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Recommended Items
Spells:
Flash
Smite
Items
Ability Order
Introduction

Elise's



When we've got the basic Magic Penetration items, it's time to look for ways to survive team fights.
In this guide I will teach you how to play Elise as a jungler who can survive a rough beating while maintaining the ability to deal quite a lot of damage!
Pros
- + Amazing burst damage - Anti Tank
- + Strong ganks and difficult to catch
- + Can be quite tanky
- + Great sustain while in Spider Form
- + Strong early-mid game
- + Very strong 1v1 fights
Cons
- - Takes some time to get used to
- - Vulnerable when abilities are on cooldown
- - Your late-game usefulness depends on early kills/assists
- - Not very useful against multiple targets
- - Scares people with arachnophobia
![]() Transform - R |
This ability is what makes ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
![]() Spider Swarm |
![]() ![]() Your Spiderlings are very important! If you can get them to tank the jungle monsters, you can avoid taking damage for a few seconds which combined with the healing effect from ![]() ![]() Spiderlings also allow you to do some quick physical damage - useful when taking down a Turret. Lastly, they are great for blocking skill shots. Imagine being chased by a team with a ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
![]() Neurotoxin - Q |
![]() ![]() Now imagine casting it on an enemy with 4000 Health. By the time an enemy has that much Health, your ![]() |
![]() Venomous Bite - Q |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() On thing to note is, that you will do a short leap to the target, which allows you to catch up to an enemy that is just out of reach. Your Spiderlings leap as well no matter how far away they are. |
![]() Volatile Spiderling - W |
This ability is available in Human Form and summons a ![]() The fact that it chases enemies after skittering for the full length of the skill shot allows you to do damage from a great distance in case you need to poke. It allows you to check the brush too. Also, the Volatile Spiderling is a Spiderling too, meaning that it will leap towards your target if you transform and cast ![]() ![]() This ability has a higher base damage than the two previous abilities, and it scales fairly well with Ability Power too. |
![]() Skittering Frenzy - W |
This ability is available in Spider Form and grants you and your Spiderlings Attack Speed while healing you with each hit done by you or a Spiderling. Passively, your Spiderlings' Attack Speed is increased by up to 25%. This ability is what makes ![]() ![]() |
![]() Cocoon - E |
This ability is available in Human Form and is one of ![]() ![]() |
![]() Rappel - E |
This ability is available in Spider Form and is ![]() When cast on the ground, ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() If cast directly on a unit, she will lift and immediately descend upon the it. Uses for this ability will be explained in the chapter below. |
Your Role as the Jungler
Some people think that the jungler is supposed to babysit the whole map - all three lanes - however, that is not possible. While a jungler sure can carry a team, it is not his responsibility to win the individual lanes. Sometimes it simply isn't possible to gank a lane successfully, either because your team is pushing too much, or because all the possible ganking routes are crowded with Sight Wards. You are NOT the babysitter. Your job is to help your team mates win their lanes, but if the AD Carry is a really, REALLY bad last-hitter, you alone are not going to save the lane entirely. Everyone has to do their job.It is not uncommon that the team starts blaming other team members for losing the game - that's one thing. Something I hate even more is when people accuse me of kill stealing when I gank their lane. Of course, the gold earned from kills will benefit the team much more, if the carries for instance get more than the support. Having a fed support and a hopeless AD Carry is not going to win the game. However, if the ganked enemy is about to escape, you better cast that last-hitting

Some junglers aren't supposed to get kills. As a







Jungling
Start with the



After killing both buff monsters, move on to the wraiths or the small golems. Be sure to be at least level 3 before attempting a gank - unless you see a really good opportunity and decide to throw a point in

As a rule of thumb it is a good idea to focus the largest monster when clearing a jungle camp. Kill the big wolf before taking care of the small ones - kill the big wraith before taking care of the small ones. This is especially important when dealing with a creature that grants a buff. However, I find that you take less damage from the small Golems, if you kill the small one before the bigger one. That's because the small one is really easy to take down quickly - and when it's dead, it can't hurt you.
After clearing the jungle, you're free to do what you want. If there are any ganking opportunities, don't hesitate to gank the lane. If all lanes are pushed and no one from your team is having any difficulties, just stay in the jungle and keep clearing the camps to earn gold and experience.
In order to clear the camps as fast as possible, start in Human Form and spam your abilities (not


IMPORTANT: Sometimes NOT clearing the jungle camps can save your life.


