Caitlyn AD Carry

Introduction

Who I Am

Hi, I am a LoL player who has been playing for just about 1.5 years now. Ranged ADCs are my favourite type of champs to play, and Caitlyn is the champion I am best with. This guide shows the Caitlyn Build that I personally favor after a year of gameplay with her.

What is Caitlyn?

Caitlyn is a ranged AD Carry, one who deals high amount of damage from a distance and thus carrying the team.

Pros

-Superior Range (650) compared to other ADCs, allowing for easy poking.
-Has a very effective and utilisable skill set, with high harass and zoning power.
-Ultimate can help secure kills or force enemies off the lane.

Cons

-Weak mid game.
-Relies heavily on getting fed and farming.
-Squishy, making it almost essential to stay behind your teammates.

This guide will cover Caitlyn's item build, skill build, spells, masteries, runes, playstyles, strategies and maybe some other things that you may not know now.

Guide Last Updated: 17/9/2013

Runes

Precision

Press the Attack

Arcane Comet

Fleet Footwork

Phase Rush

Runes

Precision

Press the Attack

Arcane Comet

Fleet Footwork

Phase Rush

These are the two Standard Rune builds for Caitlyn, as explained below. (P.S. only difference are in Quintessences)

Quintessences

For Quints, taking over the small AD boost provided by is better, as it allows you to hold off buying the and focus on first. However, both are definitely viable options and both work if you are short on IP.

Marks

For Marks, you can either take Flat AD marks or Flat Armor Penetration marks. gives you a laning advantage in the early game, but tends to lose out later, whereas Greater Mark of Armor Penetration gives you a slight advantage in the late game. I also add one , which is optional, and may seem weird, but it has helped me secure quite a few first bloods.

Seals

For seals, you ALWAYS go with 9 . Laning against an AD Carry will require you to have armor to absorb the physical damage.

Glyphs

For glyphs, you should ALWAYS go with Magic Resist. is usually taken, because you are laning against an AD carry, so the magic resist is not needed until the laning phase is over. However, if you feel that supports are dealing too much magic damage to you, you can always go with .

Masteries

Offense(21)

These offense runes are usually the same for every AD carry, except maybe between and . All damage-increasing options are taken.

Defense(9)

Defense runes are taken over Utility, as it has a more prominent effect in the lane. gives you that slight amount of extra armor, gives you a long-term health increase, and provides you with +30 HP which may seem little, but during the early game really makes a difference.

Summoner Spells

Typical Spells

is an essential spell for almost all champions in League of Legends. It helps you to escape, to close up gaps, to secure kills, and to bait/juke the enemy.

is a good choice on Caitlyn, especially if the enemy's AD Carry has an offensive Ult ability with range (eg. , or ). You can waste the enemy's ult by activating barrier at the right time. I tend to prefer over , especially if the enemy has no potent way of killing you once you have retreated behind your turret. In short, it WILL save your life many times. 'baiting' is another good strategy. If your hp is low in lane, but not too low (ie. 150-300), you can bait the enemy ADC if he is also low on health. Immediately engage and pop . The enemy will assume he will be able to kill you, but will save you and if he is low enough, you secure the kill. However, know the situation to use this tactic. If his support is there, obviously you won't want to bait with .

Alternatives

is a common spell and should be used when enemies have high CC skills, (eg. ). In draft pick, when the enemy team has multiple high CC champions like but not limited to , , and , you will want to take .

is another good choice on Caitlyn. Although late game all it does is just deal a little bit of damage, in the early game it can be useful for securing kills. However, will be better than a great deal, especially lategame. The amount of damage you can put out while saves you is definitely more than can.

should be used when you are below Level 12, and do not have unlocked.

