Kassadin Build Guide : Excellence Is Null ~ A Comprehensive Kassadin Guide

Introduction: An In-Depth Guide

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For those who do not know, Hi, my name is CasterMaster, and welcome to my guide! My goal with this guide is to be able to help players understand and grasp the concept of such an amazing and powerful champion. This is based on my opinions that I would like to share with the rest of you. As with any other guide, be sure to read what you need to know, comment on your own personal thoughts and advices and tell me about it! Now, PREPARE TO BATHE YOURSELF IN THE GLORIOUS POWER OF THE VOID.

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is a melee caster-typed anti-caster, making him extremely powerful against AP carries. He's able to jump into a team fight, quickly assassinate his target, and jump out unscathed. His laning skills are mediocre, but provide that his hurts like a truck, you can usually trade damage against an enemy. He is easily countered in lane pre-6, but after that you should have no problem. His specialty is , being a short cool-down ultimate that offers extremely mobility, damage, juking potential, and of course, skill. is not an easy champion to play, and not even easy to master. However, this guide will make you become that pro player you've always wanted to be (and probably exceed Ocelote). So prepare to enter the void!

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I saved this best song for awesomeness only, so jump in the void!

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(Credits to TubeMastah for this video, song by Two Steps from Hell, song called "Jump!")

Why Play Kassadin and When?

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This section here will provide reasoning for why you would want to play and when to play him as well. Let's start off with WHY you would want to play :

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WHY PLAY HIM?

Arguably one of the strongest Anti-casters in the game
Short cool-down ultimate
Powerful nuking potentials mid~late game
Good skins
Affective crowd-control throughout the game
Hard to gank post-6
Extreme mobility
Very fun to play
He just looks so BADASS!

With that said, now we can take a look at some reasons WHEN you should play him. There are tons of times when you can play him, such as if he isn't banned (in ranked) or you just feel like playing him.

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WHEN TO PLAY

You need (or want to play) a strong anti-caster
Mid lane champion required (or AP carry)
You have a champion on the enemy team you want to counter
Low CC on the enemy team (stuns, silences, suppresses, knock-up)
You want to reinforce allied lanes quickly and efficiently through ganks

Yeah, I'm sure there are more reasons, but you can say that yourself. makes an extremely good assassin as well, so there are just so many reasons why you would play him.

Pros / Cons and Description

Before we can simply learn and understand , we need to know his strengths and weaknesses. All champions have strengths and weaknesses. Some have more than others, while some have hardly any weaknesses it's unnoticeable. is blessed with a lot of pros but cursed with many cons as well. Here are some of 's powerful pros and vicious cons:

Extremely mobile and versatile: With Riftwalk as a free low cool-down Flash, and just many ways to build him, it makes playing Kassadin fun and surprising every game!
Huge bursts and constant DPS: Using Riftwalk, Null Sphere and Force Pulse can quickly shoot an enemy's health down while providing constant DPS with Nether Blade.

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Very powerful ganks post-6: Riftwalk allows you to abuse travel distance, making it very easy to go from lane to lane. You can easily push your lane out then give a different lane a helping hand if need be.
Not extremely item dependent early game: Kassadin is not very item dependent. Late game however, he is. Luckily, with a strong early game, you'll get a good late game.

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Very weak early game: Being a melee champion, Kassadin will have a hard time farming minions without taking a lot of damage. Ganks and potions will suffice.
Misplays are extra costly: If you blindly Riftwalk into fog of war and suddenly find yourself surrounded by the entire enemy team, then you could be done for. Caution and analysis is key.

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Requires a large amount of mana control: Many Kassadin players are not good at controlling their mana, especially with Riftwalk stacks. Controlling your Riftwalk stacks will help solve this problem.
Item dependent late game: Kassadin needs a good build for late game. Most of the time you won't be running the exact same build. Your item choices DO matter, as well as your purchase order. You'll learn what items to choose from later on.

I can teach you a lot about , but most of the stuff you have to learn and apply yourself. This is what makes up a strong player. It revolves around these key terms: COMMON SENSE, REACTION-TIMING, AND ANALYSIS. If you have these three traits (or maybe two), then you'll become a pro player simply by reading. Otherwise, you may need to practice a bit. Remember, practice doesn't make perfect, practice makes permanent!

