Amaterasu In-Depth Guide (Patch 7.1)

Hello everyone, my name is NDRSR and this is my in-depth guide on one of my favorite warriors in Smite, Amaterasu. Most of the information here will be in the perspective of a player that has mostly played Amaterasu in conquest, but I will provide general knowledge and tips in the other game modes as well. For starters, Amaterasu is one of the stronger solo laners as of patch 7.1, the high amount of early game damage in her 2 ability along with her incredibly strong team fighting ultimate makes her a strong choice in most team comps. However, she does struggle when it comes to sticking onto her targets as she doesn’t have great crowd control when her ultimate is down. Despite this, Amaterasu scales well into the late game as you can build in the form of a bruiser or a tank and become a huge asset to your team.

Illuminating Strike (Passive): Amaterasu illuminates enemies she hits with basic attacks. After 3 hits on the same target the enemy gains an aura, exposing their weaknesses and causing them to take more damage from all sources. Any other enemies that come near the afflicted target are weakened as well. 10% increased damage taken
- This passive works wonders in the mid to late game since applying a 10% increased damage taken debuff on a squishy or even tanky target can allow your team that extra amount of damage that can be the difference between getting a kill or not. This passive is one of the main reasons Amaterasu has been a strong pick for so many seasons.
Divine Presence (1 Ability): Amaterasu harnesses the power of her jewel, healing herself every second for 4 seconds and creating a persistent aura that buffs nearby allied gods. Every time this ability is activated the aura switches between Valor and Benevolence.
- This is usually the ability I max out and level second when I play Amaterasu in Conquest. The healing tick is ok early on but the main reason you take your 1 ability second is for that valor aura, which gives you and your allies up to 30 bonus power. This can be huge steroid for your entire team and is partly why Amaterasu is a good pick into most team comps. Not only that but the biggest reason you take your 1 second a lot of times is to empower your 2 ability.
Heavenly Reflection (2 Ability): Amaterasu charges her mirror for 5 seconds. While the mirror is charging she takes decreased damage. By activating the ability again or at the end of 5 seconds she will fire her mirror straight ahead, dealing damage. The mirror can be charged by successfully attacking enemies or from taking damage, and will deal up to double the base damage when fully charged.
- This is amatersu’s bread and butter ability during all stages of the game and it is the ability I max out first. Having up to 210 base damage level 1 is extremely powerful against most matchups. You want to abuse this as much as possible since most gods cannot match your potential damage level 1. It is generally used to clear your lane but when you are charging it, try to hit the enemy god and the minions at the same time so you are killing two birds with one stone. Always look to trade when your 2 is up since the sheer amount of damage and mitigation you get from it will allow you to win most short trades.
Glorious Charge (3 Ability): Amaterasu shines light off of her sacred blade, silencing all enemies in front of her. She then dashes forward while dealing damage, piercing through minions or stopping at the first god hit.
- Amaterasu’s 3 is a straightforward dash that briefly silences your opponent, it can be an ok ability to unlock second if you are going against an immobile god and you want to surprise them with a 2 channel into your 3 dash for a considerable amount of damage. You can do it the other way around as well if the enemy decides to fight you when you are channeling your 2. A tip would be to 3 onto the enemy and get your 2 shot off during the second that the enemy is silenced so they can’t use any escapes.
Dazzling Offensive (Ultimate): Amaterasu focuses the power of the heavens into an impressive 3 strike combination attack. The 2nd hit will do 20% more base damage and slow enemies. The 3rd hit will do 40% more base damage and stun enemies. She must hit an enemy target with each hit to progress the combo.
- This is Amaterasu’s signature ability and is the main reason she has stayed relevant for so long. A wide arcing ultimate that can stun and that does a lot of damage early on is powerful. Look to group in the mid to late game and don’t be afraid to start fights when you have your ultimate up. Don’t try to get greedy and look for multiman stuns, more times then not it’s generally safer to just use your ultimate on a high priority carry or mage that has already used all their forms of escape.

