Aphrodite Guide. "The Goddess of Beauty"

Hello! I'm Raikiri987 from GhostGaming, and this is my Aphrodite guide. I highly suggest that you read through the guide before looking at the item/skill build. I will discuss with you different skill builds, item builds, pros/cons, and general gameplay tips. Aphrodite is the first god I purchased in game, so it is only appropriate that my first guide is for her.

Aphrodite is a ranged magical support mage hailing from the Greek pantheon. She was added to the game in the March 13, 2013 patch. Aphrodite is a versatile goddess, and can be played mid lane, duo lane, or solo side lane. Included are descriptions for Aphrodite's abilities and my recommended items, along with different skill/item builds for what role you wish to fill on your team.

Pros

Excellent Sustain
Good Push
Good Harass
Good Teamfight
Good Mid/Late Game

Low Defense
Low Damage
Terrible 1v1
Weak Early Game
Medium Skill Shot Difficulty
Needs Communication
Needs Map Awareness
Needs Excellent Placement

My core build for Aphrodite in any role is Shoes of Focus, Chronos Pendant, Gem of Isolation, Meditation. Shoes of Focus give key stats for Aphrodite and is my preference over Shoes of the Magi. Chronos Pendant again gives key stats and I try to finish it early on. I value Gem of Isolation as a core item because it makes Aphrodite's teamfight much stronger, considering Love Birds gives 6 ticks that will stick with your opponent after it lands. Meditation can be kept at rank one and i discourage starting without it. Also, with Aphrodite's passive, you can send a burst of 30% of what you regenerate to your soulmate.
The item difference between my two different builds is Bracer of Replenishment vs Focused Void Stone. Bracer is doubly effective in the duo lane because your soulmate gets both your passive mana regen and the Bracer aura. I replace it with Focused Void Stone in my mid/solo build because so many common mid laners and solo laners are mages and the bonus magic DEF is helpful.
My situational items have all been tested by me in game and all work just fine. When choosing them, keep in mind both your own preference and the enemy team. Also, if you feel the need for Breastplate of Valor, the appropriate item to remove from the build would be Chronos Pendant.
Keep in mind that if you choose to purchase an item that requires minion stacks, that do so early and to play more defensively in order to survive and complete the stacks as quickly as possible.
Remember to make use of wards and favor mana potions over health potions. Also pick the appropriate active items to keep you alive and help out your team.

Loving Embrace
Key Bind: Passive

Gaining Aphrodite's favor is a blessing in that 30% of all mana gained by Aphrodite is granted to her soul mate.

Ability: Buff
Affects: Soul Mate

What this means is allies kissed by Aphrodite's 1st skill get almost a third of her mana regeneration.
Kiss
Key Bind: 1

Aphrodite blows a kiss to an allied god, making them her soul mate and giving them both increased movement speed. If the kiss hits an enemy god, they are stunned and Aphrodite's soul mate gets jealous, making them deal increased damage.

Ability: Projectile
Affects: Gods (Enemy or Ally)
Movement Speed: 4 / 8 / 12 / 16 / 20 %
Stun Duration: 1s
Jealousy Damage Increase: 4 / 8 / 12 / 16 / 20 %
Jealousy Duration: 8s
Cost: 50 / 55 / 60 / 65 / 70
Cooldown: 16 / 15 / 14 / 13 / 12 s

That is a lot of text and numbers to read. To break it down in my words, Kiss is a line skill shot with a moderate/slow travel time. It is quick to cast and can be used to help your teammates or disrupt your opponents. When casting on an ally, you can see a lipstick icon hovering over your target's head. After it lands, a pink line connects you to your "soulmate." Be aware that you may only have one soulmate and that this link can be broken if you stray too far from your ally. This ally now gets mana regen from your passive along with extra movement speed. It can be casted on enemy gods without breaking your link to your ally. It will only hit one enemy, so it can be blocked if your intended target is far down on your targeting aid. The ability does no damage, so use it offensively only to disrupt your opponent or allow your allies to land their attacks on a stunned enemy. Finally, kissing an enemy god will give a "jealousy" buff to your soulmate, which is an 8 second damage buff.
Back Off!
Key Bind: 2

Agitated by all the attention, Aphrodite commands enemies to get away from her, doing damage around her and knocking them back. If Aphrodite has a soul mate, they get agitated instead, and the damage originates on them, dealing the same damage and slowing.

