The Unkillable Aphrodite (Support and Mid)

Hello, and welcome to my first Smitefire guide for the Goddess Aphrodite. This will primarily cover her in a support role, but I will make some comments on how I play her in mid lane as well.

There are already several guides on how to use Aphrodite as a support god. Some of those guides are clearly written by people who understand her kit and know how to use her; others seem to have been written just because someone wanted to write a guide. I chose to write a guide on how to use Aphrodite in a support position because although the existing guides tell you WHAT to build, most of them miss out on some core, essential philosophy on how to play Aphrodite as a support successfully. Additionally, I attempt to play Aphrodite to her strengths as opposed to band-aiding her weaknesses, so as a reader your initial reaction might be "Why did he build that way?" I understand the reaction, but please read onward for some explanations. Aphrodite is a non-traditional support, and attempting to build her as a traditional one hinders her ability to do her job.

If you are the kind of player that likes to be in the hero position and absolutely must be able to secure kills, this goddess is not for you. Although Aphrodite CAN secure kills and can even toe-to-toe in some situations, it’s not what she was built for- her entire kit revolves around laning with another player. Count your successes by number of gods you’ve saved in a team fight and total assists at the end of the game, and you’re well on your way to understanding what Aphrodite is all about.

If you need some clarification on what the support’s philosophy is all about, there are several good, well written guides online that discuss what support responsibilities are. A support focused on the wrong things can cost other players their lives, and cost the team the game.




Now, let's get on with the guide!

-Reworked build examples for clarity. Much better.

-Added new sections- currently working on mid-lane section.

-Clarified some general points on selection choice reasoning

-Added early stream-of-thought stuff on season 4 items, changes, and how they will effect Aphrodite

(I apologize for the raw format, but this is a stream of thought kind of update upon seeing the patchnotes. I’ll clean it up more officially as more information becomes available and as I play with and against the changes Season 4 brings.)

Season 4 is coming in hot, and with lots of changes that will effect all aspects of gameplay. One of the major adjustments that Hi-Rez is trying to make is to healing, especially out-of-combat healing. These changes include decrease in healing and power scaling (on heal) to gods like Guan, Ra, Sylvanus, Terra, and Chang’e. A couple of new anti-healing items have been added, and curse has been flipped to an anti-healing relic (a new relic is taking the place of curse for movement speed decrease). Between the decreased scaling on abilities and the new ant-heal items, the healing meta, as it existed in Season 3, is largely gone. Thankfully for me, and for those of you who play Aphrodite, none of her abilites have been nerfed- in fact, Back off received additional magical power scaling. Additionally, she was largely a non-meta god. Whether or not the anti-healing meta will be strong enough to displace ALL healers or not remains to be seen- Hi-Rez may have overdone it by both adding new anti-healing items AND decreasing the base healing power of so many gods. Only time and experimentation will tell.
That being said, I’d like to go over some of the items from season 4 that I see as being top choices for Aphrodite, and what I see her recommended starting build as being.

Firstly, changes to Aphrodite:
Base health increased from 355 to 380: It may not seem like much, but every little bit counts!
Back off: Magical power scaling increased from 60% to 80%. A big, and needed, increase.

Item changes: Anti Healing:

NEW RELIC: Cursed Ankh: Healing reduction of 50% for 10 seconds. Can be upgraded to 65% for 15 seconds.
Ouch. That’s quite the anti-healer tool.
ITEMS:
Witchblade: Passive has been reworked to say: Enemies hit by your basic attacks are cursed, receiving 15% reduced healing. Stacks up to 3 times, duration 5 sec.
This may become a natural pick on any guardian dealing with an opposing healer, but the 15% reduction is no joke.

Brawler’s Beat stick: Healing reduction increased from 40% to 50%. Penetration reduced from 20 to 15.
Note: This change may SEEM major, but this was an item built on many, many, MANY gods anyway because of the 20 pen. I see it often games I’m not playing Aphro. The decrease to 15 may not be enough to make less people build it (as is Hi-Rez intent), but coupled with the decrease in pen, it may be a wash for Aphrodite players.
Divine Ruin: 80 magic power. 14 magic penetration. PASSIVE: Enemies hit by your abilities have 50% reduced healing for 8 seconds.
OUCH! Talk about a mid-lane shutdown against any healer relying on healing alone.

