Strategy Guide: [10.1] General ARAM Guide (Lengthy) by LReign

TL;DR

TL;DR (AKA: I'm in Champion Select...HELP!!!):

Take in the Precision Tree (unless you have a form change ulti e.g. , , , , , ...), if this is that case and you are in Champion Select already, take and in the Resolve Tree instead of the Precision Secondary Tree.

Sample Runes that should work on most Champions:

Domination Tree:

Precision Tree:

Stat Runes: OFFENSE: +9 Adaptive Force, FLEX: +6 Armor, DEFENSE: +8 Magic Resist

Summoner Spells:

Melee:

Ranged:

Builds:
Tank/Bruiser
On-Hit
Crit
Magic
Support (take instead of )
Assassin

Quick Access

Tank:

Tank Runes

Tank & Bruiser Builds

Tank & Bruiser Start

Mage:

Mage Runes

Magic Damage Builds

Magic Damage Start

Support:

Support Runes

Active Item Support Builds

Active Item Support Start

Assassin:

Assassin Runes

Assassin Builds

Assassin Start

Fighter:

Fighter Runes

Tank & Bruiser Builds

Marksman:

Crit Start

TheoryCrafts:
Vi On-Hit
Tank Vayne

Recent Change List for ARAM

(Past Change List)

On-Hit DPS Senna Build

Runes:

Primary:

Secondary:

Minor Runes:
1-10% CDR
+ 6 Armor
+ 8 Magic Resist

Core:

/

Last item is optional/situational, I usually prefer either:
(Because, you are actually able to get an auto attack off during your Q, since your attack speed is really high)

Or

for CDR / Mana for Muramana

So...why/when do you go On-Hit over Letality/Crit?
Lethality will still out burst the On-Hit build...which means it is still better into squishy teams that you are able to burst fully. But...generally the On-Hit build will provide more utility (healing) & out damage the Lethality build after a couple seconds in combat (if I had to estimate...maybe ~3-5 seconds rough estimate...I'll double check in practice tool later).

Some things that are really important to note in the On-hit build:
- 's will give you one hit/stack of & applies On-hit effects, so the normal Auto-Q-Auto will fully stack (I still have to double check this, but I believe it also applies a stack to everyone hit by )
- 's is reduced by 1 Second On-Hit
- 's cast time is reduced by Attack Speed
- 's /Relic Cannon passive is On-Hit as well
- can gather mist from each target every 4 seconds, which will be easier to get with the on-hit build, since you have attack speed for Autos and es.

Sett Theorycraft

Runes:

Primary:

Secondary:

Minor Runes:
1-10% CDR
+ 6 Armor
+ 8 Magic Resist

General Build:

/

Still have to try it out a bit, but the idea around it is basically to into the entire team and up to...8k health I believe. While stacking on the entire team with (General Combo: Auto-----Auto, should fully stack on a target or multiple targets). The build is also meant to mesh with Heart of the Half Beast (2nd part of ), and . You will basically become an unkillable monster for the team (between , shield, health restoration, and ) that sticks to a target after ulting in.

Some notable things that changed since the last guide update (9.13 - 10.1):

- still "good" after the changes, adds to max mana pool & still gives 10% max mana refund on takedown...honestly still better than on most champions...but if ever gets changed, still have to look at it again. (the Active item build has more incentive now, with the nerf to ) Mana/energy is usually important on most champions...without resources, most of the time champions can only auto attack and use Summoner Spells...think it is still covered in the Runes section.

- another lethality item with CDR on it...pretty great on summoner's rift & decent on howling abyss...since no wards and all. Still useful into trap champions like , but won't activate if you have active. (this passive was taken/removed from ) Also, it should be noted this item costs 500 less gold (2400 gold) than the other lethality items.

- removed (pretty sad about this one...especially with 's release)

- changed into a Passive instead of an Active (also components to it changed)

- is back...and looks a little different (do not recommend buying on ARAM...)

- components changed to be more shielding/healing instead of AP...great for the Active Item build

- Gives Crit again...I really like going this now regularly in Crit builds (something like -> , or -> -> ). Really great that it gives attack speed and crit.

removed -> (still not sure about this one, generally wouldn't recommend over choosing a keystone that best fits your champ)

changed - generally take this keystone if you are melee and aren't going . (or )

& changed - Shiv cannot crit, but bounces more & Rapid Firecannon does not charge faster. (raises the value of & , since both aren't really great...the range on is still useful for poke and kiting if really necessary though)

- better flat shielding, still good in the Active item build if needed against burst.

was removed & was changed to include & got a cost increase to 1400. Crit strike went up by 10% & Attack speed down by 3%.

also changed, but nothing too noteworthy for ARAM purposes.

...a bunch of champion changes/re-works & releases. I'll probably be working on this section & researching/testing a bit more, but really wanted to push out the section. Hope you guys have fun with it! Really glad to hear people still read the guide & want it updated, good luck & have fun!

Introduction

Hey all, LReign here.

My peak % on whatismymmr was ~0.66% of top, for ARAM, and over 7200 ARAM games played (across 4 accounts). Just thought I'd share my perspective, understanding & opinions, and what I have learned so far from playing the game mode. (not just solely what I am seeing)

Why do I enjoy playing ARAM over Normals and Ranked?

I enjoy playing a wide range of champions, whereas in Ranked you usually spam 1-3 champions repeatedly.
In general, there is less flaming. (Woo!)
It's easier to make plays/coordinate when everyone is in the same place at the same time.
Less farming and more fighting.
More dynamic & reaction based. (since you react to enemy champs/team comps & different build routes)

I had run into Meteos (L - think this was right before C9 went to Worlds for the first time...seemed like a pretty chill dude - (me), (him)), and Konkwon (W - (me), (him)...think this was post-mage rework) in this specific game mode (just were awesome and random encounters...though it should be noted that MMR isn't shared between Ranked and ARAM). Anyway, I hope you guys end up having these awesome sort of experiences as well! By the way, if you do, it would be great to share it in the comments section! Would be really cool to create a wall of saved memories kind of thing! :)

I'll be updating the guide pretty regularly as I figure things out when playing on new patches (TL;DR as well), though the core of the guide will likely remain the same.

Any comments and other forms of feedback are appreciated!

[8.24] It's back! Phew...finally everything is formatted again. Let me know if you see anything I mis-formatted, or didn't format in the new version!

Any follows or other support is appreciated! m(_ _)m
Twitter - Probably one of the best places to keep up w/ stuff outside of ARAM (Champion concepts/stories, ideas, likely app development stuff in the future, ...)
Twitch
YouTube
Discord Server Link

Runes

*Sample Runes Below (categorized)

Marksman Runes
Mage Runes
Tank Runes
Fighter Runes
Assassin Runes
Support Runes

This section is just a summary of Runes that I feel are very strong in ARAM. I'll provide a list of Rune Pages that I use at the bottom of the section.

Presence Of Mind

If you glanced over the TL;DR section, you had probably seen up there. "Why is this rune so important?" you may be asking, if you don't already know.

reduces the Player's Ultimate ability cooldown by 10% on kill and ASSIST. (t-the Assist part is pretty important...I'm not sure if you could tell...b-by the...capitalization part) Since fights happen so often in a small corridor, in ARAM, it is likely that you will get an assist on every enemy in each teamfight. (unless you died without getting an ability off) This means, even if you die, by the time you respawn, your ultimate will at least be 50% off cooldown already. (which is a huge advantage if the enemy is not also running ) If you fight again soon after getting to lane, the enemy has to wait for the +50% difference gap in timers, or risk completely losing the next teamfight.

The +20% maximum mana refund on kills and assists is really just a bonus (but also overloads the rune...since it is like 2 runes in 1), but may additionally mean that , or , or other mana regen items and could be skipped without running out of mana (which optionally frees up an item slot for a stronger item). (if you get an assist on every enemy in a teamfight, that is +100% maximum mana...which means you are ready for the next teamfight already!) I would still recommend getting a mana item on mages (, , , ) though, so you can take a summoner spell other than , and additionally synergize with the % max mana refund, which does not offer.

Having ultimate abilities up quicker, or the ability to spam ultimate abilities off cooldown (e.g. , , ), or having potentially 2 ultimates up in one teamfight messes with the balancing of the game quite a bit.

Edit: Nerfed to 10% max mana & 6% ultimate cooldown reduction (will update this portion)

Edit 2: Changed to 10% max mana & up to +500 max mana & +50 max energy (will update this portion)

Ingenious Hunter

Another rune that is probably overpowered on ARAM that I feel has flown under the radar a bit is the rune.

This rune is amazing on support champs (, , , ...), because usually if you rush at the start of the game with

+ +

then only 750 gold is needed to complete , which can be used for AOE healing on a ~72 second cooldown for the rest of the game (if fully stacked ). This makes a huge difference to have some healing against a team that has no healing.

Other notable item actives include (54s CD), (72s CD), (24s CD), (72s CD)

Next Strongest Runes

If there were a 3rd tier of strong runes, it would be likely include (lower CD ultimates), (very strong at "winning more", easy to apply & activate), (flat stats, and AOE dmg), and (easier dodging & engaging, also works well with movement speed buffs), (spell/ability healing, item damage healing), and (30% tenacity, especially good on tanks that have CC or lots of dmg, , & abilities such as can increase tenacity as well).

Sorcery Tree?

While and are pretty good keystones, the rest of the tree is either utility based, or have high barriers to being useful, or "does not do enough"...in ARAM anyway (when compared to other trees). The entire Domination tree either offers damage or healing (at least one on each row) without very high gates to activating each rune. The Precision tree is also similar in that sense to Domination.

Triumph vs. Presence of Mind

One more thing worth mentioning is that is traded off for . Why do I feel that is generally worth taking in most scenarios over ? This is because I feel that having more damage is worth more than having more health. You can always "dodge that one extra skillshot" or "position better to not get hit," but you can't "make yourself get your ultimate up faster" or "make yourself have more mana." You have more opportunities with having damage, having your ultimate up faster, or having more mana (while not sacrificing a summoner spell to do so). It's fairly good on peeling tanks ( with no mana likely won't do too much...unless you are AD I suppose), and if you are playing a squishy carry and an assassin, or tank, or the entire enemy team runs through your frontline to kill you and you don't have peel...you are probably dead and won't be able to get an assist or kill to even get the %missing health heal from (...you can still get the ultimate cooldown from when you are dead though).

There is generally a way to play better to keep yourself healthy, and there are also other runes that provide a way to heal , , , . Most of these runes are good or decent, and can easily be fit into the rune combination (they are also all in the Precision & Domination tree which makes things MUCH easier). While, to get more mana, the options are (which is 1% missing mana over time), take , or , which means you either have to forfeit a summoner spell, or go the sorcery or inspiration tree (which are less valuable at the moment in ARAM).

Similar to the mentality when playing ADC from behind, you keep itemizing more damage items instead of building defensive, so that you can keep up in damage to the enemy ADC even though you have less gold (you have the opportunity to do the same amount of damage by playing better...except in this situation you do more damage instead of equal). From my point of view, there is always a way to play better to not need the %missing health (it feels similar to allowing yourself to play less well, while sacrificing opportunity to deal damage...but if you keep putting yourself in the scenario with the opportunity to improve, you will improve). Why should you stop using spells when you are chunking 2-3 of the opponents, just to conserve mana? If you keep hitting the enemy with spells, shouldn't you keep using spells and mana? If you have though, you will get refunded mana for killing these 2-3 opponents when their HP hits 0, and can continually keep chunking the enemy team in a cycle, won't allow this to happen (and if you take , you cannot reactively or when you are inevitably jumped on by the enemy team...because they will see you as a giant threat).

Though...is bad? No, if it were buffed or were nerfed, it should be considered. Just as it stands...in my opinion is better in most general scenarios.

