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Athena Pre Season 5 Guide

4 0 15,698
by samee71 updated December 25, 2017

Smite God: Athena

Build Guide Discussion 4 More Guides
Choose a Build: Utility
Utility Tanky Utility Jungle
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Athena Build

Start

Build Item Watcher's Gift Watcher's Gift
Build Item Shoes Shoes
Build Item Healing Potion Healing Potion
4
Build Item Mana Potion Mana Potion
4

Core

Build Item Shoes of Focus Shoes of Focus
Build Item Stone of Binding Stone of Binding
Build Item Emperor's Armor Emperor's Armor
Build Item Spirit Robe Spirit Robe

Pick 2

Build Item Genji's Guard Genji's Guard
Build Item Stone of Gaia Stone of Gaia
Build Item Void Stone Void Stone
Build Item Pestilence Pestilence
Build Item Hide of the Nemean Lion Hide of the Nemean Lion
Build Item Midgardian Mail Midgardian Mail
Build Item Sovereignty Sovereignty
Build Item Mantle of Discord Mantle of Discord
Build Item Armored Cloak Armored Cloak
Build Item Shogun's Kusari Shogun's Kusari

Relics

Build Item Magic Shell Magic Shell
Build Item Blink Rune Blink Rune
Build Item Heavenly Wings Heavenly Wings
Build Item Horrific Emblem Horrific Emblem
Build Item Shield of Thorns Shield of Thorns

Intro

Hello!
This will be my first attempt at a God guide, so I appreciate any feedback.

Today we will be discussing Athena.
In smite, Athena is Guardian, and is usually played in the support role.
Whilst I have included a jungle build in this list, please note that I will be talking about Athena as a support rather than Athena as a jungler- as a believe that she is more fun to play in this role.

Before we start, let's look at who Athena is, and what her playstyle is like.


Athena is good at:

    Initiating team fights
    Having a global presence and being able to rotate quickly
    Peeling for her team(Saying LOOK AT ME, I'M A MUCH BETTER TARGET! LEAVE MY TEAM ALONE!)
    Grouping up enemies for AOE ults (For example,
Hou Yi or Poseidon)


Athena is not good at:

    Diving the backline (Mainly due to her dash)
    Having team constant fight domination (Mainly because she relies on her 2)

Pros / Cons

Although I mentioned it before, here's a list of Pros and cons.

Pros:

-Great team fight initiation
+One of the best forms of CC in the game
+Easily confirm-able, high damage (with her 1,2,3 and Reach)
+Global ult
+Ability to block basic attacks (with her 1)



Cons:
-Easy to catch out when her dash is down
-Requires a coordinated team to initiate properly
-To secure ult damage, requires teamwork
-Dash is easy to counter (Easy to block, and it must be charged)
-Decent, but not amazing, wave clear (Can be interrupted)
-Ult can be blocked by teammates

Items

Now, you might be saying "WTF" at some of the items in these builds. I will now explain the reasoning for each item, and when to build it.

Shoes


Shoes are possibly the most flexible of all the items in these builds, so I'll discuss all of them.

Shoes of the Magi can be a good option if you want to go for some early damage. I wouldn't really recommend these unless you're playing super aggressive, and you're ahead. Do not build these unless you know what you're getting.

Shoes of Focus are great. 10% CDR isn't much, but later on, it will get you closer to the cap. You're building defense later anyway, so the CDR is nice to have. I tend to build these most of the time, these are the most consistent option.

Travelers Shoes are what I prefer when I'm with a late game ADC. The gold bonus helps, and with the passive, you can rotate faster- which you'll want to be doing a lot of if your ADC is late game (Such as Artemis, who needs a lot of farm)

Reinforced Shoes can be decent if you want to get some early game tankyness. I used to build these before they had the passive, and they are still decent- but don't expect to be tanking towers at level 6 with these.

Core Items (Utility)


Now, for the items.

Stone of Binding


Stone of Binding is something that you really can't overlook as Athena. It's cheap, provides 30 of each protection (only 10 less than Spirit Robe) along with decent power and, in my opinion, has an often overlooked passive.

Why on athena?
Using Confound will apply Taunt, a form of hard CC. If you're with your ADC, you're giving them 10 flat penetration. Having 10 flat pen this early in the game is basically like having a Jotunn's Wrath or Brawler's Beat Stick for free. This is a nice boost, especially if you have the void buff. The main reason for this item being first is because of its cost to power ratio. It falls off late game, and you'll probably be selling it, but what it offers early game makes it worth a pickup.






