SUCH BLINDING AURA! Support

What order do you build these items?

Just updated the build :)

Might be making an update soon

To the two comments, I usually buy med because I play with randoms all the time so I sadly can never count on them being great this is why I build such a team based first Ares. I could make one for if you had good teammates which yes would include some of what you guys posted. I personally never go Thebes except certain builds because of the risk never knowing if my carry will be competent if I don’t have protections on for them lol. If I play ranked yes I do tend to blink in and ult, this is more a beginner friendly Ares which I think I stated? I’m brand new to this site so I may not have. I also don’t know where to put conditional items on the site area. I would’ve put a few otherwise. The synergy thing is because again I’m not great at this site so I pick the god I’m making a build for and detail what type of person he’d go best with, I write up a little paragraph saying who he should be with instead of droning on 1 by 1. Obviously there will be more detailed guides mine will be more build/ quick tips types.

Hey DeadShadow, welcome to SmiteFire.

I have a few critiques about this build. First and foremost is that while Ares gains power for each aura item he has equipped, you shouldn't limit yourself to just buying those because there are other non-aura items that have better utility.

On to the items you've listed:

1. Meditation cloak is not a very good relic, even after its "buff". Generally you want Blink Rune as your first relic so that you can blink->ult the enemy team. Your second relic depends on the matchup, but Cursed Ankh (when there are 2 or more healers/lifestealers on the enemy team like Hell, Anubis, and Vamana), Belt of Frenzy for pushing objectives and enemy structures), and Sundering Spear (for extra damage against a high-threat target).
2. Relic Dagger is pretty much a must on Areas, especially if you're using blink rune. The added health and relic cooldown are very nice. Plus it gives you some CDR and movement speed.
3. Shogun's Kusari is a situational item that should only be picked up if you have 2 or more teammates who can take advantage of it. Not all hunters and assassins benefit from extra attack speed and neither does Ares.
4. Gauntlet of Thebes is still the most cost-efficient aura item for every support. At full stacks, it provides 50 magical and physical protections, and has an aura that gives nearby teammates 10 of each. That aura also affects you, so you'll have 60 of each. It also has good health and HP5, negating the need for med cloak.
5. Jade Emperor's Crown doesn't bring enough to the table to even be worth considering it. Sure it's cheap, but lowering the physical power of your enemy by 25 isn't going to do much good because that barely affects their damage output. Basically you're wasting gold for an item that doesn't really offer anything, especially when built that late.
6. Spectral Armor should be listed as an option because it helps defend against crits. It's not always necessary, but only having 40% extra damage on a crit versus 100% can mean the difference between being able to retreat and dying.
7. Pestilence should be mentioned because it has a good anti-heal aura and affects Ares' passive.

The synergies section is meant to display what gods a particular god has good synergy with. Areas doesn't have good synergy with himself. I would list gods like Zeus, Odin, and any god that has a good AoE ability or ult that burning an enemy's Purification Beads will help with.

I realize you're going for an aura build, but this one has too many issues with it for me to recommend it. Sorry.

Hey Shadow,

This is a significantly different type of early approach than you typically see on Ares. I can appreciate the thought process w/ getting Jade Emperor's Crown early as a bruiser item for aggression and potential early kills.

That said, I have some comments:

• Your skill leveling looks wacky. It's definitely not what I would suggest. Your highest damage potential is from Shackles and it should usually be the skill you max first. You're not getting your last point in it until level 18, which is straight up hurting your damage potential.
  
  While it's nice you're putting some points into Bolster Defenses to help teammates (I assume), Ares first job isn't to buff those teammates...it's to be a damage threat, and again, the way to do that is to prioritize Shackles followed by Searing Flesh.
  
  And while your ult is pretty decent for damage, it isn't one of those skills you'd really really want to level when available. Typically I'd just suggest putting points into the ult at the very end.
  
  
• While I get the concept of Jade Emperor's Crown as your first main item, I wonder why you don't have what will be the single strongest eHP item for Ares in his build. Yes, I'm talking about Gauntlet of Thebes, which, for your purposes, is also an aura item. Providing some health along with high amounts of both physical and magical protections, it's probably the strongest tank item he can get, and it's nowhere to be seen.
  
  
• Some people get hung up with focusing on Ares' passive and prioritize aura items above all else. While it's good to get aura items, it's not the thing you should be focusing on IMO. You're skipping out on other items that can have great effect...potentially stronger effect, depending on the match and your counter potential.
  
  
• To that point, I really don't suggest Meditation Cloak. I know a lot of people continue to say this, that it's a "noob crutch." But especially in this case, Ares can take special advantage out of Blink Rune. While you do suggest it 2nd, it's probably something you should consider 1st. And with that, one item Ares may like in particular is Relic Dagger. Sure, it doesn't have an aura, but its function can allow you to get significantly greater function out of your ult.
  
  
• Your build does have one counter item ( Witchblade), which is pretty much always useful in any match. That said, some consideration (as an option) should be given. I DO see that in some of your matches using Ares, you've picked up Pestilence, which is fine, though I think you should list it as a situational option in your build, at least as reference for people that might be trying your build. Other items like Spectral Armor, Contagion, etc., should probably also be listed.

TL;DR, overall your items are good, though I personally give less emphasis to items like Heartward Amulet. Your skill leveling should be improved, Thebes should be considered, and some extra items should be considered at least as situational options.

I liked this build alot, very well balanced. I've been doing well with it so far!