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Guardian's Blessing is your go-to starter for support Ares. Early protections and increased gold for assists are great.
Mage's Blessing is a more aggressive, damage oriented starter if you want to play more of a bruiser role. Added ability damage and cooldown reduction can be useful for heavy aggression but you miss out on tankiness. Guardian's Blessing is your go-to starter for support Ares. Early protections and increased gold for assists are great.
Mage's Blessing is a more aggressive, damage oriented starter if you want to play more of a bruiser role. Added ability damage and cooldown reduction can be useful for heavy aggression but you miss out on tankiness.
Pots and wards are your choice.
Guardian's Blessing
Shoes
Healing Potion
Mana Potion
Baron's Brew
Ward
Pestilence to counter that pesky 
Baron Samedi or 
Aphrodite . 
Spirit Robe for the CCR and CDR. 
Relic Dagger for the non stop blink-ults.
This is a pretty basic build that can fit most situations. Three aura items to give you that sweet damage. Pestilence to counter that pesky Baron Samedi or Aphrodite . Spirit Robe for the CCR and CDR. Relic Dagger for the non stop blink-ults.
Shoes of Focus
Void Stone
Sovereignty
Pestilence
Spirit Robe
Relic Dagger
Shoes of Focus : My go-to boots. You get a larger mana pool and CDR. MORE CHAINS.
Reinforced Shoes : Get these if you're being bullied early. Ares is by default a pretty squishy guardian, so these may help you out.
Traveler's Shoes : An option for larger maps where you want to zoom back to lane. In Joust or Arena, not the best option.
Shoes of the Magi : Your damage option. Sometimes fun in arena where you're just memeing, but I think Shoes of Focus are simply the better overall option.
Shoes of Focus : My go-to boots. You get a larger mana pool and CDR. MORE CHAINS.
Reinforced Shoes : Get these if you're being bullied early. Ares is by default a pretty squishy guardian, so these may help you out.
Traveler's Shoes : An option for larger maps where you want to zoom back to lane. In Joust or Arena, not the best option.
Shoes of the Magi : Your damage option. Sometimes fun in arena where you're just memeing, but I think Shoes of Focus are simply the better overall option.
Shoes of Focus
Reinforced Shoes
Traveler's Shoes
Shoes of the Magi
Sovereignty : Physical protections for you and your team. Added HP5 as well. A pretty standard support item.
Heartward Amulet : Magic protections and MP5 for your team. Against magic heavy teams, this is a must.
Gauntlet of Thebes : Balanced protections that come online after you finish your stacks. Are you confident you can get those stacks quickly? Get this after boots. Are you and your teammates getting destroyed early? Buy other protections instead, or wait and buy this later in the game.
Sovereignty : Physical protections for you and your team. Added HP5 as well. A pretty standard support item.
Heartward Amulet : Magic protections and MP5 for your team. Against magic heavy teams, this is a must.
Gauntlet of Thebes : Balanced protections that come online after you finish your stacks. Are you confident you can get those stacks quickly? Get this after boots. Are you and your teammates getting destroyed early? Buy other protections instead, or wait and buy this later in the game.
Sovereignty
Heartward Amulet
Gauntlet of Thebes
Void Stone : Really nice on Ares. Some magic protections and power, but the aura helps you and your mages punch harder. Another option to buy right after boots if you want more aggression.
Pythagorem's Piece : Interesting late game aura item. Shared lifesteal and power to bolster your teamfights, and CDR for you because you've been a good boy.
Void Stone : Really nice on Ares. Some magic protections and power, but the aura helps you and your mages punch harder. Another option to buy right after boots if you want more aggression.
Pythagorem's Piece : Interesting late game aura item. Shared lifesteal and power to bolster your teamfights, and CDR for you because you've been a good boy.
Void Stone
Pythagorem's Piece
Breastplate of Valor : Physical protections and 20% CDR mean MORE CHAINS.
Genji's Guard : Magical protections with a nice CDR passive Spirit Robe : Fantastic all-around item for any support. Balanced protections, CDR, CCR, and damage mitigation. You're gonna be a tanky boy.
