This guide has not yet been updated for the current season. Please keep this in mind while reading. You can see the most recently updated guides on the browse guides page
Vote received! Would you like to let the author know their guide helped you and leave them a message?
Warrior Tabi
Devourer's Gauntlet
Hastened Fatalis
Golden Bow
The Executioner
Brawler's Beat Stick
Greater Sprint
Greater Purification
Potion of Power
Warrior Tabi
Bloodforge
Hastened Fatalis
Golden Bow
Deathbringer
Malice
Greater Sprint
Greater Purification
Potion of Power
Y
B
A
X
Apollo is an extremely mobile ADC capable of outmaneuvering almost anything in the game. The way I like to spec my build is to really boost this specific aspect to perfection. Other name for this guide could be The coward's way, as the main goal is to stay far away from any harm.
Keep this in mind when reading this guide - the main goal is to stay mobile and moving.
I play this build in Arena, I don't play other modes much, although the few Sieges were quite ok as well.
Defense first! Apollo is a typical glass cannon. Not much health, not much defense, high dps. That means:
Apollo is well prepared to sneak away from harm, using awesome combo of Serenade and The Moves. Serenade is AOE mesmerize - aka soft-stun. Prevents everyone around you from harming you anymore. Breaks evil combos, like 
Fenrir's 
Brutalize and allows you to run from other nasty situations. And did I mention that it boosts your protections for 5s considerably? The Moves is a dash, which also adds movement speed buff to you and debuff to enemies.
Ymir, 
Ares, 
Hades, 
Tyr? Stun & Run. This helps you, but also your team from being wiped. And remember to stay a bit more to the back, whenever these are on cooldown.
Apollo is a basic attacks based god - main source of damage is basic attack, not his specials. Therefore priorities are:
Warrior Tabi is a no brainer here.
Audacity stacks and faster proc of other items, which again translates to more damage
Purification Beads when Ares is present. Hastened Fatalis
Audacity stacks and faster proc, which again translates to more damage Golden Bow Areses 
No Escape for a mass killing and generally enjoy yourself when Audacity turns you in high-speed-fireball-machinegun. Suddenly the Attack Speed stat makes much more sense. And in Arena, everyone is in a teamfight all the time, so the difference is really visible. Devourer's Gauntlet, The Executioner and Brawler's Beat Stick. Or Magi's Blessing if you get caught alot. Devourer's Gauntlet or Bloodforge The Executioner Brawler's Beat Stick
Titan's Bane is an option, but do you really fight that many tanks? I like to get the stick to give them reduced healing - a nasty surprise for 
Hercules, 
Ra or 
Hel.
Qin's Sais - I utilized them occasionally, but now I rather ignore them and get Potion of Physical Might instead. Deathbringer + Malice combo for extreme AOE crit dmg. With Golden Bow's 10% crit the sum for all 3 items is 50%, so the passives of both items proc all the time. But for some reason, I fare poorly with them... bad luck? Or I suck? :-) Feel free to experiment and report back. Purification Beads are a must - Ares is often around and virtually everyone has some bad CC to throw at you. You do not need to speed up your skills, so save them for trouble. Greater Sprint are my favourite - adding to your long list of mobility, these nice shoes can carry you in or out of the trouble.
Aegis Pendant I always remember it whenever I'm dead, but it can be really handy against some ults. But on the other hand - noone needs an ult to kill you. :-)
So finally, how to kill? Isn't point-and-click enough?
No.
Everyone has his own strategy. I'll try to describe mine, but please evolve your own.
Golden Bow - to lay waste to both of them. Across The Sky. It is an awesome skill... to get you in trouble. If you absolutely must use it to land between enemies, immediately Stun & Run back. The Moves to finish someone off. But make sure you're covered or you run back fast, as now you're glass cannon without wheels.As in every other map type, team is very important in the Arena. As a hunter, your role is to deliver tons of damage and avoid getting killed.
In the beginning, go for the buffs. I personally stay near the middle and look out for ganks until the very last second, then go fight the buff mobs. If you have no tank, or he is lagging somewhere, start the fight yourself. Damage is irrelevant, but the speed is important. I often tank all 3 camps and then teleport to base, rather to wait for someone else to tank. This allows your team to be first in the center and either catch enemies scattered, or push your minions further, ideally scoring some points early. As for buffs themselves - take any or none, you do not depend on them.
That being said, Apollo can be mana hungry in the beginning, so consider saving your abilities, depending on how often you want to make the base run. At any point during the game, if you get to 50% health or less, run to the base. Better to weaken your team, rather to give enemies 5 points. Tell you team you're doing so, so that they don't expect you somewhere else.
Whenever ultimates come around, stay prepared - Ares, Hades, Ymir - some of them are around (on any side), so look out for the right moment to chip in. Your So Beautiful does fine instant damage to a line, so have it off CD when needed to support your team.