Starter Items: Teleport Glyph > Warrior’s Blessing > Round Shield (Versus Physical) or Enchanted Buckler (Versus Magical) or Chalice of Healing and Chalice of Mana > 3 Health Potions (if you didn’t buy the chalices)
- These are the general items I build at the start of my games; I prefer going a shield or a buckler for that extra damage and protection. If you do not know who you are laning against, it is not a bad option buying your blessing along with both the health and mana chalice since you will have enough sustain in lane against most gods, and once you figure out who you are going against you can build accordingly. Some people like to go a Cudgel and build an early Frostbound Hammer. While I do like building Frostbound Hammer, you generally will lose trades and all-ins against solo laners with a Berserker’s/Gladiator’s Shield since having physical power and health will not beat physical power and physical protections in most early game fights. You can get away with building a Frostbound Hammer if you are laning against most of the A-tier Guardians since Gods like Geb and Sobek don’t hit very hard early on, however I don’t recommend building Hammer into Jormungandr or Yemoja, since these gods are absolutely busted right now in the solo lane and will out trade and out sustain you in most 1v1 trades. A Berserker’s/Gladiator’s Shield is more cost efficient in the early game as well, by the time you have your Frostbound Hammer, the enemy will be working on their boots, creating a sizable item gap that can hurt you in the early to mid-game.

Core Items: Gladiator’s Shield (Versus Physical) or Runic Shield (Versus Magical) > Ninja Tabi > Breastplate of Valor
- In most matchups the general core that most Amaterasu players go is Gladiator’s Shield into Ninja Tabi into Breastplate of Valor. This is a pretty reliable core since you get a decent amount of physical power, alongside a hefty amount of armor. Breastplate gives you cooldown reduction too which can be useful later if you decide to build Blackthorn Hammer for the extra Cooldown Reduction.

Semi-Core/Situational Items: Shogun’s Kusari’s > Void Shield or Blackthorn Hammer or Frostbound Hammer
- These are the two items I usually build in the mid to late game in most of my conquest games. Sometimes I will replace Void Shield with a Frostbound Hammer since I like the slow that I get from that item over the debuff aura Void Shield provides. It’s more of a personal preference if anything, I like auto attacking a lot and Frostbound Hammer lets me do so. A lot of high elo Amaterasu players also go Blackthorn Hammer, having physical power, health, mana, and cooldown reduction is really valuable since they are all stats Amaterasu wants to have. If you want to be more of a team player, then building Void Shield or a Toxic Blade to provide those debuffs while maintaining some extra damage is the better option in most scenarios, since in the late game you are mostly trying to get multi-man stuns with your ultimate.

Other Good Situational Items/Replacements for your Blessing in the late game: Mantle of Discord > Genji’s Guard > Pridwen > Spirit Robe
- These are some other good options that you can take, mainly for replacing you Blessing in the late game. Mantle of Discord and Spirit Robe serve a similar purpose if you are looking for a dual protection item, I usually run Mantle of Discord over Spirit Robe in most of my games since the Small Crowd Control Stun along with the 1 second Crowd Control Immunity has saved me multiple times in late game team fights when I am trying to dive on the enemies’ back line. You generally want to run Spirit Robe if you are going against a lot of crowd control, since having the extra damage mitigation after getting hit by a hard crowd control ability is really valuable, since as Amaterasu you will be inside the enemies back lines a lot getting crowd controlled is inevitable. Genji’s Guard is nice on Amaterasu if you are going against 2 magical threats since having reduced cooldowns on your abilities can be the difference between getting a kill or losing a fight. Pridwen is nice if you end up dying a lot when you engage, the damaging shield that it gives is situationally good at most, it is also a decent item to build if you want to reach the cooldown reduction cap.

One last thing that I would like to mention for at least conquest is to buy wards, in the early to mid-game it isn’t too important to get wards in the solo lane since you aren’t rotating a lot, but in the late game make sure you have wards on you most of the time. Having wards to teleport to can be huge since it can put you in an ideal position. Vision is important in Smite, and it can be the difference between making a good play or losing your team the game

Amaterasu thrives in conquest the most out of all the game modes due to the fact that you can abuse her powerful level 1. Against most melee matchups, nobody can out-trade Amaterasu’s 2 ability, the fact that it gives her damage mitigation and up to 210 damage at level 1 is borderline overpowered. The biggest problem with your 2 will be the skill of your opponents, the higher in elo you go, the less likely your enemies will try to trade you when you are channeling your 2, not to forget that they are more likely to dodge your skill shot after the channel. In these situations, try to cast your 2 earlier so at the very least you can get a decent trade off on your opponent while they are caught off guard. Your level 1 can be countered by gods with long range abilities of their own, Osiris and Thor are 2 examples of this.

