Ashe Build Guide by PFP

I. Preface
II. Introduction
III. Main Summoner Abilities
- Considerable Summoner Abilities
IV. Mastery Considerations
V. Core Item Build Sequence
- End Game Items
VI. Skill & Rune Explanations
VII. End Game Builds
VIII. Closing
*. Player Stats!




This particular build revolves around excelling mid-late game since a good Ashe should never die in early game and teams of equal skill will almost always take it to late game. Early game focus should be on farming and supporting your top/bot lanes with your Ultimate. Runes, summoner abilities, masteries, and early item build order are all based around these statements. If you often suck at playing carries, this might not be the build for you. Ashe is played to her fullest ability in premade teams that work together, therefore this guide is directed towards that type of gameplay, but is still plausible for solo queue. Here you will find a complete and detailed compendium of Ashe, collected through theory-crafting and build-testing from multiple experienced players.

Abbreviated Terms
AA = Auto-attack (Basic Attacks)
FB = First Blood
AP = Ability Power
AD = Attack Damage
MD = Magic Damage
AS = Attack Speed
MS = Movement Speed
MR = Magic Resistance
ArPen = Armor Penetration
MPen = Magic Penetration
DPS(er) = Strong Auto-attacker
CC = Crowd Control
CDR = Cooldown Reduction
OOM = Out of Mana
MP = Mana
HP = Health
MP Regen = Mana Regeneration per 5 seconds
HP Regen = Health Regeneration per 5 seconds

Welcome to my guide for building Ashe, one of the hardest hitting carries in LoL. The main idea of this build is to kite effectively, provide massive CC, and shut down the enemy team. Since Ashe is a ranged champion, she can easily farm - however, since she is extremely squishy, she can also be easily killed. Being smart with ranged DPS champs, you'll be able to score last hits, annoy your opposition, and possibly even score a few kills. To play this Ashe well, you will need to constantly have map awareness; a ward at the bushes always helps when they have a jungler. If Warwick or Amumu gets a stun off on you you're pretty much done. This Ashe is the best candidate for 1v1 mid since she's able to harass so well, and leveling up faster just makes her have her ultimate faster which initiates, controls, and wins team fights. Yet she can also dominate a side lane with a good partner such as Blitzcrank or Janna. Finally, the core item build I recommend requires quite heavily on gold - last hit often and annoy the hell out of your mid opponent with constant Volleys and occasional crits.

Pros:
- Tier 1 Champion, one of the best picks for a Ranked 5v5
- Great harass with Volley early game
- Great farming (ranged DPS, doh!)
- Great support and shreds people apart late game
- Amazing versatility - DPSer and support; ability to keep any chasers at bay with Volley and Frost Shots
- Element of surprise using your Ultimate (one of the best initiators)
- Destroys towers easily mid-late game
- Consistent carry, strong & annoying all game long

Cons:
- Extremely squishy, ganked/stunned = dead
- Ashe is an easy champion to learn, hard to master (must play smart!)
- Needs a good team to tank/protect her in teamfights




Ghost : This ability is very versatile - whether it's to chase an enemy to CC them or to escape a gank, this gives Ashe the speed needed to properly kite the opposition.

Flash : Some people prefer this over Ghost, but with Ashe you need both. I can not describe how important Flash is for squishy carries, especially considering how everyone and their mother runs flash. Flash in to clean up a kill just out of range (once people are in Ashe's range they generally don't get out), Flash out to escape a gank. Flash through the jungle to chase or escape. If you don't know how to use Flash I guess you don't have to worry considering how Zileas stated it will be removed.


Cleanse is going to be the next option for a replacement for Flash when and if it does finally get removed from LoL. It will help Ashe stay alive like a good carry should.



For Ashe's mastery tree, I go a standard 9/0/21 build. This build allows Ashe to have Ghost and Flash off CD as much as possible, and I grab the extra 9% CDR as it helps greatly to spam Volleys into the enemy team. This CDR advantage combined with your runes will let you use your Ulti as much as possible. The buff duration increase and movement speed bonus is also appreciated. I won't go into too much in-depth explanation as I feel masteries are pretty straight forward and are generally personal preference. This is my preference and I feel is the best way to make the strongest Ashe.




This item sequence gives you a strong lane presence, good last hitting abilities, and staying power. Below you will find a reason/description for why I selected these items.

Doran's Blade is very important since Ashe has absolutely no health early game and can be harassed hard. You would only choose to start with this item if you are sidelaning with a support. If you take mid it is much better to start with level 1 boots first. This item is perfect in sidelane as it gives you AD (most important stat on Ashe), a solid 120 health, and a decent amount of lifesteal which will keep you in the lane. When you first port back it is imperative to get Boots of Speed and yet another Doran's Blade. The dual Doran's combo will give you just the right amount of health you need to survive and the right amount of lifesteal to keep you in the farming phase until mid game where they will both be sold after the core item is finished and the game begins to draw out.