ALTERED ITEMS THAT WILL EFFECT HOW YOU SHOULD BUILD APHRO:
Multiple items that I normally recommend (or build) on Aphro have been changed, and others that I wouldn’t normally consider building have been reworked, and may now be viable. I’ll start with some of the more familiar items.
RELIC: Meditation cloak- can now be upgraded. Provides all allies hit with a Boff of 45 MP5 and 15HP5 for 30 seconds.

Much closer to Season 2’s incarnation, in some ways, in this form. Still a very strong relic to choose in the support role.
Rod of Asclepius: Healing Bonus reduced to 10%, BUT: if you are in combat, healing is increased to 30%.
At first glance, this seems like a nerf to Asclepius, but in my eyes it’s actually a buff. Aphrodite is the ideal combat healer because, unlike Ra or Terra, her heals are mobile. I was already playing her this way anyway, swapping kisses during end-game team fights to make sure everyone had enough health. It’s quite possible that this change to Rod of Asclepius will make it a very strong item depending upon playstyle, but I will certainly be trying it and I honestly think it’s going to be stronger on Aphro now than it was in Season 3.
…I still wouldn’t build it second.
Chronos Pendant: Magic Power decreased from 75 to 60 (ouch!!!!) cost increased to 2900 (ouch!)
Passive added: Every 10 seconds the Pendant activates, subtracting 1s from all abilities on cooldown.
Chronos Pendant was a core to most of my Aphro builds, and despite the decrease to magical power, I don’t see it going away. The new passive may be INCREDIBLY useful, especially in late-game team fights, and effectively can allow you to return to Season 2’s 45% CDR (but only every other cast or so) for birds, back off, and kiss.
My thought process is that building this item on Aphro, coupled with the increased damage to Back-off, will allow you to deal MORE damage at a greater rate. Further testing is required, of course, but at the moment I have mixed but mostly positive views to this change.
Breastplate of Valor: Reduced Physical protection to 65. Added 10MP5.
The addition of MP5 is welcome, but the 10 point reduction in protection kind of breaks my heart. This was one of the single strongest defensive items in the game (at least in my opinion), and may not be my top choice anymore. The 10 point reduction may not make a big deal, testing will tell.
Celestial Legion Helm: 60 magical power, 30 physical protection, 20MP5
New passive: Any god effected by your ability heals gains 20 phys/magic power for 5 seconds.
On the patchnotes, This item does not have the same limitation as lotus crown (this effect can only occur every X seconds), and effectively makes Aphrodite, and her lane partner, 20 power stronger every time they are healed by birds. It only has 30 protections, but effectively adds 80 power. May be a really interesting item to allow for more lane pressure. Testing required, but on paper, it looks good.
Void Stone: Magical protection increased to 70
Not much to say here. A solid buff to an already solid item that syncs well with Aphrodite’s need to be in and close.

Spear of Desolation: Magic Power decreased to 70. Added 10% CD. Removed passive. Decreased cost to 2700.
An end-game item that saw little play in Season 3 anyway, I’m not sure how much more play this will see, but the 10% CD is nice.
Ethereal Staff: New passive: Your abilities deal bonus damage (5%, magical) equal to 5% of their max health. Can only happen once per god per ability.
If I’m interpreting this right, it doesn’t proc more than once on tick damage, but functions a bit like qin’s, except on abilities. An interesting possibility.
Pythagorem’s piece: Passive has been reworked. Allies with 70 units either gain 15% magical life steal and 30 power, or 10% physical lifesteal and 20 physical power, depending upon class.

I wouldn’t normally build lifesteal on Aphro, but given the re-work to the passive and how much more helpful this item is going to be in Season 4, I might try it.

