ez guide
Ezreal Guide⁚ The Prodigal Explorer
Ezreal, the Prodigal Explorer, is a versatile marksman known for his long-range poke, mobility, and ability to adapt to various playstyles. His unique kit allows him to excel in various roles, making him a popular pick among players seeking a challenging and rewarding champion. This guide will delve into Ezreal’s strengths and weaknesses, provide optimal builds for different roles, and offer tips to maximize his potential in League of Legends.
Introduction
Ezreal, the Prodigal Explorer, is a beloved marksman in League of Legends known for his versatility and unique playstyle. He’s not your typical hypercarry, relying on consistent poke, mobility, and strategic positioning to dominate lanes. His kit, with Mystic Shot, Essence Flux, Arcane Shift, and Trueshot Barrage, allows him to excel in various roles, from a traditional ADC to a roaming support or even a mid-lane mage. This guide will explore the nuances of Ezreal’s gameplay, providing insights into his strengths, weaknesses, optimal builds, and strategies to help you master this complex yet rewarding champion.
Whether you’re a seasoned veteran or a newcomer to the world of League of Legends, understanding Ezreal’s strengths and weaknesses is crucial for maximizing his potential. His ability to poke and engage from a safe distance makes him a formidable lane bully, while his Arcane Shift provides incredible mobility for escaping ganks or chasing down enemies. However, Ezreal’s reliance on mana and his relatively low base damage compared to other marksmen can be challenging for new players to manage.
This comprehensive guide aims to equip you with the knowledge and strategies to overcome these challenges and unlock Ezreal’s full potential. We’ll delve into his best builds, rune setups, skill order, and matchup strategies to ensure your success in the Summoner’s Rift.
Ezreal’s Strengths and Weaknesses
Ezreal’s unique kit grants him a distinct set of strengths and weaknesses that make him a fascinating and challenging champion to master. His strengths lie in his versatility, mobility, and poke potential. Ezreal’s Mystic Shot allows him to harass enemies from a safe distance, while his Arcane Shift provides incredible mobility for dodging ganks or closing in on targets. He can adapt to various roles, excelling as a traditional ADC, a roaming support, or even a mid-lane mage.
However, Ezreal also has some weaknesses that players need to be aware of. His reliance on mana can make him vulnerable in the early game, especially against aggressive lane opponents. His base damage is relatively low compared to other marksmen, meaning he requires items and scaling to reach peak damage output. Additionally, Ezreal’s reliance on skillshots can make him prone to mistakes, requiring precise aiming and timing.
Despite these weaknesses, Ezreal’s strengths outweigh them, making him a viable and rewarding pick for players who enjoy a dynamic and strategic playstyle. His ability to poke, engage, and disengage at will allows him to control the pace of the lane and outmaneuver his opponents. With proper understanding and practice, Ezreal can be a formidable force in the Summoner’s Rift.
Best Ezreal Builds
Ezreal’s versatility allows him to thrive in various roles, and each role has its own optimal build path. The most common build is Ezreal ADC, where he excels as a hyper-scaling marksman with a focus on sustained damage and mobility. The core items for Ezreal ADC include Trinity Force, Ionian Boots of Lucidity, Manamune, Spear of Shojin, Serylda’s Grudge, and Bloodthirster. These items provide him with a balance of attack damage, ability haste, mana, and sustain, allowing him to dominate the late game.
Ezreal can also be played as a support, offering a unique blend of poke and utility. The build for Ezreal Support typically focuses on items like ZazZak’s Realmspike, Ionian Boots of Lucidity, Trinity Force, Manamune, and Serylda’s Grudge. These items prioritize ability haste and mana to allow Ezreal to spam his abilities and provide consistent support for his lane partner.
While less common, Ezreal can also be played as a mid-lane mage, utilizing his poke and mobility to harass opponents and control the wave. A typical build for Ezreal Mid focuses on items like Trinity Force, Ionian Boots of Lucidity, Manamune, Spear of Shojin, and Serylda’s Grudge, prioritizing ability haste and mana for consistent poke and wave clear.
Ezreal ADC
Ezreal ADC is a popular choice in League of Legends, known for his hyper-scaling potential and ability to dominate the late game. His build focuses on maximizing his damage output and mobility, allowing him to consistently land his Mystic Shots and deal significant damage to enemy champions. The most popular Ezreal ADC build currently involves Trinity Force, Ionian Boots of Lucidity, Manamune, Spear of Shojin, Serylda’s Grudge, and Bloodthirster.
Trinity Force is a core item for Ezreal ADC, providing him with a significant boost to his attack damage, ability haste, and movement speed. Ionian Boots of Lucidity offer additional ability haste, allowing him to spam his abilities more frequently. Manamune provides him with mana sustain, which is crucial for Ezreal’s mana-intensive playstyle. Spear of Shojin grants him attack speed and allows him to deal extra damage to low-health targets. Serylda’s Grudge increases his damage output against enemies with shields, and Bloodthirster offers lifesteal to help him survive in fights.
