Talon Build Guide by AlexanderTheMeh

Chapter 1: Introduction

Hi, this is AlexanderTheMeh. I present you with my guide: Mentlegen, its Time for Talon.

Before we start, I would like you to know:

1. I have a ****py elo so I am obviously not a pro.

2. Use this guide as a reference, and you can do whatever you want with it.

3. Please don't hate on this guide for no reason D:

I wish i had thise elo:

I want to share my experiences on certain champions in hopes of helping other players getting better at LoL. Please, I do not expect everyone to like this guide, but please leave constructive criticism, and at least try to see the effort I put into this guide.

Before we start I would like to explain my five builds (soon to be six with my dominion guide :D)

So... theres five builds up there. Dafaq? Well here is a breifing of each one:

1. Tri Force build: Self explanatory-I recommend this to beginners.
2. Roamer build: A build that flexes itself to work with a roaming botlane-good for all levels of pro-ness
3. Jungle: NOT RECOMMNEDED, but doable.
4. RECOMMENDED Pure AD: Completely AD for maximum burst-good for all levels of pro-ness.]
5. After receiving some criticism about how I build Talon as a glass-cannon, i included a tankier build-Not really recommended, but your welcome to try.

Thanks guys, I hope you find this guide helpful!

Chapter 2: Who is Talon?

Who is Talon?

Talon was the first character that I absolutely loved at first glance. With a gap closer/silence, great harass, ridiculous burst and the ability to jungle and lane, he was perfect for me. Talon is one of the most powerful AD characters in the game. Early game, quick bursts will take care of your enemies, while late game, you carry your way to victory. With a flexible way of building and playing I have included four different builds, each to fit your situation and playstyle, as well as a mini-dominion guide.

Although this video is quite old, I believe the champion spotlight does give a little foretaste of this great champion:

Chapter 3: Pros & Cons

Chapter 4: Summoner Spells

SPACE

There are just unavoidable situations where you need something to save your ***. The answer to that is definitely Flash. Flash can get over walls, get away from enemies that are constantly applying slows ( Ashe), and Flash can also be a distance closer against the enemy. Although Talon already has a gap closer ( Cutthroat), and an escape mechanism Shadow Assault, I feel like Talon still needs some utility. Now, you may ask why Ghost isn't the first pick. Well, I feel like Ghost really isn't needed because Talon's ult and his slow ( Rake) give him enough speed and chasing. Even after the range nerf, Flash still deserves to be in the God Tier of Summoner spells.

SPACE

SPACE

Ignite is one of my personal favorite summoner spells. It is great at early levels to get first blood. It also deals true damage, and with the Summoner's Wrath buff, it is pretty OP. It is also good for getting rid of health regaining ultimates like Dr.Mundo's and Swain's . If the enemy gets away with little to no health, tag them with Ignite and then they die!

SPACE

SPACE

EVERY JUNGLER NEEDS SMITE I cannot stress the importance of smite! Here is a section copied out of Xenasis's guide "Jungling 101: What you need to know". There is NO jungler than can "Jungle without Smite", and don't let anybody tell you different. Advantages of Smite Securing of buffs/dragon/baron Much harder for you to be counter jungled Faster (in some cases, by a huge amount) jungle times More ganks, due to needing less time in the jungle for XP Ability to counter jungle a LOT easier, you can steal their buffs with Smite You only need a lower level to kill Dragon More/faster gold, for items Without Smite, you're not jungling at all. You're simply roaming around the map and killing creeps along the way. Smite is THE jungling spell, you'd be a fool not to take it. Without it, you'll have your creeps, dragon, and baron stolen, will be under-levelled, and can't properly counter jungle. Take Smite. No exceptions.

SPACE

SPACE

Ghost is an absolutely amazing summoner spell. It has a longer duration than Flash, more distance covered, as well as a lower cooldown. However, I feel like when Talon already has his Youmuu’s Ghostblade and his ultimate for chasing speed, I really don’t see how useful it can be. It would be much more useful to flash into range for the Cutthroat and own the enemy. Still, if you hate Flash or are at a lower level, Ghost is still a great spell and adds significantly more utility and mobility.

SPACE

SPACE

Exhaust is a great spell for Talon. It gives a great slow and also shuts down enemy AD carries. You can use it to escape easily or use it aggressively. Despite all of its pros, however, I still feel that other spells are more viable on Talon. First, Talon already has a nice slow on his Rake and Trinity Force. Also, Talon is a burst champion and is not expected to get into a 1 v 1 against an enemy AD carry as Talon will probably lose. Nevertheless, If you are at lower levels or think exhaust is better for the current team comp, you could consider replacing ignite with it.