Ability: Point Blank
Affects: Enemy
Damage: Magical
Radius: 20
Damage: 90 / 160 / 230 / 300 / 370 (+60% of your magical power)
Slow: 25%
Slow Duration: 2s
Cost: 70 / 75 / 80 / 85 / 90
Cooldown: 12s

Another versatile ability that is different depending on if you have a soulmate. It is an AoE with a small radius and a moderate cast time. Without a link, this ability can be used to reposition enemy gods or minions. When linked, it is a good slow. The damage is good, but not earthshattering.
Love Birds
Key Bind: 3

Aphrodite calls forth a flock of beautiful doves that fly forward in the area in front of her. The doves circle around all enemies in the path, damaging enemies every .5s for 3s. Aphrodite and her soul mate are healed for the same amount.

Ability: Line
Affects: Enemy and Allies
Damage: Magical
Damage per Tick: 15 / 25 / 35 / 45 / 55 (+15% of your magical power)
Heal per Tick: 10 / 17 / 24 / 31 / 38 (+15% of your magical power)
Cost: 70 / 75 / 80 / 85 / 90
Cooldown: 16 / 15 / 14 / 13 / 12 s

Aphrodite's signature move. It is wide line skill shot with a quick cast time but a slow travel time. It ticks a total of 6 times. It will heal/damage in ticks as opposed to burst but is strong nevertheless. You can heal your soulmate (and will continue to heal for the full ticks even if the connection is severed.) This along with your passive is what gives you and your laning partner/soulmate excellent sustain.
Undying Love
Key Bind: 4

Aphrodite pledges undying love to herself and her Soul Mate. While this is active, her and her Soul Mate are invulnerable to all damage for a short duration. All crowd control effects are also removed when activated.

Ability: Buff
Affects: Self and Soul Mate
Invulnerability Duration: .8 / 1.1 / 1.4 / 1.7 / 2 s
Cost: 100
Cooldown: 90 / 85 / 80 / 75 / 70 s

Wow. Aphrodite's ultimate ability. It is a purification beads/aegis amulet combination that gets better as you invest skill points in it. It is a cleanse/invulnerablity for up to two people. Do not waste it but do not be afraid to use it.

In summary, Aphrodite has an amazing support kit. The priority in leveling your skills will differ slightly depending on your role, but the priority is usually 4-3-1-2, with the last to usually subject to change. Your ultimate gets a longer duration and shorter cooldown as you level it up, so it is top priority. The Love Birds base heal/damage increases and gets a shorter cooldown and is second priority. Afterwards, there is a split. The most notable effect when investing points into Kiss is the shorter cooldown. The other effects that become more powerful will only apply if you have a laning partner to be your soulmate, so only invest points in it if you are playing duo lane. Back Off will only get increased damage if you invest points into it, so making it higher priority then Kiss only helps if you are the sole damage dealer in your lane, so only level this if you are mid lane or solo lane

When purchasing items for Aphrodite, keep a few things in mind: what role you are playing, who you are laning against, what types of damage are on the enemy team and who becomes their strongest god, how much gold you can manage to farm, and what key stats you want.

In terms of core, you want cooldown reduction(CDR) and mana regen. As the game progresses, you might want to invest in either survivability( DEF, health, and movement speed) or magical power.

Helpful Tips

Use your Kiss to interrupt long duration attacks such as Anubis Plague of Locusts, Ares Searing Flesh, and many others.
When jungle buffing, ask your teammates for the blue mana buff because your soulmate will get some of the buff's regen.
When picking a soulmate going into a teamfight, pick someone who will benefit the most from the healing, movement speed, and jealousy and who you can use to apply the Back Off damage/slow. Ideally, it will be a tank, bruiser, or assassin as opposed to a mage or carry.

Thanks for reading my guide! If you could do me the favor of voting, I will greatly appreciate it. Feel free to ask questions and comment. I will continue to update this guide as smite continues to change, and hopefully add a video guide. If you enjoyed, please let me know as I am considering making more guides. Keep a lookout for me, Raikiri987 as well as GhostGaming, and once again, thank you.