Elise Build Guide by Atharil

Intro

Hello,
My name is Atháril and I would like to show you my guide for Elise, the Spider Queen - champion in League of Legends. Elise varies greatly from other champions. She can be melee or ranged. She can be AP mid caster , support or even jungler (similarly to Diana) or jugnler as AD character. Before you vote, please read to the end, criticism and advices are welcome. So let's start!



Vicious and elegant, Elise's charismatic grace lures the innocent and greedy alike into her web of deceit. While her victims may discover her true intentions, no one has ever lived to reveal what dark secrets lie behind her enigmatic guise.

In dark halls, hidden from society, Elise preached the word of a mythical spider god. Her desperate followers hungered for the god's favor, believing its blessings to be the source of Elise's vibrance and power. When Elise proclaimed that she would lead a pilgrimage to the spider god's shrine, she selected only her most devout disciples to join her. Ecstatic, the chosen few followed her blindly as she led them on a perilous journey across the sea. When they came ashore at their final destination, the mysterious Shadow Isles, Elise led them to a cavern shrouded in webs. Expecting a shrine, the group looked to their priestess in confusion. She turned to the crowd and raised her arms in triumph, revealing strange, spider-like legs that grew out of her back. Seeing her terrifying true form for the first time, Elise's followers turned to flee, but she conjured magical webs to trap them. With her victims ensnared, she turned to face the cave and uttered a screeching cry. An enormous undead spider-beast emerged from the darkness, dragging its hideous bulk on thick, pointed legs. Elise's followers could only scream as the monstrous spider ate them alive. She approached the sated creature, extracted its venom, and drank the strange substance. An immediate sense of rejuvenation flowed through her veins. With mortality delayed once again, Elise left to rejoin her congregation. They were overjoyed to hear that their fellows had chosen to remain at the spider god's sacred home. Elise reassured her disciples that she would lead another pilgrimage in due time. The spider god would be waiting.

"The truly faithful need not fear the spider's embrace." - Elise

" Elise's regal demeanor and captivating charms belied the feeling of dread she conjured in the pit of my stomach. Something in the deceptively musical timbre of her voice gave the impression there was a monstrous beast locked away beneath that unearthly smile. I looked around at her spellbound followers, and could not shake the feeling that they were ensnared like insects in a web, awaiting some horrible fate." ― Riven

"As the fog parted and I first beheld the Shadow Isles, I sensed immediately that something was amiss. From the mysteriously placid waters of the bay to the dead calm of the night air, an eerie stillness gripped the place – even the sea and sky. Even as I made ready to go ashore, the crew begged me to return at once to the mainland. ― Elise

"Despite its size, the immense forest loomed like a sepulcher around us, and the dank air and unnatural stillness bred increasing feelings of paranoia and dread. My companion begged me to turn back, but some primal yearning spurred me onward, deeper into the gloom." ― Elise.

Summoner Spells

We have a lot of spells to choice.

As mid character, you should take Ignite & Flash.

When you are support, take Exhaust & Flash, or if you ad carry took Ignite, you need to have Heal & Flash.

If you are jungler, Smite & Flash is best option. Anyway, Flash is a must.

Do not take Clarity, she is not mana hungry like others, escpecially in Spider Form :)

Runes

For Mid:

A lot of starting AP from  Greater Quintessence of Ability Power and Greater Glyph of Ability Power, extra mana regeneration from Greater Seal of Replenishment, and of course Greater Mark of Magic Penetration for magic penetration.

For jungle:



We need to take  Greater Seal of Armor and Greater Glyph of Magic Resist to not allow enemies kill us when we going to gank somebody. Maybe Greater Quintessence of Health could be ok, it gives extra health, so there is better sustain in jungle.


For support, you could take first or second set of runes could be good. Maybe first one, because it let you harass enemies' AD carry .

Masteries

If you are mid player, you should take my standard masteries for AP Mid character:

Executioner is a must, we need to kill. A little points in Utility are ok for better mana regeneration. Why not Runic Affinity ? Beacuse not always your jungler is so good to let you have buffs. If he needs it more*, then you waste 1 point of your masteries.

If you are jungler, take these:



Jungling is the act of killing neutral monsters in the jungle. Jungler has to be fast, so that's why I take  Initiator . Extra health is also good, so there is Durability . Mercenary gives us extra gold if we assist or kill.

If you are support, should have like these:



Extra gold from  Greed and Wealth . Mastermind for reducing cooldowns for summoners spells. And remeber, to be aggresive support.


Anyway, Mental Force for extra ability power, Sorcery for lower cooldowns, Arcane Knowledge for magic penetration are our "must have". Similarly Summoner's Insight - good beacuse of lower cooldown for Flash.


