We got that cool new skin that I have yet to use in this guide. It's pretty sweet.

Lethal Tempo was changed from Burst attack speed to Build up attack speed, which makes it a lot harder to utilize.

General buffs, some haste, lower CD.
Changed some AP into HP.

So just starting and wanna try this free week lady?
Your champ of choice got banned/picked in draft?
Just got a shard and thought 'oh heck why not'?
Too tired or rushed to read an essay?

Welcome, here's the super basic information on Elise!

SPELLS:
Human Spells = HQ/HW/HE
Spider Spells = SQ/SW/SE

Main Spell Ultimate : Let's you switch between spider and human form granting you a total of 6 different spells and some underlings to fight for you while in spider form.
Passive : Landing spells while human gives you spiders and makes you hit for AP dmg in spider form.

HQ : An on click % AP projectile, more health more damage.
SQ : An on click % AP mini hop, less health more damage.

HW : An AP spider that runs up and explodes AND follows SQ.
SW : Attack speed boost.

HE : Skill shot vision granting stun.
SE : Click on ground to jump up, untargetable. Click on a target to land or quick jump.

RUNES and general build:
Option one, pick the default Domination rune page.
Option two, pick according to your role.

Jungling: Take #3 but change secondary to Sorcery with Waterwalking and Gathering Storm .

Laning Mid: Take #3: AP Assassin, stack AP and some HP.

Laning Top: Take #4: AP Bruiser/Tank and go tanky items, armor, magic resist, health, some AP if you want.

or possibly Nashor's Tooth Ap Assassin. Omnivamp, AP, attack speed, tankyness.

Supporting your friend: Same as Laning Top tank/bruiser or Mid Assassin, depends on how you want to play.

Simple Combo:
HE -> HQ -> HW -> R -> SQ -> SW
-> -> -> -> ->

Recommended: Checking out the Elise Summary Video chapter for a quick look at her kit and potential in action.

Good luck and have fun!

Hello and welcome to my spider guide. Some generic backstory; I've played Elise top and jungle since her release, have reached high plat/low diamond a few times through inconsistent play (currently washed up gold stuck). I'm making this guide to further spread the good word of the Spider Queen.

This guide will in turn cover next to anything you might wonder about her, her play styles, her builds. Good and bad, tryhard builds and builds just for fun, it got it all. The main focus, however, is to explain to people how she and her abilities work, what she is capable to and where she is lacking.



This is an extremely in-depth guide, there is a TL;DR section that covers the more basic aspects to get started, after that feel free to browse whichever parts that interest you. This is not something to read through once in one sitting, it's something to return to when questions arise regarding Elise. I hope you will learn from it and enjoy your stay.


Color Codes:
Champion Abilities
Summoner Spells
Items
Runes (for now)
Sometimes stats will be underlined


This guide uses a simple rating system to define whether runes, items or builds are viable, worthwhile or just kinda troll. There are 4 ratings and they are as follows:

3 Elise, top score. This has strong potential to help you win in ranked.

2 Elise, it's still pretty good. Might be a bit niche in some places but it can still do great in ranked when done right.

1 Elise, these are generally very bad or suboptimal compared to other options of similar tiers, or just extremely niche.
It can have some fun potential in normal games with friends, though I wouldn't recommend it for serious Ranked games.

X A few select things will receive this, they are either unusable or pretty garbage. Most likely you do not want to use these.

Play Video
This clip is from Season 3 and thusly very old, however I feel that it highlights what she excels at perfectly well.
High mobility, quick picks, Rappel to dodge spells and monster jumping, as well as the Cocoon for vision, kinda.

Here is quick list of Elise' pros and cons, followed by a more detailed description of the aforementioned attributes of her kit.

Pros

Cons

Passive: Spider Queen

In Human Form

Upon landing a spell she creates a dormant spiderling, stacking up to 2/3/4/5.

In Spider Form

Each basic attack deals 10/20/30/40 (+30% AP) bonus magic damage and heals her for 4/6/8/10 (+ 10% AP).
All dormant Spiderlings are summoned and help Elise fight.
A chapter on utilizing your spiderlings

Tips and tricks:

-This passive might have a lot to it at first glance, but after awhile they all become second nature.

-While in Human Form it gives stacks of Dormant Spiderlings on any spells hit. thusly when Spiderlings die you need to leave Spider Form in order to get new ones. While in Spider Form these Dormant Spiderlings will wake up and help attack your targets.

-While in Spider Form the added damage and healing on auto attacks, both which increases each time you level up your R, are really great for trading in lane or sustaining in the jungle.

-Try to keep an eye on the number of your Spider Swarm buff to try to keep it maxed without wasting too much mana. If you trade a lot they might die to AoE or minions. In the jungle this won't be an issue but in lane it can drain your mana quickly.

-Spiderlings are great for tanking towers, camps, minions and skill-shots as well as deal a large amount of damage.

-Rarely happens, but sometimes someone miss clicks one of your Spiderlings with a basic or spell.

-When hurt it's good to do as much CS, farm and pushing in spider form as possible to utilize the healing, when caught it might sometimes be better to auto attack as much as possible until your Rappel comes up to survive rather than straight-up running away and get slapped down while running.

-Spiderlings attacks do not heal you without Omnivamp.

Play Video
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Ultimate: Human Form / Spider Form

While in Human Form

Spider Form (HR) changes Elise into a spider, giving her access to her spider form spell variants, limiting her to melee attack range but in turn gain flat 25 movement speed and awaken any dormant spiderling.

While in Spider Form

Human Form (SR) returns Elise to her human shape, giving her access to her human spell variants while granting her 425 attack range but losing 25 flat movement speed and her spiderlings go dormant.

Tips and tricks:

-Balancing when to be in Human Form and Spider Form's is the bread and butter of mastering Elise. Utilizing the Human Form range and Spider Form's life steal is vital to trade, poke and zone your melee opponents, all the while keeping your health high enough to dive or survive fights with junglers.

-Remember to always travel in Spider Form's because of the increased movement speed and to switch into Human Form whenever you think a fight will be coming up or you'll be needing Cocoon or Volatile Spiderling .

-Spider Form's spells don't cost mana so even if oom you can dish out some hurt against enemies getting too cocky.

Play Video
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Human Q: Neurotoxin

In Human Form

Elise spits poison at her target, on click, dealing magic damage equal to 40/75/110/145/180 (+ 4% (+ 3% per 100 AP) of targets current health) with an increasing maximum bonus limit against monsters.

Tips and tricks:

Usually used first in a combo, or against high health targets to deal optimal amounts of damage. If you're gonna do a basic and Neurotoxin on a fleeing target it's best to start with the auto then animation cancel with Neurotoxin as the Q animation can't be cancelled by an auto.

The end delay of the Neurotoxin CAN however be cancelled if you cast Cocoon to save a few frames.

Play Video

Spider Q: Venomous Bite

In Spider Form

Lunging at a target, on click, dealing magic damage equal to 70/110/150/190/230 (+ 8% (+ 3% per 100 AP) of targets missing health) with an increasing maximum bonus limit against monsters.

Tips and tricks:

-While Elise' NeurotoxinNeurotoxin deals more damage to healthier targets, her Venomous Bite deals more against damaged targets, thus it's better at helping execute a target rather than initiate with.

-Whenever she uses Venomous Bite her Volatile Spiderling and normal Spiderlings will jump to and focus them.
This can be used to land hard to reach Volatile Spiderling , such as commanding it past a minion wave then casting Venomous Bite . As for the normal Spiderlings this is mainly used to move your Spiderlings away from harm, refocus their damage or potentially block skill shots.

