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Ekko Build Guide by njb1212

Middle (S8) Ap Ekko- Mid,Top,Jg ft. Gunblade build

Middle (S8) Ap Ekko- Mid,Top,Jg ft. Gunblade build

Updated on January 9, 2018
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League of Legends Build Guide Author njb1212 Build Guide By njb1212 173 12 6,855,071 Views 21 Comments
173 12 6,855,071 Views 21 Comments League of Legends Build Guide Author njb1212 Ekko Build Guide By njb1212 Updated on January 9, 2018
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Choose Champion Build:

  • LoL Champion: Ekko
    Mid lane/ Full AP
  • LoL Champion: Ekko
    Bruiser Ekko
  • LoL Champion: Ekko
    Standard Jungle Ekko
  • LoL Champion: Ekko
    Gunblade Nashors

Runes:

Domination
Electrocute
Sudden Impact
Eyeball Collection
Ravenous Hunter

Inspiration
Cosmic Insight
Biscuit Delivery

Spells:

LoL Summoner Spell: Flash

Flash

LoL Summoner Spell: Ignite

Ignite

Threats & Synergies

Threats Synergies
Extreme Major Even Minor Tiny
Show All
None Low Ok Strong Ideal
Extreme Threats
Ideal Synergies
Synergies
Ideal Strong Ok Low None

Introduction

Hey guys! Just wanted to put a guide out on AP Ekko and how to play him for most of his roles. I also wanted to include my Gunblade-Nashors build, which is a bit unconventianal but very fun :) I've been playing Ekko since release and he has become my most played chammp, so I'd like to think I know a thing or two about him. While his popularity and preferred roles/builds may fluctuate, Ekko remains a fun champion.
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Ekko

Ekko- The Boy who Shattered Time

(I don't own this art, all rights go to the original creator, Jason Nguyen. I'm a big fan, check him out!)
Ekko is a highly mobile ap champ that can be built assassin, fighter, or even tank, and can be played in a variety of roles (sometimes i think of him as the Swiss Army knife of League).
-Highly mobile
-Great midgame
-Decent waveclear
- 2nd chance with ult
- Long duration stun with shield
Cons
- Weak against silence or cc
- Not so fantastic late game scaling
- Skills can be hard to land
- Fairly squishy (depending on build)

When should I pick Ekko?
Excellent question. Honestly, I think if you have a high level of mastery and confidence with a champ, any champ, you can pick them whenever. Some match ups make be more difficult than others, but the more you play Ekko, the better you will be at using him in a number of scenarios,initially favorable or unfavorable. The beauty of Ekko is that you can play him in top, mid, or jungle, so you have a very high chance of getting him no matter which roles you queue up for.

Where is Ekko played?
For the most part, Ekko is now played soley as an AP assassin mid. Since tank Ekko has been seemingly nerfed into the grave, he has been seen far less in top and the jungle. While his jungling is a bit rough, it's still usable, and he can still be a good AP bruiser in the top lane.

Why do I like Ekko?
I love playing Ekko for a number of reasons. First, as a said above, he is very versatile and fits in many situations. I enjoy highly mobile champs, which Ekko has in his dash/blink, movement speed increase, and replacement. Also, Ekko has a very unique fighting style in the sense that he is a bursty AP assassin who can also benefit from drawn out fights.
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Runes

Seeing as the season 8 changes just dropped these are all subject to change! This is just what looks best after some initial testing.
Primary Rune-Domination
Electrocute- This will give you an extra burst of damage after using three unique abilites or attacks. So doing something as simple as an E-Q-aa combo will proc this. Great for added burst damage. You could make an argument for Predator but this must be channeled and has a very long cooldown.
Sudden Impact- added damage after using mobility or re-positioning, which works great with Ekko's E and R.
Eyeball Collection- Grants permanent AP
Ravenous Hunter- Grants healing off of ability damage

Secondary Rune- Inspiration
Cosmic Insight-Added 5% cdr across the board. You can't go wrong with CDR on Ekko. With 45% cdr, at level 16 his ult has a 38s cooldown.
Biscuit delivery-Free biscuits. Nuff said.


I would like to add...with some further experimentation, I find the stopwatch rune to be a good secondary rune! It will somewhat help you accelerate yourself towards getting the zhonya's, practically a must buy on Ekko, and will allow you to pull of some combo's that require zhonyas in the early game.