Ganking
Common ganking skill combo:
When ganking a lane, try to land your



Switch to Spider Form and cast






Sometimes, the enemy has pushed so far that you don't need to cast an initiating


Map Awareness
Some would say that the jungler is the most difficult role to play in a game of Summoner's Rift. This is because he has to 'know' exactly what happens in 'every' part of the map. While you can't actually know what happens in the fog of war, you can figure some out. Notice how your enemies behave - especially their jungler! What is he trying to do, and can you stop him from achieving anything? Counter-jungling is annoying. Seriously, I hate it when either the




Knowing where the enemy jungler is helps a lot because it allows you to counter-gank, push a Turret etc. For instance: If the enemy jungler ganks the top lane, you know that he won't be around to counter-gank the mid or bot lanes. If you pay attention to the enemy jungler, you might be able to steal one of his buffs or prevent him from stealing one of your's.
Map awareness is crucial and is difficult to achieve without wards. Remember that the Support isn't the only player responsible for map vision. It is a good idea to ward certain locations as a jungler, because you're pretty much all over the map. Buff monsters camps, the


This is how you want to spend your points.
Volatile Spiderling and
Skittering Frenzy helps clearing the first jungle camps a lot faster while also healing
Elise with each auto attack done by her or her spiderlings. Thereafter you'll want a point in
Neurotoxin/
Venomous Bite to clear the remaining jungle camps even faster.
Cocoon and
Rappel are your ganking tools, so you should learn these skills at level 3 (or level 2 if you prefer to gank early) and max them last.
Neurotoxin and
Venomous Bite are your primary damage sources and that's why they should be maxed as early as possible. Thereafter, max
Volatile Spiderling and
Skittering Frenzy to boost your damage even more. Lastly, max
Cocoon and
Rappel to decrease their cooldown. Don't forget, though, to put a point in
Spider Form / Human Form at level 6, 11, and 16 to increase your maximum number of Spiderlings and also gain some Armor and Magic Resistance.
Remember: the higher the Health of the opponent, the more damage is done by
Neurotoxin - and the lower the Health of the opponent, the more damage is done by
Venomous Bite. That means that your burst damage will be maximized, if you start in Human Form and switch to Spider Form, when the enemy is below 50% Health.














Remember: the higher the Health of the opponent, the more damage is done by


Starting Items
You are the jungler, so start with


Early Game
You should be able to stay on the battlefield until you've got about 1000-2000 gold - if you gank and pick up a kill (or even an assist), it shouldn't be difficult. If you have 1100 gold, buy





Mid Game
Now is the time to pres Tab. Which opponent is hitting harder, and are they dealing physical or magic damage? Your choice of defensive items is important, and it has to match the enemies' damage types.
![]() Spirit Visage |
This Items is great when dealing with heavy bursts of Magic Damage. Not only does it grant 55 Magic Resistance - it also grants 200 Health, 20% Cooldown Reduction and makes Heals and Regeneration effects on yourself 20% more powerful. The cooldowns on ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
![]() Frozen Heart |
If the enemy AD Carry scares you, this item helps nicely. 95 Armor is quite a lot and you also get 400 Mana and 20% Cooldown Reduction. You'll never have Mana problems and your cooldowns are only 4/5 of what they were. The most awesome thing about this item, though, is the Unique Passive. It's basically a debuff aura that causes enemies to hit slower. This item makes a big difference in team fights - especially because ![]() ![]() Alternatively, you can buy ![]() |
Remember that you will have the maximum amount of Cooldown Reduction if you chose to buy both
Spirit Visage and
Frozen Heart (it caps at 40%). Your
Cocoon's cooldown should be 6 seconds and
Rappel's cooldown should be 10.8 seconds at max rank. But those are just the escape/chase tools. Cooldown Reduction also increases your damage output.
Neurotoxin and
Venomous Bite can both be cast once every 3.6 seconds at max rank. Decrease your cooldowns and watch your damage skyrocket!






