Nice build bro. Had a look at it and experimented a little myself, and i've found getting an early tension bow followed by aftershock is way more beneficial, especially in the early game. I agree an early serpents mask doesn't seem effective enough, and the amount of dmg dealt by foesplitter is amazing in early game when getting tension bow and after shock. After this, i recommend 2nd stage boots and fully upgrade a defense of your choice (aegis, crucible etc). by building this way, it is far...

In my experience with ardan, he can actually be one of the hardest hitting heroes (even though i mainly build hybrid, but i might try an AP/AD ardan for dun xD