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A Bronzie's In-Depth Guide to Tristana in Season 13
Build Guide By I Am Not u
13
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34,759
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13
2
34,759
Views
1
Comments
Tristana Build Guide By I Am Not u
34,759
Views
1
Comments
Tristana Build Guide By I Am Not u
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Recommended Items
Runes: Average Runes
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Domination
Precision
+10% Attack Speed
+9 Adaptive (5.4 AD or 9 AP)
+6 Armor
Spells:
1
2
3
4
Standard Bread and Butter
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![LoL Summoner Spell: Flash]()
![LoL Summoner Spell: Heal]()
Flash
Heal
Items
Starter items
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First Items - Cocky
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First Items - Safe
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First Items - AP Trist
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Key Items
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Your Three Core Items
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A Standard Build
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Personal Favorite
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Other Items
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Survivability Items
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Damage-y Items
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AP Key Items
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Lethality Build
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Threats & Synergies
Threats
Synergies
Extreme
Major
Even
Minor
Tiny
Show All
None
Low
Ok
Strong
Ideal
Extreme Threats
Ideal Synergies
Samira
Samira can and WILL destroy you in lane. Your support doesn't matter. Samira's wind wall can block all of your E and your R. She out heals you and out damages you all game. It's best not to pick Tristana into Samira.
Blitzcrank
It's a Blitzcrank. Every ADC loves a Blitzcrank.
Synergies
Ideal
Strong
Ok
Low
None
Blitzcrank
It's a Blitzcrank. Every ADC loves a Blitzcrank.
Champion Build Guide
Greetings!
Greetings League of Legends players. I'm I Am Not U. I've been one-tricking Tristana for a few years now, and I figured I may as well help some people out with playing Tristana. Tristana is extremely fun and rewarding to play so long as you know how she works. Without further stalling, let us commence the rocket-hopping.
Why Tristana?
Why Tristana? Can she carry me out of ELO hell? What makes her different than other ADCs?
THE PROS
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Tristana is reasonably easy to pick up.
Tristana has high burst damage
Tristana has some insane mobility for an ADC
Tristana technically counts as an Assassin, so you can easily pick off the enemy squishes.
Tristana plays very aggressively so you can get those dopamine rushes.
Tristana can fairly easily get in and out of situations.
Tristana is a massive early-game menace.
Tristana is absolutely adorable.
THE CONS
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Tristana relies on her ability to snowball heavily.
Tristana plays very in. Playing safe is very difficult.
Tristana's E's passive makes it hard to control the wave, so you'll be mainly pushing all game.
She's got some long cooldowns and can chew up mana if you don't conserve it.
It's easy to die.
It's easy to screw up.
There are a lot of minor tricks and finnicks to her.
NO Y AXIS.
Very kite reliant in the late game. Not a problem if you know how to, though.
Knowing your Champion
You can't play a champ if you don't know their abilities. So, let's go over them. One by one.
THE PASSIVE
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You get free attack range as you level up. At a certain level, you can attack Baron Nashor from behind the pit. Not very useful as I don't believe it does that much, but I could be wrong. It helps kite pretty well. It also increases the range of Explosive Charge and Buster Shot, making kiting and getting away EXTREMELY easy at later levels. Your attack range increases up to 136 extra units of attack range at level 18 which brings her attack range to 661, that's 11 units longer than Caitlyn's range!
THE Q
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Tristana's Q is great because it's free attack speed for absolutely NO mana. It's got a lengthy cooldown, but chances are you'll have it back up before you need to use it again. This thing is always nice because usually in the mid-game you'll hit the cap with this thing. My only recommendation is not to clear wave with it. You don't really need it. This can also help you secure kills when you do an all-in and have nothing left. That extra attack speed can be incredibly game-changing. Just don't waste it!
THE W
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The fabled rocket jump. The engage. The gap closer. The escape. Tristana's W does so much for Tristana I can't crash-course it. It's what her combos surround. In short, it makes you jump a good distance. You can cast abilities during this time because Yordle power. Your W does have a very lengthy cooldown, though, so only use it when you absolutely need to. It can also proc your E, leveling up even more, making engages all that much more deadly. On top of that, it also slows them, making it harder for them to get away.
THE E
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This is going to be your workhorse throughout the entire game. You throw it on to a bad guy, you wait, and it asplodes. Hit it once? It powers it up and deals more damage. Hit it four times before it explodes, and it deals even more damage. His your W down? If you blow it up early, you get your W back! You wanna wreck towers? Go right on ahead! Works the same except your W doesn't reset. Your W can also proc the bomb so it levels up and/or explodes early, though I wouldn't use it to do that.
THE R
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Ah yes, Tristana's R, one of the reasons people are annoyed by her so much in low ELO. It deals a bunch of damage and knocks people over walls at level 2. It also can save your little yordle booty when you're being chased down. Tristana's really good at escaping. It can also secure you kills, if you wanna be flashy. Usually, I ult when my E is about to go off, and your E won't explode until the knockback has ended. Typically, Tristana will also try to auto-attack right after her ult for a bit more extra damage. It may not seem like much, but as an ADC, your autos are notorious for being deadly.