-If you flash at any point between the start of her animation and the end you will flash like normal while still finishing your Q from a distance (Bonus 3 in vid below). Losing vision on a target as a result will cancel the Q and having at least one Spiderling alive is usually enough to keep vision intact.

-Last, but certainly not least, while her Q gives a small leap and can hit through walls, it also has the possibility of carrying Elise over said wall under very specific circumstances. Essentially there needs to be a small gap between her target and the wall she tries to jump, while also not being too close or too far away form Elise.

Play Video
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Human W: Volatile Spiderling

In Human Form

Elise calls forth a "venom-gorged" spiderling that walks up to the target location, chasing nearest enemy and exploding on contact for 60/105/150/195/240 (+95% AP)

Tips and tricks:

-The Volatile Spider will explode if something walks into it before it reaches its set destination, even mid air anything that makes contact will block it and trigger the explosion. Sending your Volatile Spider to walk next to minions but close enough to the target can help it reach a champion. Volatile Spiderling can also be animation canceled instantly.

-You can send it away from minions and use your Venomous Bite to make it fly from a safe angle and make it 100% hit. Be warned, the Volatile Spiderling has a maximum range from where it will jump to your target, which is roughly your full Volatile Spider cast range and yellow trinket range in opposite directions. Good for checking bushes.

-Volatile Spider will not expire while mid air.

Play Video

Spider W: Skittering Frenzy

In Spider Form

Passive: Spiderlings gain 5/10/15/20/25 % bonus attack speed.
Active: Elise and her spiderlings gain 60/80/100/120/140 % attack speed.

Tips and tricks:

-Pretty straight forward attack speed steroid, the buff only affects Elise and her Spiderlings while in spider form.

-It acts as an attack reset with it's own animation. Spiderlings basic attacks also reset upon casting.

Play Video
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Human E: Cocoon

In Human Form

Elise throws out her web, hitting a target grants vision of them for 1 second and stuns them for 1.6/1.7/1.8/1.9/2 seconds.

Tips and tricks:

-CC is always valuable and adding the vision onto the target makes following up much easier for everyone. Timing the cooldown to know when you can exit spider form for another combo or second stun is good practice.

Play Video

Spider E: Rappel

In Spider Form

Tips and tricks:

There is a lot to say about Rappel , besides this info I made a chapter specificly for Rappel Interactions below.

Elise' Rappel is a very unique and versatile spell and it has a lot of uses people usually overlook.

Firstly: Rappel neglects any projectiles, basic attacks and spells targeted for her, even spells like Karthus' . Assuming you get into the air before the spell or basic lands you can neglect almost any damage that isn't over time. Spiderlings that have tower aggro and are getting fired at will still die even if you Rappel, occasionally.

Secondly: It's a great diving tool because it also resets aggro along with neglecting the tower shots mid air for a safe get away. Spiderlings which land within range will aggro the tower as long as no priority target is present.

Thirdly: It gives vision around itself when used, granting you easy access to targets across walls and in bushes. It does, however, not grant vision on invisible targets. This can be used not only to chase and escape, but also give vital information to allies or maybe enough time for or similar to cast an ultimate on someone to catch or finish them off.

There are however also a few things to keep in mind when using Rappel.

oUnless you specify a target the Spiderlings will land where they went up, just like you will.
oLanding on a target gives you a small damage boost which may help secure a stranded kill.
oClicking a target with Rappel will make you instantly land on them, while hitting the ground will make you go up and wait until you either click a target or wait mid air until the allotted time runs out and then land where you started, miss clicking is easy when surrounded.
oIf within closer range than your max range, Elise will attempt to land behind her target, for better or for worse.
oWhen used inside a bush you are granted vision but others can not see you from outside.

Interesting spell interactions and Rappel targets.

Rappel Spell Interactions

Certain spells will last through your Rappel while others are completely neglected. Generally, if it's a target Channelled spell it will stay while any projectile will be neglected. Below are the most noteworthy ones.

Fiddlestick's Drain : It stays on you for the duration.
Nocturne's Unspeakable Horror : It stays on you and will fear you while still up unless he moves out of range. You can, however, still select a target and land while feared.
Urgot's Fear Beyond Death : While the first part won't be removed he can not cast his second part until you have landed.
Brand's Pyroclasm : You won't get hit, but it will continue to bounce.
Nautilus' Depth Charge : It will keep charging and hitting anyone in its path but you won't get hit unless you land too early.
Caitlyn's Ace in the Hole : Will be neglected, but it needs to have been fired (be mid-air) when you cast Rappel to go on CD; if you cast it while she's charging up it won't go on CD.

Some other Ult examples:
Allied Kalista's Fate's Call : If you are her Oathsworn she can not cast it while you are mid-air.
Kayn's Umbral Trespass : If he starts casting it mid Rappel cast he will still go inside you, he will stay inside you if already cast when you Rappel , he can exit you while you are still up in the air and damage you.
Executes: While you can interrupt Darius' and Garen's ults, they will no longer go on CD when you do.

A quick note about how Grave's Smoke Screen effect is not lifted by using Rappel .

List of targets you can/can't Rappel :

TL;DR The rule, with exceptions of structures, is "can you auto attack it?" then you can rappel to it.
Enemy Wards
Enemy Minions
Enemy Champions
All Jungle Creeps & Plants
Allied Wards
Allied Minions
Allied Champions
Towers
Nexus
Inhibitors
Walls
Hextech Gates

Jungle Camp Details:
Jungle Plants
Wolves
Krugs
Raptors
Blue Buff
Dragon from across the north walls
Baron from across the south walls.
Gromp but not from across the far walls.
Red Buffs but won't reach from the thicker ends.
Rift Herald but can only reach over the front walls.

Champion Creations
Minions: Annie, Ivern, Malzahar, Neeko, Elise, Zac, Shaco R, Yorick (Passive Minions, W Wall 'Minion', R Minion)
Zyra plants but not seeds Illaoi none R Tentacles and Heimerdinger Turrets.
Equipment: GP Barrels. A placed ZZrot and it's minions while not in the game exists in some rotating game modes.
Traps: Teemo Shroom, Shaco Box, Jhin Trap works if visible but will trigger upon landing.
Traps: Caitlyn, Jinx, Nidalee
Equipment: Katarina daggers, Shen's sword, Ziggs bombs, Thresh lantern, J4 flag.
Minions: Kled's escaping Skarl, Kindred's wolf, Zed's shadow clones, Azir's soldiers, Maokai saplings.
Walls: Anivia, Trundle, Taliyah, Ornn, Yasuo; can't be targeted, but can go over.
Cage: Camille's Ultimate will simply drag you to the middle if you try to go outside.

Spell List Version
Minions:
Equipment:
Traps
Traps:
Equipment
Minions:
Walls:
Cage:

A quick video showing Elise wall jumping in the jungle as well as some where you can't. Play Video

Showcasing the various uses and gimmicks those little buggers can present in your time of need. A lot of people underestimate just how much they are capable of. I will be repeating some stuff from other chapters in here.

Elise is one of few summoner champions that utilize minions in her arsenal, some others being Malzahar, Yorick and Zyra. Her Spiderlings are summoned by landing your Neurotoxin , Volatile Spiderling and Cocoon abilities on any target.
This means that you can cast on Champions, minions, monsters and even Champion summoned units like Voidlings .

Auto Attacks

First things first, what do the Spiderlings auto attacks do.

