Being my new favorite champion to deal crazy damage with, his versatility and viability in or outside of the jungle is amazing. He not only deals great damage but also helps his laning partner a lot.

Random information about combos/tactics is packed all through-out this guide, so to get the most benefit reading 100% would be best.

Lee Sin's versatility makes him a very viable champion to pick. He can make it across a lane and back in virtually no time, leaving him little time to take damage from a skillshot. If you do magically fail at dodging then thats where Safeguard + a Bloodthirster comes in. No big deal, 41% lifesteal, great damage. Easy to heal back up. Plus, at a full build you won't be getting hurt as bad anyways, so even if Caitlyn does have a Headshot/TF/Crit with 400 AD (not a probable situation, if Caitlyn gets Trinity Force shes misbuilding), you'll be back to healthy in no time.

greater mark of desolation - Used for Armor Penetration, which comes in handy with the build that'll be used in this guide.

Greater Mark of Attack Speed - Used in synergy of Flurry, and to add extra dps during the beginning game that -has- meant the difference between first blood in many matches. This can also be replaced with 3 desolation marks if necessary.

Greater Seal of Armor - Used for armor. Lee Sin's base isn't too particuarly high and get get harrassed easy if not playing with care.

Greater Glyph of Magic Resist - Same reason as Seals.

greater quintessence of desolation - Same reason as Marks.

I had some fun experimenting with Masteries, and this was the outcome. 21-9-0.

Focused on AD, and Health increase.

I get the standard AD masteries. I also grab Havoc because it -will- increase your overall dps a quite fine amount. Executioner is a greaaaat mastery on Lee Sin because when you use your Resonating Strike you deal bonus damage based on their missing hp, well with Executioner you'll deal 6% bonus damage. If you stack Havoc with Executioner you get 7.5% bonus damage, and that will help quite exquisitely.

I then get Health increase because this will overall help you beginning game, being that you -don't- take a Dorans Sword. As popular as Doran's is, I feel boots benefit Lee much more in beginning because it adds to his versatility, which will result in easy harass without much chance of counter-harass.

Flash - Overall, Flash is one of the most widely used summoner spells, due to its ability to save your life an infinitum. This will also get you into range to land a Q, or any other standard use of Flash. After Flashs nerf mistakes can also be made when trying to jump a wall. 50 range doesn't seem like much, but I'd advise being careful when using this to flash over a wall.

In Lee Sin's case, you can Flash away, and Safeguard away as well. Virtually a double saver. This will help you bait or save a teammate as well.

Ignite - For those pesky people who survive with only a sliver of health. Because, you know, it's gonna happen. This will also help with the chance that someone -god forbid- takes Heal. One thing to think about when laning against someone with heal, should be to make sure you ignite BEFORE the use of heal because ignite will then cancel out the heal, but if you do it AFTER heal, it only cancel's half of the heal. Beginning game igniting early can mean the difference between first blood, because of its extra damage bonus.

Exhaust - Depending on who you are laning against, or if your team doesn't have any, exhaust can supplement a Lee Sin duel very well. As Lee Sin, you are already pretty good at lowering AD damage with your Tempest. Well, if you've ever had a problem where your enemy can overwhelm you AFTER your cripple runs out, just tag an exhaust on him. This will not only slow his damage by a lot, but will likely cause him to run. When someone is running but is extremely slowed he's actually in a worse place than fighting in most cases because they will get no damage off while you are pummeling him just as if you two were fighting. If that isn't enough slow/damage reduction to ensure you a kill, Randuin's Omen will have your back!

Teleport - Always a good summoner spell, but is better used on some other champions.
Ghost - I mean, if you really insist on using this it can help. I personally chose exhaust over ghost every match. Ghost is really only good for chasing Yi and running from a team of 3-4, though with Trinity Force and Force of Nature you will have the speed to run from a team.

Cleanse - A great summoner spell for every champion. Problem with cleanse on Lee is, he is tanky and can get out of sticky situations regardless. If the enemy team does happen to blow all their hard cc on you, the rest of your team will be safe from 5-7 seconds of cc.
Heal - Belongs on your AD carry.