![]() Giant's Belt |
If the enemy team's Magic and Physical Damage are equally powerfull (or powerless) and you can't decide which of the items you want, get some Health instead. ![]() ![]() ![]() |
![]() Sunfire Cape |
I've been asked why I don't buy ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() The main reason why I usually don't purchase this item is because it does not grant any Cooldown Reduction which is very important on ![]() ![]() ![]() |
![]() Randuin's |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
![]() Warmog's |
By the time you have bought a Magic Resistance item and an Armor item, the best way to remain tanky in the late game is to even further increase your Health total unless one damage type on the enemy team is extraordinarily powerful. ![]() ![]() |
Late Game
When you've built similarly to this:




![]() Liandry's Torment |
Upgrade ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
![]() Abyssal ScepterOR![]() Void Staff |
These items are very similar. They both grant you 70 Ability Power - so that's a tie. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
![]() Deathfire Grasp |
I mentioned earlier that I won't bother buying Ability Power items on ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Engage the fight with ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
You're probably wondering: "What about the Machete?"
Sometimes I sell it - sometimes I upgrade it. These are the useful items it can be upgraded into:


The Wraith is great because it gives Spell Vamp. You deal a lot of damage, and you heal yourself for 20% of the Magic Damage dealt with this item (actually, it's 24% with

Remember that both of these items grant you the last 10% Cooldown Reduction, if you chose to get


These items are completely optional, though there are only few efficient ways to gain Tenacity - the most efficient being

Like I said in the introduction:
Elise is a deadly off-tank. But sometimes, you might want to build her with more damage items than usual. I am sure most of you are familiar with the term 'snowballing', but I'll take the liberty of explaining it anyway.
Basically, 'snowballing' is when a champion gets an early kill or two, thereby gain more gold than the other players, and as a result become very powerful compared to team mates and enemies alike. Their power will typically grow exponentially - much like a snowball rolling down a snowy hill - hence the name.
Sometimes, I get up to 5 (maybe more) early kills on
Elise and spending all the gold on defensive items is a waste in such a situation. If YOU'RE the one who does the most damage, go get that
Void Staff or
Deathfire Grasp, 'cause in 'snowballing' situations, damage will help your team much more.
The 'ideal' damage build on
Elise would be this:
Sorcerer's Shoes,
Liandry's Torment,
Rylai's Crystal Scepter,
Deathfire Grasp,
Void Staff and
Abyssal Mask. The reason this build is not among those at the top of the page, is because you will simply die too quickly - unless you're really, really, really (REALLY!) snowballing.
But in situations where you don't get any early kills - and that happens - don't buy too many damage items, 'cause you'll most likely end up feeding the enemy team. Buying defensive items is always the safe option while damage items are more risky to build because you leave less space for defensive ones. Just remember that the safe option isn't always the best one.

Basically, 'snowballing' is when a champion gets an early kill or two, thereby gain more gold than the other players, and as a result become very powerful compared to team mates and enemies alike. Their power will typically grow exponentially - much like a snowball rolling down a snowy hill - hence the name.
Sometimes, I get up to 5 (maybe more) early kills on



