Ahri Build Guide : Ahri - The Fox on fire :: League of Legends Strategy Builds

Introduction

Welcome to my Ahri Guide!

This guide is my first guide on Mobafire and it's as mentioned in the title about Ahri - The 9 Tails Fox. Before you read my guide please take a look at these short notes:

I'm not a pro player and i don't say that this guide is the perfect one for Ahri
I love criticism, but please be polite
This guide is ideal for you if you want to play Ahri in ranked mid - it may work for other roles too, but this is only for mid.

I play Ahri in ranked, i reached gold at the moment. I played about 172 games with her, and my win ratio is 66.3%.

If you like this guide vote for it and leave a comment. If you don't like this guide leave a comment too. Thank you!

Pros / Cons

Positive:

+ High amount of skill shots, that means a lot of fun
+ Unbelievable strong ganks with her ult
+ A range taunt
+ An ultimate which can be usefull in nearly every situation
+ In my opinion the most detailed champion model in the game. She is just pretty!
+ Excellent farmer

Negative:

- She loses all mobility if her ultimate is on cooldown
- If you spam your skills too hard, you will be oom with the speed of light
- Squishy, as the most of the burst AP casters are
- Gets banned a lot

Runes

In this build i use my runes to get the most out of my early game. In midlane you will have to harase your enemy a lot and you maybe become ahead with a first blood or some kills. Also the midlane is very easy to gank for the junglers. This can be seen as positive point - if your jungler ganks - or as negative if the enemy jungler ganks. This runeset will give you enough damage to ensure a kill when your jungler ganks, even without hitting your .

Magic penetration is always usefull on champions like Ahri. Ability power is your main source of damage, and with magic penetration you increase your damage percental.

Greater Seal of Replenishment
Ahri needs mana to work, and the amount of mana that is given to her can sometimes make you cry. With these runes your mana problems in early won't be so hard. You can replace these seals with for example or Greater Seal of Knowledge, but most of the times your jungler will give you at least the 3rd and your mana problems will be blown away.

Damage is what we need, damage is what we get with nine of them. You can try here too, it depends on your favor. If you are someone who just incredible spams every skill you may place some Greater Glyph of Replenishment here.

In case of Quints I prefer to use because they give you nearly as much damage as a at the begining. But i have tried the new here too, and they give you very much surviveability on your lane.

At all you have to decide what you prefer in runes - also it depends on the enemy you are going to lane against. I hope i helpeld you a bit with my choices.

Masteries

I go for a 21/0/9 in Masteries. There is nothing special, so i will just comment the most important points.

That point is for my . I strongly recommend to immediately when you believe you are able to kill your enemy. First you ensure your kill if they away too late, second the five bonus ability power can prevent your enemy from surviving with low health. It doesn't sound much at first, but many a little makes a mickle.

5% is quite a lot. Damage is what we need, and again damage is what we get here.

This can help you a lot if you want to finish someone of.

Simply because of flash.

Ahri has mana problems, and that is a good medicine.

You have to be stupid to not spend a point here. Blue Buff is something you want to have flowing around you all time, and with that the time is increased. Nice!

Skill Sequence

With the recent changes on Ahri (Patch v1.0.0.140) she doesn't get really nerfed. After taking a look at some calculations i can confirm that Riot achieved their goal to make her stronger in late, and a little bit weaker in the early game.

Now it gets interesting: Why do i max w first? Let's take a look at the scaling of Ahri's abilities.

True and Magic Damage: +0.33 per ability power
Magic Damage Per Fox-Fire: +0.38 per ability power

Well, thats not such a high difference. scales a bit more ok, but has more range and it easier for harasement. Why do i max first then? We forgot something about Ahri's W:

Maximum Damage to the Same Target Per Cast: +0.76 per ability power

And that is badass. Most of the time you will use Ahri's ultimate to get close to your enemy, then you will press and try to hit an . That means all our three will hit our enemy, and he gets raped by the +0.76 per ability power. That, and the fact that the basic damage on is higher than the damage from is the reason why is maxed first here.

I max last because it is simply used as CC and is not your damage spell. You get 0.25 seconds more per level, but thats not so much.

Skills

This skill shot is good for harasing your enemy during the laning phase and one of your damage spells. Remember that you can controll the movement of the orb with your ultimate when you try to kill an enemy. It's one of the best skills to use your passive and for farming minions. Also it deals true damage on his way back - nice against magicresist.

Your main damage spell. Try to use this skill immediately after you near to an enemy, because this spell makes the most of his damage if all three hit the same target. Each applies the slow from

The only ranged taunt in the game, and as well a skill shot. You can use this spell for a lot of situations, for example to escape a gank. Also you can check bushes with it because it sounds different if it hits.