General marksman

instead of to avoid building more lifesteal items, or lifesteal items earlier than needed (for on-hit users, especially those getting first or have % max health damage in their kit, you can go instead)

Primary:
Secondary:
Stat Runes: OFFENSE: +9 Adaptive Force, FLEX: +6 Armor, DEFENSE: +8 Magic Resist

or

Investing in Early-Mid Game
Primary:
Secondary:
Stat Runes: OFFENSE: +9 Adaptive Force, FLEX: +6 Armor, DEFENSE: +8 Magic Resist

General mage

Primary:
Secondary:
Stat Runes: OFFENSE: 1-10% CDR (or +9 Adaptive Force), FLEX: +6 Armor, DEFENSE: +8 Magic Resist

or

If you can easily activate
Primary:
Secondary:
Stat Runes: OFFENSE: 1-10% CDR (or +9 Adaptive Force), FLEX: +6 Armor, DEFENSE: +8 Magic Resist

General tank

Primary:
Secondary:
Stat Runes: OFFENSE: +9 Adaptive Force (or 1-10% CDR), FLEX: +6 Armor, DEFENSE: +8 Magic Resist

or

If you need a second engage and don't need more defensive stats
Primary:
Secondary:
Stat Runes: OFFENSE: +9 Adaptive Force (or +1-10% CDR), FLEX: +6 Armor, DEFENSE: +8 Magic Resist

or

Primary:
Secondary:
Stat Runes: OFFENSE: +9 Adaptive Force (or 1-10% CDR), FLEX: +6 Armor, DEFENSE: +8 Magic Resist

General fighter

Primary:
Secondary:
Stat Runes: OFFENSE: +9 Adaptive Force (or 1-10% CDR), FLEX: +6 Armor, DEFENSE: +8 Magic Resist

or

Primary:
Secondary:
Stat Runes: OFFENSE: +9 Adaptive Force (or 1-10% CDR), FLEX: +6 Armor, DEFENSE: +8 Magic Resist

General assassin role

Primary:
Secondary:
Stat Runes: OFFENSE: +9 Adaptive Force, FLEX: +6 Armor, DEFENSE: +8 Magic Resist

or

If you can easily activate
Primary:
Secondary:
Stat Runes: OFFENSE: +9 Adaptive Force (or +1-10% CDR), FLEX: +6 Armor, DEFENSE: +8 Magic Resist

If you need a second engage and don't need more damage
Primary:
Secondary:
Stat Runes: OFFENSE: +9 Adaptive Force (or +1-10% CDR), FLEX: +6 Armor, DEFENSE: +8 Magic Resist

or

If You Expect Drawn Out Fights With Your Comp
Primary:
Secondary:
Stat Runes: OFFENSE: +9 Adaptive Force, FLEX: +6 Armor, DEFENSE: +8 Magic Resist

General support

Primary:
Secondary:
Stat Runes: OFFENSE: 1-10% CDR (or +9 Adaptive Force), FLEX: +6 Armor, DEFENSE: +8 Magic Resist

or

Primary:
Secondary:
Stat Runes: OFFENSE: 1-10% CDR (or +9 Adaptive Force), FLEX: +6 Armor, DEFENSE: +8 Magic Resist

Test Support Runes (Mage): Glacial Augment
Primary:
Secondary:
Stat Runes: OFFENSE: 1-10% CDR (or +9 Adaptive Force), FLEX: +6 Armor, DEFENSE: +8 Magic Resist

Starting Items / Buying Item Order

The general tip/principle for buying items is to "spend the most possible gold when you back." This applies to ARAM as well. It is usually so you have the most amount of stats when you get into your next fight.

Another part of this statement is to "buy the hardest components first, if you are able to." Such as, (1300 gold) vs. (300 gold). If you die with with 1300 gold and buy a , and then in a minute die with 400 gold...you may regret getting that since now you don't have the option to get the you had passed up earlier (and could have bought the portion of the with this back/death).

That is why I usually start + 2 if it is a part/component of my build, and I am buying an item that requires it later (within the first 1-3 items). + + s instead for .
Such as Infinity Edge

Crit Start

Another principle is to "buy your stacking items first." (i.e. ) This way it'll be stacked...before the game is over.
If I start this route usually I pick up:

Mage/Magic Damage Start

or

or

or

Tank & Bruiser Start

For tanks (and most melee champions), especially ones with engage, or who look for picks, I usually start with upgraded boots + . Is it dangerous? Yup. If you get hit, there isn't really a way to heal aside from health relics...everything will stick, so good luck! I do this because I really value the speed advantage over enemies (more likely to get engages or followups), both boot upgrade passives & the flexibility in next item purchases.

or

Physical Assassin Start

For Assassins usually I value the early lethality/flat armor pen (since most enemies don't have very much armor at the beginning of the game), so I grab + . (No potions, so careful on which engages you pick to follow)

Magic Damage Assassin Start

or

On-Hit Start

For On-Hit users, usually I start either or + + w/ the rest of the gold.

or

Active Item Support Start

For Active Item Support users, as stated in the prior section:

Items

*Sample Builds Below (categorized)

Tank & Bruiser Builds
On Hit Builds
Crit Builds
Magic Damage Builds
Active Item Support Builds
Assassin Builds

Item purchases can normally be figured out during the loading screen, before the game starts. They are based around the idea of "What does your team want to do?" and "What does the enemy team want to do?"

When to be Flexible in Builds

* Just as a side note, because I hear it pretty often, building items from the other damage type (AD champions building AP, or vice versa) does not change the damage type the ability applies, even if the ability scales with Ability Power or Attack Damage. If the ability says it applies physical damage, it'll still apply physical damage even if AP is built.

When your team lacks magic, or physical, or ranged DPS (damage per second) and there are or champions that build tank items on the enemy team. (would be the simple answer) If there are no innate options in the champions kit to switch damage types (such as ), then On-hit could be taken for a ranged magic damage option, or Crit/lethality for a physical damage option.

If you are against a team with all squishy ranged champions (with no or champions). The only time an alternative damage type is necessary, is if everyone (or 3-4 people bought multiple tank items for that damage type)...which has happened before. These people should be treated as tanks.

Tanks & Bruisers

Usual Bruiser & Tank build that I build against mixed damage team comps:

Some things to be mentioned before bringing up actual items:

If your team has no tanks or frontline, 99% of the time, it is correct to buy Resistance & Defensive items before buying your first damage item. Reason being, "if you aren't alive you can't deal damage" (...unless you're or ) & at the same time "if there is no frontline, it is much harder to navigate a team comp properly, especially as a ranged champion" which then puts the burden of playing properly on random players, which is another random variable that has to be relied on. But, if you are the frontline, then the random ranged carry can get away with playing less well, since you will control which fights are taken/engaged or counter-engaged, and move the burden of taking the correct actions onto yourself (e.g. peeling for backline, or diving their backline, ...).

Magic Resist Items

Defensive items are largely based on what champions the enemy team has. ( being a bit of an exception)

The main 3 Tank Magic Resist items to be kept in mind are:

This is the go-to item if no other MR item passives are needed. (definitely buy this item if the enemy team has magic damage & your name is Dr. Mundo)

This item works on all repeated magic damage, making this an extremely good choice against rotation or DPS magic damage (e.g. Cassiopeia, Corki, Rumble)

This item is great if there are multiple magic damage dealing champions on both teams

Armor Items

Something to keep in mind with the armor items is that the Cold Steel Passive (attack speed reduction on being hit with an auto attack) is a part of and , but not (although applies the same amount of attack speed slow as an aura)

The 3 Tank Armor items to be kept in mind:

Usually this is my go to item for armor, especially since there are a limited amount of item slots (6), and not having enough armor may force you to later buy even more armor. Also, the Cold Steel passive is pretty nice to have when against marksman. Additionally, a lot of champions have some sort of health regen/life gain, or lifesteal as part of their kit, which Grevious Wounds could help with.

A great option for melee champions to catch enemies when out of position, or for dodging skillshots (since most times enemies favor poke on ARAM). Recently, I have started using this item as a replacement for boots late game on marksman champions if there is an AD assassin on the other team.

When running a "Protect the ___ comp" and everyone on the enemy team intend to rush your backline (e.g. when your team has Kog'Maw)

THE health item

When hitting the 3000 HP threshold, your health will completely regen after 26 seconds out of combat. Which means that you won't have to execute to regain all of your health as a tank. This is valuable in situations when finishing extended teamfights where you barely do not die, in small skirmishes/trades, and when pushing against poke comps. This item is great even when the passive HP threshold hasn't been reached, it complements items that give large amounts of resistance with little/no HP. (make sure to hit the threshold later though...usually hit after buying the MR item + Armor item + a few levels)

In my opinion, half-tank items on bruisers/tanks (e.g., ) should only be built in situations where:
1) You are are the only source of that type of damage (physical or magical), and your backline cannot deal with the tanks on their team otherwise
2) You are in a "damage race" with the enemy after rushing the backline (i.e. You cannot tank their damage, and the only way to win the fight is if you kill them before they kill you)
3) You need QSS () because of all of the the enemy team has.
4) Your team is ahead and you are trying to close out the game as fast a possible, by getting damage faster than the enemy team can build resistances.

On-hit items

As far as damage items, they follow roughly the same rule as . Except if you are going the on-hit items, or should be built on first buy.

Core

Options

Some honorable mentions for the on-hit builds include (for damage reduction, while also providing attack speed which fits with the build and type of damage output), (keeps other abilities up, such as , and ), (usually the go to for boots, since already provides magic resistance), and (for sticky situations)

EDIT [8.24]:
might also be a good addition for on-hit users, if you need "lifesteal" with some burst prevention, and CDR. (especially on users that have % max health damage in their kits)

Crit Builds

First Item Crit Core

Unless you plan on not auto attacking very often, or don't plan on getting 100% crit, usually you will be going first item if you are going for a Crit build, because is now gold efficient and the passive grants quite a bit of power. items are also not gold efficient stat-wise and likely shouldn't be bought first.

has less AD, and the passive is worth a little less due to running , but, if you are playing a poke champion or someone that values Cooldown Reduction very highly, then get it'll likely be worth the -20 AD loss. Likely the reasoning for getting before would be something like "I need poke early and need DPS later." (i.e. Playing on a heavy magic damage team with no DPS & you're against a bunch of tanks)

Second Item

After getting AD and Crit chance, Attack Speed and more Crit chance usually complements very well. Pretty much all of the items have some sort of role they fulfill.

Burst/Waveclear

DPS/Waveclear

Poke/Tower Damage

Anti-Burst/Stick

Third Item

Either or depending on which you didn't buy first.

Fourth Item

Likely either another or Item, depending on how much more Attack Speed or finished item passive you need.

Lifesteal Options

Remember that if you grab a lifesteal item, you're either passing up on/delaying a Zeal item, or a Last Whisper item.

Armor Penetration Options

Make sure to check if the enemy has bought armor before buying or other armor penetration items. (armor penetration items are not always necessary, especially in ARAM, where the entire team could be squishy/non-tank champions) can be bought buy itself if only the healing reduction (grevious wounds) is needed, also make sure your team mates haven't already bought , since healing reduction may not be necessary if that is the case.

Boots

From my experience, if the enemy team knows that they need to kill you, they will paint a giant target on your head that says "kill at all costs". (They probably will when they notice that you are the hardest to kill and dealing the most damage) They will start rushing through your entire team to kill you, which means you need defensive boots, even if just for the stats.

Magic Damage - Mage Builds

Mana Item

I am a bit biased towards and since they give the most defensive options and raw AP stats. Usually only 1 item is necessary, some champions buy 2. (e.g. , )

Core

Options

The 2 items that I usually end up picking from Options is (check enemies' item builds, & if enemies stack HP, there is much more benefit from this item) & (great for cutting healing & flat magic penetration, for squishy champions).

regularly buys as his last item, since the passive activates on its own during late-game.

Kennen Build

Since I regularly run both + + on (if don't need to go on-hit), the build is a bit special...and sometimes hard to manage.

Last Item:

...the main problem with this build is that...there are potentially 6 active items which could be a little hard to manage. The main benefit is that, there are many ways to force an engage (, or + + ), but the damage will likely be a bit low, even though the execution likely has to be pretty high. This sort of build could work on as well.

