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? Can she carry me out of ELO hell? What makes her different than other ADCs?

You can't play a champ if you don't know their abilities. So, let's go over them. One by one.

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.

Let's talk about some key runes in depth in case you're still indecisive.

HAIL OF BLADES

Hail of blades is one of Tristana's best key runes and for good reason, and one of which is to make your level 2 all in even deadlier. What Tristana lacks in the early game the most is attack speed. Having more attack speed early on can almost guarantee you some early kills. It makes leveling up your bomb all that much easier, and it can guarantee you either an enemy flash, first blood, and a reset. It also assists really well in leveling up your Phantom Dancer later on.

However, nothing is perfect Hail of Blades has its flaws. Hail of Blades makes longer trades a bit more painful for you to deal with, as once you use that initial burst of damage that Hail of Blades provides, you have nothing left other than your Q to give you more attack speed. If your opponent is running something like Lethal Tempo, Press the Attack, or Conquerer, you should consider using that burst of damage to level your bomb so you have a better escape.

Tl;Dr, take Hail of Blades if you want a stronger early game and don't want to take long trades.

ELECTROCUTE

I know what you're thinking, "Electrocute? What?" I know, it's a little weird, but as weird as it is, it still has a place. Electrocute makes your burst even deadlier, and unlike Hail of Blades, this rune makes your burst even deadlier in all stages of the game because of the adaptive damage. It's hilariously easy to proc with how Tristana is and all her bursty nonsense, and it's generally not uncommon to see assassins build this anyway. Electrocute is good for any burst champion.

However, Hail of Blades has what Electrocute doesn't, that burst of attack speed you need early on. If you take electrocute, sure your early all ins will be pretty deadly, but you won't have as easy of a time getting out as getting in. If you run Electrocute, you'd be better off waiting until level 3 for all ins so you at least have your Q to give you the attack speed you need.

PRESS THE ATTACK

Here's the way I see it. Hail of Blades if for a stronger early game, while Press the Attack is to make you a late-game monster that Kai'sa would be jealous of. Press the Attack is useful in just about any stage of the game. While early on your engages might be a little lacking, once you get your berserker's greaves or your Q, you should be good to go. That extra exposed damage once you get three shots in makes your E absolutely DECIMATE anyone unlucky enough to be your victim. Press the Attack gives so much for Tristana that it's a good contender for best key rune.

However, as you'd expect, Press the Attack isn't perfect. Like I said, it makes your early game different than if you were to run Hail of Blades. Hail of Blades makes your early engages much more winnable, where as with Press the Attack, you're gonna need a few items to get the best out of it. It also doesn't help level your phantom dancer like Hail of Blades helps with. It's much better if you wanna destroy someone later on, but you need to play much smarter if you have this.

LETHAL TEMPO

Lethal Tempo used to be a much lesser-used rune, but now? It's a lot stronger. Tristana normally doesn't do well in longer engagements, but this rune completely negates that problem. Lethal Tempo was MADE for long trades. It combines a couple of the best parts of Hail of Blades AND Press the Attack. It makes early engagements easier and it's useful in every stage of the game. It makes kiting so easy, and most of the time in low ELO, people wont respect this rune and it can get you some cheeky kills.

However, Lethal Tempo doesn't make your early engagements as strong as if you were to run Hail of Blades. Unlike Hail of Blades, where the attack speed is instant, the attack speed needs to ramp up with Lethal Tempo. You can still get your bomb off in an early engage, but not nearly as easily as you could with Hail of Blades. It's good for longer trades like Press the Attack, but it doesn't give the extra damage like Press the Attack does, rather your DPS increases because of your attack speed rather than raw damage.

Rune choice depends on two things, that being your personal play style and who you're up against. I'm going to give you a few scenarios to help you choose what runes to go.

Scenario 1 (Unfavorable)

Nilah is an engage heavy lane bully that absolutely wrecks you in lane because of that stupid dodge ability she has. She'll normally try to take that dodge ability second just to counter you because she knows how strong your level 2 is. So, with that in mind, let's go over your options.


