Hello! Lee Sin is easily in my top 3 favorite champions and I play him quite often as I am a jungle main. This guide is for the 3 most commonly used builds by me. There is the Full Damage, Lethality build I use to pack on early game pressure and kill the enemy jungler a lot early. The Bruiser build, which you can argue is a tank build until you trade your boots for a damage item; this is the build I find most useful in longer games with a lot of enemy tanks. Lastly there's the Support Jungler build, which is 1/3 Damage and lethality, 1/3 bruiser, 1/3 support and is best used in games where your lanes are doing well and you want to support them to keep their lead, as well as be a bruiser with enough damage and tank to have a good 1v1 with the enemy jungler. The detailed help is below. Enjoy.

FLASH

Flash is actually an optional spell for Lee Sin, though I do highly recommend it except in very rare cases. He is one of the few champs in the game who doesn't actually need it for mobility due to his highly mobile kit, but it does give you a VERY high boost to survivablilty.

IGNITE

Ignite is an extremely useful, offensive Summoner Spell that allows you to inflict massive damage on an enemy even if they get away from you before you can ensure a final blow. Ignite is an alternative summoner spell to Flash that you can use effectively against champions like Shaco to tilt the 1v1 playing field more in your favor.

EXHAUST

Exhaust is another decent option in place of Flash if you plan on having a lot of 1v1 skirmishes. Exhaust allows for you to lower enemy damage output or allows you to escape from a 1v1 if it goes bad. It can also give you a chance to win a 1v2 if certain circumstances occur. Even though Exhaust is considered a defensive summoner, it can provide a lot of kill pressure for you as well.


Smite is a necessity since you're a jungler. Hover over Smite to see what it does. Without Smite you cannot buy your Tracker's Knife or any other jungle item, which means you don't get nearly as much experience from jungle camps.

Pros + Lots of Vision + Has a Displacement Ability + Not easily countered due to versatile play style. + Resonating Strike is an execute. + Highly Mobile + High AD Scaling, especially on his Dragon's Rage. + High Burst Damage + Strong Early Game and 1v1 Power. Lee Sin is a great solo queue pick. With the known lack of communication in solo queue, and the the tendency for solo queue players to tilt when the enemy team makes strong plays in the early game, Lee Sin can be used to abuse those facts and decimate the morale of the enemy team and gain a psychological advantage for his team. His high mobility and burst damage, along with his kit being highly geared to allow for nearly unparalleled early ganks and 1v1 power, almost guaranteeing his team First Blood. His mobility also allows him to counter jungle consistently to put the enemy jungler behind, not to mention he can kill most enemy junglers in a 1v1 in the early game if they try to contest the camp. 111111 1111111111111 11111111111111 111111111 1111111

Cons - Poor late-game - Susceptible to CC - Fairly Squishy - High Learning Curve - Mechanically complex and complicated. - Struggles with super tanky enemies late game As with all champions, Lee Sin has his strengths and weaknesses. Compared to other junglers, Lee Sin has an extremely strong and dangerous early game in League of Legends. This is offset by by a slightly bad Late Game, but due to Safeguard and Iron Will, the fall off doesn't usually happen until around the 30 minute mark, which isn't particularly early. He is however quite squishy and doesn't have very much in the way of tank items with this build, as this makes him very much a damage focused champion. Tanky champs like Warwick, Shyvana or Zac can usually kill Lee Sin if the fight begins to drag out as a 1v1 without any teammate assistance dues to the sheer difference in HP. In the right hands, these weaknesses can be overcome and Lee Sin can be a highly effective carry throughout the game.

Pros + Lots of Vision + Has a Displacement Ability + Not easily countered due to versatile play style. + Resonating Strike is an execute. + Highly Mobile + High Base Damage On All Damage Abilities. + High Burst Damage, Despite Tankiness + Strong Early Game and 1v1 Power Due To His Execute. Lee Sin is a great solo queue pick. With the known lack of communication in solo queue, and the the tendency for solo queue players to tilt when the enemy team makes strong plays in the early game, Lee Sin can be used to abuse those facts and decimate the morale of the enemy team and gain a psychological advantage for his team. His high mobility and burst damage, along with his kit being highly geared to allow for nearly unparalleled early ganks and 1v1 power, almost guaranteeing his team First Blood. His mobility also allows him to counter jungle consistently to put the enemy jungler behind, not to mention he can kill most enemy junglers in a 1v1 in the early game if they try to contest the camp.

