Pros
Can clear waves really quickly
Good base speed
Free spells in spider form


Cons
No slows (hard to stick to target)
Takes a few games to learn how to use her spells effectively
You need to master her cooldowns to team fight effectively

Passive: Spider Swarm

When Elise's Human Form spells hit an enemy, she readies a Spiderling. When Elise transforms, she summons Spiderlings to attack nearby foes. The maximum number of spiderlings increases with Spider Form's level.

Explanation:


Spiderlings don't do a whole lot of damage, but they are great for pushing turrets and their damage does add up. Don't think too much about this, as you'll be generally using spells enough that you'll usually be maxed on spiderlings. If they die, you'll probably get your spiderling count up pretty quickly.

Q: Neurotoxin / Venomous Bite

While in Human form: Deals magic damage equal to a base amount plus a percentage of the target's current health. Damage is capped against monsters.

While in Spider form: Elise lunges to a target with a poisonous bite that deals magic damage equal to a base amount plus a percentage of the target's missing health. Damage is capped against monsters.

Explanation:


Your bread and butter skill. In human form, this is your main poke and damage in lane. It's nice for taking a chunk out of a full-health squishy or softening up a tank with little MR. A great spell all around, and even nicer because it has a flat mana cost.

In spider form, this is your finisher. Your execute. It doesn't hit quite as hard as a Lee Sin Q or a Volibear W, but it does do substantial damage.

Try to use this spell whenever it's up, especially in human form, as long as you have mana.

W: Volatile Spiderling / Skittering Frenzy

While in Human form: Summons a venom-gorged Spiderling that moves to target location and explodes, dealing magic damage to nearby enemies when it nears an enemy unit or after 3 seconds.

While in Spider form: (Passive): Spiderlings gain bonus attack speed.

(Active): Increases the attack speed of Elise and her Spiderlings for 3 seconds. While active, Elise is healed when she or her spiderlings attack.

Explanation:


In human form, this spell actually does a surprisingly large amount of damage. It is kind of a skillshot and kind of like a Maokai sapling. It can (and should) be used to give vision of bushes). It does good AoE damage, so this is your main wave clear. But it is very slow and doesn't explodes on any enemy contact including minions, so it's not worth using that much in lane. It does home a little, so if the enemy is too close and not blocked by minions feel free to fire one straight at him and it'll chase him on. Later on, it can be used to effectively zone people.

In spider form, this is the other half of your wave clear. It's also a bit of sustain. In jungle, it's your main damage. In lane it doesn't heal you that much, but it is free, so if the enemy lets you attack minions from melee range for free then take the free health. Late game, when you have more spiderlings and AP, you can easily get 300 health back from this. The duration is short, so make sure your spiderlings have fully spawned and are attacking before casting this!

Oh, and this spell absolutely destroys turrets. Abuse this.

E: Cocoon / Rappel

While in Human form: Elise fires a web that stuns the first enemy hit for 1.5 seconds.

While in Spider form:

- On enemy cast: Elise and her spiderlings ascend high into the air and descend upon an enemy target.

- On ground cast: Elise and her spiderlings ascend high into the air, becoming untargetable for two seconds. Casting Rappel on a nearby enemy during this time will descend upon your target.


Explanation:


In human form, this is a pretty decent stun, but it's a thin projectile and not easy to hit. In lane, don't spam this unless you're bullying your opponent and have the mana to spam this and try to go for kills. Try to save it for when your jungler is ganking or you need to make a hasty escape. In fights, I like to hold this as a clutch stun / peel unless I can hit a priority target with it (for example, sniping their AD carry after someone else CCs them).

In spider form, this is your gap closer and escape. Use this to dodge CC as well as to avoid heavy damage spells or global ults like Requiem or Enchanted Crystal Arrow. You can also use this as your gap closer, and you will come down on top of your opponent as long as they are in your circle when you cast it (even if they flash or blink away). As you're falling, you should be hitting Q to execute them if they're low. Unfortunately, once you're up in the air, you can only come straight down or onto an enemy, so if the enemies just sit under you and wait you can try to escape to a minion or jungle creep. This skill also gives you vision in the circle, so you don't need to have a teammate or ward on the other side of a wall to hop it as long as there as an enemy or minion to hop to.

This spell's cooldown is really really long in both forms, so make sure you are careful with it (especially in spider form). Keep in mind that if you use it as your gap closer, you have no way to escape.




R: Spider Form / Human Form

While in Human form: Elise transforms into a menacing spider with new abilities. While in Spider Form, Elise deals magic bonus damage on attack and has increased Movement Speed, Armor, and Magic Resistance. Each level of her ultimate allows Elise to summon an additional spiderling.

While in Spider form: Elise transforms into a human form with new abilities. Each level of her ultimate allows Elise to summon an additional spiderling.

Explanation:



This is what makes Elise unique. You have this available from level 1. It gives you an extra bit of beefiness and move speed, so always use this when you are running around to or between lanes or camps. It also gives you a bit of damage on auto attacks as well as spiderlings, so use this whenever you're clearing waves or pushing turrets. The spiderlings don't seem like they do much damage, but it adds up, especially late game when you have a small army of them and some AP to scale them.