Thresh General Guide by alektramp

Introduction

Hello Mobafire, and welcome to my build for the awesome Thresh, presented to you by alektramp.Now lets see Thresh's abilities, masteries, runes, tactic, tips&tricks.

---

Champion spotlight- short up to my build.An image is worth a thousand words, what about a video?

Runes

---

Greater Mark of Armor Will do fine because you do not get any armor per level and will help you early stacking with armor seals.I think these go best but if you disagree then feel free to use any other.

Greater Seal of Armor Even more armor than the marks,since they give the most defense early and stack with Damnation it's a must.


Greater Glyph of Magic Resist Also some magic resist to help you early and later since if you don't use Mikael's Crucible, Abyssal Mask or Twin Shadows you will not get any magic resist so the ap carry will kill you fast.

Greater Quintessence of Gold is a great item for supports.Will stack with Greed so you will get 30 gold every minute.In 30 minutes you will have 900 more gold, that is quite useful, like you got a free cheap item.

Masteries

Well Thresh has some hard masteries to pick.He needs to be tanky, to stack with Damnation But has to have the utility tree developed for some Cdr, mp5, and the most important, Explorer's Ward.So this is what i picked for him.Benefits you early, helps you late game.
With this mix you will have the ability to sustain,harass and help in your lane.




Offensive tree

The exhausted target may run away with a little hp left.If you use Summoner's Wrath this will not happen.

---

Defensive tree

* Durability will give you some hp, useful.

* Hardiness for even more armor to go with Damnation

* Resistance for a tiny magic resist bonus, still..there is a chance for you to be left with 1-2 hp.

* Unyielding will be more useful than safeguard because you will most unlikely tank turrets

* Relentless may save your life quite a lot of times.Stacks with Tenacious

* Tenacious for 15% tenacity, quite useful, because you will not have tenacity if you do not take Mercury's Treads.

---

Utility tree

* Summoner's Insight For flash.With Mastermind that is good cdr. Quite OP as a lot would say.

* Meditation Is useful, with the Mana Potion and some attention you won't be losing too much mana.

* Scout is useful right? Of course it is for a support.

* Mastermind speaks for itself, 10% less cooldown is a must.

* Biscuiteer Is needed for Explorer And is useful for a quick patch up.

* Greed Will stack with Greater Quintessence of Gold so you will have additional 5 gold per 10 sec

* Explorer Is useful for early bush checking, baron/dragon checking, defending red/blue etc.For more uses check the 'Your job as a support' section.

* Wealth for the additional 50 gold, of course we will take this.One more ward almost for free.

Summoner spells

-What i prefer to use, as do many supports-

Flash should be used in any game at any time by any hero.It will save you many times, help you get a kill, escape from a turret kill/dive, allow you to steal baron, and trolling. You may use Ghost here, but i do not recommend it.



Exhaust Is the classic supporting item.Exhaust the melee/ranged carry, and win the fight.Or escape, or chase off an enemy.

---

Ignite Is a good 1st blood securer, and good if they have Vladimir and Dr. Mundo. But probably shall your mid and top take it.And you wouldn't wanna be accidentally stealing kills. Exhaust comes in more handy.Maybe if the top is taking Exhaust.


Ghost will allow you to escape using Flay or The Box(in most cases this won't be necessary), but you can't skip walls with it. Ghost or Flash depends on what you prefer.



Clairvoyance is a useful spell, at start mostly, because it reveals if they will invade, or take their own, but since later it loses its use because you got a lot of wards,it is better to get Exhaust. Again, like Flash or Ghost its up to you to pick it.



Teleport can be quite useful, but i find Flash more useful.You can leave lane and get back without losing much xp, get in a teamfight on time, use it for unexpected ganks, and trolling. Take it if you prefer it.If you do use it, ask the lanes to have 1 ward at least.


Heal is a good spell and after S3 you could take this and the adc can take Barrier.Or the adc can take Exhaust). Swapping Exhaust with Heal with your support is not recommended.

Abilities-Some tips and description

Level order

>>> Stick to this order for the most efficient supporting.

Since the 3.6 patch it is better to upgrade Flay first.


Short on abilities

Damnation is quite a unique ability.You harvest souls(cool) to get armor and ap.You can harvest infinite souls.After hitting 100 you will get 0.5 armor and ap for every soul, so try not to miss a soul, you can be quite strong if you get 100-150 souls.(the earlier the better) -If a soul is near an enemy, don't be afraid to use Dark Passage and collect it.You also may get a chance to attack or kill.

