Fizz Build Guide by Ignatius

Introduction

This is my first guide, but I hope to create a quality and conciseness that stands out nonetheless. My goal is to explain with as much info and as little words as possible.

This build is an AP build for fizz that utilizes his Playful / Trickster and Urchin Strike more so than his Seastone Trident. I have found that this works best for laning fizz, especially early game and for solo lanes. What my build attempts to create is a dynamic, flexible fizz that can dart in and out of combat, but that usually does not need to once mature. I prefer to start with a combo instead of the Seastone Trident hits other Fizz players use to harass early game. I find this more useful, especially in 1v1, and it helps outfarm the opposing champions with lane control. I see this as necessary because fizz is highly dependent on gold, and the earlier he gets it the safer.

The most important thing to understand is that there is a play style that accompanies this build that makes it not only viable but also powerful. Maxing Seastone Trident last, a move hardly anyone does, should be a clear indicator of the differences to you. This style is one that aims to fully optimize the items of the build from the earliest point possible. So learn the style as well as the build.

NOTE: After viewing jhoijhoi's Guide on Making Guides I completely revamped this build with style and finesse that had hardly been touched on before. She is also to blame for the great line dividers and organization. Thanks!

The builds

The first build is my original, and is geared towards newer Fizz players who struggle with enemy harass. Also, if facing a ranged player, it can be the better option because it can burst them down as opposed to whittle them down.

The second build is the experienced Fizz player build. This emphasizes potency rather than survivability, and requires proper use of the Playful / Trickster to ensure that Fizz is a hard target.

The guide itself is still based upon the original build, since as a guide it is geared towards the newer players of the first build.
Also, thanks to the research from the rune guide by Searz right here.

Pros - Cons

Pros: - Crippling burst - Capable of carrying - Flexible fighting - Versatile build options - Two slows ( / ) - Great chasing mechanisms - Invulnerability (even against Requim!) - Rewarding to learn - Fun to Play

fizzfizzfizzfizzfizz

Cons - Squishy - High learning curve - Requires map-awareness - Needs gold early game - Need experience for timing

Masteries

With this build, there is one build that stands out for supporting experienced somewhat risky play. I chose 21 / 0 / 9 to utilize Executioner , Arcane Knowledge , Sorcery and Runic Affinity .
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Tier 1 Since both Ghost and Ignite are chosen in this build, and Summoner's Wrath utilizes both of them, it is a strong choice. Mental Force is better than the other two in the tier and is needed to move on in the tree. Tier 2 CDR from Sorcery is a good compliment to this build and helps early game before you have the major items. Tier 3 Arcane Knowledge is an instant grab as it fits nicely with the Greater Mark of Magic Penetrations and MP situation items. Also covers the bases on not choosing Sorcerer's Shoes. I max Havoc because all the other masteries I did not choose in offense are for ATD and AS champions. Tier 4 Maxing Blast gives a great snowball effect (that isn't affected by deaths!) and is also the only AP choice to continue the tree. Tier 5 I take 4 points in Archmage for the same reason. Tier 6 This is the critical mastery. I greatly compliments the missing health % and DoT of Seastone Trident and is much more beneficial for Fizz than the other mastery ends; he does not need summoner spell cooldown and his array of spells should cover benefits of the tenacity from Juggernaut

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Tier 1 Expanded Mind is another subtle but useful snowball mastery that gives good support to the sustained burst damage playstyle for late game of this build. I take a point in Good Hands mainly because it is needed to move on in the tree and also because Summoner's Insight is useless with Ghost and Ignite. Improved Recall is good for some champions such as Teemo but I don't feel it is necessary for Fizz. Tier 2 Mana regeneration provided by Meditation is especially useful along with early game to work with the Greater Seal of Replenishment and support this play style oriented towards the Playful / Trickster more so than Seastone Trident (explained later). Tier 3 With only one point left, I find the benefits of Runic Affinity much more substantial than the partial effects of Greed or Transmutation . I forgo the defensive masteries for utility becaues I find these much more substantial than the puny +6 armor or MR (magic resist) that can be selected in the defense portion. After all, for 300 gold, you can pick up Cloth Armor and get 3x as much, or 400 gold for 6x as much MR with the Null-Magic Mantle. Overall, the 9 points in utility are much more beneficial than those in defense, which I why I chose to incorporate MR and armor into the build instead.

