How is Aphrodite normally played?

Best in the solo lane, by far.

I have two core builds for her, more or less, and it depends on who I'm facing and how much pressure I'm under for what I build. Preferred build: cdr boots, Chronos pendant, Rod of Tahuti, and Book of Thoth. More defensive: cdr boots, BoV, Book of Thoth, Rod of Tahuti.

Both of these leave the last two items up to choice depending on your needs and preferences. As many people say, builds are situational, and that's especially true coming from the solo lane.

Rod of Asclepius is nice, both for the heals and the movement speed. Many gods have dashes, leaps, and other self-displacing abilities that can break a kiss if you can't get to them in time. Plus all the other benefits of moving faster. This is a very nice item. Lotus Crown. Handy. The mp5 is awesome, the extra protections are useful in keeping your carry of choice alive (I prefer to kiss a melee who will be in the enemy lines, so I can aoe them). Both might be overkill, however. I'd generally only pick one and leave the other slot to another power item. Sometimes I don't even build either, and instead opt for more health or magic resist or whatever. You could even go high health, with Ethereal Staff and Warlock's Sash in those last two slots and have a bajillion hp, if that's what tickles your fancy (though if you do so, I'd carry around a mana pot or two just in case of emergencies).

I never build penetration, because idgaf about killing the support. I'm there to stay alive, to keep another person alive (whom I refer to as my "kill bitch") and to have enough mana that we don't have to stop our push because I ran out in 10 seconds. Aphro guzzles mana like crazy in a fight. Decent sustained damage, not about burst, while healing enough to outlast the other team and keep your kill bitch alive.

The main thing is this: you need max cdr, period. You'll need a lot of mana, and a lot of mp5. As long as you take care of those needs, build whatever you find useful. Play around and find what works for you, just stick to those three basic rules and you'll be fine.

/r/Smite Thread