RIP AD Aphrodite

This build is no longer possible as Aphrodite has been shifted to a magical inhand god.
Let this guide remain to show what once was beautiful.

RIP: AD Aphrodite.

"Too much power for me." ~Kanye West

Support is lame. Fact. I like pentas. You like pentas. *****es like pentas.
But sometimes we feel guilty being an awe inspiring murder machine while looking upon our level 15 Ymir 30 minutes into a game. So how does one get to feel like a team player while still being a glorious ad carry? Simple, do both!

"But isn't that what Neith does?" ~Fool
"No because Neith sucks." ~Ralloff

Most Aphrodite players break down into 3 pools of thought.
Full MP build Aphrodite/ Tank Aphrodite/ Tank-MP Hybrid Aphrodite

Being blunt, tank and hybrid Aphrodite are both useless. Don't play them. Sobek/ Ymir both do CC tanks better, and Guan Yu/ Hel are much more solid support hybrids.

This leaves MP Aphrodite. Who in all fairness is pretty strong. The heal is powerful enough to bail teamates out from dug graves and your damage when added to a solid carry or mage can be enough to secure the kill. However, there is still much to be desired with
a magical built Aphrodite. It's somewhat difficult to hit with her Love Birds unless target is immobilized. And due to the way Back Off! works, you have very little self defense when linked to you're soul mate. Lastly, because her birds are the main source of damage and healing, you have to time it to get it's full effect. Opening with it ensures damage on an immobilized target, but if you're soul mate or you get hurt, your heal is on CD.

Something to consider when looking at Aphrodite is how she fulfills her support roles. A stun, a slow, an invul, and a heal. What's important to note is that she only requires magic power to perform 1 of these. So why invest in it when you can have much higher damage and still maintain most of your support?(1)

And it's due to all of the above that AD Aphrodite stands out as being just as viable if not more viable than it's tank and magic counterparts.

TL;DR The way you build Aphrodite sucks for many reasons. Follow this guide and it won't suck so much.

Pros

Element of suprise(Until it catches on)
Good Dueling God
More structure damage and damage in general
Better self defense
Great support
Stronger late game
***** on Ne Zha
Not garbage in arena

Smaller heal for allies
Weaker early game due to lack of MP5
Stacked damage types in pub games without proper communication(3 AD)
Small mana pool
Lower AOE Damage

As is the case with any god, one of the most important parts of playing AD Aphrodite is knowing what items to build and when. This chapter is written to give you a quick idea of every physicals items purpose, as well as several non-physical items that you might consider picking up.

Death's Toll: Ive always had mixed feelings about Deaths Toll. I like the small amount of power it gives as well as the health, but outside of that it doesnt seem that great for AD Aph. The passive is meager compared to Vampiric Shroud, and without the physical scaling on abilities I feel like you benefit less from the little extra early game physical power than if were a god like Apollo, Anhur, or Xblanque leaving very little to be gained from the item over Tabi rank 2. It also doesn't mesh well with a strategy of denying creep in left and right lane since you wont auto attack half as much. That said, I still pick it up in conquest and joust; in mid along with Vampiric Shroud and left with rank 1 tabi and a pot. But even then, I still wonder if its not better to just pick up boots quicker and skip Deaths Toll all together.

Tabi: There's not much to be said on Tabi that I need to say. Its standard attire on every ad carry in the game. No RADC is complete without it. Since the separation between warrior and ninja, I feel Ninja is a the better choice as crit is very important on AD Aphrodite.

Devourer's Gloves: This is a great item. The low price is justified by the need to build stacks. But after you get those stacks life is quite good. With 50 power and 20% life steal who can argue this item isnt fantastic? I usually pick this up before the Executioner, but thats always a matter of preference for any ranged AD player. You can never go wrong picking this item on an ADC.

The Executioner: Nothing groundbreaking to be found here either. Executioner is a no brainer for the price, power, and attack speed. The armor penetration will give added oomph to all your basic attacks and help deal with tankier gods. Its especially essential to AD Aphrodite who desperately needs some attack speed items to not fire of basic attacks at the pace of molasses.

Rage: Very few matches of Smite are not accompanied without Rage; the item of course.
Slayer of men and Qins Blade, this item hasnt always been in the game but offering up a whopping 30+% critical strike chance its an absolutely necessary buy on AD Aphrodite who does damage late game almost strictly with crits. I pick it up before DB due to AD Aph gaining less from physical power than actual physical gods. Rage is also a cheaper item and offers up more in its earlier ranks so there's that.

Deathbringer: Rage was only the beginning to a very predictable story in the building of AD Aph. This item makes your crits much stronger and increases the amount you have. Very nice.

Soul Eater: I like this item a lot. Though I rarely take this item alone, combined with another solid lifesteal item such as Devourers Glove and you become a menace. The small offerings of the attack speed, power, and health make it that much more enticing. While the current meta doesnt favor double lifesteal over higher burst, I have a special forbidden love with it and will continue to for the rest of my days. And honestly I dont think AD Aph should be considered a primary damage dealer anyways. Shes there to keep the primary carry alive and clean up the bits and pieces. This item will ensure you do just that. Bonus points go to this item because health baiting melee assassins is incredibly satisfying.