YOUR BASE STATS (Rounded)
-
Health: 670 - 2404
Health Regen: 4 - 15 (per 5 seconds)
Armor: 26 - 97
MR: 30 - 54
Movespeed: 325
Mana: 250 - 794
Mana Regen: 7.2 - 15 (per 5 seconds
Damage: 59 to 122
Crit Damage: 175%
Attack Range: 525
Runes
DOMINATION
By far the best rune set to go for when you play Tristana. Hail of Blades is perfect for an early game lead since you don't need to wait for an item to get the extra attack speed you need to proc your bomb off. If you can land your W when you slap an E on a bad guy, it should be a piece of cake to get a reset.
PRECISION
Not as common anymore, but there's still some Tristana mains out there that still live by this rune. Tristana can actually poke using this without giving up what could be an all-in with Hail of Blades. Also really good against tank team comps. It's my go-to in mid honestly. You can also switch Presence of Mind with Triumph if you like that bit of extra gold and survivability, and you can change bloodline with alacrity if you want more attack speed.
RESOLVE (Secondary)
Resolve is a really good option for solo lanes. These are the ones I found the most helpful in my games, but feel free to toy around with them however you wish. Demolish is just generally good on Tristana since you already have some insane tower-busting, and bone plating is great for solo trades. You can also take second wind instead if you are up against a poke-heavy champ in lane. Overgrowth is a good alternative to demolish if you want a bit of extra health in the late game.
PRECISION (Secondary)
These are typically what you wanna go in bot lane if you're running domination runes for your primary. Presence of Mind is good if you like abusing your abilities and abusing the bad guys, and triumph is generally good if you like taking risky fights. Bloodline isn't as good as it used to be, but it still can give you just enough lifesteal to keep you in the fight, and alacrity is just generally good on ADCs.
DOMINATION (Secondary)
If you're going Precision primary, these are the runes you typically want. Sudden impact isn't as good as Taste of Blood in my opinion, but if you're up against squishier champs, it's fairly descent. You also want to take eyeball collection OR treasure hunter. The reason I say one or the other is because the top row of the domination tree is the most important in my opinion.
Builds
Tristana's build can be fairly flexible. Some are better than others, but if you're like me and don't like building the same thing every single game, here's a few options for you.
THE META
Undoubtedly Tristana's best core item build. PD synergizes extremely well with Kraken Slayer, and the ghosting makes kiting a breeze. You'll be building this in most games.
or
THE SAFETY NET
or
This may seem familiar to some of you. This build is an old one, back before the item rework. Fellow Tristana mains will say this isn't viable anymore, and I wouldn't blame you for thinking the same, but when I'm behind and need to play safer, this is my go-to. Rapid Firecannon's extra range gives you some decent poke and Stormrazor's slow can save you when you're getting chased down.
GENERALY STRONG FINISHER ITEMS
These are generally strong items to finish off your build with. LDR is great for taking down tanks, especially in this current meta. I almost build it every game. BotRK is a good item for that, too, but with extra life steal which I love on Tristana. The collector is a sold 'maybe' because you have enough burst damage already. The lethality is good for extra squishy demolishing. GA is a solid option on any carry with its armor and its ability to bring you back to life. I usually run GA when I'm carrying hard. Bloodthirster is a favorite of mine because of the shielding and life steal.
MYTHICS
Kraken Slayer is by far Tristana's BEST mythic option. More attack speed, true damage, perfect for her. You typically want to build that every game. Galeforce is an okay option, but not my favorite by any means. The extra movement speed is cool, and so is the extra damage, but don't build this if they have an enemy tank. Immortal Shieldbow is bad. You'll normally kill them faster than they can kill you, and you have a reliable escape tool. Shieldbow is good if you need training wheels, but other than that, don't build it. Duskblade is a funny option. Build that if you want to be mean to the enemy squishes. Actually don't do that. Don't build Duskblade unless you REALLY want some change.
Combos (The Fun Stuff)
THE LEVEL 2
The bad guy gets CC'd by the support, HoB procs, get the bomb off, there goes half their health. Get a reset, jump on them again as they try to escape, FIRST BLOOD. Tristana's easiest combo.
THE BASICS
Tristana's basic Combo before level 6. Throw the bomb, hit your Q, and jump in. Auto attack the bomb until it explodes, and use the reset to keep going. Pretty much the same as the level 2 except you have more attack speed.
THE WORKHORSE
Her best combo. First, throw the bomb on the bad guys and activate your Q. Hit the bomb 3 times, just before it's about to explode early. Then, you want to jump on them to explode the bomb. Usually, you're going to want to jump behind them because when you do, you can ult them and it'll send them backward. You want this because they'll have less room to fight you. After that, just auto attack them until they die. Then, W away to go find another target.
