Hello fellow Mobafire users. This is the first guide I have yet published, and it is intended to help anyone who wishes to become a better Lee Sin player. This is not by any means how you should play Lee Sin, nor is it the absolute best way. I just feel that this particular setup fits my play style, and I have had good experiences with it so far.

In the following sections I will attempt to make my case clear and reasonable. Please do not downvote my guide without reading it or spam hateful comments, as that is not acceptable. Please feel free to leave criticism as it is always stimulating, and I will try to respond in kind as fast as possible. Do note that this is a rather long guide, and you may skip to the parts you wish without reading all the text in between. However, if you do read it, it might overall be more helpful.

As of this moment I have yet to figure out how to use icons. I saw a post and it showed me how, but they end up still having text and a white sqaure with an X next to them. So until I get that solved I will have all the Core and Situational items on the main sequencer for reference.

Let's get started then shall we?

PROS

Amazing Mobility
Good early game harassment with 2 flash type skills.
Good vs. Physical Champs with his Movement and Attack Speed slow.
Amazing Jungler
Great burst damage.

CONS

Utilizing his passive can be hard at times.
Ultimate is hard to use correctly.
He is seriously one of the hardest champions in the game to learn.
High skill cap... oh wait I said that...
He lacks POWUH in team fights.
More of a 1v1 champ.

My runes are fairly straight forward, and are runes I am comfortable with. I will of course list others that could be used in lieu of the ones I have on the main build.


Greater Marks of Desolation

I chose these mainly because Lee Sin relies on physical attacks. They help early game to get through the little armor champions have, and it helps your damage output all together.

Greater Seals of Resilience

I chose these mostly because Lee Sin benefits greatly if he can take more punishment early game. They are also a must if you plan to jungle on him. To be honest though, about anything may be taken here, as well as on Glyphs due to him not needing any mana runes. These are my preference, and you may always substitute your own choices.

Greater Glyphs of Warding

These are a tad odd to be honest. I chose them because I love to be a little more tanky early game. To be frank, you would be better off choosing Attack Speed or Cooldown Reduction. To each his own though.

Greater Quintessence of Alacrity

In my humble opinion, these are great on Lee Sin. My main reason for choosing them is to capitalize on his passive. You could be well off taking HP Quints or even more ArP. The fun is finding what works for you.

Masteries are something that I feel should be tailored to not only who you are playing, but also to how your team builds. I feel this works for Lee Sin and as always, you may customize them to your liking.

I chose 14/16/0 because I feel it offers great early game damage, as well as offering a little defense. The main points to take note of are Archaic Knowledge and Sorcery in the Offensive Tree. The former is great because you use your abilities a lot, and this will allow them to hit harder. The latter is chosen because like Garen and Katarina (exception of Energy) you are really only hindered by cooldowns. This will help you use your skills more often

The main highlight in the Defensive Tree is Veteran's Scars. This works really well if you took HP Quints. If you didn't it will help you early game alongside a Doran's Shield to take more harassment. Due note that a great choice would be to drop a point from Cripple and add it to Willpower. An improved Cleanse is very nice on him, and I often take it as a substitute for Exhaust. Just add the spare point from Cripple to Archmage's Savvy.

There are a few choices that you could choose here, and I'll list the ones that I feel suit him the most.

Mobile Spells

Flash and Ghost are two great spells to choose for survivability. I personally don't take Flash because you have 2 built in flashes anyway. It can be useful when you get caught with nothing to dash to and escape though. I prefer Ghost as movement speed is always a plus. Teleport is a spell that works on a variety of champs. I wouldn't take it on him myself, but I can see it working.

Offensive Spells

Ignite and Exhaust are two great spells for many occasions. I feel Ignite would be better served on another champion, but it can net you kills regardless. Exhaust is my personal favorite to grab for Lee Sin because combined with his Cripple you can seriously screw over a physical champion. It is also nice for allowing yourself better positioning for your Ult.

Smite is a very good spell, but only if you are jungling. If so you may want to look at a different guide. Rally is... well... pointless. It gives nice stats, but the cooldwon is far to long to be of any real use. If you really need this then you should probably play a support or tank and use it for your carries.

