Ranked 3s Tank Ao

Tank Ao, ranked 3s meta

Build Section

Notes

Animosity at 17 is one of the biggest spikes in all of tanky characters, damage spike is insane especially when Ao Kuang has the fastest auto hit chain in the game. Before that, tank Ao relies on his base damage from his 2, his early pen from pythags, and a execute that if you have competent team members will be online fairly often. He also relies on his allies, a preferable mage or adc in the back to deal out massive damage and an aditional front liner to rush and push in or peel along side him. I personally recomend Tanky Ao in a double frontline setting, and have won 17/18 games with this method.

Benevolence passive gold per 5 and xp per 5 will usually keep you on par or above your teammates who are gaining the extra xp per wave in joust. Late game animosity turns tanky ao into an auto attack menace. Even with low attack speed build, his basic attack chain is so fast that it applies animosity almost 1.75x faster than most other magical characters that do not double proc (base attack speed wise). Animosity late allows potential shred of gods, tower, phoenix, joust's fire giant, and even titan. Yes this procs on titan because of balance. It is the #1 lvl 17 power spike (considering its only competition is war flags not much ik) and it is noticeable.

For boots I suppose shoes of magi are I suppose optional. The extra base damage is very important for early pressure and damage with an assassinesk tank mage. It can be substituted for cooldown shoes, however reinforced grieves as strong as they are, should be a last resort as the early extra damage on dragons and Aos 3 is very important for poke and buff contention pressure. The lifesteal from Magi makes a noticable difference after the purchase of pythags vs if you do not have it.

Gaunlet of Thebes. The best defensive option item in the game. Once stacked it gives 50 of each protection, and 10 of each protection to all allies within the radius including yourself. 60 of each prot, 300 health, 15 hp5 even. All of these stats are amazing and if you build it second it should be stacked unless extreme circumstances occur or you are clearing waves which hopefully, when running tank ao, you do not have to be the designated lane clear for your team.

Pythagprem's Piece. This item is a big power spike for not only you but your team aswell. Primarily built for the 10% pen and the Wopping 200 health synergy with animosity and fal, it is an amazing power and lifesteal item. Provides 70 power for the buyer, 10% pen, 24% lifesteal, and extra 200 health bulk. Giving your allies an additional 30 magical power and 20 physical power is quite powerful along side the extra gold and protections you are already giving them from Thebes and Benevolence. This item is in my opinion strong enough to be "required" but it also fills the first flex pick spot of the build. I would personally Try to work this item in regardless unless you skipped it early and are able to flex build into damage late. Regardless even for full tank builds where you cannot build it and opt to go into more defense building penetration as a substitute would be ideal. Down below are items that can fill the Third Slot role in certain situations. (also magical pen helps with further items such as pridwin and animosity but again in general amazing item)

Stone of fall is practically mandatory, 4th item is around the perfect time for it (this counts starter as 6th), as base defenses fall off nearing 4th-5th full item slots (not starter) and raw mitigations come online with the higher power scaling and more items as the game progresses. Stone of fal is an amazing item, if you are able to auto attack. 12% Raw mtgs, 150 health, 30 magical power, 30 of each protection, and 20%ccr when passive is fully up. This item has is easy to proc with quick attack chains from Ao. It supplies Ao with all the stats he wants besides perhaps cooldown, which in theory should be resolved by the next build slot. The only time i would not build this item is if you cannot auto attack any gods on the enemy team because you have fallen that far behind or because of team comp. Falling behind 12% mtg of 100% health bursted is both helpful in stat wise however if there are items such as spirit robe, winged, cloak of magi, ect. that can save your life go for them. In cases where you cannot auto attack based on team comp, then im assuming they picked into you and your build path should be adjusted sooner than 4th item more or less.

