Aphelios is one of, if not the most, complicated champions Riot Games has ever produced. His kit offers lots of possibilities, meaning that no two battles you fight will be the same. For example, you could have Severum in one hand and Infernum in your offhand. With that combo, you can life steal and peel while poking out the backline with Infernum’s Area of Effect auto attacks, or you could have Calibrum and Gravitum, meaning that you will have to enter battle with a different strategy, since they don’t offer burst damage like the previously stated weapon combo. With this guide, it will hopefully help you gain a betterer understanding of each weapon and the best situations to use them in. This guide will also explain his best weapon combos when it comes to team fighting and the best runes for the Lunari ADC.

Calibrum, the Sniper Rifle

His sniper rifle serves as Aphelios’ long range poke. The sniper rifle is one of two weapons you will start off with once you enter the rift. Now, it’s important to note that each weapon has its own passive and this weapons passive, lies heavily in using the Q for this weapon, Moonshot.

If you land Moonshot on any target, minion, champion, monster, etc. it will activate his passive, which leaves a mark on whatever target hit. When attacking the marked enemy, he will also attack with his offhand weapon, meaning that whatever weapon you have in your offhand, that weapon’s passive will be activated as well, such as with Severum, you will also gain some health. When used with his ultimate, Moonlight Vigil, multiple marks can be added onto the enemy team. Any additional marks will be bonus damage added to the target you choose to attack. This weapon is the simplest in his kit and the easiest to understand.

Severum, the Scythe Pistol

Severum is Aphelios’ second weapon, his off-hand, that rears up when you enter the rift. This weapon is my personal favorite, because it can be your best friend at any point of the game when you get dived on by the enemy team. This weapon's passive is fairly simple, every attack heals. The more damage you deal with items you buy, such as Essence Reaver or Infinity Edge, the more health you gain back.

As previously stated, this weapon can be your best friend if you get stuck in a sticky situation. Especially when your Q, Onslaught, is available. With this ability, you are able to rapidly attack with Severum and whatever your offhand weapon is, not only healing you, but also dealing damage to anyone who would dare try to dive onto you. Furthermore, when he ults with Severum, he gains a massive amount of health, which is why running Overheal as part of your rune tree is a must, as the shield you will get will prove very helpful whenever this weapon is equipped.

Gravitum, the Gravity Cannon

This weapon is your main form of crowd control. Gravitum can be used for a multitude of situations, such as when you want to lock down an enemy for burst damage, using it with your ultimate to lock down a whole team in a fight, or to make sure they don’t chase after you when things go awry.

This weapon's passive will slow your enemies, making it easier for you to auto attack and to use his Q ability, Eclipse. Said Q for this weapon is a root on any enemies that you auto attack, as the passive also marks enemies for the root. This makes it easier for your team to dive onto whatever target or targets you hold in place. As previously stated, the ultimate marks everybody with Gravitum’s passive and in turn, can root a whole team and turn the fight into your favor.

Infernum, the Flamethrower

Now when it comes to team fighting, this is the weapon you want by your side. Infernum is easily the most powerful weapon in Aphelios’ kit. Its auto is an AoE cone of flames that spreads behind the first targeted enemy and the cone widens if that auto attack crits, making it perfect for not only wave clear but also for slight zoning control, but more on zoning later.

The Q for this weapon, Duskwave, is a blast of fire in a cone that consumes all the eneimes that are in that radius. It will also trigger an auto attack from Aphelios’ offhand weapon, meaning that if you have a weapon like Gravitum for example, all of the enemies that are in the Q’s radius could also be rooted if you swap to Gravitum, spelling big trouble for anyone caught in the blast. When paired with Moonlight Vigil is when things get really hot, pun totally intended. Not only does it deal a good amount of damage on a single target, but the more people that are in the radius of Moonlight Vigil, the more damage it will deal. Meaning that if you launch your ultimate into the Baron or Dragon pit that the enemy team is in, they can be dealt a massive amount of damage and would be forced to either retreat or fight. Infernum is a weapon that will help you win fights, so it’s best to use its ammo wisely.