With this build, Ezreal becomes a formidable force, capable of dealing consistent damage and engaging in fights with ease. His mobility allows him to dodge enemy skillshots and reposition himself in fights, while his sustain helps him to stay alive in the heat of battle.
Ezreal Support
Ezreal Support is an unconventional but intriguing pick in League of Legends. While not as popular as traditional enchanters or engage supports, his ability to poke and harass opponents with Mystic Shot, coupled with his ultimate, Trueshot Barrage, makes him a unique and potentially powerful support. However, his success heavily relies on landing his skillshots and coordinating with his ADC to secure kills and objectives.
The most popular Ezreal Support build currently involves ZazZaks Realmspike, Ionian Boots of Lucidity, Trinity Force, Manamune, and Seryldas Grudge. ZazZaks Realmspike offers a unique combination of damage and utility, allowing Ezreal to deal significant damage to enemies while also applying a slow. Ionian Boots of Lucidity provide ability haste, increasing his poke and harass potential. Trinity Force grants him attack damage, ability haste, and movement speed, further enhancing his damage output and mobility. Manamune provides him with mana sustain, which is crucial for his mana-intensive playstyle. Seryldas Grudge increases his damage output against enemies with shields, which can be helpful against common support champions like Leona or Nautilus.
Ezreal Support requires a different approach compared to traditional supports. He excels in early-game poke and harass, but he lacks the engage or tankiness of other support champions. Therefore, communication with your ADC is essential for successful plays and securing kills.
Ezreal Mid
Ezreal Mid is a less common but potentially viable pick, offering a unique blend of poke, mobility, and burst damage. While not as dominant as traditional mage champions in the mid lane, his ability to harass opponents from a distance and secure kills with well-placed skillshots can be effective in the right hands. His late-game scaling potential also allows him to contribute significantly to team fights with his powerful ultimate. However, his success heavily relies on landing his skillshots, managing his mana, and adapting to the specific matchup.
The most popular Ezreal Mid build involves Trinity Force, Ionian Boots of Lucidity, Manamune, Spear of Shojin, and Seryldas Grudge. Trinity Force provides a balance of attack damage, ability haste, and movement speed, enhancing his damage output and mobility. Ionian Boots of Lucidity increase his ability haste, allowing him to spam his abilities more frequently. Manamune provides crucial mana sustain for his mana-intensive playstyle. Spear of Shojin grants him bonus attack damage and ability haste when his health drops below a certain threshold, further enhancing his damage output during crucial moments. Seryldas Grudge increases his damage output against enemies with shields, which can be helpful against popular mid lane champions like Galio or Malphite.
Ezreal Mid demands a different approach compared to traditional mages. He excels in early-game poke and harass, but lacks the burst damage and wave clear of typical mid lane picks. Therefore, managing his mana carefully, landing his skillshots accurately, and adapting to the specific matchup are crucial for success in the mid lane.
Ezreal Top
Ezreal Top is an unconventional and niche pick, often considered a troll or meme build due to its low win rate and lack of traditional tankiness. However, it can be a surprisingly effective strategy in the right hands, relying on Ezreal’s unique ability to poke, harass, and out-trade opponents from a safe distance. He can utilize his mobility to dodge enemy aggression and his long-range abilities to farm safely, while also applying pressure on the enemy laner. However, he struggles against aggressive melee champions who can easily close the distance and punish him, and his lack of traditional tankiness makes him vulnerable to ganks.
The most popular Ezreal Top build focuses on maximizing his damage output and survivability, often including Trinity Force, Ionian Boots of Lucidity, Manamune, Spear of Shojin, and Seryldas Grudge. Trinity Force provides a balance of attack damage, ability haste, and movement speed, enhancing his damage output and mobility. Ionian Boots of Lucidity increase his ability haste, allowing him to spam his abilities more frequently. Manamune provides crucial mana sustain for his mana-intensive playstyle. Spear of Shojin grants him bonus attack damage and ability haste when his health drops below a certain threshold, further enhancing his damage output during crucial moments. Seryldas Grudge increases his damage output against enemies with shields, which can be helpful against popular top lane champions like Sion or Malphite.
Ezreal Top requires a different approach compared to traditional top laners. He relies on his range and poke to harass opponents and farm safely, while avoiding direct engagements with melee champions. His success hinges on landing his skillshots accurately, managing his mana carefully, and exploiting his mobility to dodge enemy aggression.
Ezreal Bot
Ezreal Bot is a popular and versatile pick in the bottom lane, excelling as both an ADC and a Support. While his traditional role is as an ADC, his unique kit allows him to thrive as a Support as well, offering a unique blend of poke, damage, and utility. His strengths lie in his long-range poke, mobility, and ability to sustain through Mystic Shot, making him a consistent damage threat. However, his reliance on skillshots and his lack of burst damage can make him vulnerable to aggressive opponents and diving engages. He thrives in lanes where he can safely farm and poke, while also providing consistent damage and utility for his team.
