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Tristana Build Guide by NorToXz

ADC (AD) Tristana Build Guide

ADC (AD) Tristana Build Guide

Updated on February 23, 2019
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League of Legends Build Guide Author NorToXz Build Guide By NorToXz 163 15 4,017,985 Views 52 Comments
163 15 4,017,985 Views 52 Comments League of Legends Build Guide Author NorToXz Tristana Build Guide By NorToXz Updated on February 23, 2019
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Runes: Best runes right now

Precision
Press the Attack
Triumph
Legend: Alacrity
Coup de Grace

Sorcery
Absolute Focus
Gathering Storm
Bonus:

+10% Attack Speed
+9 Adaptive (5.4 AD or 9 AP)
+6 Armor

Spells:

1 2
Spells
LoL Summoner Spell: Flash

Flash

LoL Summoner Spell: Heal

Heal

Threats & Synergies

Threats Synergies
Extreme Major Even Minor Tiny
Show All
None Low Ok Strong Ideal
Extreme Threats
Ideal Synergies
Synergies
Ideal Strong Ok Low None

Introduction

Hello, my name is NorToXz.



I am at the moment a gold-player, playing at EUW who likes to play the Marksman-role.

The one marksman I have played the most recently is the super-ranged, heavy AD dealer Tristana. I have won a lot with her, and carried almost every game. She is not the hardest to play, but the person who plays the AD Tristana will have a lot of fun mid-lategame, especially if you got a lot of farm and some kills. Positioning is very important when playing Tristana, but luckily, she got a great escape-ability.

This guide is not as fancy as many others, but it gives a good explanation how to build and use Tristana in lane and teamfights. I wanted to make a guide because I want to help people, and I remember how confused I was when I first started.

I will later write more on this guide as it suits me. I welcome feedback, negative as positive.

Milestones



First published in August 2014

September 3rd - 100k views! Thank you guys, you are awesome!

2015

January 31st - 200k views! Wow
March 28th - 300k views! Speechless
April 22nd - 350k views and #1 Tristana guide! Still speechless. Thank you guys so much :)
June 14th - 500k views! o.o
October 5th - 1M views! Whatthehell
December 28th - 2M views! Thank you very much! Merry x-mas, and a happy new year to all of you :)

2017

November 1st - 3.5M views!

Notes:

November 11th - New season!

Patches:

5.24: The damage passive of Statikk Shiv and Rapid Firecannon does no longer stack, but it is still a good combo, because of the passive abilities and stats.
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Pros/cons


Pros:

+ Good early game damage because of burst.
+ Great lategame damage because of attack speed and range. Tristana might be one of the best Marksmen if you got your fullbuild early.
+ Got an escaperoute with the use of the w-ability.
+ Easy to farm because of Explosive Charge
Cons:

- Very squishy.
- May be fatal if ultimate is used poorly.
- The w-jump may cause bad engages. It is also pretty slow, so you might easily get caught by hooks and grabs.
- Pushes lane simply by last-hitting, even if you don't want to push.
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Spells

The best pick of spells for a marksman in my opinion, are Heal and Flash, always.

Taking Barrier instead of Heal was meta a while back, but it is much better to use Heal, because it adds health instead of applying a temporary shield, and you can also heal allies.

The best pick of spells for your support are Flash and Exhaust. If the support wants to go Ignite instead of Exhaust, its fine, just keep it in mind, in case the enemy support has Exhaust, which may ruin a fight and give a doublekill to the enemy. The support should always have Exhaust, because it is so extremely powerful to both slow down the enemy Marksman, and decrease its attack speed slightly.
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Abilities

Ability Sequence
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

Passive



Tristana's passive is Draw a Bead, which increases her attack range after each level. This passive makes her an autofiring ultralong-ranged beast at level 18. The passive also effect her other abilities, such as Explosive Charge and Buster Shot

Rapid Fire (Q)



Her first ability is the Rapid Fire. This ability increases her attack speed for a short period of time. If you already have Phantom Dancer and Statikk Shiv, you will go super-sayan if you activate Rapid Fire. The cooldown now also gets reduced by 1 every time you autoattack an enemy who has the bomb from Explosive Charge.

Rocket Jump (W)



Her second ability is Rocket Jump. This ability is mainly used for 3 different reasons:

1. You got caught and need to get away.
2. Someone you nearly killed is escaping, and you need to close the distance.
3. You want to farm a huge wave of creeps more easily, so you might consider to stomp on them.

The cooldown of this ability is also reset when you get a kill or assist, which might get in handy.

Explosive Charge (E)



Her third ability is the Explosive Charge, which has both an active and a passive function:

When you trigger the active you shoot a single bullet, which stays on the target for a few seconds. You can stack the passive by shooting at the enemy, until it explodes and deals area damage after four shots.
The passive makes it possible to deal damage to nearby enemies when you kill an enemy.