SPACE

SPACE

Cleanse is another one of my favorite summoner spells. Because Talon is shut down easily by CC and is super squishy, Cleanse is a great spell to use. The cooldown is a little too long, but I still think it is a great spell to take if the enemy has a lot of CC or all of them are running Ignite/ Exhaust. Because you have to time it very well, I find it a difficult spell to use. Consider replacing Ignite with this spell.

SPACE

Chapter 5.1: Talon's Abilities

mercy

SPACE

Mercy (Passive) Talon deals 10% additional damage with his auto-attacks to any target that is slowed, stunned, immobilized or suppressed. To be quite honest this passive really isn’t that much because it only effects autoattacks. Just think of it as a little bit of extra damage to finish off enemies, but do not try to build specifically for it or anything like that. Tips: -Since you usually engage with Cutthroat, a form of CC, you should immediately use your Noxian Diplomacy to deal maximum damage.[/color] -Wait for your teammate to CC, then use your burst, but avoid using your Cutthroat too early and save it for a second burst

SPACE

mercy

SPACE Talon's next auto attack will deal additional damage, and will make the target bleed over 6 seconds, dealing more damage over time and revealing their location to Talon for the duration. Somewhat similar to Teemo’s Blinding Dart or Wukong’s Crushing Blow, it basically amplifies your damage by a ton, but most importantly resets your attack timer. This means that you can quickly deliver two strikes very quickly in succession. This will be your main damage tool because of its low cooldown and awesome Sheen procs. Tips: -As I said before, try to synergize this with your passive to deal maximum damage.[/color] -Remember that this ability with activate your Sheen! -Use this right after you basic attack to get a lot of damage out. -This ability can crit! -Do not underestimate the bleed! It has a 1.2 scaling ratio so you will get lots of damage from it.

SPACE

SPACE Talon throws a volley of blades in a cone ahead of him, which then quickly return back to him. These blades deal damage each time they pass through an enemy, and slow them for 2 seconds.. This is a great slow and farming ability. This is your bread and butter skill early game, but late game, because harassing is not really important, it kind of becomes a slow and farming ability. Remember that Rake uses a lot of mana early so try to farm passively until a higher level so that your mana pool won’t be as feeble. Tips: - Remember that your damage becomes less as the Rake passes through minions so try to get a clear shot at your enemy. - Because of its high mana cost do not spam this skill and use it more for a presence by punishing the enemies to cross the line. By doing so, you deprive them of farm thus winning the lane.

SPACE

Cutthroat (E)

cutthroat

SPACE Talon instantly appears behind his target, silencing them for 1 second and amplifying his damage against that target for 3 seconds. This is your main gap closer. It happens in the blink of an eye and you also appear behind the enemy. This is a good skill to initiate fights because of the silence it gives. This is also your only escape (by blinking to enemy minions) besides from your ultimate and Flash (but they both have long cooldowns). Tips: - Always initiate with this to get the mercy advantage used. - Because you always appear BEHIND them, try to surprise the enemy by attacking when they are facing you.[/color] - Because of its such high cooldown, remember to wait for your ally’s CC to wear off before using this to finish the enemy off.

SPACE

cutthroat

Shadow Assault (R)

SPACE Talon disperses a ring of blades outwards and gains stealth for up to 2.5 seconds while gaining 40% movement speed. When Talon emerges from stealth, the blades converge on his location. Each time a blade passes through an enemy, they take damage. Each enemy can only be damaged once at the start of the ability and once at the end. This ability has a very low cooldown and also deals a ton of damage. Even better, the stealth can get you out of sticky situations and the speed boost makes chasing a breeze. Because it has a low cooldown, you should use this skill a lot, for example killing minions or simply using it to get the speed boost. Tips: -Tap the R key twice quickly to get maximum damage in a short amount of time to get a nice burst. -Oracles shut you down when you are in the ultimate, so be wary around oracle’d enemies.

SPACE

Chapter 5.2: Skill Sequence

(coming soon!)

Chapter 5.3: Combos

(coming soon!)

Chapter 6: Preferred Runes

These are just my personal favorite runes, but you do that have to use them. Check out my other runes section for other viable runes (well, duh).

• Greater Mark of Desolation
  
  
  Getting armor pen is key to winning a lane early. You will see almost all guides on AD champions having armor pen runes, at least somewhere. It maximizes the chances of getting early first blood, or easily killing enemy junglers who have Wriggle's Lantern or tanky solo top champions. However, Talon should be going mid, so getting armor pen is somewhat useless. I mean, it's pretty rare for an AP mid to be rushing a Zhonya's Hourglass or some other armor item. Plus, you should be getting an early The Brutalizer, which gives you plenty of armor pen.
  