Crescendum, the Chakram

This weapon is more so akin to Gnar’s Q ability. This weapon is the most fascinating one in his kit, as it’s unlike a weapon most traditional bot laners would play with. As previously stated, this weapon is like Gnar’s Q, which is summed up as a boomerang. That’s how Crescendum works, as with every auto attack forces you to wait for your Chakram to return before you can auto again. Being closer to your enemy or activating crit while auto attacking will make the Chakram return faster, so this weapon encourages you to dash right up into the face of your enemy and pelt them over and over with the Chakram.

This weapon’s Q, Sentry, places a turret of your off-hand weapon, which will attack like you would if you had that weapon equipped. As a bonus, it will also crit, making it so you can have two weapons at once on the field. This ability does wonders for zone control, as you can put it near the river or in the middle of the enemy wave, making opposing champions think twice about attacking you and your support and even the minion wave. An important thing to note is that with every auto attack you do on a champion or using any ability that hits a target, will gain you a mini Chakram, which will give your autos more damage. His ultimate gives you a handful of mini Chakrams to use, which can pair well with certain other weapons, like Severum.

Best Weapon Combos

Infernum and Gravitum

This is your go-to weapon combo for teamfights. Offering massive damage and crowd control, this weapon combo will help your team immensely in the late game when you have to teamfight in order to gain neutral objectives like Baron. With the ability to either deal huge damage with the Infernum ultimate or to hold down enemies in place with the Gravitum ultimate, this weapon combo will do you wonders when the time is called to teamfight.

Severum and Crescendum

This weapon duo is made to keep you alive and kite around in a teamfight. With Severum’s Q being rapid auto attacks with both your main and offhand weapon, the attacks this combo can do will be devastating to a squishy target, like an enemy ADC or mid laner. To use this to the best extent, use you ultimate with Crescendum so that you have a stack of mini Chakram’s loaded. Then swap to your Scythe Pistol and go to town with Onslaught. The damage from the mini Chakram’s plus Severum’s healing will keep you alive in teamfights while also dealing a healthy amount of damage.

Crescendum and Calibrum

While this seems like an odd weapon combo for Aphelios, make no mistake, this weapon combo can be deadly because of Crescendum’s turret. Since the turret auto attacks with Aphelios’ off-hand weapon, it will constantly add on Calibrum’s mark, making it quick to wave clear, attack anyone that dares enter’s the turret field of vision or to take down a neutral objective quickly. Now when it comes to using your ultimate, it is best that you use it with Calibrum equipped, as you can choose a single target that is marked out of multiple marked targets for extra damage not just from the sniper rifle, but also from the Chakram’s, as attacking that enemy will send out mini chakrams and you can swap to Crescendum to auto attack with a handful of mini Chakrams.

Best Runes

For Aphelios, the best rune to run is Press the Attack. With that Keystone equipped, it will help you significantly as it will stack with any of his attacks, making it easier for you to burst down a target and make your attacks hurt more when Press the Attack is fully activated. For the rest of the rune tree, as previously stated, Overheal will do you wonders, as it will help keep you alive with the shield you gain when auto attacking with Severum. Bloodline is a good combo with Overheal, giving you constant life steal that will become huge when the late game rolls around. Finally, run Coup de Grace for the extra damage on any remaining low health targets. You could also run Conqueror instead of Press the Attack, as Aphelios’ attacks will help you stack Conqueror fairly quickly and help give you additional healing.

For the secondary rune tree, you can run either Sorcery or Inspiration. With Sorcery, you should go Transcendence, as the free 10% cooldown at level 10 will help you in the mid to late game, letting you spam your Q abilities much faster. Secondly, go Gathering Storm, so that your damage will keep growing throughout the game and keep you a constant threat, even if you fall behind. When running the Inspiration rune tree, you should without a doubt run Magical Footwear, as that will save you 300 gold from getting regular boots that could be used for something else, like a dagger. The second rune should be Cosmic Insight, as it gives you a free 5% cooldown reduction, as well as increasing your max CDR and giving your spells increased CDR.

Conclusion

Aphelios is a champion that certainly does take patience and time to learn. Each weapon combo offers you a different way to approach a situation. It is important to identify the situation, the weapons you have quipped and how you should fight depending on the weapons you have available. If you are able to faithfully take the time learning the ins and outs of this Lunari warrior, then you will become a master of his weapons. GLHF and see you on the rift summoners!