Defensive Spells

Cleanse, Heal, Clairvoyance, Revive and Fortify are all good spells, but they benefit different champions in different ways. Revive would best be served for a tank who died so he can immediately tank some more. It can be useful late game when respawn timers are long, but the cooldown is ridiculously high. Fortify is again, best served on a support or tank. Clairvoyance is a great spell, and I have found myself taking it more and more these last few weeks. It is great on many champs, but I feel it would be better served on a support.

Heal is pretty pointless when you have built in lifesteal. Again, leave this spell for someone like Soraka, it will be more use to her anyway. Cleanse is personally the only spell I swap out Exhaust for. It is amazing, although not a lot of people generally take it. If combined with a Quicksilver Sash, you can be very hard to lock down.

As for Clarity, DO NOT TAKE THIS SPELL, IT IS COMPLETELY USELESS TO YOU.

In this section I will attempt to explain why I take specific items and as to why I feel they are good on Lee Sin.

Core Items

Phage: I take the Phage as my first item in most games with only a few exceptions. I find that the early damage and health are worth the cost. The slow is a nice bonus too.

Berserker's Greaves: I take these boots like 40% of the time to be honest. The attack speed is nice pre-Zeal and with your passive you technically gain more AS which always helps. However, boots are usually chosen based off what the enemy team has. If they possess a lot of CC you would be better off buying Merc Treads. Want more MS? Buy Boots of Swiftness or Mobility. Want decreased cooldowns? Go for Lucidity. Your choice really.

Zeal: I take this after boots and Phage for the early game AS and Crit. It helps farming too, because when you use an ability, you have the chance to crit on the next two basic attacks(duh) that are 50% faster.

The Bloodthirster: This is my first Legendary Item. I choose this because it offers so much pure damage. Lee Sin is a rare champ that has a hard time building defensive early game, because he is so utterly dependant on AD. This will really help you hit harder with auto attacks and spells alike. Also after the slight nerf on his Iron Will, it helps him sustain himself off of creeps a little better.

Phantom Dancer: This is the last item in my Core build. I just simply upgrade the Zeal. With this you have amazing AS combined with the Berserker's(should you have chosen these) and your Flurry. The crit is pretty good and really helps when you have a double Flurry crit. After this all items chosen should be based off of what you are up against. I usually buy a defensive item if I feel the need.

Situational Defensive Items

Randuin's Omen: One might not expect to see this on Lee Sin, but if you face a slew of AD oriented champs, this could save your life, and possibly net you a few kills. The armor is amazing, but the real winner here is the AOE slow on AS and MS. This combined with your Cripple will seriously put a Master Yi or Tryn in a hot water. They might even avoid a fight if you are there. This should only be taken when they have at least 2-3 heavy AD/AS champs.

Guardian Angel: This item is kinda iffy to me. Yes it is a good item to boost MR and Armor. Yes it does tend to make people second guess about focusing you in a team fight. My only concern is that it revives you with very little HP. In late game, if you die and rez into even 2 people, the 750 HP might not be enough to save you. In the end this item is more useful to those that find it useful. If you want this item, then by all means, go for it.

Sunfire Cape: This item is sooooo worth it's cost. It gives you a fair amount of HP. The armor allows you to take a little more punishment. The damage to minions isn't really needed with your amazing farming ability, though every little bit helps. The only thing is, if you don't plan on being an off-tank, you probably won't be sitting around in the middle of them long enough to really do anyting with it. Still, great item for like 1-2 AD oriented champs.

Force of Nature: This item gives the most MR of any item in the game. I always get this item if assailed by at least 3+ AP champs. The HP regen is really good, and the MS bonus really syncs well with your PD, and maybe even your Trinity Force(should you get one). I would suggest you get this as your 4th item, as it is fairly exspensive, and getting it later might be to late, thus defeating the purpose of trying to stay alive.

Quicksilver Sash: Sadly I usually don't see this unless the enemy team has a WW or Malz. It really is kind of sad if you think about it. So many people see it as only useful when you use it on Suppressions. It has a good amount of MR for it's cost, but the kicker is it removes all debuffs from your character. ALL DEBUFFS. It is basically a 3rd summoner spell. If you took this with Cleanse, well let's just say the other team might get pretty preturbed. I usually get this if the team has a lot of CC or even Ignites. I actually see it as more useful then a Banshee's Veil, as the mana is not needed, and you can't decide on what to block. All around great item that I always consider going into a game.