  
• Greater Quintessence of Attack Damage
  
  
  Remembering that having a Quintessence of Desolation + Marks of Strength is viable too. Now, these runes are great for early last hitting, and that extra damage for killing champions. It may not seem much, but it definitely will help your early game.
  
  
• Greater Glyph of Cooldown Reduction
  
  
  Along with blue buff (10% CDR), a The Brutalizer (15% CDR) , and these runes (5.85 CDR), 5.85 + 10 + 15 = about 30% CDR!!! Along with your late game items, you will nearly always have maximum cooldown. This means that your Noxian Diplomacy, the main damage output of Talon will be at two seconds. This means that if your attack speed is 0.975, you can fit four auto-attacks into two seconds! Early game, this will help you farm, while late game it will provide the little bit of extra cooldown you will need.
  
  
• Greater Seal of Regeneration
  
  
  Talon has a pitiful mana pool. His abilities are spammable and take a lot of mana. From mid-early game, he is constantly mana starved, preventing him from successfully carrying out ganks, or getting the proper farm. Although Talon can take blue, its best to leave that for the jungler. However, remember that late game mana isn't a problem. Thus, taking some early game mana regen runes will certainly help out your game.

Chapter 6.1: Other Viable Runes

(coming soon!)

Chapter 7: Masteries

(more coming soon sorry I deleted most of this part on accident while copying and pasting!)

I prefer to take 21/0/9 for the mana regen and attack, but going 21/9/0 is great too, because Talon is so squishy.

Offensive Runes:

Summoner's Wrath : TBH this skill is somewhat useless because Talon doesn’t make use of any of the AP from ignite, so…. But if u do take a skill like exhaust, it should be useful. I mainly take it because I need that extra point for offensive skill tree (huehue).

Brute Force : AD. Who doesn’t like ad? More farm, higher burst. Synergizes well with your marks or quints.

Sorcery : Extra cooldown for Talon is great! Synergizes well with your cdr runes.

Alacrity : Talon doesn’t really make use of attack speed, but its helpful while farming. Its more for unlocking the next thing in offensive skill tree.

Weapon Expertise : Armor pen! Who doesn’t like that! Synergizes well with last whisper, brutalizer, and runes.

Deadliness : A small and minor chance, like all masteries are, but its GREAT anyway.

Lethality : Useful, I like! The damage increase is actually quite large, and with tri force/youmuu/whatever crit item you have, its pretty op! @.@

Sunder : Armor Pen again!

Executioner : A definite must for someone like Talon! It maximizes the chance that you will catch someone late game with the bleed, or killing someone with like 2 hp.


Utility Tree

Good Hands : Great! Don’t you just hate it when you go into a team fight alone, get massacred, only to find out in horrid that the same thing happens to ur team? AND JUST WHEN THE NEXUS IS GUNNA DIE U COME TO SAVE THE DAY! :D

Summoner's Insight : Flash cdr is a must.

Meditation : is great! Gives some much needed mana regen along with your runes.

Runic Affinity : Blue buff respawns are quite slow, and we need it. TAKE THIS ENEMY MID.

Chapter 8.1: Starting Items

This is my personal favorite for a starting route. The extra movement speed is great for harassing or getting out of ganks. Simply use boots go get close and use W. They will be forced to retreat and you will get some free farm. Also, if you are mid against a skill shot heavy character like Gragas or Ezreal, you should take boots to dodge the shots. It also comes with three handy potions so sustain shouldn't be too much of a problem.






This is the route taken by many Talon players. It gives health, damage, and a little bit of lifesteal. To be honest, this is the perfect item for Talon, but it doesn't build into anything and has to be sold later. Plus, you get little sustain out of it and I would really much rather take another option. I will talk about stacking these in chapter 8.2.






This is another nice route if you are going solo top for a quick Wriggle's Lantern. If you are facing a high harass AD solo top character like Riven or Yorick, the armor and five Health Potions are going to be very useful.






If you are planning on rushing a Philosopher's Stone or if you are planning to play in a very passive style, this route will be great. You will be able to take all kinds of harass and regain all your health in no time. Plus, this sustain doesn't run out! The only downside to this is that the health regen time is quite slow and you will not be gaining any real stats.

Chapter 8.2: Core Items

SPACE

Ionian Boots of Lucidity is my personal preference of boots. As you know, Talon is very dependent on cooldowns, and to effectively spam your Noxian Diplomacy, you are going to need a lot of cooldown. Thus, this cheap and effective boots will provide the early game cooldown you need as well as providing the utility that you need also.

SPACE

WHY NOT Mercury's Treads?

