Aatrox/Strategy

Skill usage

 * Whether playing in lane or in the jungle, it is recommended that you level your first as the increased slow time as well as the powerful, ranged, magic damage offers more per skill point than any of  other skills.
 * It may seem appealing to maximize first for additional sustain, however the amount healed only goes up by 10 base with each skill point (roughly 3.3 health per attack, lower than )
 * Therefore, leveling second and  last is highly recommended.
 * The attack speed from is one of the most underutilized parts of  kit, be sure to keep your  full, regardless of whether or not the revive is on cooldown.
 * The attack speed synergizes very well with
 * It is important to remember that  and  can be switch between at any time. Meaning you can charge the heal in  then switch to  to instead use it for damage.
 * Switch to  for early game harass against other melee champions. On the other hand, switching to  and getting one last heal can mean the difference between life and death when running from foes.
 * can be used as both an initiation move and a disengage, but be aware that is still vulnerable to crowd controls, such as stuns and knockups.
 * has a very fast movement time and can be used to quickly jump over smaller walls to escape pursuers or chase down enemies who have recently used or other blinks such as
 * and have some synergy with each other.
 * Using first can allow you to get in a few hits and hopefully force an enemy to attempt an escape, after which you can follow up with  for further punishment. Reversing the skill order will achieve the same effect but not with the same efficiency -  has a longer cooldown and is a "harder" form of crowd control, thus encouraging more efficient use.
 * Additionally, the slow from makes landing dark flight's knock-up easier by reducing the enemy's ability to dodge it
 * Try following the bonus damage from your immediately with  after you engage for the quickest burst of damage. A full combo would be readying your, engage with  followed by , proc  bonus damage, then activate  to deliver a burst of damage.
 * Be aware that both and  briefly interrupt Aatrox's movement.
 * When trying to disengage, it's good to use first (since it has a longer range and a shorter cast animation) followed immediately by  (since it has a shorter range and a longer cast animation).
 * With enough life steal, can leave  on indefinitely, as the amount of damage he takes every third strike is negated by the life steal.
 * The the self-damage is entirely negated by
 * has a huge variety of uses and a relatively short cooldown, so don't be afraid to use it for as many of these as possible
 * One use of is for heavy burst damage as explained above
 * Another use of is to grant yourself additional attack speed for pushing down towers

Build usage

 * is a melee fighter who specializes in strong initiation and in-fight sustain. Because of the diversity in kit, he can quite effectively build two different ways: Damage or Tank.


 * Damage
 * Aatrox benefits from life steal since it allows him to negate the health loss from his abilities.
 * Apart from life steal, provides attack speed, letting him regain insane amounts of health through . An early  also gives some much-needed early sustain.
 * is the item that gives the most attack damage and life steal in the game. It will make Aatrox extremely potent in 1v1 duels.
 * is a very useful item to have when in the middle of a teamfight, allowing you to both deal damage to and heal from multiple enemies, giving Aatrox a very powerful late-game presence.
 * provides many valuable stats to, giving movement speed, attack speed, health, attack damage, and a movement speed bonus on-hit.
 * Make sure to utilize the procs of Trinity Force properly or the breadth of mediocre stats it provides will be less effective than an item more focused on a single stat.
 * is especially useful once you follow below half health, as the bonus attack speed combined with the tripled healing from makes you very hard to kill, even without your revive passive.
 * For the same reason, can be used, although it is relatively cost inefficient.
 * Aatrox can use all 3 armor penetration items effectively (, and ). The choice depends on whether or not you need armor penetration early, and also whether or not your enemies are focusing on armor.
 * If you predict that your enemies are likely to get high amounts of armor, it is best to get during mid-game, helping you transition into your late-game phase better due to the high armor penetration and low cost.
 * If you feel that you need armor penetration more early, or that you need cooldown reduction, getting a is a good idea. It can later be upgraded into a, which offers high armor penetration and some useful health, or  which offers a passive that synergizes fantastically with Aatrox, as well as some critical strike chance.
 * gives off great offensive stats, and the tenacity is good if not getting.


 * Tank
 * 's passive will allow to deal mixed damage, forcing enemies to itemize on some magic resist as well as armor.
 * helps soak up damage in team fights and helps you survive long enough to take out high priority targets and the active slow helps catch running enemies.
 * in conjunction with results in fast healing due to the increased healing affects of Spirits Visage and the AoE life steal from Hydra. It also sync well with his Passive and Blood thirst as it also increases their healing.
 * is also a good choice since it provides 700 bonus health and a on-hit slow.
 * is equivalent to a second ; they both revive after death. This gives more survivability and allows for more opportunities to finish off targets.
 * 's passive procs before 's passive, so you'll keep the attack speed granted by after your first revive.
 * An early is primarily to counter laning opponents dealing mostly magic damage. Additionally, the active shield can save  from an otherwise untimely death.
 * It can later be upgraded into a . The closer to death is, the more attack damage granted by the unique passive of the item.

Countering

 * When takes fatal damage he is healed for the amount currently in his resource bar. Landing a fatal blow on him while the resource bar is low will result in him reviving with a lower amount of health.
 * Unlike other reviving champions, revive is rapid and grants him invulnerability during this time which allows him to quickly rejoin a team fight after being dropped to critical health.
 * When fighting him, consider his resource bar as part of his own health. (For example, killing him with a full will make him return with a large portion of his hitpoints and if the fight was closely matched, he will most likely kill you.)
 * Be aware that his passive (after reviving) doesn't provide any attackspeed anymore, because he consumes all the blood within it and be sure to look if he got the Blood Thirst/Blood Price buff while reviving.
 * When casts  towards your location, avoid being knocked up by moving away from the center of impact.
 * Most players will aim the ability right above you or right behind you. So, moving closer to Aatrox at the time he casts will likely make the skill miss you.
 * In lane, zoning  out of combat will quickly drain out his  making him a much more vulnerable target.
 * While he can be built as a fighter, 's stats and kit are similar to those of a melee ADC, like or . These champions are devastating as long as they are able to attack, but are extremely vulnerable to crowd control, and while 's  helps him survive, he is no exception to the rule, as a well landed stun or snare can severely hinder his combat abilities.
 * In particular, not only his damage but his in-lane sustain are dependent on him auto-attacking. Champions with strong blinds like or  will give him fits during laning.
 * Inflicting Grievous Wounds can reduce his healing from.
 * However, Grievous Wounds does not affect the health he regains from his.
 * Without ability power (which likely won't be built), 's intial damage is not a factor. The large attack speed and range bonus is a huge threat, but you don't have to worry about getting instantly burst-nuked by the activation.
 * The ability lasts long enough for most teamfights, but baiting  into using the ability to commit to killing you before a fight breaks out will remove the strong threat the ability presents in a teamfight.
 * However, it's recommended you only do this if you are a very hard to kill or catch champion, such as, , , or.
 * Aatrox is auto attack reliant for not only his damage, but also his survivability. Reducing his attack speed by purchasing or  can help reduce both of those components greatly.

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Aatrox/Strategy