ZZZZHi, I'm BladedOctopus, and this is my guide to Corki. Corki is sadly the most underplayed of the "Big 3" AD carries( Graves, Ezreal, and Corki), and along with this lack of play, he also has an astonishingly low win rate.

Corki - The Daring Bombalier Ranked Queue pick %age: 11.08% Ranked Queue Win %age: 45.59% Normal Queue Pick %age: 4.04% Normal Queue Win %age: 46.70%

FILLER

Ezreal - He's "the best" right now Ranked Queue pick %age: 53.57% Ranked Queue Win %age: 51.67% Normal Queue Pick %age: 24.97% Normal Queue Win %age: 50.36%

FILLER

Graves - Still cooler than TF Ranked Queue Pick %age: 27.36% Ranked Queue Win %age: 49.73% Normal Queue Pick %age: 12.12% Normal Queue Win %age: 49.56%

ZZZZ"Astonishingly" might be a bit of a loaded word, but, as you can see, Corki seems a little bit... underwhelming. For the time being. The purpose of this guide is to help educate those who don't play Corki to his fullest potential, and hopefully bring Corki back from the brink.


ZZZZIt is my firm opinion that Corki is, in fact, stronger than both Ezreal and Graves, but after his most recent nerf, people assume he needs a buff, and has consequently fallen out of the competitive spotlight. I love Corki to death, and after playing countless games as him I can assure you that if he was buffed, he would be the go-to carry for every game.

ZZZZCorki is a ranged AD carry. Unlike the majority of other AD carries, Corki is no plain auto-attacker. Much of his damage comes from the use of his abilities(more on this later). He is typically played in the bot lane, preferably with a support. He can however, fit quite nicely in the mid lane(he plays more like a caster in the early-mid game anyways).


ZZZZCorki has 4 area of effect abilities, along with high single target burst and DPS, a gapcloser/escape mechanism, and is a great farmer/pusher, making him great for solo queue. Properly played, he has the potential to carry hard, and can be difficult to shut down. Definitely a fun choice for anybody who wants to expand their amount of AD carries in champ select.

ZZZZCorki plays best on team compositions with lots of AoE to compliment him. A large amount of AoE makes teamfights much more manageable, and while Corki's AoE is significant, it is not enough to win a fight on his own. ZZZZThis example team comp is geared toward awesome teamfights. Wukong, Zyra, and Amumu each have some of the best ultimates in the game for teamfighting(read other guides to learn more), Nunu & Willump at the bottom lane for support is great for winning early duels with the enemy carry, letting you get ahead with more ease. His ult isn't too shabby either. While Wukong and Zyra can put out some good damage, Corki is there to knock everyone's hats off. His damage is through the roof, and will drop the first person he focuses after the first wave of ultimates.

ZZZZA poke team comp is Corki's second most ideal team set up. Poke teams are all about staying at a distance and "poking" with their abilities to wear down the enemy team, and less about committing to huge teamfights. As a nice bonus, if a poke team gets ahead, the enemy team has almost no hope of catching up. The long range of a poke comp will keep away the enemy team with ease, allowing them to push down towers uncontested, and prevent fights from happening.

While Corki has a spot in these sorts of teams, Ezreal, however, is still the king ADC when it comes to poke comps.

Jayce and Lux are infamous for their long range, and Dr. Mundo has one of the best spammable Q's in the game, along with being a god of a jungler. Sona is excellent in fights with her Crescendo, and her Song of Celerity keeps your whole team mobile. Her long range also makes her one of the strongest supports in lane. Corki

Now that we actually know when to play him, let's get into Corki as a champion, and how he functions.

NEW MASTERIES! BE EXCITED

FILLER

OFFENSE I believe that 21 points in the offense tree is STILL most optimal for Corki. Take points in Deadliness for the armor penetration in Weapon Expertise . Put 2 points in Havoc if you want slightly increased overall damage, or you can put one point in Destruction , and 1 in Butcher . Points in Brute Force and Sunder are necessary to get the final point in Executioner . Considering Corki is not as reliant on landing critical hits or attack speed, I see Frenzy as barely needed. The situational boost in damage might turn a fight around, however, so I take it just in case.