Well, I would say Mercury's Treads is a better item for Talon mid to late game, or verus a CC heavy team, but you will need the 10% cooldown on your Ionian boots until you buy another item that has cooldown.

SPACE

The Bloodthirster is THE BEST item for Talon. It gives much needed sustain to Talon, gives a ton of AD, and improves his burst by a ton. I even find it better to replace this item with another one to get two, or sometimes even three bloodthirsters! I usually rush this item right after The Brutalizer to improve my mid game burst to roam, as well as being able to stay in lane longer to own some more enemies.

SPACE

SPACE

The Brutalizer gives EVERYTHING that Talon needs early game: -Attack Damage -Armor Penetration (plus your runes you will be OP) -COOLDOWN REDUCTION All for a price of 1337-Leet. Who doesn't want an OP item for a cheap price and being leet? It probably takes something like 30 CS to buy! Rush this RIGHT after your two Doran's Blades.

SPACE

SPACE

Up to a rough start? Need some tankiness? Need some sustain? A few Doran's Blades will take care of it! It gives some nice health that Talon desperately needs, some sustain, and great AD. I usually rush one or two after my boots, sometimes even three if I am off to a really bad start. Overall, this item gives the tankiness Talon needs while also providing some nice early game stats.

SPACE

Chapter 8.3: Situational Items

These are items that can be considered to be bought, but it isn't an absolute must to buy.

SPACE

The Banshee’s Veil is great for glass cannons like Talon. It gives you more HP, more magic resist, and the free auto cleanse. It gives everything you need, though it might be somewhat expensive. Overall, it’s a good item to invest in when you need something to help you get bursted down less.

SPACE

SPACE

Although the damage isn't as high as Last Whisper, it gives some nice Armor Pen, cooldown, crit, and a great movement speed active. I admit, this item is a very efficient last item on Talon as well. In conjuction with a possible Trinity Force and Infinity Edge, you will be dealing some nice crits, as well as getting enough movement speed and cooldown to chase while spamming Noxian Diplomacy literally every two seconds.

SPACE

SPACE

I do believe that this item deserves to be in the Core items slot, but it doesn’t quite make it. Although the damage and crit make it a must, the price makes it somewhat less viable. Despite that, this,you’re your Youmuu’s Ghostblade and possible a Trinity Force are the only sources of crits, so it’s another good item to invest on. If you plan to replace Youmuu’s Ghostblade with a Last Whisper, you must take this item.

SPACE

SPACE

A ridiculous 40 AD 40% ArPen is huge. Remember that Talon is heavily countered by bruisers as well as armour because of the fact that Talon is completely based off of burst. Without this armor pen, you will be dealing little to no damage to the enemy. If you plan to take this item, do not get a Youmuu’s, unless you are planning to sell it late game as the stats it provides is only good for early-mid game.

SPACE

SPACE

This item is very underrated to many Talon players. It gives a good chunk of armor and some magic resist that helps out a lot late game. What really makes this item great is its passive. Simply let yourself revive, activate your ult, and get out of there. However, I don’t suggest you to run this if you are in a ranked game as the enemy support would probably have an oracles elixir to counter your ultimate.

SPACE

SPACE

The Frozen Heart is another great item for Talon. It should have been included in my example builds, but the only problem I found with this item is when to buy it. It gives some nice mana and some cooldown as well as a great passive, so it would only be natural to get it early game for the mana and cooldown that is provided by Yoummuu’s. Sadly, that isn’t very viable because you will need the early game damage. Also, the passive isn’t too effective early game. If you try getting it late game, the mana is sort of useless. Still, I consider replacing Yoummuu’s with this item late game because of its nice stats and good defensive properties, and it is a good item to invest in.

SPACE

SPACE

I do not understand why you would need this item, because you should be doing very well against AP carries, but sometimes theres just that Leblanc that pisses you off. It offers a decent amount of AD, gives you more magic resist, and gives you a shield against magic damage every time you get hit by a spell which would otherwise leave you at less than 30% HP. I do feel like this item is too expensive, but because of the AD it offers, it’s a great item to invest.

SPACE

SPACE

It’s a free Cleanse. That has low cooldown. And is very cheap. And also gives magic resist. What else can you ask for?

SPACE

SPACE

At first, I thought the Trinity Force was the best item you would ever want on Talon. It gave literally everything you need, and a great Sheen passive as well as a good slow. However, as time passed, I realized that this item is too expensive for what little it offers. Damage, what Talon desperately needs, is barely apparent on Trinity Force, and the Sheen passive, after you do the math, does less damage. Nevertheless, new players who have just started to play with Talon are better off using this item doesn’t require as much skill as another [[Bloodthirster].

