Power per stack, and receive 1 stack per minute. (max 10 stacks) |
Maats Tome |
>> Same as with the  Warlock's Ring. It costs the same as Book of Thoth and brings lower stats. There's no reason to prioritize this over the other, not in any game mode.30/65/100 Magical Power, 25/75/125 Mana, 5/10/15 MP5, Tier bonus: You gain 50 mana per stack, and receive 1 stack per minute (max 10 stacks). Additionally, 2% of your mana is converted to magical power. |
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>> Provides too much MP5 that won't be needed and somewhat low magical power for its cost. If you want Cooldown Reduction, go for Breastplate of Valor instead.10/30/60 Magical Power, 5/15/25 MP5, Tier bonus: 25% Cooldown Reduction |
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>> Clearly not an item made for Ao Kuang as it requires you to be in close-up combat, which is not how he works. In other words, this will cause more trouble than it will solve.10/30/40 Magical Power, 10/30/50 Magical Protection, Tier bonus: Reduces the Magical Protection of enemies within 55 feet by 15. This is not to confuse with Focused Void Stone, which provides a much better tier bonus. |
Meditation |
>> This item is not necessary, as Ao Kuang is only mana hungry in the early game. Just play it passively and you should be fine, but don't leave your teammates hanging in team fights.Using this active will heal the owner's mana by 75% of their maximum mana, and gives them 15/30/45 MP5 for 15/30/60 seconds. Tier bonus: Heals the owner for 30% of their maximum health. Cooldown 120 seconds. |
The lane phase is the time where you can farm, and try to beat your opponent in lane.
Lane phase is the most vital to a successful mid and late game. If you have a bad lane phase, chances are you'll perform bad the rest of the game as well. This could occur by playing against a counter god, or maybe you just don't know the enemy god works. Here I will explain the three most important objectives that you want to achieve in the lane phase.
First of all we have Farming. This is the most important objective in the lane phase. To achieve this, you want to get as much gold and experience as possible. Kills are good to get, but farm is still more important! From my experience, Ao Kuang is one of the easiest gods to last hit with as he only relies on one ability to succeed, his Tornadoes. Remember, last hitting will give you an additional 50% gold for each minion that you kill, which is one extra minion every second last hit.
Your second most important objective is to zone your opponent from farming. The best way to do so is by striking fear into your enemy by harassing them with Tornadoes when they get within minion range, or by pushing very aggressively that surely will lead to them having to retreat, which in turn gives you a slight advantage in gold, experience and push. Ultimately, you want to destroy their tower, however, if they have a jungler or a roamer you must be very cautious! Remember, Ao Kuang does have a decent escape ability, but can easily be prevented by any slight crowd control! To avoid this, buying wards are your best option.
Lastly we have the third most important objective, which is to get fed through kills. You can get your jungler or roamer to help you if you have any, or if you see the opportunity, go for it! Try not to miss too much minion kills though, as last hitting minions are still far more important. Keep in mind, your best battle environment are in the jungle to increase the hit rate of your ultimate! Slow them with Squall, directly followed by Tornadoes and if they are running towards you, use your Spirit's Tempest. If they are running towards you, you have a slightly better chance of hitting them compared to if they are running away.
For the most part, laning is simple practices. Know your enemy, know their zoning, know your positioning and knowing when to push and when to fall back.
When you're level 1 your highest priority is to farm the best as you can, while playing defensively. Because of this it is very common to start out with a mana regeneration item at the start, since Ao Kuang quickly grows mana hungry from using his Tornadoes in the early game.
I do not recommend buying Meditation since although it would have solved the problem, it would also turn you into a easier target in the mid-to-late game because of the lack of escape and dodge. And Ao Kuang doesn't have high health percentage for it to be efficient in the late game either.
Do not use Squall if it's not necessary, as it'll make you run out of mana very early. It should never be used for killing minions; use your basic attacks instead!
When you have reached level 3 you want to be a little more cautious than before, as this is where the jungler usually starts to gank. No need to stand under your tower though, just keep in mind not to go further than where the minions usually meets up. At this point you should only use your basic attacks and 1 Tornadoes per minion wave; this is really important or else you will run out of mana before you know it.
At level 5 you should have enough gold to max Doom Orb and Shoes of the Magi; these two items will help you so much it's unreal!