So awesome. So many uses. is one of the biggest reasons why Ahri is so much fun to play. It's an incredible ultimate with as many incredible uses. You can last hit an escaping enemy with it, you can get closer to your target, you can escape out of fights, you can rush through walls - there are a lot more ways to spent this skill, but it's to much to write it here. Here is a simple video about towerdiving with Ahri's :

/league-of-legends/ability/spirit-rush-453

Items

Start Items you will mostly buy:

Most champions you'll face in mid have at least 1 skill shot, and there is nothing better for dodging skill shots than boots. Also the 3 pots will give you some surviability for your lane.

Against champions without skill shots:

Sadly they exist, Champions who don't have a single skill shot. Some examples for that are , , .

For more damage:

I don't really recommend to start with this, but if you are sure you don't have to be scared of ganks or your enemy, you can upgrade this build fast to .

Core Items:

This build is mainly designed to reach maximum burst with Ahri. You will deal tons of damage using this build, and because of the magic penetration there is nearly no way to avoid it. If you want to relinquish on some damage you can replace the with . The slow will be usefull to escape without your and also for ensure a kill. It will give you survivability and nice damage. The and his Spellvamp are pretty nice for holding your lane or healing in fights.

can be pretty fun and dealing much damage, but as i concentrate on burst damage it is not so usefull. Also you will barely have the chance to autohit during your spells in team fights.

is not good on Ahri, but if you want give it a try. You go into teamfights, burst down your targets and get the **** off. Ahri has 3 chances to escape, also you have flash. According to that life is nothing you will really need.

is a great item. It doesn't only give you 100 Ability power and 50 armor, it also gives you an active that makes you immortal for a short duration - Awesome if you get focused in a teamfight or for from .

is good if you are having troubles with strong and fed AP Casters in the enemy team.

is not the best for ranked - If you are fed you can be mostly sure that they will focus you during fights and your chance to die is a lot higher.

will safe you a lot in fights and is pretty awesome when you are fed.

Fox against...

This part of the guide is very long. You can skip it and only read the parts you will need when you meet your mid. I only write something about champs who can play mid, cause this guide is mostly for ranked games.

has no chance against you until she gets to six. She will try to farm, harase her with in that case. Also she will use her as a way to attack you or to farm. Throw your to the position where you suppose her to be. When Akali is 6 she can on you and deal massive damage. Try to outplay her with your , if she gets close to you use to deal massive damage. If you can land a you've won the fight, but even without it you should be able to kill her.

is not a champion you will meet often in midlane. Try to land your to ensure the kill, and if you use save one that you can use after Alistar on you to get away.

deals tons of damage if you are slowed or stunned from one of her abilities. Try to avoid her and . You can see if her is available by clicking on her. Nice to know: You can through her

is a counter to . Her early harase on you can hurt pretty much when you are going to take a last hit. Pay attention when she reaches six, and can be a way to kill you pretty fast. Ganks from your jungler will ensure a kill on her. Also remember that she can use her to have an instant stun ready.

can be ****ing dangerous. Care of his , even with this high ranged spell can sometimes be hard to dodge. Try to dodge his if you are burned by one of his spells to avoid a stun.

is very strong. The key to win against is to get ganks and avoid her . If you are poisened from her or she can spam her on you. If you want to attack her make sure to before she lands her . The best moment of trying to kill her is when her is on cooldown.

has not enough damage output to bring you into much trouble. Simply care of his as it goes through minions, and try to use after .

is very strong in early game. Try to play defensive and farm only until you reach six. If he you run away. At six you can out of his , use it again to hit a and bring him off. Care if he is miss, he can idle in a brush to on you.

can be a very painfull enemy. If he uses on you counter it with . Till is three you can try to deal as much damage to him as possible and to deny his farm. Wait until he has on cooldown if you want to finish him off.

is pretty strong against AP champions cause of his . Try to farm, dodge his and wait for ganks.

is less dangerous if you manage it to dodge his . You should kill him easily in early, later he will get a bit more tanky so wait for ganks to bring him down.

will push the lane hard cause of his . Wait for ganks from your jungler and he will be an easy target. If he hurts you hard with his try to stay out of range and call your jungler for help. Never try to kill him alone near his turrets, will rape you.

is nothing you have to be scared of. Dodge , with a bit practice and this shouldn't be a problem. If you max first, as i tell you to do in this guide, you can kill him with your combo when his live is under 80%. Your teammates will love it if you inform them when gets

is made to punish AP casters, so you won't like him. If you can switch lane do it, otherwise towerhug and try to farm as much as you can.

is a bad pick against you. If she uses her to hurt you, just . If you can hit an after that you hurt her much more than she does. At 6 it is getting funny, when makes her just out, go back in again and kill her.

is a strong champion, but with brain you will be able to win against him. Try to dodge his as often as you can. If it comes to a big fight, out of his before he can stun you.

is a champion you don't want to face. She rapes you in every possible way, and you won't be able to do much against her. The combo of Sigil of Silence and will make it impossible for you to hit any of your spells. Even if her life is low, don't try to kill her alone. Her may reduce the damage of your to nearly nothing, and she will get away or even kill you if is ready.

is, as the most supports played on ap, strong in early and does heavily fall down late. You need to take care of as it's her main damage spell. She can use to navigate Pix on a minion and have increased range on it.

main source of damage is her . Try to avoid it, she can let it explode when she wants. If you are hit by one of her spells, avoid her autoattacks or will hurt you. Avoid all time, or she will burst you down with Finales Funkeln and .

can turn a fight totally around when he you while you . So try to kill him when it's on cooldown. If one of your minions is affected with stay away to avoid it's damage.