SPACE

Atma’s Impaler

SPACE

Yes, this is a viable item along with the Frozen Mallet. It gives some armor, a somewhat viable passive for Talon and some crit chance. Nevertheless, going tanky on Talon isn’t exactly the smartest idea— Talon is a burst champion that relies on fast and sneaky attacks, not to survive a fight at the heart of it.

SPACE

Atma’s Impaler

SPACE

A good item, but I would much rather havy Trinity Force if you were simply looking for the slow because Trinity Force gives you a lot more damage and crit chance, while still providing the slow.

SPACE

Chapter 9: Lane Choice

Talon is a surprisingly flexible character. He can mid because of his great anti-ap squishy powers, jungle because of his great ganks and damage output, top, because of his great farming and harass, and finally, he can also be a roamer from bot lane.

You will see most Talons going mid. This is because his skill set is almost as if it was DESIGNED to go mid. His (W) Rake gives his great harass, which should, early game, deal “tons of damage” to the enemy ap squishy. His (E) Cutthroat gives a silence that shuts down AP casters/nukers. Talon’s Q Noxian Diplomacy along with the silence and passive makes things ridiculously easy. Last but not least, Talon’s ultimate, (R) Shadow Assault stops the enemy AP carry from casting, while Talon can burst him down or get out. Talon also is in a good position to get blue and gank top or bot.




Now, Talon really isn’t the best at jungling as you can see from the low viability. Although I am sure you will still be able to jungle with him, it shouldn’t be your first choice. He has such low HP early game, no natural sustain, somewhat long cooldowns, and is very mana dependent. Nevertheless, Talon excels at ganking and can easily get a few kills from level 3-6. Simply (E) Cuttroat->(Q) Noxian Diplomacy->(W) Rake and a few autoattacks to finish the enemy off. Check my jungle section in the guide to see my route and the items I suggest.




I feel like Talon is a great solo-topper, but you will need to know the enemy team to make sure you will win top. Talon is pretty ****ty versus bruisers as they are able to tank your initial burst as well as dealing some damage to the very squishy you. Thus, if you are versus a bruiser at top like Lee Sin or Olaf, please do not pick Talon as you will get killed. If the enemy picks someone like Malzahar or some squishy character at solo top (this is rare), you should THEN pick Talon. Now Talon is a great farmer because of his low cooldown (Q) Noxian Diplomacy. Although you might be tempted to (W) Rake a lot, don’t, because of Talon’s feeble mana pool. Use it only to punish enemies who try to farm, not to harass.




Going bot as Talon really isn’t suggested. If you think about it, it really gives no advantages because: You can only gank 1 lane (mid), in ranked, you probably wont be able to have a chance to bot and so you can only do this in solo normal games and to be honest you are better off farming rather than ganking constantly and leaving yourself underleveled. If you are going to bot in normal games, try to have your teammate play someone that can take care of themselves. Please don’t let your support try to lane by themselves only to be killed and feed the enemy.

Chapter 9.1: Build Choice

Suggested for: Beginners

This build replaces the normal extra The Bloodthirster with a Trinity Force. This build doesn't deal as much damage as the other onces, but it serves its purpose: it gives the extra needed crit chance after you sell your youmuu's, a viable slow and some tankiness, and finally that sweet sheen procs. I am unfortunate to announce however, that the sheen procs deals less damage than another bloodthirster.

I recommend this to beginners, because the Trinity Force gives some great stats to help people who aren't familiar with Talon: movement speed and slow for chasing, something beginners are somewhat bad at, and some tankiness to counter bad positioning or another beginner mistake. Now you may be asking: if you are noob, wouldn't more damage with another The Bloodthirster work? NO. If you keep dying, you will probably not stack your bloodthirster, so its not going to be to its full potential.




Suggested for: People of all skill levels who get stuck in a duo lane in normal games.

Sometimes, you just do not want to que dodge, but you are stuck in a ****py lane like duo top, or something like that, because that Nautilus wants to mid and nobody is jungling. If so, I suggest you to go roam. Remember that Talon can win a lane, but his full potential is unlocked when he starts to snowball by ganking. Thusly, its better if you can leave the lane, gank mid or counter jungle (hopefully catching the enemy jungler) or do something more productive rather than sitting in lane and getting all of your cs taken by Janna.

The only difference between this build and the others are that I choose boots of mobility (though its not really needed) instead of merc treads or ionian boots. Thus, I get my Youmuu's Ghostblade early to get that extra cooldown I need in replacement for my boots. Aside from that, I dont change much and the order is still the same.




Recommended for: Hardcore Talon jungle fans or when you are forced to play jungle otherwise someone will feed.