Death Sentence(oh indeed) defines Thresh the champion he is.Usually you do not pull yourself to the enemy,unless you got a Dark Passage on your location.Ill explain this in a section bellow.Good crowd control(cc), a chance to make the enemy cry.Last upgrade because it scales with dmg, Flay is far more useful because of the slow and passive effect. -You can't pull them over walls, but you can pull yourself to them!

Dark Passage, a shield, and the op pull to yourself ticket to glory.Upgraded second since Flay benefits more. -What i noticed is that when you leave the pull range of the lantern, you get the shield, if you haven't in the 1st time.Also an friend gets it if he is close to you

Flay is a tricky ability.You can push, or pull the enemy to/from you.I will explain that bellow.Is great for harassing,pulling and slowing, upgrade 1st.

The box(more like the Death box) slows the enemy for 99% and damages a lot. You can use it in many ways in many conditions.Explained below.Level it whenever you can.

Thresh got changed a bit after the 3.6 patch,here you can see what has changed.





They also decreased the shield of Dark Passage,so now, you upgrade Flay first.

---

Ability explanation


Thresh abilities are very complicating, but after a few games i got the hang of it.Now i will tell you the tricks and things you can do with his abilities.


1.Lantern+Pull+Box+Flay combo-The quite destructive combo, but requires great teamwork.You throw Dark Passage at yourself, hit Death Sentence on an enemy, pull yourself, use The Box and use Flay to push them on the wall. Your team mate pulls to you,others come,then they own them.
NOTE: In a teamfight, adc should not pull, neither should the apc

2.Using Flay-It is not easy to explain, but there are 2 ways of using this spell, pulling an enemy to you, or away from you.How? Easy actually.If you click on it you will see some arrows(as shown on the image below).If the arrows are pointing to you, then it pulls, if the arrows show against you, then they will knock back.It takes exercise to pull or push as wanted.





3.Using Dark Passage-This can be a life saver, or a fight winner, it depends on the way you use it(or for the players to know they can pull themself).Here is a list of the ways you can use it.

• You do not need to use it right away, you can rush on the enemy, then suddenly throw it to your ally in the bush(or out of it), he pulls, and you win.
• Throw it at yourself, go to enemy who thinks you are attacking him(or knows you will be with an ally but thinks he can win you) and your ally comes to the lantern(your enemy may not or may see the ally) and you kill him.
• Baron steal, throw lantern, the ally flashes, steals baron and click back!
• Warding-The lantern reveals an area, so it is good to always throw it in a bush before entering it.
• Saving an ally
• Giving the shield...

4.Using Death Sentence-You can pull, or just drag an enemy. If you pull to them you may die, but also if you don't they might escape, so think it true fast before deciding what to do.Before even using Death Sentence see if you have a clear shot, use your minions to hide from their skill shots.
Useful tips:

• Sometimes you can just walk to them, fight, and wait them to run and then use it.
• Sometimes it is good to use it even if the enemy is melee close, because that can give you 1.5 seconds more to allow you to use a spell that has cooldowned,or an ally to come and save you etc.
• It has enough range to pull to dragon/baron over the edge, so it is also a ticket out if no Flash

-When to pull-

• If your ally can come to you
• To use The Box in the middle of them
• To steal Baron (quite hard to do)
• Also to kill if needed
• To position yourself
• To jump over walls

-when not to pull-

• If your ally can't get to you
• If they have too much CC
• If there are too much of them(they don't need to have CC for the kill)
• If he is close he will get dragged to you anyway
  
  
  5. Using Damnation-Souls...You must collect souls, Do not miss a single soul!! They drop often,give ap, and more important, Armor. Also they will determine the damage you do from Flay's passive effect.If you have 50 souls, and 70 attack damage, you will do from 50-250 damage depending on the rank, now that is a poke the enemy will remember.Just collect every single one of them that you can and you will be a monster late game with 100-200 souls.

Items

So, how can we play Thresh? In many ways,for now i play him support, but i will try tank and ap when i finish support.There are many items you can pick for him as a support. Unlike Leona , Nautilus or Shen, Thresh can get a lot of support items,and still act as a tank, without the need of getting items that scale with armor so you can be tanky.

So you start off with the starting items,after getting philosopher's stone and your boots, you should build Sightstone for some health and wards, and Aegis of the Legion(if your jungler is taking it, skip it). You upgrade them at a time you want.This you do every game.After that you upgrade philosopher's stone into either shurelya's reverie or Locket of the Iron Solari. Then build 2 items of your choice depending on the situation.