Ranged solo laners are a nightmare for Amaterasu to deal with since you will lose most level 1 trades to the ranged solo laners’ auto attacks, in this situation you will most likely have to play passive, avoid as much free harass from the enemy, and ask for a gank from your jungler until you have the appropriate items (See Items VS Ranged for more information on itemization). You can look for opportunities to all-in the ranged matchup if they use their escape poorly and you have your ultimate up, as long as you land all three of your swings to get your stun off then a solo kill is highly likely in the early game.

Aside from the pockets of trade when your 2 ability is up, Amaterasu’s early game can be fairly weak without your Berserker’s Shield and Ninja Tabi. Most 2v2’s in the solo lane can be a hard stomp as long as you have your dash and your ultimate up. In the mid game try keeping your lane pushed up all the while looking for potential fights around the objectives. Amaterasu’s split push is strongest at this point in the game as your 2 will kill the majority of the wave, if you are ahead you can look to split push, dragging the attention of multiple members of the enemy team. Keep in mind that you only want to do this if your team is trying to do an objective or if you know you can win a 1v2, or at the very least survive if you are getting collapsed on. It is always generally safer to play around your teammates then using this play-style.

When starting fights, always prioritize the squishy gods, so mages, carries, and assassins will take priority over the supports and solo laners. It isn’t bad to use your ultimate on the solo/support if they are building rather squishy and are bigger threats to your team than the carries themselves. If you find that your team is struggling locking down the people you use your ultimate on, consider purchasing a Frostbound Hammer, as the slow will greatly help your team follow up on your initiations. Late game is pretty much the same thing where you will be one of the primary initiators for fights, look to group with your team in this stage of the game, Amaterasu’s split push isn’t too strong in the late game when you are building like a bruiser/tank. As long as you know your damage and which fights are good to take then you will succeed in Conquest. Do not be afraid to fail and become the reason your team lost the fight/game, as the more fights you take the more you realize what your limits are, not only that but the more you will learn how to be a better player, so while others may flame you and call you trash, ignore the comments and focus on yourself and what you can do better next time, everyone has to start somewhere.

Bruiser Starter Items: Blink Rune or Meditation Cloak > Warrior’s Blessing > Round Shield (Versus Physical) or Enchanted Buckler (Versus Magical) > 3 Health Potions
Tank Starter Items: Blink Rune or Meditation Cloak > Guardian’s Blessing > Cudgel or Chalice of Health and Chalice of Mana > 3 Health Potions (if you didn’t buy the chalices)
- The only changes made from these starter items to the conquest starter build is the relic choices. Teleport Glyph isn’t needed in Joust since getting to the tower from base is significantly shorter, allowing you to run a variety of relics. Blink Rune is nice to start fights, Meditation Cloak is nice to play more of a guardian role for your teammates. You want to build either a Shield or a Buckler depending which of the enemy’s damage dealers is more prevalent early on. For example, if you’re going against an Athena, Bastet, and Scylla comp, you might want to go for a Shield first since Bastet has a tremendous amount of damage early on whereas Scylla’s early game damage is not as prevalent since she wants to scale with levels and items. You can deter away from the bruiser build and rush a Frostbound Hammer into a Breastplate of Valor or a Shogun’s Kusari. If you take this route, then instead of going a Shield or a Buckler you can try going a Cudgel. Health is a fine stat earlier on if you are facing mixed sources of damage.

