Ezreal Build Guide by NotButter

Introduction

Hello, and welcome to my guide for Ezreal, the Prodigal Explorer.

In this guide, I will be explaining the concepts and tactics of his kiting, mobility, ranged advantages, and damage output.

Feel free to comment or suggest what you would do otherwise. Please do not downvote without first giving it a try.

Pros / Cons

Ezreal is an extremely powerful skirmisher. However, every champion has their weaknesses.

PROS:
-Kites extremely well
-Flexibility to engage and disengage from fights at will
-Hard to reach to kill
-Global Ultimate
-Impressive damage output

CONS:
-Susceptible to CC
-One Exhaust and you're done. (Refer to Luxury Items for solution)
-Relatively squishy
-Has a global taunt like Teemo
-Positioning is extremely vital
-One wrong move, and you're dead
-Late game is heavily decided by early game.
-Dependent on Skill Shots. No Aim, No Kills.

Runes

For runes, I go a relatively common ranged AD carry setup.

I run 9 Greater Mark of Desolation for increased damage output in both his auto attacks and his Mystic Shot.

I run 9 Greater Seal of Scaling Mana Regeneration for early mana regeneration advantages. With this I will have enough mana to use my spells more freely than normally.

I run 9 Greater Glyph of Scaling Cooldown Reduction for increased spell usage potential. With a 8.62% CDR @ level 18 plus Ezreal's Mystic Shot passive, his spells practically have a negligible cooldown.

I run 3 Greater Quintessence of Desolation for the same reason I run the marks: increased damage output from auto attacks and Mystic Shot.

Masteries

For Ezreal's masteries, I run a 21/0/9 setup to insure I get the 3 points in Sunder for even more armor penetration, the point in Archaic Knowledge for magic penetration for his Trueshot Barrage, Essence Flux, and Arcane Shift, and finally the point in Havoc .

With a 21/0/9 setup, I can ensure maximum damage output from Ezreal's spells and auto attacks.

I make sure I take the point in Haste for improved Ghost since we are using Ghost in this guide and take the point in Utility Mastery for improved buff duration(you will see why later in the guide).

Core Items

Boots of Swiftness
I purchase these boots over most boots primarily for the increased movement speed, which allows more kiting and survivability. Ezreal has a relatively low base movement speed, so the extra boost from these boots + Trinity Force will ensure an above average rate of movement.

Manamune
Or more importantly, Tear of the Goddess. This item allows us to have an early game advantage with mana(which results in a more free usage of spells) and damage. It is important that you get Tear of the Goddess immediately after The Brutalizer to ensure a hasty build-up on the passive. Manamune is a relatively cheap item with only a price of 2110g, which not only makes it cheap, but advantageous for Ezreal.

Sheen
This is probably one of the most vital items on Ezreal, behind Trinity Force. Ezreal's Mystic Shot procs the effect of Sheen which pretty much just doubles your damage output, although not literally. The added Mana and Ability Power is also an impressive add-on for this item, since it's only a measly 1260g.

The Brutalizer
This item is probably just as important as his other 3. It provides 15 Armor Penetration, 10% CDR, and 25 Attack Damage all for just 1337g. Just like it's price, it's 1337 (joke credits to f4d3dmemories).

Alternatives

Mercury's Treads
Ezreal is probably one of the few ranged AD carries that are EXTREMELY susceptible to CC. The reason you would get these pair of boots is simple, reduced CC time. Although I don't prefer this over Boots of Swiftness is because you shouldn't even be in the range of CC. If you are, you're doing something wrong. Ezreal's priority isn't to autoattack, but rather spam his Mystic Shot in the back for most of the fight and then running in to clean-up when they're much lower.

Berserker's Greaves
It's pretty obvious why to get this. Increased Attack Speed for a Ranged AD Carry plus Ezreal's passive at full stacks = free 75% attack speed. Although this is great, the idea stays stationary, don't be in the frontline autoattacking, you're not a Xin Zhao or Garen. Stay in the back and don't attract aggro from enemy champions.

Ionian Boots of Lucidity
This is recommended for Ezreal due to the sole purpose of increased Mystic Shot outputs. With this plus your Greater Glyph of Scaling Cooldown Reductions + Masteries = 26.62% CDR at level 18. I know this sounds fantastic since you're throwing out more Mystic Shots, Arcane Shifts, and Trueshot Barrages than you normally would, but the lack of the one extra movement speed doesn't get you to 442 MS, but rather a much lower amount which makes you an easier target and decreases your kiting potential + survivability. People may think otherwise but think about it this way: you can spam in theory, but in reality you're just going to get focused down and there's not a damn thing you can do about it moving so slowly.