Rune Setup

Here is my rune page set-up for . Most of my choices are pretty self-explanatory except for a few things. Let me explain:

greater mark of hybrid penetration

Greater Mark of Magic and Hybrid Penetration

This is optional for many players. greater mark of hybrid penetrations are expensive, so if you do not have any or do not want to buy any, is just fine. You won't see a great difference. However, this setup allows me to dock off 2 magic penetration for 7 armor penetration. As with any other setup, this is for dealing increased damage.

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Greater Seal of Armor

Grabbing armor reduces physical damage by an immense amount. It helps reduce incoming damage from your lane opponent's basic attacks and skills (if the skills deal physical damage) as well as from minions. There are many other options for seals, but beyond this one, it's just versatile and good in a lot of situations, especially if you tower dive or gank a lot.

Greater Glyph of Magic Resist

Reduced damage from opposing magic damage. Combined with and you'll realize they won't deal as much damage as you thought they might. It's effective because you take less damage meaning it'll be harder for your opponents to poke you out of lane. Not much else to say, except you can trade these out with AP runes for more damage if you want. Player preference.

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Greater Quintessence of AP

Gives an amazing boost to your early game damage. It's like getting the as a starting item for damage output. Just very useful, and I find it to be fantastic for harassment.

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Marks: Either Hybrid Pen or Magic Pen
Seals: ,
Glyphs: , ,
Quints: ,

First off, if you aren't at least level 20, I'd suggest that you do not buy runes. It's just a waste of your Influence Points and they can be used for champions or tier three runes (which are the best). Those who already have a decent caster rune page can use that. There are tons of different combinations you can use but this is the best set-up that I've found. It provides a good balance between early and late game which is something you really need.

Masteries

Here is my masteries for . As there are many ways you can run masteries for him, it's usually standard to run the new 21/0/9. Masteries are player preference, and based on how you would like to play . There isn't really anything wrong with whatever you choose (unless you're grabbing armor penetration on a mage or something of the sort), but I'll quickly explain them here:

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is fairly powerful on , allowing you to deal 2% more damage. reduces cool-down by 5% and allows you advance the next tier. can also be taken in place of if you are not confident with last-hitting minions. helps your allies deal more damage to the targets you deal damage to. gives you +16 ability power at level 18, or 0.89 AP per level. Great for scaling into late-game damage. You could also take , which will help in lane sustain against your opponent. gives +8 AP at level 1, greatly increasing your damage output for poking. grants a massive 5% bonus damage for champions under 50% health, which really makes what he is: an assassin. isn't a bad choice either, although normally one would use their full combo before doing any basic attacks (if any) mid to late game. grants 5% bonus AP, giving even more damage. is a possible mastery as well, since restoring 5% missing health and mana is fairly powerful when diving into towers or fights, as well as surviving Damage-Over-Time skills. gives 6% armor and magic penetration which again, helps deal tons of damage. provides great synergy with and helps with damage and last-hitting. We finish with , allow you to deal +3% increased damage.

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is great for reducing the cool-down of Recall by 1 second. This is useful for escaping fights in the nick of time. Every second matters. helps you gain an increase of 3 mana regeneration per 5 seconds, allowing you more mana to activate spells. could also be taken instead to increase movement speed by 1.5%. This helps you travel faster, wherever you go. This includes ganking, escaping, chasing, returning to lane, or helping you stick to targets. reduces summoner spell cooldowns by 10%, which is quite useful for mainly . makes your potions more useful by extending their duration by 10%. Finally we beef up those potions into biscuits with , upgrading your s into biscuits that restore additional 20 health and 10 mana. Both and are great summoner spells to make up for 's poor sustain.

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Summoner Spells

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Flash

Your get-out-of-jail card. One of my favorite summoner spells of all time, I would take this on almost ANY champion except for some special circumstances. You'd want to use to escape (if is unavailable) or to better help position yourself or engage/disengage easier. You should know how to use it, and if you don't, read the above. It's mostly common sense. If you throw yourself into a team fight, make sure you have off cool-down so you can escape if the heat turns up. A good tip: If you know escape is inevitable, don't waste Flash for a mere attempt to try and do so. It has a higher cool-down than your death timer, so use it wisely!

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Ignite

It's your finisher spell. I usually take this spell on almost ALL casters, and why not on ?. Sometimes your nuke won't kill somebody. In that case, you're going to need to whack them a few times with . Quickly kill them by putting on them to amplify your damage output. Just an amazing skill.