Buster Shot (R)



The fourth ability is the ultimate, and its called Buster Shot. This ability makes it possible for Tristana to fire a massive shot at a nearby champion to deal massive magic damage and push the champion back. If there are anyone in the knock-back area, they are pushed back as well.
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Runes

Precision


Precision itself grants 18% attack speed, which is great for the supercarry Tristana. This huge bonus to attack speed might help Tristana hit her AS cap faster, and with an AS item less.

Fleet Footwork charges up over time, and grants lifesteal and movement speed after one hit. Good for lane sustain and kiting.

Triumph restores 15% missing healt and gives 25 extra gold upon takedowns.

Legend: Alacrity: You gain 3% extra attack speed plus an additional 1.5% for every legend stack. You get a legend stack for every 20 points earned, up to 10 stacks. You earn points by killing champions (20), epic monsters (20), large monsters (5) and minions (1).

Coup de Grace: deal more damage if the enemy has below 40% health.

Sorcery



Celerity gives you 4% increased MS, and you get more AD with more MS.

The Ultimate Hat decreases the cooldown of your ultimate by 5%, and every time you use your ultimate, the cooldown decreases with 2% every time, at a cap of 10% (5 stacks). All in all, this will give 15% bonus CDR! Your CDR cap is also increased.
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Items

Start



These three items are the basic start for all marksmen. You might want to buy the Doran's Shield instead, if there is a lot of poke in the lane.


First items and core



I like to rush Infinity Edge when I play Tristana, but let's say I have a strong early-game. Got 3/0/0, lots of farm and lots of gold in my pocket when I back the first time. If this occurs, I like to buy the B. F. Sword and Boots plus a few Health Potions. After getting an extra 40 AD plus movement speed you should be able to get more kills and farm, so you can turn into a beast. Then you should go for Statikk Shiv and then get Berserker's Greaves.

These items are very important to have when you play Tristana, because Infinity Edge is an item which gives you an insane amount of AD, and additional critical hit chance, which might flip the table in trades and fights. Statikk Shiv gives you quite a lot of attack speed, plus critical hit chance and the passive, which gives you some extra magic damage every now and then.


After core/full build




I buy Berserker's Greaves on every Marksman I play, except Lucian, where I buy Ionian Boots of Lucidity, and Corki, where I buy Sorcerer's Shoes . However, Tristana is better with the Berserker's Greaves.




Rapid Firecannon gives crit chance, attack speed and movement speed. You also energize; an energized attack deals bonus magic damage and gives additional autoattack range. I still need to figure out when this is good to buy. So far this as a first item is quite good, instead of Statikk Shiv or Infinity Edge.

Statikk Shiv is a great item, because of the mobility and early game damage (if you rush it). If I am behind or even with the enemy, I like to get the Statikk Shiv for the extra poke damage and wave clear speed.

Infinity Edge is usually my second item. If I am really fed and farmed up, I might rush this. The amount of AD and critical hit chance gives me a huge power spike. It is so much easier to farm, and you will have no trouble with trading.

Bloodthirster is the third or fourth item I buy, depending on how much I need lifesteal. This item is great to have, because of the lifesteal, AD and attack speed. The active gives a little shield.

Lord Dominik's Regards is usually my fourth item. At this point the enemy tanks might have a lot of armor and health. You need this to shred the enemy tanks armor.




Other item options (Not recommended)



Phantom Dancer might be swapped with Statikk Shiv. I might do this if I rush Infinity Edge, because you already got AD from the IE, and with the PD you will have a lot of attack speed and critical hit chance as well as no unit collision.

Trinity Force gives health, AD, crit chance, attack speed, cdr, movement speed and mana. I don't really buy this item. Not a meta item though, so it's pretty bad.

Youmuu's Ghostblade. Not a meta item (at the moment), there are better options.

Defensive items




Guardian Angel is an ok item. Don't get me wrong, it literally saves your life, but I rarely buy it. The reason is that if I die, I will probably just respawn and then die again because the whole enemy team is there, waiting for me, after killing the rest of my team. The extra armor and magic resistance is pretty sweet, but there are so many other options that are far better than the GA, in my opinion.

Frozen Mallet gives you a lot of health, plus a little bit of AD. The passive here is very important, because you can drastically slow your enemies with your basic attacks. It is a great kiting and sustain-item, but still, not my first choice.

Mercurial Scimitar is a great item if you meet enemies with tons of crown control, such as Leona, Thresh and Morgana. The active debuffs all cc-effects and grants a major movement speed for a short duration, so you can escape. This item also grants 80 AD, which is insane, plus 45 extra magic resistance. Highly recommended if you meet a team which has a lot of crowd control and magic damage.

Trinkets



Stealth Ward is ok if you want vision, but this is not the best choice late game.

Oracle's Lens is really good lategame, because you can clear out enemy wards to get more control in the game. Usually, your whole team will go for this option, so you might consider something else.

Farsight Alteration might be the best trinket for a Marksman. You can use it to gain vision from a far distance, safe and sound. Use it to spot important objectives, such as the Dragon or Baron . Can only be bought after you have hit lvl 9.