Smite - Belongs on your jungler, and while Lee CAN jungle, this guide is primarily lane sin.

Promote - Who uses promote?

Revive - If you want to waste a summoner spell, go right ahead.

Surge - Belongs on AS, On-Hit, or Hybrid champions/builds.

Clarity - You're kidding...right?

Clairvoyance - Best on support, though not always used by supports.

Garrison - Wait, is this Dominion?

Resonating Strike is the ability I choose to level first, and max first as well. It gives you an ability to harass without giving yourself too much room to be counter-harassed.

This move is one that can start and end fights. As your enemies health declines, the secondary effect of Resonating Strike inflicts 8% of the targets missing health back onto them, dealing bonus damage.


At level 2, I grab Safeguard for an ability that gives me enough versatility to get away. Even under the effect of slow you can still dash at full speed. You can even continue traveling if stunned as you use safeguard.

Safeguard is good for harassing with little to no counter-harass.

As this can be used to harass, it can also be used to dodge hard cc. Safeguard can be the tool that wins your lane, so use it carefully and properly.

At level 3, I put a point into Tempest so I have the ability to do AoE damage that can be followed with a slow and granting me vision of the enemies struck temporarily.

I try to max Resonating Strike first due to it being one of Lee Sin's more higher priority damage dealing abilities.

Safeguard would be maxed next, and Tempest last.


Dragon's Rage. Perhaps one of my favoritest abilities. It allows Lee Sin to kick an enemy back in the direction he's facing. Much like Tristana, eh?

This ability allows you to get more damage off depending on how you use it.

If you kick an enemy back toward your team, or a turret, you're granting yourself the option to deal alot more damage with your Q and E, while being able to W if the enemy chooses to retaliate.

Also, if you use Dragon's Rage to knock an enemy back into a teammate, their teammate ALSO takes damage, and gets knocked up. This will disrupt your opponents a ton, if you manage to aim it straight at a ulting Karthus he'll be mad, I promise.

An interesting trick that you can use to deal alot of damage is to :

Tag a Sonic Wave onto an enemy

then proceed to kick the **** outta them with dragons rage

and finish off your combo with the secondary function of Sonic Wave.

This can very well be what will save you from dying while b'ing if the enemy is at half hp or less, and can easily turn the tides of a lost battle with a half hp nuke.

Instead of jumping straight into Trinity Force, sometimes you will need to get a Wriggle's Lantern after you get boots. This will allow free warding, good armor, lifesteal for sustain, and a small bit of damage.

Sheen steps up the majority of the damage output that Lee Sin can deal, since most of his attacks will be focused on melee, or just being in melee range.

Next, I would focus on a Phage. Considering the idea that you wouldn't be grabbing red buff, the Phage allows you to slow your targets consistantly with the attack speed passive from Flurry chained with Resonating Strike.

A Zeal would be next, but in most cases you should have enough to build the full Trinity Force.

Next, you'd want some damage and some life steal. This is where you grab a Vampiric Scepter and a B. F. Sword and create that Bloodthirster. 100 AD and 20% lifesteal when stacked up.

Next you would build the standard Atmogs, for increased survivability and damage. Atmog's consists of the two items Atma's Impaler and Warmog's Armor. After getting a fully stacked Warmog's Armor you'll be at around -3400- hp. This really decreases the reason to be focused, and punishes the opposing team for focusing you if they decide to.

Warmog's Armor will also increase your survivability by giving you +35 HP5 (Health per 5) at full stacks. This would be higher had they not recently nerfed the item.

The Atma's Impaler will increase your attack damage by around 50 AD. 50 AD combined with the rest of Atmas is a great reason to get this item. Atma's will also give you 18% critical chance, which will stack with your Trinity Force. A Resonating Strike into TF proc + crit deals massive damage, and is a force to be reckoned with. And if that doesn't sell you on Atmogs, you'll also get 45 armor from Atma's Impaler causing you to live a lot longer versus a -mostly- AD based team.

