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Elise Build Guide by Lauge99

AP Offtank Elise, the Arachnid Queen... of Spiders (AP Tank Jungle)

AP Offtank Elise, the Arachnid Queen... of Spiders (AP Tank Jungle)

Updated on October 12, 2013
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League of Legends Build Guide Author Lauge99 Build Guide By Lauge99 15 1 326,406 Views 33 Comments
15 1 326,406 Views 33 Comments League of Legends Build Guide Author Lauge99 Elise Build Guide By Lauge99 Updated on October 12, 2013
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Introduction

Whether you want to be in the top or middle lane, in the jungle or as a supporter, Elise will do the job properly.
Elise's Neurotoxin and Venomous Bite do not scale very well with Ability Power, but that does not matter when she deals damage depending on the target's current/missing health. It does not matter if your target has 2000 Health or 746.152.847 Health. Their Magic Resistance is the only thing protecting them - so let's tear it down! Screw Ability Power! Magic Penetration, that's what we want! That's our source of damage. Buying an Ability Power items is simply not worth it, if it doesn't grant Magic Penetration - or makes you tanky. While Elise's abilities - of course - will benefit from Ability Power, it is not the essential stat.
When we've got the basic Magic Penetration items, it's time to look for ways to survive team fights.

In this guide I will teach you how to play Elise as a jungler who can survive a rough beating while maintaining the ability to deal quite a lot of damage!
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Why Elise in the Jungle? Pros and Cons

Pros

  • + Amazing burst damage - Anti Tank
  • + Strong ganks and difficult to catch
  • + Can be quite tanky
  • + Great sustain while in Spider Form
  • + Strong early-mid game
  • + Very strong 1v1 fights

Cons

  • - Takes some time to get used to
  • - Vulnerable when abilities are on cooldown
  • - Your late-game usefulness depends on early kills/assists
  • - Not very useful against multiple targets
  • - Scares people with arachnophobia
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Abilities - What they do and how to use them properly


Transform - R
This ability is what makes Elise such a unique champion. In fact, only two other champions ( Nidalee and Jayce) have transform abilities. With this ability, Elise can become a melee burst-assassin with an incredible gap-closer (explained later) and back into a ranged mage with just as high burst-damage and a stun. It basically allows her to switch between two sets of abilities. Also, transforming into a Spider summons Spiderlings to her side as well (explained below). Note that Elise's arachnid abilities do not cost any mana.




Spider Swarm
Elise's passive ability allows her to summon a swarm of spiders, when she transforms into Spider Form. Every ability that hits an enemy (or a minion or jungle monster etc.) while in Human Form allows her to summon an additional Spiderling up to a cap that increases, as you upgrade Spider Form / Human Form. If you transform back into Human Form, the remaining Spiderlings (those that were not killed) will disappear and return upon transforming into Spider Form again.
Your Spiderlings are very important! If you can get them to tank the jungle monsters, you can avoid taking damage for a few seconds which combined with the healing effect from Skittering Frenzy allows you to save some of your Health Potions for later.
Spiderlings also allow you to do some quick physical damage - useful when taking down a Turret.
Lastly, they are great for blocking skill shots. Imagine being chased by a team with a Blitzcrank ready to Rocket Grab you. A quick transform and he ends up grabbing one of your Spiderlings instead and you can laugh your butt off while recalling in the nearby brush. Remember, though, that not all skill shots can be blocked in this manner. Abilities like Ezreal's Trueshot Barrage and Lux's Final Spark will pass right through them.




Neurotoxin - Q
Neurotoxin is available in Human Form and deals base damage plus a percentage of the enemy's current Health. This means, that the more Health an opponent has, the more damage this ability deals.
Elise is an anti-tank. At level 1, this ability deals 40 + 8% of the enemy's current Health as Magic Damage. Imagine casting it on an opponent with 300 Health. That's 40 + 0.08*300 = 64 damage. That's not too much.
Now imagine casting it on an enemy with 4000 Health. By the time an enemy has that much Health, your Neurotoxin will have reached rank 5 and deal 200 base damage. I'll do the math: 200 + 0.08*4000 = 520 Damage. And that's not even counting the extra damage you will deal due to the Ability Power you have obtained. This ability is your main source of damage when in Human Form.