---

1.Starting items-Safe

With this start you will have 3 wards, that is a sustain until 11-12 th. minute if you use them on the river.Also 3 potions to allow you to dive and regain the lost mana and hp.Also you can upgrade the Rejuvenation Bead into philosopher's stone later. -You can take Faerie Charm but you got a good mana sustain from Meditation and the Mana Potion. It's more useful to get Rejuvenation Bead.

2.Starting items-Sustain

I usually go with this, because with the runes and masteries you can have around 60 armor.And you will be gaining even more very fast collecting souls.So coming near the enemy to get the 1-1 attack exchange can be good(But only if you have the passive from Flay) .You will also have one potion to heal if you take too much, and 2 wards to keep you safe.

3.Starting items-Wards

sight ward

If you know how to manage your mana,hp, and not to push the lane so your jungler can make a secure gank then this is for you.Before planting the Vision Ward check if your enemy has one, if he does, wait for him to use it and then you use yours and destroy the ward.If you manage to destroy their ward on the river, your jungler can gank free, witch allows you to win the lane.

First recall

-After your first recall you should take philosopher's stone and Boots of Speed at least.If you have money for only one of these two, take philosopher's, since you will have the benefit from the gold/10 more useful than the boot(most of the time).Also buy wards of course.
-If you took Cloth Armor first then upgrade it to emblem of valor and then make philosopher's stone and the Boots of Speed if possible.

Every game items

Aegis of the Legion-Aura for armor, hp/5, hp, and magic resist, what else could you want.This is an every game must item, can save yours and an ally's life(if they survive with very low hp).It is a good boost early,stacking with your passive. Ruby Sightstone-3 free wards,Why is this better than just buying wards, well:Gives hp and you have 5 stacks just as if you have a stack of wards.It is economical, you will regain the wards cost very quick.Trust me it is most certainly useful.

Upgrading

Lets see when to upgrade Aegis of the Legion and into what to upgrade the philosopher's stone. Of course sometimes you can take both at the same time,for example when the jungler took Runic Bulwark

shurelya's reverie

Locket of the Iron Solari Should be upgraded if the enemy has a lot of aoe(like Frozen Tomb, Desperate Power, Pyroclasm, etc.). This shield is useful and can save the ally(he could survive with low hp because Aegis of the Legion and the shield) Shurelya's reverie Is useful if you have good fight starters in your team.Examples: Jarvan IV, Amumu, Lissandra etc. When you have good starters, your team will have to follow fast, this is where Shurelya's jumps in.Also useful for escaping or chasing down.I usually take this. Runic Bulwark-When to upgrade it?Well You can upgrade it at any time, after upgrading philosopher's stone or at the very end.It is up to you,I would advise you to upgrade it after finishing one of the final two items.

Iceborn GauntletCooldown reduction is great,but the passive effect is useful.Slow your foes and poke at the same time.Use shurelya's reverie and catch the slowed enemy, or help a mate escape.If nobody from your team is getting this, get it.You may not use it often, but it is useful.

Frozen Heart Also some mana, cdr, and monster armor.Good effect if they have annoying attackers like Master Yi, Tryndamere and alike because the slow.So if they have annoying melee ad champs take this(has a range of 1000 so will probably slow ranged adc's too).

Mikael's Crucible-Take it only if the enemy has good cc and damage while at it.Good heal and a cc remove that can/will save your ally's life.Not a bad item , but it doesn't suit Thresh because of all the mana regen, he does not lose much mana.

Abyssal Mask should be taken if you have a strong ap caster, or two( Fiddlesticks jungle).And it shall give you ap for some additional damage and magic resist for their ap.

Ohmwrecker To allow you to dive under a turret and win that 4v3 or 3v2 dive, quite an awesome active indeed.The stats are not bad and it upgrades from philosopher's stone,so you can switch it with shurelya's or locket, but i wouldn't advise you.Take it if you like it, i do not, but it has uses.

shard of true ice

shard of true ice Is cheap, has a good effect and aura, and gives the constant gp5 and that is damn awesome.I take this usually since it is useful in combo with Iceborn Gauntlet if i took them, if not then i make other items.

Twin Shadows Is an underrated item.That slow is great, plus it reveals the enemy.The stats are good, if they have a strong ap team you should take it..Why not,its cheap and good.

Randuin's Omen is a great item on Thresh, you can use Death Sentence and pull to them, and then use it in combo with the shurelya's reverie that you used before jumping in.It will be hard for them to escape.The hp/armor is good too.

