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Cassiopeia Build Guide by

Miniguide: Sneaky Jungling

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40 Comments League of Legends Build Guide Author Gott der 7 Meere

Cassiopeia Build Guide By Updated on

Guide Discussion (40) More Cassiopeia Guides

Spells:

Smite

Flash

Items

Starting Items

Priority

Movement

Mid Game

Tanky

Damage

Full Build Exampls

Replacement options

Ability Order

Cassiopeia Passive Ability

More Cassiopeia Counters

About this Build

SPACE SPACE

Cassiopeia is a kiting high DPS magic damage champion. Resembling an AP version of , she brings top level CC, utility, DOTs and range. Her CC is among the best with AOE slows and AOE stuns - like she can turn around a fight with one ult alone. Her poison AOE gives vision and her kit can be used extremely well for disengages and zoning. Her damage over time is very strong and - together with a range of 850 on her primary skills - save to apply. What makes the queen of kite suitable for the jungle ? Her Jungling Speed is among the fastest possible (, , class) - she can even beat them since her AOE has range allowing her to start camps from afar. She can easily give her buffs away. Her ganks are solid early and guaranteed kills after level 6. If she gets kills she can snowball well and even without them her late game is good, even if its only for an ult and slow combo. As long as she is full HP she is also able to defend her jungle on her own, or invade. Her only weakness: Without help, she can get extremely low HP on her first clear, wich makes her an easy target should she attempt red without knowledge of the enemy jungler's whereabouts (but that goes for every jungler without sustain). This only applies for her first clear though. Read further if you are curious about Jungle Cassiopeia.

This is MY way to play Cassiopeia, not THE way.

This is only a small guide that covers the basics, and it assumes you alredy know a lot about jungling and Cassiopeia. Have a look at the following guides if you need more in-depth informations:

My favourite Cassiopeia guide from BlackIceT
Allround Jungler Repository from Hahano

The Reasoning behind my build

There are some things I want to adress straight away, to avoid missconceptions and irritations:

Why do I delay Twin Fang ? Because I personally dislike it. The high damage with the 0.5 sec CD sounds really good - in theory. But if you rely on this skill alone for DPS you sacrifice everything that makes cassiopiea good in my eyes. Firstly and most importantly, you give away 150 range, you bring yourself into range of AD carries, most forms of hard CC and damage and you make yourself easier to hit - a lot easier to hit. Secondly, 0.5 sec CD means your cursor needs to hover over your enemy, you will have to stand still or move in a straight line, there is no way to really kite around (Because clicking around lets DPS from E drop below Q and W instantly) - and the 5 sec CD when not poisoned can always screw you up (like Cleanse getting rid of your poison and suddenly your useless). Thirdly Twin Fang is by far the most mana intensive skill. Your passive togeter with blue buff barely make it manageable. Lastly, its a single-target skill, contrary to the rest of your kit.
I really prefer to start the game without it, and value it more in the late game stages, when you need it to duel those pesky bruisers that come too close. Use the synergy of Q and W before you dip in the E. I will adress this topic again in the ability chapter.

Pre-Game Settings

Summoner Spells - and .

Masteries - 21/9/0 AP caster offense with the bare minimum jungle defense.

Runes - Standard caster page (MPen-Armor-AP/lvl-AP) works reasonably, but if you feel you get to low in the jungle you should add some Armor Quints. An Jungle page (MPen-Armor-MR/lvl-MS) also works very well - indeed I fancy it for the MR and MS that are lacking in her build (but you could also build a instead, its just what I do).

Abilities

HH Deadly Cadence (Passive): Your passive fits the DPS heavy playstyle. Since you can keep it up indefinitly with spamming your Q (You want to stack your and to fight), your mana costs are cut in half. Get used to your new mana costs (Q--37 W--55 E--45 R--100).

HH Noxious Blast (Q) AP, MPen: This is your chase and escape spell, the +25% movement speed boost makes you uncatchable. It seems difficult to hit at first, but your immense CC (--) helps. Some minor CDR should allow you to reapply the poison before the buff expires. The damage is good and just big enough to hit a full jungle camp.

HH Miasma (W) AP, MPen, CDR: A high-range AOE slow is a phantastic CC. Miasma also grants vision to easily check bushes and camps. Lastly, the damage is pretty intense, even if your enemies can flee the AOE. Its perfect for kiting, you can block escape/chase routes and punish enemies who ignore it. The 35% together with your the 25% Q speedup make you uncatchable.

