Fizz Build Guide by Vixan

F(sh)izz

You like to engage enemies one on one. You're more than capable in a team on team setting, but you also like the challenge of hunting down your own prey, slapping them with a fish and unleashing your ferocious pet shark, Franky.

You're small and so people overlook you. Though they soon see how volatile small and cute things can be. As many who've come up against you have come to realise that you're name is short for Fizzle, such are their efforts to best you; weakly disappointing.

Fizz puts to bed any arguments on the well known aphorism; the best things come in small packages. This small guy upholds those words to be true.

Does he spark your interest? ...Read on.

This guide is the embodiment of the way in which I play Fizz.

If you like burst damage and guaranteed fun, then look no further. I've spent a lot of time playing Fizz since his release and have put a lot of time in writing how I play Fizz and what I think to be effective gameplay.

Small... but deadly. That's what what my guide aims to promote.

Match History

I myself am not level 30 and do not possess half the runes I've suggested in this guide. Though I've read around and am working on building towards it myself. As you can see by my match history, I am more than capable of holding my own when it comes to playing Fizz and am looking forward to reading and even seeing any match history you guys have to share.

Early Game [Levels 1 - 6]

Two words, ten letters; Middle Lane.

I've played both other lanes and although you can succeed, the ratio for success is less frequent. You need feeding and you need your ultimate ASAP to be a real threat. Even if you are successful in another lane, early game your burst isn't as strong and you usually get kills off of the DoT Seastone Trident provides and/or Ignite (which is lovely for early game use). Being partnered with someone in a lane often see's Fizz assisting in kills and not actually earning them, which has the potential to see you be less of a threat the entire game.

Middle Lane

If you're up against a ranged (and you most likely will be) they may run back and fourth as they see you coming closer. Begin hitting the enemy creeps and as the enemy champ comes to get a shot in (bringing them in range) use Urchin Strike and Ignite them. They should then keep back for most of the lane in fear of being killed.

When you get level two, make sure to use Seastone Trident first (it lasts for a few seconds) followed by Urchin Strike on the enemy champ. Also use Seastone Trident when ever possibly on creeps, it'll help farm gold and can three shot (at just rank 1) the mage creeps in the back.

Level Six

Now the fun really begins. It's harder to ensure a successful land on a champion when you come at them from the side (eg: from the brush in middle lane). If you suck at getting it stuck to a champ then try: Seastone Trident > Urchin Strike > Chum The Waters (as they try get away).

Chum The Waters > Seastone Trident > Urchin Strike, can work just as well. At this stage you'll almost kill them (but may not) so make sure that before you engage them with your ultimate you've knocked off two or one bars of their health - this should guarantee a kill. If not, make sure to ignite them as they're getting away (which will be up by now, since first using it at level one).

Mid Game:

Levels and plenty of them. I find the second Chum The Waters is when Fizz's burst really begins picking up.

Try and keep buffs up, blue buff being the most vital to you. Giving you reduced cool downs and that much needed mana regen.

Pick the weak one's off first. Go for ranged targets. They have less magic resist, unless they've bought items specifically for that purpose. In which case they're smart but dead still. Pick up a Void Staff to make easy pickings of them and any beefy melee champs.

If you see a champion stray from the group don't hesitate to go and pick them off. Remain weary of being lured, some pursuits aren't worth it. In the case of a champ solo pushing a lane, I say go for it.

Pushing a lane alone helps get you much needed levels. You'll notice a huge difference when you get Churn the Waters to rank 2. Champs should fall to your instant burst without having any chance of ever getting away.

Late Game:

There shouldn't be a problem here. Like wine is said to get better with age, Fizz is one of those champions who gets better as the game progresses. Unless the opposition are significantly fed, you're in for a rough time.

When it comes to group fights, pick off the weak ones. The ranged ones are the easiest to kill and make use of your ultimate at any chance you get - it's great for tower diving when paired with Playful/Trickster.

Strategy // Combo

Mark target with Chum The Waters > Seastone trident > Urchin Strike > (Ignite if you feel it necessary, though you shouldn't, you use it less and less as the game progresses) > Playful/Trickster, to jump out of the fray.

Get in. Get out. That should be enough to kill them. Seastone Trident's DoT will if all else fails. At this point, if you played correctly up until this point and item tweaked where necessary than you shouldn't have any difficulties.