As I said these may shift over time, but this is what appears to be the best runes for EKko after some initial thought.
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Summoner Spells

Flash is a must. If for whatever reason you're opposed to flash, take Ghost, but nearly every champ, Ekko included, needs a mobility spell.
Your second spell is fairly flexible. I take Ignitebecause most melee/assassins tend to do so, and it can really help you get early kills and get snowballing. Barrier works if you feel unsafe in your lane matchup. Teleport mid is also becoming increasingly popular, and that's what i would take if I'm going top lane with this build, but like i said i almost always have ignite mid.
And if for whatever reason you don't take Smite jungle, I don't know what to say to you.
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Abilities

Passive- Z Drive Resonnance: With 3 successive hits on the same target, Ekko procs his Z Drive Resonance, dealing bonus damage based on how much AP you have. If this is procd on an enemy champ, Ekko gains a movement speed boost. This can be use in conjunction with your abilites. As you get more AP later in the game, this ability gets SCARY! In one combo you can delete squishies.
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Q- Timewinder: Ekko throws out his Timewinder, a disc- like object that damages and slows enemies, and then returns to Ekko. Timewinder can add a stack of Z Drive twice, hitting the enemy upon being thrown out and returning. It's worth noting the Timewinder does considerably more damage upon returning than after initially being thrown out.
W-Parallel Convergence: Ekko targets a zone which his Parallel Convergence will hit 3 seconds later. If Ekko is in this zone, he will recieve a sheild for a few seconds. If an enemy is in this zone, they will be slowed, if BOTH Ekko and an enemy champ are in the zone, the enemy champion will be stunned. Hard to land, but VERY powerful. Also, the passive on this ability amplifies damage against enemies who are below 30% hp, so this can be useful for farming creeps, or assassinating low enemy champs.
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E- Phase Dive: This is, in a sense, a two part ability. The first part is that Ekko rolls forward, pretty simple. After this though, Ekko's next auto attack will allow him to blink towards an enemy and deal extra damage based on his AP. This auto attack will apply a stack of Z Drive
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R- Chronobreak: This spell is difficult to use but EPIC. Upon acquiring this ability, Ekko will spawn a ghost that appears where Ekko was 4 seconds ago. When the ability is activated, Ekko will go back to his ghost, dealing damage in the area around where he lands. He will heal himself for a portion of the damage received in the past 4 seconds. Oh yeah, this ability scales with 130% AP!!! Whaaaaatttt?!? This pretty much means it does hella damage.
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Skill Sequence

    Max Q first. This will give you good poke and waveclear. Also, it will help keep enemies at bay. You do not want to try and go all in on an enemy if your stats are not all that high yet.
    2nd, max E, mainly for the purpose of scaling damage. And, by this point you should have better stats that will allow you to all in enemies.
    Max W last. You may be asking, "If W is such a strong ability, why max it last?" Another good question! While W is a great spell, leveling it up only adds to your shield amount, so one point early is sufficient.
    (Level up your ult whenever you can, nothing new there :D)
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Item sets

Mix and Match
A lot of these builds are fairly flexible because I cannot predict each scenario you may be in. Like I have said, my goal is to always reach max CDR and, for the most part, to dish out the most damage. Mix and match your runes and items in order to get max cdr while also itemizing for the match you're in. For example, maybe you took scaling health in runes instead of cdr, so you might want to grab Lucidity Boots instead of Sorc Shoes.

There are notes for the items in the section above, but I'm not going to spend time discussing each individual item, rather the possible builds I've shown.

Mid Lane/ Full AP
Typical full AP Assassin build. This is the way to get the most damage out of Ekko's kit. However, he will be fairly fragile, somewhat of a glass cannon. Very standard build, and can be molded according to the game. Buy Void Staff if enemies has high MR, otherwise maximize your AP.

Bruiser
This build gives some good defense while still allowing Ekko to do some nice damage. The combination of ROA, Zhonyas, and Abyssal Scepter give some nice defensive stats while still giving some damage. I almost always run this build when I play Ekko top, and occasionally use it mid.

Jungle
Very standard jungle build. Runic Echos into the core items of Lich Bane and Zhonyas. After those items and boots, itemize according to enemy team. Please DO NOT get Luden's Echo with this build, it has the same passive as Runic Echos.

Gunblade Nashors
I'll go a little more in depth with this build since I've been working on this for a while and find it to be rather fun. Essentially, the quicker Ekko can proc his passive, the sooner he can get the burst damage off and the sooner he can get his movement speed bonus. So, the bonus attack speed from Nashor's will help proc it quicker. Also, now that the Z drive does not slow enemies, Gunblade is great to help lower an opponents move speed. So theoretically, you can use the active from Gunblade to slow the enemy, get in range for enough time to proc your passive, in which your auto attacks will not only do extra damage from the bonus AD from gunblade, but the passive on Nashors grants on hit damage based on your AP. A very deadly commbo.
This build also has good sustain from the Gunblade, helping you stay alive longer. I find this especially nice as a jungler, allowing you to solo dragons or do extended jungle clears You can use this in lane or in the jungle, but should itemize accordingly. While this build has good burst, it tends to fall off later in the game.


