Fiora Build Guide by GKav3

Introduction

Hi, I'm GKav3 and this is my first attempt at a guide. I've been playing Fiora for quite some time and have found her to be a formidable champion in the right hands. Though she's not the best choice for any situation, she certainly deserves more acclaim than most give her. The focus of this build is high attack damage early game, gaining early kills, and having high sustain late in the game. Being more of a skill-based character than her advertised difficulty indicates, the timing of Riposte, Burst of Speed, and Blade Waltz are critical to her success. It takes practice and patience to reach a competitive level with Fiora but the result is a very destructive option in your champion toolbox. Hopefully, utilizing this guide will allow you to have as much fun as I've had learning Fiora's potential. I'd appreciate any constructive feedback you have as this build is a work in progress.

Pros/Cons

PROS High Burst Damage Very Sticky Strong 1v1 Can reach 105AD at level 2 Melts Towers mid-late game Can't be targetted during Blade Waltz Burst of Speed resets upon champion kill More arrogant than Terrell Owens

CONS Squishy throughout game Timing abilities requires practice Gets focused in team fights No inherent escape tool Passive underpowered People who succeed with her get more arrogant than Terrell Owens

Masteries

OFFENSE

• Tier 1: Summoner's Wrath is an obvious choice if running Ignite and Exhaust (which this build does). Fury is a nice compliment to Burst of Speed. Sorcery can take a few seconds off Blade Waltz cooldown.
• Tier 2: Deadliness will give a slight bonus early game and will mature to decent +12
• Tier 3: Havoc , though not spectacular, gives a reasonable boost to your level 3 Blade Waltz damage. Weapon Expertise will give a little bonus against tanks.
• Tier 4: Brute Force gives a modest boost to early game AD.
• Tier 5: Sunder also gives an early game boost to damage which makes Fiora even more capable of getting level 1-4 kills.
• Tier 6: Executioner helps most late into a team fight or when most enemies have been damaged by some AOE such as Lux's Final Spark, Nunu's Absolute Zero, or Ezreal's Trueshot Barrage. Fiora's Blade Waltz becomes extremely dangerous in this situation.

DEFENSE

• Tier 1: Durability mostly helps late game with a decent +108 health at 18.
• Tier 2: Hardiness gives a good boost to armor early game. Resistance just to make it to Tier 3. 1 point is negligible.
• Tier 3: At +30 health, Veteran's Scars increases Fiora's level 1 health by about 6%.

Runes

• Greater Quintessence of Attack Damage gives a solid 6.75 attack damage.
• Greater Mark of Armor Penetration provides the biggest boost to armor penetration with 14.94.
• Greater Seal of Armor gives Fiora a little boost to her inherently low durability.
• Greater Glyph of Magic Resist similarly boosts durability against ability power champions.

Alternatively, an AD-focused build +15.25 attack damage at level 1.[/center] I haven't tried this yet since it's hard to pass up the armor and magic resist boost, but using attack damage seals and glyphs will bring you up to +21.64 attack damage at level 1. It's not recommended but if you're feeling squirrelly and want max attack damage early on, it's a thought.

Summoner Spells

Once you get experienced with Fiora, I recommend Ignite and Exhaust. Skillful use of these spells can easily score you some early kills and subsequent farming to get ahead in your lane. Here are the main reasons:

IGNITE

Ignite

• Key spell to getting kills early game. Most players run back to their turret with minimal health and ignite can be the only way to finish them off for Fiora.
• Ignite can be used while Fiora is in the Blade Waltz animation. This reduces healing from champions such as Soraka who will most likely use their heals immediately upon seeing you use Blade Waltz.
• With Summoner's Wrath , gives +5 attack damage and +5 ability power while on cooldown. Don't be afraid to use it early on since there are secondary benefits.

EXHAUST

Exhaust

• Also essential for winning early fights. Exhaust the champion you are attacking immediately to get the 10 armor reduction from Summoner's Wrath . This will make your Burst of Speed more effective. It also cripples their damage output since early on, much of a melee champions damage comes from basic attacks. The 2.5 second, 50% attack speed, and 30% damage reduction are difficult to overcome so early on.
• Critical for late game team fights. Hit the other team's AD Carry with this to weaken their damage, slow their movement, AND take them down faster due to the aforementioned armor reduction. This will inherently increase your survivability since the AD Carry will typically focus on you. Hard to live without this skill late game, especially if no one else on your team has it.

