From now on, this is the most important section. It well basically be all the updates to how Ashe should be played and I won't be changing anything else because I don't care too much for the maintenance of this guide.


4/1/2011 - A bit late, but boots + 3 health pots like "More than a carry" has for its first build is a really good build. It depends on what champions you're facing; if you are laning against a melee champion like Cho'gath or Trynd and you can just whack on them, Doran's Blade is more efficient. However, if you are facing someone with skillshots or someone with another ranged champion with lower range than you, boots may be better. Champions you need boots against include Sivir, Urgot, Corki, and TF. There are plenty more; in general, the movespeed bonus from boots is used to allow you to position better when you harass them as well as dodge their skill shots.

Accidentally deleted what it used to have.

2/26/2011 - Switched out Berserker Greaves with CDR Boots; extra CDR for Volley, Hawkshot, and Enchanted Crystal Arrow is more important (especially Volley for teamfights and kiting). Note that this is also situational, sometimes it's better to grab Zerker Greaves still, and don't forget about Merc Treads. Also added Elixirs, although previously I figured they were general knowledge and it was mentioned in the guide.

Alright Mobafire, why do you keep replacing random sections that I don't want replaced? :[

Basically, Ashe is an amazing ranged carry. She might not have the multi-target dps of Sivir or the burst of Corki, but her utility is infinitely more useful and her poking is on par with theirs if not better. Try her, give her a shot, and hope that Mobafire doesn't accidentally delete one of my larger wall-of-texts and replace it with this short one.

Some background: Wickd is #1 on the EU Solo Queue ladder.

Looking at Wickd play, he starts off with 78 AD and 300 movespeed at level 1 and has 81 AD level 2. He definitely runs flat AD Marks and Quints, and at least one more AD rune although I'm not sure which. His masteries are either 19/0/11 (Crit Damage) or 21/0/9, most likely the former. The reason why I doubt he'll go 9 or 11 on defense is because EU metagame has the physical carry lane with a full support bottom, thus (s)he should not need Strength of Spirit health regen.

The differences between his build and mine are simple; he was using a 5-man premade whereas my build is for solo queue Ranked as well as EU and NA metagame differences. When you solo queue a ranked, unless your map awareness is sublime, there are bound to be random ganks you don't expect where your summoners come in handy. Also, Ashe can use her summoners aggressively really effectively as well; I've gotten kills many a time by using ult, and then flashing into my opponents range or using Flash to tower dive. In solo queue, having summoners up makes a huge difference. Also, AD scaling is better for lategame; flat ArPen tails off as the game goes on due to naturally increasing armor and the necessary Last Whisper that every decent Ashe gets. However, the best way to carry or to dominate a solo lane (which is the American metagame, have Ashe get a solo and hope she's good enough to exp block the opponent). Early game, ArPen is infinitely more beneficial than flat AD (except for last-hitting), thus going ArPen is more efficient for solo queue.

As for skill order, for most 5-man teams, R>W>Q>E is the way to go, getting your first point in E at level 8; calling MIAs via voice chat and having good map awareness overall between Clairvoyance, Wards, and common sense means you don't need your E at all. However, that extra 200 gold you get (assuming you're good at last-hitting) as well as the free Clairvoyance every 50 seconds helps to buy more wards and have greater team map awareness in general which is necessary in solo queue.

In general, R>W>Q=E

My reasoning for putting 3 levels into E before maxing Q is for E's active. Hawkshot at level 3 will be able to hit all the neutral buffs as well as dragon and baron, even whilst towerhugging mid. Personally, I haven't done this in forever; I almost always put one level in E at 2 and have three levels in Q before putting a second in E.

Q: Your awesome slow. Having mp5 scaling yellows will help you keep it up longer. Only use it against champions; it is wasted mana when facing minions.

W: Great laning phase harass and great skill overall. This will shoot seven projectiles out all equaling Ashe's Damage +whatever amount. Use it harass both during laning phase and during poking before teamfights. Also great for kiting, checking bushes when E isn't up, etc.

E: Amazing active ability acts as a free clairvoyance (better than Clairvoyance actually) every minute or so. Use it during laning phase to check for enemy junglers, MIAs, and dragon. In mid/late game, use it to check enemy positions, baron, dragon, and other places as needed. Use it as much, but also as efficiently, as possible. With level 3 Hawkshot, you'll be able to check every buff on the map as well as Dragon / Baron from midlane even whilst towerhugging.