STARTER ITEM REWORKS/ADDITIONS:
Watcher’s gift: Added 5/5 protections, Removed HP5, Increased Restorations to 12/10 (health/mana). Increased bonus gold to 5.
Wow. The changes to watcher’s gift make me seriously rethink what I want to start with on Aphrodite as a support!
Soul Stone: Alteration to Passive: All abilities are buffed after stacks are consumed for next 3 seconds (new amount of buff currently unknown). You no longer gain MP5 per stack, but regain mana upon stack consumption.
Reworked so that people don’t hoard the stacks, but still designed for early game damage. The amount of mana regeneration and damage buff remain to be seen exactly, but this item may fall out of my favor (as far as building it on Aphro is concerned)
NEW ITEM: Sands of Time:
Cost: 800 gold
+20 magic power
+5MP5
+10% CDR
Passive: grants 1 additional MP5 per 10% of missing mana.
A possible replacement for the soulstone start, This item would also allow Aphrodite to build straight into penetration boots, trading the early damage increase from soulstone for the damage increase due to penetration while maintaining the same early cooldowns. The obvious downside is the decrease in Magical power from soulstone.
Regardless, an item I intend to experiment with, both in the duo and mid lanes.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:
I’m hopeful that Aphro can make a season 4 comeback, given how hard all the other healers are hit, but I’ll admit I’m more than a little scared of cursed ankh. The rework on Brawler’s doesn’t bother me, and I don’t think it should bother you, given how much use it saw anyway. Witchblade will be something to keep eyes open for, and a counter to a mid-lane mage that builds Divine Ruin may be to build a lifesteal item.
CDR options seem to be much greater in Season 4, and the CD on a penetration item coupled with CD on a starter may decrease the need to build CD boots. Alternatively, it may simply allow aphro to hit 20% CD earlier, which will alter second and third item picks depending upon situation. It will certainly make me re-think what the best Aphro build is. Breastplate’s decrease in protections may seem minor, but I may end up building Spirit Robe or Mantle of Discord in its place (except that Mantle is just SO expensive! Suddenly looking really good though to round out CDs and have comparable physical protections PLUS magical protections). Building a bit more tanky than I did in the past may become necessary, but counterbuilding to Divine Ruin and Witchblade will be essential.

As always, time will tell.

STRENGTHS:
-Once your cooldowns are maxed, Aphro’s sustain, and the sustain of her lane-mate, is almost unrivaled.

-Ability to heal multiple friendlies for upwards of half of their health in seconds makes her a huge threat in mid/late game

-Very, very difficult to kill late game; it can sometimes take an entire enemy team to take down a late game Aphro (unless you're completely out of place)

-An incredibly strong ultimate that grants anti CC and iframes (and at 40% CD ccomes back up in 47 seconds)

WEAKNESSES:
-Weak early game and easy to pick off if you’re out of place (Aphoridite’s reworked passive has made this less of an issue than it once was and increased her toughness, but it’s still something to watch out for)

-Attempting a push before your boots are complete (first back) can end in disaster if you aren’t aware of the position of the enemy mid and jungle.

-Very ability and cooldown dependent. Missed skills early game result in long cooldowns which can result in your death or the death of the carry.

-Has no escape, being out of position can easily result in an unnecessary death

-Must be partnered with another god to utilize her kit completely

-Not a traditional “tank,” something that may frustrate your team to no end unless someone picked a tanky solo, like Chaac or Tyr (or Nike, bless her overpowered heart)

I posted two starting builds, and Build #1 is non-traditional and implements Soul Stone. I'd like to explain why.

The Soul Stone Start: Soulstone is the ideal item to start with if you have a squishy carry, a carry without any escapes (Skadi), a non-traditional carry (an assassin), or a carry without a solid wave clear. The extra power translates to 10 extra points of damage per tick and an extra 9 points of healing per tick at level 1 (60 MP from Soulstone X .15 = 9, X 6 ticks) and at level 1 an extra 54 points of healing isn’t negligible, and an extra 60 points of damage can help push even the most tanky guardians back down the lane. Most guardians go in for mark of the vanguard, which offers both physical protection and flat reduction, or watcher’s gift, which offers health and gold. Either way, most guardians aren’t loaded with magical protections early, and a kiss +birds can push them back down lane effectively in the early game.
Also, it’s very important to recognize that traditional supports like Khepri, Athena, and Khumba can physically interpose themselves between the carry and the enemy and absorb damage. This is (generally) not an option for Aphrodite, which means additional healing and cooldowns are very, very important.
For the health and damage reasons listed, Soul stone is my go-to item for a mid lane Aphrodite. Especially before level 6 there is little guarantee you’ll kill every minion, and the extra health from soulstone (and damage!) is much better than the gamble at 10 health from vampiric shroud. Additionally, the MP5 increase between casts of birds is phenomenal, and once you learn how to manage the casts and the MP5 from 5 stacks, You’ll rarely run out of mana.