After that, you will get a situational Force of Nature or Thornmail. Another viable item for Lee Sin to counter an AD heavy team would be Randuin's Omen, because it will give you more HP5, Health, and has a Wither-like proc. But back to Thornmail.

Thornmail is one of my favorite items in the game, because the only thing stopping you from beating an opponent in a 1v1 could very well be his lifesteal. Well, when that particular AD focus's you, you're going to reduce his lifesteal by 30%, due to its reflected damage passive. Another interesting thing to think about with Thornmail is the 100 armor. The 100 armor will really up the anty on your AD survivability.

The reason why Thornmail is so viable versus AD's with high lifesteal is you're minimizing their lifesteal, and if that is the only reason they stay alive 75% of the time, you're really hurting their damage, and canceling out 30% of their lifesteal. This means if they were hitting you for 1000 damage crits, they'd be down to around 300 damage. If their lifesteal was 50% they'd be reduced to 20% lifesteal, giving you a larger chance of beating them. With this item, you'd be receiving 240 armor. Which is the equivalent of 70% damage reduction. This really really helps when you're fighting AD champions. With Thornmail you'll only be receiving 90 MR, ending in approximately 45% magic damage reduction.

Randuin's Omen is also very very good against teams with heavy auto attack damage. All you have to do is get in the middle of the other team and pop your randuin's and you already have given your team a heavy advantage. Randuin's will make your Atma's Impaler passive stronger, provide more HP, and health regeneration. Like Thornmail, Randuin's Omen also punishes AD carries who focus you. Randuin's will slow AND reduce attack speed by 35%. And, if you're hurting for CDR, randuin's will provide you with small CDR.

Force of Nature will definitely aid you when the enemy AP Carry gets fed, as it gives you the most MR (Magic Resistance) that you can get from an item. Not only that, with your high hp, though it is not very noticeable, the passive can definitely save you in a fight. It also could be the ending factor in life or death. You'll also get a decent amount of HP5, though the .35% hp1 is extremely useful. With this item, you'd receive 167 MR. 167 MR would give you approximately 63% AP damage reduction. With the Force of Nature situational build, that would leave you with 58% AD reduction, leaving you well balanced to stay in a fight.

Banshee's Veil is always a good item, though you'd be wasting the mana feature. Banshee's Veil has been the item that reactivated and blocked a skillshot that was in midair many many times. This item will also give you more health, causing your AD to raise slightly, and your tank factor to be increased a smidge. I'd take Force of Nature over Banshee's in many cases, but sometimes Banshee's is much more important to have.

Another good item to keep with you is a single sight ward to be used as an escape when no teammates are around to Safeguard, to keep you from burning a high cool-down Flash, or to have sight of a high priority area, such as the enenmy jungle, dragon, or baron.

This list will not be in alphabetical order. Only the order that I happen to fight against. It will be organized later.


Tryndamere - Wasn't much of a problem. His Undying Rage can become a gigantic ****wagon but a well placed Resonating Strike or an Ignite can finish him when done proper. To do this properly, make sure your teammates focus said Tryndamere, even if hes not that useful because as soon as he cleas up 5 people you'll be feeling his presence. Then, after he ults you'll see him in the fight for about 3-4 seconds, meaning you're going to want to tag him with a Sonic Wave or Ignite at around 2.5 seconds, the later with Ignite the better, just make sure he doesnt Bloodlust beforehand because that will end up killing your ignite and making you look stupid. After his Undying Rage is gone, you should either finish your Sonic Wave combo, or just leave him to die from your Ignite. This leaves him around 8 seconds to be in a fight, but possibly 1 or 2 if focused correctly.

Also, instead of HAVING to counter Undying Rage why don't you just keep him well harassed and make SURE he gets zoned, because his early = his late, as long as you counter him well in teamfights. If you keep him well harassed he will be less likely to initiate, and a lot less likely to initiate a fight that ends in his favor.