Two good things to keep in mind is whenever your enemy has less than 70% health, you should be able to kill him with your Squall + Tornadoes + Spirit's Tempest combo; unless he's a tank. The other thing to keep in mind is that you will have an enormously higher chance of hitting your enemy with your ultimate Spirit's Tempest if you're fighting him in the jungle; so prioritize running into the jungle even when you are trying to escape.
From my own experience, Ao Kuang is not a great side lane god due to him being very squishy and he deals almost no damage at all in the early game. He will probably just end up getting himself and his partner zoned and out farmed for the entire laning phase, and although he could be viable with gods like 
Anubis or 
Anhur, there are definitely a lot better compositions than this.
In the mid game you should keep farming your lane to keep the pressure up on the enemy god all the time; this making him unable to gank other lanes. If he still goes for a gank, put a Tornadoes to hit all minions in your lane and go help the lane where he went to. If he doesn't stay in lane he will lose his precious farm and their tower will get severely damaged, or even destroyed. This strategy will make you able to damage their towers and force your opponent from being able to roam and fight, I call it "The way of Ao Kuang".
In the late game you should stick with your team unless you're split pushing. You haven't forgot about the way of Ao Kuang, have you?
When it comes to team fights, you should always stand behind your team. Use your Squall on the enemy gods that are the squishiest, turning them into easy targets for your teammates. Tornadoes can be used for two things. The first thing is the most common way which is to hit as many enemies as possible with it, while the second thing it could be used for though is out-zoning; basically keeping some enemies out of the fight while your team is taking out the others. Thus forcing them to either having to go through it and take fatal damage, or leave their teammates to die.
The most important rule when playing as Ao Kuang is to always let your teammates engage before you do, or you might end up being the cause of a lost team fight by either missing your abilities, or even worse, dying.
Another good tip would be to use your Spirit's Tempest against enemies when they have been struck by any crowd control, making them less likely to dodge it.
I know, I know. Ao Kuang is not a jungler. That is true, BUT that doesn't mean that you shouldn't keep track of times on the jungle camps. Remember, gold and buffs are essential in the mid-to-late game too, and should definitely be kept away from the enemy at all times. Top priority listed from left to right.
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Agni DIFFICULTY VERY HIGH
Path of Flame
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 Agni, The God of Fire is one of the strongest poke gods out there. He will simply be able to dodge all your Tornadoes with his escape ability Path of Flame. Not only this, he will also have a stronger push than you before you reach 5 and above, and at this time he will be able to poke you in a very unpleasant way with his ultimate  Rain Fire.
Tips and Tricks
Avoid standing behind your minions, and don't stand next to them at all once he's level 5 or more. This will only give him a straight advantage to poke you down. Remember to move unpredictably to make it harder for him to successfully hit you with any of his abilities, but mainly for his Rain Fire.
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Anhur DIFFICULTY VERY HIGH
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Anhur, The Slayer of Enemies is a incredibly strong god that wont be having any issues with you. His  Impale is a very strong push ability that hits everyone in a line, but also stuns gods for 1 second if they're pushed into a wall. He also has a very good escape ability called  Disperse and his ultimate that is the biggest threat to you can be very ugly along with his Impale +  Shifting Sands combo.
Tips and Tricks
Remember to move around unpredictably or hug your tower to make it harder for him to land his Impale, and don't stand close to a wall to avoid the stun effect. After your first recall, immediately buy Aegis Amulet and use it only against his ultimate  Desert Fury since that is his strongest ability and if he builds  Heartseeker and  Soul Eater, you are pretty much screwed.
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Anubis DIFFICULTY MODERATE
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Anubis, The God of the Dead is a very powerful burst god, with a decent push as well. Be very cautious and keep moving around unpredictably in order to dodge his  Mummify. When you've reached level 5, hug your tower and only leave it to put up your Tornadoes to kill the minions since he can burst you from full health to nothing within seconds.
Tips and Tricks
Always stand about 15 yards away from your minions to avoid his  Grasping Hands.His full combo relies on him hitting his Mummify as his first or second ability, if you dodge it he will most likely not attack you for another 15 seconds.Buy Aegis Amulet or Purification Beads to defend yourself from his combo if hit.
