Aatrox Build Guide for Wild Rift

How to play Aatrox

Aatrox is a versatile fighter who can be played in the Solo Lane or Jungle. His playstyle focuses on outlasting opponents through strong self-healing while weaving together well-timed ability combos. At first glance, Aatrox may not seem difficult to play. However, he has a high skill ceiling, especially in mastering his combos. Consistently hitting the sweet spots with The Darkin Blade is key to unlocking his full damage potential. Aatrox excels in both duels and teamfights. His mobility gives him access to the enemy backline, making him highly effective at killing the primary carry.

Be sure to check the alternative build at the top of the page for playing Aatrox in the jungle.

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Aatrox's Abilities

Deathbringer Stance

(Passive)

Enhances Aatrox's next attack every 24 seconds to deal bonus physical damage based on the target's max health and heal him for the same amount.

Hitting a champion or large monster reduces the cooldown by 3 seconds.

You can tell when Deathbringer Stance is ready by the yellow bar beneath his health bar filling up.

Try to use this empowered attack on enemy champions rather than minions, as it significantly increases your healing. Look to trade when the passive is available, since the enhanced auto attack deals substantial damage and gives you a strong advantage in short trades.

The Darkin Blade

(1)

Aatrox swings his blade up to three times, dealing physical damage. Each cast deals increased damage.
Enemies hit in the sweet spot take bonus damage and are briefly knocked up.

The Darkin Blade has three casts: A straight line, a horizontal sweep and a circle strike. The sweet spots are at the tip for the first two casts, and in the centre for the circular cast. Hitting these sweet spots is important, as they deal significantly more damage and help win trades.

You can use Flash and Umbral Dash to adjust your positioning to line up sweet spots so it hits more consistently.

Infernal Chains

(2)

Aatrox sends out a chain that deals physical damage to the first enemy hit and slows them for a short duration.
If a champion or large monster stays inside the area, they are pulled back to the centre after a delay and take the damage again.
You can combine Umbral Dash with Infernal Chains to reposition and get closer to enemies, making it easier to land the ability. Since enemies will often try to escape the impact area, use Darkin Blade to knock them up and keep them inside Infernal Chains. This greatly increases your damage and can be decisive in teamfights.

Umbral Dash

(3)

Passive: Aatrox gains Physical Vamp against enemy champions, increased during his World Ender.

Active: Aatrox dashes forward, resetting his basic attack. Umbral Dash can also be used while casting other abilities.
Most of the time, Umbral Dash is used to help you position for The Darkin Blade or to close the gap on enemies. It can also be used defensively to disengage from fights when you need to retreat or avoid damage.

World Ender

(Ultimate)

Aatrox unleashes his demonic form, gaining bonus Attack Damage, increased healing and a burst of Movement Speed that decays over time.
World Ender's duration is extended on takedowns.
You should always activate World Ender before committing to a teamfight, as it greatly increases Aatrox's damage, healing and mobility. This is when he becomes most dangerous and can easily take over fights. The bonus movement speed also makes it much easier to reach and stick to key targets.

Aatrox Build Breakdown

Eclipse

Trinity Force

Serylda's Grudge

Death's Dance

Spear of Shojin

Gluttonous Greaves - Goredrinker

Eclipse gives high Attack Damage and a shield that helps him win short trades. Aatrox can easily trigger the passive with The Darking Blade, allowing him to consistently proc the effect in fights.

Trinity Force is a strong, well-rounded item for Aatrox because it gives a mix of damage, health and ability haste. It works especially well with The Darkin Blade and his passive Deathbringer Stance, since Aatrox can weave empowered auto attacks between abilities to boost his overall damage.

Death's Dance gives Aatrox both damage and survivability. Its passive helps reduce incoming burst from both physical and magic damage, giving Aatrox more time to heal through fights.

For runes, we have the following:

Conqueror

Conqueror is ideal for Aatrox because it enhances his strength in extended fights. He can stack it quickly through his abilities and auto attacks, gaining damage and bonus healing.

Courage of the Colossus

Courage of the Colossus gives Aatrox a shield when engaging, adding extra survivability. He has multiple ways to trigger it through his crowd control, from the Darkin Blade knockups and Infernal Chains pull.

Second Wind

Second Wind gives Aatrox consistent healing after taking damage, helping him stay healthy during the laning phase.

Bone Plating is a better choice against burst-heavy champions. Making it easier for Aatrox to survive all-ins.

Overgrowth

Overgrowth grants bonus max health as minions die nearby, making him tankier as the game goes on. It works well with his healing, allowing him to stay alive longer and get more value from his sustain.

Perseverance reduces incoming damage taken when he is crowd-controlled, helping him survive enemy burst and follow-up damage.

Sudden Impact

Sudden Impact boosts Aatrox's damage after he uses a dash, which he can easily trigger with Umbral Dash. This increases the damage of his follow-up ability or auto attack, helping him deal more burst during trades and all-ins.

Flash

Ignite

Flash is essential on Aatrox. He can use it to extend the range of The Darking Blade to land sweet spot knockups, or quickly close the gap onto priority targets. It also helps him escape dangerous situations or dodge skillshots.

Ignite adds extra true damage to help secure kills during all-ins and extended trades. This helps Aatrox finish targets more reliably when he dives in, extending the time of World Ender.

Early Game

In the early game, Aatrox focuses on using his abilities to punish enemies. His main goal is to land The Darkin Blade sweet spots to farm minions and win short exchanges while sustaining with his passive and abilities. He is strongest when his passive, Deathbringer Stance is available, so you should look to trade around it for extra damage and healing. Once you reach Level 5 and unlock World Ender, Aatrox gets much stronger, and you can start forcing fights more confidently. In dangerous situations or when being ganked, Umbral Dash can be used to reposition or escape to safety.

Late Game

In the late game, Aatrox's strength comes from teamfights, where he can heal through multiple enemies and reset his passive, Deathbringer Stance. You should look to flank or dive the enemy blackline using World Ender to boost his damage, healing and mobility. Hitting sweet spots with The Darkin Blade becomes essential, as it allows him to threaten squisher targets, so remember to use Flash and Umbral Dash to reposition in teamfights. Aatrox is not a strong split pusher in the late game and can be outmatched by other Solo Lane champions, so grouping is usually the safer and more effective option.

Conclusion

Overall, Aatrox is a strong fighter who excels in extended fights. Success with him comes down to practising hitting the sweet spot with The Darkin Blade and using his abilities effectively in trades and teamfights. With good positioning and consistency, he can become a powerful threat in fights.

Thank you for reading this guide!

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Good luck on the rift summoners!

- iTzSTU4RT