They do:
Deal pure AP scaling Magic damage.
Proc on spell effects such as Rylai's and Liandry's each hit.

They do not:
Deal any Physical or AD scaling damage.
Heal Elise without having either runes or omnivamp items .
Proc any On-Hit effects such as Botrk or Wit's End etc.

When will they attack:

Spiderlings will gladly attack:
Nearby enemy Champions, prioritizing last hit target or someone hit by Venomous Bite .
Enemy minions within range even if you do not attack them, prioritizing your last hit target.

Will not attack:
Monster camps in range unless you attack them.
If you move too far away from their current target.

Noticeable Interactions:
If you are in a bush they will never attack, even if the enemy is in the bush with you, unless you are in combat.
They will NOT follow stop commands (S by default).

Tankyness

Using your Spiderlings to block skill shots and turret shots are a big part of Elise' kit that a lot of people overlook.
Starting with who gets the Turret Aggro in which scenario, each spiderling dies from 1 turret shot.

Spiderlings:
When all minions are dead and no allied champion or Elise already has aggro.
Same as above when landing with Rappel and no DOT such as Liandry's is active on an enemy Champion.
When they enter the tower range before Elise or minions (details below).

Elise:
When Elise attacks an enemy with no allied champion with aggro.
When Spiderlings attack an enemy champion.
When all allied minions and spiderlings are dead.

To simplify, assuming you're not hitting an enemy champion, the tower priority will be Minions > Spiderlings > Elise.
In order to make your spiderlings take aggro first you need very precise movements at the edge of the turret range, alternatively have enemy minions under the turret which your spiderlings will attack. Not really worth learning.

Spell Blocking

While spiderlings are great for blocking single target skill shots there are a few things to keep in mind.
Firstly, they take a moment to spawn when changing into Spider Form , so don't wait too long or they will go right through.
Secondly they might also move in unpredictable ways so keep an eye on their movements.

Any spell that could be blocked by a minion can be blocked by a Spiderling . Some quick examples:
Dark Bindng
Rocket Grab
Mystic Shot

Won't block spells that go through minions like:
Ace in the Hole
Disintegrate
Curtain Call

Be wary as they will also proc any extra target or minion effects on spells such as:
Pyroclasm
Ice Shard
Dancing Grenade

In every combo on this list there is room for slinging in Basic/Auto Attacks for some extra damage, which might be more vital early on or depending on your build but nothing to stress about. Rappel always depends on if you wish to avoid retaliation or try to finish them off, sometimes both at once.

Green AA = Can be added into the combo from start.
Red AA = Can be added once you have enough Attack Speed.

Default Combo

The one, the only, the spam all your spells. I've mentioned it occasionally in my guide, the default combo every Elise player has used at least once is very simple and trigger happy. However, there's as mentioned always room to put in autos here and there, for example starting with an auto and ending with one. It will give the enemy a small heads up so if it's an ambush do the auto after the Cocoon .
If out of range for Q you may prefer to cast W before Q in Human form to make it smoother.
Play Video
Default:
-> -> -> -> -> ->
HE-> HQ -> HW-> HR -> SQ-> SW -> SE

Alterations:
Same with AA's weaved in
->AA-> -> ->AA-> -> ->AA-> ->
HE-> AA-> HQ-> HW-> AA-> R -> SQ -> AA-> SW -> SE

Few frames faster but less subtle for the stun
AA-> -> ->AA-> -> -> ->AA-> ->
AA-> HQ ->HE-> AA -> HW-> R -> SQ-> AA -> SW-> SE

Quicker Combos

Generally used for procing Electrocute or for a quick poke to be followed up by using Rappel to get out before they hit you back. They are generally the same concept but I'll give a small note for each one below the video.
Play Video
Base Proc: Simple and fairly quick, it is sort of mana intense early on though.
AA-> ->AA
AA-> HQ->AA

Double Q with Proc: A bit stronger than the base proc, but it leaves you melee range of your enemy if you don't have Rappel ready which is risky.
AA-> -> ->
AA-> HQ-> HR-> SQ

Human Proc: This combo doesn't force you to get too close or shapeshift. It does, however, cost more mana and run the risk of not procing if the spiderling misses or hits too slow.
->AA->
HW-> AA-> HQ

Mana Combos

For example when playing AP Assassin it can be quite mana costly early on, so using these combos to proc electrocute quickly and without mana cost is one way, might let them hit you instead though.

Slow Bites: Simple secure combo, as long as you land the second Auto Attack fast enough. Again it's risky to get this close if your enemy has their spells ready.
AA-> -> ->AA
AA->HR->SQ->AA

Fast Bites: It's faster but requires at least level 2. A lot of combos can skip an Basic Attack by using Skittering Frenzy .
AA-> -> ->
AA-> HR-> SQ-> SW

Triple Bites: Quickest combo which can proc electrocute. Requires you to be melee.
AA-> ->
AA-> SW-> SQ

Special Combo: Hextech Rocketbelt

This combo requires that you purchase the Protobelt to fully complete. At the || mark there is a risk of being retaliated against.
AA-> -> ->AA-> -> -> ->AA-> ||->AA->

Step By Step Protobelt Combo:

Play Video

Can do another AA and use her Skittering Frenzy after to continue the onslaught.

Play Video
Combo Alterations from full to simple practice

AA-Q-E-AA-W-R-HT-Q
AA-Q-E-W-R-HT-AA-W-Q
Q-E-AA-W-R-HT-Q
Q-E-AA-W-R-Q
AA-Q-E-W-AA
AA-Q-E
Q-E
AA-Q

Special Combo: FrostFlash:

Human/Spider Form has no cast time, Everfrost can be animation cancelled by Flash .
What this means is you can cast your Human/Spider Form, Everfrost and Flash all instantly after one another.
You can also buffer a Bite before the Flash to instantly bite after closing the gap/dodging a spell with the Flash.

Play Video

Here I'll put some of the more notable tricks in the guide gathered together in one spot.

*While Human if you cast Spider Form, then immediately attack an enemy you will perform a Ranged Spider attack.
This could be used to finish someone off or help survive minion/dot dmg with the extra damage or healing from spider form or melee only bonus damage. This can also be used to CS a creep that would die before the projectile lands.

*Spiderlings will tank turrets when you land from rappel unless you got a dot on an enemy.
This can be utilized for tower dives, aggro resetting, or help walk past towers.

*R has no cast time.
Therefore certain things can be cast immediately after, essentially being cast together, such as Skills or Stridebreaker/Rocketbelt.

*Spider Q Buffer.
You can buffer your Venomous Bite on an enemy out of range then Flash into range and still cast it. Likewise, you can cast Spider Q and flash away while it's casting and still connect.

*Spider Q wall jump.
A little known fact is that Venomous Bite actually CAN jump over walls. You need to be as close as possible with a small gap between the target and the thin wall to make it and is extremely difficult to pull off, but it is doable.
The easiest spots to do it is from above the bush ledges in mid. SpiderQ

Personal suggestion on Runes and Summoners:

Possible Alternatives:

In the top lane the runes, build and summoners heavily rely on your team set up and enemy match up. I recommend reading all varying playstyles as everyone plays differently, mix and matching 2 playstyles might be the right for you.

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Teleport is the kind of spell that never hits wrong. It can be used to get back to lane faster or be used to gank another lane. Can also be used for safer split pushing or cover enemy split pushers later into the game.

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Most common for bursters and mids alike, extra damage always helps. Also gives an early anti-heal.

