Elise Build Guide by thataznkid95

Intro

Hello all! This is Thataznkid95 and my first guide so bare with me here. I'll be honest from the start this guide is simply to help me keep track of ideas on how to make her more effective, so far Im still working on the little tweeks so feel free to comment you you like or just share your thoughts! Oh yeah Im also trying to make this guide short so you wont have to read a whole wall of text. I'll be updating this guide as I follow this champion.

Pros and Cons

Pros+ + ranged (how many top laners are ranged?) + very strong mid game + deceptive stun range(1.5sec at lvl 1) + the Cocoon / Rappel on her is AMAZING + very strong burst that works off % of opponent's health

Cons- -Learning curve on her is a bit frustrating -Weak early game -Stun is kinda slow -SQUISHY AS HECK

Skills Reasoning

Now some of you are probably wondering why do I choose to max my ultimate Spider Form / Human Form so late. It is because her ultimate doesn't offer anything worth getting over maxing her Neurotoxin / Venomous Bite or Volatile Spiderling /Skittering Frenzy. Just like Jayce theres simply no point in leveling her Spider Form / Human Form when it is already does its job at level 1.

Skill Sequence

As previously mentioned Elise'sabilities are pretty easy to understand, but difficult master.

The reason why we start out with her Neurotoxin / Venomous Bite first is because it does more damage when the enemy is at their highest heath and by ending it with Cocoon / Rappel is simply because it does % damage for their missing health, this way you get out the most damage possible.

The first and last skills of your entire combo will always be the same, however whatever happens in between the combo is completely up to you and the situation.

For example: After you land your Neurotoxin / Venomous Bite the enemy might just be too far out of your reach or you're not confident enough to land your skill shot stun you might want to use your Spider Form / Human Form then quickly follow up with an Cocoon / Rappel for the gap closer, then follow that with a Volatile Spiderling / Skittering Frenzy and ending it with Neurotoxin / Venomous Bite.



Elise also has a very strong gap closer
For example: If the enemy is too far and you want to close the gap then you might want to start with her spider form's Cocoon / Rappel and then skillfully land a cocoon from the distance.

Runes

Before I begin I would like to let you know these runes are not for early extremely early game dominance. This set of runes in particular is focused on her strongest point which is her mid game.

Take Greater Mark of Magic Penetration for late game damage potential, Greater Glyph of Scaling Ability Power to strengthen your mid/late game, Greater Quintessence of Ability Power for early game AP boost, and finally Greater Seal of Vitality for survivability as it gives a butt load of HP at lv18.

Of course there are other great options as well such as:
Greater Seal of Armor for that early game resistance to those ad bruisers

Greater Seal of Health for better early game survivability.

Greater Quintessence of Scaling Ability Power is an okay choice as well as it will prove to be more useful than Greater Quintessence of Ability Power but in the end it all depends on your own play style.

Greater Quintessence of Movement Speed is also another rout to go for as Elise can be slow with only a base movement speed of 316 in the beginning and 367 with Boots of Speed its not very fast.

Greater Quintessence of Life Steal although highly not recommended this rune does work will with her Volatile Spiderling / Skittering Frenzy and gives some surprise sustain when dueling in a 1v1.

Masteries

This is pretty standard. Taking all the offensive AP masteries in the first tree and the mana regen with whatever is left over in tree 3.

I might play around with tree 2 in the future as it does offer some viable options for top lane.

Items

Deathfire Grasp This item is mainly in here because of its other component kage's lucky pick as it helps lessen the burden of these expensive items. Along with that, it also offers some CDR as well as a small nuke(though it was nerfed considerably.



Hextech Gunblade I know I know you are probably asking "WHY WOULD YOU EVER BUILD THIS ON A NONHYBRID?" Well the answer is simple this item worksGREAT on her. In her Spider Form / Human Form her Volatile Spiderling / Skittering Frenzy works incredibly well with Hextech Gunblade as the life steal + Spell Vamp just allows you to sustain almost indefinitely. Not to also mention it has a active effect that slows an enemy champion for that for sure kill.



Trinity Force has everything you would want on Elise attack speed that works well with her Volatile Spiderling / Skittering Frenzy, heath for that extra tankiness, and the extra damage that comes from the Sheen part is simply amazing.

Some Other Options:



Rylai's Crystal Scepter is a great item on Elise because lets admit it, with her Spider Form / Human Form she can becomes a somewhat bruiser and what kind of bruiser doesn't build tanky? Most importantly after they took the slow off her Neurotoxin / Venomous Bite she has been dying in need of something to stick on people.



Rod of Ages could also be viable because it offers the highest HP for an AP item. The only reason why it would not work with this item comp. is because everything else takes too long to make and if you were to go for this item instead you would already fall behind in your own build compared to everyone else.



Malady is extremely good on Elise, however there is a downside, it is only good as a mid game item. It has no potential late game and falls off hard. Unless you're aiming for complete dominance early game and have no sight for late game, go for it.



Nashor's Tooth I have seen so many guides that suggest using this item. I admit I too also thought that it would be a good item until I looked at other options like Trinity Force. Although it is a good item, it is not great. Trinity Force just brings more to the table than Nashor's Tooth. Sure the CDR is great and all, but its not worth sacrificing damage and tankiness over.

Gameplay/Roles

Top Lane
Elise is a unique top laner the reason for this is because of her strong mid game. She can become a second Ap carry. How many top laners can carry? As a top she has so many tools: a gap closer, stun, % heath burst. What kind of jungler wouldn't want to help snowball that lane? Its basically asking for the perfect gank.

Mid Lane
Her job here is like any other Ap mid, to win and help out the rest of the lane. For that purpose her item build here is more damage oriented rather than sustain. We go for an early Athene's Unholy Grail because normally you'll be going up against another Ap mid. It gives her so much mana sustain and that magic resistance just helps shut down your opponent. Normally what I like to do after I get a kill or reach level 6 is push my lane and go for ganks. I don't need to remind you why her ganks are so strong.

Jungle
Elise as a Jungle is strong, however because of how slow it is you won't be getting as much gold and experience as the other lanes unless you're just having the best game of your life then you might want to consider going for more damage oriented items such as Doran's Rings or rush that early Rabadon's Deathcap. Otherwise she is better as a support jungler as she can easily ruin somebody's day with her amazing ganks. Helping your lanes snowball is your prime goal, aside from buff control. Lastly her counter jungle is ridiculous. Her Cocoon / Rappel gives her so much vision you could steal a quick buff and Cocoon / Rappel to the Golems/Wraifs. Learn to do this and you are untouchable.

In Team Fights you should always be your job to focus/zone out the carries your Cocoon / Rappel allows you to do perfectly just that.