Is Aatrox AP or AD? – The Ultimate Season 12 LoL Guide

Aatrox was released way back in 2013 and he was a completely different champion back then, his skill set and overall look can now only be seen if you search it on youtube. In 2018 patch 8.13 because his former look and skill set led to him having a very low pick rate, but ever since his rework, his pick rate has skyrocketed because he became a team fighting late-game monster that can tank and deal tons of AoE damage. 

Aatrox’s main damage source comes from his abilities which begs the question, is he AD or AP? 

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Is Aatrox AP or AD Champion?

Aatrox is an AD-based tank champion in League of Legends. His main damage source comes from his abilities mainly from his Q which can be recast three times. His abilities let him heal a percentage of the damage he deals and he can increase this effect with his ultimate. His passive is also another way for him to heal and it also scales with AD. So Aatrox has an AD ratio when it comes to damage and healing. 

People usually build Aatrox as a pure damage build or pure tank build, but the best is to build him as a hybrid tank AD. This hybrid build focuses on increasing his defensive stats and his damage, increasing his health will also improve his healing when he has his ultimate up.

 Aatrox is a frontline tank champion that can deal tons of AoE damage, this is why you see him often as an initiator of a team fight and dealing the initial burst damage to the opponents. 

But since Aatrox scales with AD, you can build him full AD, but I don’t encourage this as you might be able to deal damage like an assassin with your AOE spells, but one CC, and you’re done. 

Best Aatrox Builds Depending On His Enemy’s Team Comp

• AD-based enemy team comp – Death’s Dance, Sterak’s Gage, Eclipse, Plated Steelcaps, Ravenous Hydra, Guardian Angel.
• AP based enemy team comp – Mercury’s Treads, Spirit Visage, Death’s Dance, Maw of Malmortius, Gore Drinker, Ravenous Hydra

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Best Runes For Aatrox 

• Conqueror – Increases his healing capabilities once it reaches full stacks.
• Triumph – Gives him survivability after team fights or tower dives.
• Legend: Tenacity – For increased control when diving enemies during team fights
• Last Stand – being the frontline of the team, Aatrox benefits from this as everybody will be focusing their attack on him constantly bringing his HP down.

What Lane Can Aatrox Be Played In?

Most of the time, being a late-game champion, Aatrox is played in the top lane. This is the lane where most late-game champions thrive as it is the farthest lane in the game. Most junglers do not gank top lane as there is no objective advantage even if top laners have lane priority. 

Though Aatrox can also be played in the middle lane, you need to play him aggressively with the ignite rune. You can bully your enemies in the lane with his Q or by doing a full combo and gaining the HP advantage over your enemy. 

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Where Does Aatrox’s Value Come?

His value comes during team fights where he can deal tons of AoE damage, he can also heal tons of HP whenever he deals AoE damage to his opponents. The more enemy champions he is facing, the more damage and more healing he gets. 

He excels at close quarter combats where he can bring Gore Drinker’s value out. Aatrox is also a great split pusher because if he manages to gain a huge lead on his opponent, he can push side lanes by himself and the enemy team would either need 3 or their entire team to stop Aatrox. 

Conclusion

Aatrox is the most sought-after champion when picking tank top laners because he is not just a simple tank that can eat tons and tons of damage, he can also deal those damage to his enemies tenfold. He also has no AP scaling meaning all AP items are useless to build on Aatrox.

I hope this article satisfied your curiosity about Aatrox, now go out there and practice him and discover how strong a juggernaut champion he is.