Hi! I play in the Garena server, and my ELO is at an unremarkable Silver 3 in Ranked, and 2000++ in Normals. I mainly play AP and AD carries, and of the AD carries I play my favourite carry is Ezreal. He has very good early poke, midgame damage and if he gets fed, he can still do a lot of Damage Lategame! I'm not the best Ezreal player, but I am confident that I am good enough to guide newbies and players who want to get better to play Ezreal! By the way this is my first ever guide so forgive me if I am not that good at this! (If you win with my build, you can PM me your results to feature it on my guide!)

*Note: I have launched this guide again as my felt that my previous guide did not get the rating that it should have gotten due to numerous trollvotes.



Yeah I know these stats are definitely not that good but I play more normals than ranked cause I feel that normal games are harder for me. I always go to normals and see gold players playing with me lol. Even though I only won 3/5 of my games, I still managed to keep a decent KDA, which goes to show that even if you lose or win, your KDA will not be affected as your KDA is mainly based on your skill of a champion. And I don't like to spam games of one champion as I'm usually the role-filler in ranked, so I get a lot of support.



I, Teh Grazzh0pper, will fulfill the pact below and I will make sure that this guide is as good as it can be.



Wonder what this is all about? Visit my other guide here! http://www.mobafire.com/league-of-legends/build/how-to-create-a-good-first-guide-for-newcomers-323254

Now I shall go through WHY you actually want to play Ezreal:

+ Good poke with Q + Able to escape from sticky situations with E + Easy to understand + R can be used to Kill minions/ Finish champs + Can do well with ANY SUPPORT + Very easy to snowball earlygame + Pulsefire Ezreal shows how much Riot loves him + Nottingham Ezreal is BADASS with that GREEN JACKET + High Utility

- Falls off a bit lategame - Countered hard by superior poke lanes - Need good mechanics and skill - Q CAN'T CRIT :( space space space space space space space space

So basically as you can see Ezreal is a very good AD carry from the pros and cons that I listed. He is one of the most popular AD carries among the LoL community, from casual players like me to the professionals.

Mandatory:

space

This is a must. Even though you have Arcane Shift, sometimes when you overextend just that will NOT be good enough. People might think that using Ghost instead of Flash is better, but I strongly disagree. Yes, ghost is good to catch up or run away from an enemy, but MANY champions have at least a SLOW, which would already cripple your movement speed. Some champions are even faster than your Ghost! Furthermore, what if you have no mana? What if you recklessly Arcane Shifted into a fight and need to run away? Ghost isn't going to save your life. Furthermore, Flashing over a wall and juking back with your Arcane Shift is also possible. Flash just brings about the extra utility to me.

Pick one summoner spell from this list!:
space
space
space

space

I used to like taking Barrier, but with the new season 3 meta, you need to win earlygame trades. Barrier is better than Ignite in doing so. You can bait the enemy into unfavourable trades and just use Barrier at the last second and watch him rage on all chat while you secure the kill. Furthermore, unlike Ignite, it does not fall off lategame. During the lategame, where everyone's damage output becomes monstrous, Ignite does not amplify your damage so much as to make it an essential summoner spell. Barrier also protects you during teamfights and ensures that you have a higher chance of surviving if you are locked down by your opponents.

space
space

space

Even though it is not my favourite summoner spell now, it is still extremely powerful to secure that early kill in lane and snowball. This spell is also useful against crazy regen champions like Dr. Mundo. However due to the extra utility that Barrier brings I don't usually take this spell nowadays.

space
space

space

However, sometimes you just can't take ignite. Say you are against Draven and Taric bot. Without cleanse, their damage potential is enough to KILL YOU! From there on, they will snowball and you will soon see yourself having to fire Mystic Shots just to get last hits. That is NOT what you want to do. Also Cleanse is mandatory against a high CC team or a team which has very strong initiation. However you can take Ignite if you get a Quicksilver Sash or if your ally has Mikael's Blessing.

space
space
space

space

You COULD get this, but personally I feel that you don't need Heal that much. If you really need it tell support to get it as Heal heals everyone for same amount now.

space
space
space

space

Your support should take this spell for you. However if you take this spell ask your support to take Heal or Ignite for you. Exhaust is also useful for dive-heavy supports such as Leona who will not be able to defend you in a teamfight. Then, you can use Exhaust on that enemy Zed to minimize his damage output and reduce his chances of killing you, thus allowing you to be relevant to the fight. You might want to take this spell if you want to duel against the enemy champions, though I don't really like it.

Any other summoner spells I find unviable and unsuitable for Ezreal. The only exception would be Teleport, but only use it if you have a premade team with a specific team composition.

This is just my guidelines of what a good Ezreal player needs to fulfill. To me, only when I fulfilled these guidelines did I become a good Ezreal player. I will upload pictures of the guidelines as soon as I have the time to play a match.

space

This is Ezreal's passive, Rising Spell Force. This skill gives you bonus attack speed based on how many enemies you hit with your spells. It has a duration that can be refreshed. Tips: This spell seems useless at first, but can be deceptively strong during teamfights or skirmishes in the bot lane. This is why you always cast Trueshot Barrage at the START of the fight if possible. You will probably hit 5 enemies, so the +50% attack speed is no small deal. It increases your DPS by quite a lot, and it makes you have an imaginary Phantom Dancer for 5 seconds, and that duration can be REFRESHED. Being able to dish out more autoattacks in fights like these will give you an advantage. I am aware that many players do not really see the power of his passive, but it is really useful if you want an attack speed steroid during those major fights. Personally, I like this passive a lot, as it gives you an upperhand in fights that players don't really pay attention to. This passive allows you to make the enemy overcommit into fighting you when you know that you have the attack speed boost to help you deal more damage.