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Teleport

If you aren't taking and you love traveling across locations, you could also take this skill. It's very good for ganking the side lanes or finishing up enemies from a disastrous fight. You could even use it to backdoor your opponents! A well-used can result in many kills, more than even could provide. An excellent skill itself and also good against champions with ridiculous and constant harassment.

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Cleanse

It's as an item, but this spell also reduces the effects of the next incoming CC by a portion. If the enemy has tons of CC that prevents you from using your skills, you could take this skill (or just buy ). It's especially important on because if you in and get stunned immediately, you're done.

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Exhaust

This skill is just devastating. It can really completely disable a single target. Since that's your role and your job, you just want to finish your enemy off. It's an alright spell though I don't think you should be the one to take it.

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Ghost

If you hate because you either don't like it or you've had enough with Wall Flashing, then you could also take this spell over . Personally, DOES take a higher skill level to perfect, but sometimes you just want to move really fast. Of course, always an option, and I'm not limiting you or anything =P.

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Barrier

This skill shines out in the fact that it can save lives better than , although very self-centered. Another quick fix it provides is its low cool-down. Against any good player, they probably won't touch you once you've activated it, so it's quite a situational skill. Unless you know you're going to get bullied pretty hard in lane and later on, this might not be an amazing choice, but still not bad if you're looking for a safer lane.

Skills Summary & Explanation

Void Stone

Kassadin takes 15% reduced magic damage and transforms this damage into bonus attack speed.

This is one of the reasons he's such a powerful anti-caster. His innate ability to reduce incoming magic damage by 15% and turn it into attack speed isn't bad at all. Most people only take advantage of the 15% magic damage reduction. It's extremely powerful against casters which usually deal 95% of their damage as spell damage. But what are we going to use the left over attack speed for? It'll be useful to attack the enemy with , since you're going to have a lot of AP and it now scales. Otherwise, the 15% magical damage reduction is just fine.

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Null Sphere

Kassadin fires a void bolt, dealing 80/115/150/185/220 (+0.7) magic damage and silencing the target for 1.5/1.75/2/2.25/2.5 second(s).

Cost: 70/75/80/85/90 Mana
Range: 650
Cool-Down: 9 seconds

Your bread and butter skill. It's on a relatively long cool-down, and in a team fight you basically got one shot. It DOES have some nuking potentials, but the main point of this skill is the silence that continually gets longer every time you level it up. It's also a very good skill to harass the enemy. That's why I take at level 2. It's so I can gain that mana regen to spam more 's against my lane opponent. It's also possible to completely ZONE your enemy with this skill. It just shows you how deadly it is. You may even want to save this spell for when the enemy has channeling spells like 's or 's . Since it's on a relatively high cool-down, choose the best time to use it. Getting blue buff and or cool-down reduction items like or may not be a bad idea.

The combined damage of Null Sphere and Force Pulse. It is an extremely deadly nuke mid-late game and has very high kill potential so long as you hit the right targets and don't miss.

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Nether Blade

Passive: Kassadin's basic attacks draw energy from the void, restoring 8/11/14/17/20 Mana each hit. If the target is an enemy champion, the Mana restored is tripled to 24/33/42/51/60. Active: Kassadin charges his nether blade for 5 seconds causing his basic attacks to deal an additional 30/45/60/75/90 (+0.15) magic damage.

Cost: 25 Mana
Range: 125 (Melee)
Cool-Down: 12 seconds

This is an important skill in 's kit. It gives increased magic damage based on your AP (so it scales). A lot of people underestimate this skill, but its actually really strong. You'd be surprised how much more damage you deal. However, I take one point in this early mainly for the mana regeneration I desperately need to fire more s and to attempt to zone the enemy. Basically, you can use to amplify your auto-attack's damage and gain a charge on and makes last hitting minions at your turret a lot easier.

Using Nether Blade here will help you last-hit minions you normally wouldn't be able to. Extremely well when the minions are at your turret.

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Force Pulse

Kassadin draws energy from spells cast in his vicinity, gaining a charge whenever a spell is cast near him. Upon reaching 6 charges, Kassadin can use Force Pulse to deal 80/130/180/230/280 (+0.7) magic damage and slow enemies by 30/35/40/45/50% for 3 seconds in a cone in front of him.

