BlueR0se's Guide to Laning Kha'Zix

Hey all! I am a main that has reached Platinum I. I have mained him since Season 3. What you will see is my rendition of Kha'Zix which is not seen very often, but is a unique view I would like to share none-the-less.

Runes and Explanation

What you want to do with Kha'Zix runes is go:

x9 Flat AD Reds
x9 Flat AD Yellows
x4 Flat Armor Blues
x5 Scaling Mana Regen / 5 Blues
x2 Armor Pen Purples
x1 Flat Armor Purple

Overall:
6.0 Mana Regen @ lvl 18
12 Physical Damage
7.1 Armor
5.1 Armor Pen


The reason for this is because you're laning. The main source of damage you will most likely take is attack damage - from minions and champion auto-attacks. You have a fairly decent amount of MR already, so if you're ever versus an AP Champion, then you can rush a Hexdrinker in a timely manner - after brutalizer - of course. The mana regen allows you to stay in the lane slightly longer, but it's meant for the late game, where you guzzle mana like crazy while trying to be useful by using your Evolved Void Spikes to harass the enemy and scout out ahead. The rest should be self-explanatory.

Masteries Explained

Once again, a mastery page not really seen now-a-days, but really nit picky! You want to go 22-2-6 with Kha'Zix. The way you should think of Kha'Zix is that he has mixed damage early game; thus, you should take advantage of it early on by refreshing your passive with bushes / fog of war. Kha'Zix is primarily an assassin that should be catching out who ever is foolish enough not to group up, or anyone trying to stop your split push. Take movement speed and mana regen for laning phase and to make up for no 3rd void assault. Enchanted Armor basically helps you survive throughout the game - which is why the build corresponds with one hybrid item (defensive + offensive) at the same time. You'll be a "bruiser assassin" in a sense, but still duel worthy. One shot any squishy.

In the offensive mastery page, you take Spell Weaving and Blade Craft for your mixed damage in Q & W, as well as your passive + auto attacks. This will help maximize your damage by good percentages. Kha'Zix is unique in the fact that he's a melee, spell-casting, assassin. Not so much of an assassin like Rengar, where he just pounces on your face and blows you up, or like Zed where he relies on AoE spells to wreck havoc among team fights - and crit auto attacks. Kha'Zix is more among the lines of Ezreal, but in an assassin form. Mixed damage from spells + auto attacks.

Items Explained

Okay, the build looks fine at first glance, right? Nah, there's an item you NEVER see on a Kha'Zix player! Hextech Gunblade. The rest is pretty self-explanatory. Armor penetration in terms of flat and percentages, hybrid items that are offensive + defensive, AoE procs / auto attack resetting (Ravenous Hydra), and defensive boots - right?

So, the logic behind my "craziness" is that Spell Vamp works really well in Kha'Zix's favor. Take 20% of 500, that's 100 health you take back. Of course, later in the game your Q does not do 500 damage, but more among the lines of 800+ damage. That still equals to 160 health stolen back form a skill that has a 3 second cool down. And that's not all! Your Void Spikes also benefits from Spell Vamp as well. The more enemies that are hit by Void Spikes (a pretty good aoe / ranged skill) means the more health that is restored. But that's not all! The AP gained from Gunblade totals 65 AP. Your passive AND your Void Spikes have a 1:1 AP Ratio in terms of Damage (Passive) and Healing (Void Spikes - W). That is 65 extra health you can gain back from a duel + the vamp you get from the spell vamp. In conclusion, you get a fair amount of AD, a slow (also does damage), life and spell vamp, and a boost to your AP Ratios!

Skill Sequence and Set Explained

Simple and sweet. Max Void Spikes - W until level 6.

Evolve Q @ level 6.
Max Q there on after.

Evolve W @ level 11.
Max W there on after.

Evolve E @ level 16.

You want to max Void Spike - W for the aoe damage + increased sustain it gives you, as well as ranged damage. At level 6, evolve your Q for more damage potential. If you do the math, W evo just doesn't cut it for damage, but if you evolve your Q, the enemy under estimates your Q damage because they know you'll be maxing out your W for harass + sustain.

Evolution Order: Q -> W -> E
(Void Assault evolution is utterly useless now that damage reduction is out.)

Laning Phase

Okay, as some of the notes I put up - against champion match ups said - you want to assert lane dominance at all costs. That is why you start with your Void Spikes. It's a ranged skill that does a fair amount of damage for a low-medium cost of mana. Even if you cannot assert your dominance, you can still farm minions at a safe distance with your Void Spikes.

Keep in mind that your Void Spikes is an AoE Missile. You can hit surrounding minions, and even time / aim it well enough to harass your enemy and take some cs!

Use the bushes and fog of war to your advantage! It really helps if you just walk up to the enemy (keep in mind that minions will be aggro'd, so I recommend you look at videos to learn the radius in which minions do become aggro'd to take less damage) and just claw at their face once! Walk back into a bush / place where there is no vision of yourself. You can tell if your lane opponent has a ward in a certain area if your passive does not refresh - and if the enemy has vision of you. So it's a good thing to keep track of your passive and it's availability. Keep in mind that your passive does not have a set cool down!

Gimmicks!

What you can do with Kha'Zix is shoot out your Void Spikes out FIRST and then LEAP onto the direction you threw your Void Spike(s) at in order to receive a HEAL while you're damaging your opponent. This saves you 1-2 seconds on your W cool down and also allows you to duel with more potential!

Stealth is crucial for out plays. Bushes and your ult make a NASTY combination of juking prowess and outplays! Stalling enough for your sustain or your damage ability to come back up means the win or loss of a hunt!