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Recommended Items
Runes: Cut Down and Eliminate
+9 Adaptive (5.4 AD or 9 AP)
+9 Adaptive (5.4 AD or 9 AP)
+6 Armor
Spells:
Flash
Heal
Items
Ability Order Ability Order
Attack Damage
Attack Speed
Lethality
Threats & Synergies
Talon
Talon is a scary laner to have deal with. With high burst damage, arguably the best mobility in the game, an ult that can turn him untargetable, and a bleed, this guy is your worst nightmare.
Blitzcrank
For this one, it applies to all characters with some form of hook, but they have good synergies with Aphelios as sometimes landing something like an ult or a long range Calibrum shot can be much easier if they're right beside you instead of 10 miles away.
Blitzcrank
For this one, it applies to all characters with some form of hook, but they have good synergies with Aphelios as sometimes landing something like an ult or a long range Calibrum shot can be much easier if they're right beside you instead of 10 miles away.
Champion Build Guide
So, back in the far, far away land of early 2020, my friend had just introduced me to a game called League of Legends. I had heard of the game at the time so I thought, "Eh, why not?". One time while playing with my friends, I noticed that a new champion had just been released. His name was Aphelios. He looked pretty cool and like something that I would be down for playing, but I had seen many things online saying that he was the most complicated and hard to learn champion in the game at the time, so I decided that he might be to hard for me at the moment, with my low skill level and 0 understanding of League's mechanics yet. Fast-forward a little bit to January, 2021, and I have just gotten a champion shard for Aphelios, and as I sat there pondering whether I should try him out, I realized this was the same champion I had been so interested in almost a full year ago. I then proceeded to buy him and play him, and don't get me wrong, I was having lots of fun, but something just seemed... off about the way he played like. It wasn't a standard ADC. It was special. I decided to do a little more research on Aphelios but came to no conclusion. "Oh well," I thought. "at least I'm having fun." But then the thing that changed it all happened. I went into a game with the wrong runes. These runes happen to be very similar to the ones that I ended up using for this build, and during when we were loading into that game, I had a Jimmy Neutron level Brain-Blast. I will build full lethality. I went 28/17 that game, and that's when I knew that THIS was what I was feeling while playing Aphelios, it was the call of the off-meta that I love so much! I have been enjoying playing this build with my friends and by myself alike. And today, I finally decided to share this marvelous idea with the world. But before we get into how to play this rollercoaster of a build, I just want to give a quick disclaimer. Do NOT play this build in a ranked game. It will result in flaming and probably a 9X report. I only recommend doing this kind of stuff in casual games, and I will not be responsible for it if somebody gets banned for doing this in a ranked game. Without any further ado, lets take our 5 guns, 50 shots and Duskblades and dive right into it! |
Now, Aphelios isn't like all of the other gir-...champions, because he doesn't level his ABILITIES, he levels his AD, attack speed, and Lethality up with each level, while gaining the ability to use his Q at level 2 and his R at level 6 (they level themselves up[). We of course level up Lethality first in this build, with AD second, which leaves attack speed for last, but don't worry, there is more to this passive. Aphelios has 5 guns, each of them doing a different thing. There is Calibrum, the Sniper Rifle, Severum, the Scythe Pistol, Gravitum, the Gravity Cannon, Infernum, the Flamethrower, and finally Crescendum, the Chakram. We're gonna tackle these all one by one, starting with Calibrum, the Sniper Rifle. Alright, lets get going.
Alune is ready to rumble! Moonlight Vigil is Aphelios's ultimate, where he summons the power of Alune to absolutely destroy the enemy team, and it's back and bigger than ever. With (at full build) this ability can one shot a whole team, or at least most of it. But of course, this may not be knowledge to all players, so we will go over a brief explanation of the move.