Abilities

Passive
Q
W
E
R

Sequence

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

--->

At Level 1, I add . Adding can also work, but I feel that is more essential, as even if an enemy steps in your trap at level 1 you can barely follow up without your Q. At level 2, I then add . Then, max Q first but at Level 4, add . From then on, max first as it provides less cooldown, more damage and also increases slow duration. At levels 6, 11 and 16, 1 point goes immediately into .

Passive

is Caitlyn's passive. Caitlyn gains stacks for every attack. On every 6th-8th stack depending on level, Caitlyn's next autoattack will deal 150% damage to a champion or 250% damage to a creep. Attacks in brush count as 2 stacks. This can be used in almost all situations, since the damage from can crit. For the early game, try to focus your headshots all onto enemy champions. In the later part of the game, when you have your critical items (, ), your headshots will begin to do massive damage. It is best to try to stack it up before engaging a fight.

Tips

Stack on minions, and try to use the final hit on a champion. This is massive harassment for the enemy. But, this doesn't mean you should ALWAYS go for a headshot (eg. through a turret). Headshots can also be used for 'earlier' last hits on minions. In later games, if the situation permits, try attack from brush to charge your headshots in just 3 hits. In the jungle, attacking the creeps from a brush allow for a faster down time.

Q

is Caitlyn's Q skill. It is her main tool of harass and damage. Scaling with AD, it shoots a bullet that goes through enemies, dealing slightly less damage as it goes through. This, along with , can be used to dominate your lane and harass your enemy into oblivion. However, in the later game, Caitlyn's auto attacks become more powerful than , so by that point it should only be used for piercing through multiple enemies.

Tips

should be used to harass the enemy. When there are many minions at low hp and/or an enemy champion standing in a line behind them, try to aim your into the enemy, to poke them from a far distance. Sometimes, enemies will try to bait your shots so try to anticipate/predict where the enemy will go and shoot into that area. In the later part of the game, should only be used to hit multiple enemies, as Caitlyn's autoattacks will do more damage to enemies by that point.

W

is Caitlyn's W skill. It has many uses; for zoning enemies, to stall enemies or simply to immobilise them for a short time to unleash your damage. This skill is VERY useful if placed at the right spot. Also, it can be used to check brushes as it gives vision of the area for a second. It is usually maxed last, as Caitlyn only needs it at Level 1. (See trap placement section below)

Tips

should be used to zone the enemy, stop ganks, to simply trap or to stop an enemy from chasing. It can also be used to initiate teamfights if placed very well. For more details see Gameplay: Trap Usage chapter below

E

is Caitlyn's E. It is essentially another that Caitlyn can use. It fires a net, knocking Caitlyn in the opposite direction the net was fired and slowing enemies caught in the net. It can be used to close gaps, to stall enemies and escape (by slowing them), to reach objectives faster (eg. netting over the wall or wall) or to give yourself a quick boost. Very useful, and should be maxed first. It is maxed before as maxing it gives longer slow duration and damage.

Tips
has a main functionality of being a second . It is used to escape, slow enemies, kite and to chase to secure kills. To escape, you can simply aim the net into one champion to slow him and get away. However, if there are multiple enemies you may consider baiting them to a dead-end wall (eg. or ) and netting over the wall as an insane juke. You can also launch in the opposite direction to knock Caitlyn towards the enemy, to secure kills especially if is unavailable. For more information see Gameplay: Net Usage chapter below.

R

is Caitlyn's ulti. It targets the selected enemy champion, dealing high damage to the enemy. It has very high range, and can be used to bruise, kill or to force enemies off the lane. However, it requires good judgment, especially below Level 16 where Caitlyn's ult has a long cooldown. Knowledge on whether an enemy champion can potentially block the shot is also essential in making sure you do not waste Caitlyn's ult.

Tips

is a very beginner friendly ulti. It only requires you to select an enemy champion, no skill-aims required. Of course, this is usually only used to secure kills when an enemy is running away behind their turret. You should not waste if you are able to kill the enemy without using it. However, when you see that the support CAN indeed block the shot, you should rethink whether it is worth it (unless the support is low enough to be forced off the lane). Also, can sometimes turn a 1v1 that you are losing around. If you 1v1 an enemy and start losing, immediately use for massive damage output, then use to slow him and start hitting away.