space
space
space
space

space

This is Ezreal's Q, Mystic Shot. Deals damage from a range. Tips: This will be your main form of harass in the lane. It is an extended autoattack of yours which is good in the early and midgame, where you are not really that autoattack dependent yet. Take note that it procs on-hit effects, so you can W-Q(if you have Iceborn Gauntlet) to piss your enemies off. However, you should NEVER use this spell for normal attacking lategame. It is much better to autoattack the enemy to death than to shoot a Mystic Shot and waste 0.5 seconds, in which you could send an autoattack that COULD CRIT. I like to use my Mystic Shot when enemies are getting away and I know that I don't have range to autoattack and finish them. Just imagine [Mystic Shot as an autoattack that can't crit but has a huge range. However, in the early game, try to use Mystic Shot to harass your enemies and not your autoattacks, especially against higher range champions such as Caitlyn. I max this first for the harass damage, as well as the shorter cooldown. Another thing to note is that you can use Mystic Shot to check brushes. If you hear a sound in the brush, that means someone is there and you should not venture anywhere near that brush. Who knows, the entire enemy team might be waiting to gank you!

space
space
space
space

space

This is Ezreal's W, Essence Flux. Deals a bit of magic damage and increases ally attack speed. This is where people start to question my build a bit. Why didn't you bother taking it at level 4, and leave it out till level 8? In a land a few patches ago, where Ezreal was getting picked nearly every game, his Essence Flux reduces the enemy's attack speed for 5 seconds. At that time, I used to max Essence Flux first, since enemies could not dodge it so easily, and the attack speed debuff really helps me win trades. However, sinced they nerfed the base damage and removed the attack speed debuff, this skill is totally redundant in the early and midgame. What do you do in lane, Essence Flux your support Zyra and ask her to shoot a bit more measly thorns at a Draven, who doesn't care at all cause he's DRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAVEN? Early and midgame, the attack speed boost is UNNOTICABLE! And the damage sucks too. I would rather get more points in Arcane Shift at level 4 to get the shorter cooldown as it is my only escape tool, than to just get 1 point of Essence Flux to do nearly nothing. Tips: This spell only becomes useful lategame. Do not try to use it on enemies, but rather on your allies. You can use it before they initiate a fight for your Trundle to whack more times with his club, but using it on enemies will make them go like "wow, i suddenly lost 50 health! Now I'll just wait for 2 seconds to regenerate it". This spell can also be used to push a tower faster, cause lategame, the attack speed boost is finally noticeable and it allows you to whack towers more. Other than these 2 uses, this spell is utterly useless. Thus I max it last cause I have to.

space
space
space
space

space

This is Ezreal's E, Arcane Shift. This is your only escape tool. Tips: DO NOT USE THIS SKILL TO GO INTO A FIGHT. PLEASE! If the enemy ganks you in bot lane, or that Jarvan IV reaches you, you only have Flash. And Flash could be on cooldown. REMEMBER THAT IF YOU ARE DEAD, NO MATTER HOW MUCH AD YOU HAVE, YOU STILL DEAL 0 DAMAGE! Only use this skill offensively if 1. You can win the trade, and enemy jungler is elsewhere or 2. Chasing down low-health enemies who can't stop you. Arcane Shift over a wall, or if you really extend too much, this spell + Flash will save your life. SAVE THIS SKILL IN FIGHTS! You never know when you will be focused.

Where you can Arcane Shift:

space
space
space
space

space

This is Ezreal's R, Trueshot Barrage. Deals decent damage with a decent cooldown. Tips: This skill, if used before a short skirmish or a teamfight, gives you an advantage, as stated in the section of Rising Spell Force. Do not hesitate to use this spell to clear a large wave of minions pushing down a tower. It has quite a short cooldown! This spell can also be used to check or snipe Buffs, Dragon or Baron. It can also be used as a finishing move to hit all those low health enemies.

Final word is that try to use smartcast on all of your skills, except for maybe your Trueshot Barrage. It helps a lot.

I chose to get Essence Flux at level 8 instead of level 4 as during level 4, the only trades that are likely to happen are small bot lane + jungler skirmishes, where your Essence Flux is useless compared to the utility of the reduced 2 second cooldown on Arcane Shift. Furthermore, using Essence Flux is just a waste of mana cause it's damage is so low.

However, instead of taking it at lvl 13, I have decided to take it at level 8 as usually, this is when teams will start to contest for dragon, where 4v4 or even full teamfights could occur for this objective. In this case, Essence Flux brings more utility as if you can land it on all of your allies, they will have an increase in attack speed which will help them to dish out more champions, especially for champions like Fiora.

Basically you prioritise Trueshot Barrage> Mystic Shot> Arcane Shift> Essence Flux.
Like all ultimates, get Trueshot Barrage when you can.
Max Mystic Shot for early game damage and also for a shorter cooldown.
Max Arcane Shift next for a shorter cooldown and its your only escape tool.
Max Essence Flux last as it isn't useful until lategame.

If you want me to go to the specifics you can ask me a question, but I feel that this short explanation is enough to justify my proritization.

Now, we shall go into the specifics:
space
space

space

I go AD marks for early game damage. I find that most AD carries will bulk up on armor so flat Armor penetration isn't really that useful. But you can substitute AD seals for Armor penetration if you want.

space
space

space

I go Flat armor seals to withstand early game damage from the other AD carry. You do not want to get poked out of lane! However, you can run mana regeneration seals as Ezreal is a skillshot based champion earlygame.

space
space

space

I go Scaling Magic Resist Glyphs as I feel that lategame, you need more magic resist so that AP carries cannot one-shot you. However, you can go Flat Magic Resist Glyphs if the enemy has heavy poke damage, such as an annoying Nunu & Willump Kog'Maw combination.

space
space

space

I go Flat AD quintessences for more early game damage. You want to poke the enemy out of lane. However, if you want to start Doran's Blade or just want sustain in general, then you can get Greater Quintessence of Life Steal for 6% lifesteal for extra sustain, coupled with 3% from 19-0-11 masteries and your Doran's Blade passive.

space space space Possible starting items: I like this start as I usually like to rush an early Bloodthirster, and this item helps me to get a Vampiric Scepter on my first back. +10 damage helps you to deal more damage in lane, and the 2 health potions help you to regenerate health from small skirmishes.space
space
space Boots only give you +25 movement speed, which isn't much. Besides, they increased all champion's base movement speed, so you don't really need this anymore. However, you can run it if you feel that your lane will be camped by the enemy jungler.space
space
space This is the standard start for AD carries now. With the 19-0-11 mastery tree, a support with heals and/or lifesteal quintessences, this start gives you decent extra health, along with +10 AD and good sustain due to it's passive. The passive sustain DOES stack up, such that it becomes a better item than Long Sword and two Health Potions the longer you stay in lane. However if you start Doran's Blade you should get 1 more to add to your early game damage and survivability.