R: You have the best of the three amazing global projectile nukes (if you consider Lux's one of them, that is). This arrow, if landed, deals a massive amount of damage and also acts as the longest stun in the game when hit from far enough away. Keep it during laning phase for delaying enemy recalls, ganking, stopping ganks, and intiating when you try to kill someone. Mid/Late game, it can be used as either an initiation or a way to catch people running away or stun someone channeling.

Passive: Great laning phase passive, this more-or-less ensures that your first hit will be a crit by increasing your crit chance over time. It scales really well with Infinity Edge. As Ashe, you're going to have a lot of crits even without crit items as long as you aren't constantly autoattacking.

As a ranged carry, Armor Penetration runes are a necessity. Having that guaranteed 27 armor penetration means that you will hit people with volley and your autoattack at level one for almost true damage. At later levels, it helps increase your damage output depending on how much armor your enemy has.

Ashe is also a very mana-reliant champion; you ought to be kiting with her as much as possible. With low base mana and poor mana regeneration, Ashe NEEDS her mana regeneration Seals. These seals are the most efficient in-game as well as the most efficient IP-wise for mana regeneration.

My choice of Glyphs comes from personal preference. CDR, MR, and Mana regen glyphs are all viable on Ashe. However, if you don't waste mana, your mana regen seals should cover mana regen and cooldown tends to be more helpful than MR. You shouldn't even be hit by spells, and Banshee's Veil should cancel out one spell should something go wrong.

Play her aggressively, learn exactly how much damage she can deal and how much she can take. She should be able to outlane or at least match in farm most other mids without a problem. Ashe will go mid lane most of the time. With full Armor Penetration Marks and Quintessences, your Volley and autoattacks are going to do a lot of damage. During laning phase, you should only be harassing with your autoattacks if your enemy is too far forward and if they don't have a significant minion wave. Do NOT use your Volley to farm minions unless it's a setup where that's the only way to get one or more last hits. Volley should be used to harass. Focus on last hitting; you should not be autoattacking minions unless you had just forced the enemy to recall, you know where the other champions are, and the person you'll lane against will lose exp to the tower.

Practice general good laning habits. Do NOT facecheck grass randomly, do NOT push and overextend to allow the enemy jungler to gank you, do NOT autoattack, only last hits. DO go back if you're too low. DO call for ganks. DO gank people if you can since you're mid. DO call MIAs. BUY WARDS.

Once you get your Infinity Edge, always try to keep a Green Elixir handy if you can afford it. Use it before a teamfight and destroy people with your 50+% crit chance and higher attack speed. As Ashe, you should always be with your team. Going off by yourself is just asking for trouble considering how squishy she is. An Ashe with a good team surrounding her is one of the most formidable carries. In general, Ashe should be kiting any enemy champions that try to reach her or when backing up. In teamfights, try to focus the squishies without exposing yourself to too much CC or damage. Lategame, you revert back to playing really carefully and going in as necessary.

Items:

The item build I outlined is only the baseline build for Ashe; it is what you'll do if the enemy team comp has balanced amounts of physical and magical damage. There are MANY exceptions. Your build order will almost always depend on the enemy team composition, besides your core Infinity Edge.

If you can, get your BF sword with only a single Doran's Blade. Going back with 2200 gold for BF Sword + Boots is the ideal situation. Take that if possible. Inf Edge will always be your first main item; this is your primary source of damage. Infinity Edge coupled with some +crit chance items and a decent attack is amazing. If the enemy team doesn't have too much CC, you should be able to get away with CDR boots rather than Merc Treads. If the enemy team is primarily physical damage, grab a Chainmail instead of a Negatron Cloak. Most of the time, you'll want to get a Last Whisper first. If the enemy team has enough tanks however, you should go for a Madred's Bloodrazor rather than a Phantom Dancer for your third damage item. In this situation, you'll need to be more careful in positioning during team fights since you don't get the movespeed from Phantom Dancer.

For your third full item, grab either a Last Whisper or a Black Cleaver. The Black Cleaver is better against squishier teams or if your teammates have a lot of physical damage. The Last Whisper is better if you're the only physical carry on your team or if the enemy team has too many beefy champions for Black Cleaver. With either of these items and the ArPen from your runes, your enemies shouldn't have too much armor mitigating your damage for most of the time. Most of the time, Last Whisper is still better because it works with your Volley.

There are two options for your Negatron Cloak: Banshee's Veil and Quicksilver Sash. If the enemy team has two or more of the following champions: Urgot, Malzahar, Warwick, Mordekaiser, Vladmir, and Zilean, grab a QSS. It'll be useful for cleansing that Suppression ult, +damage ult, or Morde's ult. The Banshee's Veil is better against general casters. Guardian Angel is your last item for lategame. Also during late game, try to have both Green Elixir and Red Elixir buffing you for increased Crit Chance, Attack speed, health, and damage. With a Green Elixir, you'll have 71% Crit Chance.