ALTERNATIVES

FLASH

Flash

• Great spell to get into and out of fights. Useful to quickly get into range for Blade Waltz if Lunge is down and equally as effective for getting out once Blade Waltz has ended and you're in the middle of a group or targeted by a tower.
• Since Fiora has no inherent escape skill, Flash is never a bad choice.
• If you're having trouble utilizing Exhaust, Flash is the best alternative.

GHOST

Ghost

• Effective escape tool to supplement Fiora's shortfall.
• If no movement boost is gained when using Burst of Speed, Ghost is a good back-up.
• Ghost allows you to run through units which makes reaching AD Carries in team fights much easier.

TELEPORT

Teleport

• Good beginner skill for someone learning to play Fiora. Can be critical in keeping up on xp/farm if not able to maintain health or lose a fight.
• Effective gank tool if your teammates use wards properly.
• Big help when solo top. Allows you to out-level/farm your opponent.
• Can help you bounce back if you lose a 1v1 or get ganked.

CLEANSE

Cleanse

• This skill is meant primarily for late game. It grants Fiora and critical tool to remain in the fight if stunned, blinded, etc. which she sorely lacks.
• Combined with Mercurial Scimitar, it could make Fiora very difficult to stop.
• I have not extensively tested this yet so it's just a theory, yet one that I believe to has great potential.

Abilities

PASSIVE

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Duelist is in my opinion one of the most under-powered passive skills in the game. Though passive skills are not meant to be game changing, hers makes almost no difference in a fight. At 7(+1/level) health regen per 6 seconds, that puts you at little over 2 health per second at level 5. Ideally, stacking it 4 times would put you at 8 health regen per second. Now think of Darius' Hemorrhage with 18 damage per 5 seconds, stacks up to 5 times, AND +30% attack damage. This puts his at 22-25 damage per second depending on his runes and gear. I strongly feel that Fiora's other abilities make up for Duelist's lacking, but would not want someone to buy into the game's "Tips" on Fiora which state, "Duelist's regeneration effect stacks up against champions, so don't be afraid to fight small skirmishes." It's not that effective.

Q

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Lunge is Fiora's gap closer. It makes her very sticky when combined with Burst of Speed's movement speed boost. I love using it to prevent top melees from getting minion kills. At level 1, Lunge + immediate follow-up attack, second Lunge + immediate follow-up attack can bring any champion to 40%-50% (200-250 damage depending on the champion) in under 2 seconds. Unfortunately, this leaves you with no means to chase so don't expect a kill right off the bat. Just be happy pushing them off and preventing farm.

W

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Riposte is essential to early kills. Not only can you prevent skills such as Talon's Noxian Diplomacy and Nasus's Siphoning Strike, but it also provides a relatively high AD bonus at ability level 1. This makes Fiora very capable of pushing back her lane opponent with Lunge or killing him when combined with Ignite and Exhaust.

E

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Burst of Speed seriously bolsters Fiora's DPS. Combined with lifesteal, this skill is the key to her 1v1 durability. Its movement speed boost also compliments Lunge well when chasing down opponents. Take care activating it since it only has a 3 second duration. This is easily countered by suppression skills and Exhaust.

R

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Blade Waltz is the game changer. You can do massive damage to one target in 1v1 or deal more total damage to multiple targets in a team fight. The double-edged sword of this skill is that you end the animation on the first target you hit. This could give you the opportunity to finish off someone you left weak after your strong ult, or position you in range of a tower if your weren't careful about where you engaged your target. The cooldown is long so choose wisely as you may find yourself wishing you hadn't used it to get that one kill before a big fight when it could make the difference between a team win or loss.

Items

Blade of the Ruined King

Blade of the Ruined King

Gives all the bonuses Fiora needs. AD, Attack Speed, Lifesteal, damage bonus that scales with HP
(very useful with tanks), and an instant lifesteal (critical when waiting for abilities to reset in a prolonged fight). Essential item that cannot be substituted in any situation.

Ravenous Hydra

Ravenous Hydra

Adds a critical element missing in Fiora's skill set, AoE damage. This item makes Fiora a lane powerhouse when paired with Burst of Speed. The active ability, Cleave, essentially gives you an instant auto-attack, adding further to Fiora's burst damage when used at initial contact with Lunge. This item also multiplies lifesteal by applying it to all enemies hit in the AoE effect. This greatly increases Fiora's survivability in large fights or 1v1 with minions nearby. Additionally, the AD bonus is one of the highest in the game and the regen pairs nicely with Duelist.