Luxury Items

Trinity Force
This item provides Ezreal with everything he needs. No, literally. Everything. The 12% movement speed just adds onto the concept of faster movement. The health, mana, damage, and critical chance are all great benefits to Ezreal. The most important part of the item though, is the 25% chance to slow the opponent by 35%. As it is known, Ezreal's Mystic Shot applies on-hit effects. So in theory, every 4 hits by Mystic Shot should allow one proc of this effect, granted that you don't auto attack in between(which most likely you will). That's a more than enough percentage to kite effectively as well as escape effectively.

The Bloodthirster
This item is purchased primarily for the flat AD (100) and the lifesteal (25%). Of course those are the only two stats these add, but they're the only two you need this late into the game.

The Black Cleaver
This item is purchased for the Passive, which allows three stacks of a (-15) armor effect. That's 45 armor reduced right off the bat, plus 25 from runes and 6 from masteries, that's 76 reduced even without a Last Whisper.

Hextech Gunblade
This item is purchased for, well, everything. 60 Attack Damage for increased damage from Mystic Shot and Trueshot Barrage. 75 Ability Power for increased damage from Arcane Shift, Essence Flux, Mystic Shot, and Trueshot Barrage. 20% Life Steal for Auto Attacks and Mystic Shot. 25% Spell Vamp for Arcane Shift, Essence Flux, the active on Hextech Gunblade and Trueshot Barrage. Up to this point I'm just naming stats and what they correspond to, however, the real significant effect of this item is its active. Its active shoots a projectile that deals 300 magic damage and slows the champion it hits by 50% for 3seconds. First of all, that's just a load of damage, even if it may seem minuscule. Second of all, 50% slow? They can't touch you, they can't kill you. 442 Move speed, 50% move speed reduction from Hextech Gunblade, 25% move speed reduction from Trinity Force(granted it procs), well, that practically means they're not going to be moving anywhere. They might as well be a tower at this point.

Banshee's Veil
As said before, Ezreal is susceptible to CC. With this item, you practically get a get-out-of-jail free card every 45 seconds. That Taric wants to stun you? NOPE. BLOCKED. Of course, again, it's only every 45 seconds. Besides that, the HP and Mana are great for Ezreal.

Alternatives

Quicksilver Sash
Again and again, I emphasize that Ezreal is susceptible to CC. However, this item is purely situational. If they have a Warwick, Malzahar, Fiddlesticks, Urgot, or Rammus, you might as well keep this as a good-luck charm.
REMINDER: You can cleanse off Mordekaiser's Children of the Grave, Vladimir's Hemoplague, Exhaust, and Ignite.

Last Whisper
You can always get this instead of The Black Cleaver if you feel more comfortable with it. That, or they have some sort of heavily armored team such as Malphite or Rammus where 71 armor penetration wouldn't even scratch them.

Madred's Bloodrazor
You can always get this instead of The Black Cleaver if their team is more armored such as Malphite or Rammus, as stated above.
REMINDER: Your Mystic Shot procs Madred's Bloodrazor's passive.

There are other items to add to this list, but I'm too lazy to add them.

Summoner Spells

I run Ghost on Ezreal for increased kiting and easier escaping as well as chasing.


I run Ignite on Ezreal since he's dependent on Skill Shots and sometimes when you can't just get that last hit off, this will do the job for you.

Alternatives

If you're soloing top, you might want to get this.


Two ways of covering distance is great and all, but Flash is instantaneous to cover that tiny distance, while Ghost is continuous, allowing for a more consistent chasing which results in more distance than Flash.


In order to get Exhaust, you'd have to give up Ghost or Ignite. If you were to pick this over one of the original summoners, I'd highly suggest replacing Ignite, and definitely not Ghost. You could replace Ghost with it, but you'd lose so much in the process. Reduced chasing, running, and kiting potential are all at risk once you decide to replace Ghost. Exhaust lasts only 3.5 seconds(with mastery), while Ghost lasts 11.5 seconds(with mastery).