DEFENSE I still put 9 points in the defense tree, since its benefits are greater than those in the new utility tree(in my opinion). I opt for lane sustainability through max points in both perserverance and Tough Skin . perserverance gives you more regen to stay in lane longer, and Tough Skin lets you freeze a minion wave while losing less health, or tank the minions while exchanging blows with the enemy laners. Hardiness is also vital to make you a bit more resilient to harass. Relentless is a new mastery and I find it very exciting. Slows can very often be the death of you during a gank, and reducing their effectiveness can be a life saver. The other path you could go down this tree would be 4 points in Durability , 1 point in perserverance, and 1 point in Veteran's Scars . This would opt for more beefiness in lane, giving you more effective health, but then you would miss out from the slow reduction from Relentless .

FILLER

ZZZZFor marks, you can choose between armor penetration and attack damage. Choose armor pen marks if you want a stronger late game, and choose physical attack damage marks if you want to put out more damage early game, making last hitting and harassing easier. Armor penetration runes are my personal favorite out of the two, since they give me enough punch to duel the enemy ADC if their support happens to be Sona or Taric(armor buffs).
ZZZZSeals are interchangeable between flat armor and attack speed. AD carries will typically be facing each at the bot lane, so armor helps when trading blows. They also help you freeze your lane if you need to. I have seen some players use attack speed runes before, to relatively good effect. While they can be strong, Corki does not benefit as much from attack speed as much as someone like Twitch. I highly recommend you take armor seals.
ZZZZMR per level, CDR, and mana regen glyphs can all be used to good effect on Corki. CDR glyphs are good for recharging your missiles, and mana regen glphs are good for the lane phase, where Corki's mana pool might deplete rapidly if not playing carefully. I personally prefer MR per level glyphs, since AP carries typically scale better the longer a game goes on. MR per level will give you that slight tankiness that might make or break a good teamfight.
ZZZZQuints fill the same purpose as marks: to make you hit as hard as possible. Knowing that, you can choose between attack damage and armor penetration. I personally choose the attack damage quints because I already get armor penetration from my marks.

• :VVVV Flash is a MUST TAKE on Corki. If your summoner level isn't high enough for flash, Ghost is your replacement. The utility from Flash make it extremely useful on all champions. As an ADC, you are likely to be focused during a fight, and if Valkyrie is on cooldown, you won't have the mobility to keep yourself from getting insta-gibbed. The repositioning power of Flash make it invaluable. I'm gonna say it again. TAKE IT AT ALL TIMES.
• :VVVVExtremely helpful for securing kills, Ignite will be your second summoner spell in most scenarios. If you play an aggressive lane, or are up against a healing support( Soraka Taric Sona) Ignite will help you get that early kill edge to carry you to late game. The damage it inflicts late game might be underwhelming, but never underestimate the power of the grievous wounds debuff that it applies.
• :VVVVA highly skilled player will make great use out of Cleanse. On a lower skilled player, however, it is usually a waste of a spell slot. The CC removal + reduction can almost be as good as a well timed Flash. Helpful against enemy laners like Nunu & Willump or support Morgana, and very useful against a CC heavy enemy team in general. It also removes the damage portion of ignite, but not grievous wounds.
• :VVVVA great spell for dueling enemy champions, Exhaust cripples AD auto attackers. A well timed Exhaust can completely shut down Master Yi or Tryndamere. Ask your support(if you have one) to take exhaust, letting you take Ignite instead. If nobody else on your team is taking it however, take it.
• :VVVVThis spell is pretty self explanatory. If you're scared of feeding your first time as Corki, get Heal. It's basically a get out of jail free card(if you know how to use it well). A highly skilled player might also get Heal and pull of some sick tower baits, but those are extremely risky and usually not worth the effort. Its usefulness drops off pretty hard when you hit late game, and its cooldown is so high, I feel like I lack a spell slot when I use it. Not a top choice, but can be useful.
• :VVVVYour replacement for Flash if your summoner level isn't high enough for it. In theory, in can cover more distance than Flash does, provided you aren't CC'd while you try to run. Since Corki already has a flash-like ability, you might think Ghost is okay to choose over flash, but I can assure you that you are wrong.
• :VVVV Barrier is brand-new to Summoner's Rift, and similar to Heal, it's biggest use is as a cushion against making mistakes for newer players. Not especially effective late-game, but can still be used a get-out-of-jail free card. It appears to me as more of an item for a hard initiator to soak up some punishment before going balls deep, and less for a carry.

