This is a condensed guide that focuses on items, build order, and mathematical differences that optimize utility and damage output.

Bear with me, this guide is not complete. I'll be updating it daily. If you feel like the guide deserves a down vote, give me constructive criticism until you want to change it to an up vote.


For more information regarding Match-ups, strong lane partners, and combat strategy I recommend reading Internet Explorer Ezreal by Embracing. Embracing explains which strategies do and do not work, and compares different items and skill orders.

True Blue

Core 1

Ezreal has base 1045 Mana at level 18. With + 1000 from Muramana, + 1000 from seraphs embrace, and + 500 from Iceborn gauntlet, That totals to 3545 mana for Muramana and Serpah's embrace passive calculations.

Seraph's Embrace Ap = 60 + (3545*0.03[Which is 106.35])= 166.35 AP

Muramana AD = 20 + (3545*0.02[Which is 70.9])= 90.9 AD
Muramana Active Damage buff (At maximum Mana) = (3545*.03)*2= (212.7, 206, 199.98, 193.557, 187.176) For the first five hits.

At half Mana Muramana still adds a little over 100 damage after adding 90.9 to the base attack value.

Cool Down Reduction

All Cooldowns multiplied by 0.6 from 40% Cool down reduction

Mystic shot = 4s*0.6 = 2.4s -1s on hit = 1.4s

proper timing with this ability is the key to this build, see below for details.

Essence Flux = 9s*0.6 = 5.4s -1s from mystic shot every 1.5 seconds = 3.4 seconds. 1.5s + 1s + 1.5s + 1s = 5s
5.4s - 5s = 0.4s seconds remaining = 3.0s + .4s = 3.4s

For those who are curious about this calculation. For every 1.5 seconds of real time, 1 second is subtracted by mystic shot. After 3 seconds, 2 seconds have been subtracted from the 5.4 seconds, leaving only 0.4 seconds until Flux can be used again. Even if you are not accurate within a tenth of a second using mystic shot, the additional 0.4 seconds that have to pass make that degree of reaction time insignificant and irrelevant.

Arcane shift = 11s*0.6 = 6.6s - 1s for every mystic shot = 1.5s + 1s + 1.5s + 1s + 1.5s = 7.5 (4.5s + 2s)
6.6-6.5= .1 Seconds remaining. There is actually no cool down after 3 mystic shots, but if you wait and extra fraction of a second you can wait to arcane shift again before triggering mystic shot so that the CDR effect is triggered immediately after shifting.

Trueshot Barrage = 80s*.6 = 48s (28.5 seconds = 19 mystic shots = 19s in time reduction.) 28.5s + 19s = 47.5

48s-47.5s = .5 s = 28.5+.5= 29s

Damage per second

Base Damage lvl 18 = (101.2 + 45[spirit of the lizard Elder] +40 [last whisper] + 90.9[Muramana] +10.8(Marks) + 15 (Masteries) * 1.02( (Havoc) ) + ((196.6ap+18ap )*0.05)[ spellsword ] = 308.958 + 10.75 [ Spellsword ]

Mystic shot = 308.958 + 39.32 + 115 = 466.878 every 1.4 seconds

Essence Flux = 250 + 171.68 = 421.68

Every 3.4 seconds

Arcane Shift = 275 + 160.95 = 435.95

Every 4.6 seconds

Trueshot Barrage = 650 + 308.958 + 193.14 = 1152.098

Every 29 seconds

Core 2

To be calculated soon!

Classic ADC

To be calculated for each build listed.

Early game, start with the long sword. It directly contributes towards the first item that you need to build, Spirit of the Elder Lizard. It can also build into vampiric scepter. Either will be helpful in lane.

Spirit of the Lizard Elder

The core reason for getting Spirit of the elder Lizard first is the CD reduction and attack damage. Paired with the additional health and Mana regeneration, you'll be able to stay in lane longer and farm for extended periods of time. Farming itself also becomes easier, and your pokes burn over time. Since you only need to save 1600 before heading back for this item, you'll be on the same level as the other AD Carry if they go back for the BF sword. They'll have as much damage output as you do, but with less effect.

If you have to head back early for some reason, just build towards this as quickly as you can. If lack of mobility is responsible for your poor position, get boots and do what else you find necessary.

Boots vs Tear of the Goddess

Once you've completed Spirit of the Elder lizard, you might want to gain some mobility to chase down and finish off your kills. I often buy Manamoon before buying boots because of its scaling potential and the amount of time that it takes for Manamoon to turn into Muramana. It takes 9.3 minutes of constant and perfect triggering of its mana scaling to complete the item. It is more likely to take ten to twelve minutes. Getting it started as soon as possible is recommended, but mobility might be necessary to survive in your lane. Survivability takes precedence.