Venomous Bite - Q
Venomous Bite is available in Spider Form and is basically a reversed Neurotoxin. Instead of dealing damage based on your enemy's CURRENT Health, it deals damage based on the enemy's MISSING Health, which means that it deals more damage than Neurotoxin when your target is below 50% Health. It also has a higher base damage than Neurotoxin. This ability is your main source of damage while in Spider Form.
On thing to note is, that you will do a short leap to the target, which allows you to catch up to an enemy that is just out of reach. Your Spiderlings leap as well no matter how far away they are.




Volatile Spiderling - W
This ability is available in Human Form and summons a Volatile Spiderling that skitters in the direction you cast it and explodes on contact with an enemy/neutral unit dealing damage in an area. If it reaches its destination without exploding, it will chase nearby enemies. If not touched, it will explode after 3 seconds.
The fact that it chases enemies after skittering for the full length of the skill shot allows you to do damage from a great distance in case you need to poke. It allows you to check the brush too. Also, the Volatile Spiderling is a Spiderling too, meaning that it will leap towards your target if you transform and cast Venomous Bite. Note, though, that even while leaping, it does not ignore unit collision - the Volatile Spiderling will not always reach the target of Venomous Bite.
This ability has a higher base damage than the two previous abilities, and it scales fairly well with Ability Power too.



Skittering Frenzy - W
This ability is available in Spider Form and grants you and your Spiderlings Attack Speed while healing you with each hit done by you or a Spiderling. Passively, your Spiderlings' Attack Speed is increased by up to 25%. This ability is what makes Elise an excellent jungler. It quickly takes down the jungle monsters and the healing effect greatly increases Elise's sustain and allows her to stay in the jungle for longer. It is also useful when taking down a tower.




Cocoon - E
This ability is available in Human Form and is one of Elise's gank tools. It's simple: it stuns your enemy for 1.5 seconds and also reveals them for the duration, which means that you can also use this ability to see if an enemy is hiding in the brush. Aim before casting! Cocoon is a skill shot and missing your target can be critical. It is great when chasing or being chased.



Rappel - E
This ability is available in Spider Form and is Elise's second gank tool. It has a very long range and reveals nearby enemies - even if they are in the brush. This means that you can perform a surprising assassination from behind a wall or from the nearby brush.
When cast on the ground, Elise lift herself and her Spiderlings into the air, becoming untargetable for up to 2 seconds (meaning, that she can avoid all abilities. Even Karthus' Requiem won't do any damage). While untargetable, you can cast Rappel again to descend upon an enemy/neutral unit.
If cast directly on a unit, she will lift and immediately descend upon the it. Uses for this ability will be explained in the chapter below.


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Jungling and Ganking

Your Role as the Jungler

Some people think that the jungler is supposed to babysit the whole map - all three lanes - however, that is not possible. While a jungler sure can carry a team, it is not his responsibility to win the individual lanes. Sometimes it simply isn't possible to gank a lane successfully, either because your team is pushing too much, or because all the possible ganking routes are crowded with Sight Wards. You are NOT the babysitter. Your job is to help your team mates win their lanes, but if the AD Carry is a really, REALLY bad last-hitter, you alone are not going to save the lane entirely. Everyone has to do their job.

It is not uncommon that the team starts blaming other team members for losing the game - that's one thing. Something I hate even more is when people accuse me of kill stealing when I gank their lane. Of course, the gold earned from kills will benefit the team much more, if the carries for instance get more than the support. Having a fed support and a hopeless AD Carry is not going to win the game. However, if the ganked enemy is about to escape, you better cast that last-hitting Venomous Bite, if it secures the kill. Otherwise, he might get away and neither you nor your mate will me rewarded with anything. 'Kill steal' if necessary.