Active Item Support Build

If doing this build is vital.

AP Active Item Supports Options

Tank Active Item Supports Options

Test: Mage Active Item Support

General Assassin Role

General AD Assassin

Options

When should you build ?
If you need more single target burst, this is your item. You get a small crit on your first auto, and get a speed up for chase/escape afterwards.

?
In most situations, you aren't going to be assassinating the tank...unless you are constantly left in a situation where you and the tank are the only ones left alive, or the entire team consists of mainly tanks. In situations where you are actually aiming to assassinate the tank, you likely won't need because, you are assassinating him for not building any armor, so the rest of your team can push forward faster.

?
You are buying this item because they keep trying to stuff your engage before you get your burst off.

?
You are likely buying this for 1 of 2 reasons. 1) similar to where you are buying , your engage is getting stuffed, but it's not crowd control, it is damage & you are getting insta-killed. should keep you alive long enough to get your burst off, unless you are going in too early, before the enemies blow a few spell. 2) the fights are prolonged, and you can make use of the physical damage "lifesteal" (Edit: All damage types after patch 8.24)

?
Usually, I buy this item in situations similar to ...but I can make use of the magic resist (lots of enemies do magic damage)

?
Honestly...I rarely buy this item, unless the champion synergises with it very well (e.g. ). fits tank killing very well, and fits killing squishy targets very well. works well with both of these items, but usually should not replace either. The CDR definitely will help you with getting rotations up faster though.

?
If you get into a situation of prolonged fighting with a health stacking enemy (pretty rare), this item could cause you to win. The active can also be used as a surprise burst near the end of the fight.

?
If you are not already 100 => 0 squishy enemies, you can get this item for more burst. (also, if isn't doing enough)

General AP Assassin

Usually AP assassins prioritize (flat) Penetration stats, since squishies are usually the targets.

Core

Options

Builds & Enemy Builds

Enemy builds should always be checked, no matter which role you are playing.

Sometimes assassinating a is correct (if you are the only damage of that type magic or physical, and the is stacking only one type of resistance armor or magic resistance), since your backline will be able to push up faster, and may not be able to deal with the if not. (also, or targets may be difficult to kill)

Checking enemy builds is especially important when playing , since will be more effective early if the enemies are rushing health, / rush is great if the enemy team is not buying or planning on buying any magic resist soon, and might be necessary if their team has many tanks and are stacking magic resist. The order depends on what the enemies are planning on buying as their next items.

should absolutely be rushed, like 2nd buy, if the enemy team is a bunch of AD assassins (or are buying lethality, e.g. ). If the enemies snowball on assassins, then you won't be able to deal damage...likely for the rest of the game, so to prevent that, buy early. If it still isn't enough go afterwards for the % damage reduction.

Magic Resist and Armor depend on the enemy comp heavily. Also, sometimes champions can go alternative builds, and the type of damage will change based on the build (e.g. + damage is heavily magic, versus + which would be heavily physical), which should always be watched.

Usually, for active item supports, generally my builds are pretty similar, unless there are a large amount of ...which could mean a should be included in the build, or or should be rushed. (also an early could be useful for your ally carries, since you will be putting the target over your head instead of theirs...since they can't run past you)

If you are fighting against a team heavy in one damage type, stacking that type of resistance could mean they could never kill you before you/your team kill them. (and you will be able to rush damage items faster) Also, if they have ...likely the is coming for you if you keep diving, so an early could prove useful. (if you buy it early, you can use it more often)

Skill Sequence

Although in Normal and Ranked games there is a generally accepted order for leveling and maxing skills, in ARAM skill order leveling is a bit more situational.

Situation based on your team

Although in Normal games, if you play support, usually you either max your W () or E () first. In a situation where your team has no waveclear (no way of killing minions quickly before they crash into tower), then sometimes it makes more sense to max Q () first on , even if there are many champions that scale with AD on your team and would benefit from your E (). Early wave clear & momentum is way too important to forfeit.

Another situational example, is if your team has enough waveclear, and you are playing . You have the option of maxing Q (), but E () could be better. If the enemy team is stuck under tower, then likely won't reach without drawing tower aggro. Whereas (lvl 1 E: 25% => lvl 5 E: 45% damage transfer) benefits from the enemy team being under tower & is easier to hit, and will transfer even more damage than would since your teammates can help damage/kill the spirit.

Situation based on enemy team

If you load into the game with and there are 5 on the enemy team might be the most beneficial ability for your team. After -ing into the team, -ing would significantly cut the enemy team's damage output (if they are not already all dead).

In another situation, if you load into the game with and there are 4 Physical Damage champions on the enemy team, might be the most beneficial (especially since taking Precision tree secondary provides an attack speed bonus). It'll provide adequate damage output while making yourself tankier, so that your team can output even more damage while you are soaking up the enemy team's damage. (and if the enemy ignores you, then you can keep auto attacking and to cut all of their attack speed)

Spells

Summoner spells have an innate 40% cooldown reduction on ARAM.

Generally, the 4 Summoners that I see often are:

Mark/Dash

Heal

Flash

Barrier

The 3 summoner spells that I use most are , , and . is especially useful for melees that have a difficult time engaging (e.g. ), or champions that could use it as a second engage tool (e.g. )...which basically turns into the majority of the melee champ pool. should be noted as having a lower cooldown than , and will likely be up for every teamfight, whereas may not. But, I usually take to help allies out of sticky situations, and put the burden of having longer summoner spell downtimes on myself.

Ghost and Exhaust?

and and good to consider as well (e.g. using , or , or some other champion that either benefits from movespeed or needs to stick). Usually, for general defensive spells, or is better, since you do not need to be in range of an enemy champion to use it, and is effective for damage from multiple different sources. But, as with supports, could prove to be useful, if there are assassins on the the enemy team, and you know that you have to keep someone else on your team alive.

Clarity, Cleanse and Ignite?

So, why not , , ? has the potential of being a dead summoner spell (and can be bought reactively), since you do not get to see the enemy team before the game begins. feels like overkill with , if anything and early should be enough...skipping seems like a pretty important summoner to give up in exchange. could be good...if defensive options like weren't as strong, although if had a similar or less cooldown, it might be used as some sort of regular damage rotation as soon as it is off cooldown. (Grievous Wounds isn't as important, since is bought pretty regularly)

P.S. Be careful with Mark/Dash, it feels like there may be a delay after inputting the Summoner Spell command & when the spell is launched (meaning if you move your mouse shortly after pressing the Mark/Dash it may go in a different direction than intended)...could just be me though.

Teamwork

One thing that I keep seeing repeated when ARAM is brought up anywhere is "there is no way we could win, their team comp was just better than ours." I mean...the nexus didn't explode as soon as the game loaded...so...there probably is a chance to win. (harder, but not impossible)

In all honesty, ARAM is pretty RNG heavy, but it is more-so based off of teammates and the way the team plays than anything else...there has only been ~1 game out of the 1000s of ARAM games I have played where I recall our team comp not being able to deal enough damage no matter how long our team tanked for.

Team Synergy

If no one on the team is willing to follow up on engages (e.g. 5-man , or 4-man ), or one Player clearly is not listening to pings (such as CD for ulti pings & engaging early), then these are pretty strong indications of poor team synergy...another sign is if everyone is flaming each other. Much like Ranked or Normal games, either just continue playing the game, or do your best to calm everyone down & get them on the same page.

How well the team has to coordinate to win depends on how difficult your team comp is to navigate in comparison to the enemy team comp. If your team has lots of hard engage, and the enemy team has heavy poke, then the onus is on your team to make something happen quickly. If your team has 4 poking champions and 1 tank, and the other team must hit the engage, your responsibility is to make sure that they don't hit their engage or .

Strengths/Weaknesses

Recognizing strengths/weaknesses is heavily important as well. If your team is ulti-reliant...then turtling until 6 without receiving too much damage is pretty important. (aka. don't force engages unless there is a free catch on an enemy)

Poke, Healing, and Pick/Catch Strengths are usually pretty straightforward. Things get pretty complicated when the enemy team has heavy AOE + long-duration Crowd Control ultis, or invulnerabilities. In these sorts of situations, they need to be baited out and re-engaged, or nullified (e.g. , on ). Or, if the enemy team has lots of disengage, you could either aim to one-shot the disengager, or hold some engage tools and re-engage after. Generally, you'll know what you need to watch out for when you know what all the champions do.

Other Tips & Tricks

The safest place to stand at the start of the game before the minions spawn is not the brush in the middle of the map. If you are standing there alone and 5 enemies facecheck the brush, or Mark/Dash to you, you will likely have to blow Flash immediately to live. The safest place to stand, is the area right above your outer relic, just enough to see the gap between the two bushes in the middle of the map. If done correctly, you will see any Mark/Dash coming from the enemy bush, and anyone entering your bush. The only way to sneak into the bush is: 1) stealth abilities/passives, 2) coming to the middle of the map faster than you (e.g. Powerball, Devastating Charge), 3) going through the wall.
Pushing is important, especially at the start of the game. (The first wave usually decides which team has push advantage, basically for the rest of the game unless something happens) As with laning phase, pushing opponents under tower means that there is more room to angle and shoot skillshots. Conversely, dodging & shooting skillshots though enemy minions is much harder under tower (since there are minions). Pushing is also important to pressure enemies to clearing the minions, else potentially forfeit the tower.
If you get Teemo and the enemy team buys Oracle's Extract put Noxious Trap on all edges of bushes. The enemy team has to walk into the bush in order to clear them (the traps just appear as outlines & cannot be cleared from the outside of the bush), which means that someone is tanking a hit. If the enemy refuses to clear any of them, you know for sure that no one has entered/is sitting in those bushes. You can also use them similar to Caitlyn Yordle Snap Trap when in combat (predict where the enemy is moving or standing, and place one there)
When it hits 6-item late game, buy Oracle's Extract if you have the gold for it, even if there are no stealth enemies or traps ( Noxious Trap, Bushwhack) on the enemy team. This will help with checking bushes, since bushes do not have to be walked into to see if there is an enemy (a red outline will appear when there are champions sitting in bushes & you are outside of the bush). It is also a sort of insurance policy, since backdoor champions may try something sneaky.
Oracle's Extract will reveal Invisible champions, this includes Talon's R Shadow Assault, Shaco's Q Deceive
Mark/Dash will reveal Invisible champions as well, and make them visible/targetable for damage dealers, and can be used in other ways, such as following enemies after they attempt to use abilities when escaping
You'll probably learn that there are multiple ways to use abilities, which probably differ from Summoner's Rift, just as an example using Twisted Fate Destiny to counter Rengar Thrill of the Hunt, or Talon Shadow Assault, or not having to walk in to facecheck an opponent sitting in a bush.
Abilities such as Kayn's Shadow Step or Master Yi's Meditate can be used for healing if you know there will be no fighting soon.
If you are an assassin role and are against Karthus buy Edge of Night, and as soon as you see the Requiem light appear above your head, pop Edge of Night and Requiem will be shielded. (need to be out of combat)
E max first Event Horizon on Veigar should be considered. Stun Duration 1.5 => 2.5 & CD down by 4 sec.
Health relics restore health and mana twice (once on pickup & once as an AOE)
In past patches when Poros started in the brushes in the middle of the map, feeding them your Poro-Snax would cause them to stare at you from outside the brush, which would give away your position for the rest of the game whenever you sat in a brush. If you hold your Poro-Snax they will sit in the brush next to you instead. Personally, I do not feed the Poros for this reason.
Mark/Dash can be used to check brushes without having to walk into them (make sure to send the spell down the middle of the brush), but be careful of the very corners of the brush, sometimes the spell doesn't reach the corner closest to you.
ARAM is slightly different in terms of Flash usage. On Summoner's Rift, there are situations where you can escape a gank by Flash-ing a wall, or Flash-ing an ability. But, in ARAM, you should not be Flash-ing to just stay alive. Unless you are making a huge play, or you are the carry and the fight is about to break out, just hold your flash for the next play and take the death (even if you are alive and Flash out, you'll be at low health for the next fight...which will lead to either lower damage output or getting Flash-ed on by an enemy and dying), and avoid the same thing happening again next time. (unless your team is going to lose a lot for you dying, like 2 towers...or the game)
Usually it's pretty wrong to run into the enemy to die just to buy items, unless it is an execute. This is because, "what is the difference of dying now versus dying in the last teamfight?" the enemies still get the gold for the kill like they would if you died last fight. In addition, since you are dying, your team has to forfeit the map and the enemy gets to either push for free, or win the next teamfight for free. Usually, if you cannot execute, the next best thing to do is to bait the enemy team into overextending, causing them to lose the fight.
Fiddlesticks can hit Mark/Dash on an enemy champion, then channel Crowstorm and immediately take Mark/Dash into the enemy team. (if the marked target dies, you cannot dash in by the way)
If you Mark of the Kindred an enemy frontline or engage champion as Kindred, they will be forced to not play their champion properly, or Flash out, else they will feed you marks repeatedly.
If you are playing a carry, don't forget the possibility of running forward instead of backward when you are getting dove. Sometimes it is safer to be in the middle of or right behind your frontline than running behind your tower. (especially late game)
One thing I try to do when playing Ashe is, in between auto attacking an enemy near a bush, Hawkshot any nearby bushes. Enemies often try to kite into bushes to lose vision and force you to walk into them. Another thing to note is Hawkshot will give you assists now, so you could technically shoot them across the map when you spawn to get assists if fights break out.
Reminder: Guardian Angel (which makes Perfect Timing a bit less valuable on AD champions if you're not building Gargoyle Stoneplate) and Zz'Rot Portal are not available on this map.