Manamoon to Muramana : Boots of Lucidity

Muramana's abilities make the blue build what it is. It gives you 90 total ad by the end of this build and adds 210 to each basic attack. that's 300 damage per hit from one item. For 2100 gold, that's well worth it. If you buy this early on it should be active by twenty five minutes into the game. Get Ionian boots of Lucidity asap and start taking advantage of your 25% CDR and a large manapool. Muramana often completes perfectly in time with my purchase of Iceborn Gauntlets, giving maximum cool down reduction and increased utility.

Iceborn Gauntlet

The reason to get Iceborn Gauntlet over Frozen mallet or a trinity force is for the mana, cool down reduction, and Aoe slow. With this build, the 500 mana gives 10 ad and + 30 damage to basic attacks from Muramana, and during the endgame it also grants 15 more ability power and adds 100 to the shield from seraph's embrace. That might not seem like much on its own, but that 500 mana is doing a lot more than letting you poke more often. The CDR makes the Aoe slow terrifying to an enemy team. Its slow allows for kiting and gives Ezreal a soft cc.

AP vs Armor Pen

Now, Archangel staff's AP boost is going to be acting as a fully completed item because of manamoon, and once it is also complete it will give 166 ap on its own, dwarfing Rabadon's Deathcap. This makes it more useful than an additional ad item, because Ezreal's abilities also use ap, and this scales with much more force in combination with Muramana. The shield as a defensive option is more powerful than barrier or any support's protective spell, but armor pen is essential. It only takes a little over six minutes to complete Seraph's embrace, so time is not as much of a concern in this purchase order. This is completely situational and based upon preference. I often get Last Whisper first, but I love what the staff does.

A brief discussion: Killing your spirit.

Replacing spirit of the Elder Lizard with the Black Cleaver and opting for The blood Thirster instead of Seraph's embrace is more optimal in my opinion, but the 166 ap in one item might be too seductive for some. Replacing spirit of the elder lizard for Death Fire Grasp would be in good taste to maximize the total AP in the build if Serpah's Embrace is selected, but that build becomes significantly less balanced. The problem then is magic penetration and the reduction in damage to Muramana. I would only turn towards full AP if the enemy has started stacking armor and lack MR.


Life steal, AD, and Armor

The Blood Thirster's Life steal and high AD are a strong and useful addition to this build. Ezreal's AP dependent abilities will be significantly weaker without seraph's embrace, but his basic attack and poke will be much more powerful. Unfortunately, Choosing more AD over a splash of AP means that your Shift and Flux will be weaker and the total damage being output will be reduced. Regardless, the Lifesteal makes it much more difficult to kill you, and will allow safer engagement.

Blade of the Ruined King is helpful in taking down tanks, increasing your Attack speed to maximize the effect of Muramana's active, and will give you some very needed sustain. Good for escaping a dominant enemy tank.

Mercurial Scimitar can make up for a lack of cleanse when the enemy team has a lot of CC. It also helps if the enemy team is AP heavy.

Guardian Angel is nice to have on any champion. Especially if you have trouble staying alive. This item can be incredibly bothersome for an enemy team to deal with, and it will make your KDR look better in the process.

Treating Ezreal like any other ADC is essentially a brute force build. The items work well together, so they work on just about any ADC. It is a sound concept, and it has worked for AD Carries for years now. The only problem that I have with this traditional build on Ezreal is that his range is dwarfed when compared to other AD carries. He has to stand relatively closer to an enemy team to contribute to a teamfight. Since he is a glass cannon with the classic Ad carry build, this can be a conflict of interests. He needs to stay alive to deal damage, but he also needs to be close enough to deal that damage. He can't stand that close to any enemy with a stun or gap closer without being at risk. So Warmogs, Guardian Angel, or other defensive items are necessary to make this less of a problem.

However, many players still expect AD Carries to look like this, and prefer the play style associated with this sort of build. Ezreal needs cooldown reduction in addition to Damage output to be at his best.

Berserker's greaves - Increases attack speed. It is useful when relying on basic attacks for damage output.

Bloodthirster One of the highest damage items in the game. It scales up to 100 damage and 18% life steal. Very important for sustain. If you're being fed heavily I don't see anything wrong with getting three of them and building for Mobility, Attack speed, and armor pen on the other three items.

Phantom dancers Crit chance, movement speed, and attack speed are all important for any AD carry. By purchasing two, you get an additional attack per second and it is more likely than not that they will be critical strikes. It makes it easier to chase down opponents and to run away.

Last whisper Armor penetration is critical for getting through a tank's armor and making the most out of your damage output against your target.

Infinity Edge

Ezreal can either be a powerful teammate, or a seemingly useless throw away depending on how he is positioned. His Q gets intercepted by minions, and if a support sets up a perfect kill behind the minion line, Ezreal can't always get to it in time. To maximize his potential, it is important to be mindful of your teammate's position and possible opportunities.