Some junglers aren't supposed to get kills. As a Maokai or Malphite you're some sort of support-jungler. However, as Nocturne, Diana, Lee Sin, Kha'Zix or Elise you're an assassin. You deal loads of damage, and the items needed are not that expensive. An early kill or two will help you in the mid-game and also make it easier to gank in the future. But, of course, don't steal every kill, unless it is necessary. Your mates need gold too.

Jungling

Start with the Ancient Golem and be careful! The enemy team might attempt to counter-jungle by stealing the Blue Buff from the Ancient Golem . Do NOT use Smite to last-hit the big guy if not absolutely necessary, as you will need it to kill the Elder Lizard afterwards. The Golem and the Lizard spawn when the timer hits 1:55. Spend your time wisely until it spawns by securing your jungle not letting anyone in. Hide in the brush around the river and look out for trouble.
After killing both buff monsters, move on to the wraiths or the small golems. Be sure to be at least level 3 before attempting a gank - unless you see a really good opportunity and decide to throw a point in Cocoon at level 2.

As a rule of thumb it is a good idea to focus the largest monster when clearing a jungle camp. Kill the big wolf before taking care of the small ones - kill the big wraith before taking care of the small ones. This is especially important when dealing with a creature that grants a buff. However, I find that you take less damage from the small Golems, if you kill the small one before the bigger one. That's because the small one is really easy to take down quickly - and when it's dead, it can't hurt you.

After clearing the jungle, you're free to do what you want. If there are any ganking opportunities, don't hesitate to gank the lane. If all lanes are pushed and no one from your team is having any difficulties, just stay in the jungle and keep clearing the camps to earn gold and experience.

In order to clear the camps as fast as possible, start in Human Form and spam your abilities (not Cocoon, of course, unless your really want to ready another spiderling with Spider Queen), and then switch to Spider Form. This is also how you want to gank.

IMPORTANT: Sometimes NOT clearing the jungle camps can save your life. Rappel grants vision and can be cast on the monsters, which means that you can jump over walls. If a team fight is about to begin, don't kill those wraiths just yet. Instead, Rappel to them, when you're low and deny the kill.

Ganking


Common ganking skill combo:

--> --> --> --> --> and occasionally and or

When ganking a lane, try to land your Cocoon on the enemy before engaging. Then, quickly cast Neurotoxin and Volatile Spiderling. These abilities should already have convinced the enemy, that he has to attempt an escape. But that's not gonna happen, is it? >:D
Switch to Spider Form and cast Skittering Frenzy and Venomous Bite. The enemy should be pretty low now, and if he is about to get away, cast Rappel to close the gap. Sometimes you can even Rappel an enemy who just cast Flash trying to escape.
Neurotoxin should be ready again, and even though it will not deal as much damage as the first time it was cast, it will probably be enough to finish him off. When ganking a lane, you're typically 2 vs. 1 or 3 vs. 2, and that is a huge disadvantage for the enemy, because he's outnumbered and takes more damage than you do (this, of course, also applies when an enemy is ganking).
Sometimes, the enemy has pushed so far that you don't need to cast an initiating Cocoon. Instead, burst him down and cast Cocoon when he's about to get away.

