Ashe Build Guide by mage legend

Introduction

THIS GUIDE IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION! SOME CHAPTERS CANNOT BE READ, BUT DON'T WORRY, I WILL STATE AT THE START OF THE CHAPTER WETHER IT IS OUTDATED OR NOT. IF IT'S NOT, THEN NOTHING SPECIAL WILL BE WRITTEN.





Welcome to my first guide Summonners! This is to my Ashe build. Ashe was my main AD Carry from lvl 1 to 15. I think she's a great AD Carry and a viable pick for ranked.
I would like to thank some people for helping me, and giving me advice. Many thanks to Sirrell, Neyzyg, Dutyformoney, F3aroner for the skins, and Tinystar for the banners!
(Click on tinystar to see her sig and banner shop).

Ashe pentakill in slowmotion. Enjoy :)
Thanks to xPirateJing for making the video, and diu nei no mo for making the pentakill! :)

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Patch preview about Ashe: nerfing the cooldown and slow duration of Enchanted Crystal Arrow.

Colors

Red: Cons and item to build (except in items and item recipe chapter, it turns blue there)

Blue (light): Items in recipe

Purple: other items

Yellow (light): Important notes

Green (light): Pros and recipes

Blue (dark): summoner spells

Pink: Abilities and 'under construction'

Orange: Titles

Green (dark): Stats (terms like 'attack damage') (inclusive CC) (this color will be added in the future)

Pros / Cons

What are Ashe's good (pros)/bad (cons) points? You will find out now!

Pros

+ You feel like you have a high mobility because of Enchanted Crystal Arrow, Volley and Frost Shot
+ Dominant in the lane
+ A viable pick to take the role of an AD carry in the bottom lane
+ Enchanted Crystal Arrow is a good ultimate.
+ A lot of crowd control, because of her slow and Volley, wich applies to Frost Shot.
+ Only 450 IP!
+ Easy to play champion, and perfect for beginners


Cons

- Not very strong in early game
- Enchanted Crystal Arrow is a skill shot, so there's a big chance it will miss the target
- Squishy
- Gets ganked very quickly because of her low health and armor.
- She's very picky in items

Items + item recipes

This is the old build. please ignore it.

Interested in the Items? Here's some more information.

Boots of Speed: Almost everyone starts with Boots of Speed, so you have some money left for Health Potions and you will be able to escape easier so the enemy won't get the first blood.

Recipe
Note: a recipe is how the items are build, of wich items it is made, for example: a Zeal (then follow the purchase order if you want) is made out of a Dagger (so first buy the Dagger) and some Brawler's Gloves (so, secondly, the Brawler's Gloves and finish your build by buying the Zeal).
Boots of Speed: None


Health Potion: If you're fighting in early game, and you don't have much hp left, don't recall, but use your Health Potions instead. Using a Health Potion is a faster way to get max hp.

Recipe
Health Potion: None. There is no such thing as a recipe for a consumable item.


B. F. Sword: The Best Friend Sword. An item that grants you very much attack damage, but it's very expensive, just like the Needlessly Large Rod.

Recipe
B. F. Sword: None

Berserker's Greaves: Just to give you some more enchanced movement and attack speed.

Recipe
Berserker's Greaves: Buy a Dagger, the cheapest attack speed item. We've got some Boots of Speed already, so just buy Berserker's Greaves and it's done!


B. F. Sword: The Best Friend Sword. An item that grants you very much attack damage, but it's very expensive, just like the Needlessly Large Rod.

Recipe
B. F. Sword: None


Madred's Bloodrazor: A very good item wich adds some attack damage and attack speed. I like it because it adds them both, and has a good passive.

Recipe
Madred's Bloodrazor: First buy a Madred's Razors, then, quickly grab a Recurve Bow. At last, buy a Pickaxe, and finish your Madred's Bloodrazor. It's not Madred's Bloodrazor anymore, it's Ashe's Bloodrazor!


Infinity Edge: The item that gives Ashe a boost of attack damage, wich is just what she needs. It adds very much attack damage and critical strike chance.

