Ezreal Build Guide by TheQWERTYman

Intro

Hi, this is my guide to playing Ezreal. Everything you need to know about kiting, sniping, and playing with Ezreal - is RIGHT HERE.

Something like a 'disclaimer'

NOTE: I do not guarantee that you will wreak havoc with this build if you're not highly skilled with this champion.
Use this build ONLY if you really know how to kite, snipe, keep distance, escape ganks, lasthit, use your abilties wisely, etc.
Playing Ezreal this way is VERY HARD and tricky, but it's really hilarious once you learn to do it.
I had a couple of games that I had 1/10 until I learned to kite, but once I learned it, I had games like 26/2, 31/3, etc.


So, in other words, it's immensely hard to play Ez this way, but it's really great once you get used to it.

Pros / Cons

Ezreal's Pros:
+a scary AP carry once he gets his items
+global ultimate
+can turn the tides of teamfights
+very high damage
+decent burst damage
+can kite ANYONE
+abilities have huge range
+usually not team dependent
+once you learn to play him this way, you'll do pentakills with your eyes closed

Ezreal's Cons:
-highly skill dependent
-expensive core build
-full of skillshots
-Mejai is a core item
-requires kiting skills
-ultra squishy
-it's VERY HARD to play him as a Kitemaster
-needs to keep his distance from everyone

Summoner spells

I take Ghost and Flash, as I kite as much as I can with this build.

Why do you get Flash, Ez already has one. - Because I need it to escape the champions that can always catch up with me. (Kassadin, Master Yi, etc.) Also, Arcane Shift sometimes isn't enough.

Spells that are also possible:
Clarity - Mana hungry? Get this.
Ignite - Enemies run away with 50 HP? This.
Exhaust - Much better 1v1, also possible for kiting.
Teleport - Get to lane faster, teleport to wards.
Cleanse - Also good if you still aren't a good kiter.
Heal - Can save you in a pinch, although I'm not really a big fan of this.
Clairvoyance - Good synergy with Trueshot Barrage.

Abilties

Passive - - Rising Spell Force - You can ignore this for this build. Gives you attack speed that you probably won't need. Might help you in some 1v1 fights, but it really doesn't make a difference. This can help you push a bit, but not much.


Q - - Mystic Shot - Once you get your Lich Bane, this becomes your bread and butter. This skill has incredible range, and incredible damage once you get enough AP. It also has a pretty low CD. You take one point at level 1, and leave it until level 14, then you should have Lich Bane ready. This skill will let you harass in your lane, and will do crazy DPS once you get the right items.


W - - Essence Flux - This shares the position of your bread and butter with your E until you get Lich Bane. It also does quite decent damage and can help in 1v1 battles with the AS reduce. The projectile is also a little wider than it looks, so it actually has deceptively long range and a bigger chance to hit.


E - - Arcane Shift - Your primary kiting skill. You will escape through walls and last-hit champions with it. Shares the position of your bread and butter with W until you get Lich Bane. It can also be used to dodge skillshots like Rocket Grab, Finales Funkeln, or maybe an another Ezreal's Trueshot Barrage.


Ultimate - - Trueshot Barrage - Your global ultimate that does vast damage. Scales with AP greatly. (0.9) You can use it to finish off enemies, surprise them from a bush, or do a counter attack. This also takes skill to aim, and reaches its full potential in a teamfight, where it can do most damage. It can also clear a wave of creeps, but I don't recommend it, since it has too much CD.

Laning

As Ezreal, you should try laning against champions with low harassment so that you can dominate them easily and reach full potential.

TAKE MID. YOU NEED IT. Last-hit only, don't push, and try to hit your enemies with Mystic Shot as much as possible.

If the enemy has low health, but a bit more than you, try to provoke them into the bush that leads to the river, unload Mystic Shot and Essence Flux once they are close to the bush, and Arcane Shift over them back to your side of the lane. You won't get damaged alot, but you will do nice damage.