Closing

GOOD LUCK CRUSHING YOUR ENEMIES WITH YOUR NEWFOUND KNOWLEDGE! ...but seriously, thanks for reading the guide, especially if you had read through the whole thing and made it this far. If you have any questions or feedback feel free to either leave them here in the comments section, whisper on Twitch, tweet/DM on Twitter, or YouTube, I would be happy to answer them and will get back to you as soon as possible. Again, any comments and feedback are appreciated!

This is the end of the guide.

SMALL MESSAGE - NOT RELATED TO GUIDE

Theorycrafts

On-Hit/Attack Speed Vi

(From Change Log - Patch 9.5)

Primary:
Secondary:
Stat Runes: OFFENSE: 10% Attack Speed, FLEX: +6 Armor, DEFENSE: +8 Magic Resist

Max Order

-> -> (against tanks & already have enough wave clear)

-> -> (against squishies or need waveclear)

Against Heavy AP/Magic Damage

Rush

Core:

Optional:

Boots (/

(instead of against heavy AD teams, and don't grab )

(Likely planning to go more into the crit side if grabbing this item, likely to replace )

Sample End Game Build: , , , , ,

Short Vid Sample (No Audio):

Sorry, missed recording the Penta from Bilgewater Event

Tried the build on , likely could work on other Fighters (more likely the ones that synergize with attack speed well)

Tank Vayne

(From Change Log - Patch 8.26b)

Pulled from Past Change List for ARAM & Here is a recent short vid (May 30th 2019)

(Dec 24) 8.24 Update - TheoryCraft: "Tank" Vayne with 2 items + is pretty nutty with max first. A friend and I tested with in the new Nexus Blitz mode (though, the build itself wasn't theorycrafted for the mode). Seems as long as you have + a peel tank (i.e. , probably works too) you are pretty set. (you could say...if you have these three you will have a TRINITY...FORCE to be reckoned with!...why is my screen tilted?...)

Runes run were ():

Overheal could be swapped for Triumph depending on situation.

STAT RUNES: (OFFENSE) +9% BONUS ATTACK SPEED, (FLEX) +5 BONUS ARMOR, (DEFENSE) +6 BONUS MAGIC RESISTANCE

Summoner Spells:

( Lulu runs the Heal)

CORE:

NEXT ITEM OPTIONS:

Best general go-to defensive item. If there is a lot of mixed damage reaching you in the backline, or if there are mixed damage assassins on the enemy team, grab this item. Will also synergize with later defensive items, giving you more health when you use the Metallicize active.

If you are snowballing and want to snowball harder, but don't need too much defensive stats. Will also give you stronger chase-down with your + . (some hilarious chase-down would be if the last 3 items are , , & ...maybe not the best combination though) will also provide health to go with your resistances if you already bought the item.

General armor item, active slow great against melee for kiting & crit damage reduction great against other ranged marksmen.

General MR item, will additionally amp your %max health damage healing. still great against repeated magic damage/abilities. ( + still great against on-hit champs)

Very useful for single target cc, or long lasting stuns (i.e. ), will also build into more lifesteal later...though should likely be upgraded last.

If you are really confident and want to build another damage item, this will give you stronger 1v1 dueling & amp your attack speed up from 3.13 (with + ) to 3.43.

Past , , & you can build half tank (i.e. ) or full tank items (i.e. since true damage doesn't seem to be reduced when active), or a if necessary. You can get away with full tank & half tank items because of the attack speed from + (additional +75% attack speed), , , , already gives you enough damage from repeatedly proc-ing to definitely be VERY relevant dps (damage per second), regularly topping damage charts with half your items being full tank items. (Tested in practice mode, w/ + attack speed you are at 3.13 attacks per second, 2.64 w/o) The damage, and damage is marginal if compared to repeated damage.

But...the damage isn't what makes the build really problematic...it's that you are removing the main weakness of ranged champs WHILE topping damage charts. Usually, the main threat to ADCs/ champions is getting assassinated or "blown up" (or getting cc'ed then blown up). But, with 3 tank items, and ...that likely won't happen unless over half the enemy team decides to charge past your front line to kill you. (by the way, builds out of ...so you get that too along the way)

In addition to health and resistances (and delayed damage from ), you get healing off of your due to running and , meaning you heal for a percentage of the enemy's max health every time activates. This results in being near the top of 3 different categories (Damage Taken/Self-Mitigated Damage, Damage Healed, and Damage Dealt to Champions)

If you are looking for a power spike damage-wise usually at 3 items (, , ), you'll be strong enough to take on the whole enemy team...if your team is willing to tank for you.

Champions to watch out for:
Champions that do not die (i.e. , )
Champions that can snowball on you (i.e. , )
Champions that can keep you from auto-attacking/cc you (but you do have and for those situations, and can grab if that isn't enough)

Also, your wave clear likely won't be the greatest.

Guide Change Log - Starting from 9.1

9.11

Pulled Tank Vayne into the TheoryCrafts section - May 30

9.10

Added 9.10 to Change List for ARAM section - May 15
Moved 9.9 - 8.14 portions to bottom of guide - May 15 (TODO: still have to pull out theorycrafts and move them to different section)
Created Theorycrafts section - Moves On-hit/Attack Speed Vi into it - May 20

9.9

Added 9.9 to Change List for ARAM section - May 1
Added 1 new item set to Support section, and update runes section to include the Electrocute and Predator since the keystone/rune changes stayed, and a new Active Item Support rune option - May 11

9.8

Added 9.8 to Change List for ARAM section - Apr 17

9.7

Added 9.7 to Change List for ARAM section, and added little to Intro section - Apr 3
Added EDIT section to 9.7 on Change List for ARAM section - Apr 11

9.6

Added 9.6 to Change List for ARAM section - Mar 21

9.5

Added 9.5 to Change List for ARAM section - Mar 7
Added Quick Access - Starting Items & Vi edit in 9.5. Change List Section - Mar 9

9.4

Added 9.4 to Change List for ARAM section - Feb 20
Added list of melee champions with AP ratios & Conqueror section - Feb 21
Added Conqueror Hotfix to Change List - Feb 23
Added to Runes Section (Assassin) & Edit 2 to Conqueror hotfix (will update Quick Access w/ Starting Items link on next update) - Feb 26

9.3

Added to Change List for ARAM (9.3 Section) & ...numbers edit - Feb 5
Formatting, numbers, and added some bullet points - Feb 6
Removed the Stormrazor section, as it is no longer relevant after the changes to the item & some wording clarity added (going to have to update the Crit Section again later) - Feb 7
Changed the Crit Items section, added in the component changes to Essence Reaver & Phantom Dancer in the Change List for ARAM section, and edited the Starting Items section - Feb 10
Added to Other Tips & Tricks, and added an Edit to Change List for ARAM (Scheduled PBE Essence Reaver change) - Feb 14
Added to Runes Section (Marksmen), updated Armor, MR & Adaptive Force numbers in Runes section, and added a Reminder to Tips & Tricks Section - Feb 20

9.2

Added to Change List for ARAM (9.2 Section) & some formatting cleanup - Jan 24
Added a TheoryCraft for Sylas - Jan 27
Added an edit to Sylas portion - Feb 3

9.1

Added Guide Change Log (Hi!) - Jan 8
Added to Change List for ARAM (9.1 Section) - Jan 8
Added Starting Items/Buying Items Section - Jan 8
Added a few edits to the Change List for ARAM - Ornn section & Hail of Blades - Jan 11
Added a few edits to the Marksman Runes section - Jan 11

Past Change list for ARAM (From 8.14 onwards)

9.13

release!

- ARAM specific changes
First Package Spawn Time: 8:00 -> 5:00
ARAM Package Cooldown Time: 240 -> 150

:
3200 gold -> 3300 gold
+ + + 425 gold ->
+ + + 100 gold

Likely a good thing for ARAM, but a nerf for Summoner's Rift. You can always start B. F. Sword now, whether you are going Essence Reaver or Infinity Edge. It will give you the immediate AD for early game.

:
60 -> 70 Armor

If you are not up against Lifesteal or Healing Champions (i.e. Dr. Mundo, Illaoi), and are up against Crit based champions (i.e. ADCs, or Yasuo) I would consider Randuin's Omen. It would likely give you more effective health in those situations.

: 2700 gold (750 combine cost) -> 2600 gold (650 combine cost)

Sorry for the delay, been sucked into TFT and uploading a few vids to YT. Also, starting to work on a TFT guide/reference thing. Hope you are enjoying TFT as well!
Link: Google Doc

9.12

Released! And another Ryze rework

Not too many changes this patch. Sorry for the delay, been working on some other stuff. Also, TFT should be hitting PBE soon, may push some video stuff onto YouTube!

15-30 (levels 1-18) Magic Damage over 3 seconds -> 15 Magic Damage over 3 seconds at all levels
Doesn't really affect anything

No Rune Updates

Just a bunch of Champion adjustments, since there isn't much in this patch, I'll list the ARAM specific adjustments.

One in specific that might need to be looked at still, is probably

Nerfs:
: +8% dmg dealt, -8% dmg taken -> No changes from other modes
: -5% dmg dealt -> -8% dmg dealt
: +10% dmg dealt, -5% dmg taken -> -5% dmg taken
: +8% dmg dealt, -8% dmg taken -> +5% dmg dealt, -5% dmg taken
: -10% dmg dealt, +8% dmg taken -> -10% dmg dealt, +10% dmg taken
: +15% dmg dealt -> +12% dmg dealt
: +10% dmg dealt, -10% dmg taken -> +8% dmg dealt, -8% dmg taken
: +18% dmg dealt, -10% dmg taken -> +12% dmg dealt, -10% dmg taken
: -10% dmg taken -> -8% dmg taken
: -10% dmg dealt, -15% healing/shielding done, +12% dmg taken -> -15% dmg dealt, -18% healing/shielding done, +15% dmg taken
: +8% dmg dealt, -8% dmg taken -> -5% dmg taken
: +10% dmg dealt, -5% dmg taken -> -5% dmg taken
: +5% dmg taken
: +5% dmg dealt, -5% dmg taken -> No Changes From Other Modes

Buffs:
: +5% dmg dealt, -5% dmg taken
: +5% dmg dealt -> +5% dmg dealt, -5% dmg taken
: +5% dmg dealt -> +5% dmg dealt, -5% dmg taken
: +5% dmg taken -> No Changes From Other Modes
: +5% dmg taken -> No Changes From Other Modes
: +5% dmg dealt, -5% dmg taken
: -8% dmg dealt -> -6% dmg dealt
: +5% dmg dealt, -5% dmg taken
: +5% dmg dealt, -10% dmg taken -> +10% dmg dealt, -12% dmg taken
: +5% dmg dealt -> +5% dmg dealt, -5% dmg taken
-6% dmg dealt, +6% dmg taken -> -5% dmg dealt
: -5% dmg dealt, +8% dmg taken -> -5% dmg dealt, +5% dmg taken

9.11

Unfortunately, no item, rune, or ARAM updates this patch. Mostly just Champion buffs, nerfs, and bug fixing.

