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News [Update]

Hello, it's been a while and a lot of things happened and many things are still are changing in my life but these past months I've been thinking about how to update the guide properly. The first step is updating some graphics and removing old content. For the next days and weeks there will be changes. In conclusion, nothing is final until maybe the contest begins. Further changes will include some visual updates inside the chapters and a revision of the gameplay chapter, lots of information but no detailed match-up guide because it would need to include a support section too.

Ashe or not Ashe

The Pre-Season just started and many things have been changed. For the past months I haven't played much which is why runes are 100% experimental. I will update the guide until then properly.

PROS ++ Hard CC and Soft CC ++ ++ Attack Speed Steroid ++ ++ Scouting Tool ++ ++ Lane Bully ++ ++ Kiting Monster ++

CONS -- Moderate Damage -- -- No Mobility -- -- Vulnerable to Assassins -- -- Positioning -- -- Squishy --

Ashe will always be played since she grants a great amount of CC even when she isn't doing well. That's the main reason why people pick her. Even before she becomes this threatening monster late game, she is really fun because you can kite people all day and snipe people with your ultimate.

Who am I?

I am your average player, however I'm unsure whether the term casual is fitting. Since the end of Season 2/beginning of Season 3 I terrorize the EUW server playing adc, mid and support and over the years I learned a lot. By no means I am a pro (Gold V) but I've gathered a lot of experience from how to play to how to deal with humans. In this guide I will only give advice, so take everything I say with a grain of salt because I learned that opinions are only opinions ;)

Primary Path: Precision

There are always roughly two good choices for one slot and one less effective one for Ashe. You are free to change this set-up as these are only recommendations based on my preferences in playstyle (and some theoretical mind experiments plus a few games).

	Out of three keystones Press the Attack and Lethal Tempo seem to be the most promising. While Ashe benefits from the attack speed I think she needs more damage because she does not crit naturally. It also fits with her kit because the fourth attack deals the bonus damage and then you can use Ranger's Focus which deals 12% damage more (only on the same target). However, with Lethal Tempo you can never go wrong on a marksmen.
	At first I wanted to take Overheal because in the above build life steal is build pretty early but I think it is better to take it when your support has a heal. Without a healer you have almost no excessive healing in the early game, more likely low health. Triumph is just always good.
	Given that I have taken Press the Attack I should actually take Legend: Alacrity but getting tenacity for free is really tempting. My example build has in general a lot of attack speed and plus Ashe's attack speed stereoid it is really a lot already. Life steal can also be bought easily. Since we have no other form of defense and everywhere is CC, I think this is fine for the set-up.
	Here you should choose depending on the situation. Coup de Grace can be taken in most games, while Cut Down is better against tanks and last stand is best if the enemy is made out of squishy burst champions.

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Currently, the best set-up is Heal and Flash because they can save you from almost any situation. After all, your goal is to stay alive as long as possible and be able to deal a lot of damage. HEAL has two components: Firstly the heal that can heal you and your nearest ally and secondly the movement speed boost. Both are necessary to stay alive and keep your distance from the enemy threat. You shouldn't underestimate the heal, so heal your support if you see him dying! People get really upset when you don't use Heal even when it's still on cooldown... However, there is a little delay before the heal reaches your team mate. Perfect timing is required or else you will waste an important spell. FLASH is very versatile because you can blink in any direction and even over terrain as long as you don't exceed the range, or else you will head butt the wall. It's also your only mobility spell! Since the cooldown is so long you should flash as soon as you know they are going for you and can kill you, e.g. a 5 man bot gank. However, if you notice there is no chance for you to survive, you should just let it go and let it happen. Good junglers will track your flash cooldown and if it's down, they will put down a tent in the river and wait there until you decide to go farther away from your turret.

FROST SHOT Ashe's basic attacks and abilities apply the Frost to affected enemies, slowing them by 10 – 20% (based on level) for 2 seconds and causing subsequent basic attacks against them to deal 10% + (critical chance × (1 + bonus critical damage)) bonus physical damage while they remain slowed. Ashe's critical strikes deal no additional damage, but instead triple Frost's slow strength to 30 - 60% (based on level), decaying over 1 second to its normal strength.