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Aphrodite DIFFICULTY VERY LOW
Loving Embrace
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 Aphrodite, The Goddess of Beauty are most commonly used as a support, but are still a viable mid laner because of her amazing ability  Love Birds which does a nice portion of damage, but also heals her. Worth to know is that she doesn't have to hit anything with it in order to get the heal and her  Kiss can be a very deadly stun if a jungler shows up so make sure to see if they have a jungler or roamer.
Tips and Tricks
Her ultimate makes herself and her soul mate (an allied hit by her Kiss) immune for a short amount of time so make sure not to use all your teams ultimates all at once.Do not hug her as her Kiss + Love Birds +  Back Off! combo can easily drag your health down to half.
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Apollo DIFFICULTY VERY HIGH
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 Apollo, The God of Music is an extremely powerful ranged ADC due to him having an escape ability  The Moves, that can also work as a strong initiate ability because of it's slow-upon-hit effect. His passive  Audacity is another thing that makes him a very good mid lane god, as it increases his attack speed by 100% (items does not increase this effect) and it has no timer which can be used to his advantage upon engaging.
Tips and Tricks
Do not try to poke this god, it will not be worth it as he can always use his The Moves to get out of your Tornadoes, and he probably have  Death's Toll to protect him from your poke aswell. It will simply not be worth it at all. Play carefully and stay away from his range at all times, also watch out for his The Moves.
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Arachne DIFFICULTY SKILL GAME
Poison Claws
Tangled Web
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 Arachne, The Weaver is a melee physical spider-god, one of very few who possess the ability to summon creatures to fight by their side. She specializes in CC, using her abilities such as Tangled Web and  Cocoon to get close to you. Although she isn't the best when it comes to pushing, her sustain is incredibly good thanks to her  Drain Life, that silences the affected target for the duration. This can however be interrupted.
Tips and Tricks
Be careful, her basic attacks adds 1 stack of Poison Claws to her victim, max 3 stacks. When she uses  Broodlings, basic attack it or use your Tornadoes when ever they engage your minions to kill them off, this is what causes the most damage from her.
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Artemis DIFFICULTY MODERATE
Transgressors Fate
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 Artemis, The Goddess of the Hunt is a ranged ADC with a strong poke, but also grows into a vicious basic attack god in the mid to late game. However, I wouldn't call it a hard counter due to her poke being very single minded and easy to avoid, and she doesn't perform very good at killing minions. Just keep the pressure up and she will have to focus her abilities on her minions instead of you.
Tips and Tricks
Do not hug your minions to avoid getting hit by her  Suppress The Insolent. If she still pokes you with it, your minions will make her pay for it in one way or another.Do not stand close to her when she is level 5 or above as her  Calydonian Boar + Transgressors Fate combo can be used to snare you while stunned by her ultimate.
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Bakasura DIFFICULTY MODERATE
Eat Minions
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 Bakasura, The Great Devourer is a melee physical god with a great tower dive potential with his ultimate  Regurgitate when maxed, and the sustain thanks to the heal from his Eat Minions. However, this guy relies on his early game domination, as he falls off late game if he's not fed, and Ao Kuang shouldn't have any problems facing him since he doesn't have anything to push the lane with.
Tips and Tricks
Stand within your towers range, and only leave it to place your Tornadoes in a way that you'll hit all of the minions. This will also force him from side jungling. When ever he tower dives you, run around your tower while you uses your Tornadoes + Spirit's Tempest in a way to force him from chasing you. |
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Chang'e DIFFICULTY TBA
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 Chang'e, The Faerie of the Moon COMING SOON!
Tips and Tricks
COMING SOON |
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Chronos DIFFICULTY TBA
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 Chronos, The Keeper of Time COMING SOON!
Tips and Tricks
COMING SOON |
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Freya DIFFICULTY MODERATE
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 Freya, The Queen of the Valkyries is well known for her amazingly high 1v1 potential and her ultimate  Valkyrie's Discretion, that let's her fly up in the air and become immune to anything while moving, it also has a high amount of damage. Despite this, she isn't really a strong counter in the middle lane as long as you know how she works.