Mantle of Discord : Balanced protections, CDR, and a passive that's great if you're taking lots of damage in teamfights. Great if the enemy team throws all their stuff at you while you're trying to ult.
Breastplate of Valor : Physical protections and 20% CDR mean MORE CHAINS.
Genji's Guard : Magical protections with a nice CDR passive
Spirit Robe : Fantastic all-around item for any support. Balanced protections, CDR, CCR, and damage mitigation. You're gonna be a tanky boy.
Mantle of Discord : Balanced protections, CDR, and a passive that's great if you're taking lots of damage in teamfights. Great if the enemy team throws all their stuff at you while you're trying to ult.
Breastplate of Valor
Genji's Guard
Spirit Robe
Mantle of Discord
Midgardian Mail : Slows enemies that hit you with autos. Only get this if the enemy team has multiple basic attackers.
Witchblade : A better option against AA heavy gods. This is an aura item as well so you're passive will thank you. Good pairing with Midgardian Mail * The attack speed this item provides lets you weave 2 autos between your chain combos ;)
Hide of the Nemean Lion : More AA hate. Not an item I buy often, but against a bunch of AA gods it's a consideration.
Midgardian Mail : Slows enemies that hit you with autos. Only get this if the enemy team has multiple basic attackers.
Witchblade : A better option against AA heavy gods. This is an aura item as well so you're passive will thank you. Good pairing with Midgardian Mail * The attack speed this item provides lets you weave 2 autos between your chain combos ;)
Hide of the Nemean Lion : More AA hate. Not an item I buy often, but against a bunch of AA gods it's a consideration.
Midgardian Mail
Witchblade
Hide of the Nemean Lion
Shogun's Kusari : Do you have multiple basic attackers on your team? Get this item. Magic protection, CDR, and CCR also a plus. Pestilence : Anti heal and magic protection. I find myself buying this more often than Heartward Amulet because of all the healers that are in the meta. It offers enough protections that alongside Void Stone you should be fine against balanced teams.
Shogun's Kusari : Do you have multiple basic attackers on your team? Get this item. Magic protection, CDR, and CCR also a plus.
Pestilence : Anti heal and magic protection. I find myself buying this more often than Heartward Amulet because of all the healers that are in the meta. It offers enough protections that alongside Void Stone you should be fine against balanced teams.
Shogun's Kusari
Pestilence
Jade Emperor's Crown : Calm down your enemy's physical damage. You have to be pretty close to your opponent for this to work, so be sure your teammates are on board here.
Winged Blade : I'm a big fan of getting this late game. The passive helps you get out of annoying 
Poseidon pools, 
Cerberus breath, etc.. Relic Dagger : BLINK/ULT BABY. If you buy this item with Winged Blade or any other movement speed item, you should consider selling your boots. You'll have enough speed to get around, I promise
Jade Emperor's Crown : Calm down your enemy's physical damage. You have to be pretty close to your opponent for this to work, so be sure your teammates are on board here.
Winged Blade : I'm a big fan of getting this late game. The passive helps you get out of annoying Poseidon pools, Cerberus breath, etc..
Relic Dagger : BLINK/ULT BABY. If you buy this item with Winged Blade or any other movement speed item, you should consider selling your boots. You'll have enough speed to get around, I promise
Jade Emperor's Crown
Winged Blade
Relic Dagger
Spear of the Magus : Here's some more damage. Stack it with more chains. Make your opponents sad.
Mystical Mail : Here's some math: Increased Ares passive + Chain DOT + Mystical DOT + Flames DOT = sad opponent. Add some CCR to the mix and you have a cool win-more item.
Gem of Isolation : More damage and an additional slow is great when you just want to flex on your opponent. Overkill, but funny.
I wouldn't really recommend these items unless your team is running away with the game. Sometimes you just gotta meme.
Spear of the Magus : Here's some more damage. Stack it with more chains. Make your opponents sad.
Mystical Mail : Here's some math: Increased Ares passive + Chain DOT + Mystical DOT + Flames DOT = sad opponent. Add some CCR to the mix and you have a cool win-more item.