Cost: 80 Mana
Range: 400
Cool-Down: 6 seconds

Surprisingly this skill is on a lower cool-down than . I take this a lot later than most people do. I will explain why in a second. The main thing about this skill is it's an AoE burst that slows. In low levels, this skill won't deal a lot of damage (just like ). In fact, and do the exact same amount of damage. Take this at level 2 if you know your jungler is ganking for you. It'll help secure a kill/ by adding a slow. Some players may max this skill first, but I believe it's not very reliable as you require charges in order to fulfill its activation requirements.

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Riftwalk

Kassadin teleports to a nearby location dealing 80/100/120 (+0.8) magic damage to surrounding enemy units. Additionally, each subsequent Riftwalk within the next 7 seconds costs 100 additional Mana and deals 50/55/60 (+0.1) additional damage, stacks up to 10 times. Damaging an enemy champion with this skill will also refund 50% of the mana.

Cost: 100 Mana
Range: 700
Cool-Down: 7/6/5 seconds

Once you get this skill, your lane opponent should be real scared. You can pop out anytime and spell disaster to them in a quickly. They won't have time to react because your will keep them pinned down. Anyways, back on topic. This skill has a higher teleport range than after its nerf. There are a ton of different possibilities you can use this skill. Whether just for damage, juking, or escaping a dangerous situation, this skill will serve you happiness. 90% of the time you get ganked, you'll escape, and 90% of your own ganks should be successful (unless it's ). It's a rewarding skill and also a suicidal one, so always be certain and safe with it.

Skills Sequence and Combos

This is how I run my about 99% of the time. Take at level 1 because there really isn't a better skill to take. I take at level 2 because let's face it. The only time you'd need to use at this early of the game is if your jungler is ganking for you right away. If you arranged a gank attempt with your jungler and is going to gank mid really early, then take at level 2 instead and at level 4. You really don't need any more points in because the main thing we use it for is to regain mana and to last hit some minions at your turret that you normally wouldn't be able to get, so after maxing out , you max . Once they're both maxed out, you should be really threatening to your enemy. Obviously take whenever possible.

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Now we're going to learn some combos you can pull off with . Whether it be sick or just plain simple, they're usually the ones you'll use in a game. Well, why not I show you them?

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The standard assassin's combo. With being the lowest cool-down, use that first so that you can use it again if the combo fails. Follow with and to ensure the enemies escape is nullified. If your burst didn't kill them, then at them! Use if its available. If you have , auto-attack between each skill use to maximize damage. You could ALSO use before , but that depends on the situation.

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This is a very devastating combo. It's so powerful that if you fail it, the chances of you dying are REALLY high. This is the ultimate gap closing combo that can rip your enemy into many pieces. This is mainly used:

to tower dive
to chase low-health victims (gap closing)
Surprise attacking massive burst combo

The risks are VERY high. Don't attempt this if you are not 100% sure you can kill your target (and get away alive). Sometimes, things in life aren't worth it, and this is usually one of them. However, when perfectly used and can escape without a death, this is the strongest combo you can pull off (as well as its juking and escape potentials as well).

Items

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As is a caster (and if you're familiar with casters you should already know how to build him) there are a few ways you can build him. Each have their own style and can lead a game to victory. Before we get into builds, let's take a closer look at some of the items you will want to build throughout the game:

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Boots and Pots

Pretty self explanatory here. to dodge skill shots/escape ganks and s to help you sustain (especially since you're melee). This however may not be very helpful against some champions.

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ManaRegen, Potions and Ward

is a very strong start for . It can eventually be built into a which is very crucial on as we want to farm up a lot of mana. The s will provide great sustain so you don't have to worry about returning to base anytime soon (unless you want to buy your tear and/or other items). If you took , you'll have 5 biscuits to snack on instead, all lane long.

Doran's Ring + 2x HP Pot

start is rather a gambit. You'll have a lot less sustain but you'll poke for much more damage, regain much more mana and fight skirmishes and team fights a lot healthier. A notable start on .

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Flask and Potions

The ultimate lane survival kit. This is one of the most common starting builds as well for good reasons. You infinitely sustain the lane with all your potions meaning that it will be very hard for your lane opponent to force you out (unless you die via ganks or getting outplayed). Normally you'd want to play very passive with this setup and get as much farm as you can without taking too much damage. also restores mana so you can fire more s at your opponent too. One of the best starting choices next to and is highly recommended for all players.

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Tier 2/3 Boots

Getting tier 2/3 boots really early on are extremely situational. Not a great focus, but is viable in some cases. Focus either on or .