Bruiser Core Items: Gladiator’s Shield (Versus Physical) or Runic Shield (Versus Magical) > Ninja Tabi > Breastplate of Valor
Tank Core Items: Frostbound Hammer > Ninja Tabi > Breastplate of Valor (Versus Physical) or Shogun’s Kusari (Versus Magical)
- The bruiser core items are the same as the conquest core items, the tank core items on the other hand differ a lot from the bruiser’s core. Building a Frostbound Hammer is more reasonable in Joust since having health is good no matter what damage type you are going against, similar to how most guardians get a Gauntlet of Thebes as their first item. By the time you finish your Hammer and your Ninja Tabi, you have had enough time to judge and analyze who their biggest damage threat is. If it is a magical source then building Shogun’s Kusari is a nice choice, giving you not only resistances but more health, cooldown reduction, and an attack speed aura that not only benefits you but any auto attack reliant teammates. Breastplate is just a standard tank item that most warriors and guardians build so it is a safe buy into physical damage sources.

Bruiser Semi-Core/Situational Items: Shogun’s Kusari’s > Void Shield or Blackthorn Hammer or Frostbound Hammer
Tank Semi-Core/Situational Items: Sovereignty > Heartward Amulet > Mantle of Discord or Spirit Robe
- The bruiser’s semi core items are similar to the tank build’s core items, the only exception being the choice of building one of the Hammers or a Void Shield as one of your last items. The tank semi-core includes items such as Sovereignty and/or Heartward Amulet because of the fact that you want to enable your damage dealers as much as possible with this build (Note: Sovereignty and Heartward Amulet auras DO NOT stack, if you have a guardian on your team that is building these items then do not buy them as well, build either from the bruiser semi-core items or from the other good situational items), giving them extra protections goes a long way when you are facing against multiple gods that can bypass your initiation and jump onto them. Getting a Mantle of Discord or a Spirit Robe is a nice second last to final item since having dual protections can prove to be useful if you’re constantly laning against two different sources of damage.

Other Good Situational Items/Replacements for your Blessing in the late game: Mantle of Discord > Genji’s Guard > Pridwen > Spirit Robe
Luxury items for the Bruiser Build: Arondight > Brawler’s Beat Stick > Bloodforge > Stone Cutting Sword
- These items can be used in both the bruiser and the tank builds for Joust, if you are one of the primary sources of damage on your team and you have another tanky god like a guardian or another warrior, then you can consider buying higher physical power items such as an Arondight, Brawler’s Beat Stick, or a Bloodforge. Stone Cutting Sword is a good option if you are going against a tanky team since you can steal some of their physical protections, the bonus movement speed also helps Amaterasu stick to her targets longer.

In Joust, Amaterasu’s strengths fall a bit since she can’t abuse her powerful level 1 and since every god can have access to all of their core 3 abilities, she will generally struggle early on with sticking to any of the squishy targets with escapes. I highly recommend looking to start fights once you get to level 5, while she may not be stronger than other gods at level 3, Amaterasu’s level 5 is her biggest strength in this game mode, look to abuse it once you get it. Prioritize building cooldown reduction as you can play more of an initiator role in joust due to the fact that you will most likely play with a god that has a lot of damage already. Items like Breastplate of Valor and Shogun’s Kusari can be first to second item buys depending your team comp and the enemies’, don’t forget to buy items that provide health as well as stacking pure protections is never a good thing since it will give you diminishing returns. If you are playing with a tankier team then do not be afraid to build more of a bruiser, prioritizing items like Void Shield and Runic Shield. Try to start fights around side camps, such as the demon king, red buff, and even the XP camps, in these tights corridors it becomes almost guaranteed to land all three of your swings when you are ulting. With a tankier build you can also look to dive the enemies’ towers if you know you can lockdown a high priority target and your team will follow up on your engage. To recap, try not to fight pre-level 5, build mostly tanky with a decent amount of cooldown reduction so you can always look to start fights, and try to have a reason to fight, such as for a camp or a tower/phoenix.

Bruiser Starter Items: Heavenly Wings or Meditation Cloak > Warrior’s Blessing > Round Shield (Versus Physical) or Enchanted Buckler (Versus Magical) or Cudgel (General)> 3 Health Potions
Tank Starter Items: Heavenly Wings or Meditation Cloak > Guardian’s Blessing > Cudgel or Chalice of Health and Chalice of Mana > 3 Health Potions (if you didn’t buy the chalices)
- There are a lot of different options you can take in clash; I usually like to run Guardian’s Blessing along with both Chalices since I am usually the only initiator on my team, and I want to survive early on as much as possible. If you are on a team that has a guardian, then you can be a bit more lenient with your starter choices. Building a Warrior’s Blessing along with a Shield, or Buckler, or Cudgel isn’t bad either, just be sure to play safe and play off of your team’s crowd control.