Map Awareness

Some would say that the jungler is the most difficult role to play in a game of Summoner's Rift. This is because he has to 'know' exactly what happens in 'every' part of the map. While you can't actually know what happens in the fog of war, you can figure some out. Notice how your enemies behave - especially their jungler! What is he trying to do, and can you stop him from achieving anything? Counter-jungling is annoying. Seriously, I hate it when either the Ancient Golem or the Elder Lizard gets stolen - and you shouldn't let that happen. Don't let the big Buff-granting monsters stand waiting in the jungle for too long after respawning, 'cause they might just be killed by the enemy jungler. It is a good idea to Sight Ward or maybe even Vision Ward these camps as well as Baron Nashor and the Dragon .
Knowing where the enemy jungler is helps a lot because it allows you to counter-gank, push a Turret etc. For instance: If the enemy jungler ganks the top lane, you know that he won't be around to counter-gank the mid or bot lanes. If you pay attention to the enemy jungler, you might be able to steal one of his buffs or prevent him from stealing one of your's.
Map awareness is crucial and is difficult to achieve without wards. Remember that the Support isn't the only player responsible for map vision. It is a good idea to ward certain locations as a jungler, because you're pretty much all over the map. Buff monsters camps, the Dragon and Baron Nashor are important locations to have vision. You can also ward the mid lane brush to prevent a successful gank by the enemy jungler.
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Skill Sequence

Ability Sequence
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
This is how you want to spend your points. Volatile Spiderling and Skittering Frenzy helps clearing the first jungle camps a lot faster while also healing Elise with each auto attack done by her or her spiderlings. Thereafter you'll want a point in Neurotoxin/ Venomous Bite to clear the remaining jungle camps even faster. Cocoon and Rappel are your ganking tools, so you should learn these skills at level 3 (or level 2 if you prefer to gank early) and max them last.
Neurotoxin and Venomous Bite are your primary damage sources and that's why they should be maxed as early as possible. Thereafter, max Volatile Spiderling and Skittering Frenzy to boost your damage even more. Lastly, max Cocoon and Rappel to decrease their cooldown. Don't forget, though, to put a point in Spider Form / Human Form at level 6, 11, and 16 to increase your maximum number of Spiderlings and also gain some Armor and Magic Resistance.

Remember: the higher the Health of the opponent, the more damage is done by Neurotoxin - and the lower the Health of the opponent, the more damage is done by Venomous Bite. That means that your burst damage will be maximized, if you start in Human Form and switch to Spider Form, when the enemy is below 50% Health.
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Items

Starting Items

You are the jungler, so start with Hunter's Machete and 5 Health Potions. Alternatively, you can start with Cloth Armor instead of the Machete - their costs are the same - which provides more survivability but doesn't clear the jungle as fast.

Early Game

You should be able to stay on the battlefield until you've got about 1000-2000 gold - if you gank and pick up a kill (or even an assist), it shouldn't be difficult. If you have 1100 gold, buy Sorcerer's Shoes right away! If you don't have quite enough, buy Boots and a Ruby Crystal or Amplifying Tome. The next time you return to the base, you should have enough to buy either Sorcerer's Shoes or Haunting Guise. The shoes will greatly increase your ganking potential, because it grants both Movement Speed and Magic Penetration. If you rush for the Guise, you'll be more durable, but the lack of movement speed might make it more difficult to gank, if the enemy you're attempting to take down has bought and upgraded boots. It shouldn't make that much of a difference, though. You'll get both items in no time.

Mid Game

Now is the time to pres Tab. Which opponent is hitting harder, and are they dealing physical or magic damage? Your choice of defensive items is important, and it has to match the enemies' damage types.




Spirit Visage

This Items is great when dealing with heavy bursts of Magic Damage. Not only does it grant 55 Magic Resistance - it also grants 200 Health, 20% Cooldown Reduction and makes Heals and Regeneration effects on yourself 20% more powerful. The cooldowns on Cocoon and Rappel are quite long, and reducing it is always a good idea, because it increases your ganking and escape potential. The increased healing increases the Health granted by Skittering Frenzy by... well, not so much, but it will still be useful, when you get Warmog's Armor later on.