The jungle is not easy on Talon, so I get an early madred's in order to get through the jungle early. After that, I get my boots as fast as possible because that is the only thing stopping you from being a totally awesome snowballing boss. I then finish up my wriggles so that i can be a proper jungle and not **** up somewhere along. Here, I add an extra Heart of Gold because Talon is supposed to be somewhere top or mid farming like a boss. Also, Talon will need some tankiness to survive the harder ganks on annoying champions like Singed.

This time, I omit the use of the double doran's because there is simply no time to get those, as your enemy and teammates should at that time already have their first item (unless you are going 30/0) in 20 minutes. Also, your wriggle's gives you some nice flat armor and damage/life steal that is found in a double doran's. I still get a The Brutalizer because it is one of my core items, but notice that I get it after my boots.

CHECK OUT MY JUNGLE SECTION FOR MORE INFORMATION.




Recommended for: UBER SNOWBALLing, and GENERAL TALON USE.

This is the true build for Talon--the one that really makes Talon...well... Talon. Crazy bursts and OP crits, plus ignorance to that 6 thornmail Malphite. Not much talking hear: its just pure damage, pure ownage, pure fun.




Recommended for: People who think a glass-cannon Talon sucks.

I do not really understand the mentality for this, but I had recieved some critisism on not including something like this. I still include all of my core items, but take a more tanky approach this time. By including a Frozen Mallet, I get some nice health and is technically the equivalent of a more tanky Trinity Force. Getting an Atma's Impaler gives that tankiness, AD, and crit chance. It is somewhat similar to the tankier version of an Infinity Edge. Finally, the banshee's gives that extra stat to raise your magic resist and get that extra health for more damage on the atma's, while the Guardian Angel finishes up the build.

Chapter 10: Jungling and Counter-Jungling

Why Cloth Armor and Five Health Potions?

The reason why I prefer to start out with this combo is:
1. Talon is super squishy and has no natural sustain. Five health potions will give him enough sustain to survive the jungle.
2. Talon will have to buy a wriggle's lantern later, so its best if he starts here.
3. Why not Vampiric Scepter or Long Sword or boots? Talon has weak early stats, and he also doesn't have any natural sustain for this Wriggle's rush method. Long sword isn't viable because the one health potion you get isnt enough. Although boots are viable, unless you are pro runes or have a great method, don't do it because three health potions aren't going to keep you sustained.
4. Talon needs armor

Jungle Route 1

(For smurfs or newbies with no masteries/runes):

1. Start at spawn and purchase




2. Start off at Blue Buff. Talon is mana-dependent in both jungle AND lane. Have your teammate pull/leash the blue and smite it when it has around 400 health.







3. Start attacking the big wolf first, initiating with (Q) Noxian Diplomacy and spamming both of your skills along the way. The big wolf will heal you a little bit, so it is a good idea to kill him first.




4. Move on to the wraiths. If you’re health is getting low, don’t worry, just kill the bigger blue wraith and regain your health.





5. You might be nearing critical health here. Use a potion and let it run out so you can regain the health. If you feel confident you can defeat red buff or if your is willing to help you, you should kill red buff. If you are unconfident, kill the golems. Smite the bigger one and you will also regain some health. Either way, you will reach level 3 and will be ready for ganking.




6. You now have three choices:

Chapter 11: Laning

When the game first begins, play defensively (levels 1-3). This is because you have such a bad mana pool, and early game, the enemy AP mid probably has the same AD as you. Try to farm as much as you can, but take as little harass as you can, and use your potions sparingly. Don’t farm with your Rake, as you will run out of mana. You should only be using your autoattacks and an occasional Noxian Diplomacy to kill minions. As soon as you reach level 3-4, you can start to harass. Simply Cutthroat-> Noxian Diplomacy-> Rake and a few auttoattacks. Usually as soon as they get silenced they start to run, giving you a nice little harass. I don’t expect you to get a kill too early, as repeating this process takes a lot of mana. If the enemy does low health, just add ignite to the combo and they die. Early game, you should be having a TON of damage, so go gank a lane if possible, especially if they have low health. Without ganking, Talon won’t snowball, which is the whole reason why Talon is OP. On your first recall, aim to buy a few Doran’s Blade, The Brutalizer, a few health potions, and a ward. When you have those items, you should be dealing a ton of damage to the enemy, and killing should be a breeze.




As soon as teamfights start, mid game is here. Please read my teamfight section on how to survive one, and your role in a teamfight. At this point in the game, you should have all of your core items. Now is the time to start choosing the build to follow, or what item to get.

