Overview

Apollo currently is sitting in the middle of the table for viable Hunters. While not being first pick first ban, he can hold himself against most matchups in the duo lane. Apollo is simple on the outside but looking further into his playstyle you can discover many hidden tactics that can be used to gain the upper hand in your matches. Apollo is a fast basic attack Hunter with high mobility (thanks to his Ultimate ability). Apollo has a strong early game due to his passive, allowing him (with the right support) to dominate lane and gain pressure. One of the tactics that can be used is to use your 3rd ability, The Moves, on the wave.

While this will leave you without an escape and potentially in danger, with the right support and a bit of confidence and knowledge of where the enemy team is, you can stack your passive ‘Audacity’ for faster basic attacks and more damage onto your enemy. Apollo’s 2nd ability ‘Serenade’ can be used for increased physical protections and can be pre-used (or used on the enemy god) to either gain the protections or the mesmerize that it provides to escape your enemy efficiently. His ultimate ‘Across the Sky’ can be used to get back into lane when you’re behind or can be used to outrotate your enemy Hunter to the teamfight. It can also be used to split push and escape quickly when needed to. Combine this with his passive and you have a fast tower killer.

Matchups

While Apollo has a lot of matchups that are even, he does have a few good and bad ones.

Counters:

Chernobog – Can counter the rotational ability (sort of a draw but the Apollo is the only god that can do this).

Countered by:

Bellona – Anti-basic attack god.
Artemis – Cannot efficiently escape Artemis’s ultimate.
Poseidon – Cripple on whirlpool.

Abilities in a nutshell

Passive – Audacity – 10 successful basic attacks allow 5 more with faster attack speed.

Ability 1 – So Beautiful – Line ability which does damage.

Ability 2 – Serenade – Mesmerize in a circle and gain protections.

Ability 3 – The Moves – Dash, deals damage, and knocks up. Adds stacks of Audacity. Increased movement speed after and decreases enemy movement speed.

Ultimate – Across the Sky – Fly in a chariot, does damage on landing, knocks up will all ticks on landing.

Level Order 1>2>3>4

Apollo is different from other gods whereas the ultimate in not one to level until the final few as it is not as important as other abilities. You should first level So Beautiful to clear waves and deal damage. At level 2, you should level The Moves for an escape (or engage if you want). However, after this Serenade should be maxed out before leveling The Moves again. This is for the protections it gives you and the mesmerize. This leaves the ultimate until last as a way of escaping or getting to the fight.

Build

Apollo has two ways of building depending on what you would like to do. Crit Chance, Penetration or Attack Speed. Crit chance should be used as a teamfight build when you want to do the maximum damage. This should be:

Warrior Tabi - Devourer's Gloves – The Executioner – Poison Star/Rage/Wind Demon - Poison Star/Rage/Wind Demon – Deathbringer.

Note – One of the lesser crit items in the trio of the list can be swapped out for a Titan's Bane as your last item.

The penetration build is one where you either want to split push all game, have fast attack speed, or kill tanks quickly. This is popularly stylized as ‘The Unicorn Build’.

Warrior Tabi – Devourer's Gloves – The Executioner – Qin's Sais – Titan's Bane – Odysseus' Bow

The 3rd build uses Silverbranch Bow for extra power.

Ninja Tabi – Devourer's Gloves – Silverbranch Bow – The Executioner – Qin's Sais – Odysseus' Bow

This gives over the 2.0 cap on attack speed and therefore allows Silverbranch Bow’s passive to come into action, giving more power the further you are over the cap.

Overall, Apollo is one of a kind. Master the use of his dash and the ability hit all of your basic attacks and he’s a god to add to your pool.

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