Tristana Build Guide by DarkPercy

Intro

Hello everyone, this guide, split up in two parts will show you the normal way to play this champion but also the Dark Side of that champion (AP). This part is is about AD Tristana :3!

You can find my AP Tristana Guide Right here! http://www.mobafire.com/league-of-legends/build/tristana-and-her-dark-sides-ap-128979

AD Tristana

Tristana is a very fun Ranged AD Carry. She excels at getting first bloods and early game lane dominance. However, she is ALSO one of the scariest (if not the scariest) champions late game.

Pros/Cons

Runes

Flat AD marks give more damage than Armor Pen marks on enemy champions early game, Tristana wants that. Flat AD also make it easier to last hit. They also give you more slightly more sustain. You shouldn't worry too much about lacking armor pen because the 40% from Last Whisper and the 10% from Weapon Expertise will be more than enough for late game.

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These Armor Seals are just too good to pass up. They will significantly reduce the damage you take from the enemy carry, the minions and even the jungler. Armor will make you able to win fights. Staying alive for longer also means dealing damage for longer!

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I suggest Magic Resist per level Glyphs since they become more effective than Flat MR Glyphs pretty early. These will become effective when you'll need them: mid/late game, when the enemy AP carry really starts doing heavy damage. Alternative Glyphs Flat Magic Resist Glyphs are really nice to have if you are laning against an enemy support that can severely harass you with damage (Also known as Sona.) They'll help you stay in lane.

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Flat AD Quintessences for the same reason I get Flat AD Marks :P.

Summoner Spells

Flash: Just like on any other champion, Flash is always good. It's a good defensive AND offensive spell that is very useful through the whole game. Flash will save you if you are in a bad position even after using your Rocket Jump. It also allows you to extend your abilites range with the Flash + Rocket Jump ultimate chasing/escaping combo ;P.


Ignite: Ignite is better than Exhaust at picking kills in the laning phase so that's why it's so awesome. Make sure you use it BEFORE an enemy uses any form of healing. It goes well with your burst combo.


Barrier: A slightly different version of Heal. The shield can't be reduced by Ignite, the shield gives more HP than Heal, the cooldown is shorter than Heal.... However, the shield only lasts 2 seconds so you have to be good at timing it. Use it right before you think you will take a lot of damage.


On a side note: You CAN take Barrier AND Ignite together for ultimate laning domination. However, you should make sure that you able to play without flash (you will have to be extremely careful about your position during the game).

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Heal: This bad boy is a very good spell for duo bot lane. Why is it good you say?:

• Gives you sustain to stay longer in your lane to farm or defend your tower
• Allows you to be very dominant early game
• Allows you to bait enemies

By baiting I mean letting your enemies think they can kill you. Then do they dumb stuff just in order to catch you and kill you... and when they're in the most awkward situation possible, you use heal, turn around and kill them xP. However, this spells is usually better on your support OR if you really want a defensive summoner spells, Barrier is usually better.


Exhaust: One of the best summoner spells for bot lane. It's great to win 1v1 against the enemy ranged AD carry and to slow down the enemy jungler so he can't hit you with his red buff. It also scales very well into late game. You can get Exhaust instead of Ignite if you see that the enemy team has many big AD threats but ususlly your support will take Exhaust already so it won't be necessary that you take it.


Cleanse: A little harder to get used to but still a good pick when facing heavy CC teams (AoE teams sometimes). It DOES remove any enemy Exhaust or Ignite so that's pretty sweet in the laning phase (especially against an heavy CC support like Leona or Taric). However, it kinda leaves you with not much offensive power early and mid game.

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-Other summoner spells.

Don't ever get this summoner spell unless you are playing ARAM or you are new to the game and have no clue how to manage your mana.

Not very good summoner spell. Somewhat useful on Karthus, Pantheon and Twisted Fate but still not a very viable pick.


etc.

Ability Sequence and Explanation

This is what makes Tristana, Tristana. Late game it will make her have the highest permanent autoattack range in the whole game. It is one of the reasons why Tristana is so good late game, she can kill enemies from very far and stay safe.