With this build and good positioning, you'll absolutely wreck enemy teams. Your damage as Ashe is fantastic, which coupled with the CC from her Q, W, and R, makes her almost impossible to escape if an enemy is out of position. Once you complete your Banshee's Veil and GA, you're not an easy target to take down either. If they ever manage to reach you, you're still beefy enough to take a few hits before dying, which should give you enough time to kill anyone given that you are with your team and use your summoners and skills well.

Item Flexibility:

This outline is a lot more rigid than how you should be playing Ashe. There are many common sense aspects to it. If the enemy team lacks CC and anti-carries, you can get away with less survivability and more damage in the form of items such as Youmuu's Ghostblade, Bloodthirster, Last Whisper/Black Cleaver, Madred's Bloodrazor / Phantom Dancer, etc. Be smart about items. If the enemy team has a Jax, grab a Sword of the Divine to prevent dodges. If the enemy team is tanky, Madred's Bloodrazor is a better option than Phantom Dancer. Personally, I never grab Stark's Fervor. Preferably, you'll have a melee DPS (Olaf, Xin, Warwick, Shaco, etc) who can grab it. Also build survivability based on matchup. If the enemy team is purely AP, grab two Negatron Cloaks and don't bother with GA. If they have primarily physical damage (Trynd, Yi, Olaf, Xin, etc), finish your GA before your Banshee's. If they only have physical damage, even consider grabbing a Randuin's Omen.

And don't forget: BUY ELIXIRS AND WARDS!

Pros:

- Lots of survivability; with this build, your job is to know how much damage you can take. Unlike glass cannon Ashe builds, you'll actually be able to destroy their squishies without being chased away by anti-carries. Even if the enemy team targets you and combo CCs you, you'll still be able to take a decent amount of damage while your team kills them.

- Balance between Crit Chance and ArPen; With a Green Elixir, you'll be critting 70+% of the time. Unlike other builds which stack AD and Crit, this one also has penetration in the form of Runes and Black Cleaver or Last Whisper.

- High mobility; With Ashe, positioning during teamfights is vital. If you grab a Phantom Dancer, you don't need Boots 3 for mobility and can take advantage of the other effects of either CDR boots or Merc Treads. Flash and Ghost also contribute to your mobility. No champion should be able to escape you between your movespeed, CC skills, and summoners.

- Great scaling: This build allows you to have consistent damage all game long. Once you get your BF Sword, you'll do plenty of damage. Once you get all your core offensive items, you'll be hitting people like a truck.

- Room for mistakes: The best way to play this build requires knowing exactly how much damage you can take. That way, you can kill their squishies and GTFO. However, this build also gives leeway for those who are inexperienced with Ashe. Having a Banshee's Veil and GA gives you enough mitigation to survive any nuker's full combo as well as a few potshots from the enemy carry. This does not give you the ability to overextend though; Ashe is still a really squishy champion. You need to have good positioning during teamfights and not go off by yourself.

Cons:

- NOT Glass Cannon Ashe. Unfortunately with this build, you won't be able to crit people for 1000 damage every other hit. However, your added staying power and ability to laugh at enemy attempts to kill you between your mobility and damage mitigation will actually allow you to deal more damage consistently while targeting squishies.

- Mana Regeneration: You need to be smart with your mana. You can't just keep Q toggled at all times and randomly spam Volley. Conserve your mana and use it when enemies are trying to escape, when you are poking or initiating, and when you are kiting.

- Brolaf: This guy is the bane of a high-CC champion. He reduces your damage with Ragnarok while running up to you impervious to CC. Abuse your mobility and summoners to avoid him while hitting enemy squishies as much as possible. Ragnarok is only 8 seconds, so try your best to make him waste his ultimate.

Note that this is Ashe as a physical carry. She can also be played as a support with her CC. For this build, people usually go Brutalizer -> Youmuu's -> Brutalizer (Yes, Brutalizer's passive and Youmuu's passive stack for both CDR and ArPen).

This is the updated version of this guide (written on the same date):
http://www.mobafire.com/league-of-legends/build/physical-carry-ashe-44321

I wrote both of them, but wanted to register it as mine.

From the look of it, you guys like pictures. My apologies for not having as much flare as others here. I suppose I'll post my games using this build from the past day because they're the only ones I have under Match History.