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Double Dorans

After getting some farm, you can pick up a few s. They'll add to your damage, mana regeneration and effective health. If you didn't pick up a from the start, you should also pick up some s as well so you can make trades. You'll start dealing a bit more damage once you get this. Always good to get damage, you're an assassin after all.

The Tear of Mana

This is the item you want to get as FAST as possible. You want to charge it up ASAP, since you get more mana the more spells you cast. Once you get this item, start farming it up. It will become very useful for you later into the game.

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catalyst the protector

Catalyst Build

If you're going for a build, then instead of getting a you can get a catalyst the protector instead. You could even go straight for a for even more damage. Remember, you either build or , usually not both. This build will mean you'll be more tankier but more mana-reliant. However, you can infinitely sustain your lane even harder (this is not necessary if you started ).

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Staff of Much Mana

An absolute must for an Archangel . The mana you get from this item is ridiculous. Let's not forget the hefty amount of AP you also get, dramatically increasing your damage output. Once you've fully farmed this item (getting 750/750 mana), this will become , an item that can grant you a significant shield to absorb damage based on the amount of mana it consumes. If you prefer a build instead, replace with .

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Cap of Death

A mage's strongest weapon. This item gives the most amount of AP in the game, totally 120 AP (tied with and ) and 30% increased AP. This lets you nuke your opposition and deal incredible amounts of magic damage. A must get for any build, damage is key for assassins. You want to go in and kill your target or leave them with fairly little health remaining. Always a good item to get mid-late game.

The Non-Abysmal Scepter

Ability Power and Magic Resistance. A great item on . It also provides an aura that reduces nearby enemy's magic resistance by 20, allowing you to plow through their magic resistance and deal a lot more damage. Its great because you can take full use of this aura by being a close-range assassin, able to reduce everyone's magic resistance. It gives great stats as well, allowing you take take more magical damage and deal more magical damage. Great synergy with .

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Delightful Invincibility

A perfect defense item and gives a LARGE amount of AP and some decent armor. Mainly the item's active alone is just devastating and can really save your life. Just when you want to out but its on cool-down, you can use its active to shorten your cool-downs as well. Just a really great defensive and offensive item for , and basically a must-buy.

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Staff from the Void

This is a . is from the void. Coincidence? I think so. helps ignore a large amount of your opponent's magic resistance and helps you deal damage to tanks you thought you couldn't do. This item is great all in all, and is best built later into the game when your opponents feel the need to build a large amount of resistance against your magic-based attacks.

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Banshee's Veil

An alternative item. If there's just a lot of poking going around, you should think about getting this item. However, it's not that great anymore due to the changes, but it's still an optimal defense item at your wish. Builds out of catalyst the protector so you can think about instead of if you want.

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Athene's Unholy Grail

If you get this item, then use it to replace or . A very strong item for as it allows you to be able to spam more s in team fights. You also gain additional magic resistance, a standard amount of AP and cool-down reduction. A few CDR can definitely help . A suitable item and definitely worth mentioning.

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Guardian Angel

If death should be defied, then this item is your best friend. Gives a good amount of armor with a small amount of magic resistance to go along with your anti-mage abilities. Not to mention the ability to have a ultimate on you at all times, until you die and use it, then you wait 5 minutes until you defy death again once more. Perfect defense item, if isn't enough.

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Rod of Ages

I have seen too much use of this item. As myself, I have used the build many times too. Of course, people change and so do their preferences. I see greater potential in the build, and that's why I chose it over . However, never forget that is still an incredible item on and this build can be chosen whenever you want or feel like it.

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Quicksilver Sash

It's as an item, enough said. Get this if you're constantly getting hit by powerful crowd controls (ex. if the opposing team have a and/or that are going to hunt you until you are dead). If it's not a lot of CC, you can just get , but just another option. Best not to get this item too early however, as you'll lose a lot of your damage output. Just this or for these situations (you could also upgrade it to for literally no reason or if you have completed your build).

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Liandry's Torment

The Mask of Death is a viable option if you want some magic penetration. Although you will be focusing carries with little magic resistance, this item helps you deal increased damage like most other items. The health it gives isn't shabby and the AP it provides isn't that bad. The magic penetration is fantastic with its own passive that allows you to deal small s per spell damage, and works greatly with . Overall a very well-rounded item and not a bad choice for . However, most players would recommend that you only take right after (here we have some Apdo build going on). Eventually you'd sell your and get your .