Some people just aren't confident about their aim with their Trueshot Barrage or Mystic Shot. This usually solves the problem(granted the enemy is standing still). The idea here is, just don't get this. It's not worth it. If you Clairvoyance them, it's more likely they'll move around more than they usually would when you have no vision on them.

Early Game

At the beginning of the game, grab a Doran's Blade or Boots of Speed + Health Potion x3 and play passive. Focus on minion farming. Try to get a few kills through synergizing with your teammate, granted you're not soloing. If you are soloing, do the same, but also focus on hitting your enemy with Mystic Shot. If in a solo or duo lane it is impossible for some reason to hit your enemy with your Mystic Shot(such as if there's a large amount of minions guarding the person), divert your focus to strictly farming. By about 15-20minutes, you should have at least Tear of the Goddess, The Brutalizer, Boots of Swiftness, and Sheen. Those items are granted that you either farmed efficiently(120+), or picked up 3-4 kills with 70ish farm.

Mid Game

At this time of the game, you should focus mainly on killing, but farming on the side also. Try to keep a red or blue buff on yourself at all times. Roam often, try to gank those overextended lanes and try to participate in any team fights. You should attempt to kill Dragon with your teammates by this time(perhaps earlier, if you're in the right position). Always remember, stay in the back do not ever venture on the front line. By 35minutes, you should have(granted you picked up a few kills and earned yourself 50+ minions) Trinity Force and a B. F. Sword.
Your inventory by this time should be Boots of Swiftness, The Brutalizer, Trinity Force, B. F. Sword, and Manamune.

Late Game

This is where the real action happens. This is where you end the game. Team fights. Focus on nothing but team fights. The whole 40minutes to end-game time is all team fights. Of course, focus on farming too and picking up some kills on the side. Baron fights are vital, do not let them get Baron Nashor or it's likely you're just screwed yourself over. Focus on getting Dragon too, try to engage in a team, and ALWAYS, ALWAYS remember: stay in the back. Do not, and I will keep repeating this, venture on the front line. You will die, and your team WILL lose a vital DPS. So basically, focus on team fights, grabbing Baron Nashor , grabbing Dragons, Buffs, and occasionally farming. Your inventory by this time of the game should be how it is listed at the top of the guide.

Myths, Tricks, & Tips

Ezreal's Mystic Shot can proc literally anything that would proc normally when you auto attack the enemy. i.e. Tiamat, Madred's Bloodrazor, Wriggle's Lantern, Frozen Mallet, The Bloodthirster, etc

MYTH: Ezreal's Mystic Shot does NOT critically strike.

MYTH: Ezreal's Mystic Shot does not proc Spell Vamp.

MYTH: Ezreal is weak. No. Just no. He isn't weak. Please don't ever say he's weak or I will go to your house and Judgment on you.

Please add any other commonly believed aspects about Ezreal in the comments and I will add them here after I confirm them.

Team Work

As Ezreal, always stay in the back. Always. Do not EVER venture onto the front line. If you have a tank, tell him to tank ******** it. Don't go to the front just because he's being a whiny little kid.

Remember, Ezreal is positioning dependent. You should always use Brush and walls to your advantage. Always use your teammates as meat shields, even after your tank dies. Never save your Trueshot Barrage to finish off a champion in team fights. Use it at the start when as many of them are grouped up at a time. This not only allows you to deal the damage, but also almost instantly grants you five stacks on your Rising Spell Force.

Smartcasting

You can always toggle on Smartcasting if you have trouble with your Mystic Shot.

Smartcasting is basically where your spell is casted instantly towards wherever your mouse is at. i.e. Karthus's Lay Waste or Urgot's Acid Hunter.

Smartcasting can be modified through the Menu in the Key Binding sections.

By default, smartcasting is used by holding Shift and the spell you want to use.
So for Mystic Shot it would be Shift + Q. Of course you can just change it to Q to simplify the job.

End / Final Words

I hope you enjoyed reading this guide as much as I enjoyed making it. Feel free to leave suggestions and comments below. Please, please do not troll vote and please just try this build before you actually make a final decision. I'm not going to even give a damn about suggestions until you've actually used this build. I don't care about your special ways or whatever(unless it's for the Myths, Tricks & Tips section) until you've actually used this build.

CREDITS:
f4d3dmemories <- Collaboration partner & Ezreal professional. He sounds like Kennen. NO, I'M SERIOUS. HE SOUNDS LIKE Kennen.