1st Back

space
space

space

I like to go with this on my first back. Berserker's Greaves for more DPS and Vampiric Scepter for more lifesteal, and it allows me to get Bloodthirster faster. This gives you sustain, but not survivability, so be careful!

space
space

space

Alternatively, you could get Sheen if you want to increase your poke capability and your mana pool. However this sacrifices sustain unless you can get Health Potion, and your survivability. This can lead to an early Iceborn Gauntlet or Trinity Force rush.

space
space

space

You could also get this if you are ahead and/or just got a kill. Getting straight-up Phage gives you the chance to slow the enemy, and if you get a lucky proc, you could easily deal more damage or finish the enemy ADc or support off. As it also builds from Long Sword, you could get it even if your lane is neutral. It gives health and sustain so definitely a good item to get at 1st back. However, I would only recommend going via this route if you want to rush Trinity Force.

space
space

space

Run this if you get Doran's Blade as your starting item. You should always try to get 2 Doran's Blade at the early game, unless you are so fed you can just go back and buy the B. F. Sword. Pairing this item with Vampiric Scepter allows you to have excellent sustain in lane.

space
space

space

ONLY GO THIS if you just got a kill and you want to PRESS YOUR ADVANTAGE. This gives you +45 AD, which is a lot. However you are sacrificing sustain and survivability so you really have to be confident on your ability to kill the enemy or you will most likely get outpoked or bursted down in lane or jungler gank.

space
space
space

Core Items

To me, these are the two items you should ALWAYS rush first after your level 2 boots. Bloodthirster first if you are winning your lane, Statikk Shiv first if you are losing your lane. However I like to get both items instantly. With these two items and level 2 boots, you can enter any teamfight and do a lot of damage. I'll explain why.

Bloodthirster starts with 70 AD and 12% lifesteal. This amount can increase with more farm till 100 AD and 18% lifesteal. 100 AD is no joke. 18% lifesteal is also a lot. This means that your damage output will be phenomenal, even if you are losing your lane.

Statikk Shiv is arguably the BEST midgame item in the game for AD carries. The 100 lightning magic damage is ANNOYING, and it also increases your damage. It is really easy to get max stacks again just by attacking and moving. Furthermore, it also provides attack speed and crit chance, excellent stats for any AD carry. The movement speed helps too, whether for escaping or for catching up to enemies.

People might be thinking-OMG attack speed Ezreal what new meta is this? OMG noob Ezreal trying to be like Vayne. Mystic Shot procs your lightning damage too, so why not? With the nerfs to Trinity Force, these two items alone provide much more usefulness than Trinity Force. These are thus your core items as it greatly increases your DPS in the midgame.space
space
space


From here, it's your choice! I'll go through the benefits of buying each item, as well as my personal opinion on them. If you have all 6 items, you can sell your Statikk Shiv as it does not fare as well lategame.

Viable OFFENSIVE items

space
space

space

Bloodthirster gives you 70 AD and 12% lifesteal WITHOUT ANY STACKS. This damage and lifesteal itself is already very good. However, if you can stack it to 30 stacks, it has 100 AD and 18% lifesteal. For 3.2k gold, that is GOOD(not insane anymore :/). This item is too good to pass up as it really increases your upfront damage. You CANNOT skip this item in your build. EVER. If you are winning your lane, get Bloodthirster after Tier 2 boots, or third item if you are losing lane.

space
space
space
space

space

Infinity Edge is a really good item for AD carries in general. Even though Ezreal does have an excellent skillshot in Mystic Shot, he is still an AD carry and at the lategame, having this item is essential as it allows you to do way more damage with your autoattacks. 70 AD is really good, as well as 25% critical chance. Furthermore, it's passive makes critical hits deal 250% damage, which is REALLY GOOD if you get a crit (which you have a 45% chance of doing with Statikk Shiv). Overall, as Ezreal is supposed to transition into a lategame AD carry, this item is needed and you should get this as your 5th item.

space
space
space
space

space

If you sell your Statikk Shiv in the lategame, you need to have this or use this as an alternative. Phantom Dancer provides you with good attack speed bonus with critical chance, which is good for any AD carries. You could get this with Statikk Shiv, but personally I like to go for damage items first, then using this as my final or the alternative to Statikk Shiv. This item provides 50% attack speed bonus and 30% crit chance, so you can take this item when you feel like it in my opinion.

space
space
space
space

space

With the buffs to Trinity Force I have changed my stand on it. It gives great stats for all around Ezreal players. It gives nearly everything an Ezreal could hope for. It is now more cost efficient and I would get it in place of Infinity Edge now, or sell Statikk Shiv after 6 items and get Infinity Edge instead. If you want to get it, get it as your 4TH item and push your Armor penetration item to the 5th slot. And you might want to get a Phage before going for Statikk Shiv if you want to get this item.

space
space
space
space

space

DEM BUFFS! This is just an OP item now. 25 AD, 15% lifesteal, 40% attack speed with ACTIVE for 3200 gold? YES PLEASE. Though Ezreal is not really autoattack dependent, this is DEFINITELY a good item to get. Furthermore the active will allow you to shock the enemy by using it at the last moment and winning 1v1s, or it can be useful for fleeing from/chasing enemies.Get this as your 4th item if you want, and you can either take this, or Trinity Force

space
space
space
space

space

Even with the price nerfs, this item is still extremely CHEAP. It provides +35% armor penetration, and you MUST get this item OR Black Cleaver. You will need armor penetration to do more damage. After all, what is the use if you have 400 AD but no armor penetration against an enemy with 300 armor? I personally prefer getting this item over Black Cleaver as you can't pop all 4 stacks of its passive at once to an enemy. I feel that Black Cleaver is more suited for champions like Miss Fortune.