Bruiser Core Items: Berserker’s Shield or Gladiator’s Shield (Versus Physical) or Runic Shield (Versus Magical) > Ninja Tabi > Breastplate of Valor
Tank Core Items: Frostbound Hammer > Ninja Tabi > Breastplate of Valor (Versus Physical) or Shogun’s Kusari (Versus Magical)
- The core items here are the same as the core items I recommend in Joust, I prefer going the tank build since I like being the one starting fights for my team, so I generally like to play like a tank that can initiate on the enemy’s backline. Frostbound Hammer along with a Guardian’s Blessing can let you survive most early game damage when you are trying to start a fight, but if you are dying a lot after getting those two items then consider buying Reinforced Greaves over Ninja Tabi. Attack speed isn’t as valuable as protections when you are going a tank build on Amaterasu. If you go the bruiser build core then try laning against the appropriate damage sources, so if you have a Berserker’s or Gladiator’s Shield then try to stay in the lanes that have physical damage and vice versa if you have a Runic Shield.

Bruiser Semi-Core/Situational Items: Shogun’s Kusari’s > Void Shield or Blackthorn Hammer or Frostbound Hammer
Tank Semi-Core/Situational Items: Sovereignty > Heartward Amulet > Mantle of Discord or Spirit Robe
- Just like the Joust semi-core/situational items, the items used here have the same use behind them. If your team is getting blown up by physical, magical, or both sources of damage, getting Sovereignty and a Heartward Amulet can be helpful. Be careful when building these aura items, because if you have a guardian on your team that builds these items they will not stack, and you are essentially wasting gold. Always press tab and see what your teammates are building, if your guardian has Sovereignty or Heartward Amulet then communicate with them, saying that you are going to buy the other protection aura, so you guys don’t accidentally stack the same items. If your guardian or another tank has both of the aura items, then you can buy bruiser items like Void Shield or Runic Shield to apply the debuff aura for your team.

Other Good Situational Items/Replacements for your Blessing in the late game: Mantle of Discord > Genji’s Guard > Pridwen > Spirit Robe
- Any of these items can serve you well as a second to last to final item to round off your build. In Clash you will have a lot of damage on your team most of the time, so building extra defenses goes a long way to win a fight. Mantle of Discord and Spirit Robe are two of the more popular choices out of all of these items. Going Genji’s Guard into multiple magical threats is a good option and the shield from Pridwen shines in a lot of uncoordinated skirmishes, and in Clash that will happen a lot.

Clash is the casual game mode I play the most when I’m not playing conquest. In clash it is a lot harder to initiate fights since you will have access to your ultimate much faster than in conquest, but you will not be as tanky since you will not have around 2 completed items by the time you reach level 5. In here you have to play a lot safer than you would in Joust, try playing around your other tank/initiator’s crowd control since if you start a fight as Amaterasu early on as the lone initiator you can get die easily since you are going against 5 gods rather than 3. If you are the only initiation on your team then try holding off on starting team fights until you have around 2 completed items. In Clash, I highly recommend building a Shogun’s Kusari since the crowd control reduction is highly valuable in this game mode, not to mention the attack speed aura can be good for not just your passive but if you have gods on your team that rely on auto attack as well. For the majority of the game focus on playing around your team’s crowd control and judge whether or not it would be a good fight to take. Overall, Clash is pretty straightforward as Amaterasu, play safe until you are somewhat tanky or your team finds good picks for you to follow up on. Look for tower dives in the mid game when you are somewhat tanky, and then rally your team around the Apophis when you want to gain a lead or bait the enemy team into fighting you in the late game.