Warwick, Shyvana and Zac are no longer a 10 in difficulty, but are more like 7's because you are just as tanky as they are now.

Cons - Susceptible to CC - No Sustain Other Than Iron Will - High Learning Curve - Mechanically complex and complicated. - Susceptible To Tank Shredders And Tank Shredding Items like Blade of the Ruined King As with all champions, Lee Sin has his strengths and weaknesses. Compared to other junglers, Lee Sin has an extremely strong and dangerous early game in League of Legends. This is offset by by a slightly bad Late Game, but due to the tankiness and sheer stats of this particular build, that doesn't happen. Although his early game is a little weaker with this build, Lee Sin is still very effective due to his high base damages and the execute on his second Q - Resonating Strike. Tanky champs like Warwick, Shyvana or Zac Are not as much of a problem for Lee Sin with this build, because you're now tanky as well and you hurt more the lower their HP becomes. In my opinion, this is a much stronger build than the Full Damage build throughout the game.

Pros + Lots of Vision + Has a Displacement Ability + Not easily countered due to versatile play style. + Resonating Strike is an execute. + Highly Mobile + High Base Damage On All Damage Abilities. + High Burst Damage, Despite Tankiness + Strong Early Game and 1v1 Power Due To His Execute. Lee Sin is a great solo queue pick. With the known lack of communication in solo queue, and the the tendency for solo queue players to tilt when the enemy team makes strong plays in the early game, Lee Sin can be used to abuse those facts and decimate the morale of the enemy team and gain a psychological advantage for his team. His high mobility and burst damage, along with his kit being highly geared to allow for nearly unparalleled early ganks and 1v1 power, almost guaranteeing his team First Blood. His mobility also allows him to counter jungle consistently to put the enemy jungler behind, not to mention he can kill most enemy junglers in a 1v1 in the early game if they try to contest the camp. ]11111 11111 11111 11111 1111 1111 1111 1111

Warwick, Shyvana and Zac are no longer a 10 in difficulty, but are more like 8's because you are almost as tanky as they are now, and Redemption can tips the scales in your favor. AD Burst like Kha'Zix and Rengar are now 7's because you lose more early game power.

Cons - Susceptible to CC - No Sustain Other Than Iron Will - High Learning Curve - Mechanically complex and complicated. - Susceptible To Tank Shredders And Tank Shredding Items like Blade of the Ruined King As with all champions, Lee Sin has his strengths and weaknesses. Compared to other junglers, Lee Sin has an extremely strong and dangerous early game in League of Legends. This is offset by by a slightly bad Late Game, but due to the tankiness and utility of this particular build, that doesn't start happening until about the 40 minute mark. Although his early game is weakest with this build, Lee Sin is still very effective due to his high base damages and the execute on his second Q - Resonating Strike and the Redemption rush also helps you in 1v1's. Tanky champs like Warwick, Shyvana or Zac Are not as much of a problem for Lee Sin with this build, because you're now tanky as well and you hurt more the lower their HP becomes. In my opinion, this is a much stronger build than the Full Damage if you have solid communication with your team or play at a higher ELO.

My Standard Clear Path

Following this path will ensure a healthy clear and leaves plenty of options for ganking. You can pretty much go by the numbers, though obviously the numbers in the lanes mean ganks and you have to decide whether you should or shouldn't on a game by game basis. Counter jungling is left to your discretion but if you go below and look at the Counter Jungling section you will see guidelines to follow when attempting to counter jungle. Best to recall after 4-6 camps or a gank or a skirmish that makes you deem it necessary to back sooner.

Counter jungling is largely based on your own self confidence as a jungler and as the champ you're playing, in this case Lee Sin. Some keys to counter jungling are vision control, map awareness, communication, and knowing the jungle timers. I'll go ahead and address each of these.

Vision Control

Counter jungling is always best done when you can ensure your safety in the enemy jungle. The best way to do that is to ward, usually with a Control Ward or with a Tracker's Knife charge, and sweep with Sweeping Lens/ Oracle Lens to eliminate enemy vision. If you see the enemy jungler at his Blue buff and you're near his Red side jungle, then you can safely assume you'll get away with taking a camp or 2 from his Red side. Likewise, if you see the enemy jungler at his Blue buff and notice he's low HP, you can typically get a kill and take the buff if you're nearby. So anytime you venture into the enemy jungle, try to put out some sort of vision.