Mordekasier is strong when his shield is up. So try to do your combo at the moment when his shield is gone. If you stay near to your minions, his will hurt you. Only do it if you really need to last hit.

is a two-edged affair. If this champion isn't banned you will have a lot of trouble with her ability to stay at the lane and farm like a monster. She can't really kill you if your is ready, cause you will simply rush out of her . Try to do a lot of ganks when is passive, if you get hit too often by her you will be in over her head.

is one of your darkest nightmares. If you try to do anything against him he will you and take your whole mobility away from you. During this he will kill you with his combo. Switch lane or towerhug, your jungler will have to help you a lot.

and his can be very hard for you. Your chance to kill him is with help of your jungler or when he is out of mana. Avoid his as it's his main damage source.

can be very annoying with her , but her will push the lane and your jungler has an easy job. Also she's pretty squishy, and your combo brings ugly death to her.

is also a counterpick to Ahri. His sustain with blue buff is godlike, so don't even try to kill him with it. If you can get advantage with a kill before he reaches six you have a good chance to win the lane. s key to win against you is his . It will gives him enough time to do his damage spells on you and kill you with his . If you are sure he can kill you in a moment when nevermove is unavoidable, out. Buy against him.

is way to squishy to have only a little chance against you. Avoid his and kill him.

can be strong. If you see a Gold Card above his head avert him. Also watch the minimap all the time. He can use Gate to do pretty scary ganks. His main damage spell is , dodge it.

is a strong burster. Try to stay out of the range of his when he reached six. You can't through it! Wait for ganks or go roam if he plays passive.

is not one of the strongest mid champs, but his can deal decent damage. If you want to kill him you may have to out of his .

is strong and very tanky. If you are infected by his run away, you will get highly increased damage. Remember of his , he can towerdive you with it or can turn around your towerdive.

hates enemies with high mobility, so he hates you. He shouldn't be a problem for you, remember to avoid his spells when you are marked with Mage Chains. The best moment to land a is when he goes into his Locus of Power.

is another champion that hates you. The key to succeed against Ziggs is getting close to him and burst him down. A cakewalk with the help of your and .

has a very strong early game. Try to farm and avoid to many . If his is on cooldown you will kill him for sure. Your jungler is important here too.

Tips and Tricks

Farm is one of the biggest keys to win. Ahri has a very nice animation of her autohits, it will be easy to land them with her. Also your Orb of Deception is a good way to last hit at your tower, or when a lot of minion have low health.
Of couse you want to play Ahri most of the time in ranked. But if someone picks a mid champ before you are able to pick Ahri you have to get on with it. If you are 5th pick you may have to support - ask if the 1st pick can choose Ahri for you and swap, otherwise play what the team wants you to play. You want to win, and they want to win too, so dont flame and be polite.
Try to get Blue Buff with her all time! Sometimes there are junglers who may want the 2nd and maybe even the 3rd Blue Buff like Amumu or Maokai. You'll have to accept that, it won't make it better if you start flaming them.
Never facecheck bushes - you can use your Charm for it.
As you are pretty squishy you want to stay behind your tanks in teamfight and never initiate
It is your job as mid to ward at least the second left bush (the entrance to your jungle). If your jungler is good he will ward the right side for you, if not buy 2 Sight Ward. They will help you a lot, who doesn't want to be nearly complete safe of ganks?

End notes

Thank you for reading my guide! I hope this text will help you with this wonderfull champion, and you will have as much fun with her as me. You can send me screenshots of some of your games with this build - i will put them into this guide. If you like the guide leave a comment and vote, do the same even if you don't like it as i mentioned in the introduction.

Changes:

02/12/12 - Guide was created
03/29/12 - Changed Ahri against... Annie and Swain ; Added Lulu ; some minor changes
03/30/12 - Build order a bit changed, WotA before Deathcap and more
08/31/12 - Checked for validity, will do some changes soon but everything here is ok.

Sources and Credits

Ahri image in the header by http://tekkanomaki-chan.deviantart.com/
League of Legends Wiki

Ahri - The Fox on fire

Ahri - The Fox on fire

Spells:

Flash

Ignite

Ability Order

Essence Theft (PASSIVE)

Orb of Deception (Q)

Fox-Fire (W)

Charm (E)

Spirit Rush (R)