Alright Moonlight Vigil is definitely one of the moves that ties this whole thing together, with its insane damage and HUGE teamfight potential, this baby makes the whole game. Lets go through each variation, one last time. Calibrum, the Sniper Rifle first. This one is pretty simple, it applies on Calibrum passive mark, with damage that scales for each mark currently on the target. Once again, more of a way to get a mark on your target and snipe them down. Severum, the Scythe Pistol is up next. If at least one target is hit, Aphelios restores 250-500 health. This one is pretty simple, but pretty good if you in a pickle and need to get some HP back. Gravitum, the Gravity Cannon it's your turn. When enemies are hit by this ability, they gain a 99% slow, and if you use Binding Eclipse, it roots for 1.25 seconds instead. pretty good for some extra crowd control, or just locking down somebody who thought they were out of your grasp. Alrighty, Infernum, the Flamethrower time. This is THE ONE it's the one-shotter, its the one that'll be nerfed next patch, it's the Flamethrower Moonlight Vigil! This one is notorious for being the thing that simultaneously made Aphelios OP, and the thing that got Aphelios nerfed into the ground. This is... Infernum, the Flamethrower. After Moonlight Vigil hits an enemy, it explodes around them, dealing EXTREME DAMAGE, and spreading the fire EVEN FARTHER. Each of these bolts can CRITICALLY STRIKE, all of it adding up to sometimes over 2500 DAMAGE, pair this with your Coup De Grace, Dark Harvest and Collector, and your on your way to being a true AD CARRY! Oh yeah there's also Crescendum, the Chakram and it basically gives you some more little Chakram IDK this one isn't very great unless you want to go sicko mode in a teamfight. |
Dark Harvest: Innately, Aphelios has high DPS, but one day I thought: "Huh, Aphelios doesn't really have a way to execute low targets with ease" so now here we are with The Collector, Dark Harvest and Coup de Grace. Overall Dark Harvest is just an easy scaling tool, so try to proc it as much as you can while laning.
THE FAST
Predator: This is more of a situational keystone, one that you really only wanna opt for if your rather:
1: Planning on ganking a lot.
2: Are in a heavy CC matchup with somebody like Morgana, Swain, or even with somebody who can run away fast like Pyke or Blitzcrank.
Or 3: WANT TO BECOME THE FASTEST MAN KNOWN TO HUMAN-KIND.
BULLY THE ALREADY CRIPPLED
Cheap Shot: This one is good as a tool to add a little more damage onto those sweet, sweet Gravitum, the Gravity Cannon shots. It can also work if you have a support or jungle with any crowd control.
MMM, TASTY
Taste of Blood: Another one of the essential runes if your going lifesteal. Same concepts as the others. But watch out, because this one has a cooldown to when it procs. So just make sure that's up before trying to slurp up some HP.
WHERE DID YOU COME FROM
Sudden Impact: ONLY DO THIS WITH Prowler's Claw! It just gives you a little bit more Lethality upon dashing, so if you aren't planning on grabbing a Prowler's Claw, don't take this one. You can also use it right when you are ganking, then use your Prowler's Claw on an enemy who is just out of your range, or over a wall.
WANNA SEE MY COLLECTION?
Eyeball Collection: Overall, you just take this one because it's better than the other two, because this one gives you AD, and the other 2 give you some extra vision. But hey, if you really need that vision, take a Zombie Ward I suppose.
THE BEST HUNTER OUT THERE
Ultimate Hunter: Ultimate Hunter, for pretty obvious reasons, is the preferred rune for this build, due to extreme ultimate CDR, which is one of the core moves in this kit.
QUICK HUNTER
Relentless Hunter: Keep getting kills, keep getting faster. It's as simple as that. This one is pretty much exclusive to THE FAST build, I wouldn't recommend taking it otherwise.
THIS HUNTER IS PRETTY GOOD TOO
Ravenous Hunter: It gives you some more lifesteal each time you get a kill, so it empowers your Severum, the Scythe Pistol a little bit more, and paired with a Sanguine Blade, it can add up to quite a lot of lifesteal.
CONQUERER: This is only a keystone I advise if you are planning on going down the lifesteal path, as it is pretty much the only thing you would need this rune for. Good in tandem with Ravenous Hunter. Try to proc as much as possible in a 1v1 situation.
CLEAR YOUR MIND
Presence of Mind: This one is a pretty flexible rune, and if you wanna take Triumph or even Overheal, then you do that. I just personally take Presence of Mind as I think that Aphelios uses a lot of mana, so some regen on that might be nice.
EASY MONEY
Triumph: Triumph is a pretty good rune if you want to have some better teamfights due to the HP restore, along with some free money each time you get a kill.
EVEN MORE LIFESTEAL
Legend: Bloodline: Well, the title kinda says it all, even more lifesteal. If your going Ravenous Hunter, Triumph, or Sanguine Blade, this one might be a good call.
ELIMINATE THE WEAK
Coup de Grace: If you've seen my other guides, this one won't be to surprising, as it's pretty much used in every lethality set, but just in case, I'll go over why its good quickly. So its good together with Dark Harvest for more low HP enemy damage, and it helps get off easier executes. Yeah that's pretty much it.
SEVERUM 2, ELECTRIC BOOGALOO
Overheal: Honestly yeah, its just your Severum, the Scythe Pistol's passive, it gives you a shield if you heal past the maxim HP. But the shields DO stack, so you're practically getting twice the amount of shielding.
Nimbus Cloak: Ghosting into lane can be a great technique for ganking, and this just makes that strategy even better.
