How to Counter Aurora in League of Legends

Aurora is set to make her debut on the live servers as part of Riot Games’ bustling Summer event. Amid the flurry of new content, including the exciting Swarm game mode, Aurora’s introduction might not have captured all the spotlight, but she’s a notable addition, especially given her dual lane versatility as a ranged AP champion suited for both top and mid lanes.

In this guide, we’ll equip you with key strategies to effectively counter Aurora in your matches. Understanding her strengths and weaknesses is crucial to developing an effective approach against her.

For those looking to dive deeper into playing as or against Aurora, or seeking more insightful gameplay strategies, make sure to explore additional articles and resources available at the 1v9 Blog. Here, we continually update and expand our content to enhance your League of Legends experience.

1. Understand Aurora’s Abilities

The first step to effectively countering Aurora in League of Legends is to gain a thorough understanding of her abilities. Each ability in Aurora’s arsenal has its nuances, and some may feel reminiscent of abilities from other champions—her Q, for instance, shares similarities with Xayah’s E, and her animations might remind you of Hwei and Zoe.

Knowing exactly what each of Aurora’s abilities can do is crucial. Without this knowledge, devising a counter-strategy becomes significantly more challenging. This section aims to break down her skills one by one, providing you with the foundational knowledge needed to anticipate and react to her moves in-game.

To effectively counter Aurora, it’s essential to thoroughly understand the details of her abilities, which blend damage, mobility, and utility.

Passive: Spirit Abjuration

Aurora charges her passive by hitting an enemy with three consecutive attacks or abilities, summoning a spirit that enhances her movement speed and healing capabilities. Each additional spirit, up to two, boosts these effects by 5%.

Q Ability: Twofold Hex

Aurora damages and marks her targets. On recast, she pulls the marked spirits back to her, dealing damage to any enemies in their path.

W Ability: Across the Veil

This ability allows Aurora to leap in a specified direction, clearing small walls and briefly granting her invisibility upon landing. The cooldown of this ability resets with each takedown Aurora achieves.

E Ability: The Weirding

Aurora launches a missile that slows and damages enemies. This ability also slightly propels Aurora backward, and like her W, it can vault over walls.

Ultimate: Between Worlds

Aurora’s ultimate sends out an orb that damages and slows enemies, creating a realm that enhances her abilities. She can swiftly move from one edge of the realm to the other by stepping outside its boundary. Enemies attempting to exit the realm suffer damage, are slowed, and are pulled back toward its center.

Aurora’s toolkit provides her with robust wave clear and poke via her E and Q, while her ultimate can significantly disrupt enemy formations. Throughout this guide, we will delve into strategies to counter these formidable abilities effectively.

2. Don’t Fight Her In the Jungle

Aurora’s prowess in team fights, particularly in jungle skirmishes or around objectives, is significantly amplified by her area-of-effect (AOE) abilities. Her ultimate, in combination with her Q and E, make her exceptionally dangerous in tight spaces where her abilities can impact multiple enemies simultaneously.

Strategic Positioning: Given her strength in AOE damage, it’s crucial to avoid clumping together when facing Aurora, especially in the jungle or near objective areas. These environments naturally facilitate her ability to maximize her damage output across your team.

Tactical Approaches: Rather than engaging in grouped battles in confined spaces, consider alternative strategies:

• Pre-emptive Strikes: Aim to catch Aurora out before she can position herself advantageously around major objectives.
• Spread Formation: During encounters, maintain spacing between team members to mitigate the impact of her AOE abilities.
• Split Pushing: When appropriate, divert her team’s attention by applying pressure in multiple lanes, forcing them to split up and reducing their collective teamfight strength.

By adapting these strategies, you can diminish Aurora’s effectiveness in fights and better manage confrontations against her in League of Legends.

3. Dominate on Early Levels

Aurora’s vulnerability in the early game, particularly at levels 1 and 2, presents a strategic opportunity due to her limited defensive capabilities as a ranged AP champion. Capitalizing on this early window can set the tone for the lane and potentially the rest of the game.

Early Aggression: Engage Aurora aggressively during the initial levels. If you choose a champion with strong early game presence (suggestions to follow later in this guide), you can exploit her before she gains access to her full range of abilities. This early pressure can prevent her from establishing lane dominance and curtail her ability to scale smoothly into the mid and late game.

Cooldown Management: Watch for her to use her Q and then take advantage of the cooldown period to press the attack. By forcing her to play defensively or retreat, you can secure a crucial health advantage and possibly force her out of lane, denying her valuable experience and gold.

By implementing these tactics, you can stymie Aurora’s early development, making it challenging for her to recover and exert her influence as the game progresses.

4. Manage Her Ranged Advantage

Given that Aurora is a ranged champion, melee champions can find themselves at a natural disadvantage. It’s essential to manage this dynamic carefully to prevent her from establishing control through harassment and poke.

Strategic Positioning: If you’re playing a melee or squishy champion, it’s crucial to avoid taking unnecessary damage from Aurora. Allowing her to freely poke can quickly lead to a significant health and thus, a power disparity, which could restrict your ability to play assertively.

Lane Management: Be willing to forego some last hits on minions if it means staying safer and gaining experience without taking damage. When not actively last-hitting, maintain a safe distance to stay out of her basic attack range and minimize her opportunities to weaken you.

Wave Control: Strategically allow the minion wave to come closer to your turret where it’s safer to farm. This position also makes Aurora more vulnerable to ganks from your jungler, as she will have to extend further into the lane to continue her harassment.