Pulled the Tank Vayne Theorycraft out of the past change log section, added a short vid & stuck a link in the Quick Access section though!

9.10

Release!
If I get her in ARAM I will likely try out the test mage support build. (and might try out & instead of & ) Trinkets seemed to work fine while attached, but haven't tested active items yet...likely should work while attached, will edit if not.

Test: Mage Active Item Support

(slightly altered)

Optional: , ,

Test Support Runes (Mage): Glacial Augment (slightly altered)
Primary:
Secondary:
Stat Runes: OFFENSE: 1-10% CDR (or +9 Adaptive Force), FLEX: +9 Adaptive Force, DEFENSE: +8 Magic Resist

: 65 AD -> 70 AD
Infinity Edge is still usually first if going the crit route...unless you start going things like crit Kog'Maw, which could happen with the Guinsoo's Rageblade changes.

:
Phantom Hit - Every 2 attacks -> Every 3 attacks
Armor Penetration: 6% (+0.5% per level, max 15%) -> 15%
Magic Penetration: 6% (+0.5% per level, max 15%) -> 15%
Pretty big nerf to rageblade users, probably needed though. Likely will start trying out crit Kog'Maw (likely will try out full crit Vayne, AP or Lethality Varus...AP Kai'Sa is still pretty good) & maybe picking up last item Guinsoo's Rageblade if more magic damage is needed.

: full stack healing & true damage conversion 10% -> 8%

ARAM Changes:
: Now stacks every 6 minutes (from 7)
: 50(+0.2 max health) bonus physical damage to structures at max stacks (from 100(+0.35 max health))

Death Timers at 18: 40 seconds (from 45 seconds)

Turret Damage Changes: Champion damage to turrets increase after 18 minutes, maxing at +25% at 30 minutes (from 15 minutes, 15% at 25 minutes)
(if linear: 25% over 12 minutes = ~2.08% per minute, roughly 14.58% at 25 minutes)

Minion Wave Frequency: Minion waves spawn faster after 18 minutes, maxing at 13 seconds between waves at 30 minutes (from 15 minutes, 15 seconds at 25 minutes)
(if linear: 1 second per minute, 18 seconds at 25 minutes)
Starting seconds between waves: 25 seconds

Minion Movement Speed: Minions speed up after 18 minions

Early opinion, these changes are likely okay...might be harder on champions that need a lot of expensive items. Minion waves seem to spawn less frequently until 28 minutes, and tower damage seems the same up until 25 minutes. (unless I did the math wrong somewhere)

And more champion changes.

9.9

No real big changes aside from the Aftershock change.

Items
25 AD -> 35 AD (changes affect as well)

Runes
:
Bonus Armor (same calculation for MR, except with BONUS MR instead):
70 + (0.5 BONUS Armor, up to 80-150 based on level) when immobilizing an enemy champion
Old: 70-120 based on level
Damage: 10-120 based on level + (0.04 Max health)
Old: 10-120 based on level + (0.03 Max health) + (0.15 BONUS AD) + (0.1 AP)

The changes give tanks a bit more Resistances during activation. If you are taking this item on a non-tank, you are likely taking this for the initial 70 resists given, still great if you are trying to not get bursted as soon as you engage, though don't expect too much out of the detonate damage anymore since there are no AP and AD scaling on it now.

: 25-50 -> 30-60

: All movement speed bonuses are 10% more effective -> +1% movement speed & all movement speed bonuses are 7% more effective

: 8-40 -> 10-45

: 8 -> 9 bonus Armor and Magic Resist (at 10 min)

: 10-30 -> 15-35

: 8(+8 per stack) -> 10(+9 per stack)

: 5%(+3% per stack) -> 5%(+4% per stack)

Magical Footwear: 10 Minutes (-30 seconds per takedown) -> 12 minutes (-45 seconds per takedown) - Guessing this change won't hit ARAM since it is already at 8 minutes from the individual ARAM changes

9.8

: 250 -> 350 combine cost (total cost: 1600)

: 3200 -> 3300 total cost

: 850 -> 750 combine cost

& : Grievous wounds duration 1 -> 3

: Energized effects increased by (30 -> 35%), Energized slow duration (decaying) 1 -> 1.5 seconds

: 7% -> 8% (to champions below 40% max health) & no longer grants adaptive force on takedown
Makes secondary Precision tree option quite a bit worse, likely won't be the go-to for tanks & support champions, probably can take Legend: Tenacity instead

What's being kept from the last patch?
Going
Bans

Kept
Champion adjustments (individual buffs/nerfs)
Poke damage reduction (changed to 1000 distance, from 900)
Rune adjustments
change
Minion & structure damage changes (Champions start with 0% additional damage to structures, 15-25 minutes scaling up to 15% damage, 15-25 minutes minions gain up to 425 movement speed)

& trees are both still strong primary trees (especially with the and buffs). If you can reliably/easily use & are a burst champion, you should likely take it. (Poke, Reset, and Tank primary tree are likely still better off with , and DPS w/ ) is pretty good on engage champs now (usually took it with ), if you aren't going primary for .

9.7

Changed:
Total Cost: 2400 -> 2900
Recipe: + + + 880 gold (380 -> 880)
Attack Speed: 40 -> 50
Magic Resist: 40 -> 50
(NEW) Movement Speed: 5%
On-Hit Damage: 42 -> 15-80 (levels 1-18) (the wikia states the the damage scaling isn't linear, will likely have to check)
Heal for the amount of On-hit damage dealt by Wit's End (33% effective for ranged) - "When below half health" not stated on Patch Notes, but stated in client-EDIT Updated Patch notes to include
Magic Resist Shred/Gain removed

This really changes the identity of , it isn't the item that you buy with/against a magic damage heavy team. It's mainly an item against magic damage teams, that is more effective when your team does not have or has very little magic damage. It is definitely better for attack speed fighter champions, and weaker early, which it sounds like was the idea.

This item is a lot worse on marksmen on-hit champions...will likely start trying crit after + + . This item used to be my go-to rush when running into heavy Magic Damage comps, but with the flat damage nerfed by almost 30 early, and shred removed...it would be pretty much for the magic resist, which in my opinion wouldn't be enough to justify rushing on on-hit marksmen. (the shred increased this item's damage by a lot, especially against squishy champions/early game) Also, seeing the "When below half health" was pretty sad to see in client...pretty much if you are sitting at half health against divers or assassins, you're asking to get one-shot & would be better off with just regular lifesteal in most situations. The 80 flat damage late game is still good against squishy champions, but if you start going the crit route, you may just end up doing more.

: Max stacks reduced to 10 from 20

: Standing in a bush will no longer convert your trinket into a Ghost Poro & placing a Ghost Poro in enemy territory no longer grants adaptive force. This pretty much makes this rune unusable in ARAM (I don't really mean bad...you just...can't use it now, since there aren't wards in ARAM unless traps are being counted as wards and I recall was altered to not give wards in ARAM, could be wrong on that part though)

: Damaging a champion after clearing a ward no longer deals bonus damage. Clearing a ward grants 2 adaptive force up to 20 (bonus 10 after reaching max stacks) (no wards, so runs into same problem as )

Eyeball Collection sounds like it is the only option in the row right now. Not a bad one though.

: 5-12% -> 5-15% depending on % max health difference still (10-100%)

: +5% max health damage increase (100+30% max health -> 100+35% max health)
With the upcoming structure damage buffs...an entire team of tanks might just take a tower or 2 by itself w/ just Demolish procs...pretty good competition for Font of Life. The more tanks I see on my team, the more likely I am to pick Demolish over Font of Life...getting to their tower as a team of tanks is another story though.

: +1% max health increase (+2.5% max health -> +3.5% max health)
Also, Overgrowth was stated to gain this max health increase at 80 monsters instead of 120. If that change is still happening.

: +1% per stack (5+2% per stack -> 5+3% per stack)
Still would take on ulti-reliant champions, if not taking Ravenous Hunter or Relentless Hunter (or Eyeball Collection if going Domination secondary tree)

All of the other ARAM changes were mentioned in the previous section (9.6), but will likely update again later after trying them out for a bit.

is stated to have +45 AD, +40 Armor & 210 second Passive CD (thankfully it isn't an active...otherwise would make this item too crazy)...if this item starts being bought even somewhat regularly on Mages...then this item honestly should be removed, at least in my opinion. (you wouldn't have the option to remove it later, but it would be similar to if marksmen were regularly buying )

could be great on assassins if it is used as a followup flank to an engage (second option if you miss or if it is on cooldown)...but could be a lot stronger if it interacted with as well, or if you could use movement abilities while in the wall & be targetable when using them as a tradeoff. (also over could be a stronger consideration since assassins could end up with a lot of actives. i.e. ...but movement speed on assassins is pretty valuable, so not likely, just thought would mention though if + becomes a thing) 80 second cooldown is a pretty hard ask though...that would likely be every other teamfight or so without .

Also, might be a pretty strong tree now w/ stacking changes. (Be careful of taking damage though, since it'll likely stick)

ANYWAY, just some early thoughts, likely will update again after trying out a few games.

EDIT (Early thoughts after a few games):
The individual champion buffs/nerfs seem to feel pretty good. Though, with this many changes happening all at one time, it may be a little difficult to judge how effective each individual change is. Some of them may be a bit much, but overall pretty good.

The minion changes seem pretty good, and waves seem to catch up to your team pretty quickly to take towers. The champion damage to structures though, in combination with the minion changes...feels pretty unhealthy, there have been games where my 1st-2nd death had resulted in 2-3 towers being taken off one push. A similar problem happened where if I ever died, the game would likely end off the next push (since I was the main DPS on the team), even if I died on their side of the map & still had towers up...this felt REALLY bad since I was sitting on 8k gold with only 3 items and tier 1 boots.

The poke reduction feels great, though may be a bit heavy at 15% reduction (especially if the champion is already receiving individual nerfs). (non-ultimate & damage over time abilities though, so abilities like and aren't affected)

- If this stays, I would likely take this in situations where I normally took , since it can get you out of situations that couldn't, such as . (though the interaction likely should be fixed, in one of my games, someone was warped backwards because they activated before ) I likely still wouldn't take this on engage champs, or assassins, since I would be sacrificing engage.

pretty great on burst champs (or backdoor champs later in the game...I hope this doesn't turn into the "meta" though, if they want to nerf this potential, Riot likely should give it the treatment where the movement speed boost is only when moving towards opponents). (...I still hope could work with this in the future)

seems like a pretty decent nerf, at least from what I could see, the passive is noticeable up to ~70% max health.

At this point, I'm pretty indifferent about the bans (maybe slightly against), if it makes the majority of people happy, personally I'm okay with it sticking around.

The nerfs were great, it seems like ultis are up only every other fight instead of EVERY fight. Likely still worth taking though, since it is still overloaded. Also, and (usually took with ) seem pretty good if you can reliably use them. is better now, but since game times have also went down it makes the rune less effective. (personally I haven't seen games go past 30 minutes yet...usually ~15-25 minutes)

...this item is really good into low CC teams, and really bad into high CC teams or if you have no "stick" abilities. But...if I am able to ignore a tower and 100 to 0 by running at him as ...it kinda kills counterplay and turns it into a situation of either "you better have " or "you better have CC or disengage" in addition to already killing the user. (I have already seen this item bought on )

A build I like doing with (on champs like or is:
// /// / //

Might update again later if I have anything else to add or missed. Anyway, thanks for reading & GL HF!