Frozen Heart

If the enemy AD Carry scares you, this item helps nicely. 95 Armor is quite a lot and you also get 400 Mana and 20% Cooldown Reduction. You'll never have Mana problems and your cooldowns are only 4/5 of what they were. The most awesome thing about this item, though, is the Unique Passive. It's basically a debuff aura that causes enemies to hit slower. This item makes a big difference in team fights - especially because Elise can't do much against multiple targets. Frozen Heart is a great way of supporting your team because you decrease the enemies' damage output from basic attacks.
Alternatively, you can buy Iceborn Gauntlet. It does not provide as much Armor and Cooldown Reduction, but the Spellblade effect increases your ganking potential by causing an AoE (Area of Effect) damage and slow. You get 30 Ability Power too. While Magic Penetration is definitely more efficient, Ability power doesn't hurt. 30 Ability power doesn't do too much, it's fine.



Remember that you will have the maximum amount of Cooldown Reduction if you chose to buy both Spirit Visage and Frozen Heart (it caps at 40%). Your Cocoon's cooldown should be 6 seconds and Rappel's cooldown should be 10.8 seconds at max rank. But those are just the escape/chase tools. Cooldown Reduction also increases your damage output. Neurotoxin and Venomous Bite can both be cast once every 3.6 seconds at max rank. Decrease your cooldowns and watch your damage skyrocket!




Giant's Belt

If the enemy team's Magic and Physical Damage are equally powerfull (or powerless) and you can't decide which of the items you want, get some Health instead. Giant's Belt is generally good, and you'll need it later for Warmog's Armor and/or Sunfire Aegis too. Health protects against both types of damage (True Damage too, actually) and you can decide between Armor and Magic Resistance later.




Sunfire Cape

I've been asked why I don't buy Sunfire Aegis and I can see why people wonder 'cause it's actually a really good item both offensively and defensively. A 40 Magic Damage per second aura is extremely good. It helps you clear the jungle faster and deal more damage when ganking. Do you remember those times an enemy just escaped past the turret with less than 40 health? One second in your aura and that would not have happened.
Sunfire Aegis does not grant as much armor as Frozen Heart but it grants Health. This means, that while Frozen Heart does not protect you from Magic Damage AT ALL(!), Sunfire Aegis does, simply because it increases your life total.
The main reason why I usually don't purchase this item is because it does not grant any Cooldown Reduction which is very important on Elise. Your won't get the Unique Passive from Frozen Heart either and that can be crucial in team fights. But Sunfire Aegis allows you to deal some extra damage while also making you more durable. Choose wisely!




Randuin's
Omen

Randuin's Omen is a viable option too. Defensively, it is much better than Sunfire Aegis and the Unique Passive is similar to that of Frozen Heart. Bear in mind, though, that the Attack Speed reduction only applies to those attacking you which makes it useless if you're not focused in team fights. Randuin's Omen should be chosen if you don't care about Cooldown Reduction, get focused in team fights and want some extra Health. Like Sunfire Aegis, Randuin's Omen is an Armor item that protects you from Magic Damage because it increases your Health total. And for God's sake, remember to use the Unique Active ability! I'm really good at forgetting about it. Don't make the same mistake. :D




Warmog's
Armor

By the time you have bought a Magic Resistance item and an Armor item, the best way to remain tanky in the late game is to even further increase your Health total unless one damage type on the enemy team is extraordinarily powerful. Warmog's Armor is without doubt the best Health item in the game. It also increases your Health Regeneration and therefore it is great to have along with Spirit Visage.




Late Game

When you've built similarly to this: Sorcerer's Shoes, Haunting Guise, Spirit Visage, Frozen Heart, Warmog's Armor, you should not easily be taken down. You might as well further increase your damage.




Liandry's Torment

Upgrade Haunting Guise to Liandry's Torment. The Unique Passive burns your enemies based on their current Health - and the effect is DOUBLED, if the movement of your target is impaired. A simple Slow will do the job. That's why this item combos greatly with Rylai's Crystal Scepter or Iceborn Gauntlet. If you already have lots of armor, you should not buy the Gauntlet. It'll be a waste of gold, because Armor and Magic Resistance is less effective if you already have loads. It's called 'diminishing returns'. You can look it up if you want more information on the subject. If you want the extra damage from Liandry's Torment and you have lots of armor, buy the the crystal scepter. That's not your only option, though.