The Watcher’s Gift start: The item I almost always see recommended as a support option for Aphro, and with good reason as it allows her kit to come up quickly. I would point out that this item should be picked if your carry isn’t particularly squishy (chiron), has an excellent escape, or has a good enough lane clear in the early game that it isn’t as necessary to help.


NOTE:

Lately I’ve seen a rash of Aphrodites build rod of healing as a first item. Although this may seem like a good idea, it’s a terrible idea, and I’d like to explain why.

Building rod of healing eats all 1500 of your starting gold, making it impossible to buy the absolutely necessary just-in-case potions. Additionally, it grants you NO ability to regain mana, which is critical to casting birds as many times as possible. Also, 10% of 100 (although a level 1 birds ticks 6 times for probably 16 or something, so, 96) is 10. 10 ********ed health, no MP5, no sustain.
I think the reasoning is to get rod of asceplius online as quickly as possible. I understand the thought process, but I have to point out that it’s completely flawed. No reduced cooldowns and no MP5 mean that Aphro becomes a completely worthless limpet in lane once her mana is gone, as opposed to the healing machine she absolutely must be to help. ADDITIONALLY Chronos' pendant offers 20% cooldown, which makes something like a 3 second difference on bird casts. It’s almost 5 seconds when you toss in CD boots.

Vampiric shroud VS Soul stone in the mid-lane: On aphrodite, Soul stone wins by a landslide. a minion wave is 6 minions, and if you land last hits on all 6, you get 60 health back (and however much mana). Ask yourself what the odds are of that happening every time? Soul Stone gives you an additional 54 life per cast of birds, regardless of whether or not you killed all the minions, were clearing a side camp, or missed entirely. As long as you can manage the MP stacks, there is absolutely no reason to build shroud, and you're hurting yourself if you do.

ABILITIES READ READ READ READ!!!!
Why am I asking you to read Aphrodite’s abilities? After all, if you’re reading this guide, you probably already have SOME idea of how they work. I want you to read this section because I don’t often see people talk about how to use these abilities properly.


KISS- Everyone who has played a game or two with Aphrodite understands that when you’ve kissed a teammate, they get health from your birds. They probably also understand that the kiss is a one-second stun if it connects with an enemy god, and that it can be a great way to lead into a damaging attack or gank.
What many people overlook is the five-second damage buff it gives to Aphro’s partner. At Level 5 Aphro’s 1 applies a 20% damage modifier to her partner- and this %damage applies last (after all other calculations). It’s also important to note that the %damage is not against the target aphro kissed- but any target. It can be used to kiss and burst a tower while aphro distracts. Or to stun the enemy support and burst the ADC… Much, much more useful than just a simple one second stun.
Additionally, Kiss recognizes no collision detection except with gods (and some god-made objects, like Ymir’s frostwall). It travels through nearly any object until it reaches maximum range or connects, allowing you to land a kiss on a friendly through a wall to save them, or stun an enemy through a wall.

In a support role, Kiss should be your second skill point assignment priority because of the movement speed and damage benefits it gives your lane partner.

Finally, ALWAYS be kissed to a team mate if it’s an option. The increase to movement speed makes a huge difference. Even when performing as simple a task as leaving the fountain.

BACK OFF- Aphro’s 2 is as poorly understood and implemented as her 1. Most of the guides I’ve read imply that it is a good damage dealing skill and great way to push an enemy god away during a retreat. This is only half of the truth. If an enemy god is caught only within the sphere of Aphro’s lane mate, Back off applies a 25% slow. It’s almost like a temporary, built in gem of isolation, and is a great way to start a gank or finish someone off. Often times I see Aphro players push forward so that an enemy god is caught in both spheres of back off, but this can push the target away in a random direction, mess up your partner’s attacks or skill shots, and allow the enemy to get away. Back off also only applies damage ONCE, not TWICE, so although this behavior makes sense on the surface, it doesn't actually work and typically back-fires.

I’ve found it’s much better to apply the damage and the slow and let it roll.

As a mid-laner, This should take leveling priority over KISS, as you need to clear waves and deal damage yourself, not assist another player in doing so, and the movement speed benefits are only helpful when you are attached to your partner.

BIRDS- Probably the best understood of Aphro’s abilities, Aphro’s 3 is a wave-like line attack (or a line-like wave attack?) that heals both Aphro and the god she is connected to via kiss. Best applied right after kissing an enemy god. Tick damage can easily finish off a weak god, force a retreat, or allow a teammate to secure a kill. This should always be your top priority for skill point assignment.

UNDYING LOVE: One of the most powerful ultimates in the game if used properly, and one of the most useless if used improperly, Aphrodite’s ultimate can be used to save yourself, your partner, or both. I always put a point into it as soon as I can because more points are more iframes and it makes it less of a skill shot.

SUPPORT VS MID (OR SOLO):
You'll notice I recommend a slightly different skill build order than most guides do for support by levelling kiss first. In a support role It's LESS important to deal damage yourself, but the added % damage, decreased cooldown between stuns, and increased movement speed will help you and your lane-mate immensely. If you're mid-lane, you'd of course level back off first, or perhaps level both at once, depending upon the situation.

At the start of the game I grab a starter item (see my discussion on watcher's vs soulstone), T1 boots, and however many pots I think I need. Soulstone typically allows me to pick up less mana (or regen) pots, but the decision is more based upon enemy team composition and how aggressive I think they might be. If, for example, the enemy ADC was a Rank X Neith who can afford to be aggressive early game, or if their Jungler was Thanatos, &c.

The enemy team composition also effects how I might encourage the duo lane activities early- an enemy Janus/Thanatos (or perhaps Awilix) combination might make me think twice of just how hard the Duo lane should be pushed, ESPECIALLY if I feel like communications from the Jungler and Mid are lackadaisical.

Anyway, Start like you normally would: Help the Mid take down damage while your ADC either helps, or takes back harpies. If they take the harpies, attempt to pull the damage camp as close to the harpies as you can, then head over to boars. This should put you at level 2 and allow you to kiss onto your carry.

Once you've gotten INTO lane, you have some immediate, and very important things to take note of. If an enemy is missing in your lane, call it out, even if you think that they may simply be lagging behind. Take a look at the map. Does the mid have eyes on the opposing mid? Do you see both the solo and jungler in the solo lane?

The traditional start, at least right now in season 3, is for the jungler to take the camps with solo, and then rotate in lane for a wave, then to the fire minions, then either to mid, or another wave, depending upon what's going on. Unless they've invaded (in which case you have a very good idea of exactly where they are), experienced players typically follow this routine. Glance at your map. if you DON'T see the enemy jungler in solo lane, is he in mid? Did the Solo laner or jungler call out an enemy missing?

It's always possible that an enemy player either doesn't know where to go, or decides to try something different. If that happens, be aware! It's your responsibility as the SUPPORT to be aware of potential rotations- as much as you are able- and to convince your ADC to retreat or be careful if necessary.

If you aren't familiar with the call-out system, learn it- it's invaluable, especially if you're playing with randoms, or in a small party and some members of the team aren't in your party.

Lane carefully, monitoring your mana, stunning the opposing team when necessary, and applying the waveclear assist/healing. it's important to be careful during the early phase of the game, as you can't tank for your carry, and you have next to no escapes. Aphrodite CAN be a draw to the enemy jungler, who may assume (perhaps correctly) that she will be an easy early kill for the experience and gold lead. Try not to let this happen, keep your eyes on the map and your ears on the call-outs.

FIRST BACK:

I typically back when I've gathered up enough gold to finish my boots and pick up two wards (1300 gold). The wards should be placed in the positions where you think a potential mid/jungle invasion could be coming from. As much as possible, keep an eye on the map and the enemies so that your carry doesn't have to- their job is to land their autos and skills so that they can level up.

ROTATIONS TO OTHER LANES:

As a support, it is not necessarily your responsibility to support ONLY the carry, and in fact at times it can be good to rotate to other lanes. Lots of lane rotations can be detrimental and cause underlevelling, however. Ideally, your rotations will be to facilitate the occasional gank in mid, and to support the mid laner when the enemy support is rotating to attempt a gank or tower push. As Aphrodite, I'm disinclined to engage in team fights early, and like fighting on my terms if I do. My terms typically mean more health, mana, or players than the enemy team.

SECOND ITEM:

The MP5 provided by Soul stone, if you chose to pick it, may be enough to allow you to pick up breastplate of valor as a second item if you need the immediate defense. If you're ahead and your team seems to have the momentum when it comes to lane pressure, I'd probably pick up Chronos' Pendant. Although the +75MP isn't as good as other items, both the CD and MP5 are phenomenal. If you aren't already, always get into the habit of looking at what the enemy players are building, in an attempt to counter it as much as possible.

OTHER THINGS THE SUPPORT SHOULD KEEP AN EYE ON:

The first time damage comes back up, alert the mid-laner and help them take the camp down so that the jungler can focus on taking speed and mana with the solo. Keep an eye on when your boars are coming back up, and let your ADC know. I won't go through everything that could happen in lane, but if you've got good communication with your team and have been able to keep lane pressure, be aware of when their boars and damage are coming up. Steal them if it's safe to do so.

Generally, try not to leave lane when a minion wave is up- you'll never get the experience and gold back if you miss it. If circumstances are dire, it's a different matter entirely.

LATER GAME/TEAM FIGHTING:

Always, ALWAYS engage in team fighting on your terms. Call retreats if you think it doesn't look good. Let your team know your mana status. Only sacrifice yourself if you can save a worthy target- but if your mid or jungle has spent the entire game feeding by engaging in pointless invasions by themselves, do NOT die to save them.

During later game team fights, I keep my eyes more on health bar status than anything else. Maximum cooldowns paired with the 2 second kiss cooldown on friendly gods allows you to spread your kisses (especially if you know how it behaves) to whichever friendly god needs health the most. Don't just save your ult for the enemies' ult, but use it to save a friendly or prevent massive damage to a friendly.

COMING SOON

The bulk of what I wish to say about Aphrodite in the mid lane is a work in progress, but I do want to express some opinions about building stacks. On most of my mid-laners I start building stacking items ASAP- not so much on Aphrodite. I typically build a stacking item as a third item, and typically steer towards Book of Thoth (if I think I might die) or Doom Orb (if I feel secure and the enemy team is being outplayed).

Warlock's sash is another option if you feel the need to play tanky, but it takes forever to come online.

The reasoning here is simple: Aphrodite's ability to deal damage to the opposing mid is dependent upon her ability to successfully tag them with birds (or back off), and this almost always requires her to stun the opposing god. Because of this, both cooldowns and MP5 are a higher priority (for me, anyway), because without them, you lose lane pressure.

For example, Kukulkan's tornadoes deal tick damage to anything that walks through them, Isis has two aimed damage dealing abilities that don't require a ton of lead time (Isis is my main mid lane pick most days, and I'm fully aware that landing her abilities still takes skill), and Vulcan has a turret that will stay until another is placed (or it is destroyed) and keep ticking off damage. Building stacks FIRST may make a lot of sense on some (or all) of those gods, but I don't feel like it's a great choice first thing on Aphro.

If you don't feel comfortable enough with Aphro, or more importantly, your team cohesion, build Book of Thoth over Doom Orb. If you're feeling squishy, Warlock's can help with the squishiness. Just remember that choosing to prioritize a stacking item first thing can reduce your lane pressure and put pressure on either your jungler or another lane.

ITEM DISCUSSION
I believe in situational builds and situational items, so I'd like to talk about when something should be built (or not) and give my opinions on some popular items as opposed to just saying "build this build that."

Rod of Asceplius: Improved over earlier incarnations, Rod of Asceplius is an item I see on Aphrodite’s recommended build, and one I often steer away from. Nevertheless, a good 4th or 5th item choice. My issue with this item is that since Aphrodite’s heals effect only one god at a time, The increase in healing over another item with more magical power or potentially more helpful abilities is limited (it works out to be about 10 points of health per tick compared to building an item like Soul Reaver, which may sound like a lot, but an additional 60 health isn’t huge when the base tick amount is 122. I know, I know! I made this long speech earlier about a 54 healing difference and how it was so good, and now I’m countering what I said. I’m not though- by the time you get to 5th item, it’s mid-late game, and 60 points of healing isn’t quite as big of a deal). Gods that have an area-of-effect heal that can heal the entire team (Ra, Terra, Sylvanus) have a much greater benefit building this item.
The disadvantage is that the 10 health per tick gain can come at a 20 point of damage per tick loss, depending upon what item this replaces. Again, I know- our job as a support is not to get the kills- but by the time this item should be built the laning phase is generally over, Aphrodite is typically well built enough that her heals are great without it, and every point of damage dealt to the other team may be necessary.
Still, the added movement speed is nice, especially if multiple team mates built fatalis or stone cutting sword, or a pushy hunter/jungler on the enemy team did.

Gem of Isolation: A great pick for the more traditional Guardian supports, this is also a good pick for an Aphrodite support. Kiss + Birds isn’t particularly difficult to pull off and the slows are great. Whether or not I purchase this item depends a lot upon who, or what, my carry is- if my carry is an assassin and gets in close, this item potentially becomes less valuable because back-off also applies its own slow when only your partner’s sphere hits an enemy.
A good pick with traditional hunters that might not be up close and personal, or to slow particularly pesky carrys that build fatalis.

MID: This is a very commonly built item on many mid-laners, and with good reason. A great option as a third or fourth item.

Soul Reaver: Still solid even after the small nerf it received, reaver is another traditional support pick that works on aphro. 100 MP and a load of mana? What’s not to love! A situational item on Aphrodite. Gem of Isolation is probably a better pick in most cases.


Stacking Items:

In a support role, I don’t generally recommend building stacking items. Most stacking items are best built FIRST (to take the most advantage of the power they offer mid and late game) and building stacks as a support will typically interfere with your ADC’s stack building. By the time the ADC is done building stacks, It may be too late to practically build stacks (while you’re off building stacks, the rest of your team may be fighting without you, for example), and other situational items may be more practical.
That being said, stacking items are at the core of many mid-lane builds.

Doom Orb: Comes online very quickly and at max stacks of 50, offers a total of 140 magical power. Also provides MP5 and Mana, which are always useful. The major downside to Doom Orb is that as a support, you may find yourself in a position where your death is preferable to that of a team mates, and losing stacks weakens this item immensely.
One of my favorite stacking items when playing Aphrodite as a mid-laner.

NOTE: Players new to Aphrodite, or Smite in general, would be well advised to steer clear of this item and replace it with Book of Thoth or Warlock's Sash. Dying once causes a loss of half of the stacks on Doom Orb, significantly hindering your ability to push and heal. Experienced players who have exceptional map awareness and/or excellent communication with their team and know the locations of the enemies, however, can benefit greatly from this item.

Another reason I PREFER it to the other stacking options is that cooldowns are my top priority on Aphrodite and significantly increase her survivability. Whereas I'd build warlock's first item on Isis, or Thoth first item on Kukz (maybe, depends on the situation) I don't typically build stacking items first on Aphrodite (or Nox). Given that I've started stacks a bit later than most opposing mids, I chose something that comes online quickly. However, If I do get killed twice in a row, I'm left with a useless item I'm better off selling.

Book of Thoth: Works incredibly well with the mana-centric items already called for by my support build and one of the best stacking items in the game but takes quite a bit of farming to come online. A strong choice for a mid-laner, but not something I (typically) build on a support Aphro. Additionally, The MP granted by Chronos’ Pendant makes the additional mana only somewhat useful (although it’s impossible to argue with the added magical power).

A top choice for mid-lane fighting, and something I would generally recommend on most Aphrodite mid-builds.

Warlock’s Sash: Arguably the best stacking item in Season 3, I often build Warlock’s as a first item on a mid-lane mage like Isis. The 100 stack threshold however means a long, long wind-up time, and the added health, although nice, isn’t quite as useful as max cooldowns and more healing.

I don't generally recommend this item on Aphrodite because her primary damage ability also returns a lot of health to her, but if you're new to Aphrodite, don't have very developed map awareness, or didn't focus on cooldowns, This can be a good option that makes a tanky aphrodite hard to kill if she's out of place.

Don't be out of place on Aphrodite.

Penetration Items:

If you’re focusing on healing only, the goal should be to build as much power as possible. As a support this may be your primary goal, but if there is a call for damage, a penetration item may be necessary.

Void Stone: When I build Penetration on support Aphro, I typically build voidstone as it is a blend of some power, a good amount of protection, and some reduction. It fits Aphro’s relatively close-ranged kit and manages to help your mid-laner (or magical carry, or even Ao Kuang jungle) in later game fights, lane ganks, or if the opposing support rotated. The protections help against standard magical guardian options, an Ao Kuang jungle, a gank from the mid-laner, and in late-game team fights.