Map Awareness

So how do you know it's safe if you don't have vision in the enemy jungle yet? Part of it is knowing the typical route of the enemy jungle champ, but if you don't know that, then you can wait for them to show on the map. If they show bot lane for a gank, you can assume safely that his top side is open for invasion and vice-versa. If you see the enemy jungler gank mid from the top side, you can assume he's going to head to his bot side after the gank and you can then ward his top side to gain vision control. You can also counter gank if you're nearby the lane the enemy is ganking, and then if you kill the enemy jungler, his entire jungle is open for business until about 12 seconds after his respawn timer. You can also get a good look at the enemy jungler's HP if they show on the map, and if they're low you can likely invade them for a kill and a free camp.

Communication

If you want to invade and you're unsure about it, but you have a laner who could use a buff, especially if their enemy laner is dead, communicate for them to come with you and try for an invade on the buff of choice. This will give you a 2v1 advantage if you encounter the enemy jungler and even if you don't get the buff or a kill/assist, you can at least get some vision down so you can keep an eye on that spot. You can also communicate with your team to learn the location of the enemy laners. For example, if you notice the Orianna mid went missing, find out if she backed and what her HP/Mana was like. If she had a good amount of either and she didn't recall, she's likely getting Blue from her jungler, meaning red side is free.

Know Your Jungle Timers

Knowing jungle timers is very important when you're thinking about counter jungling, especially since it can play into the other tips I've talked about. First buff will usually respawn around the 7 minute mark. If you know what buff they took first, you can use that knowledge to your advantage. Example: The enemy Master Yi took Red buff first. It's 6:53 on the timer and he's ganking bot lane by his Blue buff. This means in about 7 seconds, his Red buff is gonna be yours for the taking. Likewise, if it's 6:53 on the game clock and you don't see Master Yi, it's safe to assume he's on his red side, so you can probably take Gromp or a non-buff camp from his blue side. If you're super sneaky and already have vision of his Red, you can move to it as it's about to spawn and cheese him out of his red buff.

Below Is A Vision Chart To Show Good Ideas Of Where To Ward/Sweep:

Lee Sin is one of the most versatile "Gank Junglers" in the game, as he is able to use Sonic Wave/ Resonating Strike and Safeguard to get over terrain, run directly through a lane to a bush, or rush down an enemy laner directly from a wall/bush near an allied tower. It is important to try to make your ganks as unpredictable as possible. Do your best not to gank from the same place repeatedly, and try not to gank lanes more than 2 or 3 times in a row, as the enemy will begin to expect you to be there.

Here's A Chart To Show Possible Gank Options Before Outer Towers Are Gone:

Here's A Chart To Show Possible Gank Options After Outer Towers Are Gone:

Some Situational Gank Idea

The Double Gank

The way this works is under a few conditions:

Enemy Tower Is Low
Enemy Laner Guaranteed to Recall or Die to First Gank
Your Teammates Don't Back After First Gank

How it's done:

Gank, from any position, the enemy laner(s). Works best on a solo lane.
Push down the first tower with your laner(s).
Walk backwards, away from the tower as though you're leaving the lane.
Make sure your laner(s) stay.
Wrap around through the enemy jungle and sit in a bush, over a wall, or both directly next to the lane.
As soon as the enemy laner(s) rerturn(s), immediately gank again with your teammates.

Why should I do this?

Because it is very frustrating to die twice in a row, once as soon as you come back to lane.
Because it can tilt the enemy laner(s), which makes them play worse.
Because it's a lot of easy gold.

"Counter Ganking" is when you gank the same lane as the enemy jungler to even out the odds, making the fight a 2v2 or a 3v3 depending on the lane. This is used to stop an enemy laner or jungler from snowballing and boosts the morale of your teammates because they know you are watching out for them and that you have their backs. You should always counter gank when you see the opportunity. Using the "Vision Control" section's chart, you will be able to have eyes on the enemy jungler at most times in the game, so you'll be able to easily see/predict the jungler's intended actions. Best times to counter gank are when you are stronger than the enemy jungler and will render his gank completely useless, your laner(s) has a distinct advantage over the enemy laner(s) and will be able to make up for the ground you can't cover on your own, or when your laner is higher HP than their enemy laner and the enemy jungler is ganking to try turning the tables because this will almost always end up with at least one of you killing one of them. I hope this has been helpful in your decisions about counter ganking.

