Aurelion Sol guide: Jungling with starlight

Riot’s latest addition to League of Legends, Aurelion Sol, is a sustain-damage mage who uses the power of stars to obliterate his opponents. He is also the first champion in LoL that can fly over terrain. Although Riot presented Aurelion as a Mid Lane mage, he truly shines in the Jungle. I’ve had over a week to test this build out and it is surprisingly strong. So get ready to take a ride on the Sooooool Train. 

Before going further, I want to address a few points on why Aurelion is best in the Jungle.

First off, he is a terrible laner. Most of his skills—which will be explained later— can be easily dodged by an experienced player, especially if your opponent has dashes or several gap closers. Champions like Zed, Fizz, and Talon are hard counters to Aurelion because they can easily stay inside your orbiting ring, avoiding almost all damage. 

On the other hand, Aurelion is a fantastic Jungler because of his unique gank paths and healthy clears. You can clear out most of the Jungle on your first clear, while remaining healthy enough to gank. Also, being able to fly over terrain opens up new gank routes that only Aurelion can use. My match history above shows just how powerful Jungle Aurelion can be. 

Now that you know why he makes an excellent Jungler, lets look at Runes and Masteries you will need to be successful.

As seen in the picture, I recommend putting most of your points in the Resolve tree. Bonus health, resistances, and cooldown reduction (CDR) are too good to pass up. They make Aurelion tanky enough to survive early trades and Jungle invades. Plus, Strength of Ages is an incredibly strong keystone right now since it gives a huge health boost and better sustain. The rest of my points go into the Cunning tree for more damage.

As for Runes, I recommend attack speed marks, armor seals, CDR/magic resistance glyphs, and ability power quints. These Runes help offset Aurelion’s weak early game stats, while speeding up his Jungle clears. Also, CDR glyphs are necessary because this build lacks CDR items. 

In order to play Aurelion Sol well, it is crucial to understand his skills and how they work together.

• Center of the Universe (Passive) – Stars constantly orbit Aurelion and deal damage to any enemy they touch. These stars move slowly within a small radius when left alone, but they get much stronger when combined with Aurelion’s W.
• Starsurge (Q) – A circular skill shot that grows in size as long as Aurelion travels with it. The star detonates when reactivated, or if it leaves Aurelion’s orbit. Enemies caught within the star’s radius are damaged and stunned. This skill is what makes Aurelion so threatening. If planned correctly, you can create a star as big as a lane and almost impossible to dodge. 
• Celestial Expansion (W)– Aurelion’s main damage source. Once activated, your passive’s radius, speed, and damage increase. This skill is great for zoning enemies in team fights, or when chasing an opponent. Just remember that this skill drains your mana quickly so use it wisely.
• Comet of Legend (E)– After reaching 100 stacks, Aurelion can take flight and traverse any kind of terrain. Your E is what makes Jungle Aurelion viable. You can gank from almost any direction, which makes warding against Aurelion extremely difficult. Aurelion also gains movement speed when traveling is a straight line.
• Voice of Light (R) – A long-range skill shot that damages and slows enemies. However, enemies that are close to you will get knocked back as well. Use your ult to escape ganks, peel for allies, or even engage team fights if your team is prepared. 

I’m still experimenting with the best skill order, but maxing Q first, then E seems to be pretty strong. Higher ranks in Q increase the damage and stun duration, while maxing E lets you travel much father for even stronger ganks.

Since you have an idea of how Aurelion works, let’s discuss proper item builds

In order for you to contribute in team fights, you will need a mixture of damage and tanky stats. This build focuses on items that provide both so you can stay in the fight and constantly damage enemies with your empowered W.

Furthermore, Rylais Crystal Scepter and Liandry’s Torment keeps enemies from escaping your orbiting ring because they count as single-target spells, thus allying the full slow effect.

Here is the complete breakdown of the build order: Runic Echoes>Rod of Ages or Banner of Command>Rylais>Liandry’s>Abyssal Scepter or Hourglass. Only build Banner if you are behind. Frozen Heart is also a good item if the enemy team has several AD champions.

Another important topic to go over is Aurelion’s Jungle path 

If you are not sure where to start, don’t worry. I prepared a video demonstration that shows which camps to get first, and what skills to level. Notice that I keep auto attacking in between orbiting stars, ensuring maximum damage and speeding up my clear times. Also, try your hardest to line up the camps so that your orbs hit most of them. After your clear is done, either look for a good gank opportunity or recall.

So how does Jungle Aurelion Compare with other Junglers?

I wouldn’t consider him overpowered, but he can be devastating when played correctly. His gank paths are unique, and making an area-of-effect stun the size of a lane is incredible. However, he does have obvious weaknesses. Almost all of Aurelion’s damage can be avoided if the enemy has good mobility. Junglers like Lee Sin, Elise, and Nidalee can completely shut down Aurelion. So be mindful when first-picking him in ranked.

Other than that, He is fun champion to play and Riot did a fantastic job designing him. I hope you enjoyed my guide and comment below to let us know about your Aurelion Sol experiences so far.