well, isn't this nice. :D

kassadin is a slippery mid lane assassin capable of 100 > 0 another mid laner with a properly performed combo, although, his early game is weak. but, past level 6 he can become a monster. roaming as he pleases with one of the fastest jungle roams in the game.

but, he can be squishy, which is why id use this guide for a more survivable 'king of the stars' build which makes him strong, but more survivable to rival assassins like rengar or zed while also being able to dominate the new APC meta which has occurred at the time of this update

PROS

-VERY strong late game
-almost inescapable chase
-fastest jungle roam in the game at lv 6
-susceptible burst to unaware players


CONS

-weak and passive early game (take note there)
-can be weak later until 10 stacks of RoA
-may fall off if the enemy builds against you too strongly (eg spirit visage, mercurial scepter ect.)
-easily killed if caught out or effected by heavy CC

kassadin is a very different champ to most mid laners. rather than having a rinse and repeat skill set like veigar or xerath, he can go from passive farming skills until lv6 to hyper aggressive shields and burst when combined with his short range blinks.

his q and ult are his bread and butter.(remember this)

Q = Null sphere

fires a point and click sphere, dealing damage and providing kassadin with an instant spellshield protecting him from any damage.

this spell is very strong for trades and sustainability in lane. use this to poke whenever possible.

W = Nether blade

a very useful move to help farming in lane as well as huge bursts of damage late
game (but mainly for the ap auto passive for damage or active for tower shred)

E = Force Pulse

a very good move for easy poke. this ability alone works very well against spam
champs like xerath or veigar. as well as being a good damage source the damage is
also instant and has a slow, making it viable as an escape tool if mana is low for
Riftwalk.


R = Rift walk

Kassadin blinks a short distance, dealing damage in an area around him.

this is pretty much a free flash or initiator. it gets more powerful the more times it is cast, but with the problem that it costs more and more to use, up to 800 mana at 4 stacks of riftwalk. use with caution D:

well i take x9 attack speed marks to make all of his farming a lot faster and easier since you wont lose out on as much CS in early game due to his slower attack speed and the fact that he is melee, which means his autos can be animation cancelled, making it very fast.

i also the take x9 SEALS OF ARMOUR. this make him more survivable to assassins like talon or zed in mid during the laning phase, just to mitigate any poke you will get that gets through null sphere

i then take x9 Magic Resist blues as standard to make his magic resistance VERY high in laning, making him the perfect anti mage.

lasty i take x3 FLAT AP QUINTS as standard for a massive 15 ap at the start. this just means to cover his loss of damage early and put out some burst to last him to lv 6.

in this build RoA is an essential item. this allows him to build ap over time while sensibly increasing his mana pool and health to make him more tanky. this is pretty much standard on kassadin.

starting dorans ring allows a lot easier mana conservation to go with his w to help gain masses of mana back on minion or champion kills allowing him to stay in lane a long time without backing, but dark seal with a refill potion is also viable if you feel like you will steamroll

needlessly large rod into ludin's echo gives kassadin a huge power spike for AoE burst and is especially good when procked with his E for massive AoE damage. it can be swapped for a lich bane to get more damage early to steamroll the lane and late game.

Zonyas hourglass helps with survivability massively. theres nothing more fun than stacking Riftwalk in a bush and just releasing all your damage on the closest enemy adc, achieving a perfect 100 > 0 and then using zonyas and Riftwalking out safely. fun factor X100 :D

all items after these are all down to preference or situation. Abyssal scepter and Void Staff is amazing against any other ap champs or renektons spamming spirit visages. Ludins echo is also a good option for a more caster role than a caster bruiser.
SwAgHat (deathcap) is just amazing for the boost of about 300 AP.
and railies as i said is just great for enemy team lockdown and survivability. more an item if you want your team to get fed to steamroll the enemy team.

this skill sequence allows the king to acess all the skills he requires early and then allowing him to sustain himself for as long as he wants. upgrading q gives bigger shields and w ives more mana and damage. but get E early if you expect a gank early to help with escape.

spam upgrade your q until lv 8 or so and then its all up to preference, weather you want more burst and mana sustain or just more aoe damage and minion clear, upgrade your w and e respectively. also, upgrade your Ult whenever possible. more damage and lower cooldowns on a 5 second flash is always great.

kassadin is a very strong pick, although not in the current meta of season 6 with fizz, ect, he can be played many roles and is good if your team has champs like amumu, maokai, sion, ect as a burst champion to eliminate those pesky adc, mid or squishy support.

well, i hope this guide helps with your rifting as the Star King. just remember, never take all a guide for yourself. change it up to your standards if needed and find a way to suit your playstyle.

please levae comments, this is my first guide and id like to know how i did :D.

i will be adding more content to this guide as more changes and playstyles to the game are added or removed.

thanks for reading!

Matutaka, the mid main :D