AP Ezreal has a very unique play style that I haven't really come across before. AP Ezreal has high range poke and global presence, but also has a bit of an assassin in him. He's an extremely fun champion that I've never gotten tired of, and is also a flex pick. If you're good at AP Ezreal, you're at least decent with AD Ezreal.

My summoner name is AnxiousMonkey, I've been playing League since early season 1. I was garbage tier elo in season 1 and 2, (~600 elo. Yeah). I got to Silver V at the end of season 3, and then climbed to Platinum III in Season 4. I am now Diamond V, having gotten to Diamond IV twice. I have been playing Ezreal for a long time, but really got in to him around the time Pulsefire came out. The skin was a large incentive for me to play the champion, but I have since stopped using it because I really like the standard particles for his Q and autos. Ezreal got me to where I am, playing AP Ezreal to gold, and playing him in every game of my promos to diamond as well as several games before and after. I have played him AP mid, AD mid, and AD bot. I'm a mid player, and have always liked somewhat off-meta mids, such as pre-rework Viktor and Xerath. This season I have only 39 games of Ezreal played so far, with a 62% winrate and 4.64 : 1 KDA. Overall, I likely have over 500 or 600 games of Ezreal played, at a minimum.

Pros

• Late game hypercarry
• Strong mid game fighting
• Very snowbally
• Very fun
• Good poke
• Has an escape
• Rarely played

Cons

• Skillshot reliant
• Terrible waveclear
• Bad tank busting
• Weak early game

Flash is a must. It helps secure kills, it helps get away, it helps outplay people. The most common use for flash is either escaping, or flash E'ing on to somebody to scure the engage and damage from E to secure the kill. Always take flash.


Ignite is for very high early kill potential lanes, such as Kassadin. Use it to snowball off of your own lane, and carry that lead in to fights at dragon or in the jungle to increase it. You have to play really aggressive, otherwise this summoner becomes a waste.


Barrier is for lanes where you're afraid you'll get instagibbed. Lanes such as Fizz and sometimes LeBlanc. Once you get more comfortable with more matchups, this summoner is hardly ever used, but if you're new and learning then Barrier can help a lot.


Cleanse is good against teams that have scary CC, such as Elise, Thresh, Lissandra. If you ever think you'll die to a hard CC ability on their team, don't hesitate to take Cleanse.


Teleport is extremely strong for snowballing. If you can't kill your lane opponent, why not kill their bot lane? It gives constant map pressure, and if you die early it lessens the pain because you can just TP back to lane. If you ever don't need to take any other summoner, take TP, and look to make plays on their bot lane.


Heal is not a good summoner for mid lane. Most of your opponents will take ignite, and ignite counters heal pretty bad. Barrier shields more, and is on a lower cooldown, and since most mid laners are burst related, it's not hard to use effectively.

Passive - Rising Spell Force

On AP Ezreal, the passive is primarily used to help push lane. It helps once you get your Nashor's Tooth, and a little bit in finishing off kills. Be conscious about it, especially when taking towers and trying not to get shoved in to tower, but don't stress yourself over it.

Q - Mystic Shot

This is Ezreal's bread and butter. AD or AP, this ability is a huge portion of his damage. This ability applies on hit effects, most notably Lich Bane's spell blade, Nashor's Tooth's magic damage on hit, and the mastery Arcane Blade . Use this ability as much as you can, as it reduces your cooldowns and does a lot of damage. Clear waves with it, poke with it, kill with it. Don't underestimate it's damage, just because you're AP doesn't mean it does less damage, it just means it relies on items more.

W - Essence Flux

Essence Flux is a very simple ability with a very simple purpose. Use it to do damage. It goes through minions, so it's extremely easy to hit harass in lane, and it scales well off of AP. Once you get your Tear of the Goddess or a blue buff, spam it in lane to poke them down. Get early points in this ability because that's when you need it most, but after level 6, Mystic Shot becomes more important to level up.

E - Arcane Shift

This ability gives Ezreal free positioning. If you're ever out of position, just Arcane Shift away and spam Mystic Shot until it's off cooldown. This ability is primarily used defensively, but can also be used offensively. It hits the nearest target, so it can hit minions, so make sure you have proper positioning to hit your opponent, otherwise it will go to waste and you'll be without an escape.

