Welcome to my jungle guide for Elise, fellow summoners! The Spider Queen is an extremely versatile and unique champion. She shares the ability to switch between two forms, similar to Nidalee and Jayce. Elise makes for a viable solo top, mid and jungle. I find her to be the most effective in the jungle though, so that's what this guide will be all about.

It seems that people are having difficulties with building her well and choosing the right items. I'm not saying there's only one build for Elise that's the best since it always comes down to situational thinking. It's never a good idea to build loads of armor when the enemy team's AD champions are doing downright terrible or they're almost non-existent. Here's where I think people are going wrong: Elise doesn't scale with AP all that well and relying on Magic Penetration isn't wise if the enemy team isn't building a whole lot of Magic Resist. That's why it's best to build her really bulky. Her damage output is strong enough even without investing much in it and the tankiness is needed when you change to your Spider Form. The Spider Queen's burst in Human Form is rarely enough to take a healthy enemy down even when building AP, unless she's remarkably fed. This means that she has to get up close and personal. That's when she absolutely needs the defensive stats. The objective of this build is to make both of her forms viable and make them work well together. Her Human Form is great for initial burst and when the enemy is softened up, you can shift to Spider Form and finish off.

DISCLAIMER: I am by no means great at League of Legends, but I have strong belief in this sort of build on Elise and I'm constantly doing well with her using it.

If you have found this guide useful, don't forget to give me a positive rating. If you find something wrong with it, please leave a comment. I'm trying to make this guide as good as possible and any constructive feedback is welcome. Take into consideration that this build is not complete at all, I accidentally published it and can't unpublish it. That's why I keep it archived for now.

Pros Extremely versatile Rarely runs out of mana Eventually fun to play Overall good a good fit for jungling

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Cons Steep learning curve No reliable natural escape method Doesn't scale well with AP Item reliant

Simply put, your damage output becomes better with these.

These babies make your jungling much safer from the start.

For general tankiness. I prefer these over flat MR-runes because late game is when you have to deal with most of the magic damage.

Makes it easier for you to stick onto your target when chasing. You're able to clear the jungle and generally move around slightly faster.

A better option than Mental Force because few extra points in AP barely make any difference for Elise. Extra AD stacks up better.

Excellent for clearing jungle camps better at start.

Elise always benefits from CDR.

With these and the suggested runes your Magic Penetration is respectable from the get-go.

Extra gold. Remember to use that Smite.

Just for the bulkiness.

Helps a lot with jungling, just like Greater Seal of Armor.

Again, an optimal pick for a jungler. We also really want that Bladed Armor

Just for the bulkiness.

Makes a great difference at early game when it comes to taking beatings.

Absolutely awesome for jungling.

Elise benefits from extra movement speed so she can chase better, especially in early game when she doesn't have a slow etc.

Dat CDR.

An excellent mastery for a tanky champ.

Spider Queen summons a bunch of small spiders to fight with Elise whenever she turns into Spider Form. She generates these spiders up to a maximum of 2-5 (depending on the level of Spider Form / Human Form) by using abilities in Human Form. You shouldn't have to worry too much about generating new spiders since you should be using a lot of spells in Human Form anyways, especially just before changing into Spider Form to start your burst. The amount of damage your little companions are able to stack up makes a huge difference on your damage output. The spiders can block many skillshots like Blitzcrank's Rocket Grab or Morgana's Dark Binding. Enemy turrets will also prioritize them before you (unless you're attacking an enemy champion), which gives you more time to take them down.

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NOTE: Elise's abilities in Spider Form DO NOT cost any mana whatsoever.

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Neurotoxin (Human Form): A medium range spell that deals magic damage and a percentage of the target's current health depending on the amount of AP you have. A great poke against healthy enemies and an ideal starting point for your burst. Venomous Bite (Spider Form): Damage-wise very similar to your Human Form counterpart. It deals the same amount of base magic damage, but this time you do a percentage of the target's currently missing health. Venomous Bite has shorter range and Elise will lunge at her enemy when executing the ability. This ability is amazing for finishing off enemies or closing a short gap.

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Volatile Spiderling (Human Form): This ability has various purposes. You can facecheck bushes with it, you can poke with it, you can push and farm with it, you can jungle well with it and it's a big part of your burst. It's a weird skill shot, but once you get accustomed to it, you should be quite accurate with it. Fortunately the homing prioritizes enemy champions over enemy minions or jungle creeps. Skittering Frenzy (Spider Form): The main reason why Elise is a viable autoattacker, not just a spell caster. This is an excellent steroid and it even gives your spiderlings extra attack speed. Skittering Frenzy is also great for pushing, farming, and jungling. The heal isn't exceptional, but still gives some additional sustainability in the jungle.