HH Twin Fang (E) AP, MPen: Highest damage - in theory. But with short range, a deadly cast time and high mana cost, its worse than it looks. Your other skills acctually have more combat use. The recent changes now make it apply full -slow and spellvamp. That's very good for you once you get both (late game).

HH Petrifying Gaze (Q) AP, MPen, CDR: Awesome CC tool, especially when chased. Enough time for continuous slow and huge dot. One good ult can win you a teamfight. But be carefull it has a huge CD and you need to get used to the strange AOE cone.

Skill Order

>> >> >>

You can get an early point into (lvl 4 or 8), I usually do this if my mid doesn't need blue. You can consider maxing first if the enemy has lots of gap closers - drop in beneath you and escape.

DPS analysis

Combos

Here are some usefull skill cycles for ganks, clearing, etc.

Jungle - Lead with , follow up with where the monsters run and kite them around in it, constantly auto attacking and reapplying . You should start with placing in the blue/red buff bush if you fear an invade, it will reveal it and put considerable damage on any enemy that happens to stand in it. The slow will also allow for a nice -follow-up or a save escape. If you find no one, just kite golem/lizard into it with auto-attacks and .
Ganks - Keep your distance. Start with follow up with and . Always keep chasing as long as you hit , he should be unable to reach you and your MS buff and range should allow for impossible kills. Be carefull with diving, towers can one-shot you.
Teamfights - You are a DPS champion, not an assassin. Poke before fights and clean up after fights - but stay out of the clash as much as possible. Abuse your range and ult.
Sieges - Use for vision, zoneing and pushing. should help with divers.
Duelling - When it comes to acctually kill a single enemy, unpack your slumbering weapon and melt their HP.

Always try to bait enemies into following you. It makes their movement predictable and turns them into easy targets.

How to build her ?

There is only one option for her jungle start: and s. Cassiopeia desperately needs the sustain for her first clear, its when she is most vulnerable.

The is your obvious first choice. Always rush boots and a . Buy some s for sustain. If you can, get a , your base HP is very low.

Sight Ward

Now you can easily stack your Tear and you should be able to get her full to the 20 min mark if you want to. But as you will rarely upgrade it as your first item, don't overdo the spamming. Stacking it with a Q ever 4-5 sec just to keep your passive up is best. Your mid game items revolve around magic penetrtion and you should decide wether you intend to upgrade your (at all). In terms of clearspeed a liandry's will help you much more than a . Lately, I have also build on several occasions. With her high base damage and CC, more tankyness is never wrong, and especially the tenacity helps her a lot. Anyway, you want your abilities to hit hard and that's why you rush and . Should you get fed and have money, buy . Only rare circumstances call for , but sometimes they may be neccessary, if you don't want to sacrifice the -slot for a .

Sight Ward

After finishing Liandry's you can do some damage and your next focus lies on survivability. Get and . You may also choose to upgrade your Tear to if you want cheap AP. Still, the awesome slow from is a must have and you shouldn't delay it if you don't have to. A is also your best defensive option by far.

Finish whatever you havn't so far to get your final build. It will provide you with everything you could possibly want. You can choose to replace for , or .

Gameplay

Jungle Cassiopeia is pretty much unused. Here is some advice ...

I ran out of mana, what do I do wrong ? - Keep your passive up with ! If you need to stack your passive up every other minute because you let it expire, your mana becomes very limited.
When to pick her ? - She has great synergy with poke teams where she can use her long range to zone and her ult servers for nice disengages. She also makes a perfect addition to AOE damage teams. She generally counters melee champions with her kite and can screw up short ranged AD carries.
Picking a typical mid Champion for the jungle can also help to counter your enemies.
When to avoid her ? - She needs her CC for the fight, its hard to initiate with it and your team should have someone tanky to do that. Nor can she protect anything except herself, you need a suppor that can cover your AD carry.
How to manage the first jungle clear ? - If the enemy jungler seems likely to invade, ask for a ward. Always blue, it prevents steals, but most importantly you shouldn't tank blue. You can delay your red until you spot the enemy jungler somewhere or just check the red bush with and then kite the red into it. Your standard jungle route should be:
Blue - Wolves - Wraiths - Golems - Red - Wolves/Wraiths - Wolves/Wraiths (at ~3:40)
Always buy at least one until you get your .

Closure

I hope this guide teaches you something new about . Credits to JhoiJhoi, she thought me how to code. Feel free to post your feedback.

Thank you for reading!