9.6

can no longer be bought after buying or (aka. no more than 1 item can be bought...)
Probably the build I will immediately try if getting Ezreal in aram is:
Muramana, Trinity Force/ Iceborn Gauntlet, Spear of Shojin, Blade of the Ruined King, Lord Dominik's Regards, Ninja Tabi/ Mercury's Treads

Critical Strike is no longer Unique.

changed:
Charges: 6 -> 3
Base Damage Bonus: 4% -> 6%
Additional Damage Bonus: 1 -> 3%
Starting Cooldown: 240 seconds -> 180 seconds

nerfed early 40-100% -> 20-100% (levels 1-18) excess healing into shielding

The REALLY interesting thing announced was: https://nexus.leagueoflegends.com/en-us/2019/03/dev-more-experimental-aram-changes/
Honestly, can't wait...for most of the changes. Slated to drop middle of 9.7, likely still subject to change.

Bans - Honestly...I'm not sure about this one...at the moment anyway. It kind of feels like the "R" from ARAM is being messed with. But, this could be a good preemptive move, in case there is an imbalanced champion that is released later.
Champions deal increased damage to towers - 0:00-15:00 (10%) & 15:00-25:00 (linear increase to 30%), I'm not really sure about these changes either, since it might be a bit harder on scaling champions (or if you manage to get ahead on a late game champion, likely a lot more punishing)...one that comes to mind is Kayle
Poke Reduction (if >900 units) - Awesome
Barrier removed, "Backtrack" introduced: Gives small shield and pulls you back in the direction of your fountain, shorter distance for ranged (not sure if invulnerable or untargetable). Great!
"Mariner's Vengance" introduced - instead of reviving like Guardian Angel, you gain 50% base health & 30% max mana & all basic ability CDs, but you die in 4 seconds still. I...don't really like this item, if the owner died when their base health hit 0 instead of being invulnerable, it would be great. For reference, Tryndamere Undying Rage is 5 seconds of invulnerability. ARAM might turn into a mess of everyone buying this item...though can't say for sure until trying the item.
Warmog's Armor changed for max health healing to missing. woo!
Ghostwalkers are back with a few adjustments
Rune Adjustments ( Triumph & Presence of Mind nerfed woo!...don't think the Presence of Mind nerf was hard enough though) a number of runes & Champion adjustments.

9.5

Rework out! (monster at level 16+)
Update out!

+5 AD (55 -> 60), +5% Attack Speed (25% -> 30%)

3 second resist duration -> 2.5 second resist duration

2-10 per stack (10-50 at max stacks) -> 2-6 per stack (10-30 at max stacks)
Likely need to re-test again, probably not as strong anymore. Not a go to for melee champs.

4-10% -> 5-12%

Also, sounds awesome after this patch (if you're the main tank/frontliner this build is likely pretty dangerous)...likely:
(, , /, / in normals, )

or

(/ in normals, , , , or )

EDIT: Resolve tree may be a stronger secondary (...or even primary w/ Aftershock) for both, watch out for not having either Ravenous Hunter or Presence of Mind: Shield Bash + either Second Wind = best general option since most items have HP on them (or Revitalize = ~0.75 - 1.5% extra max health on Blast Shield, or Unflinching = CC reduction)

w/ -> -> max order.

, , /, /, /, /

Attack Speed Growth: 2.5% -> 2%
12-8 seconds (levels 1-9) -> 16-12 (levels 1-9), shield ratio: 10% max health -> 15% max health (reduced by 3 seconds per proc)

damage no longer reduced by 25% to non-champions, 1.6 bonus AD ratio -> 1.4 bonus AD ratio

30/35/40/45/50% Attack Speed -> 30/37.5/45/52.5/60% Attack Speed, 's cooldown reduced by 3 seconds per proc

cone can now critically strike, 1.15% Total AD, 0.7% AP -> 1.1% Total AD, 0.9% AP

110/85/60 cooldown -> 120/100/80 cooldown
150/300/450 (1.4 bonus AD ratio) -> 150/325/500 (1.1 bonus AD ratio)
No longer deals 25% reduced damage to secondary targets & secondary targets knocked back by 350 over 0.75 seconds (from 250 over 0.25 seconds)

Sorry for the delay on this patch

9.4

EDIT: hotfixed/nerfed - 3-15 adaptive force per stack (15-75) to 2-10 adaptive force per stack (max 10-50) & Ranged stack duration 3 -> 2 seconds
(early opinion: likely could be one of the best melee assassin & fighter runes for ARAM, because of how fast you can usually stack it & drawn out teamfights being often...if you aren't immediately focused after killing your target, could also be pretty good on low CD mages & diving tanks that aren't running )

EDIT2: Have also heard that could be good on Marksmen, but going + Completed item + won't give you too much attack speed (unless you are grabbing , or swapping out for ), where & would come in handy. Also, if you're using it for the 10% true damage + healing, that would require auto attacking or hitting an enemy champion with abilities every 2 seconds (checked recently, the 2 second window refreshes after getting a stack) while kiting or pushing forward without dying. If you can do it, it would likely give you more lifesteal against tanks than ...but getting it to activate and stay up may be a little hard, also you likely can't use that form of "lifesteal" against minions since you can't get stacks unless you're hitting enemy champions. (also wanted to note that does not tell you how much AD/AP it has given you throughout the game, or how much damage those AD/AP stats have done)

changed

No longer has the requirement of staying in combat for 4 seconds to activate.
First Basic Attack against an enemy champion changed to Damaging Attacks and Abilities
Duration: 3 seconds (refreshing for melee champions when damaging an enemy champion) -> 3 seconds (8 seconds for melee)
6-35 AD (levels 1-18) -> 3-15 Adaptive Force (levels 1-18) stacking up to 5 times 15-75
True Damage: 20% -> 10% (+ healing for that amount) 5 stacks required
Damage over Time abilities can only add a stack once every 5 seconds

Better for magic damage melee champions, may be difficult to get to max stacks on ranged since there is only a 3 second window (unless the timer refreshes on gaining another stack...don't think it does though). Miss Fortune could be good, if her Make it Rain + Bullet Time can gives stacks per enemy hit. Master Yi, Warwick, and Wukong might be strong with this keystone, in addition to the others that already used it last patch (i.e. Jax, Riven, ...)
List of Melee Champions that have AP ratios:

Ornn (only 20% on ulti)
Dr. Mundo (10% on Heart Zapper)
Cho'Gath
Taric
Think that's most of them...

+ 5 AD, & Cooldown Reduction (20%) is unique. (Double s aren't a thing anymore...you can still buy another instead of another item if you value the AD over the completed item passive)

Lots of champion, VFX, and Animation changes.

Also, Kayle & Morgana teasers shown (for next patch? 9.5). GL HF!

9.3

This section may be a bit long, due to all of the crit item changes. Will likely be referencing the Wikia for all of the old descriptions and numbers.

I would like to preface this by saying, you now need 4 crit items to hit 100% crit instead of 3 items due to the revert. (at 3 crit items you'll be at 75% crit chance) This also means that you will have one less item slot to work with if you want 100% crit early (4 crit items plus boots vs. 3 crit items plus boots). This likely means the last item slot will likely be a fight between a item or a lifesteal item. (or you could always stay at 75% crit and replace boots later with another crit item) On average, you will be dealing less damage until your 4th crit item than the 9.2 , but slightly stronger at 2.
2 Items (IE + Complete Zeal item) 9.2 vs 9.3:
200*.6 = 120% + (100 * .4) = 160% damage on average (Patch 9.2)
vs.
225 * .5 = 112.5% + (100 * .5) = 162.5% damage on average (Patch 9.3)

3 Items (IE + 2 Complete Zeal items) 9.2 vs 9.3:
200*1 = 200% damage on average (Patch 9.2)
vs.
225 * .75 = 168.75% + (100 * .25) = 193.75% damage on average (Patch 9.3)

- It was noted in the patch notes that significant power shifts would be made on a champ-by-champ basis, so some marksmen may still be getting buffs.

is back

: 10% true damage passive changed to +25% crit damage, Double crit chance passive removed, recipe now includes a , +10 AD (70 -> 80) and +25% crit chance

These changes were meant to be a nerf from the +50% crit damage version, which is fine, though it should be noted that at +50% crit damage: 4 Auto attacks = a Crit auto attack from passive damage & at +25% crit damage: 8 Auto Attacks = Crit auto attack from passive damage. This may seem obvious, but just wanted to point this out.
Old Infinity Edge stats for comparison (from patch 7.9): 3400 gold, 70 AD, 20% critical strike chance, +50% damage on critical strikes. (3250 gold in AD & Crit Chance stats)
9.3 Infinity Edge gold value provided by stats: 2800 gold in AD (35 gold/AD * 80 AD) + 1000 gold in Critical Strike Chance (40 gold/Crit Chance * 25 Crit Chance) = 3800 in stats alone, which means the item is gold efficient and can be bought on its own

: Essence Flare removed (moved to ), -15 AD (75 -> 60), +25% Crit chance, +200 gold (3000 -> 3200 gold), 1% missing mana -> 1.5% missing mana, changed to so no +300 mana & changed to

New Essence Reaver is better by itself at 1 item, but Old Essence Reaver provided 3% maximum mana on critical strikes & 30% CDR after a completed Zeal item. Additionally it was 70 AD instead of 60 AD, but was 5% crit chance less (20% crit chance). It should be noted though that the +20% CDR doesn't look like a Unique passive, which means you could technically build 2 Essence Reavers for 40% CDR. (maybe you could try this on Jhin...something like Infinity Edge, Rapid Firecannon, 2 Essence Reaver, if you aren't doing the lethality build)
EDIT: The balance team probably noticed, the 20% CDR will be a unique passive starting next patch...unless they change their mind.
9.3 Essence Reaver gold value provided by stats: 2100 gold from AD (35 * 60), 533.3333333 gold from CDR (26.66666 * 20), 1000 gold from Crit Chance (40 * 25) = Total gold value of 3633.333333333 gold, which means the item is gold efficient
7.9 Essence Reaver gold value provided by stats: 3400 gold, 70 AD, 10% CDR, 20% Crit Chance (3516.66666 gold), at 30% CDR (max stack passive) (4050 gold)
Infinity Edge -> Zeal Item -> Essence Reaver is likely strong on most ADCs that build crit (as I believe I had heard as well from Phreak in one of his videos)

: -100 gold (1300 -> 1200)
: -200 gold (800 -> 600)

: -100 gold (2700 -> 2600), -15% attack speed (45 -> 30), -5% Crit chance (30 -> 25), Second changed to , -12% damage reduction passive changed to scaling shield 240-600 (starting from level 9 - level 18) w/ 90 second CD, movement speed passive changed from 550 range of a visible enemy champion to 2 seconds after auto attacking an enemy champion.

Changed from a dueling item to an anti-burst item. Probably pretty good between levels 1-9 & good with Rapid Firecannon since the movement speed passive isn't restricted to 550 range.

: -5% crit chance (30 -> 25), -200 gold (2800 -> 2600)
Statikk Shiv also +5% attack speed (35 -> 40)

: +10% total armor penetration (10 -> 20), +10 AD (10 -> 20), +150 gold (1300 -> 1450)

A lot better now when bought in response to enemies buying armor, since the total armor penetration on this item is doubled rather than being thrown largely on the completed item.

& : +5 AD (40 -> 45)

:
+ + + 850 gold (From + 2 + + 550 gold), +300 gold (2800 -> 3100), -5 AD (60 -> 55), -10% Attack speed (35 -> 25%),
Current Crit Passive removed,
ENERGIZED passive added: Basic attacks & movement generate Energized stacks & at 100 stacks your next basic attack deals 65 magic damage and slows for 40% decaying over 1 second,
STORM passive added: Your Energized effects are 30% more effective and slow for 40% decaying over 1 second.