space
space
space
space

space

Muramana is a good midgame item for Ezreal, but falls off lategame. This is a viable item as Ezreal can get the stacks pretty quickly with spamming of his Q, but honestly this item gives very little core AD. 20 AD is like 2 Long Swords, like 800 gold. However, this item gives a lot of mana and some mana regen. My argument to this is that the Awe passive will not give you a lot of mana even with this item. You don't stack mana on Ezreal. The active is not good on Ezreal lategame as he does more damage with his autoattacks in the lategame. Of course, you can get this item, but rush a Tear of the Goddess if you do so, and upgrade it after your core items.

space
space
space
space

space

If you don't get Last Whisper, get this. However, ONLY substitute this for Last Whisper if the enemy doesnt stack a lot of AD. You could get this with Last Whisper, but you are sacrificing a lot of damage potential. With the nerfs to it, it has become much less viable for AD carries, so my advice to you is NOT TO GET IT. However, if you DO get this item, get it after the 2 core items.

space
space
space
space

space

This is why people don't use Trinity Force that much anymore. It gives you armor to help 1v1 any AD carry, 15% cooldown reduction to spam your abilities in a short period of time more and 500 mana to sustain your Mystic Shot damage. This item also provides a nice active that can be procced with your autoattacks or your Mystic Shot, enabling you to kite very well or escape chasing enemies. But in my opinion, this is better for frontliners as Ezreal does not really need kite due to his good escapes. Ezreal isn't that reliant on autoattacks in the midgame, and to me, this is an excellent midgame item. You don't have to get this item, but if you do, get it as your 4th item or as your 6th item after the defensive item.

space
space
space
space

space

Recently, I have seen the pros run this item. Personally, I think that this is a VERY GOOD item. For just 2k gold, you get stats equivalent to 3k gold. And this is WITHOUT the unique passives! You can deal extra true damage with your abilities and autoattacks, you can deal more damage on minions to push/last hit better, you get +45 AD, which is equivalent to a B. F. Sword, 10% cooldown reduction, mana AND health regen! This item is an extremely good pickup on Ezreal, but you have to get it early. It kinda falls off lategame. Personally, I don't usually get this item unless I'm losing as there are better alternatives and you can just ask the jungler to donate red buff to you anyway. However, if you DO get Spirit of the Elder Lizard, you want to get Iceborn Gauntlet to maximize your damage output. This is because in this way, you will be playing more of skillshot Ezreal instead of AD Ezreal.

space
space
space

Defensive Items

(pick 1/2)
space
space

space

Gives you a second life. This item is fantastic against teams with very strong initiation which could wipe you out at first. The second life will allow you to still do damage and make an impact in fights. It also gives good armor and magic resist, so you can withstand the enemy's damage better. However this item is only useful once per five minutes so I won't recommend getting this if you get into constant teamfights. If you do get this item, get it as your 5th or last item.

space
space
space
space

space

If you didn't take cleanse and the enemy team has a lot of CC, you might want to take this item. This item gives good AD and also lets you cleanse out of bad spots. However, don't get this item against poke heavy teams. I recommend either getting this, Iceborn Gauntlet or Infinity Edge as one of your items. However, I am not a fan of its expensive price. If you pick this item, its best to pair it with another defensive item as this item gives enough AD. So get this as your 5th item if you want to take Mercurial Scimitar.

space
space
space
space

space

This item gives health, magic resist and mana, as well as the ability to block an offensive spell once every 25 seconds. Get this item against an AP heavy team (e.g. Ap mid AP top AP jungle/support). It really helps a lot as you can survive their AP damage in fights. However take note that enemies can easily proc your active before a major fight, so be careful about this. I don't usually take this item, but if you do, get it as your 5th item.

space
space
space
space

space

Ahh, the League of Warmogs. Even with the nerfs, it gives you +1000 health, which is MASSIVE. Gives you quite nice health regeneration, and take this item against teams who like to poke a lot or have sustained damage in fights. You can still get this against burst comps, but take note that their burst could potentially take you down very quickly and you know it, 0 health=0 damage! However, I like to get this item. You do not have to get this item, but if you do, get it as your 5th or 6th item.

space
space
space
space

space

This item basically serves about the same purpose as Iceborn Gauntlet. This items gives you a bit of tankiness, minimal AD and a nice passive which is useful for kiting. However I don't like this item as Ezreal isn't reliant on autoattacks(the only way to proc the slow) in the early and midgame and I feel that there are better alternatives.

space
space
space
space

space

This item gives decent health and great armor, but you will mostly use this item for its ACTIVE. I've seen the AD carry of SK gaming (Yellowstar) run this, but honestly this item is EXTREMELY SITUATIONAL. You have to have either 1. A strong initiation team or 2. An enemy team which can get to you easily without hard CC to even consider getting this item. The active range isn't a lot, so this item is best used when a lot of enemies are around you. It is also a good 1v1 tool lategame against an opposing AD carry cause its passive reduces the enemy's attack speed. Overall, this item can be used, but it is very situational.

space
space
space
space

space

Some of my friends have raised the viability of this item on Ezreal to me. Personally, I don't like this item, as I feel that only the shield is particularly useful. However, it only shields magic damage, so unless their team has a lot of AP which is wrecking you apart, don't get this item, even if you can upgrade it to Maw of Malmortius.

space
space
space



I have presented to you my opinion of viable AD items. Some AD items like Runaan's Hurricane were not included as I tried them out and I found it to not be as good in comparism to alternative items serving the same function.

space

After receiving feedback from those who commented, I feel like many people are not sure why I even consider it viable, much less as an item to get ASAP. Well, let me explain my stand. Statikk Shiv is arguably the BEST MIDGAME ITEM in the game. To prove that I shall explain in detail why I love this item.