Locket of the Iron Solari Should be upgraded if the enemy has a lot of aoe(like Frozen Tomb, Desperate Power, Pyroclasm, etc.). This shield is useful and can save the ally(he could survive with low hp because Aegis of the Legion and the shield)

Example build no. 1: Heavy ap team with good cc

shurelya's reverie

You shall have good magic resistance, armor too, and have a cc remover and heal that will be certanly useful.Switch shurelya's reverie for Locket of the Iron Solari if the also have good aoe damage.

---

Example build no.2:Heavy attack damage team and your jungler took Runic Bulwark

shurelya's reverie

You asked your jungler to take Runic Bulwark and now you had one extra space to spare.You decided to take Locket of the Iron Solari to help your team even more.With a great armor rate you can take a lot of damage.Using Randuin's Omen and Iceborn Gauntlet you will defend your adc-s from their attacks and dives.

---

Exaple build no.3:Slow/speed support

shurelya's reverieshard of true ice

You took a lot of slowing items, and shurelya's reverie to speed your team up.The enemy will hardly escape this.If you ask your jungler to take Runic Bulwark you can take Iceborn Gauntlet instead for even more slows. Twin Shadows can also be switched for bulwark if they have strong ap casters.

Boots

Mercury's Treads will give you 35% tenacity which is very good vs high cc(crowd control) teams.Use them if the team has some cc and some mages.

Ionian Boots of Lucidity are my preferred boots.Because i get a good CDR(cooldown reduction) boost.It will reduce Dark Passage from 16 sec to 12.8 .Other spells too. I usually take this.

Boots of Swiftness are useful, but i do not prefer them.Will allow you to catch them with Death Sentence, escape them using Flay, go even closer to them before an ally uses Dark Passage. Has many uses, but i find cdr more useful.Take these if you prefer them.

Ninja Tabi is if their team has a lot of ad.And if you are looking to be more tanky(you do not have a real tank/offtank) this can be good.But you can take this, if the do not have a lot of cc, or heavy magic damage.Do not take this unless one of these three is involved.

Boots of Mobility are good boots, you can get on time to save a turret/help your ally, come to baron to steal...But if you get into combat, it will not be of any use.You benefit much more from other boots.Even Boots of Swiftness are more useful.If you think this is better, take them.


Upgrade the boots somewhere between philosopher's stone and Ruby Sightstone/ Aegis of the Legion.

As for the enchantment i would take it somewhere after you make Locket of the Iron Solari or shurelya's reverie for the good stack of speed for your team.

Gameplay

Well a lot of play with Thresh is explained in the sections:Your job as a support;Abilities-explanation.But there are a few things that can be said, a few tips,how he works in teamfights, why is he more useful than Leona or Shen and some more things.

---

-Your role as Thresh-

So you are Thresh, a support, you have a shield, a lot of pulls, and a good CC .What should you do with all this? Since you have Damnation and armor from items, you will hit 150 armor until lvl 18(at least you should).This means you can easily dive in them, The Box, Flay, Exhaust the carry and flash out(if they do not have Amumu, Galio or someone like them).You have a massive role and can change a losing game into a win(i've done it a few times...it feels great and makes you proud).

Using The Box at the right time,pulling to them or not is important, knocking them to or against you is all important, and makes you one of the most useful supports in the game.Here are some examples of what you can do:

• If you hook the right person, like Tryndamere while in Undying Rage, or Ezreal from the back, you can make the difference of a loss or win.
• If you see that the fight is not going too well, The Box and Flay them away, and run.This may save your team mates and allow you to win them later.
• Use Dark Passage to save your mates or just to shield them, the shield at rank 5 absorbs a good amount(think how many times you survived with 50 hp and before that you had Janna shield for instance).
• With your spells you help with damage too, Flay with Iceborn Gauntlet has good damage, The Box does 450 damage on rank 3, witch is good.That helps much in teamfights(remember when the enemy goes off with 50 hp?)
• You can bait the team into your mates, by using your skills to evade getting caught

---

You should manage your mana, try not to use it blind on a bush or to slip it quite long, you will lose a lot of mana, at least until you get philosopher's stone.Wait for a good chance to catch them.Mana management is very important on start.