Tips and Tricks
Never hug her, you're a squishy long range mage, remember? Keep pushing the lane to force her into running out of mana and the first time she goes back, you do too. When you're at the shop you want to buy Aegis Amulet before you buy your Shoes of the Magi to save you from her ultimate, and remember to upgrade it to the highest rank to keep it ready every time she uses it.
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Hades DIFFICULTY VERY LOW
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 Hades, The King of the Underworld is a strong god who has the potential of either becoming a strong tank or a fearsome mage depending on the way he builds. He's a unique god due to his escape or initiate ability  Death From Below that let's him quickly go into the fight and pop his ultimate Pillar of Agony that pulls the targets within it towards him.
Tips and Tricks
Keep a distance of about 15 yards from your minions to avoid getting hit by his Death From Below +  Devour Souls combo.Buy Aegis Amulet or Purification Beads or situationally Heavenly Agility to defend yourself from his ultimate Pillar of Agony.
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He Bo DIFFICULTY VERY HIGH
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 He Bo, The God of the Yellow River is a short, area of effect burst god. He's a very strong counter for you, as he can poke you from afar with his  Waterspout; as well as being able to tower dive you with his ultimate  Crushing Wave. It's also very hard to use Aegis Amulet against his ultimate; and even harder when he's face to face with you. Against him you can't do much other than tower hugging and back whenever you're low on health.
Tips and Tricks
Keep a distance from your minions and push the lane with your Tornadoes to force him into spending the majority of his mana on your minions instead of you. Buy yourself an Aegis Amulet and try to defend yourself with it against his ultimate Crushing Wave, or else he will drown you in one combo. You can also ask your jungler to help you if he's standing very close to your tower, making him an easy kill if ganked.
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Hel DIFFICULTY TBA
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 Hel, The Goddess of the Underworld COMING SOON!
Tips and Tricks
COMING SOON |
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Isis DIFFICULTY MODERATE
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 Eset, The Goddess of Magic is a unique ranged mage/support god. What defines her as a support is mainly her  Circle Of Protection that reduces all incoming damage to allies in it with 30%. When triggered it explodes, healing allies and damaging enemies within it based out of the mitigated damage. She's also a decent pusher with her  Wing Gust that shoots out four gusts in a line in front of her, as well as granting her movement speed. Be aware from getting hit by her  Dispel Magic,  Spirit Ball and Wing Gust combo.
Tips and Tricks
Keep a linear distance from your minions and when she uses her Wing Gust, put your Tornadoes in a way to prevent her from hitting both the melee and ranged minions.Her Spirit Ball only travels in a linear direction, so to dodge it, simply turn around and run backwards while running to the most opened area next to you.
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Neith DIFFICULTY SKILL GAME
Backflip
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 Neith, The Weaver of Fate is a unique ranged physical god. What makes her unique from other ranged physical gods are her high crowd control potential with both  Spirit Arrow, which also works as a strong push ability, and her ultimate  World Weaver, and her  Broken Weave gives her a decent map awareness too. She's also great at survival with her Backflip, which also leaves a Broken Weave behind at the location you used it.
Tips and Tricks
When fighting Neith in middle lane, your top priority will always be the minions to force her into running out of mana. Poke doesn't affect her at all because of her  Unravel.I'd even bother telling my jungler to visit middle lane, as this girl has so much benefits from it with her Spirit Arrow, Unravel and Backflip.
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Poseidon DIFFICULTY VERY HIGH
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 Poseidon, The God of the Oceans is a very powerful mage god that specializes in pushing lanes with his  Tidal Surge, as well as being able to control the enemies during team fights with his abilities  Whirlpool and last but not least,  Release The Kraken!. He also have potential of hunting enemies down with  Trident because of the movement speed it gives.
Tips and Tricks
If you have a jungler, use this to your advantage by standing close to him when he kills the jungle camps. Just don't forget to put your Tornadoes up in the lane while doing this, so that you won't lose the experience from the real minions. Buy Aegis Amulet and try to defend yourself from his ultimate Release The Kraken! with it, and don't forget to stay away from his Whirlpool as it will drag your health down rather quick.
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Ra DIFFICULTY MODERATE
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 Ra, The Sun God is one superb mage god who performs very similar to Ao Kuang when it comes to game play. His push could be stronger if you haven't learned how to properly use your Tornadoes yet, making this a very good game for you to practice it in. Be wary for his ultimate  Searing Pain however, as it has pretty much the same range as your ultimate, and could easily finish you off while you're recalling in tower range.