Statistics for Statikk Shiv:

space

space

Cost=2500gold 40% attack speed 20% crit chance 6% movement speed UNIQUE ACTIVE:Moving and Attacking creates charges which can be expended at 100 charges to deal 100 magic damage. THIS DAMAGE CAN CRITICALLY STRIKE.

space

Lets see what it builds from. It builds from Zeal and Avarice Blade, two items that you can get on Ezreal. Mystic Shot is able to proc the UNIQUE ACTIVE, so your poke can chunk of a quarter of the enemy AD's health(TESTED) easily. Also, the 100 stacks is REALLY EASY to get, imagine the distance from a midlane tower to the next, you will have FULL CHARGE. And that is without even attacking. Each autoattack or ability gives you 10 charge, so just spam your skills and you can get it really quickly. The lightning damage does MASSIVE damage, and you can harass the enemy from a distance with the lightning. If it CRITICALLY STRIKES an AD carry with the lightning, boom. 1/2 health gone(TESTED). This is during the MIDGAME. This item will significantly increase your damage in the midgame, where Ezreal shines the most. You can go into teamfights with this item and KNOW that you have the DAMAGE. The lightning chain also helps to clear a large wave of minions very quickly if your Trueshot Barrage is on cooldown. Although this item falls off lategame, you can't say that it falls off HARD. 40% attack speed and 20% critical chance is still DECENT. It still allows you to deal damage, and lightning is still going to be annoying against the opposing AD carry. However, I included in my section now to SELL Statikk Shiv once you have 6 items, as it falls off a bit. And this is why I am one of the few Ezreal players who like using Statikk Shiv.

Sorry if I didn't give you a short answer, but I like to go into the specifics. But if you still aren't convinced, try it out and see the results for yourself! If it doesn't work then you might have to try it a few times. If it STILL doesn't work then I might change my stand on this item. But for now, this is my explanation of getting Statikk Shiv ASAP.

Now, I have seen some pro players run AD carries without boots, but they will always pick 2 items- Phantom Dancer and Zephyr. To me, Ezreal should use boots as they are cheaper and give more movement speed and a bit of attack speed. However, you can run this combo on Ezreal. Why is this build possible? Allow me to explain.



First off, I want to say that the vital item to substitute boots are Zephyr as Statikk Shiv can take over the place of Phantom Dancer (both gives around same movement speed bonus).
Zephyr gives:
20 AD
10% CDR
50% Attack Speed
10% bonus movement speed
35 Tenacity

This is for 2850 gold. As you can see, the stats are really neat, especially the Attack Speed, Cooldown Reduction and Tenacity. The 10% bonus movement speed allows Ezreal to have enough movement speed to not move like a slug. 325*116%=377 movement speed, which is really good. Cooldown reduction is excellent as Ezreal can use his skills more often, and Tenacity brings him survivability against heavy CC teams. The 50% Attack Speed bonus is also really good in the lategame.



However, I feel that you should get boots first. Boots are cheaper and will allow you to have a decent amount of attack speed and movement speed, which helps in the midgame. You can sell boots for Zephyr in the lategame, but ONLY in the lategame, where a single death could cost you the game.

I decided to create a separate chapter for consumables as I feel that many players in general forget when they should get these items as the ADC.

sight ward

space

Buy a ward, save a life. "But I thought that the support should get wards, so I don't have to ward. Right?" Well, yes and no. While it is the support's job to ward and you should not be wasting too much money on wards, when you back, if you have spare change, do your support a favour and get a ward to reduce his burden. Supports do need items, and if you see them having very little wards after they back and buy items (e.g. 1 vision 1 sight), help them by getting a ward, and warding wherever you think is necessary. Wards grant you vision, and you can tell whether an enemy is setting up a gank or if the enemy are taking objectives. Furthermore, if you see your support with no wards and they did not ward a vital area, you can place a Sight Ward and help ward that area. Who knows, your ward could see that off-position Vayne at her red buff and your team could catch her off and turn the game around! tl;dr Help your support buy a ward!

space
space

space

You shouldn't get this item unless your support or team specifically requests you to do so. The extra 50g for the Vision Ward, especially if it does not help to detect stealthing enemies or other wards is kinda useless. However, it is still good to get a Vision Ward if you sense that a fight for an objective is near and you need map control.

space
space

space

Try to get at least 2 of these in the earlygame, right up till you have 1. Got Bloodthirster or 2. Reaches >25 minutes and you have a Vampiric Scepter. This helps with your sustain a lot, as well as if you are able to pop a potion early in a small skirmish, take less damage or even save your life! For 35 gold, it gives you 150 HP worth of sustain.

space
space

space

This item is really useful! It is like a mini-heal in teamfights or even small skirmishes, and it gives you bonus health and AD for 3 minutes. The best thing is that it does not wear off after you die! Personally, if you are losing lane quite badly, you should try and get a red elixir for the extra survivability. However, I personally like to get red elixir everytime I back after I have finished my core items.

As you can see, having consumables is important throughout the game. Knowing when to use the right one at any point of the game can help immensely.

As you can tell I'm a big fan of Ezreal Sona bot lane :3.

Moving on, I shall go through with you the potential supports that you can get, as well as your enemies. I will rate them in terms of effectiveness, but take note it is just my opinion. Feel free to discuss about this to me in the comments.

SUPPORTS:

space

I think that he is not a good support for Ezreal, but he still brings a lot of CC to the table, which allows Ezreal to put in free damage at the carry. He is also tanky and if you want to dive towers, he can use his ultimate to help you. However, he does not have much sustain or kill potential other than his CC. AVERAGE SYNERGY

space
space
space

space

However, in comparism, Blitzcrank will pull enemies towards you, and a good Blitzcrank will never pull tanky supports. You can put a lot of damage onto the enemy carry without risking yourself like the Alistar matchup. However take note that he has no sustain so make sure you don't take too much punishment from the enemy. AVERAGE SYNERGY

space
space
space

space

Fiddlesticks is a support with good poke too, just like you. His silence will allow you to attack the enemy with your Mystic Shot and a few autoattacks. What's more, his fear can disable the enemy for 3 seconds at max rank, which essentially means 3 seconds of free damage. I like Fiddlesticks support with Ezreal as your poke combination and conuterinitiation potential is really good. GOOD SYNERGY

space
space
space

space

Janna is a champion with very good disengage and can keep you safe in teamfights with her ultimate. I like Janna as a support but she doesn't have a lot of poke in lane. However, she can shield you in exchanges, leaving you with less damage than the opposing AD carry, which is good. ABOVE AVERAGE SYNERGY

space
space
space

space

Karma isn't played much as a support, but her poke damage is good. She can also shield you like Janna and Spirit Bond to keep you out of danger. Heavenly Wave can also give you heals, though quite costly in terms of cooldown. She isn't a strong support, but nevertheless useful to you. AVERAGE SYNERGY

