Guide · ADC

Aphelios Guide

the Weapon of the Faithful

Marksman

Tier B ADC

Aphelios, the Weapon of the Faithful, is a marksman champion that is demanding to master. Across our 540 analysed ranked games, Aphelios is mostly played as ADC (100% of its games), with a 50.7% win rate in that role: tier B among ADC champions (#15 of 36, ranked by win rate). Aphelios's damage is mostly physical (94%): armor is the best defensive answer against this champion. Win rate varies with game length: 54.5% in long games (over 35 min, 44 games) versus 46.8% in short games (under 25 min).

Averages measured over 540 ADC games played with Aphelios, from our ranked Solo/Duo data collection.

Combos and how to play

Aphelios is a marksman with five Lunari weapons: he carries two at a time (main and secondary), and each weapon has a unique attack and ability. Attacks and abilities consume ammo; when out of ammo, the weapon is dropped and Alune summons the next one. Phase swaps the two weapons.

Long-range harassment

Q › AA AA › W

When: Your main weapon is Calibrum.

Calibrum fires a long-range bullet that marks the target and allows a second attack at very long range; Phase swaps your weapons to chain.

The team fight

W › Q › AA AA › R

When: A team fight is underway.

Choose the weapon whose ability serves best: Infernum hits in a cone with the secondary weapon, Crescendum deploys a turret that attacks, Gravitum roots the slowed enemies.

The weapon ultimate

R

When: A group of enemies is lined up.

Moonlight Vigil fires a beam that explodes on contact with an enemy champion and applies the unique effect of your main weapon.

Laning phase

Learn the weapon order: the third slot tells you which one is next. Each weapon has its own active ability: Calibrum marks, Severum runs while attacking, Gravitum roots, Infernum hits in a cone, Crescendum deploys a turret.

Common mistakes

• Not watching your ammo: a weapon with no ammo is dropped.
• Using the ultimate without looking at your main weapon: the effect depends on it.
• Forgetting Phase: swapping weapons changes your attack and ability.

Riot's official tips for playing Aphelios

• Each of Aphelios' weapons have different strengths, so try to find the right situation for your current weapons.

Build, runes and summoner spells

The most-played core build is Infinity Edge, Lord Dominik's Regards, and The Collector (93 games, 62.4% win rate).

Infinity Edge+Lord Dominik's Regards+The Collector

93 games · 62.4%

Hexoptics C44+Infinity Edge+Lord Dominik's Regards

71 games · 60.6%

Infinity Edge+Lord Dominik's Regards+Runaan's Hurricane

57 games · 71.9%

Summoner spells

Flash + Barrier51.2% · 334 games

Flash + Ghost49.5% · 107 games

Cleanse + Flash50.0% · 70 games

Exhaust + Flash50.0% · 24 games

Most-played runes

Press the Attack + Inspiration

54.3% · 304 games

Primary tree · Precision

Triumph90%

Legend: Bloodline78%

Cut Down95%

Secondary tree · Inspiration

Cash Back91%

Triple Tonic62%

Shards

Attack speed58%

Adaptive force97%

Health91%

Press the Attack + Sorcery

46.0% · 50 games

Primary tree · Precision

Triumph52%

Legend: Bloodline86%

Cut Down94%

Secondary tree · Sorcery

Gathering Storm100%

Absolute Focus94%

Shards

Attack speed80%

Adaptive force98%

Health scaling60%

Fleet Footwork + Inspiration

46.9% · 49 games

Primary tree · Precision

Triumph67%

Legend: Bloodline86%

Cut Down90%

Secondary tree · Inspiration

Cash Back84%

Cosmic Insight63%

Shards

Attack speed51%

Adaptive force96%

Health86%

For each row, the most picked rune among the games played with this page (share of games in brackets).

Which items to build against the enemy team?

We sort every game by the enemy team's damage. These are Aphelios's completed items and their win rate in each situation; "▲" marks an item that does at least 3 points better than its usual win rate.