ZZZZ Boots plus 3 Health Potions will be items you buy right out of the gate almost 100% of the time. The additional movement speed is very important for avoiding skillshots and ganks, and the potions give you 450 more effective health in lane. Pots are also useful for countering poisons( Toxic Shot) and Ignite.

ZZZZWhile Doran's Blades are powerful early game items, I could only recommend that players without runes/masteries start with one. The movement speed is more important.



ZZZZDuring the laning phase, these are the items you should be hoping to purchase. Start by buying your 2 Doran's Blades, since they are strongest early game. The HP and lifesteal let you soak up harass a bit better, and the damage helps you last hit.

ZZZZAfter your Doran's, Phage should be your next goal. It's passive, if proc'ed, allows you to secure kills more easily and is one of the 3 items that build into Trinity Force, which is core to a Corki build.

ZZZZIf you are not bringing in enough gold to purchase a Phage first, feeel free to build your boots and Vampiric Scepter first. These items are fairly self explanatory, so I won't explain them. If you have the money, build these after your Phage.


From here, the item purchases between the Standard and Extra Mana builds begins to differ. I'll go over them in more detail below.

ZZZZThese items are the items you will be getting no matter which build you decide to use. Along with being the most expensive, Trinity Force is most definitely the most important item out of them all. It has AMAZING synergy with Corki's Missile Barrage, which allows you to proc the passive constantly, giving you more damage than your AD might suggest. Trinity Force also give Corkis a substantial amount of burst damage.

ZZZZMore than once I've been chased by an enemy ADC who thinks he has me on the ropes, when in reality I'm just waiting for cooldowns. A quick turn around with AA's between Missile Barrages is enough to deter most opponents.

ZZZZNot getting a Trinity Force only cripples the amazing potential that Corki has. While a new player might think it's fine to build him like most other AD caries, this is not true. Unlike most other carries, Corki is no plain auto attacker, despite having(arguably) the best AA steroid in the game. Corki's Hextech Shrapnel Shells apply on trinity force AA's, and since Corki can proc the passive constantly with his ult, not getting a Trinity force makes you weaker overall.


ZZZZIf the game is going well, it would be prudent to build an Infinity Edge. Since lifesteal works off of a percentage of the damage you deal, more damage can be just as effective as more lifesteal. The huge AD boost along with the critical strike boosting passive is an excellent addition to any AD carry's arsenal.

ZZZZ Bloodthirster is a great way to boost your survivability without building a purely defensive item. The lifesteal helps you trade, and the damage is, well, damage. Fun fact! A fully stacked Bloodthirster gives more flat AD than the Infinity Edge. So stack that thing up as fast as you can and try not to die.

ZZZZWe flesh out the the remainder of a standard build with a Last Whisper to counter the armor the enemy team will most likely be building, and a Guardian Angel to make you a bit harder to kill. Going balls to the wall AD is not entirely recommended, you should at least try to have 1 defensive item so you don't get instantly killed whenever you try to teamfight. Fairly self-explantory item path, I recommend building Black Cleaver if the enemy team has not stacked up much armor.

ZZZZAs you might have guessed, these items are centered around giving a less experienced player more mana to work with. Corki is a a naturally mana hungry champion, and these items help to alleviate this a bit. Manamune gives both mana and AD according to a percentage of your maximum mana. Banshee's Veil is infamous for its spell shield, which can often be the combo breaker you need to live from an AP carry's burst, along with decent MR. It also gives mana, which makes Manamune give you more attack damage as well. With this build path, you need to build your Manamune as soon as possible, to get the passive stacked all the way as soon as possible. Muramana is brand new to the game, and is automatically awarded a place in the Extra Mana build because you get for free, automatically, after fully charging your Manamune. Its active seems like it might drain your mana very fast, which kind of negates the whole purpose of buying the mana items in the first place, but in reality, when at full mana, you deal an initial 78.5 extra damage on a single AA. Be reminded that this damage decays the less mana you have, so it is best used when near full mana.

Some of these items are not in MY build, but most can be built situationally(learning how to build situationally is key to success in League) to a good effect.