R - Trueshot Barrage

Trueshot Barrage is extremely strong as an ability, being able to either clear waves from across the map, snipe kills, or ravage teamfights. Try not to use this ability in melee range, as it becomes extremely easy to dodge, and is very desperate. You can use it in lane to clear the wave and keep your opponent's health low. Spam Mystic Shot to reduce the cooldown as much as you can, and try to have it up for fights.

Tear

Tear of the Goddess I have not always built on Ezreal, however since the AP item overhaul, Archangel's Staff has become my favorite item. It gives an infinite mana pool, and an ungodly amount of AP, typically around 140-160. Get Tear of the Goddess early to get a good mana pool in lane and start stacking it up, and finish the Archangel's Staff after Lich Bane.

Lich Bane

Lich Bane's spell blade passive applies on Ezreal's Mystic Shot. The item is a massive powerspike, helping not online his poke and burst, but also his wave clear. This item is 100% mandatory as quickly as possible.

Abyssal

Abyssal Mask is good against AP teams, such as if they have a Vladimir top and a LeBlanc mid. I typically don't buy this item, because it sacrifices a little bit of damage compared to an item like Void Staff or Nashor's Tooth. I like to survive off of my positioning, not my stats, but that's just me.

Hourglass

A good defensive item, Zhonya's Hourglass is not my favorite item on Ezreal. It is good in some cases, like against a Fizz or a Rengar, but other times you can evade damage easier using the shield from Seraph's Embrace and your Arcane Shift.

Nashor's

It helps with cooldown reduction, DPS, and gives a decent amount of AP. My favorite last item on Ezreal, it adds even more damage to Mystic Shot, and helps pick up low health kills that don't instantly die from your main combo. It also helps a LOT with tank busting, because the magic damage on auto attacks adds up quickly.

Luden's

A good pick up if you need the movement speed, but not really in any other situations. The passive doesn't pop on Mystic Shot, so it doesn't improve poke drastically, and even then Nashor's Tooth's magic damage on auto attack does about half as much damage except on Mystic Shot and every single auto attack, while giving 20% cooldown reduction. Only purchase this item against champions like Karthus, Fizz, Elise, or other skillshot reliant champions who you really want to dodge. You can also sell your boots for Luden's Tempest, however the cooldown reduction and Enchantment: Furor might not be worth it. Comes down to personal preference.

Rylai's

If you need general tankiness, Rylai's Crystal Scepter is a way to get it without sacrificing damage. With 100 AP and 400 health, it will bring your total health up to a good 2,400. The slow doesn't apply on your Mystic Shot, however a 40% slow on your Trueshot Barrage and Essence Flux are very strong in teamfights. For a more utilitarian build, Rylai's Crystal Scepter is a good last item.

Morello

I really am not a fan of Morellonomicon on Ezreal, because it takes away from the Lich Bane and Archangel's Staff powerspikes. Even if they have a Swain or a Dr. Mundo, this item is not worth it, and I don't enjoy seeing people buying it over more important items.

Main Combo

This is the main combo. If there is an opening in the laning phase where there are no minions, if you land everything, this will do half of their health and basically win you the lane. Be careful about using this though, as when you do your Arcane Shift will go on cooldown, and you won't have an escape. This is also the primary assassin build, if somebody is caught out, you can typically take them down extremely low if not kill them with this combo. Always use Essence Flux before Mystic Shot, because it has lower range.

Bushcamp Combo

This combo will instantly kill any squishy at basically any point in the game after 1 item. If you have ignite, it's a free kill. Ways to use this are act like you're roaming bot, and when your lane opponent goes to follow, pop out of the bush and nuke them. Later in the game, Trueshot Barrage likely won't even be needed on squishier targets.

Mobility Combo

Shoot Q first at decent range, then immediately E. The cooldown reduction from the Q will hit just as E goes, reducing the cooldown of your Arcane Shift. This is useful when running away or just rotating around the map, or closing the distance on a target you can safely catch.