Emperor's Armour


Emperor's Armor Is an extremely undervalued item. It gives you an extra bit of tankyness (physical protection and health), and the passive is insane. Early/mid game, it makes pushing/defending much much easier, making it good if you're ahead or behind- people don't understand how difficult it is to push a tower which has Emperor's Armor's passive acting on it (It buffs your tower's attack speed by 40%- this includes phoenixes) , nor do they understand how easy it is for their tower to be pushed with the passive either (It slows enemey tower's attack speed by 30%). Whilst there may be better raw defensive items, this build isn't focused on diving the backline- and this item is effective with casuals, and is extremely effective with a coordinated team.

Why on athena?
As Athena, your teammates will spam VGS and expect you to be everywhere, all the time, because of Defender of Olympus. Because of this, you'll be helping to defend towers a lot, and also be helping to push with your teammates. Emperor's Armor just gives you even more of a reason to rotate without feeling like you're ineffective, because the passive will always be useful for both attack, and defence.






Spirit Robe


Spirit Robe shouldn't really be a surprise to anybody. It's the tankiest item in the game in terms of what it offers- even after it was nerfed. CDR once again, something that is really important on Athena. The protections are a nice general defence boost, and the passive is very good.

Why on athena?
The damage reduction means that if you initiate a team fight with something like Blink or Preemptive Strike and they focus you down with hard CC, it will be harder for them to do so with the passive of Spirit Robe, as well as the CCR it offers.

Optional Items (Utility)


Slots 5 and 6 are situational items. This slot relies heavily on counter building, or what you feel like your team needs. I wont go into much detail, but I'll list some key items.

Genji's Guard- If you're against a magic heavy damage comp. It doesn't work so well against a magic burst comp (eg, Posideon), but it is still very very effective. Provides a lot of magical protection, and CDR along with the passive is very good, which you'll want to get Confound online as much as possible.
This is an OK option.

Stone of Gaia- If the enemy team has knock-ups (Such as He Bo, or Vulcan) or other types of CC that trigger the passive, this is a must. Preemptive Strike isn't the best dash in the world, and knockup can interupt it. If you have this item, you'll be more likely to stay alive after being knocked up (coupled with the passive from Spirit Robe), giving you more time to charge up your dash and escape. Also helps you sustain, the regeneration per 5 seconds is very nice to have, as your kit doesn't have a heal, and you'll not be building lifesteal.
This is a GOOD option.

Void Stone- If your team has a magic heavy comp, or if you have a magical ADC such as Freya. This is a very aggressive item, but don't forget, the aura won't work unless you're actually there!
This is an OK option.

Pestilence- If you're against magical healers that also do damage, such as Ra, Aprodite, or even Chang'e. Also effective if they have a healing support, such as Sylvanas. If nobody else has this and the enemy has relevant healing, pick it up.
This is a situational option.

Hide of the Nemean Lion and Midgardian Mail- Against AA focused comps, or with a hyper carry god such as Kali, or even gods such as Arachne. Don't rely on them too much though, as the enemy will probably be building items such as Stone Cutting Sword and Executioner. Dont forget, Preemptive Strike gives you stacks of block, meaning you can absorb up to 3 basic attacks. Thats >1000 damage in the late game. Of these two, Hide of the Nemean Lion is usually the better option.
This is a situational option.

Sovereignty- If you have a squishy comp, such as a mage/hunter solo. This can be fit in at any point in the build, but the passive isn't as valued as it once was. Only build it when you need it.
This is a situational option.

Mantle of Discord- Very good against a burst heavy comp. It offers you a whopping 60 of each protection, which is insane. The CDR once again gets you closer to the 40% cap, which is also useful. Perhabs the best bit about this is the passive, which gives you even more CC. As athena, you'll mainly be eating the enemies CC and setting up teamfights. So, it won't be too uncommon to trigger the passive. And, if you've used Confound into your Sheild Wall, the enemies will be well within the radius.
This is a GOOD option.

Hide of the Urchin- is only really good if you know your team, and you build it early. Maybe swap this around with your Spirit Robe to get the stacks, as it's not very good without them. This is a very good item, but only if you get the stacks online.
This is an OK option.

Shogun's Kusari- If you have a good AA comp, such as a Kali jungle or Kali solo, or an AA mid laner like Chronos or even Sol.
This is an OK option.


Points to note with this build


-You need to rotate as much as possible with Defender of Olympus, and make use of Emperor's Armor as much as possible.
-Apply Confound as much as possible when with your adc, to trigger Stone of Binding.
-Don't forget that, although you aren't squishy, you're nowhere near as tanky as you could be until you're at full build.
-Don't take unnecessary risks. Your abilities will be on a longer cooldown because of the slight lack of CDR, and you aren't as tanky as you'd like to think.



Core Items (Tanky Utility)


Just as a quick note, you'll probably want to build Reinforced Shoes with this build, because you're aiming to be as tanky as possible. This build differs from the other because it focusses on a more aggressive playstyle.

Jade emperor's crown


Jade Emperor's Crown is a good item, giving you protections, power, health and the aura. This is a great item when focusing the enemies ADC, as it reduces their damage output, and also protects you from their damage. It's also decently priced.

Why on athena?
You will be pulling people with Confound, which guarantees that this item will be effective. It's a more damage focused item, and also helps you to damage like Stone of Binding does in the other build.


Void Stone


Void Stone is basically like a damage version of Jade Emperor's Crown. It reduces magical protection of the enemy (in effect, providing all your allies with 20 flat magical pen), and offers magical protection. By this point, you'll probably be pretty tanky against most of the enemy team.

Why on athena?
Just a decent damage item. You've now got health, decent amounts of each protection and 2 great aura's. Shield Wall and Reach can give you decent damage numbers on their own, and coupled with this item's passive, you can reliably put out reasonable amounts of damage.


Mantle of Discord



Mantle of Discord is mentioned above, but this offers you pure tankyness. Why this and not Hide of the Urchin you ask? Well, although you'll probably be able to easily get stacks on it, Mantle of Discord offers us 10% CDR as well as the passive, and we've got health from the previous 3 items anyway, so it doesn't matter as much.

Why on athena?
It gives you all you could want at this point of the game. CDR to get Shield Wall and Confound online faster, as well as protections. Remember, this build is focused on being in the thick of it, which also helps to get the most of of the item's passive.

Summary and tips

That's my basic build guide for Athena.
Like I said, this is my first guide, so I would like as much feedback as possible.

Before I go, here's a few points I often see people overlook.

- Reach is very powerful. Make sure to use it as much as possible.

-Stack up Preemptive Strike as much as possible. The passive is invaluable late game.

- Preemptive Strike is your main chase tool. Don't forget, it has a 25% slow! Use it into Confound to stop an enemy from running away, and keep them in position for ganks, etc..

-Buy Ward's as much as possible, and know how to counter ward!!! Counter warding is essential as Athena because it can help you know when to use Defender of Olympus, and stop team fights before they happen!

-Don't expect to be amazingly tanky like Ymir or Ares. You are tanky, but dont take unnecessary risks.

-Don't rely on damage from Defender of Olympus. Always assume it won't do any, because that way you'll be much smarter about rotations.

-Your best combo will be Confound into Shield Wall, NOT Shield Wall into Confound!!!! Although the secondary damage of Shield Wall is higher, the delay between it and the initial damage is too long for Confound to have an effect, and any good player will walk out of the circle.

This took a long time, and I'd originally had a lot more planned, but I didn't want to do too much and have to do a new one soon. I might do another one at the start of season 5.

You is rockstar!

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1
Branmuffin17 (394) | January 10, 2018 11:46pm
Saw Prism's comment, and it made me aware of this guide. I like the way you write and explain things, and it shows you know the god. I especially like your "Why on Athena?" notes and your ratings on the optional items.

In reading your writeup on Stone of Binding, want to just point out one thing with it...you use Confound as the example of activating the passive, but it's not just hard CC...her Preemptive Strike activates the passive too, via the slow.

Anyway, your first build is one I would almost never do, but your explanations make me want to try it =) I usually play her in a more traditional support build type, e.g. Watcher's + Lono's, Travelers, Sov or Jade, Genji or Void, Spirit, and 2 situationals, but I should branch out.

Anyway, good job.
1
samee71 | January 21, 2018 11:55am
Hi,
I did not know that Stone of Binding was activated by Preemptive Strike. I always read it as only activating on "hard cc", but that was just me not reading enough, haha.

Again, I completely understand why you wouldn't build her that way. A lot of people don't like it, but again, it depends on how you want to play her. I play her a little bit more like Khepri, being less front liney.

I appreciate your comments and will take your criticism on board.
Thanks!
1
ThePerfectPrism (56) | January 10, 2018 9:11pm
Really liked the guide, I'm just bothered with 1 information

If you go up to the person, use Shield Wall and wait for the person to almost walk off the circle, Confound can actually keep them long enough for the second damage to go through. You can see Incon doing this all the time he plays Athena solo.

Other than that, REALLY solid guide. Congrats.
1
samee71 | January 21, 2018 11:58am
Hi,
Yeah, I know what you mean. In fact, I do this sometimes too. The only problem I have is that, most of the time, (if you're against decent enemies) you'll be CC'd by the time you get the chance to use Confound.

Again, this is my first guide, and I tried to make it accessible to new players. I really appreciate your feedback and I'll be sure to think through more in the future.

Thank you for reading my guide!
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Athena Pre Season 5 Guide
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