Items I don't buy
    Archangels Staff- You really don't need this much mana as an assassin rather than a caster
    Hextech Protobelt- Not a popular opinion, but I don't value this item on Ekko. I do like the extra dash for getting in and out of sticky situations, but at 45% cdr your E is already on a very low cool down. More importantly, if you're trying to maximize your damage, a 60 AP item could be replaced with something much better.
    Athene's- More of a support item now, if you need MR build Banshee's Veil
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Gameplay- Top/ Mid Ekko

Playing around power spikes is key on any champion. You must know your weaknesses and strengths.
Early game-
Laning phase can be a bit tough. In most cases, just use your Q to clear waves and farm up until you at least hit level 6. In some cases though, if you hit level 2 or 3 before your opponent you can try to all in them and in most cases you can typically burn an enemy summoner spell. Once you hit 6 though, you can play a bit riskier and use your R to avoid death or get some kills. If you have a wave pushing towards the enemy turret and you think you can execute a clean dive, it can be a great way to force the enemy out of a large amount of cs.
Since Ekko has some nice mobility spells, he is a fairly good roamer, and top lane Ekko can make some nice teleport plays. Roaming can be a great to not only further your lead, but help out some teammates. HOWEVER, make sure you know when to roam. Roaming too much and losing lane is one of the biggest and most common mistakes a player can make. Make sure you check the following before you roam/ teleport:
    Is your lane going to be safe if you roam? Are your minions pushed up and your tower is not at risk of being taken?
    Has the lane you're gong to been trading? If not, it's not worth your time
    Have the enemies you're going to burnt any summoner spells? If they've used their flashes, your chances of getting a kill are much higher. If you gank and force them to burn their flashes, you should probably come back again later. REMEMBER, it is much more effective to gank the same lane consistently rather than sporadically going to different lanes.
Mid game
Mid game is your time to shine! Once you've started to pick up some of your core items, you are a force to be reckoned with. Once you've made sure your lane is taken care of (you've taken the enemy tower and shoved up the wave) you can start to roam around, catch enemies, and help your team take objectives.
Late game
Sadly, you will fall off a bit late game. Once your enemies stack their MR, you will do subsequently less damage, and with the exception of your R your AP scalings on most abilities are't great. But, if you stick with your teammates and fight smartly, you'll be fine. And, if you choose to take Teleport as a secondary summoner spell you can become an effective split pusher, utilizing your wave clear to push sidewaves for objectives while maintaining the ability to join a fight anywhere on the map.
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Gameplay- Jungle

I would love to go more in depth here, but seeing as this guide isn't solely jungle, I will keep it fairly brief.I would like to preface this by saying that since the slow on his passive was removed, he has become a far less viable jungler because his ganks are weaker. This doesn't mean he is completely unviable in the jungle, but he's much of more of a niche pick. You gotta know what you're doing if you wanna pull him off properly.
For the most part, stick to a standard starting jungle path.BE SURE you take your W at level one for the first camp. One exception though is that you can use your W to take down the river crab fairly easily in order to get some health back and clear more camps. Once you hit 3 you should be able to gank fairly easy. Once you hit 6, feel free to counter jungle more since you essentially have a get out of jail free card with your ult. REMEMBER- if you see the enemy jungler ganking you need to use it as an opportunity. Either go farm their jungle, gank another lane, counter gank, or take a neutral monster.
Ganks should be fairly simple. If you see a lane is overpushed or you can sneak into a brush unnoticed, go for it. If you're in the bush the enemy won't be able to see you cast your W, giving them little time to react to it and giving you an easy stun.
As a jungler, it is important to ward objectives and keep an eye on the monster timers. Once Baron is up, make sure you spend your time on the top half of the map to protect the objective.
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Combos/ Trading

When trading in lane as ekko, one of the best options is to attack your enemy 3 times to get the damage and speed boost from your passive, then run back before they can get any return damage. Here are some combos to help you fight:
E, Q: This is a powerful combo you can use from level 2 on. Just use E to dash to your enemy, throw your Q, then after procing your passive run away.
- W, E, Q: Ekkos W animation is very noticeable, so before doing this one you want to get out of the enemy's sight by going in a bush or out of lane. Once hidden, throw out your W, dive in with E, and stun the target. Your opponent will have little time to react. Beautiful.
- W, R: Great for turning around a chase. Throw out your W where you currently or were a second ago. Then, R back into it, procing the stun instantly (you used to have to wait for the W to land, but since some changes in season 6 the stun from your W will not proc once you R through it).
- W, Zhonyas: I call this the Idiot Combo. Throw out your W on top of yourself and immediately Zhonyas. The enemy team think "Look at this idiot, he's frozen!" Then walk over to you, but once your W hits they will be stunned. WHO"S THE IDIOT NOW!! MWHAHAHA (sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn't)
- W, E, Zhonyas, R: Great way to start a teamfight. Throw your W where the majority of the enemy team will be. Dash in with E, then Zhonyas to prevent taking damage. Once the stun hits, let your ghost catch up to you and R. BOOM BABY
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Teamfighting