Recipe
Infinity Edge: we've got a B. F. Sword already, now, buy a Pickaxe to boost up your AD. If you've got these 2 items, then you should have no more space left so just finish your Infinity Edge without a Cloak of Agility, so just finish you recipe without it.


The ultimate The Bloodthirster: You will now have some life steal. This makes pushing and jungling a lot easier. If you are low on HP you should kill some monsters or minions. The 60 + attack damage makes Ashe a lot stronger.
The passive is also good, as it will only give you more life steal and attack damage. It's very useful when you have very much attack speed: extra damage and life steal.

Recipe
The Bloodthirster: Buy a B.F Sword and finish you recipe immediately with The Bloodthrster, because you have no space left for another Vampiric Scepter.


Phantom Dancer: The perfect item for Ashe. Almost every Ashe player picks this item. This is my personal favorite item and it will give Ashe a big boost of attack speed, critical chance and movement speed.

Recipe
Phantom Dancer: Start the recipe by buying a Zeal. Secondly, buy a Cloak of Agility. You shouldn't have any space for left for a Dagger. To finish your recipe, buy a Phantom Dancer and get ready for battle!


Guardian Angel: Why a Guardian Angel? Well, it gives optimal protection, and the passive brings you back to life.

Recipe
Guardian Angel: Grab a Chain Vest, and finish your build by buying your last item, a Guardian Angel.

Alternative items

under construction!



Didn't you like some of the items above, and don't you know wich ones to use instead?
Welcome to the alternative items!

As you can see, the first item is Banshee's Veil.
Why Banshee's Veil? Well, it gives both Health and Mana + Magic Resist. It's good to take this when fighting offensive and high burst AP champions like Anivia or Akali for more resistence against these, and if you burn your mana too much.


If you feel like you don't have enough max health and you're way too squishy, but you also want to build more Attack Damage and slow enemies without using Frost Shot, grab Frozen Mallet. If you do take Frozen Mallet, and you think you don't need Frost Shot anymore, then max Hawkshot second and Frost Shot last.


As you can see, the next topic is Mercurial Scimitar.
I already told you a lot about Mercurial Scimitar in the notes, but if you didn't read it yet, here it is:

Pick Mercurial Scimitar if you want to be more offensive, and if you're playing against AP at the same time. You don't have to pick this if you feel like you have enough resistence against AP champions. The movement speed bonus is not needed for ranged champions, so don't worry about the fact that it doesn't work with them.

That's it. Any questions?
What did you say? Why the movement speed bonus isn't important for ranged champions?
Well, it's designed to escape as a melee champion, and it only takes a second, so it won't make such a big difference. Actually, if your ranging enemies, and you try to escape, you already start at a distance, melee champions don't. That's why the active is mostly designed for melee champions.

You can't always escape as a ranged champion, even if you start at a distance, but that 1 second is almost nothing. And besides, you can still remove all debuffs from your champion, wich is extremely useful in teamfights, and sometimes when you try to escape, especially when you're fight champions who can easily stun you like Jax with his Counter Strike or Anivia's Flash Frost.

Wow, that's a lot of text. Anyway, let's go to the next item.


Also, just like before, i wrote a lot of information about Lord Van Damm's Pillager in the notes. Here it is:

Grab Lord Van Damm's Pillager if you're playing against tanks with a lot of armor, and if you want to be less squishy. The CR and Spell Vamp are needlessly though, except if you want to keep spamming Volley. :P

Looks like we got the main reason why Lord Van Damm's Pillager is a viable alternative item for Ashe. It gives enough health to be able to sustain in a teamfight, and some AD and Armor Pen to shut down some tanks. It's not that much Armor Penetration though, but it does make you less squishy, and just like Frozen Mallet, it also lets you build some AD.

Basicly, there is information in the notes about all alternative defensive items.
There is none for the alternative offensive items though.









A new item since season 3: Runaan's Hurricane.
Runaan's Hurricane is a viable item for almost any AD Carry.
If you feel like you need some more Attack Speed, and if you want to shoot some extra arrows ;P take Runaan's Hurricane.
The 2 minor bolts apply to your AD, so it's very useful when having items like Infinity Edge or The Bloodthirster.
It can be very useful throughout teamfights and when pushing a lane.
That's why Runaan's Hurricane is a viable item for Ashe.