Once you hit level 6, try to find an enemy that has low health, and you can use your ultimate on them. Look for ganks, and try to do a kill, or at least an assist. You can do it by simply hitting an enemy with an autoattack, and letting your ally kill him. You'll get some gold.

Try to last-hit from a distance, and stick close to your side of the lane if you don't have an enemy minion to last-hit. Everyone loves ganking Ezreal.

Items

First off, you will notice that Ezreal is very squishy with this build, and is a total glass cannon. You'll wonder why.
It's very simple - if you're a Kitemaster, you will be able to keep your distance from enemies, and will ensure that you won't get hit. For what do you need survivability if you will rarely get hit?

Your item build really depends on how well can you kite.


If you are a Kitemaster, take the build in the item order.

If enemies catch up with you sometimes, you can follow this.
If you are still learning how to kite, you should take this:

Items actually depend on your kiting skills. If you can kite forever and you have no problem with low HP, armor and MR, you can take the position of the glass cannon and build pure offense. However, you're gonna have to be much more careful that way.

If you don't know how to kite yet, I suggest getting more beefier and getting items that can deny killing you with ease. (Banshee, Zhonya)

Anyway, your core build if you are the Kitemaster is:
Sorcerer's Shoes
Mejai's Soulstealer
Rabadon's Deathcap
Lich Bane

This is quite expensive, but you will get the gold if you play well.

Your combos

Ezreal is a pretty good champion at executing these kinds of oombos I will show you:


The Kite Combo:
-most important combo for you

You keep some distance from your enemies, hit them with Mystic Shot as much as possible, and use Essence Flux if the enemy reaches you and is a DPS. If they get too close, use Arcane Shift. You can run in a bush, and execute the counter-attack.


The Counter Attack Combo
-very effective against glass cannons

Run into a bush with Ghost when your enemy is chasing you. After they come close enough, use Deathfire Grasp, then your Trueshot Barrage, then use Mystic Shot and Essence Flux If they start running, use Arcane Shift to catch up. If they are glass cannons, you can do it without your ultimate.


Maximum Damage Combo
-deals a high amount of it, but takes enough time

Deathfire Grasp --> Mystic Shot --> Trueshot Barrage --> Mystic Shot --> Essence Flux --> Mystic Shot --> Arcane Shift - Mystic Shot - Essence Flux --> Mystic Shot --> Arcane Shift --> Mystic Shot - etc.
Just use your Mystic Shot after your other abilities.

Teamfights

You can be a part of teamfights, but, as you are squishy and deal high damage, you will get targeted often. Try to snipe over walls or keep your distance as much as you can. You can also play the role of an assassin. (cleanup) If you can't reach the enemy, use Essence Flux on your allies: you will get assists if they kill someone. Use Trueshot Barrage from anywhere, even if you aren't close to the teamfight, and try to hit as many enemies as possible with it.

Kiting & Kite list

The form of kiting I use is running away from your enemies, but doing damage to them at the same time. That's why I pick Ezreal.

Why do you kite with Ezreal? Because his kiting skills are really godlike. Q, W, E all let him do brilliant damage, and E gives him a built-in flash. What's not to like?

Most of your kiting comes from Arcane Shift. This is, by my part, one of the best kiting skills in the game. It's the pure definition of kiting. You get some distance between you and your enemy, and you damage him if he's chasing you. Isn't it just perfect?

DO NOT MISUNDERSTAND ME. Being a Kitemaster doesn't mean that kiting is your primary objective. You deal loads of damage with your combo, and snipe people with Trueshot Barrage. If you have the opportunity to kite, do it.

Now, I give you a list of champions, and I give you my opinion about kiting them.

Very hard / impossible.
Hard to kite.
Not easy to kite, but not too hard.
Quite easy to kite in most cases.
Your primary kiting targets.


Akali - Quite hard to kite, due to her ultimate, She can close distance between you. Not once or twice. Three times. If you kite her, try to kite her through the fog of war. She is an assassin, and will eat you if you let her stick too long to you. Beware hear dreaded Shadow Dance.