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Helps vs champions that have high burst and have high speed or might use Exhaust themselves

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Smite can be brought into the mid lane if you do not have a need for ignites extra damage. Being mid means you are close to Rift, Drake and the jungle buffs in case problems occur.

---

Lethal Tempo

Difficulty:

Mainly go versus melee champions, but it can work against ranged if you're experienced.

Level 1 your main objective is to CS and to hit the enemy whenever he goes for CS with autos. Hitting them will trigger which will help you poke them down hard, but beware minions. Sometimes using Neurotoxin if you got a lot of mana but do not overuse it as the mana costs are noticeable.

Using Venomous Bite is fine which will also make your Spiderlings jump to and hit them for some extra damage. As long as you won't take a lot of damage in retaliation doing so such as a Garen which could also potentially wipe out your Spiderlings you will be fine.

Level 2 generally go E for Cocoon so that you can avoid their engages or keep them pinned for your autos. If your opponent has very low early damage and mobility you can go W just to hurt them more with the synergy.
Other than that, if possible keep auto-attacking to try keep your stacks relatively and poke them down for a potential trade.

Level 3-5 the full combo is unlocked, huge power spike for Elise that very few champions can access, the 6 spell combo. In the past you could utilize the burst in your combo but now that you have to slowly build up the stacks you have to think more carefully about when to combo. Usually if possibly try to get 3-4 stacks before engaging as you will get 1-3 autos in with your combo.

Once they run out or your enemy tries to turn around on you using Rappel to get to safety with the help of nearby minions. May want to do it earlier if the opponent has a strong CC burst combo to avoid losing the trade. Trading a lot early is important because Elise has pretty good sustain with her passives healing and this can lead to zoning or killing them.

Level 6-11 will play out differently depending on how well your early game went; If it went well or you're snowballing simply keep at it and push your lead, but don't get cocky and keep your eyes out for ganks.

The opponent will most likely have their Ultimate unlocked now depending on what champion they play and will have a big power spike to even the battlefield. Utilizing your Rappel may render most ultimates useless in a straight-up 1v1.

Electrocute

Difficulty:

The crowd favorite approach for Elise best suited for Jungle/Mid builds. You can easily pick for top against squishy champions.

Level 1 will be simple CS focus. has a rather mana intense approach for top lane and you won't get Lethal for faster SW autos to heal up so I suggest Corruption Potion as the first item, Doran's Ring works as well though. Your main combo would be AA->HQ->AA for a quick procs, but keep an eye on your mana. If against a slow melee champion a Risky Combo might be worthwhile.

Level 2 might want to opt into W over E to get more damage with your combo, but getting E is still far safer and recommended for the sole reason of some Quicker Combos for a 0 risk poke. Most of the time you want to focus on CSing outside of your procs.

Level 3-5 where you will have the Default Combo unlocked is your best bet to do any bigger trades or plays. The squishier the opponent, and if running ignite, the easier the kill for a snowball to start rolling.

You will most definitively want to snowball with this build in top lane or you will slowly get out sustained and pushed back by most matchups.

Level 6-11 not much to add other than to try using your Rappel to neglect enemy ults and ganks, and try your best to CS and pick up kills. Depending on who you face you might want to invade the jungle if you brought smite or roam mid.

Aftershock

Difficulty:

Spider Tank, simple but enjoyable. Works best vs ADCs, but Electrocute can handle them the best.

Level 1 against a ranged champion there won't be much you can do for now, CS and get 2 ASAP. If against a melee champion get some autos in or for the level 2 trade potential.

Level 2 you got your precious Cocoon so you can start shocking people. You can trade and poke when you land a stun, you have roughly a second until blows after your stun ends, then you can Rappel out to safety.

Level 3-5 is where you will either get some kills or settle into CSing while occasionally helping the jungler/mid. Usually not much happens unless your opponent makes a lot of mistakes. If they go in you can turn on them fairly well, assuming you land your stun, and poke/trade works generally like the other two builds where you utilize your Default Combo and Rappel after deals damage. Almost never follow up on a missed Cocoon .

Level 6-11 should be pretty calm. Aftershock works well to keep you alive and deal some damage, but in all honesty, you are mainly here to peel for your carries mid-late game but early on you still got decent damage and if you get ahead that's great! If you go even that's perfectly fine too.

General tips for Elise in the top lane:

Keep an eye out for the junglers. Elise adds a lot to a 2v2 fight and can help the jungler if he's in trouble, as well as invade the enemy jungler if you know they are low. Maybe even steal one of their buffs/camps/rift while they are busy elsewhere. If the enemy top laner leaves the lane it will give you a good opportunity to hit the tower, clear further camps or counter roam.

Push your advantage. Early on it's very important to push any advantage you might have against your opponent, be it range, mobility or damage. This is why changing your runes and play style is important.

Basic attack your enemy a lot. When they go for CS, when they are too close as melee, after they made a mistake just basic attack them. The damage adds up, and if they are playing too defensive try to zone them or focus on CS. Optimally you want to poke them down low enough for you to finish them in a combo, or close to.

Don't be afraid to dive. if they are low and have their CC on CD go for it a quick SQ->AA->SE, you can freely poke enemies under tower if you can reach them without getting tower aggro as the tower shot will get completely neglected.

With the help of a jungler or a mid roam you can get easy and safe tower dives going by juggling the tower aggro between yourself, your teammate and Spiderlings . Remember to not waste your unless you have to if the enemy jungler is missing or nearby.

Utilize her sustain in spider form. Whenever you get a chance to heal some with your Spider Form you should. Just be wary so that you don't push too hard at bad times.

Keep your spider count high. Don't spam spells if you're low on Spiderlings as it costs mana and they have to land. Always try to keep track of them when you are in Spider Form so they don't accidentally get caught in a Darius Q , for example.

One more thing to keep in mind is Elise fairly low movement speed; She lacks in movement where she makes up in her . Using Rappel on a ganking jungler as they move in is sometimes the easiest escape from ganks.

If you lost early on depending on your opponent it may be difficult to recover without ganks, focus on CSing and building the items you need. Safe basic attacking and smart spell usage can still turn the tables in some top matchups. Consider picking up an early Hourglass , stalling and tanking hits for your team to carry you until you can recover.

Suggested Runes and Summoners:

Possible Alternatives:

I recommend reading all varying play styles as everyone plays differently, mix and matching 2 play styles might be the right for you.

Some things to keep in mind before trying out Mid Elise:
* The mid lane is smaller than top and bot and lack easily reachable bushes which can be disadvantageous.
* Elise' spells are mostly blocked by minions whilst a lot of other mid laners can work around that and usually outrange you, making it difficult to land your spells and commit.
* It is harder to avoid ganks with Rapell unless you are behind enemy minions or the gank comes from behind you.
Attacking the enemy champion to aggro minions and lead them closer to your tower is one way to handle this.

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Most common for bursters and mids alike, extra damage always helps. Also gives an early anti-heal.

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Teleport is the kind of spell that never hits wrong. It can be used to get back to lane faster or be used to gank another lane. Can also be used for safer split pushing or cover enemy split pushers later into the game.

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If the enemy is fast has a high damage burst or both bringing exhaust might help more than ignite.

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Smite can be brought into the mid lane if you do not have a need for ignites extra damage. Being mid means you are close to Rift, Drake and the jungle buffs in case problems occur.

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Lethal Tempo

Difficulty:

Very risky in the mid lane, mostly to counter tanky mids or certain melees.