Not the best item, but Sword of the Divine's active may grant you the stats you need for teamfights, and to make multi-kills.
It also grants you some attack speed.
The bad news: its passive. This item does not grant you any attack speed while on cooldown.
The good news: champion kills reduce the current cooldown by 50%. And the active is awesome, because it grants you a lot of attack speed.


The Zephyr isn't a very popular item for ADC's, but it can be useful in certain situations. The CDR is a little bit wasted on Ashe, but it's only 10, and i explained how it can be useful before, at Lord Van Damm's Pillager's information: if you want to keep spamming Volley all the time :D

The Tenacity is very useful on Ashe, since she is very vulnerable against CC, especially in teamfights.
The AD and AS are also useful on Ashe, since she's an ADC :P, but don't forget to buy some more AD if you get Zephyr, because it doesn't give a lot of AD, wich is the main stat for Ashe. It's also a little too much AS, but as long as you build some more AD, everything will be fine :D
The Movement Speed is also a nice addition, especially if you're trying to escape.

Abilities

Under construction

Ability Sequence

What about the ability sequence? If you're here to learn about them, then you've come to the right place. Here they are.

Here's some in dept information. Enjoy :)

First, learn every single skill as fast as you can so you can use them very quickly, where you want, and whenever you want. For example, you were trying to chase an enemy champion but you lost it. If you wouldn't have Hawkshot right now you would've lost track of the enemy, but if you learned it already, you can use it to find the enemy and make a kill! (or tell your allies to).
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Have you got some questions about Ashe's ability sequence? and i'm now about to answer them.

Q: Why do you master Volley so quickly?
A: Because volley is the only ability that deals damage (except Enchanted Crystal Arrow) and it causes the enemies to slow. This can be useful to escape or to track down an enemy. But escaping with Volley is very hard.

Q: Why do you learn Volley first?
A: Because you can poke the enemies with it, and damage them easily before the minions have spawned.

Q: Why do you learn every single ability before you start mastering Volley?
A: Because then you can use the three of them already in early game, wich is pretty useful.

Q: Why do you master Frost Shot last? Is it the worst ability?
A: Because it is not needed in early game. You don't have to learn it at lvl 3, you can also learn it at lvl 7.

Q: What about Hawkshot?
A: Well, i usually learn it at lvl 2 because it gives bonus gold when killing a minion, wich is useful for farming. You'll get gold faster if you learn not later then level 2. You can also learn it at level 1, but i wouldn't recommend it because you need Volley at lvl 1, and then you'll have to wait for minions to spawn, but you can also use it to reveal enemies hiding in the bush. Hawkshot can also reveal a place on the map, or in the jungle. Forget those Sight Wards! Use Hawkshot! (go to chapter combos, tips, ganks and all you need too know for more information, i explained why you actually do need Sight Wards :P ) Unfortunately, Hawkshot's effect only stays for a small amount of time. Remember that Hawkshot does not deal any damage.

Important note: Always remember to turn Frost Shot off after a battle, and don't use it against minions, or else your going to be out of mana.

Q: Can you tell me more about Enchanted Crystal Arrow.
A: You can use it around the whole battlefield, and it will keep moving until it hits an enemy. It stuns and slows enemies for a small amount of time. This can be useful to escape, or to prevent an enemy from escaping wich results to a quick kill. Enchanted Crystal Arrow can also be used to help an ally make a kill. Sometimes, it is used to finish off an enemy champion, but that's a bit useless. U should spare it to stun an enemy.


Any more questions? post them on the discussion and i will (maybe) put them here (if they are useful :P ), answer them and put your name below the question for thanking you.

Runes

Coming soon!

Summoner Spells

being updated

The summoner spells: which to use and why?

Best spells

This spell allows you to escape from harsh situations, and Ashe has low defense so this can be pretty useful. Flash is just awesome for any champion :P
Recommended to use over walls.

Viable summoner spells

Gameplay

Welcome to gameplay. You'll find combos, ganks, tips and much more right here.
Enjoy :)

Wich lane should i pick when playing Ashe?

