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Demonic Grip
Shoes of Focus
Book of Thoth
Rod of Tahuti
Obsidian Shard
Spear of the Magus
Demonic Grip
Shoes of Focus
Gem of Isolation
Obsidian Shard
Rod of Tahuti
Spear of the Magus
Improved Purification
Improved Aegis
Mana Potion
Ward
Healing Potion
Y
B
A
X
Chronos build guide (and I sincerely apologize for the horrible Ke$ha reference in the title. Anyway, I am Riomhaire, and I've been around I since the 
Bacchus update, though I had a long time without good Internet where I didn't play. I'm back, however, and I have seriously come to love playing as Chronos. He reminds me of an Artemis, but with more survivability early game. Chronos, and it is a guide that I hope will help you realize the vast amounts of potential that this god has in his unusual kit. On the flip side, however, this is not a guide that is one-size-fits-all, and it is not going to magically turn you into a competitive player if you still struggle to land skill shots, nor is it your ticket to becoming a Smite guru.This is where we see how Chronos may or may not fit your playing style. I'll cover his basic pros and cons here (abilities are covered below) and end with a bottom line of why you should or should not choose to play as The Lord of Time.
Pros
+ Good damage output
+ Decent CC + Good mobility + Excellent survivability ( Rewind)+ Good sustain without huge potion expenditures +  Wheel of Time adds versatility
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As with each character, Chronos has strengths and weaknesses, and since his abilities are his ticket to playability, it is only natural to examine the pros and cons to each skill individually.
1: Time Rift - This ability is just a damaging poke, nothing else.
Pros - High damage, decent size area, very low cooldown
Cons - No nice added knockups or banishes like 
He Bo or 
Janus has
2: Accelerate - Chronos's favorite thing in the whole world. A movement speed buff that adds one of 4 additional effects based on his Wheel of Time passive.
Pros - Hugely versatile, plenty long-lasting, makes basic attacks really hurt
Cons - Cooldown
3: Stop Time - Very useful stun, with two separate instances of damage. Damage is only decent, but this is your only CC and is invaluable as such.
Pros - Nice hard CC, pretty decent damage, easily aimed
Cons - The stun really needs to be longer for this long of a cooldown.
4: Rewind - Your ultimate, and honestly one of the most broken ults in the game (up there with 
Aphrodite's and 
Neith's ults).
Pros - You are much harder to kill than anyone would believe, you are almost impossible to trap, and you get all your abilities back.
Cons - If you're caught out without it (and it has a 90 second cooldown), you better start running, cause you are squishy.
A note with your ultimate: Use it wisely, because you are definitely going to need it. But more strategy later.
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Welcome to Mid |
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Apollo, that doesn't matter as much--which is why you give him that lane and take mid. It maximizes mobility more.
Hades, coming to get me), and so you will likely see a lot of gank attempts. Hence the Wards I suggested, as they let you paper for ganks. Check the minimap constantly.
Loki or 
Nemesis be able to shift the balance of a teamfight. Accelerate from Quadrant IV, basic attack until the steroid effect runs out, then pop your Time Rift constantly. Fire Giant is easy to hit with this. And don't forget to use Stop Time, too. When you get low, ult your health back, and repeat the whole thing.A bit belatedly, I realized that even though most people just want to see a list of items to try out when they are newish to the game, the more experienced players want a set of reasons behind each item, so they can see the overarching principle of the build. So, let's examine the reasons behind each item.
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I like Demonic Grip because early on, the attack speed stacks really nicely with Accelerate, and the passive is a nice bonus when you complete the item. As with every item in the way I build Chronos, there is quite a bit of magical power involved.
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Ahh, the ever present boots. Normally, I would take these first, but since I find more of a need to inflict extra damage early on rather than move faster, especially in mid, I often leave the boots until I want the cooldown reduction they have. Since we will get plenty of penetration later on, I find  Shoes of the Magi to be overkill.
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And now, the obligatory stacking item for mid. Now, in my playing style, I don't ever worry about stacking this. I just let stacking worry about itself. But I know there is probably a stone tablet carved somewhere with "Thou shalt stack thine items" written on it, so we'll stack an item passively. |
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This item is a must for any magical god. Not only does it add 125 magical power just at the beginning, but it then adds another 25% of your entire magical power. Simply can't miss on this one. Yes, it's expensive, but it is always worthwhile. Though it may need to take a back seat when you're behind. |
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Chances are, if you've been playing well and staying ahead of everyone else, people will notice and build magical protection against you. Penetration always helps, and Obsidian Shard's penetration is unique: it adds a percentage of all the other magical penetration you may have.