space
space
space

space

Leona has strong potential with Ezreal in a burst lane, as Ezreal is capable of popping her passive and dealing large burst damage if he positions well. Although there is no sustain, her CC is legendary among supports and it will be easy to pick up kills. GOOD SYNERGY

space
space
space

space

To me, this is the next best support you could hope for, behind Sona. Her Glitterlance is an extremely good poke tool, and her Whimsy can speed you up to escape ganks or used at an enemy champion to make them deal no damage for 2.5 seconds at max level. Her Help, Pix! is a good shield for you and her Wild Growth is like a heal with a knockup effect which will allow you to decieve the enemy bot lane in trades. I LOVE HER as my support, as her poke with Ezreal's poke is just AMAZING. EXCELLENT SYNERGY

space
space
space

space

Lux support has really good poke. People underestimate her support ability, and personally I find her to be able to synergise really well with Ezreal Her E damage and your Q damage can chunk off the enemy's health, and her Light Binding can snare an enemy who wants to initiate on you, or when you want to lock down the opposing enemy support or carry. Her shield also shields you 2 times, so if your shield gets quickly taken down before her W goes back, you get shielded again! GOOD SYNERGY

space
space
space

space

Seen this a few times. From my experience, she's quite a good support, but she can't really poke as people know that they have to get out of her Tormented Shadow. If she lands her Dark Binding, you can easily go in and put in a lot of damage. Also, if the enemy wants to CC you, a good Morgana will shield you and make you get no CC from disruptive champions like Alistar. Her ultimate is also a very good form of CC and if she can land the stun, you can easily kill the enemy carry or escape if you are losing the trade badly. ABOVE AVERAGE SYNERGY, but GOOD SYNERGY if you are lucky enough to get a good Morgana.

space
space
space

space

Nami is really good if you want to trade with your opponent. This will happen a lot in a poke lane, and if a good Nami maxes her E first and provides you with the enhanced autoattacks, you can easily win in poke. However, most Namis will max W first, which gives you good sustain. Her Q is really good at going in on an enemy or when an enemy initiates on you. Her ultimate is also a good slow such that you can catch up with fleeing enemies. However I don't see a lot of good Nami players out there. AVERAGE SYNERGY, but GOOD SYNERGY if you get a decent Nami.

space
space
space

space

Nunu & Willump is a great support for a lot of AD carries, and this also includes Ezreal. His Ice Blast and your Mystic Shot does a lot of damage, and his Consume allows you to do Double Golems easily. His Blood Boil is really good for you in teamfights as you can spam your autoattacks a lot more. His Absolute Zero is also a really good slow, and you could pull off an "EMPIRE". GOOD SYNERGY

space
space
space

space

Sona is the best support you could wish for. Her poke damage is really good with her Power Chord and her Q. Her aura also gives you bonus AD and AP, which is really helpful! Her W gives you decent heal to let you sustain poke damage. Her Crescendo also stuns the enemies for 1.5 seconds, and that's 1.5 seconds of FREE DAMAGE. Overall, she is one BEAST of a support you could be with, and thus I always recommend you to pick Ezreal if your support is Sona. EXCELLENT SYNERGY

space
space
space

space

Soraka is a support with very good heals and decent poke. Her passive gives you bonus MR against those AP based supports, and her ultimate can save your life from anywhere on the map. Her Infuse also gives you bonus mana and and silence the enemy champion if need be. ABOVE AVERAGE SYNERGY

space
space
space

space

Unlike the other burst supports, he's actually pretty good with Ezreal! His heal gives you sustain, his W gives you awesome bonus armor and his E is a good stun if you want to finish off the enemy carry. Finally, his R gives you bonus AD. All his skills are useful to Ezreal, and although you put yourself into danger, Taric is a really good support for Ezreal if played correctly. ABOVE AVERAGE SYNERGY

space
space
space

space

From my experience, Thresh is an okay support with Ezreal, not that bad, but not the best either. His W gives you a shield to win trades and also gives you an initiation/escape mechanism like Arcane Shift, except that you can save it until you really need it. His Q is like a surpress on the enemy carry if he can land it, which is 1.5 seconds of FREE DAMAGE. His Ultimate also does decent damage and slows the enemy. Overall, he is a burst lane, but he is a good support on Ezreal due to his utility. ABOVE AVERAGE SYNERGY

space
space
space

space

You both have very good poke damage, and Zyra has very good disenagage. I never really played with Zyra support so I can't be too sure, but from the few matches, I fine Ezreal and Zyra to be a good combination. GOOD SYNERGY

space
space



I have gone through all the possible supports that you will meet, as well as how they synergize with Ezreal. Do take note that this is my personal opinion so although it is likely to be true, all because you have a "Good synergy" with a certain support you force your support who might main Alistar to switch to someone like Sona.

In this chapter, I shall go through lane opponents that you might have trouble dealing with.



space
space

space

Ezreal has less range than Caitlyn, allowing her to harass you from a good distance. It will be hard to land Mystic Shots against her. Her Q does a lot of damage to you IF YOU ARE AT THE FRONT OF IT. Her traps can put you in a bad spot and she has an easy escape tool with her E. This is quite a hard matchup for you, but make it through the laning phase and you need to punish her hard in the midgame. Lategame, Caitlyn will win 1v1.

space
space
space

space

Draven is your ultimate counter in lane. He does way more damage with his Q than your Mystic Shot, so be careful. A Draven lane is either a poke or burst lane. If it is a poke lane, you should be okay unless your support is bursty. However, if it is a burst lane, you really need to be careful. However, take note not to get killed by Draven and mid-late game things should be fine.

space
space
space

space

Graves likes to be in your face. He will want to Quickdraw forward and Buckshot. However, you should be able to win the poke wars and if he spams Buckshot he will push the lane and Ezreal is good at farming under tower. However you can lose to a Graves if you get killed early, and if that happens don't even bother to try to trade with him. Survive or win the lane and you should be fine. However you probably can't win him 1v1 lategame, so punish his midgame like Caitlyn.

space
space
space

space

She has good poke, but make full use of your range advantage and you should be fine. Pro tip is to stand on the same line as your caster minions or else Q will hit you. She often beats you both in lane and in the lategame, so you will have to try and end the game/get far ahead in the midgame. This matchup isn't that difficult, ESPECIALLY if you run Ezreal and Sona.