Gem of Isolation : More damage and an additional slow is great when you just want to flex on your opponent. Overkill, but funny.
Spear of the Magus
Mystical Mail
Gem of Isolation
Blink Rune : Ares' best friend. Lets you jump into the enemy team and ult quickly. Classic combo. Usually the first relic I grab if I don't need an immediate counter.
Magic Shell : This shield has great use in teamfights. Perfect for when you want save your 
Loki before he decides to keep fighting and die.
Heavenly Wings : Counters enemy slows and lets your team escape or chase.
Horrific Emblem : Cool option for after you get a bunch of enemies in your ult. Counters AA based gods. Also helps escapes and chases.
Thanatos or 
Achilles executes.
Blink Rune : Ares' best friend. Lets you jump into the enemy team and ult quickly. Classic combo. Usually the first relic I grab if I don't need an immediate counter.
Magic Shell : This shield has great use in teamfights. Perfect for when you want save your Loki before he decides to keep fighting and die.
Heavenly Wings : Counters enemy slows and lets your team escape or chase.
Horrific Emblem : Cool option for after you get a bunch of enemies in your ult. Counters AA based gods. Also helps escapes and chases.
Meditation Cloak : Not something I'll usually buy, especially in arena. BUT this can help you counter Thanatos or Achilles executes.
Blink Rune
Magic Shell
Heavenly Wings
Horrific Emblem
Cloak of Meditation
Y
B
A
X
A couple things on building Ares:
-In general, I don't like to give a single build for any guardian. The support role is all about adapting to your team and the enemy team. Take a look at all the options and choose items that fit the situation you're in.
-We all know Ares' passive adds power with completed aura items. This does not mean that you want to build 5-6 aura items every game. Like I said before, you're playing support. You need to think about your team before you start going ham with auras. Some games you'll have 4-5 auras, in others you may only have 2-3. Don't get too caught up looking for that extra 30 power, because it won't matter when you and your team are getting spit roasted by the enemy team. Luckily there are lots of viable aura items right now so it shouldn't be too hard to get value out of your passive
Thanks for checking out my build guide. It's my first one so any help/advice would be appreciated.
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I like your summary, about build adaptation, not necessarily wanting/needing 5 aura items, etc. I've become pretty familiar with
As for your build, let's see.
- I would drop
Wards from your starting options. If you're not playing Conquest, I wouldn't waste the gold. I can maybe see in Joust for an aggressive start looking to steal a jungle camp (OhHolyDuck had a video on that strat), but in almost any other case, it wouldn't be something I would get to start.
- Also non-Conquest, I wouldn't consider
Traveler's Shoes. The other 3 all have good function, but I don't feel Traveler's fits. Focus for CDR since you often don't get them in other common early Ares support items, Magi for early aggression, Reinforced for extra early tankiness. Those are definitely all reasonable options.
- Good writeup on the aura protection items.
- Good options on the offensive auras. I like and commonly use both of those.
- Good writeup on the CDR/prot items. Often suggestion either BoV or Genji, not both, because it's a bit of mana overkill. I know a lot of the reason to get them are for the CDR and specified prots, but I feel other items balance his kit better when you choose one of these.
- You cover all anti-ADC items well, though I might suggest mentioning that you probably should only get Nemean if you don't get Midgardian/Witch. You cover the other "helpful" auras well.
- You're probably making sure you just cover all options well, but I personally never get
Jade Emperor's Crown on him...I'm curious how often you pick it up yourself. I like how you talk about if you get Relic + another MS, you should consider selling shoes.
- I love SotM on him, at least when there's at least one more reliable tank on the team. I also think
Gem of Isolation is functional...even if you miss 
Shackles, you can still easily apply the slow with 
Searing Flesh, making it very nice for teammates to secure kills.
- In teamfight modes, I feel, even though it's selfish,
Aegis Amulet is a functional thing for the same reason you have Meditation Cloak, and think it should be an option as well.
All in all, solid list of item options, a good example build, etc. +1-I put
-Like you said, some of my picks were simply covering all bases. I do actually get
I'll keep editing the build, thanks for the input