Abyssal Scepter


OR



Void Staff


These items are very similar. They both grant you 70 Ability Power - so that's a tie. Void Staff gives you Magic Penetration and Abyssal Mask reduces the Magic Resistance of nearby enemies. Soo, what's the big difference? I'll tell ya: the Magic Penetration will probably make you hit a lot harder. The Magic Resistance Reduction Aura, though, will make you AND your allies hit harder - when dealing Magic Damage - because the effect does not apply to your attacks, but simply decreases enemies' Magic Resistance. YOU will hit hardest with Void Staff, but if some of your allies are bursting with magic damage Abyssal Mask would help the team much more. But to be honest, I doubt they'll hit much harder than you do. The Void Staff is probably the best choice if you want to deal even heavier damage - unless you want Rylai's Crystal Scepter to boost the burn effect from Liandry's Torment. But Abyssal Mask also grants 45 Magic Resistance. Without it, Spirit Visage is the only Magic Resistance item in the build, and it might be necessary to buy some more, if the enemy AP Carry is hitting hard. In that case, Abyssal Mask will probably prove to be more useful than Void Staff. If you REALLY wanna be annoying, get both and watch 'em melt! >:D The choice is yours!




Deathfire Grasp

I mentioned earlier that I won't bother buying Ability Power items on Elise unless they grant Magic Penetration or defensive stats. This item does neither of those things, but I like it anyway. The reason is this: it grants 120 Ability Power which is quite a lot from one item. That means that it will increase the damage of Neurotoxin and Venomous Bite by an additional 3.6% of of the target's current/missing Health. The active ability of Deathfire Grasp is basically a buffed version of Neurotoxin dealing an immense 15% f the target's maximum Health as magic Damage, but ALSO increases the Magic Damage taken by the target by 20% for 4 seconds - meaning that not only you but your Magic Damage dealing allies will benefit from it too. Remember that the active ability itself will benefit from Magic Penetration. You can consider it Elise's 'missing ultimate' if you choose to get it. It's basically another ability that scales well with Magic Penetration. This is how you should use the item:
Engage the fight with Cocoon and Neurotoxin to make it deal the highest possible amount of damage. Then cast Deathfire Grasp. The rest of your combo should now have its damage increased by 20%. Volatile Spiderling, Spider Form, Venomous Bite, Skittering Frenzy. They should be devastated unless they're REALLY stacking Magic Resistance in which case you should get Void Staff. Deathfire Grasp can also be used as a nasty finishing move. Note that it has a longer range than Neurotoxin making it possible to deal heavy damage from afar.



You're probably wondering: "What about the Machete?"


Sometimes I sell it - sometimes I upgrade it. These are the useful items it can be upgraded into: Spirit of the Spectral Wraith and Spirit of the Ancient Golem.
The Wraith is great because it gives Spell Vamp. You deal a lot of damage, and you heal yourself for 20% of the Magic Damage dealt with this item (actually, it's 24% with Spirit Visage). However, if you're concerned about Crowd Control, the Golem will do the job. Tenacity is very useful and on top of that, you get 500 Health, 10 Cooldown Reduction, 14 Health Regeneration and 7 Mana Regeneration every 5 seconds. The Wraith is for the swift assassin. The Golem is for the durable assassin. Which are you in THIS game?
Remember that both of these items grant you the last 10% Cooldown Reduction, if you chose to get Iceborn Gauntlet instead of Frozen Heart.
These items are completely optional, though there are only few efficient ways to gain Tenacity - the most efficient being Spirit of the Ancient Golem. I rarely buy them, but occasionally, they can be useful.
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Items Continued: Deadly or Durable?