•Am I fed? If so, I should follow the pure AD build
•Am I dying too much? If so, I should go for a tankier build.
•Is the enemy Karthus killing me too much with his ult? If so, I should get a Guardian Angel


By asking yourself questions like those, you will succeed and hopefully win the game. At this point, farming should become a lot easier, because your Rake will one shot the caster minions. Your Noxian Diplomacy should too! With your high cooldown reduction, pushing towers will be very easy. Simply Autoattack-> Noxian Diplomacy and bam, you’ve dealt a ton of damage to the tower. Also, with your runes and Youmuu’s Ghostblade, the tower’s OP armor will be reduced a ton.



I categorize late game when one’s inhibitor turret is down. At this point, one team should be having a slight advantage. Late game, aim to steal the enemy’s Dragon or Baron by placing a ward, then Cutthroat -> Noxian Diplomacy and then using Flash or Shadow Assault to get away. At this point, you should be dealing over 5000 damage, and you should consider selling your less effective items such as your possible Youmuu’s Ghostblade or Shurelya’s Reverie or another defensive item for items that maximize your burst damage, such as Infinity Edge or Last Whisper



REMEMBER: WATCH OUT FOR JUNGLERS! Early game, without his ult, Talon is easy to kill. His only escape mechanism is flash and the slow from Rake, but you should still take the necessary precautions against junglers or gankers:
1.REMEMBER TO WARD. Warding is KEY to winning games. Check out my warding section for more info.
2.DO NOT SPAM SKILLS. Without mana, Talon is useless. Unlike Master Yi, or Vayne, or some other OP AD carry, Talon cannot win a fight without abilities.
3.HAVE YOUR TEAMMATES-AND YOURSELF CALL MIA OR SS. Gankers like yourself often like to gank mid. Thus, have your teammate call the absence of the enemy in their lane to survive an impending gank.
4.KILL THE WRAITHS IF YOUR LANE IS PUSHED. If you have your minions all the way to the tower, do not hang around. The jungler or ganker is coming. If you need gold/xp, tell you jungler to keep wraiths for you.

Chapter 12: Team Fights

Talon is such a squishy character that he probably won't even survive the edge of the team fight! Thus, the role of Talon in a teamfight is to:

1. Surprise the enemy from behind, first bursting down the AD/AP CARRY who is the squishiest, and escaping with Shadow Assault
2. Helping your teammates by harassing with [[Rake]
3. Killing off enemies who are running away
and finally...
4. TO NOT DIE

Chapter 13: Warding

Warding is one of the most important things in competitive LoL. I don't really ward that much because i am very noob, so i feel like i don't have the right to tell you about warding. Heres the basics: the picture at the bottom basically shows you the warding places. Although you are not a support, it is common sense to ward if you are a jungler, solo top, and mid to prevent being counter jungled or being ganked. Also, if you are on the right hand side, you are very vulnerable to being ganked by the tri bush when you are solo top, so remember to ward that place.


Here is one of my favorite warding guides, called "A Warding Helper" by Panglot. Be sure to check out his Janna guide as well! The link is
here: http://www.mobafire.com/league-of-legends/build/warding-helper-more-than-your-eyes-can-see-54337#chapter1

Here is the most important part from it:


The vision that the wards provide is very essential for every kind of game. The provided vision helps you to prevent ganks or accumulate ganks. I would say that the benefit in 5v5 premade team is better, but don't never ever forget it in solo games too.
Here are some basic usages:


1. If you are descend player and you don't usually die often during the lane phase, the only way for them to kill you is ganking. If you have wards in the right places and you keep your eye on them, you simply won't be available for ganks.


2. If you place your wards carefully and your enemy is unaware where your wards are, you can easily gank the enemy jungler or someone who's making the mistake to wander alone without vision for himself.
Here comes the rule ward for ward. You see them they see you. If they don't see you, the advantage is in your hands. That's why Oracle's Elixir is essential for most of the games.


3. Don't ever forget that you can teleport on wards, on Teemo's Noxious Traps and even on Jarvan IV's Demacian Standard. Remember that the wards and the Shrooms are revealed when you teleport on them. Place them in a bush or in some kind of strategic place. Terrific ganks can emerge from these kind of teleports.


4. The vision dominance over the map is very important for every single game. To see the enemy is power. Power that gives you the element of surprise. If you see the map and enemy doesn't see it, it would be foolish to wander in the unknown. If he is foolish enough to do so, use your power of the vision and gank him.

