used to be an item that was used by almost every mid laner. Then 
was released and Athens was forgotten about. Now Athens has the lowest AP in the game for any item at full build with a mediocre passive. Definitly needs a buff.
Troll for Trump2 votesThen, everything changed when the Nation attacked
RedCyclone2 votesThat's what happens when you turn a AP item into a support AP item
It becomes shit just like the rest of the AP support items
Viktor Von Lazer1 votesEveryone will complain about morellos being "too good" no, it's not. Other AP items are just relatively bad. And Athenes is especially bad on any carry with shields. IMO This item SHOULD be preferred by champions like Lux and Orianna but they both build Morellos even Athenes is essentially designed for their kits. It needs to made so that champs who can use it actually have a stronger reason to get it over Morellos.
Seenan1 votesEveryone will complain about morellos being "too good" no, it's not. Other AP items are just relatively bad. And Athenes is especially bad on any carry with shields. IMO This item SHOULD be preferred by champions like Lux and Orianna but they both build Morellos even Athenes is essentially designed for their kits. It needs to made so that champs who can use it actually have a stronger reason to get it over Morellos.
Except Morello is too good. 20% cdr, 100 AP (highest base AP gain outside of stacked Mejai's or Raba), +400 mana and mana regeneration on assists/kills, AND grievous wounds on pre-35% health.
How many AP items give you all of that? They don't. They just give you maybe stats and one or two unique passives.
Viktor Von Lazer1 votesExcept Morello is too good. 20% cdr, 100 AP (highest base AP gain outside of stacked Mejai's or Raba), +400 mana and mana regeneration on assists/kills, AND grievous wounds on pre-35% health.
How many AP items give you all of that? They don't. They just give you maybe stats and one or two unique passives.
it's not too good, AP items are just shit in general so the one that is actually good (but not over the top) seems over the top (relatively speaking).
Moonfall Saber1 votesPeople are going to build even if it only had 100 AP and 20% cdr. Its the only Ap item that has high AP and CDR. Its overloaded ike crazy and has mana and grevious wounds.
Proxy3451 votesAthene's was decent when it had 80AP but people complained too much and Riot nerfed it to the ground lol
l Dárius l1 votesEveryone will complain about morellos being "too good" no, it's not. Other AP items are just relatively bad. And Athenes is especially bad on any carry with shields. IMO This item SHOULD be preferred by champions like Lux and Orianna but they both build Morellos even Athenes is essentially designed for their kits. It needs to made so that champs who can use it actually have a stronger reason to get it over Morellos.
yes, lets make every ap item have the power of morellos, so they can all be broken, and it doesnt matter which one you build first.
spicystats1 votesMorellos and Athenes were competing with each other for being your mana regen item of choice earlier.
In addition to the changes they made, Morello gives mana and Athenes gives mana regen now.
Mages had their mana regen nerfed but base mana buffed. This means they'll use Athenes even less effectively. Its mana regen is nice on some supports though although I only really think Ivern / Karma consider this item... and Karma was one of the mids that kept her old mana regen.
The mana regen / mana issue needs to be worked on in addition to AP to be considerable on mids again. As it currently is, it alone won't provide enough regen to meet the mana needs of most mages...
Moonfall Saber1 votesIn reality Athens just needs more ap on it to be used as a support item. It doesn't matter as a mid item anymore but it needs a buff for support reasons.
spicystats1 votesAs a support item its a different story entirely.
Its passive suggests it wants to be used on morgana / Sona / Karma, and its got really high CDR but it still has problems. You might be able to build it in some situations where its the best option, but it competes with other items.
If you want a support item with AP and you have a champion with shields, you want to consider censer as well, so it competes with that item. It gives less mana regen and AP then censer but more CDR and chalice passive.
If you want chalice passive you could also consider mikeals which also gives more mana regen and shield / heal power but doesn't give AP.
I guess adding AP makes it more worthwhile to consider over censer, I feel like buffing its mana regen is another option. Its really low compared to the amount most other support items give.
Another weird problem is that most supports easily hit 40 / 45% CDR without Athenes. Athenes might overflow CDR sometimes which makes it less nice to build? If riot is reluctant to buff it, another option would be to shift power from CDR to other stats. The problem now is its even more of a support item then it was before I guess.
Fed by Snu Snu1 votesMorello just has to have his name on one of the strongest items, so he'd never allow Athene's to compete again.
Proxy3451 votesMorello+Seraph's embrace= The standard on certain low CD spammer mages.