Like I said in the introduction: Elise is a deadly off-tank. But sometimes, you might want to build her with more damage items than usual. I am sure most of you are familiar with the term 'snowballing', but I'll take the liberty of explaining it anyway.
Basically, 'snowballing' is when a champion gets an early kill or two, thereby gain more gold than the other players, and as a result become very powerful compared to team mates and enemies alike. Their power will typically grow exponentially - much like a snowball rolling down a snowy hill - hence the name.
Sometimes, I get up to 5 (maybe more) early kills on Elise and spending all the gold on defensive items is a waste in such a situation. If YOU'RE the one who does the most damage, go get that Void Staff or Deathfire Grasp, 'cause in 'snowballing' situations, damage will help your team much more.
The 'ideal' damage build on Elise would be this: Sorcerer's Shoes, Liandry's Torment, Rylai's Crystal Scepter, Deathfire Grasp, Void Staff and Abyssal Mask. The reason this build is not among those at the top of the page, is because you will simply die too quickly - unless you're really, really, really (REALLY!) snowballing.
But in situations where you don't get any early kills - and that happens - don't buy too many damage items, 'cause you'll most likely end up feeding the enemy team. Buying defensive items is always the safe option while damage items are more risky to build because you leave less space for defensive ones. Just remember that the safe option isn't always the best one.
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Masteries

The only thing we want in the Offense tree is the Magic Penetration. 8% is quite a lot, considering you don't have to spend a single piece of gold to get it.
The rest of the point should be put into the Defense tree. You're the jungler, so you'll want Tough Skin and Bladed Armor , but the rest is up to you. I usually go with Masteries as shown above and below, but it all depends on how you want to play. Example:
If you are not concerned about enemy Crowd Control, then Tenacious is a waste of points, while Juggernaut would provide you with more health - and that could come in handy in intense team fights.
If you're worried about an enemy Tryndamere or Ashe, Reinforced Armor can save your life, because those champions passively get Critical Strike Chance.
If you want to be able to tower dive early on, Safeguard might shield you from that otherwise fatal turret shot (the fact that Lee Sin's W has the same name as the Mastery causes a problem here).
This is what I recommend, but you can always adjust it to your play style.
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Runes


Magic Penetration

I've talked enough about Magic Penetration. I don't think I even have to explain why Greater Mark of Magic Penetration is the best choice.




Armor

This is a jungle guide, and monsters deal some damage early on, but fear not! Greater Seal of Armor is here to save you!




Magic Resistance

As for Glyphs, you'll want some Magic Resist. You can buy flat ones if you like, but Greater Glyph of Scaling Magic Resist works better for me, because they're better than the flat ones during the late game. Actually, they'll be better around level 9.




Movement Speed

I used to go with Greater Quintessence of Armor to take less damage from the jungle camps and thereby be able to delay the first recall. It works great, but people were arguing if it was the most efficient way to go. So I did some testing. I found out, that while in the jungle, the Quintessences don't really matter. Weirdly enough, the clear times with the different runes were exactly the same.
I know that Armor and Magic Penetration don't affect the clear time, because Armor doesn't do damage and neither does Magic Penetration, because the monsters have no Magic Resistance to penetrate. I would have thought, though, that Movement Speed would speed up the process, but it really doesn't do any noticeable difference. So I conclude, that your Quintessences should be chosen depending on how you want to play.
While Greater Quintessence of Armor of course decreases the damage taken from monsters and therefore allows you to stay in the jungle for longer, it also decreases the Physical Damage you take from other sources such as other champions. It isn't much, though.
If you want to do successful ganks early (and why wouldn't you?), the Greater Quintessence of Movement Speed will help you catch up to a fleeing enemy. I just hate it, when that squishy Annie is just out of range of Rappel and you can't catch her before she reaches the Turret. Well, this might not be a problem anymore.
Elise is not so strong in the late-game and if you're concerned about that, the Greater Quintessence of Magic Penetration is probably the way to go.