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Cocoon (Human Form): Your one and only natural CC. Extremely important for ganking and initiating fights. It's kinda slow but I still find it quite easy to hit. Just be as unpredictable as possible with it. There's nothing better than hitting Cocoon and bursting your enemy dead afterwards. Rappel (Spider Form): An incredibly useful and unique ability. Rappel's great for chasing down enemies end escaping if you manage to place yourself near enemy minions or jungle creeps. I've also succesfully juked a group of enemies multiple times with it. It's often very situational whether you can escape with it effectively or not, just keep it in mind and position yourself accordingly. Remember that if you just click anything untargettable when using Rappel, you will simply jump up and stay there for up to two seconds. During this time you can use the ability again to choose a target and move to it regularly. If you do not target enything during this time, you will simply return to the same spot you used Rappel at in the first place. Rappel can be used to stall time, which is especially useful when you're being tower dived. You'd be amazed at how many times I've baited my enemy under an allied turret, dealt some damage and rappeled up to safety, picking up the kill or forcing my enemy to back off. This is also incredibly useful in teamfights - if you're being targeted, just Rappel up, observe the situation and try to make your escape or jump to a vulnerable champion for the easy kill. Rappel will reveal nearby bushes even when you're not in them yourself. This makes it even better for gapclosing since your enemy cannot hide. Rappel does not reveal enemy wards, but if they're revealed by something else ( Oracle's Elixir, Vision Ward), you can Rappel to them. You never know when this information becomes useful (it probably doesn't, though). There's an additional upside to Rappel - you can dodge incoming damage. Things like Karthus's Requiem and Vladimir's Hemoplague will not be a problem to you as long as you have rappel available and you use it fast enough / time it right. I've even used Rappel to direct an enemy turret's attention away from me. An amazing extra for an amazing ability.

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Not having an ultimate capable of doing actual damage is why Elise is not very viable as a pure ranged mage. Having Human Form and Spider Form is the main factor for why she is what she is. By leveling this ability your Spider Form gains bonus magic damage on autoattacks, extra Armor and Magic Resist, more Spiderlings with more damage and they will take less damage from multi-target abilities. These bonuses are huge. When your Cocoon is on cooldown, it's always wise to switch to spider form so your movement speed increases and your spiderlings can block some skillshots coming at you.

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Always put a point in Spider Form / Human Form whenever possible (meaning levels 6, 11 and 16). The amount of buffs your Spider Form gains is unmatched.

Volatile Spiderling / Skittering Frenzy is the most effective way to clear your jungle and that's why you want to max it first.

Next you oughta max Neurotoxin / Venomous Bite so your poke and burst will improve.

Take an early point in Cocoon / Rappel for utility and never touch it again until you've maxed everything else possible. Leveling this will only reduce it's cooldown. Nothing else. Not worth it.

I often prefer maxing Neurotoxin / Venomous Bite first when laning since it's a lot more mana efficient and makes last hitting a breeze in Spider Form if you're the dominant player in lane. On the other hand Volatile Spiderling / Skittering Frenzy grants you stronger and safer poke. Analyze your situation and choose accordingly.

Smite is absolutely necessary for Elise when jungling. Always, always, ALWAYS take it.

Flash is the ideal second summoner spell since Elise doesn't have a reliable escape mechanism of her own.

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Ghost isn't bad at all for tanky Elise, but since you're supposed to be roaming the jungle a lot, the capability to go through walls is something I don't want to give up.

Exhaust comes in handy when chasing enemies. You can get a slow from various viable items though, so this shouldn't replace the oh-so-important Flash.

Ignite is an excellent pick for laning (since smite is not needed), but Elise needs an extra escape method

Anything else than these four are not worth using in my humble opinion.

Mercury's Treads are most often your go-to boots. You won't get shut down as easily by CC.

Sorcerer's Shoes are a great alternative to the former, use them if you wanna be slightly more offensive. It's all up to your own preference.

Mobility Boots are great when you're doing really well. It helps you clear the jungle faster and gank a lot more often.

Ninja Tabi is very situational, only use it when up against a heavy AD team.

Heart of Gold is the item you want to pick up on your first return to base. If you can't afford it, start building it with Ruby Crystal. It's and excellent item for early game since it gives 5 gold per 10 seconds and some additional tankiness so you're better at initiating ganks. HoG will also be built into Randuin's Omen later.

An excellent early game item. Gives you all the Attack Speed and CDR you need. Makes clearing the jungle a much faster process. AP is nice.

Grants you some tankiness that you desperately need. The reason you really want to get this item over Warmog's Armor is because of the slow. Elise has an awesome gapcloser but she has difficulties sticking onto her target. That's where Rylai's Crystal Scepter comes in. AP is nice.

Let's you take loads of Attack Damage like a boss. Maximizes your CDR and the Active is really helpful in team fights or securing kills from escaping enemies.