Items

Starters

is an excellent starting item for Caitlyn. Coupled with , the health boost gives you the durability needed to survive the early game. It also has a small amount of lifesteal and provides 10AD. The way to go in most cases. It is acceptable to buy up to 2 Doran's blades if you are struggling/losing your lane.

and 4 gives you the movement speed increase and sustainability. Whether to build this or is usually up to preference, but this tends to be better against champions with high base movement speed (eg.

and 2 is a risky start for Caitlyn. With no life steal, the potions will be used very quickly, leaving Caitlyn with no sustainability. Additionally, without , she does not have the movement speed which may help in an escape. However, you may consider getting this if you have . But since , which is what would be built into already provides 10% life steal, this starter is abit redundant.

First recall

should be bought next. If you started with and 3 , upgrade your boots to immediately. However, if you used another set of starting items, leave it at until you get your .

gives Caitlyn the well needed raw Attack Damage. It is also needed so she can build into . When built earlier than the enemy ADC, you will start to see a huge spike in your autoattacks, Q and R.

is important for Caitlyn, but since you have it can be held off for awhile.

Core

provides Caitlyn alot of AD, which benefits her. However, the main reason we choose over at this point, is because of Infinity Edge's critical damage enhancement (+25% Crit rate and +50% Crit Damage). This, coupled with will make Caitlyn's headshots and critical strikes become insanely powerful as it stacks.

helps Caitlyn get extra attack speed, and amplifies the effects of by adding extra crit rate to Caitlyn, is effective as it increases the chances of Caitlyn landing a critical strike, and allows her to attack faster, resulting in faster damage output and stacking. After getting this item, if the enemies are not insanely fed, you will see Caitlyn start to shine.

Mid/Late game

is an underappreciated and underused item. Many people think paying 2300g for it is not worth it. However, they are totally wrong. On ADCs, is necessary to pierce through armor, especially enemies who have high amounts of armor in their build (eg. , , ). Even if the enemies do not have armor, they are most likely using .

is the next step in having damage against tankers with high HP. Providing %Life steal for sustain, and passively doing damage based on the enemy's HP, this item with will be powerful against high HP/armor enemies. The active also helps you catch up or run away from an enemy, or get some free damage off. When this item is completed, you have reached your full damage potential.

is Caitlyn's last item. By the time you reach the last item, the game should have progressed very far (>35 min) and everyone or almost everyone should be Level 18. At this point, the respawn times are insane. Thus, not only allows you a second chance and save you from waiting very long and potentially throwing the game, but also gives a generous Armor and Magic Resist boost.

Enchantments

is a good enchantment for Caitlyn if her team's base isn't getting ripped apart. When winning the game, Furor allows for extra chasing power and to secure objectives faster.

is the enchantment to go with if Caitlyn needs to desperately defend her base, or if the enemy has pushed further than you.

Viable Items

can either replace early game, or later in the game. While this item is very good on many ADCs, is a better option on Caitlyn due to her passive. In the later stage of the game, most enemies will begin to have higher HP making a better choice. However, if you feel that the enemy team all have low max hp, you can go for this instead of .

is a viable and good replacement for . Being 300g cheaper, it gives 10% less Attack speed and crit rate in exchange for a AOE passive that deals 100 damage (can crit) that chains to 4 enemies. While this item is good on ADCs like who already have skills like for attack speed, on Caitlyn, it is better to stick with the higher critical chance and attack speed. However, if you like the AOE effect or just like lightning to come out of your attacks, this is the item for you.

can replace Guardian Angel if the enemy team is not fed and you are confident you will not die during the fight. The high AD boost, psasive which essentially works at and magic resist makes this a viable lategame item on Caitlyn.

should be acquired when you feel that your attacks are already painful enough, and the enemy's team comp is more mixed instead of focused on AP or AD. When this happens, you would want to get Warmog's for the raw 1000HP.

is a useful item against an AP heavy team. With some extra health, mana, MR and a spell shield, is definitely the item to go with against spellcasters.

