The primary motivation of this guide was to create a build to reflect the fact that we can't start with Doran items and a health potion in lane anymore! While the bonus HP will be sorely missed, they will likely remain viable item choices to pick up on the first trip back to base.

+ Great hero
+ Lots of utility
+ Can initiate ganks and finish off runners from the opposite side of the map!
+ Only gets better as the game progresses
+ Easy to farm with
+ Great at chasing down weakened heroes

- Ultra squishy
- Requires precise positioning
- Target prioritization is a must
- Slow toggling is a pain!
- Requires a ton of farm to become reliable DPS

Marks/Quints: No brainers, especially given that Riot may nerf the viability of 3x fortitude quints. The armor pen vastly improves your overall damage, especially once you get the big items going!

Seals: Clarities might be removed depending on the magnitude of their incoming nerf.

Glyphs: CDR lets you help your team out more often with volley/arrow spam!

21/0/9 is the only viable choice for a carry! If you're lazy (like me) and would prefer to stick with one mastery set for all heroes you play, though, I find 9/0/21 to be quite solid as well. In this case, though, the DPS boosts from the offensive tree help Ashe out tremendously.

A note on starting items:
Thanks to the Doran item nerfs, the standard Blade + HP potion build is no longer doable. While stats were slightly boosted, it may prove to be a more economical choice to opt for:

1x cloth armor and 5 HP potions
Boots and 3 HP potions
Longsword and 1 HP potion

depending on your anticipated opposing lanemates.

The overall point of the item build is to slowly build up your damage while simultaneously keeping yourself alive. A dead carry is a useless carry!

- Boots of Swiftness is more or less a given, as its ability to let you kite all day while giving you the +MS necessary to get out of sticky situations (combined with summoner skills) is invaluable.

- The Black Cleaver is the first real 'big' item because of its armor REDUCTION and +AS boosts. The faster you can get this baby, the more of an impact it will have on your damage, especially with the armor penetration we're stacking through runes.

- Negatron Cloak (and eventually Banshee's Veil) is a staple survivability item. Please note that the precise timing for your Negatron/Banshee should reflect the situations you're facing in game. For instance, if a fed Vladimir decides to ruin your day and switch into your lane in hopes of landing an easy kill with his spell combo, it would be foolish not to build yourself some magic resistance to counter it. In other words, take note of the biggest threats to you and react accordingly.

- The Brutalizer is a perfect item for Ashe, as all of its stats augment your volley to a good degree. Youmuu's Ghostblade and its active just make the deal a whole lot sweeter.

- The Bloodthirster can oftentimes offer you a bit more staying power in teamfights; the +100 AD is nothing to sneeze at, either, especially combined with all the armor penetration you have.

- Infinity Edge is nice as a last-slot item and will go a long way towards rounding out your DPS. However, it is a pretty expensive right-clicky item. Consider this slot a wildcard for matchup-specific items.

Alternatives:
Quicksilver Sash is quite an underrated item, and its active cleanse can be a lifesaver. It can be interchanged with Veil as deemed appropriate (when you need to purge debuffs from yourself so as to facilitate your escape).

Last Whisper is good for if people start stacking heavy armor items to counter your damage and you don't feel like going for more traditional flat armor reduction/penetration items. Otherwise, the ~60 armor penetration you get through the standard build should be sufficient for the duration of the game.

Sword of the Divine is a fun item to use, though it has its greatest advantages against evasive targets (some junglers, Sivir, Jax...). However, the active ability is quite nice and could be just the right amount of extra power to get you a kill or whatever. Do note that simply stacking +AS items won't do you any good if you don't have the DPS to back it up.

Madred's Bloodrazor is the go-to item to counter heroes who are stacking high HP items without necessarily building significant amounts of magic resistance, allowing you to decimate their health pools. The added bonuses of armor and attack speed will serve you well.

Final comments: Elixirs are a good way to beef up your hero during mid-lategame for minimal amounts of money. Try to have them active during teamfights, especially when the game's close!

There is in fact a hierarchy defining the order in which -armor items apply their effects.

1. Flat Reduction (Black Cleaver, Stark's Fervor, abilities)
2. Flat Penetration (Brutalizer, Ghostblade, runes, masteries)
3. Percent Penetration (Last Whisper)

Given the effect priority above, you can see that using an item like the Last Whisper has its greatest benefit when you choose to forego standard -armor items. One should begin worrying about purchasing percent penetration once higher-armor items begin to crop up in the later stages of the game (Guardian Angels on half of the opposing team...). Ultimately, it's your job as the AD carry to discern between the most pressing threats and update your item build appropriately.