Take this before Randuin's Omen in case you're up against heavier Magic Damage. An useful item in every way.

The ultimate defensive item. We all know it.

philosopher's stone

Philosopher's Stone provides the same extra gold that Heart of Gold does, but otherwise it's not quite as useful. The health and mana regeneration is good for sustain if you're giving your blue to someone else, though. If your ganks have been unsuccesful so far and you find yourself a bit behind in cash flow, it's still a good item. You can build it into Shurelya's Battlesong later but I wouldn't recommend it since there are better items for Elise. Just sell it when something better becomes available.

All of these items are viable, but the huge amount of CDR Nashor's Tooth grants you is unmatched and I don't think Elise needs additional offensive items.

If you do want to use one of the above items instead of Nashor's Tooth, build this over Randuin's Omen for the CDR. It isn't the perfect item since Elise can handle herself well without extra mana and you're missing out on extra health.

It's better to build this as your last item if you're struggling mostly with incoming Magic Damage.

Zhonya's Hourglass is often an ideal item for a squishy AP Carry that tends to get targeted first. You already have Rappel to stall time, direct the damage away from you and reposition yourself to a safer spot, so I don't find the Active necessary. Elise is quite capable of soaking up some damage with this build anyways. If you're going for a more offensive build, go ahead and buy it.

Elise is a great jungler because she has decent clearing speed and sustain and excellent ganks. Her ability to jump to any jungle creep she wants is most useful when counterjungling and when being counterjungled.

I strongly suggest taking the generic jungling route at start, which is:

Wolves -> Blue -> Wraiths -> Golems -> Red -> Wraiths

If it seems like you won't be able to gank any lane, feel free to take wolves also.

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Jungle Camp Wraiths Wolves Golems Blue Red Dragon Baron

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Initial Spawn Time 1:40 1:40 1:40 1:55 1:55 2:30 15:00

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Respawn Time 0:50 1:00 1:00 5:00 5:00 6:00 7:00

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A good jungler will remember this list by heart and will take note when buffs and dragon will spawn next.

I've noticed that Elise has some problems on her first visit to the jungle. Hopefully you can get a leash and someone to help do damage for blue. After the route you should be level 4 and ready to gank. If you were left with too low health to gank efficiently, go back to base and grab that Ruby Crystal for extra HP.

If one of your teammates is in serious need of sustain, go ahead and give the second blue to them. At this point you'll be getting Nashor's Tooth (and maybe Philosopher's Stone which should be good enough to keep your mana up. At mid game your health sustain is good enough to handle using just the Spider Form and late game you barely even have any problems with mana.

Elise is not the greatest counter jungler but she's not bad either. Her early game is quite squishy so if you get caught early on, you must rely on your agility. Escaping from just your enemy jungler should be relatively easy because you can simply stun them and start running. Juking with Rappel is never a bad idea if you get the chance. Her clear speed increases when you get an offensive item after GP10-items ( Heart of Gold, Philosopher's Stone), so that's an ideal time to strike. Don't go in there when in low health. You should feel a lot safer when you have Oracle's Elixir with you. Once you get your first few final items, Elise becomes much better at invading the enemy jungle since she becomes good at 1v1-situations.

You might wind up with low hp after the jungle route, but ganking solo lanes (mid and top) is still relatively easy to pull off because once you hit your stun, the enemy will suffer as long as your laning teammate is there to fight. Ganking bot is risky since you can only stun one enemy while the other one has a chance to wipe you off the map.

Remember to put a point in Cocoon / Rappel before ganking, it's essential for the stun and gap closer.

When ganking, start with your Cocoon on the enemy that's the easiest to kill (or hit). Hitting this skillshot is crucial for your success, so try to be unpredictable with it since enemies tend to flash out of it or simply juke you. Try to time your gank well so enemy minions won't come between you and the enemy. Hitting Cocoon on a minion is somewhat frustrating. Right after that go for Neurotoxin, then Volatile Spiderling. Change to Spider Form, use Venomous Bite and then start autoattacking with Skittering Frenzy. If you're not done, keep autoattacking and Venomous Biting whenever it's available. You should be changing back to Human Form at the latest when you think your Cocoon is out of cooldown in case the engage is still going on to stun again.

So basically: Cocoon (Human E) -> Neurotoxin (Human Q) -> Volatile Spiderling (Human W) -> Venomous Bite (Spider Q) -> Autoattack with Skittering Frenzy (Spider W), close the gap with Rappel (Spider E) whenever your target gets too far.

You can also initiate with rappel if you're not confident in your stun (too many minions in the way etc.). Afterwards you can return to your Human Form and start executing the normal combo.

Gank whenever it seems beneficial. It's always nice to get a kill for your team but it's also useful to just deal good damage in a lane. It will give your teammates the upper hand. Try to find a good balance between jungling and ganking.