This is the flexiest spot in the entire build. Entirely depends on what stage in the game you are at. More than likely before finishing this item you will have hit level 17 or so. This slot i personally use for either cooldown or power and attack speed. Pridwin is not the first item you think of with Ao ult, however his drop down burst with ult dmg + pridwin pop is very effective. Should an enemy beads your ult you also can easily secure a kill with a slow into pridwin pop or Jump into pridwin pop + further abilities. Gives Solid mixed prots and a decent sized shield as well. But most importantly 20% cdr which up until this point was lacking for the build. Pridwin is my go to choice item i list, primarily because for attack speed, Usually with a 2 front line comp including yourself and another diveieresk character, the ally will have talisman of energy or your in a position where your base auto attack chain suffices. Pridwin being the flexiest also means that I tend to have quite a few options below, including power, auto attack speed, ect. This will have its own section

Notes

Item varries depending on the threat you are facing obviously

Winged for slows, magic prots, and ccr. High health too for a low low price.

Witch for out of hand adcs/ multiple phys attack speed characters. It also is good if looking to add more cdr in your build in general. This item is amazing and is one of the reasons midgaurdian mail is now one of if not the worst item in the game.

Toxic if you can get autos in against healers and heal comps. This is the ideal antiheal item outside of Tainted Steal for a tank Ao build. It also provides 15 flat pen and 30% Attack speed which makes it very usefull with animosity and a very solid replacement option for pythag's!

Pesti and Contagion are last resorts for anti heal, its if you need the tankier options if your getting pushed back hard. Aos base damage will make up for the others due to movement and cheap cost, however if being rolled by phys or magical characters when your opponents have heals/healers these may be a better pick up. However should you be that aware of a healing comp from the get go tainted steal is probably a better option.

Breastplate is primarily here for those that are pushed back into being an Ult bot early, that or they desire/need the cooldown for some reason. (That being said i believe Witch blade does as good of a job for less in alot of physical defensive situations and for cooldown. Slightly less for a lower cods and a strong passive, all in all cost benefit I believe breastplate is the worst cooldown defensive option on this list)

Spirit robe is imo the better cooldown option due to its mixed prots and %mtg passive which compliments stone of fal passive. Should you be looking at cooldown instead at this stage in the game I suggest spirit robe over breastplate unless you specifically need the extra 10% cooldown or need the early phys protections.

Notes

This section is hectic... Many different options based on where you are at in the game. Lets break it down!

Toxic Blade, amazing for animosity giving 15 pen and 30% ATTACK SPEED! Even if the only heal on enemy team is lifesteal never underestimate the power of antiheal. The movement speed and health are also insane stats that it gives on top of its already Bonkers numbers. Oh and did i mention its cheap? Get your speedpot/animosity that much faster if the game is dragging on :)

Telkeins is a tough one. By this point should you have animosity and you followed the build to this point, your power should be around 185 from items. 285 upon building telkeins. This only gives you an additional 50 or so power per auto. 52.75 non reduced. However on top of animosity the number of additional dmg per auto increases by 115-123. So total wise an additional 165 damage or so (pre mtg) per auto if you followed the exact build path. That in addition to the extra 25% attack speed makes this item a force to be reckoned with. essentially increasing your auto attack damage by 25-33%!

Ethereal staff is a bulky variant, compliments animosity well and deals %health on target. A tank Ao running in and out enjoys this item quite a bit. Ao has always enjoyed %dmg builds in the past, this is no exception. The aditional health, stolen health, power, and ccr is all amazing bonus', however should you be looking to more so abuse earlier items i do believe there are better options, this item however though it doesnt synergize specifically with the rest of the build, allows more dmg to tanks, more dmg to Aos abilities, and is better if you build more cooldown.

Spirit robe as stated earlier is insanely powerful cooldown and mixed protections item. Pairs well with stone of fal for %mitigations! ccr and cdr are already insanely powerful stats and it has both. All in all a adequate flex last item should you need to go more defensive and shift into more utility ult Ao!

Winged/witch blade. Situational cheap flex items. Promotes finishing these items for final fights/right after or before animosity. These items are as needed based on situations. Also not bad to pick them up late if you didnt early and just want the powerful items at a cheap price. Also promotes speedpot purchase and selling boots for last item if you are in a drawn out game.