Mercury's Treads

Mercury's Treads

This pick is situational. Ninja Tabi can be substituted if having trouble with a melee champ in lane. Benefits are obvious with the most important being Tenacity. The reduced suppression is important for Fiora since Burst of Speed has such a short duration.

Randuin's Omen

Randuin's Omen

Excellent balance of HP and armor. The active ability is great when chasing down enemies while your abilities are on cooldown. The passive is key to 1v1 fights or sustaining against tanks since most of their damage comes from auto-attacks. When paired with lifesteal, tremendous defense items like Randuin's Omen make Fiora very difficult to take down and can force the enemy team to waste most of their abilities trying to kill one champion. Long run, this will win your fights for your team.

Mercurial Scimitar

Mercurial Scimitar

This item is vital to survival against AP casters. The AD and MR ratio is incredibly high for a combo item and the active ability make it possible for Fiora to survive abilities such as Event Horizon and various other stuns. This capability boosts her sustainability AND damage by keeping her swinging while getting her out of a deadly stall. Not attacking is the wort thing for this build since much of your sustain is based on lifesteal. Mercurial Scimitar enables you to stay in the fight and keep yourself alive.

Frozen Mallet

Frozen Mallet

Huge boost to HP for an AD item, giving all around survivability against AP or AD. The AD bonus is nice and the passive anytime slow is great when chasing fleet-footed champions like Teemo.

Strategy

Preferred Lane - Top Solo

Early Game

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Take advantage of your high lvl 1-2 AD and charge your opponent if he is getting minion kills. Lunge + auto-attack + Lunge + auto-attack should scare him off. If he commits to a fight, pop Ignite and Exhaust on him and you should win the fight. If he is not dead after Exhaust has worn off, get out of there. At low levels, your cool downs are too high for repeat use in a fight and your base damage won't be enough to take on champs with higher sustain abilities like Nasus, Nunu, or Diana. DO NOT fight behind their minions. At low levels, minions will wear you down fast and quickly turn a your First Blood into their First Blood.

Mid Game

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Once you hit level 6, it's time to get aggressive. At 160(+1.2 per bonus AD), using this skill on one champion will dish out around 400 total damage depending on your items and theirs. Not only does it do massive damage, combined with Bilgewater Cutlass it will heal you for 40-50 and prevent them from targetting you while you are in it's animation. Important thing to keep in mind, area effects will still harm while using Blade Waltz. If you haven't gotten your first kill yet, now's the time. Commit to a fight when you are full health or at least equal to your opponent. It's ideal when you're opponent is at 50% or lower since your burst damage will most likely finish them off on Blade Waltz's first hit. If they're 100%, Drop Ignite while Blade Waltz is active and Exhaust immediately after when your opponent will be waiting to dump his abilities on you. This should render their damaging abilities much weaker and give you an extra edge to win.

Late Game

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Late game, NEVER initiate team fights. Smart players will recognize your threat to their AD carry and focus you early. Hide in bushes, skirt around the main skirmish, or Lunge from one opponent to the next to get to your ultimate goal, their AD carry or AP caster. Don't waste your Blade Waltz on tanks unless absolutely necessary to survive or save a teammate. Once it's gone, you can retreat to wait for Lunge and Burst of Speed to reset, or commit to their squishies if Lunge and Burst of Speed are up. Fiora's extremely vulnerable and immobile without these two skills so be wary chasing anyone without them. If you plan on hit and run, activating Burst of Speed just before Blade Waltz will give you a strong speed boost to run out of the fray when your ult is finished.

If you're successful at killing either the AD carry or AP caster, immediately move to the surviving one of these two. If they're already dead, begin hitting the tanks to help your teammates who are most likely very weak after a long exchange with them. Even if you're low health, help your teammates with the tanks. They shouldn't be able to kill you if Burst of Speed is up and you have substantial lifesteal.

Conclusion

Again this is my first attempt at a build and haven't been able to put the time into it I'd like to. Please comment and leave constructive feedback (preferrably based on actual experience/testing since I'm big on result based rating)so I can continue to update and improve this post. I'll be unable to respond until Sep 2013 but I'll be sure to delve into your comments as soon as i get back.

Things to come:
[*]Enemy Match-Ups
[*]Teammate Synergy
[*]Explanation of item progression
[*]Why alternate items don't work
[*]Why Top Solo works best plus Mid, Bottom, and Dual Top Strategy
[*]Improved slide layout