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Runes

This rune sequence is for players who are either quick learners or already know the mechanics of Fizz. Runes for health and armor are not prevalent because this guide assumes adaptability with build and adeptness with Playful / Trickster to dodge skill shots.

+0.95 Magic Penetration | This is one of the runes I would trade out last. I find the MP this rune provides as a replacement for the lack of Sorcerer's Shoes. Along with the Arcane Knowledge mastery, you should be able to fully compensate. The reason I find the Ionian Boots of Lucidity much better is that they provide cheap CDR early game that cannot be taken at such a quantity with masteries.

+0.65 CDR | Fizz has great burst ability, however he is limited by his less than stellar cooldowns. Especially early game, this can cripple his ability to be flexible in combat or fight while still having an escape route ( or . Since the cooldown problem is primarily early game, before Ionian Boots of Lucidity and somewhat leveled abilities, I prefer the flat cooldown glyphs.
Greater Seal of Replenishment +0.51 MP/5 | Early game, fizz's and (especially the latter) eat huge holes in his mana pool. This requires either restrained harass or frequent recall trips - neither of which are preferred. Since his later AP items generally increase his mana pool and this problem vanishes mid to late game, taking flat mana regeneration is best.
+7.74 AP (0.43/level) | Oh, come on! He's AP, give him some AP buff! I shouldn't have to explain this. I have found that the Greater Quintessence of Scaling Ability Power is better than the Greater Quintessence of Ability Power because by starting with Doran's Ring, you eliminate the need for the flat AP. In Fact, it completely replaces what the flat AP Quints would give you. These, however, are powerful for mid/late game.

Summoner Spells

Ghost: While Fizz already has no unit collision from his passive Nimble Fighter and tricks from Playful / Trickster, I still find this useful to burst out of an enemy's reach once that cursed cc ends.

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Ignite: This is incredibly helpful early game for finishing of pesky enemies before you have Chum the Waters or Deathfire Grasp to tag them with.

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Exhaust: this is a great alternative to either Ghost or Ignite. It can be used to escape like the former, or applied to help finish a champion like the latter. This is not a primary choice because Fizz already has two slows.

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Teleport: for those with a case of the mondays. This spell isn't bad on Fizz since he doesn't have as quick a movement speed as we'd like (for Summoner's Rift only).

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Cleanse: I know, I know, you dislike it. But the thing is, the only real thing that can lock down a Fizz and ensure a kill is either stupidity on the player's part or a cc from the enemy. So this can be quite useful.

Abilities

Nimble Fighter Ghost-like ability granting no unit collision
A relieving passive ability that is essential for dodging spells such as Ashe's Volley with a front line of minions. Also useful as another escape mechanism by running through minions that the chaser must go over or around.

Urchin Strike Dashes forward through enemies a set distance
One of the more flexible abilities Fizz has, despite its straightforwardness. Its set distance and ability to go through targets makes this great for catching up to enemies at the edges of your range or escaping when they get too close.
Seastone Trident Passive: AutoAttack buff and missing health scaling | Active: DoT further buff
The go-to ability for most Fizz guides, it takes a backseat role in mine for early game. The vamped AA and DoT is good for farming without AS. As well, the healing reduction and missing health % scaling make this ability a great finisher.
Playful / Trickster Invulnerability: Jump - AoE damage and slow | Double Jump -damage without slow can be used to jump over short walls
Your escape, chase, burst damage and dodge all in one. The high damage and AP scaling couter-attack make this an essential part of damage as well as harass, which is why I utilize it as early as possible. Long base CD stat.
Chum the Waters Skill shot AoE slow + delayed burst damage
Your teamfight ultimate. Its slow cripples enemy escape and maneuverability while damaging all enemies in a small radius. As one of the more powerful ultimates at level 6 with its damage and cc, this ensures an early kill that helps satisfy some gold dependence.

Ability Sequence

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I find this as a natural complimentary ability to either or . I select this second because of it's easy burst effect. Urchin Strike in, and use Playful / Trickster (+slow) then run out. With the slowing effect of Playful / Trickster, they can hardly land an attack in before you walk straight through their minions with your passive Nimble Fighter no unit collision.