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Deathfire Grasp

Single-handedly one of the best items for focusing down a single-target. Normally with 's burst you can take down targets without the need of building . However, if you are unable to full combo one of their squishy target (somehow), then consider this item. Activate on your target then do your standard RQE and they shouldn't see the light of day again. Also a great counter-measure to an opposing or spell shield.

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Rylai's Crystal Scepter

A strong item indeed, it'll make and slow (and I also believe will slow as well). For me, I just think there are more important items, You already have as a slow, and is more important for . If your team has very little crowd control, then consider this item maybe after your .

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Mejai's Soulstealer

My word for this item. If somehow you get 2 or more kills before the 6-7 minute mark, get this item and start snowballing. Gank every lane, secure as many kills and assists and watch as your AP skyrockets. Normally this is very hard to do, so in typical games you wouldn't consider this item very often. However, grab this if you know what you're doing and you know you can grab a lot of assists and kills through ganks and lane-sitting.

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Lich Bane

A decent item on . Most of the time you won't be able to get its unique passive off if you're staying at a distance and is fairly situational. However, the item is very powerful and gives stats that wouldn't mind having more of. If you feel that you can get in the fight and be able to use the unique passive of this item effectively, then by all means grab one.

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Damage:

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,,, , , , , , , ,

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Health:

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,, ,

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Armor:

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, , (iceborn is not really recommended)

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Magic Resistance:

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, (), , ,

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Unfortunately, very little choices in the armor section for . This means a powerful team of AD champions can really tear you down. However, is a perfect defense item for all cases (as well as that can block a physical damaging spell). Don't forget will be there to help you as always if you choose to take it. You have quite a bit of options for magic resistance (and usually you won't get more then 1 of these items) because already your will decrease incoming magic damage for you. Of course, tons of options for damage so we have no problem there. Health isn't a big issue either unless the enemy team has a , but that's nothing you can really do.

Item Explanation

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Sorcerer's Shoes

Damage. Boots that give increased magic damage. That's how I'd describe this item in a sentence. As an assassin, you'd want to deal more damage. That's why penetrating their magic resistance is very crucial for being a great assassin. However, you can also consider . This item gives magic resistance, so you can take more shots but also tenacity. Tenacity is important for reducing crowd control effects, so if your opposing team has too much crowd control and you know it'll be annoying, consider that instead. Otherwise, get damage. You can almost never get wrong with more damage. Overkill is even better.

Other Options: Mercury's Treads

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Archangel's Staff

It's an absolute must if you're building an archangel for obvious reasons. Fully charged, it grants a massive bonus 1000 mana to your mana pool, that's pretty insane. That means you can charge up s for more stacks, meaning even more damage It transforms into on its own, giving you a great active that shields you for 20% of your current mana by draining that same amount for 3 seconds, giving you a giant that's hard to break down. Let's do some math for damage. The item gives 60 AP. Assume you're level 18. has 1040 base mana at level 18. A gives 1000 mana, and has a unique passive that gives AP based on 3% of your maximum mana (really? more AP based on mana? and this item gives mana? that seems a bit too good). Basically you'll have 2040 mana at level 18 (not including any runes or masteries and other items). 2040 * 0.03 = 61.2. That's how much AP you get from the unique passive. Now add that with how much you get from the item itself. 60 + 61.2 = 121.2 AP. This item basically gives just slightly more AP than and , which is huge damage. Also, assuming you use its active at full mana, you chunk off 20% mana (which would be 408) and convert that to a shield. All in all, this is a magnificent item and I've come to learn that it's probably more effective than the build (which is still a good choice but not as good as this).

Other Options: Rod of Ages

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Abyssal Scepter

Gives a good amount of ability power and magic resistance to be able to resist more magic damage and have an easier time surviving. is able to make full use of its aura as well, making a very rewarding item and allowing you to be able to handle opposing mages with much less difficulty. There are basically no cons for this item on . Works great with .

Other Options: Liandry's Torment, Banshee's Veil

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Void Staff

This is the tank-shredder item. Make a large portion of your opponents magic resistance futile against you so that damage may actually be dealt against them. This item doesn't shine as much against squishy targets who don't build a large amount of magic resistance, but is still a good item to get. I mean, 35% magic penetration. What's not to love about it? It's the for AP carries, so if it isn't a , then it'll be a .