---
* - There are a lot of people who think jungler always has to get buffs like Crest of the Ancient Golem or Blessing of the Lizard Elder .

Skills

Spider Swarm is Elise's innate skill. When Elise in Human Form spells hit an enemy, she readies a Spiderling. When Elise transforms, she summons Spiderlings to attack nearby foes. The maximum number of spiderlings increases with Spider Form's level.
Spiderling Health: 100 + (25 × level)
Spiderling Attack Speed: 0.665
Spiderling Armor: 30
Spiderling Magic Resistance: 50
Spiderling Movement Speed: 370

Neurotoxin / Venomous Bite - Elise's "q" skill. In Human Form - Neurotoxin is a targeted ability that deals magic damage, to a single target, equal to a base amount plus a percentage of the target's current health. This damage is capped against monsters. Neurotoxin procs Spell Vamp and Rylai Crystal Scepter's slow similarly with all single target spells and abilities with full effect. It also pops spell shield and damage Morgana's Black Shield. In Spider Form, Venomous Bite is also a targeted ability that deals magic damage, to a single target, equal to a base amount plus a percentage of the target's missing health. This damage is capped against monsters. Great to destroy tanks! Spiderlings will switch to attack the target of Venomous Bite.

Volatile Spiderling / Skittering Frenzy - Elise's "w" skill. In Human Form, she summons a venom-gorged Spiderling that moves to target location and explodes, dealing magic damage to nearby enemies when it nears an enemy unit or after 3 seconds. Unfortunately it can not go across the walls, trees, etc. In Spider Form, it can be activated, but it gives alos passive effect. As the passive, Spiderlings gain bonus attack speed. If activated, increases the attack speed of Elise and her Spiderlings for 3 seconds. While active, Elise is healed every autoattack of her or her spiderlings.

Cocoon / Rappel - Elise's "e" skill. As Human, Elise fires a web that stuns the first enemy hit for 1.5 seconds. In Spider Form, this ability can be used two ways. First - casted on enemy - Elise and her Spiderlings lift up into the air and then descend upon the target enemy. Casted on ground - Elise and her Spiderlings lift up into the air, becoming untargetable for 2 seconds. She can then cast Rappel again to descend upon a nearby enemy. Casted on ground make all nearby neutral monsters visable. Moreover, if an enemy ward is visible and in range, this ability can be used to that location

Spider Form / Human Form - is "r" ability of Elise. If activated, Elise transforms into a menacing spider, granting access to arachnid abilities. While in Spider Form, Elise deals bonus magic damage with her autoattacks and gains 10 movement speed as well as bonus armor and magic resistance. Elise got her "r" at start, so she can change herself when you want it, not as Nidalee only after 6 level. Spiderlings deal physical damage and take reduced damage from multi-target abilities. The maximum number of Spiderlings is increased with Spider Form's level. Skills in Spider Form does not cost anything.

Skill sequence as Caster / Support :

Skill sequence as Jungler :

Pros / Cons

Pros:
+ stun,
+ heal from Volatile Spiderling / Skittering Frenzy in Spider Form,
+ untargetable,
+ skills in spider form does not cost anything,
+ 6 abilities,
+ can jump on enemies,
+ can see neutral monsters in jungle,
+ can escape by her Cocoon / Rappel.


Cons:
- spiderlings cannot be used as wards, it is not possible to control them,
- very low attack speed,
- bad attack animation so hard to farm in Human Form,
- squishy,
- 0 damage from Cocoon / Rappel,
- do not recommend her to beginners,
- not so good in early game.

Items & play for AP Mid Elise

Starting/Early-game items:

I suggest to start with [Boots of Speed]] and 3 Health Potions. It is a good way to avoid ganks and survive longer at lane. After few minutes go back and take 2 Doran's Blade. Next Kage's Lucky Pick for extra gold generation.

Boots:

As a Mid character you need to have Sorcerer's Shoes. Other choice could be Ionian Boots of Lucidity but for me cooldown reduction is not necessary for her. Ofc, playing against someone who can do a lot of damage us, like LeBlanc or Veigar I suggest to try Mercury's Treads.

Mid/Late-game items:

Ofc, as a standard AP Mid character, Elise needs Rabadon's Deathcap and Rylai's Crystal Scepter. I love Lich Bane, because it gives great effect at Elise - even her ultimate (changing Form) can activate hidden power of Lich Bane. Zhonya's Hourglass is good choice when got enemies who can do burst to us, activate [Zhonya's Hourglass when you are close to death. As last item I suggest take Deathfire Grasp - you could also take it earlier but strong extra spell is not necessary in early game; for me it is a good way to end our build.