Titan's Bane: Fairly standard on most ADCs. Not so standard on AD Aph. The Executioner is what will provide your armor penetration in this build. Titans Bane should never change that. However if you find the enemy building pesky protections in masses, you might consider it as a 5th or 6th item pickup. Titans Bane is the go to item if you want to simply deal more damage and is very good for taking objectives inside small time frames.

Transcendence: Ill take a Transcendence with a side of undecided. Endgame this item grants 73 physical power if you take no other mana items. It will allow you keep up a very solid push/farm while dealing with one of AD Aphs main issues, low mana. AD Aph is actually a great god for it due to her having a higher base mana pool than any other RADC and thus gaining more from power the passive. But like I said, Im undecided as if and when to pick it up. It hurts my romance with double lifesteal builds and doesnt allow you to solo objectives like Devourers Gloves. On top of that Transcendence is more expensive than Devos Gloves. It will however let you keep up a long push and spam Birds for a decent mid game sustain. Ill need a good 50 games+ to test this item and come to any sort of conclusion.

Frostbound Hammer: Meh. Ive never been a fan of this item. It gives mediocre power and health with a now mediocre passive. It used to be a more reliable pick up on some gods, but with the amount of slow immunities and hard CC floating around, theres no reason to pick this up. Better off hoping your tank does his job and take a better item so you can properly do yours.

Jotunn's Wrath: Who doesnt love CDR? Who doesnt love power and penetration? This is a pretty solid pickup at any time. Its an even more solid pick up in Arena where it pays heavily to have shorter cooldowns and Devos Glove becomes a less convenient option.

I wrote a poem for the next one. I hope you like it.

Qin's Blades: I bought it to slay gods!
And found to my dismay
The enemy health, well below 3k
Where to start? This item used to be good. Due to better options now existing and health stacking becoming less common (RIP: Silverfox Girdle) this item is now mediocre. The attack speed and power are excellent, but for a damage oriented item it just doesn't provide enough damage to any target not stacking crazy health. Titans Bane is almost always the better overall damage item and any alternative will provide a passive with more utility. I've seen Qins put to work on some melee gods and Apollo whose passive greatly benefits from attack speed, but I cant think of any other gods Id pick it up on.

Fatalis: ZOOM ZOOM. Fun item, but rarely a good item. The attack and movement speed are nice, but it cuts your damage quite a bit. Allows for solid repositioning, and it will let you keep up with faster allies such as Wukong or Poseidon. Though I never really pick it up, I still like it more than Qins Blade.


Heartseeker: Heartseeker is a solid item if you know you can win. That said AD Aph gains less from its physical power than other gods and this makes the risk vs reward of it a little off kilter. It can work, but I dont recommend it. Unless of course your aiming to be the fastest Aphrodite this side of Olympus. Stack with Fatalis and Winged Wand for best results.

Brawler's Beat Stick: Really only an item you pick for the passive to counter a team comp with a lot of healing/lifesteal. It does its job well and is actually a solid pickup over Soul Eater in the right situations.

Golden Bow: I dont feel like this is ever really a good pickup. Not even in movement speed builds. If you have an Ares to pull enemies close together maybe, but dealing huge aoe damage isnt your job. Leave that to the mages.

Ankh of the Golem: More of a bruiser item and not a great one at that. I can see it on a quick upstart bruiser due to its low price. However, Ive never used it on any ranged AD and never see myself doing so.

Witch Stone: Pretty similar to Ankh in that I wouldnt take it on a ranged carry.

Eye of Retaliation: Did I mention I liked double life steal? Its too expensive to justify taking it over Devos Gloves in conquest, but its a good replacement for Devos Gloves in situations where you cant get stacks easily, or as a replacement for Soul Eater in any MOTD with large gold pools at the start of the match.

Hydra's Lament: Straight up, this item is too expensive for what it does and Aphrodites base physical scaling doesnt do much for its passive. I guess if you already have a Jotunns Wrath and want to cap CDR for some reason then go for it, but there are definitely better options without even taking Hydras ridiculous price into consideration.

Voidblade: This is a situational pick up if youre fed and the enemy has a good deal of physical damage at hand. Better on melee gods, but it does its job superbly.

Vampiric Shroud: This may be an AD build guide, but Vampiric Shroud is too good on Aphrodite to pass up in a lane where you can get last hits reliable. This will return the gold you put into it and then some by the time you sell it for a full build item.

Winged Wand: So Anubis and Ao Kuang walk into a bar¦. This item may save your hide in arena if the enemy team is really putting out slows. Not something Id typically take, but it can be a good choice in a multi Gem of Iso situation.

Protection Items: I dont feel like its necessary to cover protection items in detail as this isnt a tank guide, but if youre very far ahead or if the enemy is stacking damage types it doesnt hurt your damage output too much to build some protections.

You may have noticed I put no effort into the skill leveling bit up top. That for a good reason. Just like items, how you level skills will differ greatly depending on the enemy you face. Generally prioritize your 3 and 4. What you should level after that is highly preferential and differs from match to match.