Seeing as how neither Urchin Strike nor Playful / Trickster need a quick upgrade, I take this to get some early farming done.
4-5) Seastone Trident and Playful / Trickster I take these to ensure quick farming (important!) and take the high damage upgrade for Playful / Trickster before I use the next few levels to buff Urchin Strike and Chum the Waters so that it still packs a punch.




Urchin Strike provides the quickest damage and is useful for finishing low champs that run away. Because of this and it's relatively short cooldown in comparison with and , I max this first.

I max this second for several critical reasons:

• initial CD is terrible --> one use per fight (below)
• can't use to fight since it must be saved for escapes (losing tons of damage)
• drastic scaling / major source of damage - +50 up to 270 +70% a
• Seastone Trident's CD does not scale down and is less flexible

Despite many opinions otherwise, I do not find Seastone Trident helpful to max first.

• Uses less mana
• Take a lot of minion agro during harass
• Less flexibility
• Easily counterattacked
  

Seastone Trident is a powerful farming tool and DoT spell that works much the same why as Teemo's poison. However, while I always max Toxic Shot first, I cannot endorse this with Fizz because he is neither AS nor ranged like Teemo, and it requires mana to use. Thus, Seastone Trident is both more costly and more risky.

However: Before I max Urchin Strike (and before level 6), I do take an upgrade for Seastone Trident and Playful / Trickster each. The first, because it does help farming and allows it to be helpful until I level it, and Playful / Trickster because the nearly doubling of it's damage allows it to remain potent over the next few levels while I max Urchin Strike and work on my build.

Items

Other players might say that Sapphire Crystal is not very helpful for fizz to start out with, but I beg to differ. They claim that Fizz needs the movement speed and durability of the class boots and pots combo. However, since this build takes Playful / Trickster first, Fizz already has some flexibility. On top of that, since this build is not built on early harass with Seastone Trident but with the / combo instead, the boots are not needed to reduce minion agro after harassing. This is also better for FB.

This should be Fizz's first core item. It provides him with much-needed increases in mana, health and ability power all in one. By starting with this, there is no need to buy a basic item for each of those before building them into separate core items. At this point Fizz can become bolder in his lane control and burst assassinations and should start using these to out-farm and out-level his counterparts. I cannot stress how important it is to last hit with fizz early to mid game, because he is more dependent on gold than others due to his early squishiness. So intimidate and farm!

Through this purchase, Seastone Trident finally becomes of use in this build. Jumping in, then applying to the first attack in conjunction with Lich Bane's passive turns harass into full-out assault that cuts through enemy health. And since all of this is just one melee after using the / combo, there is just a small window of time for the enemy champion to strike back. The other qualities of Lich Bane are also good increases to most sectors of need for this early-mid game faze.

While some make the case for Sorcerer's Shoes, I prefer these boots. While most cooldown reduction items are towards the end of the build, these provide an early cut that is both efficient and effective. The magic penetration possibly gained through the is achieved instead through the runes.

This was an interesting item to stumble upon when I was testing different builds. It combines needed AP and addictive CDR. At this point, Urchin Strike is reduced to around 3.5 seconds while Playful / Trickster is reduced to about 4.5 seconds! (28% of original CD) Not only is this enough to cycle through abilities in fights, but it saves your defense mechanism (). That's 56-58% of the CD of just the maxed abilities, and not including the runes.

Towards late-game, Fizz should be fed enough to have all his CD reduction and some AP from , , and . However, this is nowhere near the target. Rabadon's Deathcap gives Fizz back the burst damage from nuking spells (which should occur often do to the great CD) that he had earlier. While Deathfire Grasp gives a unique burst, this finally gives Fizz the massive AP boost needed to really melt through enemies' health.

This is my go-to defense item for Fizz. With the revive, he is given enough mana to use Playful / Trickster and hopefully escape, and it provides both armor and MR in one item slot, which frees up the rest for AP/CD etc. The main reason a defensive item is needed is because Fizz is by nature a squishy champion. While previous items such as Rod of Ages counter this somewhat, in mid/late game the enemies will likely be focusing on you due to the high sustained damage with your AP and CDR items.