Tips and Tricks
Trade is not ideal while playing against Ra due to him having a big advantage over you with his  Solar Blessing which heals him, and with his  Speed of Light he can easily get out of your Tornadoes in time. Only engage whenever your jungler comes into lane.
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Vulcan DIFFICULTY SKILL GAME
Forge
Thumper XVIVolcanic Overdrive |
 Vulcan, The Smith of the Gods is a strong mage, tank god, who relies on his stationary turrets in order to do damage, which could turn out to be either really good or really bad depending on the enemies positioning. Despite that, he's also very good at clearing jungle camps while staying in lane as his turrets benefits a percentage from his own protection and health, and also regenerates 3% health every second while Vulcan is near.
Tips and Tricks
Every minion wave, use your Tornadoes in a way that you'll be able to hit both his turrets and the minions to reduce his efficiency. Do not hug him while his ultimate Volcanic OverDrive is active as this makes his turrets become extremely dangerous. Just use your Slither and run! |
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Xbalanque DIFFICULTY VERY LOW
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 Xbalanque, The Hidden Jaguar Sun is a ranged physical god, who's extremely good when it comes to poking enemies at ease thanks to his  Poison Darts +  Rising Jaguar combo, and his ultimate  Darkest of Nights has a strong team fight potential as it shortens the field of view by every enemy god, despite where they are. He is however not the best when it comes to pushing lanes, leaving Ao Kuang the upper hand in middle lane.
Tips and Tricks
Keep a distance from this god, as he pretty much relies on poking you in order to win the lane as he simply can't beat your Tornadoes. If he ever gives you a chance to hit both the minions and him with your Tornadoes, and he doesn't have Death's Toll, then go for it!
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Zeus DIFFICULTY VERY LOW
Aegis Shield
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 Zeus, The God of the Sky is a basic attack, burst mage god, who specializes in stacking his  Overcharge up by either using his basic attacks, or abilities. Every time he hits with one ability or basic attack, the enemies hit by it gets 1 stack, up to a maximum of 3 stacks. When an enemy has one or more stacks, he's able to use  Detonate Charge to explode those enemies, dealing +100% damage for every stack the opponents has.
Tips and Tricks
Avoid getting hit by his basic attacks, as it grows in damage for every stack his enemy has, dealing 30% more damage per stack. He'll most likely also use his Detonate Charge once you've managed to run away from his basic attacks, instantly dealing a very high amount of damage and it'll also stun you for 1 second if you had 3 stacks. Keep in mind that some players are very intense, so buying Aegis Amulet might save you a few times from this.
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Zhong Kui DIFFICULTY MODERATE
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 Zhong Kui, The Demon Queller is a ranged mage god, who has a strong tank and support potential when it comes to mid-to-late game team fights thanks to his passive  Demon Bag and his ultimate  Recall Demons. Other than that, he is kind of weak in the early game and cannot push very well early on either, which makes him an easy target to shut down if you push properly. Just be wary of their jungler, as this is where he shines the most.
Tips and Tricks
Pushing the lane is your main priority here, as poking is not an option due to him having a lot of protection and able to heal himself with  Exorcism.Be wary once he reaches level 5, as their jungler then will be able to dive you in tower range thanks to his ultimate Recall Demons healing his allies.
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Although some of these are common sense for some, I'm still going through it for the ones who doesn't know about it. If you already know how Ao Kuang works, this section isn't for you, but maybe you know something that I don't that should be added here? If so, leave a comment about it! I've also added a video that goes through most of the tips for those of you who likes that more than reading, you'll find the video at the bottom of this section.
1. If you're being pursued, run into the jungle (preferably a straight line path), then turn around and use your ultimate Spirit's Tempest as this will most likely ensure a hit, followed by a Squall and a Tornadoes, this combo changes depending on the situation however.
2. If you're being pursued, always try to kite your enemies back and forth through your Tornadoes to refresh the timer on them as they re-enter. Whenever you're kiting, use your Squall to slow down the enemy and lay down Tornadoes with the furthest end of the circle away from you where he stands. In this way, you're forcing him to either run through all of it, or he'll have to fall back.