You can also use that tactic to tower dive and get a kill, it's very useful when say for example three of the enemy champions are dead and two pesky champs are left defending one tower. You can take them out fairly easily or worse case scenario force them to retreat for health.

Middle Lane Threats [Levels 1 - 6]

It's best to get middle. It's easy to harass with Fizz one on one, with little difficulty.

There are a few champions to be aware of, as they can be potentially threatening to your survivability. These include: Ryze, Morgana, Annie and Miss Fortune. When playing against an Annie just be sure to watch for how many stacks of their passive they have, before you go in for the kill. Otherwise they'll stun you and get away. Miss Fortune is another one, you'll harass her and she'll drop her AoE slowing your exit and giving her the chance to get quite a bit of damage in. Forcing you to heal, rather than get creep kills.

The only thing these champions have in common are their ability to stun. Although there are other champions with the same ability, these are the one's I've had the most trouble with early game (when played correctly). Other examples of threats are; Ashe and Lux. Though their stuns run off of fairly long cool downs, so it can be easily avoided.

Because you can run through creeps, it's best to approach champions such as Morgana when your creep wave is still alive. Going in for the harass and then getting behind an allied creep to escape her stun.

These champions become less of a threat to you as the game progresses.

Explination to my Item Selection

I've tried to justify my item build and the tweaks I make here and there, as well as suggestions for "instead-of-this-go-for" in italics under each given item.

Doran's Ring
I find it regens mana for me fast enough, to keep using Seastone Trident to get creep kills and to get in quick champion harassment using Urchin Strike.

Boots of Speed
Obviously you need faster movement speed.

Blasting Wand/Needlessly Large Rod
I find that money is rarely an issue, especially when playing middle lane. I'm often surprised when I get back to the shop and count my pennies, only to find how much I've already farmed. Going for either first, if I have the money for Needlessly Large Rod than I won't hesitate to pick it up.

Sorcerer's Shoes
I usually buy these after my first ability item (the above) though sometimes I get it after I buy both a Blasting Wand & Needlessly Large Rod, even sometimes opting out of buying it until I have a Rabadon's Deathcap.
Buy Mercury's Treads if you find yourself versing such champions as Morgana, Ryze or Annie (who can stun). You can even decide to go for the cool down reduction with Ionian Boots of Lucidity.

Rabadon's Deathcap
Get it before or after upgrading your boots.

-- This is where the tweaking begins * Other than deciding on boots* --

Lich Bane
It scales off of your ability power. I prefer to pick up Rabadon's Deathcap first for that reason, my ability power is hardly worth buying it first without having the hat first to give me a substantial increase.
You can pick this up after a void staff. If you're carrying your team then you may find you need it, to say take out a tank. Though this item can be just as lethal, since it increases the attack power of your basic attack, making the enemies magic resistance redundant. Pay attention to how much magic resist the opposition has and make a judgment call. When you do pickup Lich Bane, I strongly suggest you Urchant Strike first and then use Seastone Trident so that you get two Lich Bane effects as opposed to the one (if you use it in the reversed order - something I've yet to master).

Rod of Ages
I usually pick this up last. You may find it necessary if you're struggling to preserve mana (or even for the reason of having more health - though you shouldn't need it for that purpose if you're using Playful/Trickster correctly). If you are however new to Fizz or struggling to keep blue buff then build this item first.

Void Staff
If it's necessary to have the magic penetration then go for it. Percentile magic penetration scales much better than flat magic pen when versing beefy magic resistant champs, which is why I neglected to go that path for marks. Sorcerer's Shoes more than make up for it on champs with the default mana resist of 33-55 (with ranged having the lesser equivalent than that of melee).

Viable Alternatives:

Mejai's Soulstealer
If you're going to get it, then go for it early game before getting a Rabadon's Deathcap so that the stacks build up.

Nashor's Tooth
I personally don't buy it, but it does give you added ability power, reduces your cool downs and increases your basic attack speed which would see more use out of Seastone Trident. I don't get it only because I feel that my abilities do a lot of damage end game that by the time I'm done executing my combo their dead and I don't like to stay in one place too long. I rush in and rush out. It's just my play style when it comes to Fizz.

Deathfire's Grasp
I've bought this in only one game with Fizz. The kog'maw on the opposing team had something like 5,000 life (rounded). Though by the time I bought it, my teammates also bought upgrades and so I rarely got to use it because he dropped so quickly. You may find it useful.