Level 1 your main objective is to CS and if you are facing a melee champion to proc and punish the enemy when going in for CS. Beware the minions. Generally, save your mana unless you are facing a high base health/armor champion. Going in for a Venomous Bite is only worth it if the enemy is melee and has their main retaliation spell on CD.

Level 2 here you can go for W as the Volatile Spiderling can help poke and wave clear. Skittering Frenzy can be used to out trade melee champions, heal up faster, and to all in low health targets to burn their Flash or get first blood.

If you are facing an assassin or other high burst champion which is more common in mid lane it's safer to pick E for the stun and escape/damage dodge potential. As Rappel gives a small damage boost upon landing this can still be used to win trades or finish off enemies, as well as unlocking your diving potential.

Level 3-5 has, for the most part, the same goal in all Elise paths; you have your full combo and should push it to the fullest. Using Elise' Default Combo for a quick and efficient poke/trade is crucial for all builds. Very few mid lane match ups will be able to properly turn on you if executed properly.

allows you to sling in a few extra autos at the end before using your Rappel to escape their retaliation.

Your wave clear might be suffering versus a lot of mid matchups so possibilities are that they will try to roam a lot. If they do and you feel it unsafe to follow up make sure to get as much tower damage in as safely possible while they are gone.

Level 6-11 where the enemy has their ultimate unlocked is usually a big power spike for mid laners. However, Rappel can neglect a lot of ultimates completely making laning post 6 fairly similar to pre 6. Your trading potential might be less valuable here as most champions played mid are ranged or high burst. Generally, stick with respective 3-5 approach.

Electrocute

Difficulty:

The big burst build, works great against the generally squishy population of mid lane, however a bit more mana intense

Level 1 has the strongest and safest poke in the early game of any Elise mid build. AA->HQ->AA is simple and effective and usually leaves little room for the enemy to retaliate if timed well. However as it is a bit mana costly and the Mana Combo puts you in a difficult spot this early on the main focus is on CS.

Level 2 leave you with the two options that always pester mid; More damage with your W, or a safer trade and overall laning experience with E. If the enemy has high burst on level 2 it is highly recommended to go with E for the Rappel at the end of your Quicker Combos.

Level 3-5 has for the most part the same goal in all Elise paths; you have your full combo and should push it to the fullest. Using Elise' Default Combo for a quick and efficient poke/trade is crucial for all builds. Very few mid lane match ups will be able to properly turn on you if executed properly.

Your wave clear might still be suffering versus a lot of mid match ups even with your high damage build, so it's likely that they will try to roam a lot. Try to stay on them making sure you take the enemy jungler into consideration.

If they get the jump on you, even 1v1, if they have high burst you are in trouble. Consider if it might be best to try to damage the tower in their absence instead.
games may have you playing safer, using one of the Quicker Combos to proc with less mana consumption and risk.

Level 6-11 where the enemy has their ultimate unlocked is usually a big power spike for mid laners. However, Rappel can neglect a lot of ultimates completely making laning post 6 fairly similar to pre 6. Your trading potential might be less valuable here as most champions played mid are ranged or high burst. Generally, stick with respective 3-5 approach.

Aftershock

Difficulty:

Generally picked when you want to go AP Bruiser for your team and play more of a Protect the carry role.

Level 1 has no real poke or trade potential against most match ups in mid, get your CS and maybe an auto or two in.

Level 2 with Cocoon unlocked you can actually utilize the Aftershock rune and go in for some quicker trades ONLY IF you land your Cocoon , if you missed just back off. Most of the time this will be a farm lane because of your lower damage.

Level 3-5 has for the most part the same goal in all Elise paths; you have your full combo and should push it to the fullest. Using Elise' Default Combo for a quick and efficient poke/trade is crucial for all builds. Very few mid lane match ups will be able to properly turn on you if executed properly.

let's you tank more hits to hit them more. Making sure your properly deals damage before using Rappel , as long as it doesn't put you at risk of ganks or taking too much damage as the stun ends.

Level 6-11 where the enemy has their ultimate unlocked is usually a big power spike for mid laners. However, Rappel can neglect a lot of ultimates completely making laning post 6 fairly similar to pre 6. Your trading potential might be less valuable here as most champions played mid are ranged or high burst. Generally stick with respective 3-5 approach.

General tips for Elise in the mid lane:

Keep an eye out for the junglers. Elise adds a lot to a 2v2 fight and can help the jungler if he's in trouble, as well as invade the enemy jungler if you know they are low. Maybe even steal one of their buffs while they are busy elsewhere. If the enemy mid laner leaves after you it will give you a good opportunity to hit the tower or counter roam.

Push your advantage. Early on it's very important to push any advantage you might have against your opponent, be it range, mobility or damage. This is why changing your runes and play style is important, however less frequent in mid.

If the enemy is melee, basic attack them a lot. When they go for CS, when they are too close as melee, after they made a mistake try to basic attack them. If they are melee with no CC you can try to zone them, however mid is a small lane and zoning here is difficult.

Don't be afraid to dive. if they are low and have their CC on CD go for it a quick SQ->AA->SE, you can freely poke enemies under tower if you can reach them without getting tower aggro as the tower shot will get completely neglected.

With the help of a jungler, top or bot roamer you can get easy and safe tower dives going by juggling the tower aggro between yourself, your teammates and Spiderlings . Remember to not waste your if the enemy jungler is missing or nearby.

Utilize her sustain in spider form. Whenever you get a chance to heal some with your Spider Form you should, just be careful not to get jumped or poked. Also be wary so that you don't push too hard at bad times.

Keep your spider count high. Don't spam spells if you're low on Spiderlings as it costs mana and they have to hit. Always try to keep track of them when you are in Spider Form so they don't accidentally get caught in a Talon E .

When ganked using your Rappel on the jungler as they move in is sometimes the easiest escape from ganks.

If you lost early on it can get difficult because of Elise early squish. Get some defensive items towards their damage and try to CS and stall out until you can get back in the game.

If you don't have any ADC somewhere else like jungle or top I highly advise against picking her in the carry role. Her damage is mostly single target and requires melee contact. Krakenslayer Elise is not useless.

Support, however:

Support Elise has worked surprisingly well into picks like hookers , pokers and other squishies .


There are main approaches I've tested successfully:
standard AP burst comp. Works well with high damage bursters
puts more focus on peeling and landing your Cocoon . Synergizes best with follow up CC
helps your ADC and team to deal more damage while not gutting your own. More for consistant damagers
puts everything into peeling for your team, usually going to further this. Works well with bursters or follow up CC.

As for your support item, you can pick practically any you want to fit your playstyle.

with your standard AP poke/burst builds.
is the standard shield, working with your AP based spells and can trigger the melee threshold when in Spider Form .
works mainly because of Skittering Frenzy and ranged autos. This one also works in Spider Form .
is similar in that it utilizes Skittering Frenzy and ranged autos. Both of these items would be more situational.

Pros and cons
+Can block skill shots like hooks , some CC like , and similar by utilizing your Spiderlings .
+Can negate big ultimates like , and partly when you are tareted by using Rappel .
+Able to all in and tower dive safely with Rappel as an escape tool.

Not super easy to proc Ranged Support Items into ranged matchups but able to utilize melee Shield procs.

-Only got one CC on a decent CD.
-Got no other peeling tool until bought items. Examples:

Generally you wish to start on on the bot side of the jungle for a bigger leash, which means Red Buff for the blue side, and Blue Buff for the red side.
Index:
-Starting Red/Blue Buff
-General Jungling Tips
-Tips on camp clearing
-Dragon Info + lvl 4 Drake
-Baron solo at 20 min

Starting Blue buff:
Start with Blue Buff and follow up with Gromp then head for the Wolves and you will get level 3. If your bot laners have high kill pressure level 2 you might want to do Wolves before Gromp to make reaching bot side a bit faster, or just rush right after taking Blue Buff .