Alistar - Not too hard, but you need to keep distance and not let him Headbutt you. I advise that you pick Ghost against him, and keep distance. He doesn't do alot of damage, but can CC you back into his team, making him a potential threat.

Amumu - This guy is quite hard to kite. He can CC you long enough so that the entire enemy team has time to catch up to you. Try to keep as much distance as you can, and don't let him get in range so that he can use his ultimate. I recommend that you juke him as much as possible to avoid his Bandage Toss.

Anivia - Ohhh.... Articuno. She has 2 AOE slows, a wall of impassable terrain, and high damage. KEEP. DISTANCE. FROM. HER. Try to evade her Flash Frost if you can. And use your blink through her ice wall if you can. And for heaven's sake, RUN AWAY FROM HER ULTIMATE.

Annie - She has no flash and is quite slow. You should kite her as much as possible, as it will be quite easy. But you should know one thing. Yes, she is kiteable, but that doesn't mean that she won't eat you alive once you get to her. STAY AWAY FROM HER. HER COMBO WILL 3-HIT YOU AND YOU WILL NEVER SURVIVE IF SHE STUNS YOU. KEEP YOUR DISTANCE OR SHE WILL SQUASH YOU IN 2 SECONDS.

Ashe - Ah. This champion is also quite adept at kiting. She does decent damage, and has so many slows. Try to dodge her ultimate with your E if you can. It will often result in your death if it hits you. Try to kite her through the Fog of War and keep your distance from her Volley.

Blitzcrank - AW GOD NO. Blitz will deny your kiting with his grab. Kiting Blitz is kinda all in. If he misses his grab, you're good to go. If he hits you, you're f*cked. Try to juke and move in weird ways to deny his grab.

Brand - Hmm... this guy does really huge damage, but you can neglect it easily by keeping away from him. Try to move in weird ways to avoid his abilities. HOWEVER, don't let him stun you. If he stuns you, you'll end up fried.

Caitlyn - Oh, it's the most overpowered champion. Hello! ^_^
No, seriously, her autoattacks, Q and R have huge range, and she can immobilize you with her traps. She will also catch up through walls. Try to juke her and avoid her skillshots. AND RUN BACK TO BASE IF YOU ARE LOW ON HEALTH. Her ultimate does really too high damage late game.

Cassiopeia - Not really hard to kite, although you are...hmm...f*cked if she hits you with her poison blast. She will then unload her E at you and deal really high damage. Try to keep distance from her, and if she gets too close, make sure you aren't facing her, or you'll get stunned.

Cho'Gath - Hahahaha... you can kite this guy all day. You can easily evade his knock-up if you aren't stupid, and his abilities all have a really short range. Although, beware his ganks if you have low health. He can use his ultimate to deal surprising damage.

Corki - He is full of skillshots, and you can easily juke and kite him. However, use your blink if he gets too close with Valkyrie.


Master Yi - This guy is so fast that it's just wrong. He can close distance between you two easily, and you usually have to jump over walls to kite him. If the enemy team has a Yi, I recommend taking Flash.


TO BE FINISHED LATER.

Tips & Tricks

Use Deathfire Grasp before you start dealing other damage, as it doesn't base of maximum health, but CURRENT health.

You can use Mystic Shot to check bushes, as it makes a sound if it hits someone, and will give you a stack of your passive.

It probably doesn't matter much with this build, but you can use Essence Flux and Trueshot Barrage to fill up stacks on your passive.

Essence Flux can be used to get assists by hitting an ally with it, and have the ally kill an enemy a few seconds later.

Arcane Shift is good for escaping, but sometimes isn't enough. Don't overestimate that escape ability.

Once you get Rylai's Crystal Scepter, you can kite with Arcane Shift even easier, as it will now let you flash, do damage, and slow your chaser.

Conclusion

This guide is not quite over yet, as I need to complete my list of champions you can kite, but you can rate and comment below. Thanks for reading!

-TheQWERTYman