The 'ideal' damage build on







But in situations where you don't get any early kills - and that happens - don't buy too many damage items, 'cause you'll most likely end up feeding the enemy team. Buying defensive items is always the safe option while damage items are more risky to build because you leave less space for defensive ones. Just remember that the safe option isn't always the best one.
The only thing we want in the Offense tree is the Magic Penetration. 8% is quite a lot, considering you don't have to spend a single piece of gold to get it.
The rest of the point should be put into the Defense tree. You're the jungler, so you'll want
Tough Skin
and
Bladed Armor
, but the rest is up to you. I usually go with Masteries as shown above and below, but it all depends on how you want to play. Example:
If you are not concerned about enemy Crowd Control, then
Tenacious
is a waste of points, while
Juggernaut
would provide you with more health - and that could come in handy in intense team fights.
If you're worried about an enemy
Tryndamere or
Ashe,
Reinforced Armor
can save your life, because those champions passively get Critical Strike Chance.
If you want to be able to tower dive early on,
Safeguard might shield you from that otherwise fatal turret shot (the fact that
Lee Sin's W has the same name as the Mastery causes a problem here).
This is what I recommend, but you can always adjust it to your play style.
The rest of the point should be put into the Defense tree. You're the jungler, so you'll want


If you are not concerned about enemy Crowd Control, then


If you're worried about an enemy



If you want to be able to tower dive early on,


This is what I recommend, but you can always adjust it to your play style.
![]() Magic Penetration |
I've talked enough about Magic Penetration. I don't think I even have to explain why ![]() |
![]() Armor |
This is a jungle guide, and monsters deal some damage early on, but fear not! ![]() |
![]() Magic Resistance |
As for Glyphs, you'll want some Magic Resist. You can buy flat ones if you like, but ![]() |
![]() Movement Speed |
I used to go with ![]() I know that Armor and Magic Penetration don't affect the clear time, because Armor doesn't do damage and neither does Magic Penetration, because the monsters have no Magic Resistance to penetrate. I would have thought, though, that Movement Speed would speed up the process, but it really doesn't do any noticeable difference. So I conclude, that your Quintessences should be chosen depending on how you want to play. While ![]() If you want to do successful ganks early (and why wouldn't you?), the ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
![]() Smite |
You're the jungler - pick ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
![]() Flash |
Even with ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() If you want, you can replace ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
![]() Ignite |
If you chose ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
![]() Exhaust |
If you really want to replace ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
![]() Teleport |
Teleport is an amazing ganking tool if you know how to communicate with your team. I find the bot lane very difficult to gank compared to the other lanes, because it is almost always warded. Teleport makes ganking the bot lane much easier if your support has warded the lane bushes and the enemy bot laners are pushing. Remember that a ward becomes visible to the enemy team when someone is teleporting to it, so utilizing ![]() Teleport can also be cast on certain other units like ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
4/11 - 13:
5/11 - 13:
9/29 - 13:
10/1 - 13:
10/3 - 13:
10/8 - 13:
What's to come:
- Added Ability Explanation chapter
- Added
Exhaust to the Summoner Spells chapter
- Did some formating in the Ability Explanation and the Summoner Spells chapters
5/11 - 13:
- Did some formating in the Items and Runes chapters
9/29 - 13:
- Added sections about
Sunfire Aegis,
Randuin's Omen and
Warmog's Armor to the Items chapter
- Added
Teleport to the Summoner Spells chapter.
- Updated builds and added the Swift Assassin build.
10/1 - 13:
- Added a section about
Deathfire Grasp to the items chapter
- Updated the Pros and Cons chapter.
10/3 - 13:
- Added the Items Continued: Deadly or Durable chapter.
10/8 - 13:
- Updated the jungle route in the Jungling and Ganking chapter
What's to come:
- I will add a discussion of
Locket of the Iron Solari to the Items chapter
- A Team Fights chapter
Thank you very much for reading my guide. I hope you have learned something. This is the second guide that I have published. The other one was for
Kayle and people seemed to think, I did pretty well with it. But it's outdated now due to the changes from Season 2 to Season 3. Maybe I'll update it sometime.
If you think something should be explained further, or if you have something to add, send me a message and help me improve the guide. I've put a lot of effort into this, so I'd like some feedback. I'm open to criticism.
Note: I actually use a similar build when playing
Zac in the jungle. Maybe I'll do a guide for him as well someday.
Have fun rampaging!

If you think something should be explained further, or if you have something to add, send me a message and help me improve the guide. I've put a lot of effort into this, so I'd like some feedback. I'm open to criticism.
Note: I actually use a similar build when playing

Have fun rampaging!
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