The perma slow is really good for kiting and chasing enemies. You shouldn't underestimate the slow as it makes it impossible for melees to come close to you unless they have a mobility spell. Your auto attacks do overall less damage than a normal crit but you don't pick Ashe for her damage but for her arsenal of crowd control. Furthermore, Ranger's Focus makes up for the lack of damage!

RANGER'S FOCUS △ Cost: 50 Mana + 4 Focus Passive: Basic attacks grant Focus for 4 seconds, stacking up to 4 times. Stacks fall off one at a time, and at 4 stacks, Ranger's Focus can be cast, consuming all Focus. Active: For 4 seconds, Ashe gains 20/25/30/35/40% Attack Speed, and her basic attacks fire a flurry of arrows dealing physical damage. During this time, she does not stack Focus. Ranger's Focus reduces Ashe's basic attack delay to 40% if currently any higher for the next basic attack.

This spell makes Ashe a real DPS machine. Every attack is made up of five mini arrows and grants you a lot of attack speed which makes it possible for you to fight/trade with the enemy bot lane or take down turrets faster (but you can't gain focus stacks on turrets). Always keep track of your stacks as you need to maintain four stacks to activate the spell. That's why try to constantly attack creeps in lane without pushing too much. This way you can maintain your stacks and pressure your opponent.

Combined with Runaan's Hurricane Ashe gets a pseudo AoE slow on a modified basic attack, slowing up to three targets at once. She can kill tanks or everyone in the front line with ease, the damage and slow is not to be underestimated.

VOLLEY △ Cost: 50 Mana___△ Cooldown: 15/12.5/10/7.5/5___△ Range: 1200 Ashe fires 9 arrows in a cone in the target direction, dealing 20/35/50/65/80 (+ 100% AD) physical damage to all enemies hit and applying Frost Shot's tripled slow to enemy champions hit. Enemies can intercept multiple arrows, but do not take damage from arrows beyond the first. This ability can critically strike but deals no additional damage for the purpose of Frost Shot.

First off, it has a pretty long range and is really wide. It is perfect for bullying the enemy as it easy to hit and deals a lot of damage early (1.0 AD ratio). Volley always applies the full Frost Shot slow on enemy champions which makes it easy to follow up with an auto attack with the bonus from Frost Shot.

Use it to push, to harass and most importantly to farm up. In some situations you will be zoned and there is Volley's range handy to farm until you are out of danger. However, you should be careful of spamming it, the mana cost will drain your relative small mana pool after some time.

HAWKSHOT △ Cost: 1 Charge___△ Cooldown: 5___△ Recharge Time: 90/80/70/60/50___△ Range: Global Passive: Ashe uses a stock system on this ability; she stores a charge of Hawkshot periodically, up to a maximum of 2 stored at once. Active: Ashe sends a hawk spirit toward the target location, granting sight of its path for 2 seconds and in a large radius at its destination for 5 seconds. The hawk's sight is not obstructed by brush or terrain.

Hawkshot is one of the best scouting tools. While your ghost hawk is flying, it already reveals the area around it, which is really important when you're searching for the enemy jungler. Most of the time I aim at big objectives like dragon, or all the way trough the jungle to track the jungler. The information is useful as you can predict where he is going to gank next. For example, if the enemy jungler is on the red side at his blue buff, he can easily join a fight down bot lane.

I also use it when I feel there is something fishy going on in the bush. Warding is actually pretty dangerous as you have to get close to the bush and sometimes the support, jungler and top laner are sitting there, waiting for you to come closer.

ENCHANTED CRYSTAL ARROW △ Cost: 100 Mana___△ Cooldown: 100/90/80___△ Range: Global Ashe fires a missile of ice in a straight line. If the arrow collides with an enemy Champion, it deals 200/400/600 (+ 100% AP) magic damage and stuns the Champion for 1 - 3.5 seconds based on the distance the arrow has traveled. In addition, surrounding enemy units take 50% damage and are slowed.