Rod of Tahuti. I recommend this if you are running a lead. A powerful item regardless of circumstance. Even on tank Ao should you follow the build path up till this point after building rod you would have 325 power. Giving an additional 81% power against lower targets. This item is perfect for getting low targets into execute threshold in general. Primarily would opt to pic this up vs tanks to finish them off as their 50% health last much longer than squishys (not that its bad against squishys however you will tend to not have to execute them with this). 10 flat pen is very solid and 140 power is ridiculous. One of the better items in the game. This item also compliments Telkeins ring and animosity pen wise, telkeins for extra autto dmg w/attackspeed. This item also used to augment animosity, however I do not know if that is still the case. All in all a powerful flex item that can help you end games.

Notes

Less breakdown here due to my in depth discussion on most of these items earlier The order isnt specific however the middle items to the groups (telkeins and etheral fall into the transitional/in between these categorys section)

Attack Speed items: In case you did not already purchase attack speed in your build i do suggest to build it here to augment animosity burst damage. Telkeins or toxic are my preference, however Talisman is very solid team item that provides very good stats, however if you have a warrior or tanky assassin on your team it would more than likely be a better purchase for them rather than you.

Power/Dmg augmentation: Already listed numbers above for telkeins and rod, they augment your power to a considerable degree allowing you to have another power spike after animosity at 17. Should you be in a more defensive hit and run position rather than auto attack, I suggest rod or ethereal.

Defense and Cooldown: Spirit robes %mtg passive is nuts, 10% cooldown for faster ult and abilities is very valuable. Mantle of discord passive is very situational in joust, however it is also very useful for diving and finishing a execute and getting out. The mixed prots and 10% cooldown again are very valuable. Pridwin again as listed above gives very powerful stats, a very powerful passive, and is overall a great defense item that gives dmg and most importantly a slow to allow you to stick to a target and auto attack them to death!

Notes

These are the only real alt starters i consider including their paths.

Tainted steel and breastplate are insane items. Early anti heal against heal comps is super effective, allowing you to transition into a tanky antihealer. It stacks with Toxic aswell so say hi to 60% reduced healing early and 90% late! The protections and power on breastplate already make it one of the best starter items in general to the point where solo laners complain about it (and since this is a solo lane esk tanky bruiser build stands to reason its also good here).

Sentinels gift's sustain is big, the extra mana is super helpful on Ao. Extra gold aswell keeps you on par with benevolence start as well! Sentinel's embrace passive is just strong, in 3s you gain anywhere from 50-33 mixed prots and 200 health. And on top of that its a level 17 spike item, so you can gain advantage on enemys building lvl 20 starters and also augment a lead sooner.

Deaths toll and Deaths embrace healing is still broken levels of healing. With tank Ao (as followed by build above - animosity) 2% of hp ends up being around 50-57 an auto in number. Along side auto attack speed you can reset off of camps, waves, or even run at enemies while stacking your fal. Fal + Embrace is a very powerful combo alone, and add livesteal on top of it you can reset, box, and heal constantly making you an absolute nuisance.

This is where the items get more niche. Warding Sigil and Old Guard are mainly there for %dmg reduction to compliment items like fal and spirit robe (maybe onihunters even if it suits your fancy) Situational and honestly would prefer Embrace or Animosity however is a fun pickup and a relevant one aswell.

Manakins scepter and Hidden blade. Now this is hella niche. This is if you want ao burst on bulkier boxier ao. Hidden blade does almost animosity damage not really autowise, while giving 5% damage reduction. Compliments fal overall however it does not provide attackspeed so it loses synergy there. However stealth bursting as a tank is very potent overall. Situational? yes, however if you are running this, along side ethereal, it does allow you to get to execute threshold that much faster, can help clean up certain fights or promote certain ganks. Niche yes however definitely has its aplications. (also manakins helps box early and augments dmg while using your 2 so you essentially get a solid dmg buff early, however with flat dmg reduction off less of a tank option now so ive been building it much less, plus jungle heal buff shouldnt matter much for joust)

Its Bumbas. Its always strong. Oh its a jungler item normally? Well it gives 300 health, 200 mana, 10 pen, 20% CDR, and even restores health and shortens cooldowns. 300 health, %heal, 20%CDR... Sounds like a tank item to me ill take it. Oh and there are bonus stats too? Dope had me at the already listed stats but i guess ill take them too.