Consumables



These elixirs are very good lategame, when you got full-build and no space in your inventory. For a Marksman, all elixirs are pretty much useless, except Elixir of Wrath. This cheap elixir will provide both AD (+30) and a lifesteal bonus (15%). If that is not good enough: There is a passive as well. Every time you get a kill or assist, the duration of the elixir extends the duration of the elixir by 30 seconds. The cap is still at 3 minutes though.
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Laning

Laning as Tristana early may be difficult. Since you start with the e for easier farming, you may have some problems with trading damage early in lane.


Early-game




You might consider to farm calmly early, and wait until you got some items and abilities, so you can do something else than just autoattacking. Tristana got very little range early, which is another problem with her, which is another reason to gently farm early-game. If you are so lucky to get a gank, just jump on the enemy Marksman and start the mayhem.

Mid-game




The mid-game is where Tristana is at her weakest. Her abilities is not too good, and if you have not farmed good, the enemy might be ahead of you in the lane. At this point, Tristana got some range, but you got to be aware of enemy ganks and have w up at all times.

Late-game




The late-game is when Tristana is at her strongest. At this point, you might have items that give you a lot of AD, as well as crit chance + attack speed. In additional to your q, you will deal a lot of damage from a far distance. Teamfights will occur, and you need to be extremely defensive and keep your distance, to safely shred through the enemy team.

Additional tips



If a big wave of CS (Creep Spawn) is coming, and there are no enemies nearby, place your e in the middle, hit the minion 2-3 times, and watch the gold come. Tristana is extremely easy to farm with, especially if you got the Statikk Shiv.

After a while, as you level up, your passive makes it easier for you to poke and safely farm. This advantage must be used, especially at level 18, where you outrange most Marksmen.

If the jungler comes to gank your lane in the early-mid-game, I usually use the Rocket Jump to jump behind the enemy adc, and ult him close to the friendly tower, so he is pretty much doomed. If I got the Blade of the Ruined King as well, I use the active on the support to slow he/she/it.
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Counters and compos

Tristana is weak against the following champions:



Draven got insane early damage, and he will win trades 10/10 times. You should passively farm and try to get a lead, and then kill him later, if you think you can.

Corki. The little guy in his little plane got tons of burst damage, and he shreds a lot of armor. He might be able to burst you down, even before you will have a chance to jump away. Also, if you try to ult him away, he can just jump back in with Valkyrie

Caitlyn. She got so much damage because of her passive, and she outranges you early-game. It is so easy for her to poke you, burst you down with q and net, and then finish you off with her ultimate.

Tristana goes even against the following champions:



Graves is a champion who depends on hitting his burst-combo. In this match-ups, you should wait for him to use his Buckshot, and then poke and maybe try to finish him off. You will also majorly outscale him if you play better, and you will also become stronger than him, just use the range-advantage late-game.

Sivir. It is all about dodging her Boomerang Blade, and make sure she does not counter you ultimate with her Spell Shield.

Ashe is a great threat, but wait for her to use her Volley, and then poke her down. Make sure she does not scale too hard.

Tristana is strong against the following champions:



Vayne. If the enemy picks Vayne, you should instantly pick Tristana. Your range will make it hard for her to deal damage to you, and if she tries to use her ult to come closer, just use Buster Shot to get her out of range, and wait keep your distance until her ultimate wears off.

Jinx. You will have no problem facing Jinx. You will probably win in farm, and your range will again give you an advantage. But you need to be careful lategame, since she outscales.

Miss Fortune. Wait for her to use her Double Up and Make it Rain, so you can safely poke her. If she uses her ultimate, just get in range and use Buster Shot to cancel her Bullet Time, genius!

Tristana plays well with the following champions:



Leona's ability to leap across minions to keep the enemy rooted and stunned gives you a great chance to fire away without interference.

Thresh's mobility and crowd control makes him a great teammate to Tristana.

Blitzcrank can run around and pull enemies to you, give you kills and zone the enemy Marksman for cs.

Nami is a great support for Tristana. She gives her the utility she needs, and a small fish that can heal you is always nice.

Janna's shields and disengage is very good.

Morgana is another champion who can peel your Tristana.

NOTE: Supports who can peel go very well with Tristana, such as Nami, Janna and Morgana
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Teamfights

In teamfights, especially lategame, Tristana is a beast.

Keep your distance from the enemies, and if you get focused by hard crowd-control champions, you might want to w out of range, and then re-engage if you can.

If you are left alone, you want to hit the closest enemy, and maybe use your e, and assassinate the enemy marksman with your ult. Just keep your distance, use q and shred those champions!
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The End

Thank you for reading my very first guide!

I would really appreciate a thumbs up on this guide. That might give me the motivation to make this guide even better, or maybe another guide, if you want...?

If you are wondering about something about this guide, or how I did the coding; drop a comment! Also, if you want me to make another guide for another champion, just tell me! I will try to check this guide frequently to read comments and drop some tears of joy if you guys like it :')

Thank you again! Good luck, and have fun in future games! GLHF.

Also, check out my Vayne guide here!

~NorToXz
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