The arrow is the main reason people pick Ashe. A good arrow can change the tides of a game, hitting a high priority target can enable your team to engage. It also protects you from assassins and divers as you can use it point click (on the spot). Timing is here key!

Hitting the arrow can be difficult but from certain angles you are guaranteed to hit (from your base to the enemy base). Most of the time the question is which target should I hit? And honestly I always forget it after a long hiatus from LoL. However, here are some tips.

You shouldn't use it
a) to save somebody who is going to die 100%,
b) on someone who can dodge your arrow 24/7 and
c) who isn't threatening to you.

Mages, divers, assassins and fed marksmen are much more important to hit. Unless you're going to pick off a target to make it a 5 vs. 4, you should go for the highest priority target. After playing a lot you should become a prediction god.






Maxing Volley allows you to push and last-hit easier since with every level the cooldown decreases. It's ideal for harassing in the laning phase because you can follow up with an auto attack for the bonus damage. Afterwards you max Ranger's Focus for more DPS and lastly Hawkshot. If you feel that you are in danger you can also get Hawkshot at level 3. Generally, you always put points into your ultimate at level 6, 11 and 16.

▽ Starting Items No other starting item is better than Doran's Blade. It gives you every stat you would want, especially the health and life steal are really neat because you won't get those stats before completing your core items, which can take up to 25 minutes. What makes it also good is the amount of attack damage you gain because you need to last-hit all the time and more AD makes it easier. The only comparable alternative is Cull. The passive is nice but when a marksman with a Cull duels one with a Doran's Blade, the outcome would always favour the Doran's blade user due to the extra health and (one) attack damage. Health Potions are necessary early game because a lost trade means lost experience and gold and we don't want that. Furthermore, potions will keep you healthy and also protect you from Ignite if timed correctly or from a close fight, e.g. the enemy Jhin applied Deathfire Touch on you. However, Health potions have become really expensive. That's why you should stop buying them when laning phase ends. Their value decreases over the course of the game because your health pool becomes bigger and at some point you will also buy a life steal item. Always ward with your Stealth Ward, especially in the laning phase. While Ashe has a scouting tool, it doesn't mean you can neglect your warding duty. Your support has only two wards at a time just like you and the duration is short. Generally, I will wait and watch my support's movement before warding because "Double-Warding" is inefficient and makes you vulnerable because you need to cover at least two or three spots to be somewhat save from a gank. ▽ Essential Alternatives: It is unlikely that you will go back with enough money to buy one of the core items, unless you somehow managed to get a Pentakill at level one. That's why it's even more important to buy the most efficient item components. With the changes to Blade of the Ruined King, it has become popular and the item for marksmen. However, the item itself isn't the most gold efficient item stat wise, which is why I like to build all the basic item components that are 100% gold efficient first. For the laning phase you should get first a (or more) Long Sword and a Vampiric Scepter which is important since you have no innate sustain. The AD is better than the attack speed from Recurve Bow in the laning phase. Afterwards I buy a Zeal for more damage and for the other core item. If your inventory, however, is full (downside of this build), just finish the item of your choice. Leave out Zeal or finish Bilgewater Cutlass, always evaluate the situation and don't follow blindly build paths on guides. If you're not doing all too hot or have less than 500-600 gold, you can either pick up a Cull, or if you're doing extremely well and feel like building raw AD is the way, you can still opt for the traditional crit build with B. F. Sword into Zeal. Boots can be bought whenever you think you need them. They are useful against poke champions where you need to dodge skill-shots. You don't need to rush them, just buy them when you've got some spare gold. ▽ Core Items Alternatives: Now we're at the point where you actually become relevant. Without core items most marksmen can't really do anything. While Ashe is a utility markswoman, she still needs items to deal meaningful damage or else you are just a big minion. The first thing you're going to finish is Runaan's Hurricane if you followed my build path above. High elo players might scream in agony but I have my reasons. The idea is to buy the most efficient items. Basically, the same reason why people used to build B. F. Sword and Zeal instead of finishing one core item after another. As I said before, Blade of the Ruined King isn't the most gold efficient item. Therefore, I like to get runaan's first because it's more efficient. Furthermore, the item’s passive can also crit when the main attack crits which makes wave clearing even easier. Afterwards, you finish Blade of the Ruined King because it's overloaded with stats that marksmen love, has a super useful active for kiting and an anti-tank passive, and that in a single item. Alternatives to Botrk are the more traditional crit items Infinity Edge or Essence Reaver. As your