Consumables

gives you a nice AD boost late game, when you have some extra gold to waste and gives you a small amount of health. The effects are very insignificant, but there is nothing else better to buy.

is useless except for its CDR, but since you have extra gold to spend, just get it.

Similar to , is pretty much useless except to clear wards but why not?

Supports

is one of the most popular supports for Caitlyn. With and giving Caitlyn sustain, and allowing Caitlyn to secure kills when Taric stuns enemies make Taric an overall viable support.

is another support champ that works with Caitlyn, although not quite as popular as Taric. allows Caitlyn's already strong point: her attack speed to become even stronger, letting her poke quickly and stack her passive faster. , while not as effective as a stun, can still help Caitlyn secure kills. Also, since also gives movement speed, Caitlyn can chase enemies who have been slowed very easily.

is a support champion that synergises well with Caitlyn. 's knockup allows Caitlyn to land off some pokes on the enemy, and her ulti, , can aid in an escape or a fight.

, while not the best support if there is no communication between the team, is still a solid support for Caitlyn. is very effective, but once it is used Blitzcrank becomes rather useless for the cooldown as he has nothing to really help his ADC. However, if there is good communication, will be able to pull enemies into Caitlyn's making it either a sure or a sure death.

is essentially a with his
, but with utilities able to save Caitlyn like and his famous lantern, . Thresh can pull enemies to let the ADC attack, but can also shield the team and allow them to jump straight to him. Definitely a good support.

might seem like a weird support for Caitlyn, since she has no pull/stun/slowing abilities, but double-trapping with and is more effective than it seems, and if Nidalee aims her well, the enemy will be getting poked to hell with 2 high range attackers against them. Her also helps to sustain Caitlyn a little.

is a very good support for Caitlyn. With + , she can very easily stun an enemy without much good aim allowing you to quickly put damage out on the enemy. provides her with the tankiness needed to survive in the lane and to generally just tank for the team. Her skills, especially her ulti, , can not only help you secure a kill or save you, but can also initiate a fight or turn a fight around if used properly. Definitely one of my favourite Caitlyn supports.

is another one of my favourite supports for Caitlyn. She is a support who not only excels in the early bot lane, with her heal and poke, but also can and will turn the tide of the lategame if used correctly. Her helps start a fight, helps stop a fight and helps an initiate. Landing a 5-man is disastrous for the enemy team. Remember that with the 3.8 patch, she gets more base health and armor at the expense of a poke damage reduction.

is, although not a very common support with Caitlyn, still a very powerful one. However, for , it is best that he has experience and communication as it is abit hard to pull the support off. Generally being tanky, and able to stun and secure kills by kicking backwards, can be a viable support.

is one of the most annoying supports I have ever had to deal with in PvP. A very viable support, but I don't recommend it when fighting against pro players (ie. in ranked). In PvP, however, if you are looking for some fun then by all means go ahead. gives you that slight 8% exp advantage to help you outlevel your enemy adc, is a super annoying harass tool that is pretty much impossible to miss at you just select a target. However, you have to count on the enemy with spreading it to their teammates. allows 2 s to be placed in quick succession, enables the escape or chase, and pretty much acts as a that works on everyone and has a 3 minute cooldown.

Gameplay: Trap Usage

Zoning with Traps (when losing lane to stop enemy from harassing)

Trapping to stop ganks

General Trap Locations

Gameplay: Net Usage

As you can see, I net to escape through the wall, if I am in need of a quick escape from the Dragon pit. Aim your net (blue crosshair) towards the enemy to slow them. Make sure you are bunched up against the wall you are trying to net over, just like usage.