Also, you're speccing to be fast and mobile, so use it for:
Hastened Fatalis already, it is easy to follow & deal damage. Beware - opponents will try to catch you, so always watch the map/arounds. Golden Bow, look for group fights - there you shine with AOE damage. In the meantime, shoot the minions or the enemy tank to force him to retreat to base soon. Fenrir blinking behind you and 
Ragnaroking you to death is lame (thats why I do it often :-)).This is something not specific to this guide, but I feel it should be told anyway:
Golden Bow also gives the effects that are caused by basic attack? Like The Executioners penetration stacksPlease help me make this build great. I welcome tips, hints, corrections, facts... anything.
I play for fun, not to win, and I like to learn - so teach me. :-)
And English is not my native, so feel free to point out and laugh at wording and typos, so that I can fix them.
Thanks for reading, yours Bubatrox, or ingame Apollo Emeriel
SMITEFire is the place to find the perfect build guide to take your game to the next level. Learn how to play a new god, or fine tune your favorite SMITE gods’s build and strategy.
Copyright © 2019 SMITEFire | All Rights Reserved
Quite contrary - as ADC a single stun is often a single death. That awesome sphere saves me more than often. And in Arena there is a lot of close-range fights to get stunned, whether you want it or not.
yes the problem with this item is especially in arena when you are teamed up upon you will still get cc maybe a split 0.1 sec later.
also I normally don't see the enemy grouped up that much in arena. could be just my matches.
First - let's clarify my goal. I do not want to replicate the standart ADC build which you refer to as Single stacking build or Double stacking build. I know these, ran these and based myself off these. If you look for an Apollo guide with it, please refer to any other guide , which got it covered nicely and which I have no intention of copying.
Therefore, I disagree with you saying
It's a bad build. you got 3-4 items right but only 1-2 on the right order.
as there is nothing like "right" way. The build may fit you or not, it may be generally good or bad, but you definitelly cannot judge getting things "right". I personally like it, played endless matches with it and use it still (player lvl 30, Diamond Apollo, ~13+ kills per match - not godlike, but not bad).
Regarding the questionable items:
I really try to have as much mobility as possible, therefore starting with boots first and only then the gauntlet. In arena it tends to get stacked quite fast anyway.
I would like it to be even #2, but that lets you fall behind in damage too much. And
the movement speed bonus and the passive of
As for low stats - yes. I know. On the other hand, it is not zero and the quick dismissal of the passive is uncalled for. Actually this passive is the whole build built around, so without it please dismiss the rest.
And secondly, in Arena (for which this guide is written for) the enemies are clustered quite often - either trying to overwhelm some teammate, grouping up, retreating, by force (e.g.
Especially nice it is when guardians are trying to body-block me from finishing some dying teammate - I do not need to avoid them, I just hit both with the same shots.
Feel free to experiment, but the 15ft is not as small as it sounds.
brawler's beatstick this is a situational if there is no one with healing you can better go
Agreed, when there is no healer, it looses its purpose, therefore I have the other two items handy. But somehow I have healers on opposing side almost all the time and then it shines.
magi's blessing good situational but not to much used on an adc character.
Quite contrary - as ADC a single stun is often a single death. That awesome sphere saves me more than often. And in Arena there is a lot of close-range fights to get stunned, whether you want it or not.
now that I have your items from your build told out for you. I don't agree on the items you call the core.
Well, they might not be core of the "default adc build", but they are core of THIS build. :-) I tried to explain above why. If you tried the build and still disagree, then my build does not fit your playstyle. Which is fully ok.
so I will tell you what are the most common builds for hunters. <cut>
As mentioned above, there is plenty of fine guides around here, my intention is not to repeat them.
now continuing on your guide. it lacks depht mostly the gameplay and I miss teamwork section a lot).
I will try to update the gameplay/teamwork sections with more details.
bbcoding is pretty basic.
Sorry, I just shared the info. I have a poor sense for detail, so the sectioning and linking was enough for me. If you have concrete tips, please PM/comment.
for me this is a downvote because you can see that the build is still low lvl (On high lvl you will get wrecked with this).
Sorry to hear you did not like the alternative build. As for my lvl of gameplay, see above. I play recreationally, not pro, I leave the league to my sons. :-)
hope this helped a bit for more questions pm me and for a re-review too. I only don't know your open question because
Definitelly! Thanks very much for your time and all the comments. It hepefully helped me to explain myself better. If not, please comment again.
It's a bad build. you got 3-4 items right but only 1-2 on the right order.
the movement speed bonus and the passive of
brawler's beatstick this is a situational if there is no one with healing you can better go
magi's blessing good situational but not to much used on an adc character.
now that I have your items from your build told out for you. I don't agree on the items you call the core.
so I will tell you what are the most common builds for hunters. You have the single or the double stacking build.
the single stacking mostly looks like this:
warrior's tabi-
double stacking build:
the second one is a more powerful but riskier build.
now continuing on your guide. it lacks depht mostly the gameplay and I miss teamwork section a lot).
bbcoding is pretty basic.
for me this is a downvote because you can see that the build is still low lvl (On high lvl you will get wrecked with this).
hope this helped a bit for more questions pm me and for a re-review too. I only don't know your open question because