space
space
space

space

You NEED TO AVOID HIS E! If you avoid his E, take the 9 seconds of opportunity to poke him. His range is shorter than yours. HOWEVER if you get hit by E kindly retreat or you will see Acid Hunters on you in no time. If you face an Urgot, always get Cleanse to use it against his ultimate. If he lands a good one, you are DEAD.

space
space

space

A very hard lane to matchup against. Firstly, he has higher AA range than you, making it easier to put 3 Blight stacks on you. Secondly, his skills are much easier to land on you (especially Hail of Arrows) and he can easily pop the blight stacks on you, making you receive more poke than you can dish out to him. Thirdly, his ultimate is a form of HARD CC on you, and a good Varus will use his autoattack range to the maximum, preventing you from autoattacking him and only able to use your abilities on him, which will most likely mean death. Finally, he is better in lane and scales better into the lategame than you. Try and play safe in this lane, however his midgame is not as strong as yours so you will have to take that opportunity to shut him down.

space
space

space

This isn't a difficult matchup for Ezreal in lane, but I would like to kindly warn you not to let Vayne go to the lategame. You will regret it.

space
space



ANNOYING SUPPORTS:
space
space

space

Personally avoiding their CC is kinda easy for you, just Arcane Shift out of the way. Cooldown on Arcane Shift is shorter than pull BUT not shorter than Pulverize, so be careful.

space
space
space

space

Now this is a different story. You can't Arcane Shift away from her E if she lands it. She can stun you and disable you for a few seconds, however, you will be able to Arcane Shift away from it if you are fast enough ( Arcane Shift is a blink). And you will most likely get killed unless you are really lucky. My tip is to play with caution, but don't be too fearful. As long as her lane doesn't get the advantage, you win the lategame.

space
space
space

space

He has stun, but more importantly he has HEAL and ARMOR BOOST. You can't outtrade their AD carry with Taric in lane. But if you don't get killed and if you kill him JUST ONCE you will win your lane unless jungler comes.

space
space
space

space

They can poke beter than you as they have a higher chance of landing their pokes. They also have very good disengages which can mess up your game big time. Usually Sona is manageable, but don't let a lane with Zyra get kills on you. Trust me, you won't be able to farm normally for the rest of the laning phase!

space
space



So overall this is my analysis of bot lane. While these champions and supports counter you, unless you are high elo, most matchups will be decided by skill. If you are a better player than the enemy, you should be able to win your lane.

In the early game, you should be focused on farming, while trying to do sufficient poke on the enemy if you are in a poke or sustain lane. However, if you are playing with a support such as Leona and Blitzcrank, when they pull or initiate on the enemy, you have to go in. You can easily chunk down a lot of the enemy's health, and you can kill them if you are dealing enough damage.



If you get a kill in lane, then you want to deny them farm and NOT get the early turret. With the snowball, you can easily zone the enemy player out and if they come to farm then you can just apply aggression on them. Remember that the early game is NOT to take towers, but to get as much farm as you can while denying the enemy farm.

If you play a poke or sustain lane, you need to poke the enemy frequently, and you have to win the small trades. If you find yourself losing then don't go into a small skirmish and put down damage that the enemy cannot answer. HOWEVER, if you always see that enemy Soraka heal her ADc till he is full health again then I suggest you don't waste mana to bother to poke the carry or the support.



Generally, the early game can last from as short as 10 minutes to about 20+ minutes. I recommend only going into the midgame if 1.Your towers start to fall or 2.You have a big enough advantage to be confident to win objective fights.



Whether you are in a kill, poke, or sustain lane, nothing beats FARMING. Even if you kill the enemy once, if you are 30+ CS behind the opposing AD carry, he is still going to have more gold than you.

Now I will list some statistics:
Maximum amount of creeps you can score in a lane in 20 minutes:240 creeps
Farming 17 normal creeps(siege minions not included)=Champion kill(w/o any deaths or kills).
Generally, I will ALWAYS aim for 150-170 farm. That means that for evey 6 minions, I only miss one or two. This INCLUDES going back to buy items, which on average you might have to go back 3 times. This is why FARMING is your main priority in lane, next is zoning the enemy AD as your 2nd priority, and getting kills as your 3rd.

Pro tip: No matter how much you spam your skills, stop spamming them if you have 100 mana or less. Only resume if you have 200 or more mana. This is because if the jungler ganks or you get initiated on, you need Arcane Shift to escape. Even if you are at full health and the enemy is at 1/4, don't use your Mystic Shot to try and kill him. He might be baiting you into first blood!



After 20 minutes, look at your farm and see how you have done!:

<100 farm: This is bad. REALLY BAD. This means that if your lane doesn't have any kills or deaths, you probably can only afford items leading to your 1st item. At 20 minutes, you NEED to get your first item already. The game can wander into midgame ANYTIME at this point, and if you do not have your 1st main item, you will SUFFER. If you get this farm, it means that 1. You can't last hit, 2. You got zoned out hard by their bot lane due to excessive deaths or 3. You were TOO AGGRESSIVE. Many a times the main reason is 2 in ranked, but 1 in normals can be quite common.

100-120 farm: Not as bad as having less than 100 farm, but still not that good. You could barely get a cheap first item, but then again having less gold hinders your ability to fight. If you are new to Ad carry, this farm will probably be what you will be getting at the start. You need to balance dealing damage and last hitting, and as Ezreal is a champion with good escapes, there really is no reason you should not be able to do these things well.

121-150 farm: This is what most players will get, unless you are high elo or exceptionally skilled at the champion. This is decent, but this also means that you didn't farm 2-3 of the 6 minions available, which is not good. Even if you back 3 or 4 times, you should AT LEAST get 150 farm and above. However you can get your 1st item quite easily and you can be ready for the midgame if it is forced.

151-170 farm: This should be your targeted farm in 20 minutes. You need as much farm as possible to gain more gold, and this amount of farm generally represents that you are good at farming, and you should be able to accumulate enough gold to get at least 1 core item and 1 secondary item after 20 minutes, which will help a lot.