For example, if Taric or Leona are within about 500 (flashing distance) from a position where they can stun, Ezreal should move to a position where he can shift into a clear shot on the enemy. That is not to say that they would or should flash in with a stun, only that 500 is enough distance to anticipate their next move.

In poke lanes awareness is just as important, if not more so. If Sona, for instance, were to move into a bad position for a poke, keeping the trade in your lane's favor is critical. Allowing your support to hit trade negatively will lose a lane, and everyone makes mistakes. Try to minimize how adversely those mistakes affect your outcomes by being aware of their inevitability.

Stuns, slows, and global ultimates should never be discounted. A Shen at level 6 can save you, or your opponent, and what CC is up or on cooldown can be the difference between a kill and a death when engaging. Twisted fate is a prime example of the need for map awareness. Once he ults, everyone only has a little over 3 seconds to react. Knowing beforehand if you can finish a kill and still escape will prevent panic when that split second decision has to be made. Things to decide and be aware of when a global ult is up are Fight or flee, odds and time, CC and distance.

Team work is as much about knowing what your teammates can do as it is knowing your own limits. If you warn to retreat from a losing fight and an aimless teammate decides to initiate anyways, let them die. It's a very difficult call, but this is why you need to know their limits as much as your own. If they don't have the damage output, cc, or health and armor/mr and/or you're outnumbered, it is better to lose one teammate than to lose two. If you read correctly then the rest of your team will understand.

With over 100 champions, the core ways to judge a fight are by total CC, DPS, cooldowns/ults, and armor/mr. Never engage with a disadvantage unless absolutely necessary. (A Forced Baron Nashor Fight)

Blue Build Ezreal

During his early laning phase, when he purchases Spirit of the Elder Lizard (Assuming that acquired gold is even), he will have either higher or equivalent Damage output and can harass with Mystic Shot until there is an opportunity to get a kill. The burn on hit makes winning trades easier and should be fully utilized. As in any lane, this phase is about how well you can play your champion and how well you know your enemy's champions. Caitlin can out harass you if you're too close to enemy minions, but Mystic shot can even the playing field with proper positioning and support.

I favor Blood Thrister to Lizard elder. Getting the Bf sword won't contribute to early cooldown reduction but it will get you closer to the Blood Thirster. It also eliminates the problem that DOT causes when harassing enemies under their turrets. With spirit of the lizard elder, if you strike an opponent in between turret shots > move out to avoid being targeted > and then return, The turret will target you again for the next three seconds. It makes it very difficult to punish the enemy lane for trying to farm under their turret.

Pushing advantages

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If you get first blood early game, don't get cocky. Until that extra gold has been used to purchase stronger items nothing has actually changed. The only real thing that has changed is that the enemy spawned in base with whatever gold they earned up until that point and you have less health and mana. It might be worth it to stay in lane depending on how early your kill was and how you're holding up, but don't stay if you almost died. Low health shenanigans can turn the game back to their favor.

Once you have a slight advantage, don't think that you can just rush in and dominate on your own. You might be able to do that, but they have a support. Your ability to get kills is not purely from being an amazing player. Your support helped get you those kills. They provide an opportunity, and you take it. You don't spontaneously create opportunities to push an advantage. Your support does, or the enemy makes a mistake. Don't let your ego be your downfall. Take advantage of mistakes and then capitalize on them. After a very successful harass there is a good chance that you can get a kill or send the enemy lane packing, but health and Damage isn't everything. See 'Team Work'

Recovering from set backs

Making up for giving first blood to the opponent is a difficult task, but it isn't as hard as recovering from a two or three death deficit. The keys to recovering are help from your team, and not dying. Not dying is more important than the Cs that you might be being blocked from, and if you are being blocked from Creep score then you're in a bad enough position that the jungler and maybe even mid need to come down to change the game. If they do come down to help, you need to be the one to get the kill. If they're in a position to help, they don't need yet another kill, you need more gold to even the playing field.

Badly losing your lane is bad for the whole team. Don't feed their Carry. Even if they get free farm because you're playing cautiously, do not let them kill you. Without kills they will not become a war machine of death. They will progress at the same speed as your other lanes, and the only loss will be your contribution to a team fight. You can catch up on cs later, and your team can hopefully provide enough opportunity to recover.

Try to get cs, take golems if you're on blue team, and play cautiously. Provide a door for a gank, and be aware that you're not a match for the enemy ADC on your own. If you've been outplayed the whole game up to this point, that hasn't changed. You're not as good either personally, or as a lane with your support. Own it, and try not to be too great of a detriment to your team.

If the enemy got their kills from ganks, still keep in mind that they are winning. Even if it isn't from personal skill, teamwork and a lack of teamwork is deadly. Recovery is a team effort, not an individual one. Rambo does not exist in League unless he was in the winning lane.