Ares's Arena

This is an all around solid and fun build for Ares, I'll be focusing on building an aura with multiple boosts for teammates that can vary depending on the situation but offer various protections and buffs that could cripple an enemy team early and even late game. With good teamwork, taking advantage of the blink rune is crucial to crushing any defense, I always try to be sneaky and blink forward while they're preoccupied with a teammate, and paired with a good teammate following its safe to Leeroy Jenkins in and occasionally a team wipe will ensue, just beware of beads and be prepared to get jumped immediately in a worst case scenario. Good pairings for the ult in my experience would be anyone with a wide area special like Kukulkan, Sol or Scylla but you can't really go wrong. Ideally save your abilities for a successful ult then immediately rain the shackles down on the enemies captured, follow it up with the bolster defenses and then finish with the searing flesh to get the most utility out of this kit. I always buy the chalice at the match start as Ares rather than potions to maximize time on the field early on and its a solid buy anyways so might as well get it over with.

This sequence aims to maximize damage output and crowd control. The combo I use always opens with as many shackles across the enemy teams I can manage immediately followed by bolstered defenses to boost the team based off of how many enemies shackled and finally finish up with searing flesh to bully any enemies foolish enough to approach your team or even finish off that last bit of health an enemy may have. If any minions are near be sure to point some flames their way. If you're leading the charge don't be scared to charge in with your flames, with good aim Ares can basically wipe out a troop of minions in seconds with searing flesh alone.
Finally always try to pair no escape with your blink rune as you can sneak right into the middle of the enemy team to grah them all and pair with a teammate to do some crazy damage.
This ult is very useful as you can blink towards an enemy who otherwise would have escaped and ult them ruining their day, I've even ulted an enemy safe in their spawn zone and pulled them to my teammates waiting by their portal so do whatever feels right.

This build will be the outline of your team, giving everyone a solid boost able to penetrate almost any defense, I'm aware many people prefer the gauntlet of thebes for their starting build and if you do swap it for the prophetic cloak as its my personal preference. This build can be swapped a few ways depending on play style and enemy teams.
Sometimes that extra attack speed boost can cripple enemies early game so don't be scared to purchase shoguns kusari early on. This purchase order aims to maximize overall team defenses and maximize team damage output, but that does depend on a team willing to stick with you or baby sit your team, otherwise half the utility here is wasted. If the enemy team isn't doing serious damage ill occasionally swap out either sovereignty or the amulet depending on which damage stat their team is lacking for another useful aura like contagion or pestilence to cripple their heals, be sure not to use both as their anti heal auras don't stack. Another good option for a switch would be mystical mail as that little bit of damage being dealt throughout the match can add up to some big numbers especially if you spend solid time in the fray with multiple enemies you can even finish off enemies with your presence, so if you have a solid team this is a good option to maximize your damage. Another great final item to swap out with would be relic dagger as the blink rune cool down will allow you to blink and ult the enemy team many times throughout the match and the extra team shields can save you and your teammates in a pinch especially in the instance of an unsuccessful blink ult combo. Be sure to return to base occasionally to refill your chalice and don't forget to engage your chalice while in fray to maximise your time on the battlefield.

This mostly consists of aura abilities to cripple an enemies offenses and defenses which should allow your team to push forward confidently, teamwork is a must.
Now I wouldn't use this set outright most of the the time as this set can be fun but the defenses your team would otherwise receive are absent so a mix of the full build with situational items from this set would be more ideal in most instances but if you're blessed with a good team and can pull this off the results can be godlike allowing you to bully an enemy team to their spawn. Contagion is a must to shut down annoying healers and life steal. Mystic mail can deal massive damage overtime especially pushing forward with a good team. The void items are excellent for shutting down enemy defenses, ideally use whichever your teams offenses are taking advantage of whether it be magical or physical damage or if you have an extra ability slot and your teams doing great get both. And finally the spectral armor can shut down annoying assassins or hunters taking advantage of critical attacks as they can shred even your solid defenses if stacked aggressively, I often encounter Rat, Cernunnos, Fenrir, Da Ji and Cupid among others dealing crazy damage utilizing critical attack builds so keep an eye out when you encounter them and have spectral armor ready in your back pocket as it can completely catch them off guard and shut down their playstyle.

Picking and choosing which items and which auras can benefit your team and shutdown your opponents strategies is key and its all the easier with a great team behind you. With a little practice you can be leading the charge as Ares and completely overwhelm your opponents. Don't be afraid to sell an item late game to get one you may need as sometimes a change in your approach is all you need. Good luck!