Hexdrinker: Ok, first off I am not keen on just how good this is on him. I have been testing it out as my 4th item, and even as my first major item, and I gotta say it is kinda 50/50. If the enemy team attacks together it probably won't save you. Against one player it very well could(as long as they do magic damage of course) and you might get a kill you otherwise wouldn't have. The damage is nice for the cost, and any MR helps. I will do more testing on this item and update accordingly. It is also a great itme to help counter a Karthus though, as Banshee's is very expensive and you have no need for a Zhonya's.

Situational Offensive Items

Frozen Mallet: This item is great for when you need more HP and still have some damage output. Only thing that I dislike is(as said before) that Lee Sin HAS to have AD, or he will lose his edge in a mtach. This item is very exspensive, and offers some AD, just not a lot. It can work, and I have had some good experiences with it, so if you feel it can work for you, then by all means, go slow some foes and tank those hits like a boss.

Youmuu's Ghostblade: A great item that provides many uses for it's cost. If you need some AD, AS, CRIT and ArP, then this is a good item to have. The MS active is a bonus, and could grant you a kill, or keep you alive.

Last Whisper: By far my favorite ArP item in the game(depends on champ though:P), this item has two things you will most certainly need. AD helps your spells, and the ArP compliments the AD quite nicely. Most teams will usually have someone build some Armor, not just their tank, so this can help you a lot. If the enemy team has at least two people building some armor, I would suggest grabbing this to help you keep up your damage.

Guinsoo's Rageblade: This item is another I have been experimenting with. I have had some good and bad moments with it. It is nice because it compliments Lee Sin's 1v1 style, and with your spell spam it will get to x8 really fast. I have seen it work on some jungle builds, but I play him more in and out, and all in when I can get the kill. I really don't auto attack into oblivion like Jax or Eve, unless the situation calls for it. As I am unsure of how TRULY good this item is on Lee Sin, I say try it out yourself. If you like it and it works, then congrats. If not, then swap for a different item.

Hextech Gunblade: Ok, I have tried this and I gotta say I love it. It has a lot of options for you. You get massive spell vamp and lifesteal to sync with your passive and it also has nice AD to boot. The AP is alright I suppose, any more numbers on your shield bar is always nice. The real thing I love is that I can swap out my Bloodthirster if I have I have to grab something else, then come to this item and still get my AD and lifesteal. The active slow is not to be under-rated too. I have gotten so many kills because of slowing them to get in range of Cripple and a kill. This is very exspensive though, and I wouldn't reccomend getting it last, if you do intend to purchase it.

Trinity Force: This item has by far more stats on it than any one item. It offers you a great many things that you can use. More HP, Crit, AD, AP, MS. It will greatly benefit you for another reason though. Because you spam your skills, and are melee, you will greatly benefit from it's proc. When you use Sonic Wave it will charge it, and when you dash to the enemy and hit them they will take a lot of damage. Then you may follow up for the kill or dash away and repeat again. I almost always get this item in all my games as Lee Sin.

There is a few things that you can do as Lee Sin to help the team. If you see a Twitch or Eve pop their stealth while they are close to you then blow your Tempest and /all HAHAHAHA I SEE YOU! as you chase them down and kill them with your team.

If at all possible try to use your ult to kick enemies back into your team. Try not to kick them away (especially in a gank) or else your team might defect:P

Always try and use your slow to help chase fleeing enemies, and use your Q to help finish off those pesky tanks at low HP.

Mostly you should sit in the back and wait for your tank to initiate, then follow afterward and try and target a squishy carry. Use your CC on them and possibly kick them into your team, or kick away their tank. Remember, that you can in some situations initiate with your ult into their whole team. They might not expect such an action from you and might cause them to panic, but this is highly dangerous and extremely situational.

In closing, I hope you found this informative and in any way useful to you. Please let me know what you thought of the build and how it worked out for you by leaving a comment. Remember to vote, and only if you read the build or some of it and maybe even tried it out. Criticism is welcomed and I thank you for taking the time to read this.

Edit: I am a little busy right now, but I do intend to put in icons to make the guide more friendly to the eyes.

Edit#2: By all means send me a friend request in the game if you want to talk more about strategy and test out different builds, or to show me your variants. My summoner name is Azfadel, and I am on the North American server.

-Azfadel-