Ezreal Build Guide by Booshido

Introduction

Updating this over time, with working ezreal builds, for fed/farmed / behind situations.

Ezreal - The Prodigal Explorer.

Thanks to Searz for the awesome guide format!

I will not go through what the abilities do. It can easily be learned by reading the ability tooltips and simply using the spell.

Mouse-over any items or abilities to see their tooltip.

Legend

Ezreal

Booshido's AP Ezreal

Pros & Cons

Pros

Cons

What and why

This is a short guide on how I play Ezreal. I play him as a ranged DPS carry, focusing on farming early game, ganking, sniping, carrying, through mid and late game. Having strong early game burst while being a safe keep away character with amazing late-game damage from auto attacks as well as his Mystic Shot

Masteries

So 21 in Offence will always be the best, the question is what to do with the other 9 points?

Well, you can do 9 in defence:
Summoner's Resolve x1
Hardiness x3
Durability x4
Veteran's Scars x1
You Can also go 9 in Utility:
Summoner's Insight x1
Expanded Mind x3
Improved Recall x1
Meditation x3
Runic Affinity x1

Or something between the two, whatever you are more comfortable with.


"Why no points in Sunder mang?" Well, I prefer Havoc 1.5 % dmg > 6 armour pen. When you have AD marks and quints, why bother with mastery, getting LW anyway.

preference.

Runes

Greater Mark of Desolation Greater Mark of Desolation Probably the best Marks in the game, allows your auto attacks to penetrate armour, aswell as Mystic Shot Greater Seal of clarity Let's be quite honest Ezreal has very poor mana regen, and hes a champion that can spam spells, this helps. Flat Armor is also a good choice

Greater Glyph of Clarity People say it's a waste, but it's what I use. Flat magic resistance and Flat Cooldown Reduction is also good. Greater Quintessence of Desolation Greater Quintessence of Desolation More Armour Pen! Movespeed or Flat health are also two great choices.

Greater Mark of Strength Flat AD, good all stages of the game, great for csing, and Q dmg. Mystic Shot Greater Seal of Resilience Flat Armour, Early game defence against your enemy AD / Creeps.

Greater Glyph of Warding Same as Seals really, reducing damage from enemy skills and mid mage ganks. Greater Quintessence of Strength Same as Marks.

Mix n' Match

Summoner Spells

Recommended:

Ghost Move speed boost and can move through units, allows to chase, escape, position, etc. Flash Best Summoner spell in the game by far, chase, escape, get positioned, flash walls, flash out of certain ults.

Cleanse much shorter cooldown then and this with ghost or Flash and your Arcane shift, you have everyform of escape.

Exhaust Reduces 80% of targets damage. Deny nuke/ult/aoe champs from killing everything. Allows you to 1v1 champs that get into melee range of you. Ignite True Damage nuke, Halfs healing, great with Exhaust to secure First Blood.

Skills & Skill Sequence

Level 1 Mystic Shot


Trueshot Barrage Max


Mystic Shot Max


Arcane Shift Max


Essence Flux Max

Mystic Shot Single target skill shot, hits everything, applies on hit effects e.g. lifesteal / Sheen. All skills get their cooldown reduced if this skill hits something even Mystic Shot itself.

Essence Flux In an AD build this is used for the buff / debuff of attack speed great to 1v1 other dps champs slowing their attack speed or using it on your team that's pushing the tower with you. (gives passive stacks per person encounterd, regardless of team)

Arcane Shift Flash / Blink / Get out of jail free card. Can blink over certain walls.

Trueshot Barrage Across map ult, Sniping skill, though as this is a AD build and this based on AP you won't get it's full damage. good for clearing minons to push you're lane or to clear minions pushing one of you're towers. relatively short cooldown.

Standard items

Last Whisper I Build this a lot, gives insane % Penetration for your auto attacks and Q really increases your damage when champions start stacking armour. Ionian Boots of LucidityCooldown Reduction, 15%, More allows more spam of skills, altough Mystic Shot already reduces cooldowns.

The Brutalizer Bought for armour pen with your Q, cd reduction early/mid game. sold late game as Youmuu's Ghostbladeisn't great for ranged Carries (Active doesnt reset, 4secs max). B. F. Sword Not BF Sword as much the 3 important items it builds into: Infinity Edge The AD carry item. Crit dmg/high AD/crit chance. The Bloodthirster Highest AD When fully built, great life steal that can keep you staying out a long time, I would only choose this for the lifesteal part of the item, you will lose the stacks if you die and can be a real pain. The Black Cleaver Shred armour on hit, attack speed and semi decent AD, good for lowering tank armour for team. Banshee's Veil Thee defence item.