Now that you are level 3 you might want to look for Ganking opportunities. Always keep your eyes on the map and teammates health bars when traveling between camps, and to keep an eye on if the enemy jungler shows itself. As most people will tell you utilizing the f# keys (default f2-5) is a great way to check on the current state of each lane.

-If no Ganking possibilities arise go get your Red Buff quickly followed by checking the Scuttle . Be careful depending on match up and maybe just try to use Smite to steal it and then clear your Raptors and Krugs .

-If you do Gank, however, it should leave you just in time for Scuttle spawn at around 3:15 so going for it is a good choice assuming you're not too hurt or against a horribly strong match up. Afterwards do a full clear and B.

Starting Red buff:
Get the Red Buff and you can look to acompany your leasher to lane for a lvl 2 Gank to try burn a flash or first blood. This can be very time consuming though and low chance of succeeding so only do it if you're sure you can at least give your laner a big enough edge to be worthwhile as the enemy jungler will surely take advantage of this information to claim scuttles or invade.

Afterwards go all the way over to your Wolves and Blue Buff . Gotta kill Gromp to fully reach level 3 and unfortunately Scuttle won't have spawned just yet if no complications or ganks have happened so it's up to you if you wait for a few seconds or try an invade. Beware your match up and play accordingly, if stealing a camp/Scuttle or going for the kill is a good option. Otherwise either try to get a Gank going before you lose your Red Buff or go back to the other side and clear up the rest of your jungle and B.

General Jungling Tips:
Elise is a beast at ganking and tower diving so you should mostly prioritize a good ganking opportunity over clearing camps as long as it doesn't set you far behind the enemy jungler or it results in giving away objectives for free. Invading works well into certain match ups but a death sentence into others so know your match ups well before attempting any.

Remember that you can Rappel to most camps over walls (check Rappel Targets for details) and to every type of plant in the game, as well as grant vision on nearby bushes. This way you can scout safely in the both teams jungles.

Faster camp respawns and less xp while behind is generally bad for Elise as she gets smaller windows of opportunity to wait out ganks without falling behind in XP so plan your ganks the best you can or you will fall behind before you know it.

Finally, Scuttle fighting is fairly risky for Elise but if you have the whereabouts of the enemy jungler or the favorable match up you should seize the opportunities given.

A quick vid showing off the vision potential of Rappel , planning to make a more in depth video on this. Play Video

Early Game Quick Camp Clearing Tips:

Always start camps in Human Form to refresh your Spiderlings to do more damage and let them tank to take less damage. Later on in the game you want to tank for the Spiderlings to keep them alive instead.


Wolves: Kill the small ones first letting your Spiderlings tank the big wolf. Do some kiting if no Spiderlings alive.


Gromp: Has a small attack boost on pull so either pull at the end of your Blue clear or kite his auto attacks to a 1:1 ratio of yours before your Spiderlings tank it.


Raptors: Do not walk into the middle, throw out your Volatile Spiderling and go ham. You will take an incredible amount of damage this way. Instead back up a bit after casting and kite the raptors best you can from the bush to the other end of the camp, starting with killing the small ones. Make sure to use your Venomous Bite on mid health targets to do optimal damage. Do not forget to cast another Volatile Spiderling mid clear.


Krugs: Pull them out a bit and focus the big one, going around it to kite the medium sized one to be body blocked by the large one. This will make you take less damage while handling the big one and once it's dead kill all medium sized ones while trying to kite the small ones around the bigger ones and finally finish off the smallest ones at once with a Volatile Spiderling .


Red Brabmleback & Blue Sentinel: If it's the first clear of the game cast your Volatile Spiderling at around 1:28 to save a few seconds on the cooldown. Generally make the Spiderlings tank until mid/late game and then kite it.
Taking 2 hits while dealing 3, step away, repeat.

Dragon Information

With the season 10 changes to the Dragons and their buffs the initial Dragon Rush might be a bit less valuable for the laning phase as a whole, however, getting a faster and more favorable Dragon Soul for your team will turn out profitable in the long run. With Elise's innate ability to reach Dragons from a distance with Rappel and finish them off with a well placed Smite + Venomous Bite combo for the steal it's fairly easy to secure a favorable Dragon Soul for your team.

Dragon Priority

Infernal Drake: Grants 5% adaptive damage. Soul: Every few seconds your next damage will cause an explosion.
Rating: 4/5
The buff caries considerably less impact than before but the Infernal Soul will grant your team with some extra wave clear potential and maybe enough damage to handle an unfavorable match up and more easily burst high priority targets.

Ocean Drake: Grants 3% health regeneration. Soul: Causing damage grants health and resource regeneration.
Rating: 4/5
I've seen plenty of fights be turned around from the regenerative powers both the buff and Cloud Soul bring. It's great for laners of all types and makes your jungle camps far less dangerous.

Mountain Drake: Grants 8% armor and magic resist. Soul: After a few seconds out of combat you are granted a shield.
Rating: 3/5
More defenses are the opposite of more damage, it's decent for everyone. The Mountain Soul, however, truly shines versus poke comps with the regenerating shield for your entire team. Enchanters that don't focus too much on AP or HP does get the short end of the stick from this one as it gives a stronger shield adaptive to HP, AD and AP only at the time.

Cloud Drake: Grants 10% Ultimate CoolDown Reduction. Soul: Passive Movespeed and Ultimate casts grants Movespeed.
Rating: 2-4/5 depending on your team comp.
Elise herself really gains nothing from the Cloud Drakes but most teams love them for their Ultimate Cooldown reduction so consider this with high profile ultimate champions like QiyannaQiyanna and Malphite on your team.

Level 4 Dragon Rush

Should You?
Rushing level 4 Drake is very risky and has a chance of setting you behind against your enemy jungler.
Cons: It will keep you occupied for the first 5½ minutes of the game meaning no cheesy ganks or invades, some experience loss from taking the dragon itself over your normal camps or ganking as well as making your whereabouts known for the enemy to try rush rift.
Pros: It might grant your laners the edge they need to win lane and set up for a faster Dragon Soul, as well as granting you a buff.

Whether you try to solo rush it or instead try to get a good gank bot to claim it afterwards is entirely up to you.

Doing It
The easiest way for Elise to get a solo dragon on lvl 4 is to clear the jungle WITHOUT using Smite more than once.
Start with Blue Buff into Gromp and Wolves , traveling over to your Red Buff and immediately go for Scuttle . Depending on the Dragon that you're getting you will NEED this extra gold. Afterwards go claim your Raptors and Krugs before going back to base.

My preferred approach is to buy a Corrupting Potion or some Omnivamp and head for the Dragon as soon as you hit semi full health as you will not need to recover your mana. If you get caught in the middle chances are you will have to retreat. If you are on Blue side don't use the plant and instead Rapell over the wall. If you are on the red side, Rappel over the wall to kill the plant before starting. Make sure you have some info of the enemy junglers whereabouts.

As for the Dragon Fight itself you want to start in Human Form , cast Neurotoxin , Volatile Spiderling and finish with a Basic Attack and stand back.
Try to not get knocked up and as soon as the Dragon rises cast Spider Form , Venomous Bite and Basic Attack kite around so you stand on the opposite side of your spiderlings. Once your Spiderlings and you are in proper position cast Skittering Frenzy right after a Basic Attack to get an Auto Reset and cast Smite after you have taken three hits.