When playing Ezreal Bot, it’s important to understand the nuances of each role. As an ADC, the focus is on maximizing damage output and scaling into late game, while as a Support, the priority shifts to providing utility, poke, and peel for the ADC teammate. Both roles utilize similar core items, including Trinity Force, Ionian Boots of Lucidity, Manamune, Spear of Shojin, and Seryldas Grudge, with slight variations depending on the role and team composition. These items boost his damage output, mobility, and survivability, allowing him to consistently contribute to team fights.
Ezreal Bot offers a unique playstyle that requires mastery of his skillshots and strategic decision-making. He can excel in various team compositions, offering a consistent damage threat while providing utility and peel for his allies. However, understanding his strengths and weaknesses and adapting his playstyle according to the situation is crucial for maximizing his potential in the bottom lane.
Ezreal Runes
Ezreal’s rune choices are crucial for maximizing his damage output, mobility, and survivability, depending on his role and playstyle. As a general rule, Precision is the preferred primary rune tree, providing key stats and abilities that enhance his damage output and sustain. The most popular rune choices include Press the Attack, Presence of Mind, Legend⁚ Bloodline, and Coup de Grace. Press the Attack boosts his damage output against enemies with low health, while Presence of Mind provides mana sustain, allowing him to spam his abilities without running out of mana. Legend⁚ Bloodline increases his attack damage per takedown, further amplifying his damage potential, and Coup de Grace provides additional damage against enemies with low health, further maximizing his damage output in the late game.
For the secondary rune tree, Sorcery and Inspiration are popular choices, depending on the specific needs of the game. Sorcery offers powerful damage and mana sustain options, while Inspiration provides utility and mobility enhancements. Popular choices include Manaflow Band, Transcendence, Gathering Storm, and Nimbus Cloak. Manaflow Band provides additional mana regeneration, while Transcendence boosts his ability power and cooldown reduction, enhancing his damage output and ability to rotate efficiently. Gathering Storm provides a consistent boost to his damage output throughout the game, and Nimbus Cloak enhances his mobility by granting him a burst of movement speed after casting a summoner spell.
The selection of runes is a crucial factor in maximizing Ezreal’s potential, enhancing his damage output, sustain, and mobility. By carefully choosing the right combination of runes based on his role, team composition, and the opponent’s strategy, players can maximize his performance and contribute significantly to their team’s success.
Ezreal Skill Order
The skill order for Ezreal prioritizes maximizing his damage output and mobility, allowing him to effectively harass opponents, secure kills, and rotate efficiently. Generally, players prioritize Mystic Shot (Q) for its consistent damage and ability to proc on-hit effects. Following Mystic Shot, players level up Essence Flux (W) for its mana restoration and damage amplification, making him a formidable opponent in extended trades. Next, players level up Arcane Shift (E) for its mobility and ability to dodge crucial abilities, further enhancing his survivability and map pressure.
Ultimately, players level up Trueshot Barrage (R) whenever possible, as it is a powerful ability that can turn the tide of teamfights and secure objectives. This skill order prioritizes maximizing Ezreal’s damage output and mobility, allowing him to effectively harass opponents, secure kills, and rotate efficiently. However, players may adjust their skill order based on their role, team composition, and the opponent’s strategy. For instance, if facing a lane with heavy poke, players may prioritize Arcane Shift early to dodge crucial abilities and survive the laning phase.
Ultimately, the key is to understand the strengths of each ability and utilize them strategically to maximize Ezreal’s potential in various scenarios. By mastering his skill order, players can maximize his damage output, mobility, and survivability, ensuring he becomes a valuable asset to any team composition.
Ezreal Counters
Ezreal, while versatile and adaptable, faces challenges against specific champions who can exploit his weaknesses. Champions with strong engage, crowd control, and burst damage pose a significant threat to Ezreal, as they can quickly close the gap and overwhelm him before he can react effectively. Champions like Miss Fortune, Nilah, and Seraphine effectively counter Ezreal’s playstyle. Miss Fortune’s Make It Rain (Q) and Bullet Time (R) can quickly cripple Ezreal’s positioning and output. Nilah’s Passive, “Formidable” , and “Blossom” (W) allows her to close the distance quickly, making her a formidable threat to Ezreal’s survivability.
Seraphine, with her “High Note” (R) can easily disrupt Ezreal’s positioning and create opportunities for her team to engage, while her “Surrender” (E) can effectively shut down Ezreal’s mobility. Additionally, champions with strong poke and sustain, such as Varus, Kog’Maw, and Jhin, can effectively pressure Ezreal in lane and limit his ability to farm efficiently. Varus’s “Piercing Arrow” (Q) and “Blight” (W) can easily harass Ezreal and deny him farm, while Kog’Maw’s “Living Artillery” (R) and “Void Ooze” (W) can quickly decimate Ezreal’s health bar from a safe distance. Jhin’s “Deadly Flourish” (W) and “Curtain Call” (R) provide him with excellent burst damage and control, making him a dangerous threat to Ezreal’s survival.
Understanding these counter matchups is essential for Ezreal players, as it allows them to adapt their playstyle, choose appropriate builds, and prioritize strategies that minimize their vulnerabilities.
