9/11/2011 - Shortened sections.

I've been playing Talon since he came out and it's pretty impressive how both bad of a character he can be if you have no idea how to play him. I almost gave him up. Once you get familiarized and see the combos he is a savage at burst DPS and I think that is the only thing he is suited for. Sustained damage is eh but he is a champion that can pop in, kill an enemy champion and devastate the rest with his Ulti to help the team out. I hope my guide can help you.

This is my first guide, perhaps my only guide, and I haven't been playing League for more than a few months. I will try to fix any errors I have made but I have come across other Talons that have asked me for my build and I thought I would share it here since the other builds, from what I have seen, aren't exactly the greatest. They have helped me in the past though and I would like to thank them for that.

Dorans at three in the beginning is pretty savage. Not a whole lot of people I have seen do it and for the stats they give it is all relatively cheap. Some may be concerned with not having the boots really early in the game but it really doesn't matter too much. The Dorans help you farm and get those ganks/kills to get faster gold and you have more overall survivability which is key. It is extremely important to survive and not die. I have always been a firm believe that a Kill does not constitute a death in any way and it will help you win if you keep that in mind. As soon as the enemy team can out dps you (you can only really burst, sustained damage is mediocre at best) you lose every time. You're burst and ability to chase is what will win you games and when you can do neither you lose.

So, Dorans is a great item with the stats it gives. Boots are self explanatory. I go into bloodthirsters immediately after. It's a tad expensive but with Talons farming ability you are going to max those blades out early, it vastly increases your burst damage and helps you heal in lane when you can't afford to teleport back to base.

Infinity Edge is next and then go into another Bloodthirster. Your burst is extremely important for team fights and if you want to solo you will need it as well. Talon CAN solo but it's really tough without the high damage the Bloodthirster provides.

I go into Frozen Mallet for the passive and increased survivability. Once you have 2 Bloodthirsters the damage aspect goes a little down on the priority list. Besides with a constant slow effect on your opponent you will be doing increased damage 100% of the time.

After that it's entirely up to you. I'd be surprised if you haven't won yet if you have gotten all of these. It really depends on who you are playing but I may go after another another Bloodthirster, Last Whisper (if they have high armor), or even Warmogs for it's intense health. I'm more of an aggressive player so I would likely choose damage over the rest. It's entirely up to you after this point and your play style.

Rake is an extremely vital part of your damage. You want to max this first. Great for farming minions and for farming the enemy. Good harassing tool early game and helps you get that increased damage on your enemy when you're trying to take em down.

We go into Cutthroat right after our first point in rake and then wait until we finish both our Ultimate and Noxian Diplomacy. It's a great skill. Helps you to get additional ganks and the silence can be useful for a solid push on a caster. It is not important enough to start maxing immediately though. After the first point leave it alone until you finish with the rest of your skills.

Noxian Diplomacy is a big hitter and it creeps on your opponent. By that I mean it slowly drains their health. Not very often will it sink you the kill (as far as the dot goes) but the initial damage is impressive and you want to max this skill right after Rake (when you aren't putting points into your Ulti.)

Shadow Assault is our godsend. An additional retreat that does some very impressive damage. It can also be used offensively (which I do more than I should probably) and the damage output is, as I said, impressive. Utilize this correctly and you will be close to unsinkable and the opponent will be very careful about trying to take you on 1v1.

Talon is a great burst but terrible at sustained and early game he can get sweeped by long-range characters. It's important to try to have someone at your side at all times. You are a far better support character than you are solo. Even when you are fully geared you are best suited to helping your team rather than trying to tank everything (even if you can at times.) Remember you can carry a team pretty easily but you can only do so if you are supporting them. Running off on your own, regardless of your skill, will eventually lead to the enemy picking you off when you are by yourself. Talon is squishy and it's hard to remember it sometimes when you are bursting the enemy team down in a matter of seconds.

With your Cutthroat ability you have the range to chase someone down and if you have your ultimate or teleport up then running down stragglers won't be difficult to do. Talon is a great ganker. Utilize him when you can but it's important to remember leveling with him is also extremely important if you want that damage output. So manage your ganks and your farming well.

This is how Talon is typically played. You will probably recognize this from the video of Talons skills that LoL released earlier on. If you haven't watched it I would recommend doing so. Here is my typical rotation (yeah I used to be a WoW player :P)

Cutthroat -> Rake -> Noxian

Talon has high damage and low health. Talon's need to work as a team to really be able to shine. Be careful not to be too aggressive when playing as Talon and pick your battles. Dying after getting your Bloodthirsters is definitely going to be a large set-back for your burst damage. Don't be afraid to play defensively as Talon. He is one of the best characters I have seen to hold a turret. No one wants to face Talon 1v1 especially if he has a turret around. Your enemy will be coming at you in multiples when they see what you are capable of so be careful where you tread my friends.