You might be thinking, what the hell are you building, tanky dps?!?! However, Ashe really do need these runes. Armor penetration is always a plus for Ashe. I take the flat armor seals because they are really helpful early game. You can afford to exchange some hits with the other AD carry and hopefully your support cant heal you. I get magic resist per level glyphs because I can't afford anything else. Lol, but seriously, these runes will definitely help you out when taking damage from an ap caster. Since your the AD carry, any defensive boost is really helpful because you are a high priority target. Finally, I take Gold runes because they really help me gather the gold for my major purchases. It may not seem like much but the gold really adds up when you reach the 20 minute mark.

These runes are my preferences but other runes like mana regen/5 or cooldown reduction are all viable options.

Ghost and Flash are a must on Ashe. Ashe has really poor base movement speed so early game, Ghost will really help with her escape and chasing ability. Also, since Ashe has no escape mechanisms, Ghost is evermore needed on Ashe. Ghost is also used for re-positioning. Ashe is really susceptible to every form of crowd control so she needs to be able to re-position herself. Flash is also a must for sticky situations. Flash saves lives so many times. You can go through walls to escape or go through walls just for re-positioning. You can also flash to catch up the enemies. The instantaneous teleport by flash is really useful. The only bad thing is that the cooldown on this spell is really high and its range got nerfed to a really short range.

Passive- Focus - While out of combat, Ashe's Critical Strike chance increases every 3 seconds for her next attack.

This passive isn't really that useful except in the beginning of the game. If you can, try to hit an enemy champ once when the passive is 100%. Besides that, it isn't really used.


Q- Frost Shot - While active, each of Ashe's basic attacks slow her targets. This drains Mana with each attack.
Toggle: Ashe's basic attacks slow her targets by 15/20/25/30/35% for 2 seconds.
Cost
8 Mana per Attack
Range
600

This is the utility brought by Ashe all game long. This is a toggle ability that turns on and off when you press it. It keeps the enemy perma-slowed and is really annoying.


W- Volley - Ashe fires 7 arrows in a cone for increased damage. Volley also applies Ashe's current level of Frost Shot.
Ashe fires 7 arrows in a cone, dealing 40/50/60/70/80 (+ ) physical damage. Volley also applies Frost Shot.
Cost
60 Mana
Range
600

This is where Ashe really brings the utility. Frost Shot's slow is applied for each of the arrows in volley. This can potentially keep the entire enemy team slowed.


E- Hawkshot - Each time Ashe kills a unit, she gains some extra gold. Ashe can activate to send her Hawk Spirit on a scouting mission.
Passive: Ashe gains 1/2/3/4/5 extra gold whenever she kills a unit.

Active: Ashe animates a hawk to scout for her, revealing terrain as it flies toward target location.
Cost
No Cost
Range
6000

This is like a free clairvoyance. You should use this when you wanna check bushed. It's also really good for checking Baron and Dragon. However, the most important part of this spell is the extra gold. 1 extra gold per minion can really stack up end game. And Ashe is all about end game.


R Ultimate- Enchanted Crystal Arrow - Ashe fires a missile of ice in a straight line. If the arrow collides with an enemy Champion, it deals damage and stuns the Champion for up to 3.5 seconds, based on how far the arrow has traveled. In addition, surrounding enemy units take damage and are slowed.
Fires a large arrow in a straight line. If it hits an enemy champion, it will deal 250/425/600 (+1) magic damage and stun that champion for up to 3.5 seconds, based on the distance the arrow traveled. Additionally, surrounding units take half the damage and are slowed by 50% for 3 seconds.
Cost
150 Mana

This spell is the most useful of Ashe's. This is what still makes her a great AD carry. She can fire this arrow from anywhere across the map. Aiming takes great skill but if it lands, the enemy is stunned for 3.5 seconds. That's crazy long and plenty of time for your teammates to kill the target. Her ultimate also makes it easy to 1v1 champs.

Ashe doesn't really have anything for damage besides her Volley so this is the spell we're gonna max first. The extra damage is really helpful early game, where Ashe is weakest. Also, with each rank, the cooldown decreases, which will increase your overall DPS.

Frost Shot is maxed second because Ashe is all about slowing the enemy and constantly dealing damage. This spell is really important so max it right after Volley

Hawkshot is maxed last because we want to maximize Ashe's damage and utility with her other spells. We take one level at level 4 for the gold bonus and clairvoyance but that should be it until mid-late game.

Enchanted Crystal Arrow should be maxed whenever possible. This ultimate is just amazing. You'll feel awesome when you hit someone from the other side of the map (:

I usually start off with Doran's blade because it's just a great starting item overall. The extra damage is nice and the health and lifesteal are a nice kick. However, the recent nerf to this item really hurts so boots+3 health pots is another option. However, the extra damage will help with last hitting, it's all preference. Doran's blade is still great because your summoner spells will be the escape and mobility.

My first item must be boots. Ashe has a measly 300 base movement speed. She needs the boot immediately to have any effectiveness in lane. I usually get berserker greaves for maximized damage output but mercury treads or boots of swiftness are great buys also.

Your first major purchase will be the BF sword. Ashe really needs this item to do anything useful past level 5. Her base stats are simply too low. This damage item will increase your rate of last hitting will provides a greater punch when attacking champs. Try to build your infinity edge as soon as possible. This should be fairly easy because of the gold per 5 runes and bonus gold from hawkshot. Infinity edge>bloodthirster in terms of damage.

After infinity edge, phantom dancer is a must. It provides movement speed, attack speed, and critical strike. This really complements infinity edge and will help Ashe so much mid game.

Items after the phantom dancer are purely preferential. I really like the bloodthirster because I can survive longer in team fights. Also, only half the stacks will be gone if you die, although you shouldn't be dying with this build (;

I prefer black cleaver over last whisper because it gives more damage for my crits, some attack speed, and armor shred. My whole team can rip my target apart with the 45 less armor. This is my preference but last whisper is totally fine.

My final item is usually banshee's veil. With virtually no survivability, Banshee's veil brings a lot of things to the table for Ashe. She gets health, magic resist, and a free spell block. This could block a potential crowd control effect. Other viable options are warmog's or guardian angel but I like Banshee's.

Laning Phase

You should generally be with your support at bot lane, as per meta. You primary and only focus should be last hitting. Do not push your lane because you are slow early on and you want your jungler to be able to gank. Last hitting the minions just takes practice but it'll become a lot easier after the BF sword. It's not that terribly hard to harass with Ashe. Turn on Frost Shot and auto attack the enemy once and unleash a volley and hit again. The enemy will be annoyed as heck by the slow.

Mid Game-Late Game

Do not initiate and do not jump into the fight right after your tank. Wait a little bit until the enemy uses some of their spells on the tank and then use your ultimate. Prioritize the biggest threat to your team, usually the AD range carry or AP caster. Don't be afraid to use ghost because you'll need the movement speed to juke or chase.

Ashe is still a great AD carry. She's really fun and you can still wreck with her if used correctly. Her horrible defense can be made up with ghost and flash and quick reaction time. Her damage is really painful and she brings a lot of utility to the team. The ultimate is what makes her shine because she can contribute to a gank from anywhere on the map. Please comment to for some constructive criticism and thank you for reading, hope this guide helped you understand a bit more to playing Ashe.