Chapter 14: Talon vs. The World

Ahri is a pretty easy enemy for Talon. All you need to do is to dodge her skill shots and avoid harassing her with Rake. This is because Ahri’s passive gives her a ton of sustain, so wasting your mana on nothing is really not useful. It would be foolish to use the Cutthroat->Noxian Diplomacy harass too because she has Charm, and early game your AD should be the same as her’s, so she can just use charm after the short silence is over following up with Orb of Deception and a few autoattacks. Just dodge her skill shots, and she should soon be low on mana. While she has no mana, her potential is completely dulled. Try to harass constantly with your abilities and finally bursting her down. Mid game to late game, she really is quite useless. She will be bursted down in a second, and if you use your ultimate early in the combo, she will not be able to target you with her charm. The only problem is her ult, which lets her escape your bursts.
Tips and Tricks
• Ahri is a very easy champion for Talon, as long as you dodge her skill shots
• Early game, try to attack when she has no mana, because that way she cannot CC
• Remember that her ult can help her escape your bursts
• Stay behind your minions to avoid her charm.
• Do not harass her early with Rake because she can easily regain her health with her passive

Akali is known for being OP and annoying as ****, and even I feel like she needs to be nerfed. She has super low cooldowns (doesn’t make sense), gap closer ult with no cooldown at all, and a stupid escape stealth mechanism. Now if you compare yourself to Akali, you two are very similar. Both have a gap closer, a low cooldown burst (Qs), an escape mechanism using stealth and a farming tool. But, Akali still holds the upper hand because: Early game, she can farm a **** ton with her Mark of the Assassin, and most important of all, has no mana and uses energy. Also, she holds slightly higher damage early game if she manages to land her mark and trigger it. Thus, try to stay away and harass with your Rake because her mark deals little damage when it isn’t triggered. I would suggest trying to get your jungler to help out and kill her before level six, when she gets super effective.
Tips and Tricks
• Buy Oracles Elixer! This will totally counter her twilight shroud and you can still burst her down while she is stealthed
• Don’t run from Akali. If you run, you are simply giving her more time for her cooldowns to lower and **** you up again. Even if you know you will die, turn around and fight.
• Take advantage of her weak pre-6 gameplay. Kill her then
• Remember that she has no CC until she gets a Rylai’s.
• Do not hesitate to use rake in the twilight shroud. I do not understand how his skills do so much damage, but they just do. I do not understand how tanky he can become with so little items, but he is. I do not understand how he can have such OP ganks, but he just does. OP is all Amumu is. That little mummy can **** nearly everyone. He jungles super-fast, has two immediate CCs, a malzahar’s W built in, and deals tons of damage with little to no AP. This is why you see Amumu banned in a lot of low elo ranked games, because of how hard it is to counter him. Luckily, I know the way. Stay away from him. Just don’t even think about fighting him. He probably has more allies on the way to kill you. Just kidding. Remember to ward, because if you play Amumu, you know he is very predictable. He will bandage toss you to gank then use tantrum and ult. Thus, if you ward, you know when he will bandage toss and you can avoid getting killed. Remember that Amumu is a late game character when he gets tons of tankiness and tons of damage. Thus, try to get the enemy team to surrender at 20, and try to counter jungle as much as possible.


Tips and Tricks
• Stay away from teamfights with Amumu in it.
• DO NOT TARGET AMUMU. Sure, he may be carrying, but kill his squishier teammate first.
• Buy Armor Pen items, and, I know this sounds weird, but if you get a Banshee’s veil or Force of nature, Amumu is going to be really useless.
• Try to snowball early and get the enemy to surrender early.
• Counter jungle Amumu. If he doesn’t have blue, he is useless. Easy Peasy. She is naturally squishy, slow, and uses up her mana fast. Just remember to stay away from her when she has her passive up and is under a turret. Annie is a scary child. She can lay down some nice harass on you, and her stun is scary. Try to let her waste her abilities on minions and fail her stun. This way she will run out of mana and you can burst her down. One thing that people often do is underestimate tibbers. His Aoe actually deals a lot of damage, and he isn’t easy to kill. Just remember to not engage when she has her stun.


Tips and Tricks
• By avoiding her, you miss out on a lot of CS. Thus, you should get some kind of gold per five item or go snowball another lane
• Don’t attack when she has her stun on. Her nuke is large
• Don’t underestimate tibbers!

Chapter 15: Mini Dominion Guide

(COMING SOON)

Chapter 16: Closing, Final Thoughts, and Credits

Special Thanks to
1. Jhoijhoi, whose "making a guide" and awesome line separators helped me significantly. Thank you!



2. My freinds, who reviewed and helped me with my guide, offering support at all times.


3. My family, who were awesome enough to let me temporarily do this guide aside from some gay **** homework.


4. And finally, all those other great guides i've read on Mobafire to give me the inspiration to do this 5 month project.

Chapter 17: Changelog

9/30/12: Guide Released
10/1/12: Added last whisper to builds
10/2/12: added "builds" section and fixed some minor spelling issues.