Gameplay: Early Game

For Caitlyn, farming minions is very important. You should try to help leash your jungler, if you have one, as quickly as possible so you don't potentially miss out on CS. The best way to get as much minions (CS) as possible is to last-hit (waiting until the minions have low health before attacking). If you are confident of escaping ganks, they have no jungler or the map is well-warded, you can push the waves by attacking the minions instead of just taking the last hit at low health. Typically, your goal is to beat the enemy team's ADC in CS. However, you need to know the risk and make the decision between retreating or farming, as sometimes an enemy makes it hard to farm.

When the threat for ganks is reduced, like if the enemy jungler is ganking another lane or no lanes are missing, you can push the lane hard. Once the turret starts pounding away at your minions, you not only make it harder for the enemy to farm but also can take a few pokes at the turret.

When you feel that it is possible and the time is right, you can try to poke the enemy with and . Lace the area (especially brushes) with s and try to bait an enemy into the trap. Use your to net away from enemy ganks or potential deaths, or to slow a running enemy.

It is important that you constantly move around in this phase of the game. Farm a minion, take a step to the left. Hit a champion, take a step to the right. Farm a minion, take another step to the left. Walking around like this makes it less likely for you to accidentally miss out on CS by hitting too early, and makes it harder for the enemy ADC to hit you.

Your range is the highest in the game; make use of that to harass the enemy. If they are hugging the turret, harass and walk back to avoid aggro. If in lane, harass and walk out of the enemy ADC's range to deal damage but not receive damage.

If you kill both enemies <Level 6, push hard and destroy their turret. If >Level 6 and the time is right, go for .

The end of early game/start of mid game is defined by the time you kill the . When you kill both of the enemies, your jungler is nearby or you have many teammates in the area, you can kill the for bonus universal gold. It turns the tide of the game to snatch the before the enemies do.

TL;DR?

Last hit and beat the enemy ADC in minion farm, utilise your traps effectively to zone or stop the enemy, utilise your long range to harass the enemy, push the lane hard to stop enemy from farming, dragon or destroy turret when both enemies are dead.

Gameplay: Mid Game

Mid-Game usually begins when dragon has been killed or turrets have started to go down.

This is when Caitlyn becomes weak. Unless you are insanely insanely fed, at this point you should only have , and . These items coupled together is not able to beat other champion's items at this point, until you acquire and .

If your damage against the enemy is low, try not to focus so much on killing champions. Focus on creeps to gain gold; last hit in your lane, get the , or kill Jungle Creeps like . Do whatever you need to stay alive but earn gold at the same time. Fear not; if you do not feed the enemy and farm effectively and quickly to get your early, you will begin to dominate the game once again.

Map awareness is key if your teammates are losing their lanes. Look for potential ganking opportunities and help your teammates.

TL;DR?

This is the point where Caitlyn is quite weak. If you cannot kill enemy champions, try to ambiently farm but remember to stay alive. Use not only minions, but the jungle to help you farm. Also, look for gank opportunities and help your other lanes.

Gameplay: Late Game

Late game is when it is impossible to stay alive when roaming solo, and dying at this point pays a heavy price (due to long respawn times). Typically during late game everyone is at >Level 14 so they have quite long respawn times. This is the point where teamfights will occur and everyone will be sticking like glue.

You are the main source of damage for your team during teamfights. The most important elements are positioning and knowing who to aim. Aim a tank with , and you are doing more harm to yourself than to the enemies. Never aim tanks in a 5v5. Go for the squishy ones. Typically I follow this order: Carries > Support > Offtanks > Tanks
You may be thinking that and will make it better to aim tanks, but while these items do help with killing tanks it is best to aim those who can dish damage out. It takes quite a number of attacks and time to kill the tank, and in that time damage can be dealt by the enemies easily annihilating your team. But imagine if you take down all their damage sources and only one huge tanky rock without any damage is remaining, your whole team can easily focus him down and he has no way of damaging you hard. However, there is NO absolute rule on who to aim, and in some teamfights aiming the tank is better.

