I have seen some pretty poorly thought out builds here on mobafire, and while that's to be expected on such a large site, having one be the top rated guide is unexpected. Before you immediately downvote me because my guide isn't the same as the top-rated 'best' guide, please think and try it out yourself, you'll see that it is MUCH more effective.

This is Talon, my favorite AD Assassin in the game:

Now, before I start with the masteries, don't go "OMG HE HAZ IMPROVED EXHAUST BUT HE USING IGNITE!!! NOOOOB!!!!". The reason I have Cripple instead of Archmage's Savvy is that 1) Talon doesn't scale off of AP, at all, so it is quite useless & 2) In case my entire team decides to pick ignite, I don't have to have a separate mastery page ready for exhaust, I can just stick to the same one.

Now, with that out of the way, everything else is pretty self-explanatory. Taking Burning Embers is useless, because, as I said, Talon doesn't need AP. Also, taking the 10% increased critical strike damage is not a priority because we aren't building a right click champion with Critical Strike chance, like Tryndamere, we are trying to maximize Attack Damage while still building a little defensively.

I guess you could go 21/9/0 but I prefer the added 5% experience that you get in the utility tree by going 21/0/9. That is it for Masteries, moving on...

The MOST important part for Talon. Without a good build, unlike some soft-carry champions, he is near useless. I will try to explain, to the best of my ability, my reasoning for choosing and not choosing certain items.

EARLY GAME

While some people like to build Doran's Blade early game, I think that it doesn't offer as much sustainability as 3 Health Potion and Boots. On the other hand, if you are laning with a support (which you should be doing if you're not solo laning), you don't need the health pots and should go for the extra damage in Doran's Blade.

MID GAME

By the time you head back the first time, you should preferably have one or two kills under your belt. If you don't and are having a rough early game farm-wise, then build a Doran's Blade (or two if you feel you need it). If you are doing pretty well and are feeling confident, then upgrade your boots to Ionian Boots of Lucidity and build your The Brutalizer.

Your next priority is getting a Phage and eventually a Frozen Mallet, which gives you a good chunk of health and makes your passive (+10% increased damage) proc every single attack.

After this, you can judge whether to build Bloodthirster or buy something defensive if you're getting focused. I only put Banshee's Veil in the build because it is a strong item overall, but if you aren't facing an AP-heavy team, then it is much better to get armor, such as Thornmail.

When you have finished this, finally build Infinity Edge. Although it has 25% crit chance, which is not as strong of a stat as it would be on Tryndamere, it is still a very good item and should not be passed up.

LATE GAME

This should be your (Final) build:











OR


Notice how I do not upgrade The Brutalizer, because the small bonuses it gives upgraded are NOT worth the gold. Don't get me wrong, Youmuu's Ghostblade is a great item, but the stats it gives you aren't worth maxing out first. So, prioritize the other items first, and when you reach Late-Late Game, build Youmuu's Ghostblade.

Whether you choose to max Rake or Noxian Diplomacy first is entirely up to you. If you aren't being harassed in your lane then you can use your Q & melee attacks to farm up. Otherwise, it would be a good idea to max Rake first. I personally prefer Noxian Diplomacy because I find it a little more useful compared to Rake, but that's just me. After maxing these two, finish it up with Cutthroat, picking up points in Shadow Assault every chance you get, of course.

In my opinion, Talon is a very fun champion to play if played correctly. Although he does need a strong early game start with kills & farms, he more than makes up for it late game when he is shredding everybody's face. I'm not going to tell you how to play him, because that never really helps me when I read guides. All I need to do is test around and play with the champion a lot to become familiar with him, as I'm sure most people like to do.

I hope you liked my guide, if I forgot anything or you have suggestions, please tell me before you immediately downvote me