Others, situational, etc.:

Take care, because you can always play as enemy allow you. Sometimes Guardian Angel and Frozen Heart could be better than full Ability Power Elise's items. Similarly, if they got Veigar, Malzahar or Warwick, to avoid enemies' abilities, necessary could be Quicksilver Sash. If enemy's got a lot of magic resist, take Abyssal Scepter or Void Staff to crush them! Then you will need replace Lich Bane or Deathfire Grasp into Void Staff - you should decide when.

... And in general how to play?

If you improved your Neurotoxin / Venomous Bite, try to harass by it your enemy when you can. Sometimes a couple of good casted Volatile Spiderling / Skittering Frenzy in Human Form can do a lot of damage to enemy. One good stun from Cocoon / Rappel, and you can overwhelm the enemy by barrage of skills. Try to farm in Spider Form, also this Form is better to avoid enemies' traps, because you are faster and got more armor & magic resist as Spider. Ask your Jungler for the help if got problem to keep your lane safe.

Items & play for Jungler Elise

How to start?

It is more difficult than staying at mid. You should start with Boots of Speed and 3 Health Potions. More speed = better ganks. Kage's Lucky Pick for extra gold generation and Hextech Revolver give us some ability power - that make our ganks better.

Boots:

When you are Jungler as Elise there is only one option - Boots of Mobility. Is it not better to chase enemy at these shoes? For me extra movement speed is really viable in jungle, as during jungling as Maokai or Skarner.

Mid/Late-game:

Take Fiendish Codex and quickly improve it into Nashor's Tooth - one of best items created to AP jungle. Rylai's Crystal Scepter, Will of the Ancients, Rabadon's Deathcap and Zhonya's Hourglass could let us to destroy every single enemy. Remember that jungling as Elise does not need to be tanky, we are just another AP character in our team. Using your AP, protect your carry and you will win!

How to jungle?

Take your "w" ( Volatile Spiderling / Skittering Frenzy) skill. At 1:53 press "w", and aim the place in which Ancient Golem appears. Having 19 AP at start is not a lot, but it let you kill Ancient Golem fast even without pull. At 1:55, press "r" ( Volatile Spiderling / Skittering Frenzy) to transform you into a Spider Form and press "w" to make your attack speed faster. Your 2 Spiderlings and you do golem and you got level 2. Do standard jungle: Ancient Golem -> Wolves -> Wraiths -> Lizard Elder -> Golems and when your are level 3, go for a gank. Always start with Volatile Spiderling / Skittering Frenzy in a Human Form - press "w" and try to aim before your target. He will try to escape, then you should use your Cocoon / Rappel - if hits, you stunned enemy. Now fast change into Spider Form, use Volatile Spiderling / Skittering Frenzy, jump to him by Neurotoxin / Venomous Bite and if needed - jump using your Cocoon / Rappel to enemy. If he is still alive, change into Human Form and use Neurotoxin / Venomous Bite. If your lane-partner cooperate with you, you can easily kill or assist. Unfortunately, good ganks after level 3...

Other option:

Or... you could play Elise as hybrid. Wit's End, Guinsoo's Rageblade, Hextech Gunblade for dealing damage, and Frozen Mallet for be a little tanky. Nashor's Tooth for extra cooldown reduction and my lovely Boots of Mobility. Strange jungle, but still viable. It really works! Very fast jungling, very good ganks, and opponents can be disappointed they cannot even play :)

Items for Support Elise

Is that even viable?

Yes, it is. I tried it only once, by accident - but it really works. Just start as standard support, with: Faerie Charm, 3 Sight Wards, 1 Mana Potion and 2 Health Potions. Every time if you can, try to harass your enemy, using Volatile Spiderling / Skittering Frenzy in the Human Form. Take Philosopher's Stone and another Sight Wards after first return to base, or if you got a lot of gold, also Boots of Speed are ok. Heart of Gold and Kage's Lucky Pick are our "must have" if we are supporting our carry. Every time you can, buy wards and put it in strategic points, you know. Sometimes the game can be so long, then you should have Shurelya's Reverie, Rylai's Crystal Scepter, Locket of the Iron Solari, Frozen Heart and Banshee's Veil. Remember to take Heal during the champion selection, if your AD carry wants to have Ignite instead of Heal. Other summoners spell good for Support is Exhaust. Wards everytime, Wards everywhere!

Summary

It would seem that Elise would be a good champion who could change the face of the whole game a one good jump. While many players may think that this champion should be buffed, because so far we haven't still a fair balance, I think Elise is quite great. Playing in many ways it is very fun. Being both support and jungler or AP Mid character demonstrates the versatility of Elise, and the characters are interesting to play. Thank you all who have read this short guide and I wish you many awesome moments with Elise.

Good luck and have fun, Summoners!



"I understood that death was another world and I was at its door. " - Elise