Passive: Loving Embrace

Regardless of how you build Aphrodite, this passive is mediocre. It does nothing to help Aphrodite, and very little for your soul mate without serious mana regen(MP5) investment which just isnt worth it. It is however enough to grant Aphrodite blue buff when you and your soul mate are indifferent/ indecisive as to who should take it. The passive is particularly useless on AD Aphrodite due to complete lack of MP5. Expect a buff to this passive sometime after the developers buff Bastets passive (Never). It should be noted that this passive does synergies well with meditation as it grants the mana you gain from it to your soul mate as well. I still consider meditation a poor choice of active, but thats a separate topic all together.

Skill 1: Kiss


The back bone to the entire soul mate business. Proper use of kiss is what separates a proper Aphrodite player from a poor one. This skill is your initiate, counter initiate, chase, attack buff, and passive all in one. While kiss is a very easy stun to land, there are some catches. They are as follows: Kiss will not clip through allies that are not her soul mate; instead it will link you the ally you hit. The cool down wont reset, but you will consume mana and if it happens multiple times you can end up drained quite quickly. This makes kiss somewhat unreliable in clustered team fights. Secondly, the aiming reticule will display lips when targeting an ally. This means you have locked on to your ally and the kiss will link you. Do not try to lead this as you would other skill shots when linking with an ally. When targeting an enemy however, you do need to compensate for movement and lead strafing targets. This can be cumbersome for beginners who try to do one or the other at the wrong time so be mindful as a missed kiss can get you or your team mates killed. This skill isnt affected by building AD at all. Hurray!!!!

Skill 2: Back Off!


Back off is a very straightforward ability. When linked it provides a slow and chunk of burst damage at your soul mates location. When unlinked it provides the same damage, but replacing the slow is a knockback at your location. This ability provides a great deal of utility. The downside is when youre linked you dont have a knockback which can really such if there happens to be a melee assassin on the enemy team. When built AD in the late game this will be used to slow targets and getting a little more damage off when basic attacks arent possible,

Skill 3: Love Birds


Pretty straight forward. Love birds is a ranged area of effect ability that heals you and damages your enemies. This is the bread and butter of any Aphrodite lane. What makes it so great is that its one of the few, if not the only powerful heal that is linked to damage making it ideal for lane clearing and jungling in early game. Its also the only heal that heals allies not within its aoe. Both of these features however are double edged swords. Being both Aphrodites primary damage source and heal means she has to decide what to do when opening an engagement. Save birds for the healing since you're at full health, or do damage while an opponent is likely cc'd? On a fairly short cooldown there's rarely a wrong way to do it, but it does present some tough decisions when engaging the enemy. The second uniqueness of love birds is that it heals your soul mate. What's great about this is that it heals him/her wherever he or she is at the moment. Be it across lane or in the sky, so long as you are within link range. This means that even if separated your heal still reaches your ally. The downside of this is that it only heals your soul mate, making sustaining your whole team in a long push less viable with Aphrodite than with a god like Hel or Ra who both have aoe heals that affect multiple allies. It's also somewhat hard to land on not ccd targets. As far as AD Aphrodite is concerned this skill takes the biggest hit from building physical power. With a whopping 90% magical power scaling you definitely lose out on a large chunk of healing in the late game by building AD. However, in the early game, when you have very few MP items regardless of how you plan to build you should hardly notice a difference in damage/ healing due to skill level prioritization being more crucial to skill effectiveness early game. Late game the relatively small heal will be decent support for tanks that use health more effectively than carries. It can also be used for zoning and getting off damage on distant targets or targets through walls you couldnt basic attack.

Skill 4: Undying Love

Very simple. This makes you and your soul mate invulnerable to all damage and cc for a period of time. Solid counter to teams with strong burst damage such as Poseidon. The level one duration however is pitiful and gives any Aphrodite lane a fairly weak level 5. In certain 1v1 situations it's best to ignore the ability all together and level backoff or love birds instead.

In conclusion, AD Aphrodite in the right hands is a very powerful god that plays like no other god providing support that no other god has. While it may be true that any one can smash bads with any god, I've had great results with this build and I encourage anyone interested in playing Aphrodite to try this build out!

1.You don't lose the healing early game, your heal is almost as strong as it would be had you build magic; the actual disadvantage lies in lost MP5 from early game Chronos Pendant)

2.If laning with another AD who buys executioner early, buy rage before executioner. Executioner will not stack higher than 4 with 2 hitting(According to HirezBart). So I say get them crits!

3.Regarding the choice of lifesteal over protections, I like it because it allows good health baiting, sustain, and strong active defense against all damage types. It's also a nice counter to Nimean Hide. Also allows for complete shutdown of most melee gods.

Expect teammates to treat you especially badly when rocking the AD Aphrodite if you do poorly. The teammates who chronically trash talk players for a bad game are an especially ignorant bunch and will fail to see the potential in the idea. But push on through!

Your damage may come as a surprise to your enemy. Use their ignorance to your advantage and bait assassins.

In any MOTD where you have high gold at the start of the match, AD Aphrodite can dominate with ease due to invul and being able to 2 shot people.