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This is one the best if not the best physical DPS steroid in the whole game. Use this right before autoattacking a lot because it takes about 0.5 second before it actually starts.

Don't spam this ability too much. Really, just use it when you need it. Tristana has kind of low mana pool so yeah, save your mana.

I don't get this ability until level 8 because attack speed is nearly pointless early game. Your Attack damage, Crit chance and Armor Penetration are all very low and Rapid fire will not increase your damage per second so much. Also, 30% attack speed is not worth 50 mana early game.

As soon as you will start getting big damage items, this ability becomes incredibly good. Max it second.

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Tristana's escape ability. That is your built-in Flash.

However, it SHOULD also be used offensively. Use it as a gap-closer. Even though it does not scale off Attack Damage, the base damage is nothing to laugh at. The base damage is so high that it makes Tristana a bursty champion early and mid game no matter what you build.

The extra damage you get from every rank is really good and it is important that you lower the cooldown of this ability to get maximum mobility.

*Important Note*: Especially on AD Tristana, make sure you don't put yourself in trouble when you use this. If you see 5 people, don't jump in them. Try to initiate fights the least you can. Only jump on 1 or 2 enemies at a time and only if you know that you are going to kill them. Alright? Let your tank initiate...Be careful.

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Once again, no AD ratio so the damage will suck a little late game but early it's just awesome. 110 damage at rank 1. That is insane. The active ability only gets +30 damage for each rank so it's not really worth it to rank it up. Use this to harass and reduce enemy's Health Potions healing.

Another reason why this skill is great is because it reduces enemy healing by 50%. That's really powerful against champions such as Soraka that are based on healing, this ability will counter them really well. Use this ability when you are in mid-air while using Rocket Jump. That way you won't lose any time to autoattack.

Also, the passive on this ability should not be forgotten at all. Every time you kill a minion, the whole minion wave is also damaged. This means:

• You will push your lane a lot early (which is not good at all early because you will be open to ganks)
• You will push lanes a lot late game (which is a good thing)
• You will farm like a boss late game

So, if you max this ability first, you will push your lane even more, you get very little damage output increase and you are missing reduced cooldown on your built-in Flash. So max this last.

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Another spell that will make your burst very high. Look at the base damage. 300-500. Don't forget it! It's very deadly in lane.

You can use this to:

• Push away an enemy that is chasing you or your ally
• Push an enemy into your team (hard to do)
• Burst people down
• Kite an enemy (simply to create a gap between you and your enemy)
• Stop an enemy's channeled spell (such as Fiddlesticks' Crowstorm or Nunu's Absolute Zero.

*Be careful* Don't use this spell to finish off an enemy unless you are really sure that it will kill him. Unlike AP Tristana, you can't rely on Explosive Shot and Ignite to finish off your enemy. Your teammates will hate you if you save an enemy with this.

Early Game Items

Doran's Blade is an amazing item early game because of it's incredibly high cost effectiveness (gives a lot of stats for what it costs) and because it gives everything you could ever want in laning phase (AD for damage and last hits, HP to win fights, lifesteal to sustain). Doran's Blade stack up VERY nicely, and pretty much like boots, since everyone gets them, it is almost necessary that you get them.




Two Doran's Blades is what you see the most often. Getting a third Doran's is usually unnecessary and delays your main build a little bit too much. On the other hand, you can skip one Doran's if you are dominating and don't need it at all.

B. F. Sword If you can recall with enough gold for a B. F. Sword without putting yourself behind, get it. If you feel like you will need more Doran's Blades and/or your Berserker's Greaves to keep up with your enemies in lane, wait a little more before you get it.

AND/OR

Berserker's Greaves Get these before your B. F. Sword if you didn't recall with enough gold for B. F. Sword OR if you need some more Doran's to be able to win your lane. Berserker's are awesome because they are cheap, they give you a lot of bonus damage, they make last hitting easier and they also make you more mobile. More info Berserker's Greaves are a must-have. Other boots are either not efficient enough or too expensive to be better than Berserker's. You CAN sell your Berserker's Greaves for Mercury's Treads if you have your full complete build and have trouble against CC late game... But otherwise, always stick to Attack Speed.

