Lucian Build Guide by gunkrab

Introduction

Hi my summoner name is gunkrab and welcome to my Lucian guide. I am ranked Diamond V on the Oceanic server and I hope you learn how to play a better Lucian in the bottom lane(What about solo lanes? D:) or something about Lucian you may have not known before. Regardless read as much as you want or need and any feedback is appreciated!

Pros and Cons

What Runes to Use

The runes included are from the build above and alternatives to them.


Attack Damage marks are the best to use on Lucian to amplify his damage. Other marks that are used on conventional Attack Damage champions include Attack Speed marks and Armor Penetration marks but don't suit the marksman role for their value given especially in the early phases of the game.

Your seals can be changed based on what you're versing. Usually flat Armor seals are the most reliable and effective, however you may want to consider using Armor per level seals(Same armor value at lvl 6 as flat) when versing safe opponents such as a Manamune Ezreal. Another alternative is Health per level seals but I believe Armor per level seals and flat Armor seals are much more effective.

Magic Resist glyphs are most commonly used on Lucian. It will significantly reduce the amount of magic damage you receive in and out of lane as many champions that fill the marksman and support roles have an amount of magic damage. Alternatives depend on your opponents' picks. If the enemy team's magic damage mainly is in the other lanes then taking Magic Resist per level glyphs would be plausible as the scaling runes become equivalent at level 8. If the enemy team consists of low magic damage then taking between 6-9 Attack Speed glyphs to amplify your damage instead of having a wasted stat.

I usually use Attack Speed quintessences firstly because it makes trading a lot easier with your passive( Lightslinger) and will produce more dps than 7 Attack Damage at almost all stages of the game, especially building first item Ifinity Edge. Attack Damage quintessences will benefit your Q( Piercing Light) damage but other than that taking Attack Speed quintessences is the better option most of the time.

Masteries

21-9-0 are themasteries you want to use on almost every marksman in then bot lane, here's why:

OFFENSE
The four masteries( Butcher , Feast, Executioner and Dangerous Game ) on the right side of the offense tree are essential on any marksman. You should notice that I put minimal mastery points into Warlord this is because the masteries Spell Weaving and Blade Weaving give you a damage boost from your frequent spell casting. Warlord doesn't require three mastery points because Lucian doesn't have great Attack Damage ratios on his abilities however, the first mastery point of Warlord is the most valuable as it gives two percent Attack Damage compared to the remaining two which give one and a half percent extra Attack Damage. I selected Frenzy over Expose Weakneess firstly because Expose Weakness doesn't increase your own damage and second having a high crit chance build on Lucian makes Frenzy almost a no-brainer to pick especially because of your passive( Lightslinger) can crit as well giving you two stacks on Frenzy.

DEFENSE
For the defensive mastery tree there's not much variation in what you can choose with 9 mastery points as this is the most commonly seen defensive mastery tree on marksmen. Block and Unyielding reduce incoming damage from the enemy bottom lane as auto attacks are frequently exchanged and Veteran Scars along with Juggernaut make you just that little bit tougher to kill. The only alternative masteries I would suggest is switching the two points from Recovery to Swiftness . You should do this when the enemy team has a large amount of slows or when you have an easy matchup in your lane as Swiftness is more useful later in the game than Recovery .

Ability Sequence

The ability sequence I prefer is maxing R>Q>W>E. Maxing W( Ardent Blaze) takes one second of its base cooldown as well increasing in damage and its movement speed buff. Many people disagree and max their E( Relentless Pursuit) second. The reasoning for E( Relentless Pursuit) maxing is mainly to reduce the mana cost of the ability as you will reset the cooldown faster in combat by procing your Lightslinger. However, the dash itself doesn't have any damage value other than your passive which your W( Ardent Blaze) does as well. Another reason why I believe maxing your W( Ardent Blaze) over your E( Relentless Pursuit) are from the buffs on Patch 5.16, it's something to keep in mind as now you can dive into combat with relative ease being able to retreat with the movespeed being able to be gained from allied attacks. Both provide extra mobility for your Lucian play but the choice is ultimately yours.

Abilities

PASSIVE: Lightslinger

Your passive enables a double shot after casting an ability with reduced damage to non-minion targets on the second shot - it also applies on hit effects. This assists in trading with opponents and pushing your lane.

Q: Piercing Light
Your Q( Piercing Light) fires a laser on your selected target from Lucian that reaches 1100 units but can only select its target from 500 units(Lucian's Basic Attack Range). You want to use your Q( Piercing Light) to harass your enemy in your lane through through targeting nearby minions and hitting the further away enemy without taking any return damage. This requires practice and more experienced players will see it coming so try and be more spontaneous to make it hard to avoid. Every point you put into it increases its base damage, attack damage ratio, mana and reduces its cooldown by one second which makes it ideal to max it first.

W: Ardent Blaze
Your W( Ardent Blaze) fires a skillshot that explodes in a eight sided-star on contact of an enemy and reveals a small area. It deals a low amount of magic damage and applies a mark on the enemies hit. Whenever that enemy is damaged for the next 6 seconds by either Lucian or his allies Lucian gains a short movement speed buff that can be reset but not stacked. With its attack damage ratio being removed in patch 4.19 it's lost most of its damage and reason to max it second after Q( Piercing Light), it's left with a high ability power ratio, too bad we don't see many ability power Lucians. I personally max W( Ardent Blaze) second because of the lower cooldown each level to have proc Lightslinger more often.

E: Relentless Pursuit
Your E is a dash that have its cooldown be reduced by Lightslinger attacks, one second off for every basic attack from Lightslinger and two seconds against champions. You can use your E( Relentless Pursuit) in a number of ways: dodge a skillshot, finish off a kill, dash over walls or just to apply more damage with your Lightslinger proc after dashing. One thing to note is that Lucian's dash resets his basic attack animation which means you can create some pretty mean combos. I usually max E( Relentless Pursuit) last because the W( Ardent Blaze) per level out-values the dash per level stats but because your dash is going to be reset many times in combat reducing its mana cost to 0 mana is a useful as Lucian without mana isn't too useful.

ULTIMATE: The Culling
Your ulimate( The Culling) fires a barrage of shots from Lucian's weapons in a straight line that scales of Lucian's attackspeed. It may seem at first glance useless or disappointing however it has some uses especially for Lucian. Lucian's short basic attack range makes entering a fight within your basic attack range dangerous because skillshots become easier to land and it may become harder to position over terrain or bushes. Uses for your ultimate are: clearing minion waves, finishing off fleeing enemies, burning important spells or spellshields( Banshee's Veil only absorbs one shot) and staying out of danger and dealing damage at the same time. It's a shame it's hard to control and doesn't feel rewarding with the damage output of it compared to basic attacks. The only redeem factor is of course the long range. A small trick you can do with your ultimate is apply your W( Ardent Blaze) to your target then unleash your ultimate( The Culling) you will then be constantly applying your W( Ardent Blaze) movement speed buff to help you keep up with your enemy as long as you're hitting the enemy. Remember when using The Culling be aware of your position as trying to hit an enemy with your ultimate is not worth you dying and also keep in mind you can use your E( Relentless Pursuit) to reposition while The Culling is active.

Remember to keep track of your cooldowns as most of them are fairly long, especially low ranked abilities.