choice of boots I always recommend Berserker's Greaves. The attack speed and movement speed is very good for kiting. I really see no other alternative except for Ninja Tabi which will be nerfed probably or Mercury's Treads which you can buy in the late game when you're full build. ▽ DPS Boost Alternatives: The items after your core items depend on your needs. There is a wide array of choices but only few items work good on marksmen because they do better buying damage instead of defensive stats. This section deals with suitable options. Lately, I've been in love with Phantom Dancer. It gives a really strong power spike and the passive makes you able to actually duel someone. Furthermore, it grants additional movement speed on sight of an enemy champion which is really good for kiting and chasing. Infinity Edge, although dethroned from its number one spot as marksmen item, the item is still good, especially after the cost decrease. It is valuable for Ashe since her passive scales with crit chance and crit damage but you do not need to rush it anymore. An alternative could be Bloodthirster if you want more life steal and damage. I really do not know where to put Black Cleaver. It crept its way back into meta builds like always but with a different build path. Honestly, it is always a viable item and fits perfectly with the on-hit damage from Botrk and Ashe's ability to apply five stacks with one flurry. The only thing I don't like is the amount of AD. I will leave it here for now even though it's considered as core item for some people. I do not feel the need to rush it but feelings aren't accurate, so try it yourself. Rapid Firecannon is the more offensive version of Phantom Dancer but does not offer the same amount of stats. However, the passive of RFC is pretty good because your range increases to 810 once fully charged (more safety!), which means you get a long range unavoidable 10 – 60% slow or free damage on a turret. In the late game that could mean a free pick for your team or inhibitor. RFC is a possible replacement for PD but I wouldn't buy both. If you, however, meet a team full of tanks that stack armor, you should always buy a Last Whisper but only if they buy armor items. Last Whisper only gives 10 AD and only ignores bonus armor, something you always have to remind yourself because one tank with one armor item does not justify your purchase, especially if that tank is no high priority target/threat to you. ▽ Life Steal Items Life steal is probably the best stat to have on a marksman. It helps you to stay alive and pump out as much damage as you can. There are three options and each having a special purpose. That's why you also see them in other sections of the item chapter. I like the great amount of life steal from Bloodthirster and especially the shield. If you're fighting against casters, usually one spell is enough to half your health bar. That's why I prefer BT when I have to deal with poke and burst since the shield is like extra health. It is very common to get a Quicksilver Sash after your core items when the enemy has too much crowd control for you to handle. The active is enough but I like to upgrade to Mercurial Scimitar because it grants attack damage and life steal. Normally, I purchase the upgrade when I need life steal and have already Quicksilver Sash. Blade of the Ruined King is the now the first item to "rush" but if you still prefer the crit build, you should build Botrk whenever the enemy front line gets too tanky. The passive is very good against high health regen and the active helps with kiting. Overall a solid item for marksmen. ▽ Armor Penetration Options Tanks are the bane of every marksmen. They can kill you but still be tough to be taken out. To bypass the humiliation of dying without dealing damage, you have actual some items, to be exact two, choices to fight against them! In general, we have the Last Whisper upgrades. They only ignore bonus armor but they have pretty good stats and passives for their relative cheap price. The most common one is Lord Dominik's Regards because tanks will naturally have and buy more health than marksmen, and even mid laners have more health because they take HP per level seals while Ashe's health pool at level 18 is only 1871 HP. Mortal Reminder is more niche in comparison to its sibling because it is only good against a handful of champions. It is very effective against Vladimir, Swain, Volibear, Dr. Mundo and maybe some other but that are the most common sustain tanks. ▽ Defensive Choices Alternatives: Part of being a marksman is learning how to survive. You're the easiest target to take out, considering you don't even have a mobility spell in your kit. That's why you often have to opt for a defensive item while you only finished with your core items. Guardian Angel is the go to armor item for carries that are always on the edge of death. It grants attack damage, armor and a revive passive! However, you should never rush it before the third item, unless you have enough damage or are super fed, and everything depends on you to carry. I tried it and it feels bad because after you revive you die again when your positioning was off to begin with. You die twice and deal no damage. Honestly, I never liked buying Maw of Malmortius or its main component Hexdrinker. Most of the time I will buy a Mercurial Scimitar or Bloodthirster. However, times have changed and mages will still flash on you, so an automatic shield will save you from most "surprise" burst attacks. And if you can survive it, you will be granted with extra life steal and spell vamp.