Notes

For sake of saving me time ill only go on to explain the items not previously found in the document!

Specral Armor... They have crit. Simple enough this item is insane 60%reduction of crit dmg. IDK WHY PPL DONT BUILD THIS MORE IN DIAMOND ALONE LET ALONE IN GENERAL. Good item, deals with crit.

Mail of Renewal. For jours niche, strong yet long cooldown all things considered. Then again its a reset assister for your team in an item. Mixed prots are good, hp is great, passive is the reason you build it. Protections passive can occur while heal is on cooldown. Can be up to 40 of each prot, pairs well with tank Ao, in theory can replace thebes if you really want to, id imagine it going along side thebes more often than not.

Hide of the Urchin... 2nd best defense item in the game after thebes for mixed prots/price cost. Takes a long while to stack in joust alot of the time, especially with a stalematey game. Its a thebes alternative usually, however id rather go with the guarantee from thebes personally. In hyper aggressive games or stomps its a great pickup obviously.

Stone of Gaia is here cause knockups. 400 healths and %heal base and %heal on knockup comes up more than youd think. Always in addition to defense never a replacement. 400 health also augments animosity late which is cool.

Void stone is pretty rough. Imo great item, however 10% defense reduction could just be %pen or flat pen w/ more health with pythags, less health but flat pen and attack speed with toxic. If you need the magic defense that much it works however its not my first or second choice for that matter.

Lonos is a last itch we are getting rolled item imo. Perfect for if you are stuck being an ult bot. That being said i have never built it or been forced into the situation to have to build it. On paper it seems solid enough, however if you are pushed into building this, then your base damage, and power overall take a huge hit and your impact falls off dramatically. I suggest only building this if there is no other real choice, but prove me wrong and pop off with it i guess. In theory its just neg 20% and since you rely on base dmg especially from your 2, late shred/attackspeed dmg, and animosity it really just leaves your late game with ults on paper.

The rest of these items ive listed previously in the document. Besides that Talisman of energy was listed briefly however I suggest this as the alternative to void stone as it helps late game potential more overall. Thats my hot take on that matter. The rest of these items are all also strong and to be build where/when needed at your discretion.

Notes

Should be obvious but uhhh... Actives are game dependent. Situation dependent. Also obviously should you need relics more often, relic dagger is not a bad pickup. Cheap, has cdr, 7% movement speed, and 350 health to augment late game animosity.

Notes

Witch Blade does its job just as well, with more/better stats. 10%cdr and 7% on better midgaurd mail. Please let this be a PSA! (auto attackspeed slow no longer stacks, hence making this item irrelevant. Also witch if it couldnt get better from those stats, also is 250 gold cheaper...)

Tank Ao, ranked 3s meta Build Section

Ao Kuang Build Guide

Grunt Lyfe - NA

Shoes of the Magi

Gauntlet of Thebes

Y10 Pythagorem's Piece

Pridwen

Witchblade

Pestilence (old)

Breastplate of Valor

Spirit Robe

Y10 Telkhines Ring

Ethereal Staff

Spirit Robe

Witchblade

Rod of Tahuti

Talisman of Energy

Y10 Telkhines Ring

Rod of Tahuti

Ethereal Staff

Spirit Robe

Mantle of Discord

Pridwen

Tainted Steel

Tainted Breastplate

Sentinel's Gift

Sentinel's Embrace

Death's Toll

Death's Embrace

Warding Sigil

Sigil of The Old Guard

Manikin Scepter

Manikin Hidden Blade

Bumba's Hammer

Spectral Armor *old*

Mail of Renewal

Hide of the Urchin

Stone of Gaia

Void Doumaru

Lono's Mask (deprecated)

Talisman of Energy

Witchblade

Y10 Telkhines Ring

Spirit Robe

Pestilence (old)

Traveler's Cloak

S8 Magic Shell Upgrade

z* Sundering Spear Upgrade

S8 Phantom Veil Upgrade

Relic Dagger

Midgardian Mail

Ranked 3s Tank Ao

Spectral Armor old