Hey guys, my name is Padres and this is my first guide on MobaFire. The reason I am writing this guide is to address the misunderstanding that Kha'Zix has become a weak champion after the 4.9 Patch. The reason for this misunderstanding is that Kha'Zix's old style of play was strong right from level 1. Now his playstyle is more of a passive laning phase until he has the items and levels to roam and secure kills.

Pros:
+Strong 1v1
+High Sustain
+Two Escapes
+High Maneuverability
+Extremely Fun
+Can carry teams at late game

Cons:
-Weak early game
-Minimal teamfight impact until level 11
-Can fall behind if zoned from farm
-Things that grant vision of invisible units prevent R from being affective
-Not as OP as before

Q: Taste Their Fear
Kha'Zix's Q is his main damage dealing ability. It does single target damage that is increased when the target is isolated. Use this ability to farm as it costs very little mana and has a short cooldown.

Evolved Q does more damage to isolated targets and that is why I recommend evolving Q first. Since Kha'Zix is more of an assassin who needs to focus on isolated targets in the early game, roaming is one of the better ways to get kills during Kha'Zix's weakest phase.

W: Void Spikes
Kha'Zix W is a skillshot that does AOE damage and slow around the first target it hits. If Kha'Zix is in the vicinity of the explosion, he is healed. In lane, use this ability when you need to sustain, make sure you are close to the minions before using it, as otherwise you will not be healed. When roaming, start of with W when you know that the champion will be slowed.

Evolved W: Kha'Zix shoots out not 1, but 3 skillshots that reveal units they hit. When W is evolved, the slow is also greatly increased to 50% slow. The reason I do not evolve W is because I do not think that the two other spikes hit consistently enough, and if you evolve your R, you have 3 slows instead of 1

E: Leap
Kha'Zix's utility ability. Although it does damage, it is not significant enough to be used as damage ability. Use your E to escape, or as a gap closer ONLY if you are positive you will not need it to escape.

Evolved E: Kha'Zix now jumps very far compared to his regular E, but one of the greatest additions is that if Kha'Zix gets a kill or assist, his E resets. This allows Kha'Zix to jump in and kill a high priority target then jump out before he is killed. It also allows Kha'Zix to chase better if someone flashes away.

R: Active Camouflage
When activated, Kha'Zix can turn invisible for a short time, at two seperate times. When invisible, Kha'Zix receives a short speed boost. This can be used to escape or to get kills because when Kha'Zix activates his R, he turns invisible, giving his next auto to have Unseen Threat, Kha'Zix passive.

Evolved R: Kha'Zix receives another charge, which means he has 3 Unseen Threats, one after each activation of his R. I use this spell after I E in and as I am killing one of the carries. Late game you should be able to kill a carry in two charges, which gives you a third to use as a way to get to another carry or to use as an escape after your Leap reset has been used.

First Items: I prefer and recommend starting with a long sword and 3 pots. I prefer this because it gives you sustain if you are being harassed and it builds into your Tiamat, which you want to get as quickly as possible. Other starting choices are a rejuvenation bead with pots if you are going against a strong harasser. Doran's Blade can be bought, but I think it lacks sustain and does not build into the Tiamat.

First Back: I strongly recommend not recalling until you have enough money to buy a Tiamat. If your are forced back via death or very low health, buy stage 1 boots and other items that would build into a Tiamat. If you are being harassed, but some health pots.

Core items: Ravenous Hydra. Without this item, you lack waveclear, lifesteal to sustain in lane, and obviously damage. Also get Brutalizer, Merc Treads, and Last Whisper. These are you core items and will help you do enough damage to get to late game. If you are against a AP mid who does lots of damage, buy a hexdrinker for some attack damage and magic resist.

Final Items: Finish you Brutalizer into a Black Cleaver, Hexdrinker into a Maw of Malmortius. Your final item is situational. I prefer a defensive item that gives me armor, something that I do not have much of. A Guardian Angel is my preferred way to go as it gives both armor and magic resist. It also allows you to make more risky plays because of the passive that brings you back to life. If you are against a heavy AD team or are getting ripped apart by the enemy ADC, I prefer a Randuin's that gives me health and armor. A perk of Randuin's is that it has a slow which can be used for chasing or disengaging. Against a heavy AP team or a team with strong poke like Nidalee, a Banshee's Veil would be a wise choice

Kha'Zix works best with a team that has a strong cc engagement such as Nami and Braum ult. When the cc is about to hit, E in and auto then Q.
Your abilities should usually go in this order
E->Q->Auto->W->Q->R->Auto->R->Auto->Q
Although this seems like a long time for an assassin, I have done this combo in quick time, combined with cc from your team, that gives about 3 seconds of "Danger Time" that you could be killed if everyone reacts fast enough.
One thing to note is that while in the air from your E, you can use Q and the active on your Ravenous Hydra/Tiamat. Use this to quickly chuck down your opponents right when you jump in

Overall, Kha'Zix has a very different early game from 4.8 because of the decrease damage and scaling on his Q. Once he gets past the early game, he can become a roaming monster, securing kills in all lanes and in the jungle. The key to playing Kha'Zix on 4.9 is to farm and get your core items and then decide which target to assassinate. With this guide, I hope you understand that the nerfs to Kha'Zix have not removed him as a high tier champion.