Item Sequence

I take Catalyst the Protector before Boots of Speed because Fizz desperately needs the health and mana boosts of these items, while the boots are low priority early game due to the harass combo method instead of Seastone Trident. After you get Catalyst the Protector, you should be able to play somewhat aggressively with harass and are much more durable in lane, thus increasing gold and experience.

I grab the Rod of Ages before my upgraded boots because Fizz is still very squishy until he gets this item. Rod of Ages allows him to maintain lanes and survive teamfights. At this point the player should be comfortable with Fizz and not have to play quite so cautiously.

Taking the Chain Vest for the Guardian Angel before Rabadon's Deathcap (the item preceding Guardian Angel) allows Fizz to survive the enemy champions newfound ATD items until you can pull together the gold for Rabadon's Deathcap. Getting this armor and magic resist as early as possible is critical due to the nature of those stats: the lower your armor/MR, the more any increase will benefit. Here is a visual from Try-Hard Mode (http://tryhardmode.wordpress.com/):
As you can see, getting small items such as Null-Magic Mantle, Chain Vest (or Cloth Armor if you're hurting with finances) really help, and getting them as early as possible is key. In this build, the Lich Bane provides the early MR, and so the Chain Vest is all you need to get early.

Situational Items

Granted, no match is the same. The above build is what works best on average. But you're not an average player, are you? With some adaptability, Fizz should be a driving force in the match, and with smart item choices should counter his weaknesses in any given match.
NOTE: these items are meant to replace items during mid game, it is very unlikely that you will have enough gold to finish the build and then go back and replace items, as well as being inefficient and inflexible. React as the game unfolds, not after!

This is a suitable alternative to Morello's Evil Tome that should be used if you need to eat through some tank armor in order to kill them. NOTE: only use the active unique ability when they are at full health in order to maximize damage.
What to replace: Morello's Evil Tome
When to replace: When the enemy team's tank just won't die. (thinking of you, Rammus!}
Great trade against a team led by mages. It provides supple MR, and it's movement speed/HP are both well-appreciated by characters like Fizz. In fact, due to it's speed buff, I recommend trading this in for the as well as in return for a heavier damage item.
What to replace: Guardian Angel AND Ionian Boots of Lucidity
When to replace When the enemy team is AP-heavy and you feel safe without the armor.
Replace along with: Mejai's Soulstealer or Zhonya's Hourglass.

There no loss of AP in this trade, yet it drastically buffs MR and MP If you look at some of the AP/mana items, you'll notice that they often give some MR or health along with the AP ( , , , , etc) For this reason, Abyssal Scepter counters two things: enemy AP/MP with the magic resist, and enemy HP and MR with the AP and MP.
What to replace: Rod of Ages
When to replace: Mid-game or when necessary; enemy team led by mages

This item is a bit different as far as fitting into the build. It has such a great CDR that it also can trade out two slots of the build. By combining the CDR into one item, this trade leaves room for more AP and MP items in the build.
What to replace: Ionian Boots of Lucidity AND Deathfire Grasp
When to replace: late game when you need more magic penetration and AP.
Replace along with: AP/defense items in this list according to the situation.

On the flip side, if the enemy team has more AP poke (i.e. Nidalee Twisted Fate), this item may be good. I do not include it in the build since Zhonya's Hourglass contains armor (usually the largest source of damage to Fizz since he is melee) and it also has a great buff to AP. However, against Karthus, Ziggs or other high-damage, ranged mages - this is a good choice.
What to replace: Deathfire Grasp or along with Force of Nature trade.
When to replace: Either when struggling with AD burst or with the Force of Nature trade. (above)

For use against teams led by attack speed/attack damage champions. This is an all right item if you feel like you need to play more aggressively against AS/ATD champions instead merely whittling down their health with harass.
What to replace: Guardian Angel
When to replace: When hounded by AS/ATD champions, weak enemy mages.
I do not highly recommend this item. It is only good when enemies have exceptionally high magic resist or your team has too many AP champions. You are much better off with the Abyssal Scepter instead, as lowering enemy MR by 20 is more effective than increasing your MP by around 5.
What to replace: Rod of Ages
When to replace: When enemies stack up layers of MR

Crushing Combos

These are the combos that will crush your foes, catch your unworthy enemies, and cremate teamfights.