Ezreal has a weak early game, but it's not as abusable as some other early games like Kassadin. Ezreal has a very safe early game, his Arcane Shift is basically a free flash. So long as you auto attack minions a lot to keep the wave from pushing towards you, and aren't afraid to use Mystic Shot, you shouldn't lose lane that bad. Know how to farm under tower; 2 tower shots on melee minions and last hit, 1 auto and 1 tower shot on caster minions and last hit. You can also use Mystic Shot on caster minions instead of having to prep them with an auto. Try and poke around with your enemy, keep the laning phase fun. Poke depends on the matchup, but typically you'll want to bait them in to getting hit by Mystic Shot, or just throwing Essence Flux through their minions at them. Early points in Essence Flux cause it to do a lot of damage, so use it often, but not often enough to run out of mana. Use your Stealth Ward near enemy raptors to look for ganks, and hug that side of the lane because you have vision of it. DO NOT use your Arcane Shift aggressively unless you have good wards or know where their jungler is. Farm is more important than harass.

This is where Ezreal really picks up speed. You should at least have Tear of the Goddess and Sheen by now, so that Sheen's spellblade effect applies to your Mystic Shot. Ezreal has safe, high range damage, on low cooldowns. In fights, always throw out Mystic Shot as much as you can. If a fight breaks out, line up your Trueshot Barrage to hit multiple targets, along with your Essence Flux. Once somebody is low enough, and only if you know for sure that it's safe, use Arcane Shift in to your main combo to pick up kills. If you have Teleport, use it a lot on bot lane. Tell your bot lane to place deep wards behind their lane opponents so you can get good placement, but make sure not to go too far behind them to a point where they can turn on you. Once you have Lich Bane, push that power spike, because it's a big power spike. Every completed item for Ezreal is a powerspike, but the first three, Lich Bane, Archangel's Staff and Rabadon's Deathcap are the most important. Also, if you ever have 250+ gold left over, a Greater Stealth Totem is mandatory. Place wards extremely frequently, because Ezreal is one of the best champions at taking advantage of vision.

Ezreal basically has free positioning with his Arcane Shift, so use it well. Throw out Mystic Shot and Essence Flux as much as you can on their front line, and if you can get to their back line, that's even better. If you can get behind them, play the role of an assassin with your main combo and kill their squishies. At late game teamfights, this is where Nashor's Tooth comes in to play, because if the enemy ADC has something like a Bloodthirster shield to protect them, your main combo might not be enough to kill them. Nashor's Tooth not only helps your cooldowns so you can use Mystic Shot more, but it also makes your auto attack do a lot of damage to help pick up those low health kills. Try and kite the enemy front line around, because Ezreal is extremely strong at kiting, especially with Enchantment: Furor.

I have notes for all matchups and their difficulty on the scale if you didn't see them; click each different section of the bar to see tips for each opponent. Any lane is survivable, some obviously more than others. I have most trouble with Ahri, she's impossible to hit, and a good Ahri will play with your mind so that she can land her damage reliably. The matchup scale assumes good players are playing on both champions, of relatively equal skill and knowledge of the matchup. Any lane is winnable, you just have to know how.

• Never look up the enemy's rank. Always assume they're better than you substantially. It keeps you humble in play, and makes you play carefully and smart. At the same time, play with confidence, and know how much damage you do and how to use it.
• Upgrade your Stealth Ward as soon as possible to a Greater Stealth Totem, or less frequently a Greater Vision Totem if they have someone like Akali or Talon or Rengar. Wards are the most important thing in the game, especially on somebody like Ezreal.
• Focus on yourself. If you get mad at your jungler for failing a gank or not ganking, you focus more on that than you do on the mistakes you made. You can't improve their play, you can only improve your own play.
• Have fun with the game. Whether it be through listening to music, or playing off meta picks like mid lane Lee Sin or Wukong mid. There are tons of players out there who just play champs that are good that patch, as opposed to something they genuinely love.
• Everything is viable, I've played with 4 smite teams in solo queue and I've played with ADC Twisted Fates in solo queue. Everything works, you just have to make it work.