---

And last of all, lane working.
As Thresh you can cook the enemy with your auto attacks.( Flay-s passive)
-CC them with Death Sentence and Flay for the kill, escape ganks with The Box and flash etc. Wait for the passive from Flay to recharge, and hit them but use Dark Passage before that, if the enemy's attack you, your adc pulls to you, attack them, do not use Death Sentence if they are running, wait for a clear shot and hit them.If they aren't running, rather, attacking you, then hit them right away, that will stun/pull them for 1.5 seconds, enough for your adc to do good damage, or kill.
-Sometimes a harass can turn into a 2 vs 2 engagement, and if your adc has low hp, you shouldn't attack because he might die.Instead you will have to try to disengage, or if they already used their Flash, try and go for the kill.
-If it is even possible, try to gank, before you do check with your mid ally if the river is warded, if not, gank.But be careful, if you fail the gank you lose xp and that ,of course, is bad.

AD carries

You will go in lane with some of these ad carries.Check this to see and know which goes best with Thresh. If you went in a game, check the adc you are going with/against for info on how to play with/against him.As for the difficulty against an adc, this doesn't have to be 100% true.The enemy adc can be harder than expected because of his support, or easier...

Playing with: Mf can do a lot of burst damage early game.You hook an enemy and she can use her Double Up to do some good damage.Even without hooking you can use your shield and she can come close to hit them.You can defend her while she uses Bullet Time.A good chase because Make it Rain. Great combination. Playing against:She can be rough with Double Up and Make it Rain.So try and attack her before she harasses you too much.Also if she uses Bullet Time you have Flay and Death Sentence

Your job as a support

Im still working on this but here is a link on how to ward : A must read if a support warding guide

---

Safe/careful/danger zones


- green . Shows the safe zone, it is safe to be here until your turret is down, it is best to be at this zone even if the minions are pushing(yours).
-Yellow. You can be in this zone, it is counted as safe as long as you have a ward placed in the river.But of not, it is a bit risky to be here, you have a chance to escape, but it depends on who is attacking you, or with who you are laning with.
- red. The danger zone, stay in it only if the jungler is dead, or you are dominating. Even with a ward there is a chance you will not escape, for instance late notice.

---

Buy 1-2 wards to have in your sleeve at all the times( Sightstone has 4 stacks and don't be afraid to lose 1 ward for the reason of checking a bush, or if not you can check with Dark Passage).

You can ask your team to get 1-2 wards as well, getting 5 wards costs 375 gold, that is much, and you can lose a lot if you buy a stack every 5 minutes.So ask for your team, a little favor may save someone's lives.Also at late game be careful when putting a ward, you never know will an enemy be there for(against) you.

Put a Vision Ward at Dragon and Baron The enemy may have 1 there already and you can destroy it to prevent stealing,ganking, or ambush. Also you can get 1 early to kill enemy wards so your jungler can gank.


Explorer's Ward might not seem like much, but it's quite useful. It gives you a mini- Sight Ward, and usage of this mini-ward can act like a substitute for Clairvoyance within the first couple minutes of the game. Say the enemy support is Blitzcrank. Leave the fountain immediately and pop your Explorer's Ward in a bush near your buff to look out for his team invading. Or, if your team invades the enemy blue buff, you can leave your Explorer's Ward at your own blue buff to spot to see if the enemy team had the same idea as you.

In lane, you can use it to bait out Vision Wards from supports who start with them. They will often drop Vision Wards asap to try and control bushes, but if they use it to destroy your lesser Explorer's Ward, then you know they used their Vision Ward, you know when and where they used it, and you still have your regular full duration Sight Wards.(Thanks for Astrolia for the tips on explorer's ward)

At about 6:20 you may go to their blue and place a sight ward there(make sure they do not have a ward to see you go up). This will give you a chance to gank or steal their blue a around 7:00 when it respawns.This will only work if you are on blue team and they have a jungler that stats at blue.

---

This is the early game supporting, Doran's Blade for adc farming type:

• Mage minions----> hit twice and the adc hits it
• Warrior minions---->Adc 1 hit, you 1-2 hits, adc last hit
• Cannon minion---->This is not really ordered, hit it and when its low, the adc finishes it.

A bit later when the adc has more damage let him farm for himself.When the minions are under your turret the adc should last hit minions.
Of course you do not have to hit minions so you don't push but if you want to keep the pressure on...
I usually do not hit minions to save the passive from Flay so i can harass the enemy.The adc can last hit by himself,but this gives a lot of farm to him

---

Some videos about cool warding tricks, worth watching.

Hall of fame

I currently just have this one.

Hope you enjoyed :D

Thanks for reading my Thresh build.Up vote it and comment me on some tips&tricks that i might have missed.If there are any grammar mistakes then i am really sorry.My native language isn't English.
-See you on the field of battle.