People build Ashe differently, and each of them swear that one build is better than the other one. However, I think that it's just preference and every build comes with advantages and disadvantages.

Most pros always build Essence Reaver first. Is it better than the proposed build?



What about Statikk Shiv? Is it worth?

The game is divided into three phases: laning phase or early game, mid game and late game. Each phase gives you chances to win the game. The most important being currently the mid game because there are many objectives you can take. Your focus as marksman is to leave laning phase with enough gold, play team fights perfect and take objectives as fast as you can. Laning phase Things you should do: Get as much money as possible. Protect yourself and your partner from threats. Don't die. This is a pretty general list and doesn’t tell much, especially if you’ve just started playing the game. However, the listed tasks are things that are listed in every guide. They just have different names. At the end of the day that are your goals. Farming – Your Gold Source Did you ever wondered why the enemy was still able to keep up with you even though you crushed him many times. Well, that means he was just better at farming than you, and that is the first step to get ahead of your enemy! Gold is important and the best way to maintain a lead. Last-hitting can be really difficult at the beginning. When I started playing “seriously” again, my goal was always to hit the first 12 minions. When you do it, you will feel more confident and most importantly hit level 2 early enough. Some tips for last-hitting: Keep moving after hitting a minion, so your enemies cannot hit you with spells. Do not wait too long to execute a minion if many minions are attacking it. Try to not to hit minions with Volley if you just want to poke your enemy. This will most likely just mess up everything or push your wave when you want it the least. Under the turret (early game): At the beginning, you will feel bad about missing everything but don’t give up! Caster minions, those with magical wands, are squishy that’s why you need to let the turret hit them once, immediately auto attack, turret shot again, and then last-hit! Melee minions, those who bang their heads against the turret, are easier. Two turret shots and then last-hit. Cannon minions are the trickiest because they are much tankier and take many turret shots. At one point you will get a feeling for them. However, if I really need the gold I use my abilities to last-hit. Trading Trading is an art and requires a lot of experience and game knowledge. Your goal is to whittle down your enemy, so you can kill him later. That’s all trading is about, creating a difference in resources (health, mana and summoner spells). There are times when it is favorable to trade and not. This depends on: Resources like health, mana, summoner spells and allies (jungler). Experience/Levels. Gold. Abilities/Spells. If you have an advantage over the enemy in a few points, your trade will be in your favor. However, you can create yourself advantages if they are not naturally there. Generally, you don’t want to lose anything. So, the easiest way is to attack or poke your enemy when the enemy: is not level 2 yet. just used his spells (by pretending to engage on him, for example). is trying to last-hit. This early you won’t have much attack speed, thus will be locked in the attack animation. used up a lot of mana, especially supports are the weakest when their mana is low. is in a really bad position, like between a turret and a wall. However, you need to know that your champion has limits which means that not at every point of the game you will be stronger than your opponent. For example, a late game Vayne will destroy you but in lane you can bully her. In general though, Ashe is a lane bully because she has longer range than most marksmen but she cannot burst somebody like crazy. Warding Warding itself is not difficult but utilizing them properly, differentiates you from the rest. No matter how lit the map is, if you don’t watch it, you could as well not ward at all. In the very beginning, try to ward the area around you. You should ward the brushes, so your support can take care of the more dangerous spots. However, be careful. If you haven’t seen anyone in a long time, I would recommend using Hawkshot before warding brushes. As the next step, you want to get a Control Ward. Don’t use it unless your support has none, or if you’re unsure ask where to ward. In general I will place them in brushes near the