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At the end, we have more penetration. This one not only gives us 20 magical penetration (remember Obsidian Shard), but it also debuffs enemy protections every time a damaging ability hits them. Double whammy. And the magical power always helps too.
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This is always a very viable option (and particularly appropriate given that it is Chronos we're building), because it gives cooldown reduction and MP5. If you replace a penetration item with this, I think Shoes of the Magi could have some merit. But having both cooldown reduction items could also be a good choice. You'll have to play around with it, see what works.
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With Obsidian Shard and Spear of the Magus in the core build, people already consider the build too penetration-heavy. While I do not, especially if I am in a lane against one of the tankier gods seen mid (say a Hades or someone breaking meta), three penetration items is certainly overkill. Use these only if you intend to replace either the Shard or the Spear.
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Yes, I know, it's a bit out of character for me to suggest an item that has no magical power to it. But this has the advantage of speeding up your attacks while slowing down the attacks of nearby enemies. Since your basic attacks are one of your strong points, this is a real plus, though I would suggest this only if you ar repeatedly encountering a physical god and having trouble dealing. |
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My favorite active in the game, this one can save you from kills that start with an unexpected stun. It can be used during any CC, and it prevents all damage and CC for 2 seconds, adding a damage reduction buff for 4 seconds afterwards. But all these good effects come with a major drawback: you can't move until the 2 seconds are up. So if you are trying to escape a gank and they didn't throw down all their abilities, you're a sitting duck. They can just sit there and aim everything at you. Use with care, and go with the next option if you aren't up against a lot of CC. |
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The easier version of  Greater Aegis above, this one allows you to move during the 2 seconds of invulnerability. However, this active cannot be used if you are stunned or silenced. Still a good pick for Chronos.
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I personally never bother with the third tier of this, because the second tier is usually sufficient to allow me to escape a CC session with Thor or Ymir or anyone else like that. However, the added bonus of taking 5 seconds off of cooldowns can definitely be a plus. |
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This is a good choice if you are quite ahead and want to be able to easily gank anywhere from mid. I suggest  Combat Blink over  Greater Blink because the extra escapability, in my humble opinion, more than makes up for the lack of a movement speed buff. Now if only Rewind reset active cooldowns too...
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If you go duo, you should be prepared to play support through most of the game, though your kit fits a carry more. Sadly, people expect mages to not have the wherewithal (that means the balls and the kit) to carry a duo lane. And early game, they're right. You don't. So pick out a nice Aura item that helps you, and masquerade as support. Then, when you have your ult, watch for an opening. Generally, this will be when one of the two enemy gods in your lane heads back. This is when you go all-out and put some serious hurt on them.
Other than that, see the mid guide for most everything else.
1 August 2014 - Guide started, added both mid and solo guides. Can't figure out why Hades and Apollo won't show their respective tooltips, matchups to come for mid and duo. No idea how to put colors tastefully, and no, I do not have a cool picture gestalt. Also added reasoning behind item choices (thanks for the reminder, Greenevers).
2 August 2014 - Added Pros and Cons, went into detail on items, tried to make everything look a bit nicer.
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Freya
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrkZ4WuKgiU
All the best,
Raynday
I like my boots first for CD reduction, them i get Demonic Grip, then Polynomicon, then Book of Thoth followed by Ros of Tahiti then comes the mail that gives more CD reduction (can't remember the name off the top of my head.
I understand where you are coming from with this idea, but I am pretty sure that goes over the stat cap, and I find the whole
If you could do three things, this will be a much better guide than it is now.
1. Add in Pros and Cons
2. Add in Skill Combos
3. Add in more descriptions wherever there are loose ends.
Some things you can add on but aren't necessary are:
1. Explanations for skills
2. Matchups
3. More in gameplay
If I were to review this now, I wouldn't vote on it, being right in the middle.
EDIT: Explain your actives and alternatives! Easy enough and will add some bulk to your guide.
Order see greens comment
Also in the item description you don't state why you take focus over magi. also 1 of your double brackets has gone wrong in the item obsidian shard.
Also I agree on the duo laning for chronos. chronos is more of an carry mage.
EDIT: I am changing out Bancroft for the Book of Thoth, because you have a distinct point. Replaced Pythagorem's Piece with the Gem of Isolation.
At first I saw your build, looking good, then I saw
Skill order is horrendous, sorry :l. This is what you want to prioritize, either or:
OR
Yours is just out of place.
You need to explain the reasoning of your items and info on teamfights would be handy.
I'm going to downvote, but PM me if you want me to reconsider if you update it.