He will not always be slowed by your Tempest so he can be a pest, however this will nearly counter his Highlander attack speed for a few seconds, leaving his damage to be not quite so overpowered. Generally, a Yi will build squishy like most Tryndameres making harassing him quite easy, though he will have Meditate to bait you into a turret dive, or just to heal up. Wasting a Master Yis mana REALLY helps in lane versus him, leaving him less Alpha Strikes to farm and/or harass with.


Jax really is not a problem at all, if you're carefully aggressive. He WILL be stronger than you before you have a lifesteal item, and even though this isn't in the build, Wriggle's Lantern is very powerful. When you're fighting Jax you should be a little light on your usage of Safeguard as this can negate his one skill that makes him a good duelist. When he procs his dodge and walks toward you for a jump/stun, just Safeguard to the back of your creep wave and laugh at the usage of his mana. Now that he's on cooldowns, make your way around your creeps and counter-harass. If you can do this successfully to the point that you're significantly beating him in health and he's low on mana, shield a creep next to him, tag him with a Q, kick him toward your turret, and follow up with a Q. This will displace him and allow you to kill him in most cases. If you decide to build Wriggles, which is good, you can win just about every short exchange versus Jax. If you want to take the change and trust your skill enough with Lee, you can push your lane to assist in your denial of Jax's farm. This will get rid of a lane that your Jungler will need to gank, thus putting more pressure on other lanes. Just make sure you always keep one sight ward along with your Wriggles passive because you will need either an escape, or sight so you dont get ganked hard.


If you actually do end up getting a Kat to top lane, then all you really have to do to win is hyperpush. When doing this you deny Kat a huge amount of farm, as she can either use her skills to last hit your creeps under the turret, or she can use to harass you and she will most likely leave it for you. Basically all you need to do is farm up and harass as much as you can while being very wary of ganks due to you being pushed. Although ganks are fairly devastating, Lee Sin will normally escape because you can just Sonic Wave to the ganker who will most likely be behind you. After you do that ALL that is needed is a quick Safeguard to a far minion and you camp behind your turret and tag a Sonic Wave to help your turret's damage.

When trying to cs in lane and presented with a dilemma between caster or melee creep, you can Sonic Wave the creep taking less damage, last hit the other one, and activate your Q to make sure you get both of them.
When you cannot land a Q on a creep that you want to get and you're willing to give a cd for that, don't forget that you can Safeguard as a gap closer and pick up that creep.
A good farming technique a lot of high elos use is weakening all the minions around Lee Sin enough to pick them all up with a single tempest. Now while this is a strong way to farm, if you aren't careful you'll end up losing one or two, or possibly more in early game, to your creeps. So be careful when using this.

Ways you can use creeps to harass

A fun way to deny your laning opponent without pushing is to actually shield your creep right before he attacks it, and then potshot him a little bit when he's trying to get away.

Another thing you should think about when deciding which creep to kill is if you'll open up a clear path for your skillshot to hit the enemy. This can be a huge way to harass the enemy because they usually will not expect to get hit by that.

Jungling

Jungling can be done fairly easy. The only thing is you won't be doing it too early. Since this guide covers mainly Lane Sin, Blue and Red buff are optional. Dragon is entirely possible at around level 7-9 early when you have your lane buddy assisting you (only proven atm by Renekton assist, I tanked, and ended with around 60-65% hp, meaning it -could- have been done earlier, or done without a good 5 kills on bot lane)

Red buff will /definitely/ make your laning easier, as you can keep the enemy you're facerolling slowed.

Blue buff makes your energy charge at a faster rate, of about 7-8 energy per 0.7ish seconds (unproven).



When too low to lane and finish a level you could always hop to Golems or Wolves for the quick bit of experience and gold so that you can B with the level, gold, and -possibly- an item you wouldn't of been able to buy without.

This isnt completely finished but I would like some feedback. This was written about 4-5 months ago, so I tried to update everything. I hope this guide helped you extend your senses.