She's is a viable pick for bot, because she's an adc. I heard she used to be a viable pick for mid. Recently, i've heard Ashe is also viable at top, but this is a bot guide, not top... So i can't tell you anything about that :P is too squishy to fight against those by herself. That's why she needs a support in bot lane.

Combos

Well, since Volley and Enchanted Crystal Arrow are the only ability that deal out damage, there are very few combos for Ashe. I recommend to throw out the battle with Volley, and use Frost Shot if they are trying to escape. Just wait until your cooldown is finished and use Volley again.

Combo 1a and 1b:
Combo 1a: Start with R ( Enchanted Crystal Arrow), and keep using W ( Volley) and some basic attacks, while Frost Shot is on, until they die. I call this: the ultimate combo, because we open the battle with our ultimate. Combo 1b: You can also use E ( Hawkshot) first if you are looking for enemies in the jungle. I call this: the ultimate combo against enemies in the fog of war, because first, we search for enemies in the fog of war and open the battle with our ultimate.

Well, lets just make it simple by adding some pictures.
Note: Focus is applied as basic attacks.

Combo 1a: ultimate combo



combo 1b: ultimate combo against enemies in the fog of war.



Combo 2:
Throw out the battle with W ( Volley), while Frost Shot is on, and use R ( Enchanted Crystal Arrow) When they somehow manage to get out of range and you can't slow them anymore. When you reach them, use W ( Volley) again, keep using it when the cooldown is over, and finish them off with some basic attacks. I call this the Heavy combo.

Turret diving? No way!

Turret diving with Ashe? Worst idea ever! I guarantee that you will be death before actually killing your target. Even though ashe is ranged, turret diving is very dangerous, especially in early game. Well, i'm not stopping you from doing it, but it's safer in late game, with Guardian Angel.

Teamfights: enemies focusing you

Remember to stay at a distance in teamfights. Don't let them focus you. You can ask your tank to help you out when they do that, for example Alistar can Headbutt and Pulverize them so they won't be able to focus you.

Ashe as a jungler?!

Is Ashe a viable pick as a jungler? No way! First of all, Ashe is way to squishy to be a jungler, and she can't heal herself except with Heal, wich has a very high cooldown, and some Health Potions, unlike Fiddlesticks' Drain, and Warwick's Hungering Strike, and she doesn't have any buffing abilities either.

Ganks, Sight Wards and Noxious Traps

Remember to ask your support to put Sight Wards, put one yourself or ask Teemo to put a Noxious Trap (teemo can only put a Noxious Trap at level 6). Ashe's weak point is a gank, so watch out for junglers or champions who change lane to gank (your teammate will probably say ss when they see they are going to gank. Your second option is to put a Sight Ward)

Hawkshot

This is your third option to look out for junglers/ganks. You can either use this to look out for the enemy jungler and sabotage them, or to look at for ganks. Hawkshot has a pretty high cooldown so you might wanna put a Sight Ward. Remember to use Hawkshot once in a while, because you might never know when enemy champions are going to gank you.

Ashe's new Skins

Are you wondering what a skin is? Well, you'll get to see the answer right here.
I wouldn't be able to make this chapter attractive without the help of F3aroner. Thank you!

Feel free to skip the spoiler if you are not interested.

Ashe's old skins

Well, i already introduced you to skins, but these are old skins. Those were Ashe's skins before they visual upgraded her.

Summary (change log)

Summary:

29 June 2012: guide made and published.

Some date in August, 2012: updated build and completely changed the item purchases

Some date in January, 2012: removed bad items like Ionic Spark and other noob items.

Some date in November (start of season 3): Mastery trees updated.

18 December 2012: Ashe's new skins chapter has improved + spoilers added in both Ashe's new and old skins chapters.

7 March 2013: after being away for a long time, i decided to make some slight changes and more.
Finished Alternative items chapter.
Added anchor and goto (thanks to Devdevil :D).
Updating Summonner spells chapter.

The end

Caution! Under construction!

The end. Thank you for your time, good luck on the fields of justice and have fun!

Thanks to Devdevil for the anchor and goto! :D