ZZZZDamageZzzZZZ

ZZZZA. SpeedZzzZZZ

ZZZZArmourZzzZZZ

ZZZZM. ResistZzzZZZ

ZZZZzz

Arguably the best AA enhancing passive in the game, this is what makes Corki a terror when late game comes around. The 10% is actually a lot when you start stacking AD. This passive also makes you hit harder than every other carry with only basic attacks att he very start of the game. The flip-side of this passive is that it makes many players believe that Corki plays best as a plain autoattacker. While this is perfectly viable, it is not the most powerful way to build Corki. Corki's ult has great synergy with Trinity Force, and Hextech Shrapnel Shells also benefits from Trinity Force, making you put out even more true damage. As stated previously, theis passive no longer benefits from critical chance, making crit stacking on Corki even less viable then it was before.

ZZZZzz

Phosphorus Bomb is most effective through the early/mid game, which is why we max it FIRST. It does not scale with your AD, which is why it gets weaker the longer the game goes. At end game, it can still be used to proc Trinity Force, so it does have some use. Pre-6 it is a useful tool for picking up some cs you may have missed if you were only using AA's. Despite revealing the area hit after casting, I strongly recommend you do not use this check bushes. The range is too short for this to be done safely, and it is also not worth the mana. In addition, this spell is not mana efficient for harass until around 2-3 points are put into it, so don't waste mana.

ZZZZzz

In essence, Valkyrie is Flash on a lower cooldown. Despite having 900 base magic damage, only a dumb stupid idiot wuold use it to try and damage opponents during a fight. Corki is MUCH too squishy to be fighting in the front lines, and you can't make rash moves like using your escape/repositioning tool to get up close and personal. In lane, get aggressive whenever it is off cooldown, and play passive until it comes back up. Always make sure you have enough mana to use this and escape if the need ever arises. Thankfully, Valkyrie works well even with only 1 point, so we max it last.

ZZZZzz

Most effective through the mid/late game, we save Gatling Gun for maxing second. I once tried maxing it first, but I found I was missing the powerful wave clear and burrst damage that Corki is known for. The armor shred means, as a Corki player, you don't need to invest as heavily into armor penetration to substantially damage tanky opponents. Ironically, Gatling Gun is what can make Corki very difficult to play. This spell forces you to position and timey our assault perfectly, so you don not get locked into CC due to its short range. Master positioning, and I bet Corki will become your go-to carry for every game.

ZZZZzz

This is the reason you build a Trinity Force or Corki. The fact that Missile Barrage is on a low cooldown with low mana cost means that you can constantly proc the Trinity Force passive. This synergy is what gives Corki a deceptively high amount of damage; more dmage than his AD might suggest. This ability gives him a constant source of sustained damage, as long as you don't run out of missiles. The long range and low mana cost allows you to farm and harass more efficiently than with Phosphorus Bomb. When hitting an enemy, it has a unique sound effect, meaning it is also safer to check bushes. Be aware that this ability works off of an ammo system, similar to Teemo's Noxious Trap. Be sure to keep up enough missiles to fight if needed.

ZZZZThese next few sections will go over gameplay, including the technicalities of the early, mid, and late game phases. For each section, I will outline your main goals, and identify worst/best case scenarios.

zzzzRemember: The game doesn't start when minions spawn. It starts at 0:00. Buy your items as fast as possible, which should be easy now with the new shop HUD. Head to bot lane with your partner. A mistake I often see newer players make is when they charge through the bottom dual brush in an attempt to establish lane dominance(illustrated in the picture with the red arrow).

zzzzIt is much better for your team if you and your support camp in the tri-brush to prevent an attempt by the enemy team to steal your red buff(shown in the picture with a blue circle). Like I said, it helps prevent jungle invades at the start of the game, and is overall a safer play than charging blind into the bushes.

zzzzIf you are on the purple side, help your jungler by leashing the blue buff for him. Promptly return to lane after blue is obtained.



zzzzThe biggest early game goal is to constantly be collecting gold. The BEST way to do this is to get the literal last hits on the opposing creeps. I won't go into the specifics, but minions spawn every 30 seconds, and give around 20-ish gold apiece. This is the best source of gold income, so you should be trying to get every minion possible. Thankfully, Corki has one of the best AA animations int he game, making last hitting a breeze.

zzzzThe second way to bring in gold is to obtain kills. While kills bring in a substantial amount of money, they are not reliable for carrying you through the rest of them game(unless you're ridiculously fed). Try for kills and exploit mistakes made by the enemy laners whenever possible, but don't rush in guns blazing looking for first blood. Don't play the game to get kills, play the game to NOT DIE. This is the best way to ensure you don't feed.