This is not always necessary early game but it usually helps a lot if you are against champions that can harass a lot in bot lane (Like Sona or Ezreal or Miss Fortune, etc.) This will help you stay healthy at all times. As the game goes on, this stat becomes very powerful and becomes you main defensive stat (by giving high amounts of Health back every second). You can get this item after your Infinity Edge if you didn't need it in lane (sometimes you have a healer with you OR the lifesteal from the Doran's Blades is enough to sustain yourself early game).

Core builds

Ahh, the Ranged AD carry items... Ranged AD carries are Glass Cannons. That means they deal a lot of damage, but they are also extremely vulnerable and easy to kill. Since Tristana has insane range and two ways to escape an enemy, she can make sure no one ever lays an hand over her. It is a good idea to build straight damage on Ranged AD carries but some defense is always welcomed.

1: Infinity Edge: First because it will give you more damage as a first item than the other items that you'll want.

2: Phantom Dancer: Second because it's almost the most cost efficient item to get at this point in terms of damage. However, the main reason to get this item is the movement speed and the passive. On a Glass Cannon, it is essential to be able to kite your enemy. At this point of the game, you will surely be part of teamfights and the enemy melee champions will have very high gap closing capability.


3: Last Whisper:[/b] Third because usually , people will have pretty high armor at this time of the game. The main reason to get Last Whisper is that you need to be able to get rid of high armor anti-carry champions such as Irelia or Mordekaiser or simply a tank like Rammus when you need to.

4/5*: Furor enchantment: For ultimate kiting. It's the best upgrade for Tristana. You should get it whenever you feel like you need it to be able to kite. Sometimes you'll get it earlier or later.

Usually, here you get your defensive item. You can get it earlier or later depending on your needs.


4/5*: Blade of the Ruined King: This item is just stupidly strong for AD carries right now. Most bruisers just stack Health right now so this item will be extremely efficient. The active is also stupidly strong to kite the enemy like a god. The lifesteal is also extremely strong. This item is an incredibly good offensive AND defensive item at the same time. The only reason why I don't get this item earlier is because it does damage based off the enemy's HP so it's only very efficient late game.

You should get Blade of the Ruined King before Last Whisper if the enemy team has too much HP and not much Armor.

Other Items

Gameplay

AD Tristana doesn't really have much choice, she has to go in the bottom lane. Your lanemate should be a support champion.

Supports for Tristana:

Here are the supports champions that can go with Trist.


Tier 1 supports for Trist: Blitzcrank , Leona , Taric , and Alistar .

Blitzcrank and Leona both have excellent damage output and incredible CC at early levels (late game too). They make the enemies easy kills for Tristana. However, they cannot heal Tristana.

Taric and Alistar simply make it easy for Tristana to land her skills. They can also heal and in Taric's case, make her tankier. Their CC are just not as good as Blitzcrank or Leona.


Tier 2: Sona

At exactly level 6, Sona has one of the biggest burst out of all supports (and it's also pretty easy to land). She can easily take out half of an enemy's HP instantly + stun him. Tristana also has one of the highest burst potential at level 6. Easy kills. Her heal is there but it's pretty freaking weak. Your Sona should max Q first when playing with a Tristana.


Tier 3: Soraka

Incredible sustain + Infinite mana is good anyone. It's also good on Tristana. It allows Trist to harass without taking any damage in return. Soraka doesn't have much offensive potential in levels 1-6 though...




Keypoints to remember for early game:

• Last hit as much as you can
• Play aggressively against the enemy to win your lane

You will take every single last hit possible. You must kill all the minions that you can. It really is important! You have to get as much as possible. It is the key to success!

If you don't know what last hitting is already, it's autoattacking minions only to kill them. That way you will not push your lane too much (pushing your lane means you will get ganked) and you will get the most gold possible.

Your lanemate will not steal any of your CS (Creep Score, also known as minions) if he has any clue on how to play this game. If he tries to kill the minions OR (even worse) if he keeps autoattacking minions mindlessly, tell him to stop. As a Ranged AD carry you NEED the farm to be effective.