You want to keep your Spiderlings alive for the entire fight unless against the Mountain Drake which hits harder you may need to sacrifice one or two near the end of it. You can also dodge one Dragon Attack using your Rappel at the right time and depending on how healthy you are you might have to use another Smite before finishing it off to survive. You should, however, be fine as long as it's not the Mountain and be able to finish it off with your Smite Venomous Bite combo.

As it is a pretty risky thing to do I recommend testing it in the Practice Tool to find your preferred approach and see if you can handle the various Drakes with and without Scuttle! Below is a video showing how I generally do it.

Play Video (Outdated)

Final note: is that I've managed to solo Baron (while ahead) at 20-24 min using Riftmaker + Nashor's Tooth. Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't and you can't experiment with this in Practice Tool, however, I will extend on this in the future.

When ganking an ally with CC you sometimes prefer waiting for them to CC to more easily follow up with your own Cocoon . Likewise if the enemy hides amongst minions it's sometimes better to start in Spider Form and Rappel to them, ending with your Human Form spells letting your teammate finish them off.

When killing important camps or objectives like Baron you can cast Venomous Bite and instantly follow up with Smite to secure it. Alternatively time it just before the bite lands for a few extra points of damage, but with increased risk.

Most of the time you want to be the first to get tower aggro and eventually use Rappel to reset it. If your ally is out of range and you have Spiderlings they can tank a hit or two for you both to chase down the enemy.

Always try to travel in Spider Form for extra speed, changing to Human Form in time for starting a jungle camp or objective, preparing to gank or think an enemy is nearby.

Elise' mid game is heavily focused around objectives and getting important picks.

Objectives:

Her pushing power is top tier thanks to her Spiderlings and her Skittering Frenzy allowing her to deal high amounts of damage in a short amount of time.
And while her kit isn't the most optimal for team fights she does great in picking off and dueling enemies. Of course this doesn't mean ignore teamfighting, simply apply pressure where you can to control the flow of the battlefield.

Examples: You can split push while your team does dragon to force the enemies to pick between picking an objective or splitting, at which you can Teleport to help your team if you have it picked. As well as the opposite, if your team won a fight or is pushing on the opposite side of the map you can easily solo rift or dragon if given the chance.

If you instead went Smite you can also Rappel in on dragons and barons to secure them for your own team.

Picking off enemies:

With her high burst and potential to build into a strong duelist she can melt most enemies caught off guard. Good vision control and keeping track of the enemies will help you be able to catch lonely priority targets and front liners alike giving you an advantage in future objectives and team fights.

With Rappel you can traverse the enemy jungle while being fairly safe and if no targets are present or turn away before you can catch them you can clear a camp if you know it's safe. Using the Oracle Lens while exploring the enemy jungle is a valid option as you can clear the wards you find quickly with Skittering Frenzy , but you can also use wards as potential escape routes by using your Rappel , as long as you have vision on them.

This is where Elise never truly shines. Her team fighting capabilities aren't the strongest, and she falls off some later on. She does still have decent peeling power for her carries, great picking potential, and can still hold her own against most enemies in a one on one scenario with room for outplays thanks to her kit.

Depending on the game you should focus on one of a few things depending on matchups, build and position in-game:

Protect the carry.

If your carry is able to dish out a lot of damage against the enemy team make sure to peel for them, protect them against any assassins or engaging tanks. You can cc and melt both fairly well and can capitalize on a possible 4v5 fight.
Builds that utilize Glacial or Everfrost can further strengthen this playstyle.

Split Pushing.

If you're behind or have a lower damaging team making your overall 5v5 fighting potential weak split pushing can help even the odds along with securing objectives like baron to push through their offense. If you got Smite or Teleport play the map accordingly.

Assassinate.

Being the assassin champion Elise is she has great killing potential on the carries, catching them in the jungle or out of position can secure a winning team fight with little risk with your Rappel . Be careful to not go too deep or get caught.

Play the bait.

If you messed up in lane or build path or otherwise, got a slow damaging team or need to burn a lot of CC you can go the most frowned upon approach in this guide. With her Rappel , an Hourglass and a GA you can stall out a lot of fights by making people chase and try to kill you, as well as attract some heavy CC and damage away from your carries so they can handle things, alternatively keep the protective approach and be there for your carry until you catch up.

Wether you build full tank or more damage oriented you won't be set back too much and will be an extreme annoyance for the enemy team. Much akin to chasing a riven this can be good for separating the enemy team in a team fight if done well.

DO NOT pick this as your initial game plan. This is only as an emergency solution and will only work in certain specific situations to stall the game to catch up. Most of the time Protect the carry will still work better.

Domination

Electrocute A lot of Elise's combos proc Electrocute without a hassle, and it's good damage added to her already good burst turning her into a deadly foe. If you enjoy the bursty playstyle this is a must for you. Predator Predator is good for catching enemies, but while Elise doesn't have any speed steroids her Spider Form puts her at a decent speed to get picks without it and instead opt for more damage in other runes. Dark Harvest Deals increasing damage depending on how many stacks, has great potential when snowballing against a team of squishies with the chance you can proc it multiple times in a fight in quick succession. Hail of Blades(Potential ) I will admit I have yet to test HoB Elise properly, it's a rune that I think might have some potential early game for invading and laning. Will come back once testing has been done. Cheap Shot Cheap Shot relies on you landing your Cocoon in the early game, but can be substituted with the Glacial rune, as well as the Everfrost and Rylai's items as they all proc it as well giving Elise a bit of poking power without comiting. Taste of Blood Since Elise heals in Spider Form , she won't need this. And absolutely not in the Jungle. The only time this rune could sort of come in handy is a trade-heavy lane such as VS Gnar. Sudden Impact Sudden Impact works with both and Rappel . You will essentially have it up 100% of the time in combat and at 30 Ability Haste your Bite procs it on CD. Zombie Ward Works great with and gives vision and damage. If you play well you can max the stacks of this rune the fastest, and help your team with vital vision control. Ghost Poro This rune also grants vision and damage, but it usually stacks the slowest, and enemies walking into the bush it's in will scare it away. Eyeball Collection This rune is the easiest to stack in lane, however, it still takes quite some time unless you're snowballing really hard. It doesn't grant any vision like the other 2. Ravenous Hunter Omnivamp is really strong and helps getting a healthy jungle clear, surviving in lane, and survive close combats. Ingenious Hunter This rune only truly shines with something like the Frostfang build, which utilizes 2-3 Activation Items, combined with to grant you multiple uses in a fight. Ingenious Hunter Often considered the best Jungle rune to get across the map for objectives and ganks in a flash. Can also help catch up to certain mobile champions. Ultimate Hunter X Please do not go this rune on Elise, it is completely pointless because of her low cooldown.