NO
This is NOT a good option here. Hail of Blades is good for early engagements, but why bring a rune that's good for that when you're not going to win early engagements anyway? Nilah beats you in every stage of the game, so this is essentially worthless if you want to get fed.


NO
Same deal with Electrocute. Good for early burst, but like I said, you're not winning those anyway. So there's no point in it.


MAYBE
Here's why this is a 'maybe'. Press the attack is good for burst AND longer engagements. This is a solid choice against an unfavorable matchup like this because you get the best of both worlds. You can harass her with your superior range and when you see her engage, you have a good escape, AKA your W. Don't expect to get many kills, though. This turns a lane that would normally be your death into a farming/poke lane. BORING.


YES
The best way to deal with an engage-heavy ADC that can kill you better than you can kill them is to understand how to run away from them. Engage-heavy ADCs nowadays don't have super long range, Nilah being no exception. Lethal Tempo makes kiting away from her super easy. Even if she uses her dodge, you still have a W to get away from her. Keeping your distance is the perfect way to handle this matchup.

Scenario 2 (Even)

Jhin is an immobile ADC with strong burst damage, but he's very slow with his attacks early on. His fourth shot is the deadliest part of his kit and should NEVER be taken for granted when you're laning against him. He has reliable CC and is a heavy snowballer. Take that in mind when you're choosing your runes.


YES
Hail of Blades is perfect here. You can jump on him, get your bomb off, get a reset, and probably get a kill level 2 while all Jhin can do is run away and shoot you. You close the distance super easily when you fight him. Your burst is much faster and much more hard-hitting.


MAYBE
This is also a strong burst pick, but I still prefer Hail of Blades over it. It's not a bad pick, but why go this when Hail of Blades can get you kills better? Electrocute doesn't give you attack speed. Against an even matchup like Jhin, this isn't the best rune, but I'm sure you'd still find some success with it.


NO
Why would you want to go a rune that makes your early engages harder when an early engage is what destroys him? This makes your early game all that much harder because your attack speed is way too low to effectively make use of press the attack pre level 3. Jhin outdamages you with his fourth shot which he will most likely be able to get off if you engage him. His fourth shot will RUIN you.


MAYBE
This is pretty good for early engages, though it's much riskier than running Hail of Blades. This gives you the attack speed to win in early engagements, though it's not going to be as effective as Hail of Blades is. This is also pretty good if you feel like you can tank that fourth shot, because at that point where Jhin is reloading, you'll probably be outranging him and harassing the hell out of him while he puts some more bullets in his gun.

Scenario 3 (Favorable)

Ashe is a lot like Jhin. Her auto attacks slow which can be annoying, and her ult is a real game-changer. But here is where it's different, her only hard CC is level 6 whereas Jhin gets his hard CC at level 2. Jhin has strong burst in long engagements while Ashe has consistent damage throughout. How would you go about this matchup rune-wise?


YES
Hail of Blades is also perfect here. Jump in, E, get the bomb off, jump out before she even knows what happened OR engage again and kill her. What's she gonna do? Slow you? You're already on top of her OR you're already out of her range? The heck is she gonna do about it?


NO
Remember, attack speed is VERY important in the early game. Don't have that? Don't win trades. Ashes typically run Lethal Tempo nowadays, so this rune isn't going to do much for you. Sure, the burst is funny, but you need items in order to make it work. Why run this when you can snowball earlier with Hail of Blades?


MAYBE
This is just electrocute but better. Although trades are longer, the extra exposed damage can make the trade favorable for you. By the time the exposed damage kicks in, your bomb will go off and deal some massive damage. However, I still think Hail of Blades is better here because it makes harassing her even easier. She has better range than you early on, so you will get harassed if you run this because you don't have as good a follow up. This will also make Ashe completely irrelevant in late game because you can just delete her instantly! (run cleanse)


YES
This is pretty good for later engages and making her useless later on since at that point you'll get max stacks of Lethal Tempo before she can. Combine that with your insane burst, Ashe just stands no chance against you. You also outrange her, so you don't need to worry about that slow too much! (Run cleanse)

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.