Bruiser Starter Items: Heavenly Wings or Meditation Cloak > Warrior’s Blessing > Round Shield (Versus Physical) or Enchanted Buckler (Versus Magical) or Cudgel (General)> 3 Health Potions
For-Fun Starter Items: Heavenly Wings or Meditation Cloak > Attacker’s Blessing > Mace or Morningstar > 3 Health Potions (or 2 if you bought a Mace)
- In Arena I like to build a more damage oriented build, focusing on getting raw stats from items like a Jotunn’s Wrath or any of the items that build from a Morningstar, generally I’ll build a Hydra’s Lament or a Transcendence since they are pretty cheap to buy early on (Note: stacking items in Arena are not recommended, they are generally difficult to stack up since if you aren’t playing a mage with good clear then it becomes hard to clear the waves in melee range or your 2’s ability range.). You can go for a Heartseeker if the enemy team has more than one tanky god since the maximum health damage is nice from the item.

Bruiser Core Items: Berserker’s Shield or Gladiator’s Shield (Versus Physical) or Runic Shield (Versus Magical) > Ninja Tabi > Breastplate of Valor
For-Fun Core Items: Jotunn’s Wrath or Transcendence > Ninja Tabi > Arondight
- The bruiser core is the same as in most of the other game modes, in the for-fun core you have items like Jotunn’s Wrath or Transcendence depending which starter item you decide to go into. Ninja Tabi is a standard on most Amaterasu cores and an Arondight is useful early on, having 20% - 30% cooldown reduction is incredibly useful in Arena since all you really do is fight, the more you have your ult up, the higher your chances are off winning those fights.

Bruiser Semi-Core/Situational Items: Shogun’s Kusari’s > Void Shield or Blackthorn Hammer or Frostbound Hammer
For-Fun Semi-Core/Situational Items: Frostbound Hammer > Titan’s Bane > Brawler’s Beat Stick
- The bruiser semi-core remains the same while we see a lot of high physical power items in the for-fun semi-core. I prefer building a Frostbound Hammer at some point on Amaterasu since I generally struggle with sticking to an enemy, if you find yourself not having that issue then going a Blackthorn Hammer instead to reach that cooldown reduction cap can be a good alternative. Titan’s Bane and Brawler’s Beat Stick are just good items to have in an all-in, getting extra penetration and reduced healing and regeneration makes your enemy much easier to kill in the chaos that is Arena.

Other Good Situational Items/Replacements for your Blessing in the late game: Mantle of Discord > The Executioner > Bloodforge > Spirit Robe
- These items can be used in either the bruiser or the for-fun builds, having a bit of protections is always useful on the damage build and having a bit more damage on your bruiser build can go a long way as well. I value Spirit Robe over Mantle of Discord in Arena due to the stun from Mantle being a lot less reliable in such a large map. The Executioner is a great buy in the for-fun build if the enemy team is building a lot of physical protections. Bloodforge is a good overall buy to finish the for-fun build since lifesteal is useful into most if not all enemy comps.

Being one of the most popular game modes, Arena is similar to Clash in that Amaterasu is not a god that excels in this game mode due to not having any strong crowd control and stickiness outside of her ultimate. Look to force fights when you have your ultimate up, other than that there is not much advice I can give. Try to leave pushing the waves to the mages or carries if you have them in your team comp. Save your 2 for when you are starting fights to have that extra amount of damage mitigation. You can play around the edges of the map to look for a good flank on the enemy team. Builds can vary in this game mode, you can go a high attack speed, high physical power build if your team doesn’t need a tank, but the builds from the other game modes will work in Arena as well. There aren’t many tips I can give for Arena, just initiate fights, get kills and have fun.

Like many other melee solo laners, Amaterasu does not do well into ranged gods, her single gap closer paired with her lack of crowd control before level 5 makes her one of the weaker solo laners into these matchups. To fight against these laners you must play passive and avoid getting harassed. Generally you will end up near your side of the lane due to this playstyle and if that happens consistently do not be afraid to ask your jungler for a gank, as long as you have your 3 off cooldown you can follow up with your jungler’s gank pretty easily. If you are going against a ranged god with a leap, dash, or any form of mobility, try exploiting the windows in which the enemy uses these abilities by going in with your 3 and getting a good trade in with your 2 charged up. Do not overcommit in these fights as Amaterasu has a fairly weak all-in when your ultimate is not up. Ideally you want to look for an all-in on a ranged matchup after they have used their gap closer and you have your ultimate up, in these cases Amaterasu has a hefty amount of damage and can even surprise your opponent with the amount of damage your 2 does early on. To recap, try playing safe while avoid as much harass as you can, all the while getting as much gold as possible without getting hurt too much. You will lose most of the totems when you are going against ranged if you do not get a lot of help from your jungler, you have to accept this and not die over trying to contest a totem buff. Overall, the ranged matchup is really tough early on, but as long as you play safe and get one or two protection items, not to forget your boots, you can ultimately duel your solo laner and even potentially kill them at this point in the game.