zzzzIn the theme of continuous gold income, this leads me to one of the most important parts of playing League of Legends. NOT DYING. A death means you aren't bringing in gold. And not bringing in gold means your enemy laner is bringing in gold. Not only do you put yourself behind, but your opponent gets ahead, hurting your whole team in the process. SO DON'T DIE.

zzzzMid-Game is all about small skirmishes and roving bands of around 2-3 champions. Ganking will become much more common if you are still in lane, so make sure you have your support ward everywhere they can to avoid unfortunate deaths. If you are the one who has won your lane, you should start assisting other lanes, if they need it. Make sure you are always paying attention to the map, so you and your support can gank and counter-gank as needed.

zzzzHaving map control is key in this part of the game, so make sure your team has key areas of the map warded, such as the blue and red buffs(on both sides, circled with red), the wraith area(circled in blue), but most importantly, the Dragon Pit(circled in gray).



zzzzWhile the Wraith area may not seem very important to ward, it is actually very helpful to keep sight on this area on the enemy side. It lets you know whenever Wraiths are up so you can attempt to steal them, and it gives warning about opposing junglers setting up for ganks. Getting vision on the enemy jungler is helpful no matter what, so if you can afford it, ward as much of the (enemy)jungle as you can.

zzzzDragon grants global 190 gold to your teammates upon death, and an additional 25 gold to the killer. While this may not sem a lot, in the long run obtaining multiple Dragons through the course of the match can send you more ahead than you realize. Keeping sight on it, as well as removing enemy sight on it, is key to your victory.

zzzzLate game is when Corki becomes a terror. His auto attacks become very powerful along with Hextech Shrapnel Shells, and all of the AoE he brings to a fight benefits his team greatly. Corki is a fantastic team-fighter, with his ability to reposition( Valkyrie) and high damage output.

zzzzRoving bands of entire teams is common in the late game, so map awareness(warding) is HIGHLY recommended, so that you don't get ganked in your own jungle. Map control is vital for the win. Keeping sight on the Baron Nashor pit(circled in red) is important. If the enemy team begins to kill Baron, you want your team ready to attempt a steal or force a fight.

In addition to the Baron ward, the ward locations identified in the mid game segment should also be kept up. Like I said before, proper map control and staying with your team will keep you from being isolated, making you much harder to kill than if you were on your own.



zzzzA successful attempt on Baron will give your whole team a huge buff that should not be wasted. The best thing to do when you have the buff is to organize your team and push to win. If the enemy team, however, manages to get the Baron buff, play a little more cautiously. Defend your towers if you have any left standing, and if you have been pushed back to your base, stay within the walls where you won't get easily isolated. Turtle your base as best you can until the buff wears off.

zzzzAn ace will usually result in an assured loss for your team or the enemy team, whichever gets aced. IF your team manages to score the ace, push the towers hard(preferably the mid tower) and don't stop until the enemy team begins to respawn. This will allow your team to more easily secure a victory later.

zzzzTeamfights are key in the late game. As the AD Carry, you should stay in the back and attack the biggest threat on the enemy team, typically the AD or AP carry. Unfortunately, they will usually be targetting you as well, so hopefully you have a tank/support that knows how to tank for you, and lock up the enemy carry with their cc. Do NOT rush in the fight using Valkyrie. That marks you for death instantly. I recommend you use your Missile Barrage constantly so that Trinity Force will constantly proc itself, increasing your damage output tremendously.

Well this is the end of the guide. Hopefully you read it ALL before you decided to vote.

I would greatly appreciate if you upvoted the guide if it helped you in any way. I make the guide to help those who need it, and upvotes helps the guide grow to help even more.

However if you had any issues, please leave me a comment so that I can take your thoughts into consideration and adjust the guide if need be, and change your opinion from a downvote to an upvote.



Don't be discouraged by my lack of ranked experience, I have a deceptively high understanding and perception of how League works after watching countless high ELO streamers, including watching a professional LoL game a day(many thanks to the ipllol youtube channel for giving me those).

I typically play in the Jungle nowadays, but I have lots of experience in the Top and Mid lanes,and I have plenty of games in the bottom lane(both roles) as well. I enjoy seeing players trying to expand the meta or playing champions creatively.

I have a Friendly honor ribbon along with an honorable opponent. I take respect in the highest regard and will always respond to comments courteously and take feedback into mind.