Flash Kick

Flash Kick is a combo technique used to push an enemy into or away from your teammate(s) depending on the situation. It can be very effective and allows you to have the element of surprise.

How do I do it?
use Flash, either over a wall or from a bush, and then use Dragon's Rage to displace the target in the desired direction.

Ward Hop Insec

This is a technique used to take a single enemy away from their ally/allies and into your ally/allies to increase the odds of winning a teamfight or small, non 1v1 skirmish. This is the most basic insec.

How do I do it?
This is done by placing a ward into or behind the enemy team, using Safeguard to travel to that ward, then using Dragon's Rage to kick the target into your team. You should ALWAYS use Sonic Wave before Dragon's Rage so you can get out with Resonating Strike, otherwise you will die 1v4 and usually not gain advantage for your team.

Q, Ult, Q

This is a combo to get a Thunderlord's Decree proc and deal a ton of damage while capitalizing on your execute part of Resonating Strike.

How do I do it?
In a 1v1 skirmish, you auto attack the enemy, use Sonic Wave, auto attack them again, use Dragon's Rage, and then finish with Resonating Strike. This combo will kill MOST squishy targets, especially if you're using the Full damage build.

The Complex Insec

This is a technique used to take a single enemy away from their ally/allies and into your ally/allies to increase the odds of winning a teamfight or small, non 1v1 skirmish. This insec uses a combination of all of Lee Sin's abilities.

How do I do it?
You execute a Sonic Wave and a Resonating Strike, then activate Tempest, auto attack, activate Cripple, execute the ward hop technique from earlier, followed by Sonic Wave again, Dragon's Rage and another Resonating Strike immediately after. This is a High Risk High Reward combo that I don't advise using if you aren't doing the bruiser build and I would not advise it in a full 5v5 scenario. This is best used to clean up after the first part of the team fight.

Another Tip
When using your Sonic Wave > Resonating Strike to engage on an enemy, remember that you don't always have to hit the target enemy champion with it. You can use it on a minion that's in the escape path of the enemy champion and then use Dragon's Rage to insec them and then fight them 2v1. You can also use Sonic Wave > Resonating Strike on a different enemy champion in the same lane, such as a support, who is in the escape path of a different enemy champion and do the same thing. Think outside the box as Lee Sin.

Team fights are pretty simple as Lee Sin:

Are you full damage? Yes - Don't initiate. Play like an assassin and use your high mobility to get in, kill a squishy, and get out. Rinse and repeat.

Are you going for the bruiser build? Yes - You can safely initiate. Try to use one of the Insec combos or the Flash Kick to split someone from the enemy team and make it a 5v4 in your favor because you are not easily bursted down.

Are you being supporty? Yes - You are the secondary engage or the counter engage. You are tanky enough to dive in if you aren't the first person on your team to dive in, and you're strong enough to punish an enemy for engaging when you don't want them to. Your main focus as this build is to support the carry roles on your team, such as the ADC or Assassin/Burst Mage mid-laner. So you do not leave the team unless the fight has already begun, and you use Redemption along with Safeguard to keep them protected and alive.

Please, for your benefit and the benefit of others, do not take this guide and immediately go into ranked without practicing this build and this champion first. That said, here are some tips for Ranked:

Look to invade early. Take your Blue or Red and then take your W or E second and go after their buffs. If you can take a buff with no conflict, do it, or if you can get a 1v1 opportunity on their jungler, do it.
Gank your losing solo lane as early as possible, once you know you can get the kill. This gives them an advantage and makes them feel like you will be there.
Do not be afraid to tax your laners. If you get the kill on a gank, it's okay to walk away, but if you only get an assist or there was no kill, take the CS to avoid getting behind.
As with any Jungler, if you see the enemy Jungler show themselves on the other side of the map, look to counter jungle the side you're on. This puts them behind if they do not get kills/assists on the gank attempt, and keeps you from getting behind if they do.
Gank winning lanes, this will press their advantage further and force the enemy laners to pay attention to your winning laners, allowing your losing laners to catch up (hopefully).
Ward everything. Your jungle, their jungle, and river.

This has been my very long-winded guide to Lee Sin. I hope you find good use of this guide and understand the material I've written. If you need further help, please feel free to comment and I will always reply. Have a good time on the Rift and happy jungling. :)