Athena
Rapacious Bite
Master Sword
Eternity Blade
Shadow Ripper
Sage's Sanctuary
Immovable - Sky DomeAthena: Able to move in true form after dying.
Build core
Rush Giant's Grip, Boots of Resistance, Blazing Cape, then complete Dragon's Rage, Blood Rage, Overlord's Platemail
Combo
Holy Advance → Unstoppable Spear → Immovable Aegis → weave basic attacks
Draft
Athena excels into Dharma, Gao Changgong. Avoid blind picking into Sun Bin, Guan Yu without team peel.
Best Build for Athena
End-game item order with gold costs and slot notes. Purchase path may differ in-match.
Build philosophy
Athena benefits from Physical attack, Cooldown reduction, Penetration — match items and runes to kit scaling.
Passive: Able to move in her Divine form after dying. When resurrected, flies toward the nearest allied tower, dealing damage and launching enemies within takeoff range.
Arcana: Prioritize runes that boost Physical attack, Cooldown reduction, Penetration for this hero's passive and skill scaling.
4 presets — switch by draft, lane, or CN meta. Default matches Jungling when available.
| # | Item | Gold | Stats | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rapacious Bite | 2,160g | PATK +90, MSPD +5%, CDR +7.5% Monster kills boost ATK | Fits On-hit priority — Passive - Devastating Blow — Basic Attacks and skills deal physical damage equal to 7% HP to minions and monsters, and restore Health equal to 50% of the damage dealt (halved for ranged attacks). |
| 2 | Master Sword | 2,100g | PATK +55, Crit Rate +20%, HP +600 Enhances BAs | Fits Physical attack priority — Passive - Siege Breaker — Deals 30% extra damage to enemies below 50% Health. |
| 3 | Eternity Blade | 2,110g | PATK +120, Crit Rate +20% High crit damage | Fits Physical attack priority — Passive - Savagery — The next Basic Attack within 5s after using a skill deals an extra 210–420 physical damage to enemies within range and slows them by 15%–30% for 0.5s (slow effect halved for ranged attacks). |
| 4 | Shadow Ripper | 2,040g | PATK +45, ASPD +35%, Crit Rate +20%, MSPD +7.5% Crits boosts ASPD | Fits Physical attack priority — Passive - Sunder — Grants 30% Physical Pierce. |
| 5 | Sage's Sanctuary | 2,280g | HP +900, PDEF +150, MDEF +150 Resurrect on the spot | Fits Survivability priority — Passive - Revive — Resurrects the wearer 2s after dying and restores 2,000–3,000 Health. This effect can be triggered up to 2 times per match. |
| 6 | Immovable - Sky Dome | 3,280g | PATK +80, PDEF +150, CDR +10% Temp. damage reduction | Fits Physical attack priority — Passive - Dark Curtain — When taking fatal damage, instead of dying immediately, the hero gains invincibility and a 15% Attack Speed and Movement Speed increase for 1s (0.75s for ranged heroes). After equipping this item, its effect duration increases by 0.01s every 5s, up to a maximum of 0.5s. |
Best Arcana & Spells
| Slot | Choice | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Primary | Red | Recommended for Assassin Jungling |
| Spell | Smite | Adjust Purify/Execute based on enemy dive. |
Skill Order
Skill 2 → Skill 1 → Immovable Aegis (max Skill 2 first)
Unstoppable Spear provides mobility or stick—max first. Holy Advance second for damage. Immovable Aegis on every level.
Combos
1. Standard trade
Holy Advance → Unstoppable Spear → Immovable Aegis → weave basic attacks
When: Jungling skirmish or objective fight
2. All-in
Immovable Aegis after full rotation when Flash is down
When: Gank or backline dive with team CC
Abilities
Passive
Divine Awakening
Able to move in her Divine form after dying. When resurrected, flies toward the nearest allied tower, dealing damage and launching enemies within takeoff range.
Skill 1
Holy Advance
Raises her shield and dashes, knocking back and dealing damage to enemies while gaining a shield that grants crowd control immunity.
Skill 2
Unstoppable Spear
Dashes in the target direction and enhances the next Basic Attack, in which she charges at the enemy and deals damage to them.
Ultimate
Immovable Aegis
Raises a shield that grants crowd control immunity. Damage taken while the shield is up will be returned after a brief delay, dealing damage to enemies within range.
Counters & Matchups
Athena is strong into
Pick Athena when the enemy drafts these heroes.
Athena struggles into
Avoid Athena or ban these when they appear on the enemy team.
Playstyle & Ranked Tips
Laning Phase
Clear to level four, then gank the lane with the least escape. Secure Tyrant when your bot or mid has crash wave.
Teamfight Role
Wait for CC from your team, then dive carry with full combo. Exit with reset or flash if focus fired.
High Rank (Diamond+)
Athena sits at Tier B globally (54.4% WR). In high rank, pick only into favorable matchups or when you have a dedicated pocket pick. Low pick rate 0.1% — niche in high rank; surprise value if you perfect the kit. Camp data shows above-average win rate — prioritize when not hard-countered in draft.
vs Similar Heroes
- Athena vs Wukong (Assassin, Tier S): Wukong is 1.3% pick / 49.7% WR. Athena has +4.7% WR vs Wukong in Camp data. Choose Athena when you need Jungling identity; choose Wukong for Jungling comfort.
- Athena vs Musashi (Assassin, Tier A): Musashi is 1.1% pick / 50.7% WR. Athena has +3.7% WR vs Musashi in Camp data. Choose Athena when you need Jungling identity; choose Musashi for Jungling comfort.
FAQ
What is the best Athena build?
Recommended: Dragon's Rage, Overlord's Might, Frostscar's Embrace, Starbreaker, Sage's Sanctuary, Destiny.
How to counter Athena?
Pick Sun Bin, Guan Yu. Strong into Dharma, Gao Changgong.
Is Athena good in current season?
Athena is Tier B Assassin with 54.68% win rate, 0.08% pick rate, and 0.01% ban rate (Camp HOK international).