Mostly magic-damage enemy team53.2% · 141 games

At least 50% of their damage is magic

Infinity Edge 61.6% ▲

The Collector 50.0%

Lord Dominik's Regards 62.3%

Hexoptics C44 51.1%

Runaan's Hurricane 60.6%

Phantom Dancer 60.0% ▲

The item that stands out most is Phantom Dancer: 60.0% win rate, +7 points versus its usual win rate.

Mostly physical-damage enemy team43.1% · 144 games

Less than 35% of their damage is magic

Infinity Edge 49.5% ▼

The Collector 37.7% ▼

Lord Dominik's Regards 53.3% ▼

Hexoptics C44 46.8% ▼

Runaan's Hurricane 48.4% ▼

Stormrazor 56.7%

No item clearly stands out in this situation: the usual build remains the reference.

Balanced enemy team53.7% · 255 games

Mixed physical and magic damage

Infinity Edge 58.5%

Lord Dominik's Regards 65.2% ▲

The Collector 56.4% ▲

Hexoptics C44 53.6%

Phantom Dancer 54.5%

Stormrazor 56.9%

The item that stands out most is The Collector: 56.4% win rate, +7 points versus its usual win rate.

Counters and matchups

Who counters Aphelios as ADC

Yunara Aphelios: 33.3%24 games

Yunara has the edge in 67% of the 24 ADC duels against Aphelios. See the Yunara guide.

Jinx Aphelios: 34.6%26 games

Jinx has the edge in 65% of the 26 ADC duels against Aphelios. See the Jinx guide.

Jhin Aphelios: 46.4%28 games

Jhin has the edge in 54% of the 28 ADC duels against Aphelios. See the Jhin guide.

Caitlyn Aphelios: 47.4%19 games

Caitlyn has the edge in 53% of the 19 ADC duels against Aphelios. See the Caitlyn guide.

Tristana Aphelios: 53.3%15 games

Tristana has the edge in 47% of the 15 ADC duels against Aphelios. See the Tristana guide.

Who Aphelios is strong against

Kai'Sa67.6% · 37 games

Ezreal64.0% · 25 games

Tristana53.3% · 15 games

Caitlyn47.4% · 19 games

Jhin46.4% · 28 games

How to play against Aphelios

• Each of Aphelios' weapons have different weaknesses, try to exploit the ones that work best for your champion. Watch out for the purple Gravity gun, it can root you.

Win rates measured over direct same-role duels; only matchups with more than 15 games are listed. See all of Aphelios's matchups.

Abilities

PassiveThe Hitman and the Seer

Aphelios wields 5 Lunari Weapons made by his sister Alune. He has access to two at a time: one main-hand and one off-hand. Each weapon has a unique Basic Attack and Ability. Attacks and abilities consume a weapon's ammo. When out of ammo, Aphelios discards the weapon and Alune summons the next of the 5.

QWeapon Abilites

Aphelios has 5 different activated abilities, based on his main-hand weapon:

Calibrum (Rifle): Long range shot that marks its target for a long-range follow-up attack.
Severum (Scythe Pistol): Run fast while attacking nearby enemies with both weapons.
Gravitum (Cannon): Root all enemies slowed by this weapon.
Infernum (Flamethrower): Blast enemies in a cone and attack them with your off-hand weapon.
Crescendum (Chakram): Deploy a sentry that shoots your off-hand weapon.

WPhase

Aphelios swaps his main-hand gun with his off-hand gun, replacing his basic attack and activated ability.

EWeapon Queue System

Aphelios has no third ability. This slot shows the next weapon Alune will give him. Weapon order begins fixed but may change over game time -- when a weapon is out of ammo it goes to the end of the order.

RMoonlight Vigil

Fire a concentrated blast of moonlight that explodes on enemy champions. Applies the unique effect of Aphelios' main-hand gun.

Frequently asked questions

Full Aphelios page · League of Legends tier list · All champion guides