dragon pit. Reading the map would require its own chapter. But I try to keep it short. Whenever I notice that there I nobody where he supposed to, I try to imagine what their next goal is. Depending on your position you can see it (I will add pictures soon). Shoot Hawkshot into the enemy jungle, it will tell you whether or not the jungler is farming or ganking. The Jungler’s Mind To know your enemy, you have to think like them. When a jungler tries to gank someone, he or she will do it when: you are pushing like crazy or beyond the safety zone. you have no summoner spells up. he or she finished killing all the camps. your enemy has all his spells up and can initiate for him. you just used Hawkshot. Positioning (APM) You don't want to get hit by any skill-shot. Too much poke and you have to hide behind your turret and if it's hard CC, you're dead. To prevent that you need to move after every last-hit/auto attack. Don't stand still as it makes you predictable. Furthermore, always look how the enemy is moving. When he walks up too close, he wants to attack you. In this case you should think about what you and your support can do. If you're strong enough, just harass and punish the enemy for his misstep. If you're too weak, back off and give up some CS. I can't stress this out enough but don't die for a last-hit. It is really not worth to die for one minion. Wait for the wave to hit your turret. Objectives Taking objectives depends on your jungler and support. I will list the most important objectives you should take. First Blood Gold from the turret that falls first :P Bot lane tier 1 turrets aren't as tough as in other lanes which is why it's easy to get. On the flip side one wrong recall or unseen gank can cost you your turret. The amount can let one snowball pretty hard. Mid Tier 1 Turret is a strategical objective. It makes the map black for the side which loses the turret. Basically, it becomes really dangerous to farm or move around without enough vision. Dragons are a team effort. It really depends on your or the enemy team comp if you want to take them. This is a thing usually your jungler decides. However, you can also take dragons with your support alone when you have your core items. Just beware of the enemy. Baron, Inhibitor or Elder Dragon? That's a team effort and if your team makes a call you have to commit when everyone does, even if it is a bad one. I prefer an inhibitor over the two because super minions can win the game. They also allow to take other turrets/inhibs due to the pressure from super minions. Elder Dragon is really tough and Baron is sometimes risky because after taking it you might die due to being too weak. However, inhibitors aren't always available as option, that's why the other two objectives are also important. Nexus. It wins the game. I only say it because sometimes people seem to forget it. Team Fights When you want objectives you have to fight for it. The complains you will hear from aspiring marksmen are dying too soon or dealing no damage. I had also a lot of trouble after playing for years high mobility mid laners or control mages. So how do you do it? I don't think there is a definite answer but mine was: Do it like an assassin. Before a team fight starts I stick with my support, so I can't get ambushed and stay in secured areas. Then when a team fight is about to start my position is set. If I can't see the enemy on my screen I'm already good. When a team fight starts that means someone got caught, enemy or ally, and look for the right priority target (short arrows are guaranteed arrows). Then just join your team. Think about missing enemies all the time, ping when necessary and kite properly. However, don't clump but stay near your support or tank. It's like this game where you stay closest to your sympathetic person and try to maintain the greatest distance between the unsympathetic person. It looks like this. YOU ---- ALLY ---- ENEMY It's also the usual carry and front line formation. Due to this set-up you won't be able to kill the enemy carry but if you attack the closest thing you see you are good to go. People will flame you for everything you do, so don't be upset when you try to kite the tank while the rest of your team chases the enemy carry. Constant sorrow is the life of a marksman.

Thanks for reading the whole guide! It's my first fully made guide and there are lot of things to learn and do. A comment on the guide is appreciated and I hope you learned something from this guide.

Thanks to





Coming Soon!

> Marksmen Matchup Section Soon^TM
> Freezing
> Kiting