3. In case you didn't know, your ultimate Spirit's Tempest makes a very loud and distinctive sound when triggered, which let's enemies with their volume on know when ever you've used it. There's a secret though, if you use either [VET] Taunt or [VEJ] Joke, this sound should hopefully not occur.
4. This is something that, I think very few know about. By not upgrading abilities at level 4 and 8, you will be able to reach rank 3 with one ability while being level 5 instead of 6, and 9 instead of 10. This will of course work with all gods but are more beneficial than for others. In example:
Level 1 you upgrade Tornadoes.
Level 2 you upgrade Squall.
Level 3 you upgrade Tornadoes.
Level 4 you don't upgrade any abilities.
Level 5 you upgrade Tornadoes and Spirit's Tempest.
Level 6 you upgrade Slither.
Level 7 you upgrade Tornadoes.
Level 8 you don't upgrade any abilities.
Level 9 you upgrade Tornadoes and Spirit's Tempest.
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That was it! Thank you for reading my guide, I've put a lot of time into it and more to come, I hope this guide helped you out. Please don't hesitate with comments or suggestions regarding anything about the guide or Ao Kuang in general, I will gladly respond to all of you when ever I can. Also, it'd be awesome if you could up vote my guide after you've tried it, or if there's anything in it that you found useful.
Special Message as of 17th July 2013: Thank you all, you guys are amazing. It hasn't been out for a month yet and it has already reached over 3000 views, 10 votes and several comments!
Special Message as of 2th July 2013: Thanks to all of you who are reading this guide and those of you who have up voted it, I really appreciate it!
Special Message as of 14th October 2013: It has been almost 4 months now since I created this guide, and so far 34 000 have read it. I hope that my guide have helped all of you who've read it when it comes to being a better player, and I want to thank you all for up-voting my guide and for your comments on it as well!
Send me an image of a successful game you had with Ao Kuang using this guide and I'll add it to this section for everybody to see. Here below are images submitted from Smitefire members who used this build. The name of the member who sent in each picture will go above them.
CHANGE LOG: ALL NON-VISUAL CHANGES MADE TO THE GUIDE ARE LISTED IN HERE!PATCH NOTES: ALL PATCH NOTES AFFECTING THE GUIDE ARE LISTED IN HERE!
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Vampiric Shroud
Shoes of Focus
Restoration Shard
Shard
Chronos' Pendant
Void Stone
Nice guide, never wrote a review for it!
What I want to know is how you have those "boxes" around the icons and the black divider. Thought they were separate images at first, but they're not :l.
It's in my/Jordenito's BBCoding guide. The black divider is just an image, which you can find a link to there. As for the box, it's done by combining columns with the h1 header, also shown in the guide.
What I want to know is how you have those "boxes" around the icons and the black divider. Thought they were separate images at first, but they're not :l.
If we could find the time, I can joust you as Hel. Sure, it's not same as conquest, but it might help. And it'd be fun. :D
You could use it that way to simplify it all, but I personally prefer to use columns over "simple" commands, because it gives me more control over where I precisely want things to be.
About the text, I haven't really cared that much about it to be honest. It all just ended up this way, and I've made small adjustments with words to make it more clear (English is not my native language, so I make mistakes from time to time).
The only thing I have focused on are the amount of rows for each part, really. Although in some places I had to overextend to not leave out any things that are worth mentioning.
Thanks for the heads up, by the way. I haven't forgotten about his remake, although I still haven't been able to face him once as Ao Kuang. Sadly, the same goes for Hel, Change and Chronos.
I might delete the Hunters and some of the Assassins from the Match-up section however, because when I added them they were viable in the middle lane, but you never see anyone go Hunter or Assassin mid anymore. I kind of miss that time a little. You pretty much never knew what enemy god you would be facing. ;)
I think giving a copy of, at the very least, a template for the coding you used for the floating icons and images would improve the presentation of many guides on the site. I'm assuming it's just
I think the most important part, though, is that you seem to have the perfect amount of text to align with the floating icons. It just looks so well structured, I'm sure you put effort into keeping all explanations a certain amount of vertical spaces.
Oh, and a heads up: your matchup section against Vulcan is still of him pre-rework.