171-190 farm: This is the standard that I always aim to get while farming. This is because I know that when I play Ezreal, I am able to play him skillfully enough to note on my last hitting and poke capabilities. However, unless you are extremely confident on your skills as Ezreal, >151 farm is enough.

>190 farm: Honestly, the maximum farm I ever got in 20 minutes is 213 farm as Karthus, but that was because I was farming wraiths while I could, and I only backed once. If you get anything above 190 farm that means that you have succeeded very well in the earlygame and you should be easily able to transition into the midgame. Honestly I VERY VERY RARELY get anything above 190 farm, and I only hit my 170-190 farm goal 50% of the time even if I am playing my best champions such as Cassiopeia, Vayne and Ezreal.



Farm level roughly represents your earlygame score!:
0-120=You probably lost the earlygame.
120-150=You probably broke even, or you might be losing or winning your lane by JUST A BIT.
>151=SUCCESS



I am really critical about the early game as Ezreal needs to win his earlygame and snowball to not fall off as hard lategame.
Tell me if you want me to include pictures of when to last hit!

At this time you will start to aim for big objectives, which are towers, inhibitors and the Baron.
Dragon should have been done in the earlygame already, but make sure you are there to compete for every Dragon when it spawns. You will be sticking with your team most of the time, though sometimes you may wander around to farm. Your Statikk Shiv and Bloodthirster along with tier 2 boots should be completed around this stage.



Even though you might be sticking with your team ALWAYS REMEMBER TO FARM AS MUCH AS YOU CAN. Farming=Gold. Gold=Items. Items=Damage. Damage=Kills. Kills=Advantage. Advantage=Towers Towers=Inhibitors Inhibitors=NEXUS. So to get the nexus you need to FARM.



If you won your lane then you can afford to stick with your team more. If you are losing make sure to stick with your team if you need to defend or advance towards an objective, but otherwise aim to CATCH UP in the farm that you have lost. Whether you win or lose your lane, make sure to stay safe in teamfights and farm if you can(of course don't farm in a teamfight lol).

By now 1 team should have the advantage. However if you even reach the lategame as Ezreal take note that 1 MISTAKE or 1 HEAVILY LOST FIGHT can cost you the game.

This means that you simply cannot afford to farm on your own(even in your base) as the enemies could: 1. Gank you, kill you, and fight 5v4 with your team LACKING THE ADC or 2. Force an objective with your team fighting 4v5 without you, the ADc.

Teamfights will decide the match now, so decide on when you want to force advantageous fights and when you want to gank a caught enemy and force objectives or fights.

This section is about major fights, and my definition of major fights is anything 3v3 or above. Your main goal here is to stay safe and deal as much damage as possible. Unless you have a very good reason to do so, NEVER aim anyone at the backline, even if they may be the AD carry. You should ALWAYS be attacking the closest person to you, even if that champion is building a lot of HP and armor items.



In a teamfight, if you go anywhere beyond the frontline with no casualties, then you will definitely be the first one UNLESS you have a big lead and the enemy team is derping. I said it again and again, but if you have 0 health, no matter how much AD or attack speed or critical chance you have, damage=0. You are SUPPOSED to be the main damage dealer, and without you, your team will probably not have enough damage to win the fight.

ALWAYS use Trueshot Barrage if it's up BEFORE A FIGHT. Never use any of your skills except Mystic Shot and Arcane Shift DURING the heat of the fight. Mystic Shot should be used whenever it is available as it is your main damage output in the midgame, and even in the lategame, it is still a strong skill that does good damage. However, Arcane Shift and/or Flash and/or Barrier/ Heal/ Cleanse/ Exhaust should not be wasted. Use those spells IMMEDIATELY if you are being focused. You CANNOT afford to be the first few to die.



If you sense that if you are losing the fight, stay there UNTIL your frontline begins to die and their frontline is still going strong. When you see your top laner and jungler die, you know you have to GET OUT OF THERE ASAP. If you can survive a lost teamfight, you can still defend objectives and turrets and cause the loss of the fight to not be as great as it would be if you died.

If you are WINNING the fight, as in their frontline begins to die, you can go all in for the ace. Use Mystic Shot to snipe people and Arcane Shift to move forward IF the enemies do not have the capability to turn around and kill you.

To conclude this guide, I have really spent a lot of time trying to finish this guide. However, feel free to include your comments in the comment box, and tell me whether you want me to add more chapters into this guide! Also feel free to give me suggestions so I can improve my guide. I really really hope this guide has helped you in terms of your gameplay and understanding of Ezreal, and if you like my guide, please upvote it and maybe give me a +rep. If you don't like my guide, I don't mind you asking questions and I will try my best to answer them :3.
space
Thanks goes to JhoiJhoi for her guide on making a guide but I still can't get the hang of BBCoding:/. And thanks to her for also providing the dividers :).
space
Also big thanks to I am Lord and Master for pointing out the BBCoding errors in my guide and guiding me on how to correct those errors.(hope it's better now^^)
space
Thanks to Ezterminator cause I used his pic for the Arcane Shift part of my guide.
space
Finally, thanks to everyone who has given constructive feedback for my guide!
space

The first one I'm gonna upload is FnaticRC Rekkles Ezreal. His Ezreal is really good and I learnt quite a lot from his gameplay.
Play Video
Thanks to Andy Navkus for uploading this vod.

20th April 2013 (GMT +8)-Uploaded version 2 of my guide.

21st April 2013 (GMT +8)-Added Spirit of the Elder Lizard and edited some technical errors.
Added new chapter on consumables.

23rd April 2013 (GMT +8)-Edited the skill sequence.

25th April 2013 (GMT +8)-Added new situational build (cause of the increased use of Spirit of the Elder Lizard) and modified Spirit of the Elder Lizard tips.

28th April 2013 (GMT +8)-Removed unnecessary pictures
Edited runes.

29th April 2013 (GMT +8)-Edited my guide according to reviews.

1st May 2013 (GMT +8)-Fixed minor glitches in my guide.

4th May 2013 (GMT +8)-Made edits to my guide.

7th May 2013 (GMT +8)-Made the guidewriter's pact!

16th May 2013 (GMT +8)-Blue Build section currently under progress. Meanwhile I have made slight changes to the guide.