Berserker’s and Gladiator’s Shield

Both of these are decent options when going against range as they do offer physical protections and power, but be careful when rushing this item since if your opponent matches you with their own Berserker’s or Gladiator’s Shield you’re essentially starting back at square one, since a range god with a shield will always come out on top vs Amaterasu with a shield as well.

Breastplate of Valor

Sometimes you may not need to build any specific items for a ranged matchup and just building a core item can help you just fine, if that is the case then Breastplate is always a good buy into most comps. There isn’t anything specific to the item that lets you beat a ranged matchup but having protections and cooldown reduction is always good into the tough matchups.

Midgardian Mail

This is a pretty good defensive option into ranged matchups as it will put an attack and movement speed debuff on whichever enemy god attacks you. This item puts a lot less harass on you in lane. I would not recommend rushing this as a first item as all it really gives you is health and physical protection, whereas something like a Void, Berserker’s, and Gladiator’s shield will provide you physical protection while giving you damage, and besides your 2 ability Amaterasu struggles with getting damage onto her lane opponent.

Hide of the Nemean Lion

Similar to Midgardian Mail, this item is really good into ranged matchups as you will reflect 15% of all basic attack damage back to the enemy as physical damage. I would not recommend rushing this item as a first buy, since it doesn’t give Amaterasu any physical power. I’d recommend this item especially if the enemy team has a lot of gods that rely on their auto attacks (Example being the enemy team has an Anhur solo, Bakasura jungle, and a Rama carry), this item can dish out a lot of damage on its own in the mid to late game against specific comps.

Runic Shield

One of the better options as it gives you not only physical power, magical protections, and health, but it applies an aura on your opponents that reduces their magical power. I usually always rush this item into a tough Magical power matchup, like Zhong Kui, Baron Samedi, or Yemoja.

Shogun’s Kusari

This item isn’t bad paired with your Ninja Tabi, since it’ll give you a sizeable amount of attack speed, allowing you to proc your passive relatively fast. The only issue with this item is that while it may give you protections, it doesn’t give you any health, making it a better 2nd to 3rd item buy


Genji’s Guard

I’ll build this item into tough matchups like Zhong Kui or Baron Samedi if I am playing in high elo, the passive from Genji’s Guard allows Amaterasu to potentially get off another 2 or 3 ability with the 3 second cooldown reduction. It’s good to get your 2 shot off early just to put it on cooldown so you can get a second 2 shot off in your all-ins.

Pestilence

This item is also good into tough magical matchups, I like to build this into Hel since she has a lot of sustain. The healing debuff can also be useful when you start grouping with your team in the mid to late game.

Must Bans: Jormungandr, Odin, Yemoja, Bastet

It doesn’t matter what god you pick into these four, since they will out-sustain and out-trade you in most stages of the game, Amaterasu is no exception to this. Her 2 isn’t as good as Odin’s 2, while it can deal more damage, that damage can essentially be soaked by Odin’s shield. Levels 2, 3, and 5 aren’t any better, you can break Odin’s Ultimate fairly quick thanks to Ninja Tabi but overall Amaterasu can’t beat Odin in lane most of the time. Try playing for the mid to late game with your 2-3 items. Yemoja is just an insane harasser that can just spam her abilities from a safe range and can’t get ganked thanks to her 3 ability, you can try looking for trades during levels 1-2 but once she has her 3 it’s almost impossible to kill her if the Yemoja is somewhat knowledgable. Jormungandr is an oppressive lane bully versus Amaterasu, try getting a Genji’s Guard to survive the lane and avoid fighting him unless you get help from your jungler. Jormungandr is one of the easier gods to gank pre-level 5 since his 3 ability isn’t a reliable escape. Another god to mention right now is Bastet, not too many people are playing her in the solo lane, but I have seen some people play her solo just because she does so much damage right now after she got her rework. If you run into a Bastet in the solo lane do not fight her, you can look for short trades with your 2 but in all honestly Bastet can just throw her root out and it will beat most trades right now, since it’s just so over tuned. Build a lot of physical protections and health against her.