By adhering to these principles, you can better neutralize her early game advantage and keep yourself in a competitive position despite the inherent challenges of facing a ranged opponent.

5. Stand Outside of The Minion Wave

Aurora’s Q and E abilities serve dual purposes as effective poke and wave-clear tools. To mitigate their impact, it’s crucial to position yourself strategically relative to your minion wave.

Avoid Dual-Purpose Hits: By standing away from your minions, you force Aurora to choose between using her abilities to harass you or to clear the wave. This division of focus can reduce the efficiency of her poke and wave management, particularly important as she gains strength with her first major item and begins to push waves more aggressively.

Enhance Your Safety: This positioning not only diminishes the threat of being hit by abilities aimed at your minions but also aligns with earlier advice about managing her ranged advantage and minimizing poke damage. It helps maintain your health, keeping you more competitive in lane and less vulnerable to being zoned or killed.

Incorporating this tactic into your gameplay will complement the previous strategies we’ve discussed, creating a more robust defense against Aurora’s laning phase aggressions.

6. Avoid Chasing Too Deeply

Aurora’s W ability not only enables her to hop over walls but also grants her brief invisibility, enhancing her escape and reposition capabilities. These features make her particularly elusive, especially in jungle engagements where she can easily bait you into unfavorable situations.

Moderate Your Pursuit: While it may be tempting to chase Aurora, especially if she seems vulnerable, be wary of venturing too far. Chasing too deeply into the enemy territory can lead you right into a trap, where Aurora’s team is waiting to capitalize on your overextension.

Watch for Bait Tactics: Aurora might use her mobility to lure you toward her teammates, turning what seems like a potential kill into a deadly ambush against you. Always be ready to retreat if the chase takes you too deep into unknown or dangerous areas.

Consider Map Layout: Be mindful of the map’s complex areas, where multiple escape routes exist. Aurora’s ability to become invisible can make tracking her movements challenging in these spots, increasing the risk of losing sight of her and walking into a trap.

By maintaining a disciplined approach to chasing and considering these factors, you can avoid being outmaneuvered by Aurora and keep your team from falling into strategically disadvantageous fights.

7. Effective Champion Counter Picks Against Aurora

To wrap up our guide, let’s explore some strategic counter-picks for Aurora, focusing on champions that excel in both the top and middle lanes, and those that hold advantages in team fight scenarios against her. These selections not only provide versatility by being flexible enough to swap between lanes but are also particularly potent against Aurora’s unique skill set.

Tailored Champion Selections: While these champions may not top the statistical charts, their specific abilities and playstyles make them formidable opponents against Aurora. By exploiting her weaknesses, these champions can disrupt her gameplay and mitigate her impact in matches.

In selecting these counters, consider how each champion’s strengths can directly challenge Aurora’s weaknesses, providing a strategic edge in lane and during team engagements. This thoughtful approach to champion selection can significantly enhance your odds of success against Aurora in competitive play.

Fizz

Fizz is known for his robust all-in capability, allowing him to adopt an aggressive playstyle early in the game, starting around levels 2 or 3. Once he reaches level six, his potential to secure kills increases significantly. This makes him particularly effective against champions like Aurora, as he can repeatedly capitalize on his strong ultimate to challenge her consistently throughout the game.

Fiora

Fiora excels in early-game scenarios, making her an ideal pick against squishy and less mobile champions. With her potent dueling capabilities, Fiora can aggressively pursue Aurora right from the start, at levels 1 and 2, potentially securing early kills as she dominates the lane. This assertive approach allows Fiora to establish control and maintain pressure, effectively stifling Aurora’s development in the game.

Darius

Darius, much like Fiora, thrives in situations where he can pursue his opponent along the lane. His passive, which stacks damage with each auto-attack, becomes particularly potent when he’s able to consistently engage in melee combat. This ability to stick close to opponents and apply continuous pressure makes Darius a formidable counter to Aurora, allowing him to capitalize on extended exchanges and dominate the lane.

Zed

Zed is renowned for his strong all-in capabilities, particularly when he hits level 6, marking a significant spike in his kill potential. Even if Zed is unable to secure a kill against Aurora directly, his mobility and lethality allow him to exert pressure elsewhere by roaming and securing kills across the map. This adaptability makes him a serious threat not just in his lane, but in influencing the overall flow of the game.

Nautilus

Nautilus might not typically face Aurora in a laning phase, but his value shines through in team fights where his extensive crowd control capabilities can effectively neutralize her. By immobilizing Aurora with his array of CC abilities, Nautilus can significantly hamper her ability to influence team engagements. This makes him an excellent choice for countering Aurora in larger skirmishes, ensuring she struggles to execute her gameplay effectively.

Conclusion

Effectively countering Aurora in League of Legends requires a strategic understanding of her abilities and how to exploit her weaknesses during different phases of the game. From maintaining safe positioning to choosing the right champion counters, each strategy outlined here aims to minimize Aurora's impact and maximize your control over the game. Whether through aggressive early-game champions like Fiora and Darius, or strategic use of crowd control with Nautilus in team fights, the right approach can make a significant difference. Remember, success against Aurora doesn't just come from overpowering her in lane but also in making smart plays across the map and during critical team battles. Keep these tips in mind, and you'll be well on your way to mastering your matchups against her, enhancing both your skills and your team's chances for victory.