Other Options: Guardian Angel, Deathfire Grasp, Rylai's Crystal Scepter

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Zhonya's Hourglass

Gives you 120 AP (which will literally give you a lot of damage) and a fair amount of armor. It's also good to save yourself because just cause you're an assassin doesn't mean that you'll get out alive. You can use this item to also wait for cool-downs while saving you some trouble for not doing anything and taking unnecessary damage. Unnecessary damage must not be taken!

Other Options: None

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Rabadon's Deathcap

The ultimate damage amplification item and the strongest AP item the game has to provide. There's no time when you wouldn't get this, it's too good. The bane of all mages. If you want to deal damage, this is the item you're looking for. ensures that you're killing your targets that have low health and magic resistance. All your skills will hit like trucks, even against tanky champions if you have a although it won't hit anywhere near as much as using the spells against squishy targets.

Other Options:None

Gameplay

In this section I will cover Laning, Team Fighting, and Ganking. This'll help you against your lane opponent with neat tricks, taking easy steps to dominate your lane, succeed and perfect ganking, and focusing down the right target in a team fight. Whatever it is, it'll help you become better at 's gameplay and style. If you feel like I left something out, tell me and I may put it in the guide!

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Your early game should consist of a few things. The most important thing you need to do in your early game is GRABBING THE CS! For , this is very hard. Your lane opponent will constantly harass you and weaken your early game so that you can't get a lot of gold from killing minions, hurting your late game. Use s on your lane opponent and be wary for ganks. Grabbing at level 2 will allow you to regain mana when attacking the minions. ONLY LAST HIT THE MINIONS SO THAT YOU CAN KILL THEM AT YOUR TURRET. THIS WILL MAKE IT VERY SAFE FOR YOU AND HARD TO THE ENEMY TO SUCCESSFULLY HARASS YOU! Try to get all the CS. When warrior minions are at your turret, they usually take 3 shots to kill. At the second shot, activate and you'll be able to kill that minion. Same for caster minions, except with only 1 shot from the turret.

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This is the area where you would want to kill creeps, near the proximity of the turret. This ensures security and a safety blanket if you get ganked without backup.

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Once you get , you can now zone your opponent. Zoning means to force your opponent to hug their turret and lose EXP and CS because they're too scared to fight you. Fire s at your lane enemy to harass them and continually regain mana through last hitting minions with . If you want you can buy a or use a to monitor the bushes and be more certain against ganks. With in your arsenal of skills, it'll be very difficult for enemy to gank you unless they have a stun. Do as you would normally in your early game, but you can be more aggressive now with . If you're at your turret fighting minions, you can use the assassin's combo to heavily damage your enemy. Doing so can really bring down their health to about 50% (if not more). If you're zoning the enemy, you can also use the time they're at their turret to go and gank a lane (or even the enemy jungler if you know where they are).

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At this point, laning becomes less of a necessity, unless you're off to push a wave or clear large amounts of minions. The main focus turns to dragon and baron. Keep these areas warded. Try to pick off lone enemies with your team (or if you're fed, yourself). Make sure you have an escape skill up so that you can make quick getaways if needed, unless you're doing the brick breaker combo. Otherwise, you can apply the same steps as the first one. Depending on you or your lane opponent, you may want to play even more aggressive or less aggressive depending on who's more farmed and who'll be stronger in that situation. Remember to take objectives such as turrets and inhibitors to increase allied gold count and to pressure your opponents while making sure your own turrets and inhibitors are safe.

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Take turrets and catch people who are out of position. Kassadin excels at picking off squishy targets so use that to your advantage!

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For ganking, it's quite easy. You just have to either use one of the two combos and you can usually get a kill if your damage output is high enough. The most important factor is timing. Wait for an appropriate time to gank and then use to silence your opponent from ing and for slowing their move speed. Keep an eye out for post-ganks, as other players may show up to the party.

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Check the ScoreBoard occasionally to find out which allies you need to help and which targets are dangerous. In this example we see that Lucian is quite fed so he's a primary target to gank and focus in fights.

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Always try and out-number your opponents in fights for obvious reasons. Coordinate with your jungler and ganks will be much more successful.

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For team fights, you shouldn't initiate the fight unless its absolutely necessary. Whatever you do, try your best to stay alive. Once the fight has started, get to the enemy fed carry as fast as possible and so that they will not be able to use skills. Kill the main focus as quickly as possible and if you're still alive, you can out or activate and wait on cool-downs. If the enemy focuses you and you get low, use to corrupt the enemy team by being unable to focus you. Once the active wears out, jump out of the fight or suicide for another kill if possible. Stick around however, for enemies that exit the fight with bare health, you can easily finish them off with the assassin's combo and that's about it! You don't have to jump into the fight immediately, just make sure the primary focus isn't able to get to use their skills on your team. It's best to effectively take them out AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. This way your job is fulfilled and you can switch to another target or flee from the battle.