Quicksilver Sash If you are not taking Cleanse then this item must be taken instead of Banshee. A gamechanging stun or suppression wont be game changing. Trinity Force no need for explain what this does, build from Phage Makes you're Mystic Shot hit that much harder, ultimate ezreal item. AD, Slow, Mobility, MP, HP, Crit.

Optional items

Doran's Blade Building two or even three on rare occasions is a good idea. Manemune This has to be rushed ASAP to be quite viable throughout the game, if you dont have mana regen runes i suggest building this item, it's Cheap for the AD you get out of it, and ezreal is quite good at building the manapool due to his spam.

Wriggle's Lantern Cheap, Insane Sustain throughout the game, armour, ad, lifesteal, on hit effects (Q) etc etc.. this items op no matter how much its nerfed.

Berserker's Greaves Gives good Attack speed combined with your passive, your items aim for damage so this is a key attack speed part of your item build. Mercury's TreadsHeavy CC team? Heavy AP Team? Know they will do anything they can to focus you? Get these!

Laning phase

Buy a You're Item / 's and prepare to cover you're teams jungler at the main entrances to Blue golem and Lizard.

Curret Meta: Bot Lane with support.

Last Hitting / CS

Teamfights and lategame

By now you should have Boots, atleast one full item and building others and ganking and helping other lanes should be what you're trying to fight towards. make sure mid is pushed a lot before you decide to leave mid to help the team. Always Ward dragon if you're team has not. Make sure you have cover/help from bot lane(duo lane) when attempting dragon, this will provide support if the enemy team approaches, leave it if you are outnumbered. Push mid and bot lane with you're team and provide constant DPS on towers and champs but not getting too close

1v1's and Kiting
Ezreal is a very good 1v1 champ providing it's not against a champion that can close the gap like you should be getting the lizard buff past lvl 6 when you're jungler may not need it. Lizard buff or allow you to kite the enemy with ease, simply unload on them if they get too close, away and keep pounding on them, slowing their attack speed with essense flux and you should have no problems.

Hextech Gunblade Active, allows for amazing kiting with the insane slow.

Clear creep waves on towers, last hit the runners, and aim just behind tower if fog of war for the noob returning there, as this is not an AP build Trueshot doesn't give you all it's damage but it still provides a decent amount with the 15% spell pen mastery.


Team fights
Never intiate as Ezreal you are here to ***inate their ranged carry. Don't Arcane shift into the fight unless you are 100% sure the enemy team won't all suddenly focus you. At the start of a team fight to give you max stacks on you're passive, giving you an extra 50% attack speed in a team fight.
Mystic shot when you can at the enemy but it is you're auto attacks that kill the enemy carry in a couple of seconds, Mystic shot is there to give you more attack speed from youre passive, it will hit their meat shield most of the time in a team fight, losing key damage on the squishies.
If anymore then 1 person focuses you in a team fight simply out then run back in when they have left you alone.

-Warding baron is more of a priority then dragon at this stage.

Testing. Thoughts. Changes. Patches.

Build 1 - Doran's Blade - Boots of Speed - Madred's Razors - Wriggle's Lantern - Ionian Boots of Lucidity - Recurve Bow - Madred's Bloodrazor - Last Whisper - Trinity Force - Banshee's Veil

Build 2 - Doran's Blade - Boots of Speed - Madred's Razors - Wriggle's Lantern - Berserker's Greaves - Trinity Force - The Black Cleaver - Madred's Bloodrazor - Banshee's Veil

Need to try a Complete AD build - I.E - Last Whisper - Black Clever - Bloodthirster.

Build 3 - Doran's Blade - Serk greaves - Tri force - IE - Last Whisper - Bloodthirster - Banshee.

Build 4 - Doran's Blade - Zerks - Sheen - Brut - Thirster - Whisper - Banshee - Thirster.

Build 5 - Doran's Blade - CD Boots - Triforce - IE - Banshee - Whisper - Other

Build 6 - Doran's Blade - CD boots - Manamune - Sheen - Brut - Madreds Brzor - sell brut - Banshee - Tri force - Gunblade

Build 7 - Boots, 3Pots - Manamune - CD Boots - Vamp Scepter - Triforce - Gunblade - Banshee - Madred's Bloodrazor.

Summary

Play safe.
Last hit.
Don't over extend.
Buy wards.
Don't stay OOM (out of mana)
Tomatoes.



Thanks to Searz for theory crafting and guide layout.

13/12/2011: Unarchived, and gradually updating =]
10/02/12: Editting builds. Editting text. Simplyfing. Removing pointless ****.