This is not a first purchase item anymore
I believe I had heard STORM affects Fleet Footwork as well (so healing should be increased, and movespeed). The other 2 Energized I believe are Rapid Firecannon and Statikk Shiv, Rapid Firecannon's range is likely also increased, and the number of bounces on Statikk Shiv.
I'm not sure how much you would want this item over a lifesteal item, a crit item, or a Last Whisper item since item slots are highly contested.
This item does not provide crit chance.

NEW ITEM:

3400 gold
+ + + 950 gold
+60 AD
+250 Health
+20% CDR
Essence Flare passive moved here (Your next basic attack after casting your Ultimate for 6 seconds, grants +50% Attack Speed & refunds 20% of basic ability CD on basic attacks)

TL;DR (Crit items): Initial thoughts are that looking at the patch notes...they seem like not bad changes, though not sure if it will shake things up too much. You likely can buy full , without skipping to a zeal item before finishing it. You can build in crit builds again. is better in response to enemies building armor.

EDIT: Jan 26 Theorycraft (not tested yet)
Based on looking at the kit & hearing some comments on him, I'm guessing that tree might be the way to go, due to how squishy he is.
Probably running (Norms):
Primary:
Secondary:
Stat Runes: 1-10% CDR, +6 Armor, +8 Magic Resist (or +16 Magic Resist depending on matchups)

ARAM:
Primary:
Secondary:
Stat Runes: +1-10% CDR, +16 Magic Resist

EDIT3: I was not certain if Self-Heals and Self-Shields were affected by Revitalize, but after checking, they are. So, unless you are worried about getting one-shot before getting your combo off, Overgrowth and Unflinching can be swapped out for Revitalize. Just wanted to add that in.

Items:

I originally wanted to try something crazy with Conqueror (or Hail of Blades) & a half-tank build...but there is literally no AD scaling in the kit, even his ultimate converts AD ratios into AP ratios. Seems like the 100% AD on the passive is his actual AD on a normal auto attack, from what I can tell at least.

The original build was something like (this does apply on your AOE auto attack passive by the way) & / instead of & , but you might die trying to continuously apply Liandry's/Rylai's if you don't have resistances (which means you either have to build a bunch of half tank items like & , which will hurt your double damaging & healing/damage increase on , or run to survive). You could still go this route if their entire team is a bunch of tanks.

The is for the mana (since he seems pretty mana hungry too, is to also help with mana/HP) & active to into to either force a or guarantee the .

The rest of the build is fairly standard mage stuff.

Anyway, just some early thoughts. Good Luck, Have Fun!

EDIT2: Forgot to add something, if you run it as a bot laner, you may wanna try , , , , or maybe as supports. could be pretty great too because of his passive (all of ' abilities deal magic damage...aside from maybe his ulti), but if you miss ...it probably won't end well...Melee supports are preferable if you have a choice mainly because they can build you a so you won't get insta-killed come mid-late game. But, since it is a double melee bot lane, watch out for getting poked out.

Also, something a bit "cheesy" that you could try is an early level 2 all-in with + w/ on both. w/ , into + (or + & auto attack), will be enough autos for which could lead to get an early kill or chunk on the other laners.

Anyway, just another thought. Good Luck, Have Fun!

9.2

released (likely pretty strong in ARAM)

& & won't cast over minimap, it will no instead cast in the direction the cursor is in. (to avoid miscasting)

cost increased by 100 (1500 -> 1600) & AP reduced by 5 (25 -> 20)

total cost decreased by 100 gold (to account for nerf), AP decreased by 10 (80 -> 70)
If the enemy team is not full of squishies, or if grievous wounds isn't needed, I might consider a different item. Still great against squishies though.

cost decreased by 150 (2900 -> 2750)

changed:
Ally Heal Conversion: 300% -> 40-100% (level 1 - 18)
Self-Heal Conversion: 40% -> 40-100% (level 1 - 18)
Changed from instantly falling off after 6 seconds to decays by 2.5% max shield/second after 6 seconds
Still in the same row as Triumph and Presence of Mind so likely won't see much use

changed:
Stacks: 10 -> 20
Lifesteal per stack: 0.8 -> 0.6%
Max Lifesteal: 8% -> 12%
This change is great, if you are Precision tree primary, don't need Legend: Tenacity and you are not an on-hit user, grab this. The lifesteal from this rune will actually give you as much lifesteal as Blade of the Ruined King, pretty great. You won't be pressured to buy a lifesteal item with this rune.

nerfed 3-24 AD -> 1.8-18 AD, 5-40 AP -> 3-30 AP
In the Sorcery tree, which is still a bit weak in ARAM, so the nerf doesn't really help the tree.

changed:
4-12% increased damage -> 4-10% increased damage
Threshold changed: 150-2000 more max health -> 10%-100% more max health

Stat Runes:
Adaptive Damage: 10 -> 9
Armor: 5 -> 6
Magic Resist: 6 -> 8

: 80-505 damage -> 70-410 damage (level 1-18), cooldown reduced 210 -> 180

9.1

Don't usually mention individual champion changes, but the passive changes seem like they would be pretty strong for ARAM, if he can get to level 13 or higher...which definitely could happen.

Ornn can upgrade two of his own items for free.
For each level (14 & after) Ornn can upgrade one of his allies items.
Gains additional 10% Armor & Magic Resist from items.
Iceborn Gauntlet Youmuu's Ghostblade Blade of the Ruined King Luden's Tempest added as upgradeable items

There were some tradeoffs with his abilities as well
EDIT: The Upgraded Items section under the Recommended tab of the shop appears to be gone (at least for ARAM) with this patch, it may be beneficial to create a custom item set for Ornn with all of his possible upgradable items, so you don't have to go searching through the whole item list.

Aside from the champion & jungle item changes...

changed from 75 - 125% attack speed bonus to 110% at all levels
Auto attack resets no longer eat a charge

Could be good in comps that are looking to pick one person off repeatedly, instead of teamfight.
It gives you the same attack speed increase on the next 3 auto attacks, starting from level 1 when compared to max level Lethal Tempo. Though, you have to be out of combat to reset the cooldown.

Attack Speed Stat Rune: 9 -> 10%

: 8% -> 10%

: 4-21 damage (level 1-18) -> 5-30 damage (level 1 - 18)

Added Long Range Ability Pings for & Ultimate abilities for:

(Gate portion)

Also, ping information were added for certain abilities:
- Ghost remaining time
- Number of Turrets Available or Time until next turret
Some others were listed in the patch notes, dealing with Too Little Mana to cast, or Current Stacks, or Too Little Health to cast & time to unlock other form for Kayn

There were also some changes on the HUD dealing with Remaining Duration/Time to Recast on some abilities.

[8.24b Update]

+5% CDR (5 -> 10%)

This will likely feel great, especially if you are buying a final item that has Forbidden Idol as a component. You won't be stuck with 35% CDR with no open item slots & will have the full 40% CDR instead.

+2% Heal & Shield Power (8 -> 10%)

+5% Heal & Shield Power (15 -> 20%)

+2% Heal & Shield Power (8 -> 10%)

The buffs likely won't be noticeable unless you buy two or more of these items...which could definitely happen with Mikael's Blessing & Redemption in the active item support build.

increased +135 gold (1200 -> 1325 gold)

ally's burn damage down -20% (50 -> 30)

Riot added back Nexus Blitz, and made all champions available over the holidays in the game mode, GL HF!

Also, Happy Holidays!

(Dec 24) 8.24 Update - TheoryCraft: "Tank" Vayne with 2 items + is pretty nutty with max first. A friend and I tested with in the new Nexus Blitz mode (though, the build itself wasn't theorycrafted for the mode). Seems as long as you have + a peel tank (i.e. , probably works too) you are pretty set. (you could say...if you have these three you will have a TRINITY...FORCE to be reckoned with!...why is my screen tilted?...)

Runes run were ():

Overheal could be swapped for Triumph depending on situation.

STAT RUNES: (OFFENSE) +9% BONUS ATTACK SPEED, (FLEX) +5 BONUS ARMOR, (DEFENSE) +6 BONUS MAGIC RESISTANCE

Summoner Spells:

( Lulu runs the Heal)

CORE:

NEXT ITEM OPTIONS:

Best general go-to defensive item. If there is a lot of mixed damage reaching you in the backline, or if there are mixed damage assassins on the enemy team, grab this item. Will also synergize with later defensive items, giving you more health when you use the Metallicize active.

If you are snowballing and want to snowball harder, but don't need too much defensive stats. Will also give you stronger chase-down with your + . (some hilarious chase-down would be if the last 3 items are , , & ...maybe not the best combination though) will also provide health to go with your resistances if you already bought the item.

General armor item, active slow great against melee for kiting & crit damage reduction great against other ranged marksmen.

General MR item, will additionally amp your %max health damage healing. still great against repeated magic damage/abilities. ( + still great against on-hit champs)

Very useful for single target cc, or long lasting stuns (i.e. ), will also build into more lifesteal later...though should likely be upgraded last.

If you are really confident and want to build another damage item, this will give you stronger 1v1 dueling & amp your attack speed up from 3.13 (with + ) to 3.43.

Past , , & you can build half tank (i.e. ) or full tank items (i.e. since true damage doesn't seem to be reduced when active), or a if necessary. You can get away with full tank & half tank items because of the attack speed from + (additional +75% attack speed), , , , already gives you enough damage from repeatedly proc-ing to definitely be VERY relevant dps (damage per second), regularly topping damage charts with half your items being full tank items. (Tested in practice mode, w/ + attack speed you are at 3.13 attacks per second, 2.64 w/o) The damage, and damage is marginal if compared to repeated damage.

But...the damage isn't what makes the build really problematic...it's that you are removing the main weakness of ranged champs WHILE topping damage charts. Usually, the main threat to ADCs/ champions is getting assassinated or "blown up" (or getting cc'ed then blown up). But, with 3 tank items, and ...that likely won't happen unless over half the enemy team decides to charge past your front line to kill you. (by the way, builds out of ...so you get that too along the way)

In addition to health and resistances (and delayed damage from ), you get healing off of your due to running and , meaning you heal for a percentage of the enemy's max health every time activates. This results in being near the top of 3 different categories (Damage Taken/Self-Mitigated Damage, Damage Healed, and Damage Dealt to Champions)

If you are looking for a power spike damage-wise usually at 3 items (, , ), you'll be strong enough to take on the whole enemy team...if your team is willing to tank for you.

Champions to watch out for:
Champions that do not die (i.e. , )
Champions that can snowball on you (i.e. , )
Champions that can keep you from auto-attacking/cc you (but you do have and for those situations, and can grab if that isn't enough)

Also, your wave clear likely won't be the greatest.

Anyway, I'll update again if I feel I missed anything! Other than that, Merry Christmas (if you celebrate) & Happy Holidays! GL HF!

(Dec 29) EDIT: I'll try to continue updating with other Theorycraft builds, as I think of them, as thanks for the positive reception of the guide thus far. (some past ones include Skirmisher's Sabre - Bloodrazor Kog'Maw Lulu botlane, Ashe w/ Veigar support bot, Iceborn Gauntlet Ezreal support, Kalista Kennen bot & Titanic Hydra Trinity Force top lane before they were used in pro play, and an ARAM marksman build...think it was something along the lines of Manamune Runaan's Hurricane Blade of the Ruined King Essence Reaver before all of them got nerfed/changed...this was WAY back when Runaan's Hurricane did not have crit and instead had 70% attack speed). Let me know if you would prefer them being...as their own guide...or their own section...or if you prefer them just being listed here in the patch sections as I think of them. (though I may end up splitting them off to put at the end, since they are not necessarily related to ARAM itself...and more of an add-on)

Currently trying to think of Kog'Maw builds using Death's Dance that don't involve just picking it up in the current on-hit build, but...it likely won't be as effective as Vayne due to running into enemy magic resistance (for most on-hit damage & for healing). Additionally, the Kog'Maw build would likely lose out on damage due to not being able to be as reckless in pushing forward...anyway, I'll let you know here if I come up with anything!