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Summoner Spells


Smite

You're the jungler - pick Smite. Some would argue, that Shaco and Nunu & Willump (and probably other champions as well) can jungle without it, but I would not recommend trying that with Elise. It is very important to clear the Ancient Golem and Elder Lizard as fast as possible because their buffs increase your damage output and make it easier to gank successfully. Smite allows you to do 490-1000 True Damage depending on your level, and therefore it is very important in the early game.




Flash

Even with Cocoon and Rappel it will sometimes be impossible to escape when caught, but Flash might just do the trick. By moving towards a wall and Flashing to the other side you can avoid taking fatal damage. Remember that you can also use this spell offensively. Just don't waste your precious spell if you can't land a Cocoon or Rappel on the enemy you're attempting to kill anyway.
If you want, you can replace Flash with Ghost. In my opinion, it is not as effective, but it has a shorter cooldown, so you'll be able to use it more often. If you decide to go with Ghost, you'll want to put a mastery point into Summoner's Wrath to increase the Movement Speed bonus. You'll only have 3 points in Sorcery but it doesn't make that big of a difference. You'll probably have 40% Cooldown Reduction (which is the cap) in the late-game anyway.




Ignite

If you chose Ignite, be sure to play safely. Ignite should never replace Smite, and that leaves Flash to be the only option left. You won't be able to escape as easily, 'cause you'll need to rely on Cocoon and Rappel when escaping. Therefore you should be really, REALLY (REALLY!!) careful when ganking. If you engage with Cocoon and finish your enemy by casting Rappel followed by other abilities, your chances of escaping a counter-gank are dramatically decreased. Generally, I wouldn't bother to replace Flash with anything, but this guide is just a compilation of my ideas and opinions; you can always adjust everything to your play-style.




Exhaust

If you really want to replace Flash with something, Exhaust is probably a better choice than Ignite. You can consider it a third gank tool and it can sometimes allow you to save your Rappel 'till you need to escape. It can be used either offensively or defensively just like Flash - and Ignite does not provide any kind of defense. That's why it's a better substitute than Ignite.




Teleport

Teleport is an amazing ganking tool if you know how to communicate with your team. I find the bot lane very difficult to gank compared to the other lanes, because it is almost always warded. Teleport makes ganking the bot lane much easier if your support has warded the lane bushes and the enemy bot laners are pushing. Remember that a ward becomes visible to the enemy team when someone is teleporting to it, so utilizing Vision Wards to make sure they don't have vision on the location is a good idea.
Teleport can also be cast on certain other units like Teemo's Noxious Traps, Jarvan IV's Demacian Standard, Heimerdinger's H-28G Evolution Turrets and Zac's blobs from Cell Division. Again, it should never replace Smite so you'll need to give up Flash if you want Teleport.


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Update log

4/11 - 13:
  • Added Ability Explanation chapter
  • Added Exhaust to the Summoner Spells chapter
  • Did some formating in the Ability Explanation and the Summoner Spells chapters

5/11 - 13:
  • Did some formating in the Items and Runes chapters

9/29 - 13:
10/1 - 13:
  • Added a section about Deathfire Grasp to the items chapter
  • Updated the Pros and Cons chapter.

10/3 - 13:
  • Added the Items Continued: Deadly or Durable chapter.

10/8 - 13:
  • Updated the jungle route in the Jungling and Ganking chapter

What's to come:
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Thanks for Reading

Thank you very much for reading my guide. I hope you have learned something. This is the second guide that I have published. The other one was for Kayle and people seemed to think, I did pretty well with it. But it's outdated now due to the changes from Season 2 to Season 3. Maybe I'll update it sometime.
If you think something should be explained further, or if you have something to add, send me a message and help me improve the guide. I've put a lot of effort into this, so I'd like some feedback. I'm open to criticism.

Note: I actually use a similar build when playing Zac in the jungle. Maybe I'll do a guide for him as well someday.

Have fun rampaging!

-Lauge99

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