Positioning is also important in teamfights. Caitlyn should never engage teamfights head on. Let the tankier ones engage and go first. Caitlyn should stay behind the team, dealing damage from far away with her high range and kiting the enemies. Remember, Caitlyn should NEVER be the first to die and should constantly be doing damage. This is my definition of good positioning. Stand your ground and land as many attacks until you feel the need to escape.

Also, try to lure them to your base and let the turret get some free damage on them.

Remember, if you see an enemy just by himself during late game, attack him and quickly kill him. But if he manages to get away, DO NOT CHASE HIM. It is most likely a bait and all his teammates are waiting to pounce on you somewhere.

Tl;DR?

Position yourself behind the team, take as little damage as possible during teamfights. Know who to aim during teamfights, don't chase stray enemies, and most importantly, stay alive!

Lane Matchups

Difficulty: Easy

has a horrible laning phase. has a phenomenal laning phase. Typically you want to bully until she can't farm and you build up an advantage, and you can utilise your insane harass range for this. Just be careful as she is a very strong lategame champ and can snowball out of control off just a kill or two, or even farm, as opposed to which has a comparatively weaker lategame. Just don't let her snowball.

Difficulty: Easy

is superior for her very high range of 650. However, has very low range (525) and thus loses out to . is only a threat if she blinds you in duels, but in a typical teamfight or SP/ADC fight, you should have the higher ground. However, try to avoid 1v1 duel situations as [[Quinn]'s fighting power 1v1 is pretty strong.

Difficulty: Medium

While Caitlyn has more range than , Caitlyn's high reliance on abilities makes her 150 free mana for almost everytime. Sivir can block Caitlyn's abilities, including for Mana, she can ruthlessly poke essentially twice with her and can have a small AOE explosion. could just step in a for free mana. However, despite this, is considered one of the weaker ADCs in the game and thus should be able to harass her if played properly, giving this a medium matchup.

Difficulty: Hard

is pretty much , but with a much better hyper-carry lategame. In fact, even though in her laning she will have a range of 550, her passive, gives her +9 range per level. Thus she has higher range than Caitlyn at about Level 12, and eventually going on to have over 700 range at Level 18. She has many better lategame abilities than , and has a nuke-style laning phase and her is essentially a counter to your . Thus, is one counter to .

Difficulty: Hard

definitely can damage faster than Caitlyn. His , when used right, can secure kills even better than . Despite having less range than Caitlyn, he can harass much better in lane with and can escape easily with and . Early game, he is essentially a Caitlyn with better skills. Prevent him from farming to dominate him late game.

Difficulty: Hard

, with his already insanely high damage kit, has a comparatively high range (575) that can be used to his advantage. His harass and lategame power is just too strong. I recommend not picking against in draft pick if you have knowledge.

Caitlyn Patch History

Spoiler: Click to view

Guide Revision History

Spoiler: Click to view

End

This is my first guide on Mobafire. Please have constructive feedback and criticisms, and don't just tell me my guide sucks.

You can tell me it sucks, but please comment your reasons on it.

Thanks for reading and I hope my guide helps you in succeeding with Caitlyn.

Caitlyn AD Carry

Caitlyn AD Carry

Recommended Items

Spells:

Flash

Barrier

Items

Ability Order

Headshot (PASSIVE)

Piltover Peacemaker (Q)

Yordle Snap Trap (W)

90 Caliber Net (E)

Ace in the Hole (R)

Introduction

Runes

Runes

Runes

Masteries

Summoner Spells

Abilities

Items

Supports

Gameplay: Trap Usage

Gameplay: Net Usage

Gameplay: Early Game

Gameplay: Mid Game

Gameplay: Late Game

Lane Matchups

Caitlyn Patch History

Guide Revision History

End

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