Yo, I'm just an Aatrox player trying to give others a guide on Aatrox. League Of Legends DOES have many different characters, but none of them have really connected with me, other than Aatrox. His unique playstyle and abilities make him much more entertaining to play than other champions for me. I've been "one-tricking" him for a couple of months, and I believe it's time for this guide to be made.

Out of most of the champions in League Of Legends, it's safe to say you never want to 1v1 some of them. For example, you never want to 1v1 a skilled Yasuo, Irelia, Riven, Fiora, etc. Not many duelists have good CC, especially multiple instances of it. But Aatrox does. And you never want to duel a skilled Aatrox. That might have you thinking, "I want to learn that champion!"

Well, to put it briefly... You shouldn't. It's complicated to explain, but I'll try to. What currently makes Aatrox unique is his ability to poke and cs at range and his apparent "good teamfight" but that's where it ends. I could argue that his supposed "healing" is what really makes him stand out, but the value of healing has been heavily reduced over time. Statistically speaking, Aatrox SHOULD "Heal" more than any champion in the game, but realistically, he's just another juggernaut. There are other champions that does what he does, but well... better. (Irelia,Gwen, Riven, etc.) If you still don't believe me, I'll note some changes that Aatrox has received over time;

Patch 11.2: Got a mini healing rework due to the interaction with his R + Goredrinker massively healing him; which was a nerf

Patch 11:1 MR got nerfed by .1 ?

Patch 9.18: Passive healing on minions reduced to 25% from 100% AND Q damage against minions reduced to 40% at all levels opposed to the previous 50% - 100% based on level

Patch 9.14: His signature revive ability got removed. Not nerfed, but completely removed. I won't rant about it, but that was a massive nerf.

Patch 9.12: R bonus healing changed to self-healing only instead of all incoming healing.

Patch 9.9: Passive no longer inflicts Mutilator (Basically 40% antiheal and antishield for 3 seconds). ALSO REMOVED the 15/25/35/45/55 bonus AD on E for 1.5 seconds.

Patch 9.3: E no longer holds 2 charges.

Patch 8.24: Monsters no longer take 10% bonus AD from Q.

Honestly, the list can go on and on, but what I'm trying to say is that Aatrox has obviously been changed a multitude of times. Some were justified, some were not. He doesn't have a position in the meta; He's basically either a useless champion or a 1v9 champion. And due to the surge and rise of antiheal and armor rush, Aatrox has been more useless than useful. He's the only juggernaut that has trouble killing tanks lategame, and one of the few characters that only deals physical damage. Due to this, buying armor is extremely effective against him. His Q stays at a fixed 0.6 second cast time, which is horrendously long, even if it doesn't seem like it. His cooldowns are too punishing for you to really miss anything in lane, and mispositioning is also a gigantic threat. In reality, juggernauts SHOULD be characters that enjoy being in your face and tanking damage while walking at you; but Aatrox is different. He's a mid range juggernaut that enjoys controlling the fight with his CC. But truly, his CC (The only thing preventing you from just ignoring his damage and killing him) is unreliable. You can easily dash out of his W (which is on a ghastly 26 second cooldown in lane phase), you can easily dodge/outplay his telegraphed Qs, or you can simply out tank/damage him in a fight (Easily doable by most top laners like Darius,Mordekaiser,Illaoi,Irelia,Riven,etc). Aatrox easily has more weaknesses then strengths, and he could use adjustments. I mean, Goredrinker and Ravenous Hydra got nerfed a couple patches ago. Fiora and Riven got buffs for it, but why not Aatrox? He's arguably weaker than them. You may see clips of Aatrox supposedly "Full Healing" in fights or when using Goredrinker, but the reality is that's extremely rare. Aatrox isn't the most difficult champion in the game by a long shot; but his awkward timing and positioning takes time to get used to, and he's not as easy or "Braindead" as you may think.

Pros Of Playing Aatrox:
Good Poke in lane
Great CC (Granted you hit everything)
Extremely High Skill Cap
Enjoyable Experience
Manaless champion

Cons Of Playing Aatrox:
One of, if not the most predictable champion(s) in the game
Mediocre/Bad without ultimate
Extremely Long Cooldowns
High presence of antiheal in matches
Extremely Punishing
Horrible Split pushing/Minion damage
Extremely Hard/Nearly Impossible to come back if behind
Strength Heavily Declines late game
Cooldown Reliant
Awkward Gameplay


When playing Aatrox, your goal is to usually poke the enemy while disrupting their movement and denying them the ability to fight back against your high CC. Constant trial-and-error poke with your Q will eventually apply enough pressure for your enemy to either all-in you, or you tower dive them. NEVER try to all in early against a champion with high damage or that can punish you, as it usually means certain death. Try to manipulate the wave as much as you can to keep the minions on your side, as Aatrox's overall mobility is pretty sluggish, and he's prone to ganks. Against high threat matchups, analyzing your enemy is the most important part of combat. Try to catch them with a Q-W-Q-Passive-Q at least when they misposition, as Aatrox is at his best when his enemy is in an odd angle. Aatrox is a skill-oriented champion, who usually makes his own moves/plays in order to kill the enemy. You always want to engage on the enemy, as your abilities are usually too slow to initiate a good counterattack. Try to hit level 2 before your opponent to apply pressure with your range, and try to poke them every time they walk up to get minions. If you're successful, you can then initiate a play when they're either walking to get minions again or walking back to tower. Against high threat enemies, it's okay to usually back off of the wave until you're ready to trade back. Dying on Aatrox early is one of your worst nightmares.

To put it simply, Usually build the standard "Bruiser" Items. (Goredrinker, Steraks, Cleaver, etc.) Aatrox's Hp Regen is horribly low, so I would suggest ALWAYS starting Doran's Shield. Only go Eclipse or Sunderer if you either want to have fun (norms), or the criteria matches;

Eclipse: Overall Squishy targets on the enemy team (for example, Xayah Pyke bot, Kha'zix JG, Zed mid, GP top) Make sure you can hit your Qs to ensure the best healing/damage possible.

Sunderer: CC heavy team, and mostly depends on enemy top laner. Make sure it's a slow tank (Cho'Gath, Sion, Mundo). Take note that procing Grasp is dangerous, and Conqueror is better in extended fights. ONLY use Grasp if you're sure it's okay.

In conclusion, I would only consider playing Aatrox if you want to be committed to playing him, or maybe he's just your favorite. I would suggest watching other Aatrox players (Hashinshin, Boratello, Naayil) to learn, as Aatrox isn't exactly a textbook champion (There isn't really any specific combos or anything you need to abuse to play him, like Riven's animation cancels). The only way you'll learn and improve is by playing him, which you shouldn't waste your time doing. But if you do, you better have fun doing it.