A LITTLE TROLLING
Slap a bomb on them, jump on them, auto-attack until it almost explodes, and then use your R to blow it up. Your W and your R both act towards the E's early explosion, so utilize it. This one is more about ulting the bad guys into your team instead of getting some funny kills. Tristana can be supportive! Also, don't run Tristana support, please.
PLEASE HELP THE ENEMY KATARINA WONT LEAVE ME ALONE
Bomb, kite, R, and jump away. You'll score some easy damage and a getaway.
Jump Placement
I know what you're thinking. Jump placement? That matters? Yes, my friend. It does! Depending on where you jump can change how an all in goes drastically. Let's go over some common ones.
OVERHEAD
Jumping BEHIND the enemy is risky but very rewarding. This makes it much harder for them to escape and gives you much more time to get damage in. It's especially a good idea to jump on them as it slows them for a little while, letting you get a few more hits in. This very unsafe, because more often than not, you'll be closer to a tower or their team. Be careful here!
A much safer alternative. This one achieves the same goal but lets them get away faster. This can be used on enemies with much lower health or if you need to play a little bit safer. Typically, you'll want to jump closer to them so they're slowed, but if you want to be extra safe, you can jump close enough to them to keep them in your auto attack range.
This is a good combination of the two. This is good for making the bad guys run in another direction opposite of you. This can be used to bait them into your team or into a more ideal position for you to finish them off. They usually won't run forward or backward because you can hit them easily still. This is also good for laning phase to set up for ganks because the enemy ADC will want to walk towards the river to get away from you if you land beneath them. It pays off to jump near them, but not too close. Jumping to close can just let hem kite you easier. Giving some breathing room pays off in the right scenarios.
IN FRONT
A much safer alternative. This one achieves the same goal but lets them get away faster. This can be used on enemies with much lower health or if you need to play a little bit safer. Typically, you'll want to jump closer to them so they're slowed, but if you want to be extra safe, you can jump close enough to them to keep them in your auto attack range.
TO THE SIDES
This is a good combination of the two. This is good for making the bad guys run in another direction opposite of you. This can be used to bait them into your team or into a more ideal position for you to finish them off. They usually won't run forward or backward because you can hit them easily still. This is also good for laning phase to set up for ganks because the enemy ADC will want to walk towards the river to get away from you if you land beneath them. It pays off to jump near them, but not too close. Jumping to close can just let hem kite you easier. Giving some breathing room pays off in the right scenarios.
Common Mistakes
As for everything, there is always going to be a couple mistakes I see newer Tristana players make. They're easily remedied, however. Just pay attention!
HAPHAZARDLY DIVING
This is by far the biggest mistake newer Tristanas make. YOU ARE NOT A BRUISER! YOU ARE STILL AN ADC! You're incredibly squishy! Don't use your Rocket Jump to engage right in the middle of the action because you WILL die! Your job as an ADC is to stay behind your allies and hit anything that gets into your range.
UNDERESTIMATING YOUR DAMAGE
Out of all the ADCs, you have some of the most incredible burst damage out of all of them (king of burst damage adcs being ezreal, but screw ezreal.) You do some insane damage with your E and your auto attacks are ALWAYS reliable. Your ult does a **** ton of damage to boot. It's important to know which fights you can and can't win. You can win 1v1s reliably if you don't play like an idiot.
IMPROPER E USAGE
Your E is by far the most crucial spell in your kit. DO NOT WASTE IT. It has a lengthy cooldown and insanely high damage if you build it up all the way with your attacks. It can completely demolish anyone that isn't respecting your damage. USING IT ON THE HYPERFED TANK THAT ISN'T TAKING DAMAGE IS NOT WHO YOU USE IT ON. Use it on a bruiser, the enemy ADC, their support, the mid laner, use your E on the person who NEEDS to die first!
SLEEPING ON THESE ITEMS
One thing I see commonly in low ELO is that people just don't buy things that are "the META." ADCs have the ability to build different things, too! AP champs don't have to burst you down as easy, you don't have to die the second you get CC'd, you don't have to build the same **** every single game! BUILD SMART, DON'T BANDWAGON!
BUYING THESE ITEMS
I say this to every new Tristana player and I'll say it again here. YOU. DO. NOT. NEED. MANA ITEMS. Tristana has more than enough to work with her kit and rarely will you be without enough mana to get by except MAYBE in the laning phase. Also, don't buy rageblade. It literally hinders you because your E scales with crit, rageblade just gives you more attack speed which you shouldn't need if you're going PD. Randuin's Omen is a funny meme to build if you can't help yourself from going in like an idiot, but it's really a waste. If you're not playing stupid, you don't need it. Also, runaan's hurricane is really just redundant because you have enough AOE damage as is. Don't bother!
Closing thoughts
Thank you for reading this Tristana guide. I hope it serves you well in your ranked games!
I Am Not u
Tristana Guide
A Bronzie's In-Depth Guide to Tristana in Season 13
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