WELCOME DEITIES!
Thanks to Sol's non-aspected passive getting buffed, she's seeing a lot more play. She was strong before, but even moreso now. I see a lot of different builds out there, and while there are other valid ways of playing, if you want that raw huge in-hand damage output she's capable of dealing, I have just the build that will do it for you. I have tested every combination of items up to the first four you build (excluding starter). I'll also explain why some items people love on Sol aren't exactly optimal.
We'll go over what I think are Sol's starter and four CORE in-hand items. Built in this order:
[ITEM:(3717)Gilded Arrow], [ITEM:(185)Qin's Blade], [ITEM:(144)Demon Blade], [ITEM:(231)Bracer of The Abyss], [ITEM:(156)Deathbringer]
(NOTE: For the sake of simplicity, for each item I level by 5, so Item 1: Level 5, Item 2: Level 10, and so on. When you finish your items in game is a little more variable, just keeping things easy.)
[GOD:Sol]
Sol has my favorite Carry passive in the game. You gain stacks of Heat by doing anything, with a 15% scaling increase to basic attack damage when fully stacked. Interesting note here - you'll notice her Intelligence scaling is slightly higher than her Strength scaling. While this is true, basic attack damage scaling still applies to her (100% Strength + 20% Intelligence). The extra scaling of Intelligence on her passive helps, but it is not so significant that it would make something like [ITEM:(1922)Demonic Grip] relevant. (DO NOT BUY THAT)
The real meat is that Basic Attack Damage scaling buff, so getting her to Max Heat as quickly as possible is ideal. Because of this, I actually level Radiance over Stellar Burst. It does great AoE damage to minions early, and helps you get to Max Heat faster.
Now, onto the items:
The starter is obvious, you want to go [ITEM:(3717)Gilded Arrow]. I've found in SOLO lane in particular, Death's Toll is not a bad item either for a little more sustainability. But the Basic Attack Power increase, even after its nerfs, are a no brainer.
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For Hybrid Carries like Sol, I see a lot of builds that start with [ITEM:(151)Bragi's Harp]. On the surface it seems like a great start. Some Strength, some Intelligence, and extra Basic Attack Damage that scales per level. It seems like the perfect item for Sol whose passive takes advantage of. However, in testing, I found [ITEM:(151)Bragi's Harp] to be slightly underwhelming to [ITEM:(185)Qin's Blade].
Here's the DPS comparison at 1st item Level 5 between both items. (IGNORE THE "DAMAGE" TOP LINE. FOCUS ON DPS AND PEAK)
BRAGI'S HARP (2550 GOLD) [ITEM:(151)Bragi's Harp]
QIN'S BLADE (2600 GOLD) [ITEM:(185)Qin's Blade]
For only 50 more gold, you get slightly better DPS and a much better passive. Bragi's Basic Attack Damage scaling pales in comparison to [ITEM:(185)Qin's Blade], which scales with Max HP, especially so if they have more Max HP than Sol. It is an objectively better item for any Carry, even Hybrid (the same is true for Izanami as well)
Building Bragi's at any point in the build resulted in lackluster damage increases compared to other items in the same cost bracket. The item is just not as good as people think it is.
ONTO THE SECOND ITEM
[ITEM:(144)Demon Blade] is hands down one of the best items in the game. When you finish this item you will FEEL the power spike. The numbers speak for themselves. Here is the DPS for Demon Blade second item at Level 10.
This item gives you a little bit of everything, but what it really gives you is that Attack Speed boost when you crit, allowing you to dish out damage at an insane rate early on. A 35% Attack Speed boost total when the passive is active is a crazy amount of speed. No other item in this cost bracket even comes close to dishing out the pain in the 2nd slot.
ONTO THE THIRD ITEM
[ITEM:(231)Bracer of The Abyss] to me is the most interesting item in this build. Interesting because I did not expect this item to outclass other Carry staples like the increasingly popular [ITEM:(155)Dagger of Frenzy]. But even when you pop Dagger of Frenzy's active ability in the 3rd item slot, it loses to Bracer. Here's the DPS comparison for you
DAGGER OF FRENZY [ACTIVE POPPED] (2500 GOLD) [ITEM:(155)Dagger of Frenzy]
BRACER OF THE ABYSS [STACKED] (2600 GOLD) [ITEM:(231)Bracer of The Abyss]
At first glance, this doesn't look like an outright loss for Dagger. And it's true, when you pop the active, it gives a similar peak to Bracer. And that's kind of the problem with Dagger compared to Bracer in the 3rd item slot. It isn't up all the time. For Bracer, this damage output is consistent. What Dagger of Frenzy gives you in Attack Speed when you pop it, you get passively with Bracer. Hybrid Carries like Sol get to take advantage of this item while most Carries do not. It takes advantage of her passive Intelligence scaling, and stacks Basic Attack Damage to as much as Bragi's would scale at Level 20, just after 6 hits.
Bracer is the clear winner.
ONTO THE FOURTH ITEM
Last but not least, for the final of the core items we have [ITEM:(156)Deathbringer]. Tried and true, this item is the closer. Once you build this, you're solo'ing Gold Furies and dictating teamfights entirely. Absolutely nobody will want to 1v1 you, if they didn't already. The important number here is the Peak (that last DPS number I hit was a non-crit), and paired with Demon Blade you will be critting so hard even Jing Wei mains will get jealous. In testing when I crit I get close to that peak every time.
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And that's the core for Sol. I've tested a bunch of different combinations and I think this is your best output for damage + cost. The last two items you can go a couple different ways. I put in [ITEM:(196)Titan's Bane] and [ITEM:(235)Hastened Fatalis] for some penetration and more movement with your attack speed. You can sub Executioner's in, or if you are particular gold-loaded, Avatar's Pischu is a hilarious item to force F6's.
Either way, I promise you you'll be happy with the damage output. BURN EM UP OUT THERE
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