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Ao Kuang Returns to the Solo Lane!

10 0 75,433
9.3
by MaddJack updated February 19, 2015

Smite God: Ao Kuang

Build Guide Discussion 7 More Guides
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Ao Kuang Build

Starter

Build Item Spellbook Spellbook
Build Item Tiny Trinket Tiny Trinket
Build Item Mana Potion Mana Potion
3
Build Item Healing Potion Healing Potion
2

Core

Build Item Book of Thoth Book of Thoth
Build Item Bancroft's Talon Bancroft's Talon
Build Item Shoes of the Magi Shoes of the Magi
Build Item Demonic Grip Demonic Grip

Preferred Late Game Items

Build Item Obsidian Shard Obsidian Shard
Build Item Rod of Tahuti Rod of Tahuti

Substitutions

Build Item Gem of Isolation Gem of Isolation
Build Item Void Stone Void Stone
Build Item Doom Orb Doom Orb
Build Item Telkhines Ring Telkhines Ring
Build Item Hastened Fatalis Hastened Fatalis

Actives

Build Item Combat Blink Combat Blink
Build Item Shielded Teleport Shielded Teleport
Build Item Fist of the Gods Fist of the Gods
Build Item Aegis Pendant Aegis Pendant
Build Item Greater Sprint Greater Sprint

Consumables: Order of Importance

Build Item Ward Ward
Build Item Mana Potion Mana Potion
Build Item Healing Potion Healing Potion
Build Item Sentry Ward Sentry Ward
Build Item Potion of Magical Might Potion of Magical Might

Ao Kuang's Skill Order

Water Illusion

1 X Y
Water Illusion
3 15 16 18 19

Dragon Call

2 A B
Dragon Call
2 8 11 12 14

Wild Storm

3 B A
Wild Storm
1 4 6 7 10

King of the Eastern Seas

4 Y X
King of the Eastern Seas
5 9 13 17 20
Water Illusion
3 15 16 18 19

Water Illusion

1 X
Ao Kuang Teleports forward into Stealth, leaving behind a watery form of himself. He remains in Stealth for 5s or until he attacks or takes damage.

Ao Kuang may activate this ability again to detonate the watery form, dealing damage to nearby enemies.

Ability Type: Circle, Teleport, Damage
Damage: 70 / 120 / 170 / 220 / 270 (+70% of your Magical Power)
Range: 30
Radius: 20
Cost: 70
Cooldown: 15s
Dragon Call
2 8 11 12 14

Dragon Call

2 A
Ao Kuang summons 6 dragons to his side. For every successful basic attack Ao Kuang makes, a dragon will dive to the target dealing additional damage. This ability ends after all dragons are used, or after 10s.

Ao Kuang may activate this ability again to send forward any remaining dragons in a ranged attack. The dragons damage and Slow the first enemy they hit.

Ability Type: Line, Buff, Damage
Attack Damage: 35 / 50 / 65 / 80 / 95 (+30% of your Magical Power) per hit
Ranged Damage: 20 / 25 / 30 / 35 / 40 (+13% of your Magical Power) per remaining dragon
Slow: 30%, for 1s + 0.25s per remaining dragon
Range: 55
Cost: 60 / 65 / 70 / 75 / 80
Cooldown: 15 / 14 / 13 / 12 / 11s
Wild Storm
1 4 6 7 10

Wild Storm

3 B
Ao Kuang unleashes a storm of lightning from his sword, damaging all enemies in front of him. This will send a Dragon from Dragon's Call forth, dealing damage to hit targets.

Ability Type: Cone, Damage
Damage: 90 / 135 / 180 / 225 / 270 (+40% of your Magical Power)
Range: 30
Cost: 50 / 55 / 60 / 65 / 70
Cooldown: 7s
King of the Eastern Seas
5 9 13 17 20

King of the Eastern Seas

4 Y
Ao Kuang grabs a single target, damaging and knocking them into the air. If the target is below a Health threshold, Ao Kuang will also reveal his true form, becoming an airborne Dragon and executing them restoring Health. After transforming Ao Kuang then picks a new location to land, dealing damage to enemies within 20 units.