Anhur and Heimdallr

These two are some of the most oppressive ranged lane bullies Amaterasu can face as of the current patch. Anhur in particular is incredibly hard to fight since he can bully you with his auto attacks and keep you at bay with his 2 ability. If you run into Anhur a lot, he is worth a ban in the solo lane if the must bans are already banned since you cannot do anything by yourself as Amaterasu. Heimdallr is similar to Anhur in that he can be oppressive, but it is moreso the case that you can’t really lock him down thanks to his 3 ability. For both matchups you have to play passive and under tower since your 3 will just get kited and after that you will just get railed by their auto attacks and their abilities. Build a lot of physical protection and health and look to help your team in the mid to late game.

Baron Samedi and Zhong Kui

Both of these gods are difficult matchups for Amaterasu for different reasons, Baron has a lot of poke with all 3 of his core abilities so even after you jump on top of him it can still be hard to win a trade. Look for moments when Baron has already used some of these abilities to then trade with your 2 and 3, you can’t use your ultimate on him if he has his ultimate off of cooldown since he can cancel your stun with his own ultimate. For Zhong Kui, He has a lot of sustain that allows him to out harass Amaterasu. Play around his 3 ability since if he doesn’t have it then those are your windows to trade with him. Building a Pestilence early on for him isn’t a bad idea since Zhong Kui has a lot of sustain. In general, these matchups are hard due to their sustain but Amaterasu can fight them when some of their abilities are on cooldown, try to build a Runic Shield, or a Genji’s Guard, or a Pestilence and you will be able to duel them.

Thor and Camazotz

These are two of the harder assassins for Amaterasu to fight in the current patch. Thor’s damage is high in the early game, so looking for trades when your 2 and 3 are up is still questionable since if Thor hits all of his abilities you will lose the fight in most scenarios. Camazotz is a really annoying assassin to face since both of you want to auto attack a lot but Camazotz will always win thanks to his innate lifesteal and healing. For both of these matchups just play passive since it is difficult to win fights against these gods in the early game. You can look to fight Thor after you have your core finished since his damage will fall of when you have a Berserker’s/Gladiator’s and a Breastplate of Valor. Camazotz is a different story, you can’t ever really duel him so you want to make up for it by being with your team and winning team fights in the mid to late game.

Cu Chulainn and King Arthur

Both of these matchups can be hard for Amaterasu to face but they are more manageable than most ranged matchups. For Both, you want to build your standard conquest items, Berserker’s/Gladiator’s Shield, into Ninja Tabi, into a Breastplate of Valor. The issue here isn’t the items since they will most likely build the same items as you. For Cu Chulainn, you have to fight him when he doesn’t have his Berserk up, he is too tank and does too much damage to you in that state, even if you have your 2 ability up. Look for short trades to whittle him down and then finish him off when he isn’t in Berserk. For King Arthur, it is a lot harder since you will need to play more of a mind game with him. There are opportunities to look for trades against him, but you need to notice them fast. Generally, after he uses one of his dashes or when he uses his slow you can punish him with your 2 into your 3 and look for a trade there. You can also look to cast your 2 when you are in the middle of a trade with him since at this point, he has exhausted some of his abilities and you can follow up his mobility with your 3. In general, these are two of the harder warriors to fight against right now in patch 7.1 since they are really tanky and have strong harass abilities.

To recap, Amaterasu is an exciting god to play, her versatility in builds and usefulness in multiple comps makes her a god that will always remain competitive as long as they don’t butcher her numbers. If there is one thing that I want you to take from my guide, it is to always look for fights when you are learning Amaterasu. You won’t always start a good fight, and you will get flamed from time to time, but do not let those words deter you away from making plays. Learn why that engage didn’t work out and take that knowledge into your future games. We don’t start out playing a god and immediately knowing how to pilot them perfectly, we all start somewhere. I hope you learned a thing or two about Amaterasu after reading my guide, she is one of my most played gods ever since she came out. If you have any suggestions or things that I should add feel free to message me and let me know.