During a team fight, you mainly want to stay back and do damage with your TimewinderQ until you get a favorable opportunity to take out a high damage target on the backline. As far as "favorable opportunity" goes, I mean something along the lines of being able to proc your passive, having a chance to land your W, or having your Ult in a good place. Faker illustrates this perfectly in this video. He throws out his Q multiple times before using his Chronobreak Ult to go in and take out the ADC and Mid laner.
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Tips and tricks

Here are some neat little things you can use to better your gameplay experience:
    -Upon hitting 6, you can recall, buy, and ult back to lane without losing any cs
    - you can reduce the animation time on Q if you use the roll from E, throw out your Q, and blink with E
    - if done correctly, you can cancel the animation on W by quickly casting E after
    - the zone from W will linger for about two seconds after the initial animation. Use this to trick enemies, or for a bit more time to get in its circumference.
    - Ekko's E is a great way to get into the backline of the enemy team. Assassinate some squishes, then ult out
    - The Sandstorm Ekko skin can make your abilities (especially your W) much easier to see. Not a must buy, just a tip. (Riot is giving me royalties from each skin bought! Stock up boys! Jk...)
    - Ekko is very good at split pushing. His Q can pretty much clear an entire wave and his E can be used to deal more damage to structures. This damage is greatly increased with Lich Bane.
    - You can use the dash portion of your E, ult, and then have then still have the attack portion of your E ready to use.
    - If you buy GA, you can let yourself "get killed," without using your ult. Then, enemies will typically gather around you waiting for you to revive. By this time, your ult ghost will be right on top of you so the instant you revive you can ult for a ton of unseen damage.
    - To disguise a roam, you can throw your W back towards your lane as you're walking towards another lane to make it appear that you still intend on staying in your lane
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Champion matchups

The matchups from above are from my personal experience. If you are confident in your Ekko play, you can pick him in most matchups. However, I will typically avoid picking him in some situations. Details about specific champion match-ups are above, but I'll cover some subclasses below
Anti-Mages(Kassadin,Galio): You will automatically be at a disadvantage considering most of these champions either have some form of spell shield or natural mr in their kit.If the opposing laner does not know the strengths of their champion, or simply cannot match your skill, you may still be able to win this matchup. Still, be VERY cautious when playing against anti-mage champs.
Control Mages(Heimerdinger, Azir): As long as you are in lane, these guys will be rough to deal with. While you can try to farm with your Q, most times when you have to get in melee range to auto-attack minions you will get harassed. One thing to note though is that most control mages prefer to stay in the comfort of their lane during laning phase. Ekko is a good roamer, so if you cannot get an advantage in your own lane, try to create advantages in other lanes. Overall, laning phase will be tough, so play it safe and wait for your chance to shine in the mid-game.
AD Assassins (Zed, Yasuo): Most lanes against an AD assassin should not be too bad, but in the end it will come down to each players proficiency on their champion. An early Seeker's Armgaurd will help you start stacking armor and will greatly improve your trades.
AP Assassins (Diana, Fizz): Not gonna lie, the midseason changes to Abyssal Scepter hurt Ekkos play against other AP champs. You tend to struggle against other AP assassins, like Fizz for example, but these matchups highly depend on skill.
Caster Mages (Xerath, Victor): Your time to shine! While these champions may have annoying poke, you will typically win all in trades and will be able to snowball with items and xp. You should be winning these lanes.
Supportive Mages(Karma, Lulu, Zilean): Similar to caster mages, but these champs will typically have some way to negate/avoid damage (i.e. Karma sheild, Zilean revive). Still, expect to at least go even, if not win in these lanes.

PLEASE NOTE there will be outliers in each of these classes. This was simply an efficient way to summarize most of the match-ups. Specific match-ups are above, but the best knowledge will come from actually playing the match-ups.
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Final words/ Note from the creator

(Art- http://exaxuxer.deviantart.com/)
Thanks for reading! I hope you learned a thing or two, but most of all I hope you have fun with Ekko! Questions, concerns, comments? Want to share your scores with the build? Feel free to do any of these in the comments!
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Upcoming Changes!

As we all know, League is about to look a lot different with the upcoming season 8 changes. I will try to get this updated for season 8 ASAP but want to take the proper time to see what will work best for Ekko in the new season, so bear with me!
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