Ability Type: Target, Knockup, Damage
Damage: 90 / 140 / 190 / 240 / 290 (+50% of your Magical Power)
Execute Threshold: 30%
Heal: 10 / 15 / 20 / 25 / 30% of maximum Health
Landing Damage: 100 / 150 / 200 / 250 / 300 (+50% of your Magical Power)
Landing Range: 200
Cost: 90 / 100 / 110 / 120 / 130
Cooldown: 100s

Introduction

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!

Pros / Cons

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)

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

Skills

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:
--> --> -->

Items

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...

Gameplay

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:

Map awareness is key. It means the difference between a successful gank and a double kill for the enemy team.

WARDS ARE LOVE. WARDS ARE LIFE. You need them always. Grab them first back and continue to do so.

You are squishy, therefore you cannot dive towers. Loki is different, Loki can drop a stun, a DoT, and extra burst in two seconds, whereas if Ao Kuang misses anything he is absolutely screwed.

Summary

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!

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1
raptor71 | August 23, 2015 9:51am
First i Need to say that you have done a great Job. This guide is superb.
There is just one Thing that i would Change. Bancrofts isnt even Close to as good as Polynomycon on Ao. But thats really all.
1
MaddJack (4) | May 10, 2015 8:54pm
All great points, thanks for your input! I agree with them as well, now that I've done some more work on Ao Kuang in game. I need to update this guide soon, and I plan to. Thanks again!


This guide is good and the build featured in it works, i use pretty much the same one. But I have some remarks/tips, I don't think fatalis is needed on ao kuang, if you want a movement speed item, go for winged blade, It gives everything you want: attack speed, health, movement and cdr. I also disrecommend combat blink because of the long cooldown (and because its a bad item imo) Greater sprint is indeed excellent on ao kuang (mostly to chase them down) and I use it almost every time. Also, it's very important to have some cc immunity on ao kuang or you're dead in a second. Beads or magi's blessing, it can keep you in the fight!
I'd also like to give a tip for his one, which you can also apply on loki: if you go invisible it can be great to stay exactly were you went invisible, most people try to chase you or guess where you're heading and don't expect it when you stay at the exact same spot!

It's a great guide and I've also learned a few things from it, but I'd appreciate it if you put some of this in it. At least the winged blade, that's all I ask :)

Keep up the good work!
1
ShovelfaceTom | April 30, 2015 10:50am
This guide is good and the build featured in it works, i use pretty much the same one. But I have some remarks/tips, I don't think fatalis is needed on ao kuang, if you want a movement speed item, go for winged blade, It gives everything you want: attack speed, health, movement and cdr. I also disrecommend combat blink because of the long cooldown (and because its a bad item imo) Greater sprint is indeed excellent on ao kuang (mostly to chase them down) and I use it almost every time. Also, it's very important to have some cc immunity on ao kuang or you're dead in a second. Beads or magi's blessing, it can keep you in the fight!
I'd also like to give a tip for his one, which you can also apply on loki: if you go invisible it can be great to stay exactly were you went invisible, most people try to chase you or guess where you're heading and don't expect it when you stay at the exact same spot!

It's a great guide and I've also learned a few things from it, but I'd appreciate it if you put some of this in it. At least the winged blade, that's all I ask :)

Keep up the good work!
1
MaddJack (4) | April 28, 2015 10:29am
Zilby wrote:

Love this guide, very to the point, has all the right sections, great tips and explanations, A+

Only thing I really disagree with is Combat Blink, 180s cooldown is monstrous. If anything, just engage with Greater Blink and use Water Illusion to escape. You can do this 3 TIMES as often as Water Illusion -> Combat Blink.

Overall though, great guide! +1 from me


I can agree with this! His Water Illusion also has better scaling than his 3, so in addition to being best for escape, it throws some extra damage their way as well. I forgot how long Combat Blink's CD is, too :P Thanks so much for your feedback!
1
Zilby (132) | April 11, 2015 9:10pm
Love this guide, very to the point, has all the right sections, great tips and explanations, A+

Only thing I really disagree with is Combat Blink, 180s cooldown is monstrous. If anything, just engage with Greater Blink and use Water Illusion to escape. You can do this 3 TIMES as often as Water Illusion -> Combat Blink.

Overall though, great guide! +1 from me
1
Jonah84 | April 11, 2015 8:42pm
Great guide. 3 b's I will remember that.
1
Fayne | February 24, 2015 12:34pm
Nice guide !
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League of Legends Build Guide Author MaddJack
Ao Kuang Returns to the Solo Lane!
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