Rylai's Crystal Scepter
I find this item to be unnecessary though I know many may or may not disagree with me. I feel that Fizz's burst damage is significant enough that when I engage a target, there's no chance of them getting away and even if they do - Fizz is comparable to the road runner, they can run though they can't out run.

That doesn't always hold true, I just like to compare him to it because he's adorably fast. They can sometimes out run you, primarily early game, mid to late game you're burst is significantly stronger making it an unnecessary choice. Very few will survive your burst and that's neglecting the fact your ultimate slows the target to boot.

Explination to my Rune Selection

I've gone for pure ability power runes. Staying true to the offensiveness that is Fizz.

Quintessence

It's between picking Greater Force or Greater Potency. I find that Fizz improves mid to late game and so I went with the medium and bought flat ability power, as the percentile one's only improve upon 4.95 at level 12 and so fourth. At which point when you get to level 12 you should already be fed well enough. I suggest deciding on these for yourself after playing with Fizz. To reiterate the offensive mastery also gives you +4 ability power when on cool down

Marks

I've seen quite a few people go for Greater Mark of Insight but I feel it's useless. Say you're level 30 and have nine marks available to you, that's 8.55 magic penetration. It's not worth it. Flat magic penetration scales poorly. Percentile magic penetration however, like in the mastery offensively line Arcane Knowledge has a far greater impact on those champs that have a beefy amount of magic resistance. Also you have the choice of buying boots to increase your magic penetration anyway.

I suggest you read the article here! To see how percentile and flat magic penetration work. Here's a brief extract:

[Quote=LoL Wiki]

Flat magic penetration

stacks additively.

Some of the target's magic resistance is ignored when dealing magic damage.
If the target has 30 magic resistance and you have 10 magic penetration, the target will take damage as if it had only 20 magic resistance.
30 − 10 = 20

---

Percentage magic penetration

has a bigger impact on targets with higher resistance.

For 40% penetration, a target with 200 magic resist will lose 80.
For 40% penetration, a target with 40 magic resist will lose 16.[/quote]

Summoner Spells & Masteries

I strongly suggest Ignite. It's great for making sure any hasty enemies who do get away, won't live to tell the tale. Seasontone Trident's DoT partnered with Ignite can be lethal when executed after a burst. The offensive mastery Summoner's Wrath offers you 5 ability power and attack damage when it's on cool down. Even if you're not needing to use it anymore, use it for that little extra power.

As for Ghost feel free to replace it with Flash, it's just I prefer a speed buff as opposed to Flash which doesn't necessarily aid in running away for a longer length of time. In my opinion. It can get you out of any immediate threats, if there's an enemy champ waiting around the corner chances are he'll still catch up to you.

You could always replace Ignite with Flash if you're wanting that extra survivability.

If you do pick up Flash I suggest picking up Summoner's Insight (utility mastery) in favor of Improved Recall for that 15 second reduced cool down on Flash.

Fizz, "Trickster" by Trade

When tower diving, go for it if you can ensure a kill. You can use Playful/Trickster to get back out of it quickly and avoid dying.

Use Playful/Trickster to avoid being stunned if necessary but don't use it for the purpose of doing damage to the enemy champion. It's not worth it. It drains your mana fast and will leave you open to being ganked.

It's only worth it if in the scenario the enemy champion is getting away with very little health and using it will ensure a kill.

Do however use Playful/Trickster a lot later game, the cool down is significantly reduced and it's great for taking out creep waves.

Note: Playful/Trickster when used, does NOT prevent taking damage from DoT's or shake off Chum The Waters (if attached to you).

Pros

+ Capable of carrying
+ Passive allows you to walk through creep waves
+ Huge burst
+ Dodges enemy abilities
+ Dodges towers (get in for the kill and jump out)
+ Can get in a fight and get back out
+ Ultimate hits multiple targets
+ Good at farming gold
+ Great solo ganker
+ Great Harasser in middle lane
+ Fun to play
+++ Cutest little champ (;
+++ Slaps enemy champs with a Fish.
+++ Has a pet shark, Franky.

Cons

- Squishy, when played incorrectly (get in and get quickly out!)
- Mana regen.
- Can miss your ultimate ):

I acknowledge...

Everyone's playstyle is different and so I've tried to address as best as I can the alterations you can make to runes, masteries and item builds. As well as providing my own item tweaks here and there. Highlighting the thought process I go through when deciding on how to item build game-to-game.

Whether you do or don't agree with any or all of my choices; tweak, tweak, tweak! Find what you're comfortable with and stick with it.