Precision

Press The Attack It's not a completely useless rune on Elise, but works best in a duo lane and that isn't exactly her strong suit. It can increase your own burst if you proc it before your combo, and has its place in some On-Hit games. However reaching late game it becomes difficult to proc safely as you will quickly get jumped when going into Auto range, but you can make it work. Lethal Tempo Sadly with the latest changes to Lethal Tempo it's been changed from a burst attack speed to a slower build up style. While the burst attack speed worked wonders with Elise this one is less benefitial and takes too long to build up in most fights. While it isn't useless it certainly became a lot more Niche, and requires the enemy team to be pretty tanky to get any benefit. As always it can still potentially work with On-Hit and Duelist builds. Fleet Footwork Usage of this rune would only really work in certain trade match ups in lanes, but will lose most of it's value mid-late game harder than the rest. It can help you sustain against people who can punish your poke or got good poke themselves. A full combo would bring you to max stats and leaves you in a stronger position than burst builds if the enemy survives. Conqueror A decent rune for Bruiser Builds, helps healing her and bring some extra damage into longer fights. Her combo builds it up really fast but that means most of its usage will be in Spider Form . Overheal While Elise does have some healing this rune really won't help her much besides a minor shield for extra survival. It works pre-emptively while Triumph works after a successful kill. Triumph The best rune on this tier for Elise in almost any scenario; Extra gold with some healing with each takedown. Since it can proc up to 5 times per teamfight that's potentially 100 more gold and some decent healing throughout a winning fight. Presence of Mind Altough Elise in general doesn't need a lot of mana and her Spider Form abilities don't cost manam we can gain a lot from this rune, especially against big tanks. When you value poke in lane this is your pick, however it is still useless for a jungler Elise. Legend: Alacrity A fair Attack Speed boost mostly for builds that focus around using her Spider Form for a longer time, like Bruiser Builds]. Legend: Tenacity A solid boost to her Tenacity which isn't to be underestimated into CC heavy comps, especially as Elise is very vulnetable to CC as is. Legend: Bloodline X Even with if you would go an AD build this just isn't worthwhile for Elise, it doesn't synergize too well with her kit and the other two are just more worthwhile. Coup De Grace As a burst focused champ with main goal of chasing down squishies and finishing them off this rune is her Cup De Tea (get it?)... It's a great run overall, however, not the best rune while behind. Cut Down Most of the time you want to focus down squishies with Elise, but sometimes you get unlucky picks. This can work against some tankier teams. Last Stand Only really works into Bruiser Builds or Tank Builds where you will be low on health without dying instantly. Most of the time it's too risky even with those builds. One interesting but risky play is letting Baron get you low on health to get some extra burst for catching people, as it would boost your damage more than the other two runes of this tier vs squishies, but leave you extremely vulnerable.

Sorcery

Summon Aery Can work in a Poke Build that casts your Neurotoxin on cooldown and try to wear down an immobile foe before engaging. It is not the best rune, but not the worst. Arcane Comet Elise's best way to secure this hitting is her E Q/W combo, but wasting her only CC for some poke damage is really not optimal. Sure her W can proc it from a safe distance but even with Rylai's it will probably miss. Phase Rush I've never properly experimented with this rune, it might be decent somehow, like into Jhin to finish him off before he runs away, but there are most likely better options for most scenarios. Nullifying Orb It's a decent rune into AP heavy comps, might save your life. Manaflow Band Another rune that will only truly work with a Poke Build. Any other build and it will be extremely excessive. Nimbus Cloak A possible rune mainly for jungling, synergizes really well with and can help keep up with, and pick off, faster targets. Transendence Generally a weak rune, works into Poke Builds but even there the other 2 are better in most cases. Celerity Overall a great rune, granting bonus movement speed from all sources, which can help chase down and escape threats. Absolute Focus More damage is always good, as long as you manage to avoid getting hurt before doing your combo this will help a lot. Scorch Yet another rune that only truly has a place in a Poke Build, even then unless you reach lvl 15 by 20 minutes it's outscaled for 1 spell every 10 seconds, even more if you keep fighting. It can help poke out some laners in the early game but that's also all this rune is worth. If you think the game will go longer do not take this. Waterwalking A great mobility rune, granting extra movement for Jungling or roaming if Laning. Outscales both and for Dragon/Baron fights until 20 min, then it goes about even with until 30 where it finally falls behind. Gathering Storm Usually considered the best rune for this tier, however since Elise is an early game champ it isn't necessarily true. The goal of playing Elise is to get an early lead and attempt to close out the game before 25 minutes, 15 at best. However, if you think the game will go longer than 30 minutes this is absolutely the right choice.

Resolve

Grasp of the Undying Tank Elise hasn't been explored too much, but health is not her strong suit in general. It can work well with and gives the potential to stay alive longer to peel or distract the enemy team. Aftershock As a support tank, Aftershock brings Elise some extra tankyness along with bonus damage. Works great with her for initiating 2v2. Guardian Guardian is mostly used for supportive peel oriented play styles, where you go things like + and similar. It's to protect and assisst your Carry. Demolish Helps Elise push down towers when going less damage oriented builds, or split push focused builds. Font of Life This rune offers Elise a vital thing she lacks in the support department, heals for her Carry. With Rylai's equipped she can offer a bit of sustain for her team. Shield Bash X Elise can not create shields on her own, rendering this rune almost completely useless. She can receive shields from allies but that is not enough to make it worthwhile even with 4 supports shielding her in turn. Conditioning This makes her early game weaker but offers a bit of mid-game tankyness. Most of the time you wish to focus on Elise's early game so this one isn't favorable, however, it's not useless. Celerity Elise can't really reach the amount of tankyness dedicated tanks like Cho'gath or Sion can, causing this rune to fall a bit on the side. Again it's not favorable but not completely useless. Bone Plating Certainly the best rune for Elise in the Resolve tree. She's vulnerable to burst and this helps lessen the impact of burst combos. It alows her to be a bit more aggresive once in awhile, especially in lane. Overgrowth Offers Elise some extra health, synergizing well with allowing her to push a little harder as a tank. Revitalize Increases her healing when low, a potentially strong combination with Bruiser Build with + . Unflinching With her greatest weakness being CC Burst this helps her escape the CC and slows a bit easier, potentially saving her life.

Inspiration

Glacial Augment Used to be great with Elise, now it's suboptimal at best. Doesn't give enough damage to justify the extra slow. Frostfang used to abuse it but now it's excessive. Unsealed Spellbook A very versatile rune that can be used for mmany things, from securing objectives to peeling for a carry . It's a rune that gets stronger the longer the game lasts. Unfortunately Elise gets weaker the longer the game lasts so it's a gamble in solo queue. First Strike Replaced Omnifun. This rune, however, is a bit more reliable. She can utilize it well like most assassins, as she wants to do her full combo in her trades. Hextech Flashtraption This rune offers some sneaky flash stuns, however, her CC is slow to land and will usually give people a long enough heads-up to avoid it mid-game and onwards. Magical Footwear This grants you boots for free, saving 300 gold and also grant an extra 10 movement speed. While the extra movement and gold saved is nice, the downside of this rune is that you will be forced to play without boots for up to 12 minutes, therefore it is absolutely not a good pick when going jungle where you need to move across the map a lot. Perfect Timing If you know you will buy a Zhonya's this could potentially save you 650 gold in the early game, and baiting tower dives with it also has its potential. Future's Market This mostly prevents the urge to 'wait 50 gold', it's not really complete garbage but it doesn't give a proper advantage either. Minion Dematerializer Can be good for the extra minion damage if you plan to split push most of the game. Or if you think the enemy team will get some early inhibitors for whatever reason, however, this is really suboptimal. Biscuit Delivery Works wonders if you plan to trade into a kill in lane. Adding a with gives you a lot of extra sustain allowing you to go extremely offensive for the early kills to snow ball. Cosmic Insight Works really great with Frostfang, where you will use 2-3 items. Also potential for higher Smite/Teleport uptime. Approach Velocity Good rune for keeping ontop of targets, especially with a cc heavy team on your side. Time Warp Tonic A not too shabby rune into trade heavy lanes, however, excessive in the jungle.