Aphrodite: Bird is the Word

Hello everyone, Amphirite here. This is my first guide here on SmiteFire and I decided to do a guide on Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty (and female fertility for those who don't know). This will actually be two builds as Aphro can be played in many ways. I'll show you my two favorite types of gameplay with her.

Build 1: The Annoying Mage Build

This build is for anyone who is more cautious and comfortable with Aphro. It allows for easier escaping and easy kills even when soloing.

Item 1: Boots of the Celebrity

The item is needed for a person like Aphro if she is being an all-out mage. The speed will also be op with her kiss speed bonus. Sadly, the cooldown reduction has been removed and replaced with hp and mp, making it less useful with the next item.

Item 2: Chronos' Pendant

The cooldown reduction on this item is outrageous and the MP5 is great for early game when Aphro is mana-hungry. If this was paired with the previous item in the past, you could spam your abilities almost endlessly, but it can still let you use your abilities quickly.

Item 3: Bancroft's Talon/Warlock's Sash

I personally prefer banecroft's talon over warlock's sash as you will gain more health from your doves. Warlock's sash is for anyone who wants to play a more defensive Aphro or let their teammate regenerate more mana (Aphro's passive) while still building magical power and health.

Items 4 and 5: Rod of Tahuti/Ethereal Staff

Both of these items are for this build, which one you get first is up to you. The rod is better if you're not worried about the enemies killing you and if you're playing more aggressively. The staff should be bought first if people are aiming for you or killing you.

Item 6: Gem of Isolation

This item has a lot of potential late-game. It gives you more hp and mp while also giving you more magical power. The passive slows ememies down if they are hit by your abilities which pairs well with Aphro's 2nd ability (back off).

Build 2: Your Housewife

This build is for those who want a more defensive Aphro with more of everything except power. This is better if you are laning with a more squishy character like Fenrir or Bakasura.

Item 1: Reinforced Greaves

The reinforced greaves make for a slower and more defensive Aphro. Plus the hp5 in early game is good for sustaining with your birds.

Item 2: Void Stone

This item gives you more magical power and magical protection. Its passive gives Aphro magical penetration which is good for laning against squishy gods.

Item 3: Bracer of Replenishment

If you have a mana hungry or low hp teammate, this item is for you. The passive affects all allies in a radius, giving them increased hp5 and mp5. The extra mana is also handy mid-game.

Item 4: Pythagorem's Piece

You will be using your birds frequently so this item gives you more hp if you hit more targets. It is best built if you have a magical partner such as Ymir or Ares.

Item 5: Rod of Tahuti

More magic power and mp5 can't hurt.

Item 6: Wall of Absolution

By now in late-game, Aphro will need some sort of good defensive item. It also gives you a bit of magical power and mp5.

Go look at the skills yourself in the build at the top for their effects. Here, I will show you how to use them.

1. Kiss

I prefer to level this one last in all builds however two points in this early-game really goes far. When you level it up, its cooldown decreases and your soul mate's jealousy power increases. TASTE THE POWER OF JEALOUSY BEOTCH.

2. Back Off

This ability comes in real handy when ganking or escaping. Without a soulmate, this ability is like Fus Roh Dah without the insane knock-back. The push effect is replaced with a slow when you have a soul-mate and the attack originates from your soul-mate as well (which is why gem of isolation is so op with this move).

3. Lovebirds

I don't like how they named this ability. It should be called the bloodsucking doves from the ugly version of Cinderella that peck out the stepsisters' eyes. You will rely on this ability for healing and dealing damage. At full power with all items (mage build) it can heal up to 1/2 of your health! Always max this one out first.

4. Undying Love

A great escape ability, this makes you the sexiest (and the only) living Aegis Amulet that ever existed. Period.

Pros:
-has a TON of sustain with lovebirds
-can easily chase down enemies and escape quickly with kiss
-gives many benefits to herself and teammates

Cons:
-squishy
-has no jump
-easily killed if soloing
-kiss has a long cooldown early game and is easy to miss

Early Game:

During this stage, I like to pick up Meditation and two more items. Don't risk it like this if you desperately need mana constantly. Try to avoid dying throughout the game and always ALWAYS have a soul-mate. You will rely on him/her (yes Aphro is a bisexual) for defense. Its best to be with bruisers or tanks that don't teleport too much (this will be explained later with my soul-mate compatibility list). Don't use your ultimate unless you can perfectly time it.

Mid Game:

After maxing out your birds and getting a lifesteal item , you will now heal for an insane amount of health. You can now solo tanks like ymir or guan yu but you are still vulnerable to high-damage gods. Your ultimate should be used more often as it has been leveled and has an increased duration.

Late Game:

This is where you want to avoid dying at all costs, even if it means letting a teammate die (only exception is when you and your teammate are the only ones alive at that point). Spam your birds to heal if necessary but don't do it if you're low on mana. Your ultimate is now at its full glory and you will need it for being ganked. Kiss will now be fully leveled up, making you very speedy. Now it is best to switch between soul-mates if they need health or mana.

In conclusion, Aphro is a very heavy support character. Her ability to keep teammates alive is what she's all about. Her speediness also comes in handy for ganking and escaping with your soulmate. And one last thing...

BIRD BIRD BIRD, B-BIRD'S THE WORD
BIRD BIRD BIRD, B-BIRD'S THE WORD
WELL DON"T YOU KNOW ABOUT THE BIRD?
EVERYBODY KNOWS THAT THE BIRD IS THE WORD
BIRD BIRD BIRD, B-BIRD'S THE WORD
B-B-B-BIRD
SSSSSSUSUUUUUUUURRRRRFFFFFFFFFIIIIINNNNNNGGGGGG BBBIIIIIIIRRRRRRRDDDDBWHVUIWGDUIPWBDPIBWIKRfwAF6BA6n8TfqNJ