On a side note, the armor effects of Brutalizer and Youmuu's Ghostblade do stack!

Arrow is an amazing skill in so many regards; it would be a waste if it weren't taken whenever possible. Some notes on its use: at earlier stages of the game, an arrow can easily use up a full third of your mana pool. If enemy heroes are going missing frequently, it might be a good idea to conserve mana in the event that one shows up to kill you. In addition, the ability to land a good full-stun arrow is largely a function of luck and a certain degree of skill. To elaborate on the latter, pay special note to the enemy positioning. Are they standing around and autoattacking in lane without moving at all? Then they're going to be easy to hit. Are they fleeing from a teamfight at critical amounts of HP? They'll typically head to the nearest bush and try to go back to the fountain. "Help" them along and try to anticipate their movements. :)

Volley is taken whenever possible for obvious reasons. It will help you tremendously, both in terms of laning, creeping, ganking, teamfights and everything in between. Your staple skill.

Frost Shot's slow is invaluable for Ashe, though knowing when and how often to apply it is a bit of an art in itself.

Some notes on the use of your slow and volley:
- Volley is an area of effect skill. Abuse it to hit people who've disappeared into fog of war that you wouldn't be able to catch otherwise. Its range is quite large as well, though you must be careful to note that the arrows have a lower probability of hitting a target at the outskirts of the skill range. Conversely, when fleeing from heroes, it is often wise to use fog of war (read: bushes, multiple paths, etc) to your advantage and use opportunities to slow your pursuers with a well-timed volley.

- Frost shot is a TOGGLED skill that slows your target for two seconds. If you're feeling like a pro, you need to alternate between slows and normal autoattacks so as to minimize your mana consumption. You never know when you might need the extra mana to volley a crowd of bloodthirsty enemy heroes who have come to rescue their ally. Furthermore, if you're in a dangerous 1v1 situation you need to flee from, it would be beneficial to learn how to maintain your distance (your autoattack range is huge, after all) and kite them with slows until you can get away safely.

Hawk Shot is a free clairvoyance with an moderate cooldown timer for the early-middle sections of the game. Regardless, the free scouting tool will help you stay alive and out of trouble (read: please don't facecheck large, conspicuous bushes when the entire enemy team is missing. Furthermore, if you know a hero is missing in action from the sidelanes, it would be in your best interests to scout out the bushes and be sure he isn't waiting for you to overextend). On a side note, being able to hawk out a clump of bushes when a runner is trying to escape you can often be the difference between him/her getting away and you landing the kill.

GHOST FLASH. In that order. Always.

There's no other real viable summoner skills. Combined with your built in slows and stun, Ashe running ghost/flash should be able to stay out of most forms of trouble.

Ashe's job during teamfights is to prioritize targets and bring them down as quickly as possible while minimizing risk to herself. As such, your positioning plays an EXTREMELY importantly role in your ability to do your job. Some tips:

- You're a RANGED dps hero. Use it to your advantage.
- Don't go balls-in while chasing for a kill. Your first priority is to stay alive.
- Make sure your team is doing what they can to keep you alive. By this, I mean that your Shen has to make sure to shield you if given a choice between Ashe and, say, Janna.
- Keep the rest of your team between you and the opposing heroes, if only to buy yourself a little more time with which to escape if things go afoul.
- Use your stun to interrupt certain channeled skills or to apply cc to key targets

As a carry-type hero, it's your job to farm your team to victory through any means necessary. As such, your ability to kill creeps efficiently and maximize your income are integral to Ashe's success! Some general pointers:

In lane:
- Volley isn't necessarily just for harassing other players; the AoE nature of the skill can let you easily net 3+ creep kills per volley if you play your cards right. For the most part, your creeps will focus their attention on one or two of the opposing minions. If you can autoattack other creeps to a HP level where volley can kill them, you can maximize your gold income while in lane!

During midgame:
- Much of the opposing team will be mia. Take the opportunity to get your team to place wards defensively so that you can farm the lanes safely. If you see enemy heroes headed your way on the minimap, get out of there! You're a high-priority gank target. In short, play smart and minimize personal risk.

Lategame:
- This phase is mostly dominated by large teamfights. You MUST be able to push and defend with the rest of your team, but don't just sit around in mid and waste time. Take whatever opportunities you have to farm and then regroup with the rest of your team when necessary.

This is my personal take on how Ashe is meant to be played. gl hf! :)