A brief guide to Ancient Apparition

Great guide, I kind of needed to figure out how to get started on AA. I saw my brother use a build as him that involved alot of stats that i'd prefer, but as for items I played a game, won, and had the ****piest item build so this kind of helped me get an idea for what items are good on him. Oh and the one criticism I have, don't compare my donkey to a crow :P

Good guide, I like how you left the skill build at 7 saying it was dependant on the game as that's very true. I've started played aa support a lot and believe and aghs is situational. If the enemy has hereos with heals, mainly talking about Chen as he normally has mek and his ultimate, then the extra duration prevents him from using it in the entire fight, as normally you can't kill them all in 9-10 seconds.

It also prevents life steal regen which is invaluable in a fight against hereos like lifestealer, and the extra duration stops him from doing open wounds once it's finished and his health rocketing back up. Aghs can also be justified if your team has lots of aoe damage such as ultimates from Gyrocopter and Enigma. If your team is mainly dps or a ganking style other items are better.

Also, you could talk about his viability in a dual mid lane. If he's with someone with a guaranteed stun, such as Dragon Knight, or even someone with a significant slow, like Brewmaster, his cold feet will stun and then the enemy are in a lot of trouble.

Finally, you could say how ice vortex can be used to scout out high ground due to its large casting range, this can help your team from walking into big trouble.

No probs bro :D

I've added a mid semicarry item selection based on your suggestions. I had ghost scepter in a situational item section earlier but rearranged it and missed it off! Thanks for the reminder.

Ah I see what you mean :)

You could also consider getting treads instead of arcanes. With some points in touch u have massive right click early on.
Also ghost sceptor is a great pick for a squishy support.

I mostly play AA as a mid role with loads of impact on the game.
He can ruin a 5 man fight for your enemies with 1 ulti.
SAY NO TO HUSKAR!!!!!

I'm not saying that Mekansm shouldn't be gotten, I'm saying that Aghanim's Scepter is a really good ultra-lategame pickup on AA, especially after his Orchid Malevolence or Scythe of Vyse. :)

I think we'll have to agree to disagree :D The heal from a Mekansm can really turn early game team fights around, much more so than the increased duration on Ice Blast, in my experience.

I don't dispute that the extra duration on the Ice Blast debuff is significant, I just feel that as a support there are better items than aghanims. A Force Staff is always very useful for chasing/escaping/personal positoning. A Scythe of Vyse or Orchid Malevolence can be very useful when it comes to shutting down mobile heroes such as Storm Spirit or Queen of Pain. I guess if going mid then an aghanims could be good, but I don't really like it as a support item.

I'm gonna have to disagree with you on this one. At level 3, the duration goes up from 10 to 17 seconds. That's a whole extra seven seconds of no regeneration! I don't think that is very "slight" at all. Though I think you are right, that an AA playing the 5 role shouldn't get it until very late in the game.

Personally I would disagree. I think that a Mekansm is vital for every team, and if no-one else is building one then as a support hero you should prioritise it above anything except for wards. I would rather have the heal/regen/armour buff on my entire team than a slightly longer duration ont he debuff from Ice Blast, which is unlikely to hit more than three heroes in a teamfight. Obviously this depends on what position you normally play AA. I ususally play him as a number 5.

As for maxing Chilling Touch, I tried to say that what you level post 7 is situational dependant upon team composition and playstyle. I love maxing it early on if you are teamfighting early, but if you are placed on the back foot, the slow from Ice Vortex can be more useful when it comes to escaping.

I've added necrobook to the situational team benefiting items as I'll admit I forgot it earlier. It's not actually an item I build very often, although perhaps I should!

If people downvote because I said that they should adapt to a situation then I'm not hugely bothered, although I appreciate the feedback.

While AA used to be a viable mid I really don't think he is any more. It is too easy to run away from Cold Feet and he has no reliable burst damage or ability for rune control so I would never play him mid. If you absolutely have to play mid then of course a bottle would be useful but I really don't feel that AA can stand up to the common mid heroes at the moment.

As for Aghanim's Scepter, this guide is aimed at a support Ancient Apparition, and as such, the items I recommend are aimed at helping the team. I don't feel that Aghanim's Scepter is worth the gold spent when compared to a Mekansm, Force Staff or Scythe of Vyse, depending on how much gold one can accrue.

An Aghanim's would be better for your team than a mech.
Try max touch build. Its ridiculously strong when paired with a beastmaster with points in his aura. Or you could consider a necrobook. All the stats are usefull plus everyone gets more attack speed.