Key Takeaways for Smite Ao Kuang Guide
- Ao Kuang was turned into a melee mage after the rework
- He’s survivable enough, so your priority should be to maximize your damage
- Your biggest enemies are tanks, so go after the squishy Gods first
Table of Contents
Ao Kuang is one of the original Gods in Smite, he was amazing back in the day and he still is. Even though he doesn’t look like his old self anymore, he’s just as capable as he was in Smite’s earliest seasons. He’s easily one of the best Smite Gods.
With his rework came a slew of new abilities, while the old abilities were “painted over” and given to Kukulkan. Okay, that isn’t entirely fair to say, as both are quite distinct Gods; yet, traces of the old Ao Kuang can still be seen in Kukulkan.
These new abilities also gave Ao Kuang an entirely different playstyle, as he’s now a melee mage. As such, you have to play with that consideration in mind, you’re not an assassin or a warrior, you’re a melee mage, so don’t get too cocky.
Do you think the rework was a good thing for Ao Kuang? Tell us in the comments below or on the Z League app.
Ao Kuang’s Abilities
Starting off with his passive, Dragon King’s Sword. His passive is similar to Hade’s Blight in that it applies a stack on an enemy whenever you hit them, unlike blight however, Dragon King’s Sword is on a cooldown, with only a maximum of 3 stacks available. Also unlike Blight, Dragon King’s Sword doesn’t alter your abilities in any way, it just causes you to heal for a percentage of your missing HP and it reduces the cooldowns on your abilities.
His first ability, Water Illusion serves as a teleportation ability, what’s unique about it is that it also enters you into stealth mode; if you so wish you can activate the ability again to detonate the image that you leave behind. Considering that the AoE of the ability is quite big and the damage is also quite good, you’re gonna want to use this on enemy groups rather than single targets.
Dragon Call is his second ability, it summons 6 mini dragons to his side which increases the damage of his basic attacks. If you want, you may also send out these dragons as a ranged attack. This one’s great for ganking as it also applies a slow on the first enemy that’s hit.
Wild Storm is his third ability, it’s basically a damage spell that fires off in a cone in front of him. There’s nothing notable about this one as many other Gods share similar abilities. Great for getting that extra bit of damage in I guess.
His ultimate is King of the Eastern Seas, and it definitely lives up to its name. His ultimate basically charges at an enemy God and gives them a good old stabbing, however, here’s the fun part; if the enemy God is below 30% HP you also transform into your true form and instantly execute him. As a cherry on top, you can also land on the ground after that and deal damage in an AoE. This one’s great for finishing off tanks.
Ideal Ao Kuang Build
Dealing maximum damage and having the ability to spam your abilities as often as possible is the name of the game with Ao Kuang. With that in mind, here’s how you should build him out.
Start by picking up Eye of the Jungle and a Magic Focus as well as your potions. It’s also a good idea to pick up a Blink Rune and Purification Beads.
Upgrade your Eye and Magic Focus into a Protector Of The Jungle and a Spear of Desolation, as soon as possible. After that, grab a Spear of Magnus, as no mage is complete without one. After you’ve got those three items, get the following items in this order: Perfected Rod of Tahuti, Doom Orb, and finally, Divine Ruin. If you upgrade your Purification Beads into Temporal Beads, you probably won’t need to substitute one of the items for a Magi’s or another defensive item. You’re here to do a lot of damage, living to tell the tale to your grandkids isn’t a priority.
Tips for Playing Ao Kuang
- Don’t forget to use your first ability to escape from ganks, it isn’t solely an offensive ability
- Target squishy enemies first, then go after the more tanky ones
- If a tank is below 30% HP, ulti him immediately. Not only do you take out a major nuisance, but you also get the opportunity to deal further damage to the rest of his teammates