Also, early HAPPY NEW YEAR! Thanks in advance if you keep supporting through 2019!

[8.24]

Lots of individual champion changes/updates.

Clone Debuff Visual update - Clones will now have debuffs on them as well (i.e. )

:
Mid patch update: 2 damage per soul (down from 4)
[8.24] Nerfs: Base damage down by 20 at all levels (20-60 from 40-80, for reference this is the same base damage as pre-[8.23] )
No longer activates off of procs such as or , will still work on .

Likely still the "go to" keystone, especially for mages

Honestly, the bigger change for me is the change.
Changed from 15% of PHYSICAL damage dealt => 15% of ALL damage dealt (won't remove champions that currently works with , but a few to the pool), similar to

With this change, it brings magic damage & true damage dealers into the pool.

So what NEW users would consider buying this item now?
(Provides anti-burst, healing from all damage types, AD, CDR)
The people who immediately come to mind are (especially on-hit), (probably the other on-hit users as well, if they need a defensive item that gives damage), , , maybe

I'll update the list if I think of any others.

release (Probably going to be pretty strong, especially if your team has )

[8.23]

Turret plating added to the game, but not applied to ARAM map. I don't believe the minion changes were also applied to ARAM, but have to double check.

200 Gold less (3300 -> 3100)

On Hit damage changed to 15 magic damage on-hit (previously 5 (+0.1 bonus Attack Damage) physical damage + 5 (+0.1 Ability Power) magic damage).

Grants 6.5-15% (based on level) total armor and magic penetration.

No longer grants %Bonus AD and %AP on stacks, still grants Attack Speed on stacks.

Likely will change what types of champs are good with this item. It also should be noted that % of total penetration depends on the user's level. The tradeoff of penetration for extra on-hit damage makes it a bit worse on most current champions that use , but makes it a bit better on different champions. 2 champions that I think might consider using this item now are and on-hit . Likely on-hit , and would still like this item.

Besides the current users, a few that I am less certain may pop up are: , , ,

Stat runes
Stats associated with trees removed. Now 3 rows of stat runes take its place. Generally adaptive force (AD/AP) runes and resistance (Armor/MR) runes are best in my opinion, partly due to getting all stats immediately rather than after leveling up.

Edit: Changed/hotfixed from 8 dmg/soul to 5 dmg/soul (only on Summoner's Rift though, ARAM still same at 4), also base damage early lowered by 10...it was pretty busted before.

%AP ratio lowered by 5 (20 -> 15)
Souls gained through damaging champions below 50% health, can no longer be obtained through minions.
45 second cooldown, reset to 1.5 on champion takedown.
Now procs off of abilities as well, not only on auto attack.
Higher base damages.

Likely still the best general rune, much better on mages and other champions that frequently use abilities (like poke champions). The main difference between this and the last, is that you do not have to pick up the souls, or get into auto attack range to use it. (aka. increases the range of 's effectiveness to the range of your furthest ability) Absolutely still take this keystone if you do not know which keystone to take (until it gets nerfed again).

Also, Mark/Dash procs Dark Harvest when marking a champion, if at lower than 50% hp.

AP ratio reduced by 0.2%.

...I still don't really take this often, since there are other ways of healing that don't involve a keystone.

Adaptive force removed.
Changed from Movement Speed increased by 1.5% to Movement Speed bonuses increased by 8%.

Generally worse on most champions, the AD/AP adaptive force gain was a pretty attractive part of the rune.

Base Healing reduced by 1% (2.5% to 1.5%)

Still a good rune. I still really like taking this if I do not have another healing rune other than , when playing a carry.

Still take if you're ulti is important. (i.e. )

Charge up time reduced by 1 second (4 to 3)
Base damage increased by 25.

This rune used to compete with and , but now has been moved to a different row.

Likely, this rune will be useful in comps where your team has really good teamfighting (if the enemy engages on you), but you lack siege (ranged auto attackers). You can continually chip the tower with whenever it is up, eventually the enemy team will try to jump on you or engage when you are attempting to proc it, then your team can put your teamfighting strength to use. (watch out for getting poked though)

Font of Life will likely be the go-to rune for the row now, unless your comp has a shielding support, or you have a shielding bruiser or tank champion.

Also...take this rune if you cannot use Font of Life (since you need some sort of movement impairment), or Shield Bash, and you intend on taking resolve primary tree.

Moved a row lower.
Duration down by 1.5 (3 to 1.5)
Block amount increased by 10 from levels 1 - 18 (15-40 to 25-50)

Takes to place of Chrysalis, which is now removed

Generally a worse rune now (in ARAM), since competing with runes from a different row i.e. and . is generally better in most situations if you are playing a tank, though I am greedy and like to play for late game, so I will likely continue to take .

Changed from 0.2% of max health per 8 minions/monster death, to +3 heath per 8 minions/monster death. (Equal at ~1500 hp on the user)
Additionally gain 2.5% of max health at 120 minion deaths. (rough estimate ~13-15 min)

Generally a much stronger rune for squishy champs than before. If you are a squishy champ running resolve secondary tree, this is a great rune option. (maybe with , for resistances) If you run the resolve tree, you will either be giving up or ...but it may be worthwhile in comps where you are the main source of damage and cannot afford to die.

Triggers on next 2 basic attacks after using an ability, instead of only 1.
Removed ward item option at 20 minutes.

Could be really broken or pretty underwhelming based on item drop, also open to many different champions now. (such as )

From early games, the keystone seems a bit underwhelming. You likely would be better off with a damaging keystone and tree.

Have to double check bounty changes, if they were applied to ARAM.

*Edit: Sorry, just realized I missed a rune.

NEW (in 's old position - row 1)
When shielded you gain 1-10 Armor/MR (based on level), and within 2 seconds of your shield expiring, your next basic attack against an enemy deals 4-21 (based on level) + 8.5% of shield strength + 1.5% bonus health. (No cooldown)

Consider taking this if you are a bruiser/melee carry and have an active shield in your kit (i.e. ), and you are going secondary/primary resolve tree. (or if you have an active shield and intend on diving the backline as a tank)

This rune works with passive shields, (i.e. , , , , ) though, likely won't be as strong as active users. (since it would be harder to make use of the no cooldown part of the rune)

Side Note: Karma with a team of Shield Bash users sounds hilarious.

[8.22]

A lot of individual champion changes.

changed. (Mainly a nerf) Potion, elixir, and biscuit +20% duration extension removed, and elixir no longer gains 5% movement speed over duration (potions & biscuits still gain 5% movement speed over duration). Now front-loads 50% of the hp & mana restoration immediately (overtime hp/mana restoration from the potion/biscuit reduced by half).

Strong Runes/Trees not affected this patch, but seems like Dark Harvest will be changed during preseason. At the moment stated to activate on "damaging" an enemy champion (at 50% or less hp), which means abilities will probably proc it now. There is also a cooldown introduced, but takedowns will still reset the keystone. This will also mean that cannon minions will no longer be giving stacks.

[8.21]

Slight Camouflage change (Camouflage interaction with turrets adjusted)...though likely won't affect ARAM too much.

buffs, combine gold cost down by 100 & active channel time down by 0.5 seconds (from 1.5 seconds). Still good if playing against as an . The buffs may help in scenarios of playing against Damage over Time champions w/ a on the enemy team (this way the veil may still be activated if there is a slight delay in starting ).

buffs, combine gold cost down by 200. Might see more usage from champions, especially if not looking to burst the opponent & instead expect extended fights, then might be substituted for in these builds. Likely still good on champions such as , (if there is a free item slot, and don't need a defensive item), and & a few other non-crit champions (if there is a free item slot, and don't need a defensive item).

Also as a note about the Dark Harvest changes from last patch, champions start at level 3 in ARAM, not level 1 like in Summoner's Rift. Dark Harvest still feels great on most champions.

[8.20]

hit. Nerfed by 20 base damage, pretty big base damage hit early (cut by half), which means it will do less damage early compared to if not activated more than once in most fights. Will have to check if worth taking in most situations (in my early opinion, it will likely still be worth taking due to still being the same keystone, losing 20 for 1 proc on the low end and ~100 for 5 procs on the high end). Generally, should have similar damage to on 2-3 procs, if you feel your comp is strong enough to allow you to do that, you should take . The incentive for taking , or a mastery is higher now though.

: 40-80 to 20-60

[8.19]

Lots of individual champion buffs.

buffs for % max health Damage Over Time burn, more % max health damage vs. impaired and non-impaired targets. (+0.5% max health per second) AP down by 5. Still should take on the same champions that usually buy the item (e.g. , , , , ...). Generally better at HP tank killing.

[8.18]

Nothing ARAM related this patch aside from Champion specific adjustments...

Added a bit more to Tips section though.

Also, Odyssey: Extraction out! GLHF

[8.17]

nerfed (crit modifier reduced to 140% at 0 crit from 160%, attack speed up by 10%, 5 AD less)

(+3 lethality, damage lowered from 30-200 to 30-150)

Both items should likely still be bought in the same scenarios.

released. (Woo!)

[8.16]

damage down early, shielding up early.
damage down early & late, AD/AP ratios down, cooldown down early.
AD/AP MS % conversion down.
less damage early & at each level, same at lvl 18.
lethality (3) & flat magic pen (2) down.
early & late game damage halved. cooldown also halved.

Other runes untouched...Notably Presence of Mind, Aftershock, Dark Harvest, Legend, and Hunter runes not touched

Additionally Taste of Blood will gain value due to both other runes on the same row being nerfed, but Sudden Impact likely should still be taken on assassins.

cooldown reduced by 30 seconds. (difference between cooldown, 36 seconds)

[8.15]

rework released.

relevant item changes (crit builds section updated)
and modified.
price reduced.
-15 AD, cost reduction (still bought in same situations where needed). +5 AD (likely not enough to be bought outside of current situations).

[8.14]

(only has gotten nerfed, nothing too big happened for ARAM)
*Currently it seems Mark/Dash, and other targeted dashes & blinks are not displaying/functioning properly...I believe Riot already knows and will likely push something out soon.
*BUG SQUASHED

[10.1] General ARAM Guide (Lengthy)

[10.1] General ARAM Guide (Lengthy)

Champion Build Guide

[10.1] General ARAM Guide (Lengthy)

On-Hit DPS Senna Build

Runes:

Core:

Sett Theorycraft

Runes:

General Build:

Presence Of Mind

Ingenious Hunter

Next Strongest Runes

Sorcery Tree?

Triumph vs. Presence of Mind

General marksman

General mage

General tank

General fighter

General assassin role

General support

Crit Start

Mage/Magic Damage Start

Tank & Bruiser Start

Physical Assassin Start

Magic Damage Assassin Start

On-Hit Start

Active Item Support Start

When to be Flexible in Builds

Tanks & Bruisers

Magic Resist Items

Armor Items

THE health item

On-hit items

Crit Builds

First Item Crit Core

Second Item

Burst/Waveclear

DPS/Waveclear

Poke/Tower Damage

Anti-Burst/Stick

Third Item

Fourth Item

Lifesteal Options

Armor Penetration Options

Boots

Magic Damage - Mage Builds

Mana Item

Core

Options

Kennen Build

Last Item:

Active Item Support Build

AP Active Item Supports Options

Tank Active Item Supports Options

Test: Mage Active Item Support

General Assassin Role

General AD Assassin

Options

General AP Assassin

Core

Options

Builds & Enemy Builds

Situation based on your team

Situation based on enemy team

Ghost and Exhaust?

Clarity, Cleanse and Ignite?

Team Synergy

Strengths/Weaknesses

On-Hit/Attack Speed Vi

Max Order

Against Heavy AP/Magic Damage

Tank Vayne

9.13

9.12

9.11

9.10

Test: Mage Active Item Support

9.9

9.8