Mercury's Treads are acceptable boots but I always buy Berserker's Greaves beforehand and switch over right before late game starts depending on how much early AD I'm buying. If Ashe gets CC'd and you can't escape, it's pretty much over for you and you fail as a carry for your team.

Infinity Edge, enough said. Nah, but really, this item is a keystone in any AD build and especially an Ashe build due to her passive Focus which gives her more crit chance passively. This item should instantly be rushed after Boots are obtained, for once you get it you'll be hitting extremely hard. Knowing how to farm effectively should help you obtain the greatness that is the Infinity Edge.

Phantom Dancer is a very controversial pick for me if you ever read the forums or follow me I once posted a thread stating how "no good player buys a Phantom Dancer". Riot's own Phreak agreed with me, but in the end they changed it for better. Now they removed the dodge portion, gave the AS a slight buff, and made it overall cheaper. In essence, it is a perfect item for Ashe and a great one to buy early on. Couple with Boots of Swiftness you will be the best kiter on the map and it will heavily increase your damage output. But remember: crit damage is applied after ArP, therefore explaining our next item choice.

Last Whisper is a must on Ashe as it gives you the key components of ArP and AD. This item pretty much gives you more damage and more penetration, making you deal a ton of damage very early on. It will give you the ArP you need for your crits to hit home. After you obtain all the items mentioned above plus this, you are truly "More than just a Carry." Your Frost Shots and Volleys will not only be hitting them for tons of damage, but also be CCing the entire enemy team, thus making you a support role on top of your massive DPS.

Elixirs of Agility, otherwise known as green pots, should be kept on you after you have your Boots, I-Edge, and Phantom Dancer purchased. It will optimize your damage output for such a cheap price by providing a good steriod of AS and crit chance. Don't overlook elixirs, even after the nerfs they are still viable. Make sure to also pick up Elixirs of Fortitude when your build is complete.


Youmuu's Ghostblade is by far my favorite item in LoL. The only problems we can see here is that it is meant more for melee champions. However you'll find it also works great for ranged carries attempting to maximize their damage output per auto attack. It just gives you ridiculous stats and it is everything you'll ever need. You might as well get it since you can build another equally awesome item in its core called The Brutalizer (built after Last Whisper if playing high armor champions). Its active is like a built in Ghost and it also gives as much attack speed as a Phantom Dancer for 4 seconds. More crit chance, more ArP, what else do you need to end the game?

Sword of the Divine, or SotD, can be picked due to the lack of AS since the Last Whisper changes (if you are low on money and did not choose to purchase a Phantom Dancer). It gives you a large amount of 60% AS, also when activated makes your auto-attacks un-dodgeable and gives you a nice 30 ArP for 8 seconds. It's a solid item and is often overlooked, I recommend it for more experienced LoL players and builds looking to max realiable AD over crits.

The Bloodthirster provides Ashe with more DPS which shall be needed to shred everyone to pieces. The extra lifesteal helps a lot, and since Ashe is a great farmer it shouldn't be long before you max out the bonuses on the item's passive. But always remember that it starts at 60 AD and 15% LS and you must last hit minions to fill it out, and if you die the stats get reverted back. This makes it almost seem like a risk item to me, but once again recommended for builds maxing true AD over crits.

The Black Cleaver is beast mode for Ashe, but really I almost never get to this item and I throw it in there because if the game isn't over yet then someone must not being dying. More AD + ArP passive! Tear apart those tanks please! Only problem is if you purchased Last Whisper then I wouldn't recommend buying this item (unless facing multiple armor stackers) as it's passive does not synergize well with LW's passive.

Yes I know, where's the survivability? For me I will post items below that I think can be thrown in there if you really need it. The way I play Ashe is to always be smart and stay out of range of CC however survivability is almost always needed to be a successful carry. The items below should be obtained right after you purchase your 4th main item in your building sequence, or whenever you feel like the entire enemy team is hunting you down.

Banshee's Veil is almost always a staple item for most champions I play. Get this and never be afraid of CC (when it's off CD). Additional HP, MP, MR and on top of that you get a bubble. Who doesn't want a bubble? Protection from enemy initiations if just what a carry needs. It's an awesome item overall.

Guardian Angel is another great item for a carry however I feel if I'm in a situation where I need Guardian Angel to work it's a dumb situation and usually a 5-man gank, meaning that when I come back alive again their whole team will be standing there waiting. It only works in premades when your teammates will bodyguard you as you are reviving. Still, it provides great resistances in Armor and MR and gets you back in the fight. When used effectively, it can give you the win in a very tight game.