Warding

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75g for a and 100g for a . For a simple ward you pay very little for a chance to raise your own awareness of the map AND makes ganking a lot harder. s and won't protect you from ganks, but they can help you analyze where your opposing players are so that you can be aware of a gank and fall back. Keep in mind that s don't last very long and have a cool-down so make sure you do buy a or two every time you return to base. A may be necessary against stealth junglers, however this isn't a great idea since they can easily take out the because it's not invisible like the . Against champions like and , always be on your guard unless you know exactly where they are.

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These are some of the common locations where you may want to ward in the middle lane:

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The top bush and purple team's tri-path on the other side of the purple team's red buff are covered here.

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The bottom bush and blue team's tri-path on the other side of the blue team's red buff are covered here.

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You can also ward outside the blue buff location. This will work for both blue and purple team and will help you notice incoming ganks from the back. This is extremely common for champions like and , but as well as many other junglers as well. Be on the look out, and constantly analyze the map to see where the enemy jungler is. For example, it's a good idea to fight your lane opponent if you notice the enemy jungler is at bottom lane.

Conclusion

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I spent very few days on this guide, but that's because I probably spent about 5 hours a day (and going off-task as well). However, I REALLY hope you enjoyed reading that and take these skills to the future. They'll definitely make you a better player no doubt. And that's my word. For your word, I would love to have you comment on guide. Tell me what you liked, what you didn't like. This is a guide that I want everyone to appreciate, so do please leave comment, feedback, errors and places I need to update. Your ideas, insights and opinions are greatly helpful because I want this to be the guide that people can go to and learn the most out of it. That's all a guide is for, to learn, improve, and to be the best player you can be! But that's all I have to say. Hope you have fun playing (and owning), and JUMP IN THE VOID!

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jhoijhoi, for the "Making a Guide" guide

Moonedge, for support and encouragement

Searzocom, for support and inviting me to join the Mobafire community

RuminatingWin, for pointing out some suggestions

Neoreborn, for helping me out with some pictures

Albableat, for the epic outro banner

Apdo and Faker, for being lords of mid

LOG

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March 8, 2012 / Guide officially released
March 10, 2012 / Fixed "Pros/Cons and Description" chapter and added the LOG
March 14, 2012 / Added the "Guide History" chapter
March 26, 2012 / Added the "FAQs and More Facts" chapter and updated a bit more
March 27, 2012 / Added the "Warding" chapter and vamped up the "Sample Build" section
March 28, 2012 / Added more pictures
March 29, 2012 / Gained the top spot! Updated some more.
March 31, 2012 / Fixed some bugs
September 22, 2012 / Update
Decemeber 26, 2012 / S3 Update
July 12, 2013 / Item Update
December 1, 2013 / Season 4 Major Update

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I WOULD LIKE TO THANK ALL MY FRIENDS AND EVERYONE WHO HAS UP-VOTED MY GUIDE. IT HAS BEEN A PLEASURE MAKING THIS GUIDE AND I HOPE THAT IT HAS HELPED EVERYONE POSITIVELY BY PLAYING KASSADIN TO A NEW LEVEL!

Excellence Is Null ~ A Comprehensive Kassadin Guide

Excellence Is Null ~ A Comprehensive Kassadin Guide

Recommended Items

Spells:

Ignite

Flash

Items

Ability Order

Void Stone (PASSIVE)

Null Sphere (Q)

Nether Blade (W)

Force Pulse (E)

Riftwalk (R)

Introduction: An In-Depth Guide

Why Play Kassadin and When?

Pros / Cons and Description

Rune Setup

Masteries

Summoner Spells

Skills Summary & Explanation

Skills Sequence and Combos

Items

Item Explanation

Gameplay

Warding

Conclusion

LOG

I WOULD LIKE TO THANK ALL MY FRIENDS AND EVERYONE WHO HAS UP-VOTED MY GUIDE. IT HAS BEEN A PLEASURE MAKING THIS GUIDE AND I HOPE THAT IT HAS HELPED EVERYONE POSITIVELY BY PLAYING KASSADIN TO A NEW LEVEL!

League of Legends Champions: