Call to Arms

Athena is probably one of the most versatile gods in the game. She is commonly played in both the solo and support roles and I have seen her played as a jungler as well. Being a guardian she is naturally high in health and defense. A balance between CC, damage and mobility makes Athena a good add to any possible team comp. So, you know those games where you don't know who to pick but you have to chose quickly so you don't get deserter for not choosing a god. What I'm trying to say is in that scenario CHOOSE ATHENA (unless you need an ADC). Even though they are not complicated builds they are are good for just about any situation in their respective roles and the modifiable items are worked into the build.

Reach, Athena's passive, is VERY underrated. Every time you use an ability your next auto attack will be ranged and deal an added 25% of your magical power in damage. This can be used to help lane clear a bit, poke gods and even get the killing blow while chasing. However, it is best when used with a damage build because of its scaling which is better than her auto attacks even if the base scaling wasn't a factor. A trick with this ability is to use any ability while in fountain so you can use Reach the second you enter combat.

Preemptive Strike Is Athena's #1 ability. It takes about 1.5 seconds to charge. Hard CC will interrupt the ability during this time but you can keep moving for the duration. When it is ready it is a 55 unit dash that covers ground very quickly. It will stop if it hits a god and slow all hit by 25%. If ANY enemy is hit you will gain one stack of shield that will block one auto attack. This ability is great for early game poking because you can get in and run out using your shield to absorb some damage. This is also her main mobility.

Confound is one of the best supporting CC abilities in the game. Always level it to maximum ASAP if your playing as a tank or support. The taunt CC forces effected enemies to attack you. This is often more effective than even a stun while covering your allies escape because they will sometimes decide to focus you after the effect ends (because the're already facing you). Also, it is a very versatile CC. You can use it to set up a kill, drag you enemies into a tower or ability (particularly Shield Wall), cover an allies escape or even change your foes camera angle to face you.

Shield Wall serves 2 main purposes for Athena. Its first role is Athena's primary source of damage. It strikes 2 times doing damage equal to 560+100% of your magical power at max rank. A useful strategy is to use it then hit effected enemies with Confound to keep them in the radius. Its second role is zoning. The second strike occurs 2 seconds after the first and trust me, no one WANTS to get hit with that second strike. While fleeing in the jungle just use it and keep running. Your enemy will either leave you alone or take some BIG damage. It can also be used in lane to discourage your enemies from attacking your minions or allies.

Defender of Olympus IS SUCH AN EPIC ULTIMATE!!! Its primary use is to get around the map quickely. She can target and fly to any allied god. This makes her easily the best spit pushing guardian there is. It's called Defender of Olympus for a reason. It is an incredible defensive ultimate. It gives the targeted got 20% damage reduction for the 4.2 second charge time and zones EVERYONE out of the radius unless the targeted god makes it a point to hit someone with it. That brings me to the damage factor. It does up to 750 damage +90% of your magical power. This makes it powerful but do not use it as a reliable source of damage. Do NOT expect to get many kills with is because it is very easy for enemies to get out of the radius in the 4.2 second time. Use it primarily for the mobility and mitigation.

Pros

• High Mobility
• Very Versatile
• No problem clearing minions/ camps
• Global Ultimate can be used to get in or out of situations
• Great Chaser

• Ultimate not much use without a team
• Dash has a charge time
• May take heavy damage taunting ADC's
• #2 is her only hard CC

Build 1
First thing I should mention is that if you can't escape with Preemptive Strike due to hard CC switch either Spirit Robe or Hide of the Urchin for Magi's Blessing Magi's Blessing or get the active item Greater Purification.

As for boots there is a very easy way to choose. If your having problems with the enemy support get Shoes of the Magi for some penetration. If the enemy ADC is your worst problem get Reinforced Shoes for the health and CC reduction. Every second of CC is a nightmare when facing a powerful ADC. If your worst problem is the enemy jungler get Shoes Of Focus to reduce cooldowns on Confound to aid your ADC in escape and Preemptive Strike to aid you in escape. However, if you are planning on getting Spirit Robe do not get Shoes of Focus as you will already have 30% cooldown reduction. Unless you just REALLY want that extra 10% but I find 30% works just fine with Athena.

The last thing to discuss on this build is the "chose your weapon" section. Really this is just based on preference and situation. However, there are a few things to note. First of all if you don't have Shoes of the Magi you will have no penetration unless you get Void Stone. This item will also up your magical defense and power. Celestial Legion Helm is basically just Void Stone but rigged to fight Assassins and Hunters instead of Guardians. Instead of penetration it will reduce critical damage to you as well as making you more physically tanky and give you some power. If you just want to be more tanky in general get Etheral Staff for the health. Also, this item can give you a very good amount of power. It will give you 2% of your maximum health in extra power. That said Reinforced Shoes go well with this item because they also up your health by 150. The last item in this category is Gem of Isolation. Just use this item if you don't really need any of the others or if you find your CC to be insufficient for the situation. With this item enemies hit by Preemptive Strike will be slowed by 50%.


Build 2
Almost this whole build can be personalized to suit situation and preference.

First thing to note is the cooldown reduction over the course of the build. 25% is normally enough but if you want the extra go right ahead. The only thing I would not do is choose pythagoreums piece, shoes of focus and Chronos Pendant for the same build. Just get a different lifesteal item.