Early game is also the part where people will underestimate Tristana. You must not! Her damage output early is scary. Harass with Explosive Shot + autoattack everytime you can, autoattack the enemies whenever they get in your range.

If they get below 50% HP. Do not hesitate. Ping your target, jump on him with Rocket Jump, use Explosive Shot on him while you are in the air. That way you will prevent the enemy support from healing himself/his ally. Then autoattack your enemy to death.

The main point of early game is to farm though. If you have to choose between farming and harassing, choose farming.



Depending on what is going on in the game you will be either:

-Winning your lane and killing enemy champions.
-Controlling Dragon with the help of your jungler.
-Farming Non-Stop


I really insist on farming and controlling dragon though. Dragon is a very important quest. Each time your team kills it, each member of your team gets 200 gold. 200 gold X 5 =1000 Global Gold. That is a little more than 3 champion kills!

Other than that, get your CS (creep score) up to the roof!

Or if you are getting fed because your enemies are not as good as you, then keep on killing them/denying them XP and Gold. Or gank a lane to help other lanes if you are THAT fed.


This is where you shine. Teamfights is the keyword.

All you have to do now is stay with your team and either:

-Control Baron
-Push a Lane
-Roam as a team (catch enemies in 1 v5 situations)

Teamfights:

Your behavior in a teamfight is very often what shows if you are either a bad, good or amazing player.

The most common misconception is that you should always focus the enemy carries on the enemy team no matter what because they are the most dangerous ones. This is wrong, especially when you are playing ADC. It can get you killed many times. Charging into an entire enemy team just to get one or two hits on the enemy carry is NOT a good idea.

Unless the enemy AD or AP carry is reaaally out of position, as an AD carry you need to hit whoever is closest to you.

In most cases, the closest champions will be enemy anti-carries bruisers or tanks like Irelia or Amumu. Despite what noobs/ragers on your team might say, if the tank is all that's in your range, then there's no harm in focusing on the tank.

Remember, your goals are to :

• stay alive
• Deal as much damage as possible over a long period of time.

90% of the time you should save Buster Shot and Rocket Jump to escape an enemy late game, not to deal damage. I really insist. Do not be greedy late game, always stay safe first. Just never Rocket Jump into the enemy team in a teamfight.. always hit them from far away. You have an incredible attack range so make use of it.

The wording used for this section of the guide was heavily influenced by Astrolia's Miss Fortune guide :).

Some Tips/Tricks

I will be adding more as I think of them! :D

-Move between autoattacks. Really, this will separate a noob AD carry from a good AD carry.

Here is a short video that explains the basics of moving and attacking very well:

Basically, you don't want to right click an enemy and wait. Moving between autoattacks will make your life much better. This applies to every single champ, even AP carries and Melee champions.

-Bait enemies. If your jungler is nearby and he wants to gank, don't wait for him to initiate. Fight the enemy, lure them towards you, they will blow their spells and summoner spells to fight you and THEN your jungler comes in and the rapefest begins.

-Do not go too far in your lane unless your lane is really warded like a pro. Putting a ward at dragon only is not enough, junglers can still go through the tribush or can even lane gank. Always watch your map to see if the jungler is MIA. Map awareness is key to gold and platinum.

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League Replays

Since I got asked to....
If you have LoLReplay, you can click on the links and download the replays to see me playing AD Tristana! Get some popcorn! Seriously though, watching replays will make you learn quickly and efficiently.

If you don't have LoLReplay yet, you can download it here!(click)

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Tristana + Leona
VS
Draven + Taric

First and only game I have for you guys yet :P. Me and Leona do some aggressive plays and rape our lane pretty hard :D. Then we proceed to carry the game with the help of our team.

http://www.leaguereplays.com/replays/match/2928951/

End Gamescores

You can send me your endgame scores if you want to :D

End!

I hope you liked my guide! Feel free to ask any question or leave a comment down below!

You can find my AP Tristana Guide Right here! http://www.mobafire.com/league-of-legends/build/tristana-and-her-dark-sides-ap-128979

Thanks for reading :D!