NOTE: Playful / Trickster denotes waiting for the slow, unless specified.
Seastone Trident denotes one auto attack with Seastone Trident activated.

Levels 2-5 | then run through minions out of agro. Rinse and repeat, until they are low enough to finish.


Level 6 | -If necessary, which it shouldn't be, add to the end:

Only be aggressive at this point if you have Catalyst the Protector, and preferably with Sheen too.

Once you have Lich Bane, after each Playful / Trickster one hit of Seastone Trident. This compliments the high damage of after-spell effects from Lich Bane

Below is what should become your basic combo cycle. You should auto attack with Seastone Trident until it is necessary to catch up with them again using Urchin Strike. Repeat as necessary (exclude Chum the Waters when on cooldown):

If you have the HP and mana to do this, use the following combo against turret-huggers: Basically, you should power up Seastone Trident, then Urchin Strike in and land your [icon=Seastone Trident] power-hit and then use [[Playful / Trickster to dodge and escape the turret.
Alternatively, use Chum the Waters to snag low-health champions recalling.



After obtaining Deathfire Grasp, use the item ability after the enemy comes close enough to fully engage and catch with Urchin Strike should the ability deter them. By using this earlier, you are empowering the Seastone Trident missing health % effects. Due to the wide range of abilities that can be used to catch up with them and Ignite, it is not needed as a finisher.

Never purposely use Seastone Trident right before Playful / Trickster as a combo unless you will wait to reap the benefits from the full 5 seconds before using it. The opposite works much better, since they cannot get out of range well if you land the slow. For this reason Seastone Trident is last in the combo, and after it Urchin Strike should be used to catch up and restart the combo. Chum the Waters should usually go in between combos in order to make sure you can get in range for Urchin Strike to land the next round.

Laning

This is, of course, not a jungle guide, so who should Fizz lane against?

Fizz is a great AP carry but like all champions he has his limitations.
Do NOT lange against:
If possible, Fizz should avoid going against a ranged champion with considerable health. While he can squash Teemo with a move or two, champions such as Sivir are much harder as not only can they burn through your health before you get close, but once you do they have too much health to finish after your health has been cut from their ranged attacks. The best way to judge this is whether or not the champion is viable as an off-tank. I have seen Sivir do this. Ouch.

AS/lifesteal champions are also bad champions to lineup against (in 1v1s mostly) because their high level of health regeneration makes them have tank-like qualities. (i.e. Master Yi or Warwick)


Try to lane with:
With his insatiable hunger for gold, the best champions to lane with are ones who can let you take most of the last hits. Normally, this includes tanks. But that is just fine with Fizz, because he needs someone to take a few hits during his early softness. As mentioned before, Fizz should not play exceptionally aggressive in lanes until he has a Catalyst the Protector and not in teamfights until he has Rod of Ages. With a tank, however, he is able to be played with a bit more risk.

Changelog | Coming Soon | Feedback

I initially created this guide because I was discontent with the quality of other Fizz builds. That is not to say all them them are bad, in fact the build Fizzy Pop: Your Inexhaustible Ranked Companion build is nice, but it does not match my play-style.

My goal is that this guide will help Fizz become a game-changer for many people who use him, because those that I have seen are eclipsed into the background. In order to create a guide that fully realizes this goal with this lane Fizz, I would greatly appreciate any constructive criticisms or praise that would help me doctor and trim it into a well-rounded guide. Once again, this is my first attempt at a guide, so any advice is welcome. Also, help on how to record gameplay for examples of the play style for this build would be fantastic. Thanks, and enjoy!

Coming Soon:

• Finished and edited Laning Chapter per advice of NNAARR
• Twisted Treeline Tips/Tricks
• Instructional and Play Style gameplay videos
• Jungling Fizz

[12/25/11] Changed Deathfire Grasp to Morello's Evil Tome per advice of Ghara46 after having misread its label as maximum health, not current health.
[12/24/11] Added Laning chapter per advice of Koksei | Minor changes per advice of Koksei
[12/23/11] Revamped guide with Jhoijhoi's guidance | archived old one and posted new one
[12/22/11] Corrected glyphs and added combo chapter