MAKES THE FAST DO MORE FAST
Celerity: This one just buffs every movement speed bonus you have, so basically it just makes you even faster
Duskblade of Draktharr: So, why Duskblade of Draktharr, instead of something like prowlers claw? Well, personally I take Duskblade of Draktharr because I think that it has much better teamfighting capability, which is good since early-mid game you don't have much of that capability. Additionally, it gives you some more CDR, which means more ults, so that's good.
DASH ON AN ADC
Prowler's Claw: Now, the title kinda implies what I think about this item. IT'S GREAT! A free dash on an otherwise immobile champion is incredible. It also grants EVEN MORE lethality stacking because of its mythic passive. A good way to use this is to try and close the gap with enemies who are rather just out of range to be killed, or someone over a wall. Overall, great item, I just don't use it as much because of situational matchups.
FUNNY GUN HAHA
The Collector: Alright, lets get the obvious out of the way. This is a great item that really makes up the majority of your kills due to its passive, which if you don't know, EXECUTES champions below a certain threshold of HP
METAL BOOTS ARE UNCOMFORTABLE
Berserker's Greaves: This one is just some attack speed as this build is very much lacking in it. But it is pretty good, as the number of Onslaught strikes relies on what your current attack speed, which mean this will be good to buff up that.
YAY SOFT BOOTS FOR MY POOR TOES
Ionian Boots of Lucidity: This item is pretty simple as well. Just some CDR, so you get a little bit less cooldown on your ult. Nothing special. And if your going Duskblade of Draktharr, I don't recommend these boots, as Duskblade of Draktharr is already giving you enough CDR.
SONIC'S SHOES
Mobility Boots: These ones are another THE FAST build exclusive, so if your not for that, get outta here. Alright, this one is one of the core parts of your kit as THE FAST, so you wanna be gettin these on your 1st or 2nd back. This gives you +100 movement speed while out of combat, so if your just chillin in river and the passive comes up, time to book it to mid.
VAMPIRE SWORD
Sanguine Blade: Alright, we're starting to get into the good stuff. Sanguine Blade is a pretty great item on Lethal Aphelios, as it gives you not only Lethality , but also Physical Vamp, which means that your Severum, the Scythe Pistol will be empowered with even more healing to you. This items decently high price is definitely worth it.
FUNNY BOW HAHA
Runaan's Hurricane: Well, it's no surprise that Runaan's Hurricane is a good item on Aphelios. It makes all of your projectiles multi target, so with things like Severum, the Scythe Pistol's Q, or Gravitum, the Gravity Cannon's passive, it's no big surprise I recommend this item, even on a lethality build.
EVERYBODYS FAVORITE CAPE
Edge of Night: This one is pretty good for crowd control heavy matchups. If your up against someone such as Morgana, Lux, or Thresh, you may want to consider this one.
GOTTA GO FAST
Youmuu's Ghostblade: Activate it at the same time as your predator and mobility boots and you'll be ZOOMIN. If you aren't building THE FAST, then just activate it when rather trying to chase someone down, or just get to lane faster.
MOVING CONTROL WARD
Umbral Glaive: This one is pretty simple. Like the title implies, its a moving control ward, and your carrying it around. Good against enemies who have really good warding.
The general gyst with a lot of these items is that they are rather a lethality item, or the are just good on Aphelios
Pros
|
+Insane damage lategame +Enemies wont be expecting it +The element of surprise +Can play multiple roles |
Normal Aphelios is a lategame hyper-carry, the same applies here. It takes a hot minute to get built up, as early game you probably wont be getting many kills due to being pretty bad at 1v1'ing in your early levels. But late game you'll be takin these kill dozen a dime like it's no big deal. Just play for the lategame and all will be A-OK |
Cons
|
-Very squishy -Bad early-game -Team won't believe -Has several counters -cant cut down tanks |
Aphelios, being an ADC, is very squishy, and if he is mid, this problem becomes even more apparent. You can see this especially in matchups with people like Akali, or Kassadin, as they both have very high burst damage, along with MUCH more mobility than you will at any time. |
Thank you to https://twitter.com/baixuehuli for the Chibis in the headers. (WARNING: NSFW CONTENT!)
Second things second, thank you to the MOBAFire community for being so kind and supporting me as a creator so far, I appreciate y'all. If I'm being honest, I wouldn't have stuck it out to make this guide if I didn't know that all of the kind people on this website wouldn't like it. So yeah. Thank you guys for being so nice, although I wouldn't mind any criticism for this guide, as I am trying to improve on guide making in the future.
Anyways, this is just my third guide, so it's not gonna be perfect, but I hope that this help you in your Lethal Aphelios journey.
Alright, have a fun time with this one, like I did.
Signing out,
-SopTop
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