Quicksilver Sash is an amazing item that is often overlooked! If you know how to properly use actives that is. Getting this item is basically extra magic resist so you don't get nuked to death and has a built in super Cleanse. Unlike Cleanse it counters suppression from stuff like Infinite Duress and Nether Grasp. It's basically like having 3 summoner spells.

So in the end, survivability is preference on Ashe. I feel that if you play her smart it's always good to get more DPS output, however about 70% of the games I play I get at least one of these items. Especially when I'm facing a decent team. Buy these items ASAP.

To be the best possible Ashe in solo queue I recommend learning how to use Quicksilver Sash effectively. However for premades I would recommend a Guardian Angel over it, as your team will be more organized and ready to save you when you pop back up from death.

I generally change the 5th item slot hot key to "G" and the sixth item slot hot key to "T". That way I can use my Quicksilver Sash and my Youmuu's Ghostblade actives to their potential.




Focus is Ashe's innate ability, I can not stress how important it is and how often people overlook it. It passively increases your crit chance when you don't attack. This is perfect for farming, as you should be last hitting creeps not auto-attacking them. This passive is another reason why every good Ashe should be rushing Infinity Edge so you can hit 250% of your AD to enemy squishies, killing them swiftly.

Frost Shot is fairly straight forward. Toggle the ability on when you are going to attack enemy champions, and toggle the ability off when you are killing creeps. This will give you ridiculous kiting and CCing abilities, will annoying the **** out of the other team, and guarantee your team kills that ****er trying to escape.

Volley is another great ability on Ashe and gives a slowing effect just the same as the level of your Frost Shot. Use this to hit people hiding in bushes, use it to slow runners through the jungle walls, and use it to slow chasers attempting to kill you. Ashe's bread and butter skill, the reason a small amount of CDR goes a long way for Ashe.

Hawkshot is Ashe's built in Clairvoyance. When this buff came out I thought it was going to be the deciding factor for making Ashe a top tier player, little did I know she already was and that this ability just cemented her in Tier 1. Check brushes with it to save your team from the counter-gank at Baron and much more. The gold bonus isn't good enough for you to get more than a point on this ability at level 7 and save it as the last ability to max out.

Enchanted Crystal Arrow, big arrow, or your Ulti as most people call it; is the main reason Ashe is such a good champion. This determines not only where the team fight starts, but when. It stuns, does a decent amount of damage, and initiates the battle. Over time, experience at using this ability will teach you how to lead your shot and be an extremely effective Ashe. If you can hit top/bot opponents right when you hit level 6, your team will praise you as they get FB and the chatbox will be full of [All]Summoner: Pro Ashe QQ




Greater Mark of Desolation Greater Mark of Desolation provides Ashe with strong ArP, which is extremely useful on all ranged dps or physical damage champions. A little bit of ArP can make a huge difference in your damage output.

Greater Seal of Clarity is important for Ashe to maintain a steady stream of mana regen. I get the per level runes so that I will never need to waste money on items like Chalice of Harmony and so I can save my money for pure DPS output.

Greater Glyph of Focus will give you even more CDR on top of the CDR you receive from your masteries. CDR is essential so you can continue to use your game-changing Ulti and spam Volleys to slow the entire enemy team. I chose the flat CDR over the per level CDR so that you can have your Volley up as much as possible for harassing early game.

Greater Quintessence of Desolation Greater Quintessences of Desolation provides Ashe with strong ArP, which is extremely useful on all ranged dps or physical damage champions. A little bit of ArP can make a huge difference in your damage output. Yes, it's repetitive but trust me so are auto-attacks and that is what your Quints and Marks are optimizing.


This section will be constantly updated with situational complete builds you can expect when facing certain team compositions. If you have any questions about this section, what each attributed build means, or the exact building order to them: please ask.

Standard (vs. Balanced):


Alternate (vs. Balanced):


Premade vs Premade:


vs. Armor Stackers:


vs. HP Stackers


vs. Magic (AP) Heavy:


vs. Physical (AD) Heavy:


Risky Pubstomping (maxing AD):



Open to suggestions for adding more!



A shoutout to SixSonatas as I used an abbreviated version of his outline for mobafire guides. I would also like to give a shoutout to Mauler for continuously providing helpful feedback that together we have found how to optimize this champion's potential. I will continue to update this build as the metagame ***** and patches change the game. This is my attempt to make a detailed compendium to Ashe so any help is appreciated.

I'm not going to bother writing a play-by-play to Ashe, but if you would like to be a better Ashe player or simply theory craft how to build Ashe then post here. The comment section to this guide will act as a theory-crafting forum to building Ashe to her best potential. If you do have any questions about how to control the lane or just what to do when going against certain champions I will respond and try to help you to my fullest ability.