That said the sustain items are very important to this build. If you don't have Chronos Pendant or do and chose Shoes of the Magi it is often a good idea to build Pythagoreums Piece. However, only get this item if all of the following conditions apply. First, the enemy has low healing. If this doesn't apply get Divine Ruin. Second, your tower damage and damage from auto attacks is sufficient for the situation. If this does not apply get Bancroft's Talon.

Concerning boots you should choose based on only one thing. Your damage. Will you do more damage with higher cooldown or with the extra penetration. In other words get Shoes of the Magi against high defense characters and Shoes of Focus against everyone else.

Mp5 and Mana is the next section. Base this decision largely on your other items. Book of Toth is best if you lack damage or already have enough cooldown. Also it gives more mana but less Mp5 than the other option so it is a better short term item. Chronos Pendant is better if you have to stay in lane for huge amounts of time or if you don't have good cooldown reduction.

Penetration is the easiest decision in this build. Do you have tanky enemies? Yes? then get Obsidian Shard. The only time you should choose Void Stone is when your enemies are not so tanky or you are taking HUGE damage from magical sources.

Ok, the Damage section is where you really tie this build together. Just a few things to remember.

• Gem Of Isolation, Warlocks Sash and Soul Reaver all give you mana. Any of these combo well with Book of Toth
• Warlocks Sash and Gem of Isolation also give you health. This can make you slightly more tanky in bad situations where you take lots of damage.
• As well as giving you massive damage Rod Of Tauti also provides Mp5 so it works great for any situation where you have to stay in lane for INSANE amounts of time.
• Telkhines Ring effects everyone effected by Reach

ADC's

When I think of ADC's that work well with Athena Medusa is the first one that comes to mind. Athena's taunt forces enemies to face her, setting up Medusa's ultimate just beautifully. Early game Athena can help with lane clear until Acid Spray is enough to clear on its own.

Ullr also compliments Athena with devastating effect. While in ax stance Athena's ultimate is very likely to do damage as well as protect him in close combat. Then while in Bow stance Athena can make it very easy for Ullr to hit his very precise and long range Bladed Arrow and Hail of Arrows . On the other hand Ullr can use Thrown Axe to help Athena with CC.

Both Cupid and Artemis can benefit from Athena. She helps provide minion clear early game to these generally low lane clear hunters. Also her taunt can be used to pull enemies into Fields of Love or Calydonian Boar . Cupid, like Ullr can help out with CC. Also, remember that with Artemis you can taunt an enemy strait into Transgressors Fate. The root from that can easily set her up for a good clean kill. If she can't do the job, however, use Shield Wall while the're rooted to finish the job.


Junglers

Athena is great for setting up Arachne . Using Confound as a peel allows Arachne to easily hit an enemy god with Venomous Bite or Cocoon . Past that their both great chasers allowing them to combo on the go against a fleeing god.

Awilix is also a preferable jungler while playing Athena. Once again the ability to make enemy gods face you with Confound makes it easy for Awilix to pull the knock up on Moonlight Charge witch in turn sets up her ultimate, Gravity Surge .


Mid-laners

Athena should be loved by all who play Vulcan in the middle lane. His ultimate Earthshaker can be hard to hit at maximum range, where it does the most damage. If he launches this attack then Athena uses Confound it will pull them into the radius and almost guarantee Vulcan the kill. If the enemy is already in the radius you can also use Preemptive Strike to slow them, making sure they will stay in the radius. Also, while pushing together, Athena can focus on minions while Vulcan goes strait for enemy gods using Backfire near an Inferno Cannon to target them directly.

Aphrodite is a mid laner that works well with Athena but there are also cons to this relationship. The main con to this team up it that Aphrodite has to be careful not to throw enemies out of Shield Wall using Back Off! . However the pros are more than worth it. First of all their combined slows make it very easy to chase enemies. If Athena uses Preemptive Strike to catch up to an enemy they will be slowed. Then she can move around them and Aphrodite can use Back Off! to launch them strait to her and slow them again. She can then follow up with Love Birds to do some heavy damage. Another thing to note on the topic of mobility is that Athena will be sped up by Aphrodite's Kiss adding to her already insane mobility. Also, when retreating from a situation Aphrodite can use Undying Love to allow Athena to charge Preemptive Strike. Finally, this combo will make Athena almost invincible between Aphrodite's heals and Athena's shield stacks on Preemptive Strike.

Squishies such as Anubis and Scylla benefit greatly from Athena's zoning, peeling and defensive abilities. In the case of these gods you will want to use your Defender Of Olympus primarily for the 20% mitigation. Sometimes using this even when you're right next to them can save their lives. Past that using your Shield Wall as zoning and Confound as a peel is almost always enough to allow them to escape from or kill the enemy. Also, targeting with Scylla's I'm A Monster or Anubis'Death Gaze is much easier when slowed so remember to use Preemptive Strike to set them up.

Nu Wa is Deadly when used with Athena. Combo Confound with Clay Soldiers for a long CC chain that will also guarantee the second strike of Shield Wall. Once again, Nu Wa builds onto Athena's mobility with Mysterious Fog . Also, Nu Wa's ultimate Fire Shards makes it easier to chose a target for your Defender Of Olympus.