Remember that scenario example in the Choosing your Runes section? We'll do the same here with different matchups to tell you what you should be building. Itemization is super important, you know!

Scenario 1 (Engage/Kill Lanes)

These lanes are super annoying. But remember this, just because it's annoying doesn't mean this is impossible. Tristana against kill lanes is normally about positioning and understanding when is a good and bad time to engage. So, what do you build?



MAIN ITEMS

Navoris is generally what you wanna go in a matchup like this. They're gonna want to jump on you as fast as they can, so you need to be on your toes. This will help you keep those cooldowns low so you might have a chance.

BOOTS

Steelcaps is a must have against kill lanes. Armor and percent damage resist? This makes all ins survivable! Make sure you grab a noonquiver or something beforehand so you can actually win with them, though

MUST-HAVES

Stormrazor's speed buff is great for getting the heck outa dodge when the enemy is trying to wreck you. Rapid Firecannon's extra range is also perfect for this. Poking down the enemy ADC is the play against kill lanes. If you poke them down enough, it'll make it too dangerous for their support to make a play, allowing you and your support to engage and slaughter them.

OTHER GOOD ITEMS


Bloodthirster makes engages much more survivable and Merc scimitar makes (some) hard CC survivable. I'd take one or the other, but no shame in taking both. Do what works best for you.

Scenario 2 (Poke Lanes)

Poke lanes are really REALLY annoying as Tristana. When you're playing Tristana, you're almost always going to be in a kill lane. Poking isn't impossible, your E passive makes it possible, but you slightly shorter range in the early levels makes it annoying. What do you build?



GET THIS FIRST

Now now I know what you're thinking. "Bloodthirster first? What?" I know it's not as valuable of a strategy as it used to be, but it works. BotRK also works if you're up against tankier opponents. Why? Because Sustain beats Poke. If you can sustain that poke and keep yourself healthy, poke lanes become winning lanes!

MAIN ITEMS

Infinity Edge is good against opponents with bad disengage because you can just right-click them to death. As for Opportunity, let's face it, most poke lanes are going to be really squishy, so that extra lethality will help you out a ton. Though be warned, you need to have an engage support to utilize Opportunity.

BOOTS

Steelcaps is good because it allows you to tank poke with less pain. Though greaves is also a good option if you know how to position yourself and NOT get poked. Depends how confident you feel.

Scenario 3 (Sustain Lanes)

Sustain lanes die to kill lanes because how can you sustain enough health when the enemy is so good at instantly taking massive chunks away? Here's how you itemize against sustain lanes.


GET THIS FIRST

This is simple. ADC heal too much? Buy item so not heal so much. Greivous wounds is so slept on in low elo that this is a crucial buy against sustain lanes! It just makes killing them so much easier!

MAIN ITEMS

Infinity Edge is good for all-round damage, Navoris is good for keeping the pressure on them, and Opportunity if their lane is squishy. However, note that most poke lanes don't have a lot of ways to stop you if you jump on their face. The ADC is meant to deal with you if you jump on them, and if they're healthy, they'll most likely kill you without even thinking about it. So, Opportunity shines if you have a proper engage AND if the sustain support in question is not a tank, so don't go Opportunity if it's a Taric or some other tank that can heal.

BOOTS

There's really no better boot option than greaves. Greaves just gives you more attack speed, combine that with the damage output of Kraken Slayer, and you're hurting them faster than the can heal.

OTHER GOOD ITEMS

Bloodthirster helps you outsustain the enemy laner, phantom dancer is just always good if you need extra attack speed, and mortal reminder if you wanna put that executioner's calling to better use.

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.

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.

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

Thank you for reading this Tristana guide. I hope it serves you well in your ranked games!