Spear of the Magus: An item that works very well on mages that have tick damage like Aphro or Kukulkan. It is really important to point out that the effect- “reduces target’s magical defense,” syncs well with a mid-lane mage, a magical carry like Freya, or a jungler like Ao Kuang. Depending upon how much I’m interacting with those gods, I may consider building this item, but my top choice (as a support) is still void stone.

Obsidian Shard: A great penetration option for Aphrodite and something I build sometimes when mid-laning, this helps against tankier targets and objectives like towers and phoenixes. Unfortunately the 33% pen (which is nice) only applies to your abilities, and doesn’t sync well with the team.

Spear of Desolation: If you can afford it, an incredible choice and something I sometimes switch over to. The incredible amount of magical power offered translates to a HUGE amount of healing over the other penetration item options.


A note about penetration:

It’s my understanding that the average mage or assassin has about 48 base protections at level 20 (not counting defensive items) and that 50 protections is approximately equivalent to 33% reduction. If someone built urchin, they’re a little over 100 protections which grants close to 50% damage reduction. The general opinion is that shard is the better pen option in the current meta because so few gods can utilize the benefits of spear of the magus. Certainly Aphrodite benefits from spear MORE than shard if she lands a birds cast, but spear doesn’t work on objectives. Any penetration decisions must be made situationally.

DEFENSIVE ITEMS:

Mantle of Discord:

Perhaps too expensive to be practical in most support situations, I did build this item today while very far ahead in a game. If you can afford it, a good replacement for breastplate. The major problem is the total cost of 3100 gold, 800 more than breastplate of valor. On a wish list I'd probably rather have it, but unless I'm taking lots of magical damage from the mid or Ao Kuang jungle, I'd probably stick with breastplate.

Buying up, of course, is always an option in drawn out games.

Spirit Robe:

Only 140 gold more than Breastplate, this is a good defensive item option if you need split defense.

Dynasty Plate Helm/Celestial Legion Helm:

Two incredibly useful situational items that don't see as much use as perhaps they should, these are great picks if you're mid-laning and the opposing jungler is putting a lot of pressure on your lane. Remember that building to counter crit is useless if no one built crit.

Lotus Crown: Again, an item that was designed for Gods that can heal multiple targets and not an item I build on Aphro very much, but not a bad pick if your lane partner is being pushed back a lot by the opposing team.

Laning against other supports-
Generally speaking the support character will be the initiator in attacks and fights, or SHOULD be. Traditional supports are relatively easy to predict as they must typically approach you to initiate stun and CC effects. I do want to briefly go over some match ups that you may encounter, and how I handle them.

Khepri: The traditional Khepri combo is ROOT then dash/grab. Keep your kiss up to stun him during the dash, and it cancels it, allowing your ADC to tap him multiple times or retreat.

Athena: Right after her shield wall drops and as she starts to approach is a good time to stun her with a kiss and hit her with birds.

Khumbakarna: A support that has been granted an Ungodly amount of CC and a high-damage Ult (for a guardian), Khumba can be irritating. His traditional root+stun or Stun+root combo can be easy to deal with if you kiss him during the root’s long windup (which cancels the move entirely).
Also, Khumba’s ult often leads into the enemy ADC’s Ult for a combo, and Aphrodite’s ultimate EASILY counters this. If your lane mate has been ulted, wait until they’re about to hit the ground. This cancels the impact damage, and allows your carry to escape relatively unscathed. If you’ve been hit, ulting after you hit the ground will help counter any ill effects (if you’re at low health, however, you’re probably dead).
Ares: When Ares is ulting, you want to ult near the end of the “wind-up” animation (he’s up in the air). Neither you nor your partner will be effected, and the enemy support will likely wish he’d picked any other god.

Bacchus: kiss him during the burp to interrupt and cancel the incoming stun.

Sobek: His dash is typically easy to predict and counter with a well-timed kiss.

Kabrakan: Kiss + Birds during tremors makes him think twice about wasting his mana in a channeled skill, but his ultimate can still be a pretty scary thing if your lanemate doesn’t have a good escape.