A "Who Needs Teammates?" Guide to Kassadin
I'd like to submit a build I've done literally a hundred times with kassadin to your scrutiny.
keep in mind i'm a solo queuer.
Teleport + exhaust
max q first then force pulse blah blah blah
Start off the game with Doran's Ring. +10 ap, +5(?)mana/5(?)s 130hp and a health pot.
size up the lane.
1v2 play defensively and spam q on creeps for last hits + whatever you can manage
2v1 play aggressively and go for an early kill with exhaust
2v2 determine who has lane control (you or them) and play accordingly (see above)
ideally you do not go back until you reach 750 gold for boots + sapphire (if you're racking up a lot of gold fast, got fb/really easy farming, you can even wait for 1150). if you die, just buy one of the two and wait.
keep laning and start ganking more as the game progresses (level6) whichever is ideal for keeping your income up. try to keep dominance in your lane and dont waste opportunities to get kills/farm gold this is not a laning guide but i feel like this must be stressed.
another sapphire.
get the golem buff gank some more farm some yada yada
build either sheen (if they are REALLY bad) or catalyst (95% of games).
size up their team, build either ninja tabi or mercury's treads depending on their team make up.
complete sheen if you didn't make it before. catalyst if you made sheen first.
I'd like to make note that all of the items so far are extremely cheap individually for all those aggressive kassadin players that may die while they are racking up literally EVERY POSSIBLE KILL they have achance at getting. Be Aggressive. This build is very achievable even if you end up dying a few times.
build rod of ages. Just to put things into perspective, you should be able to complete rod of ages at ~20 minutes. ~16-17 if you're fed. ~25-30 if your team is tanking and you guys are going to lose lol.
At this point, a combination of doran's ring, your boots, rod of ages, and sheen, it is well into mid game (kassadin's favorite part) and you have around 80-100 AP, and can take a little more punishment than you should be able to because of hp from dorans and defensive boots. and to add even more to the deception, your ability to kite just about anyone, silence casters and blind dps champs with exhaust, you've got a trick up your sleeve for just about any situation.
if you don't have 8-10 kills before the 35 minute mark, either your opponents are a 5 man premade playing very carefully or you're not good enough at mind games to be playing a hero like kassadin.
your lich bane should have been finished by now and you should be working on either a nashor's tooth or rage blade or some other heavy AP item as you see fits the situation best. once your inventory is full sell your dorans for a guardian angel.
There are better kassadin builds to fill the role of AP caster ganker and overall badass. Which is exactly what he is. However, too often I've done great with kassadin and still lost because I hogged all the kills from my teammates and they sucked at pushing. I think this build may help fill this void.
lich bane's "After casting a spell your next attack will deal your AP in damage" is awesome for taking down towers. late game you should be pushing 300 AP and be resilient enough to not be called a glass cannon. Just riftwalk and attack and watch as a giant chunk of the tower's hp disappears.
Now look what we've built. A kassadin that can be aggressive all game and push/siege/backdoor late game when your team's dps has been overshadowed by your awesomeness.
This build is tailor built for good, aggressive kassadin players that have hit a plateau just because they don't have a 5 man team.
Random things not mentioned:
Buy elixirs of brilliance. Often.
You should be able to beat everyone 1v1, 1v2, and the majority of 1v3s with proper mind games, kiting, timing of spells, awareness of cooldown on yours and enemy spells.
If you are low hp in the lane, stand in front of your tower and hit B for blue pill. Weak minded opponents will tower dive or go out of their way to throw a spell/ranged attack your way. Avoid it, Q, exhaust, E, he should be dead relatively soon.
Don't be afraid to teleport to a lane that's being pushed and drop the inhibitor while their team isn't paying attention. Most of the time if they see you, one or two might try to stop you but unless it's 3-5 people there, they are usually too scared or unable to stop you.
__________________________________________________ ________________________
FAQ
Why is there no mejai soulstealer?
I asked myself this too. The answer is, Kassadin really doesn't need it. It's overkill. It's too much firepower at one time. So much that you don't even know what to do with it. There's not enough people on the other team to kill. Here's an analogy that dota players might understand. Witch doctor and dagon. remember when you did that and you thought it was the best thing ever because it pretty much guaranteed a kill? Then you realized, witch doctor's spells do enough on their own that getting dagon is just a waste of money.
I used this build and I got raped! How did this happen?
1. Read this guide -> /board...ad.php?t=14432
This build for kassadin is meant for aggressive/loose archetype.
2. Also, step your game up.
Disclaimer: This build not good vs 5 man premades. Also, this is not the best kassadin build. It's just one that works. Find your own "best build" or just one that works for you.
I'd like to submit a build I've done literally a hundred times with kassadin to your scrutiny.
keep in mind i'm a solo queuer.
Teleport + exhaust
max q first then force pulse blah blah blah
Start off the game with Doran's Ring. +10 ap, +5(?)mana/5(?)s 130hp and a health pot.
size up the lane.
1v2 play defensively and spam q on creeps for last hits + whatever you can manage
2v1 play aggressively and go for an early kill with exhaust
2v2 determine who has lane control (you or them) and play accordingly (see above)
ideally you do not go back until you reach 750 gold for boots + sapphire (if you're racking up a lot of gold fast, got fb/really easy farming, you can even wait for 1150). if you die, just buy one of the two and wait.
keep laning and start ganking more as the game progresses (level6) whichever is ideal for keeping your income up. try to keep dominance in your lane and dont waste opportunities to get kills/farm gold this is not a laning guide but i feel like this must be stressed.
another sapphire.
get the golem buff gank some more farm some yada yada
build either sheen (if they are REALLY bad) or catalyst (95% of games).
size up their team, build either ninja tabi or mercury's treads depending on their team make up.
complete sheen if you didn't make it before. catalyst if you made sheen first.
I'd like to make note that all of the items so far are extremely cheap individually for all those aggressive kassadin players that may die while they are racking up literally EVERY POSSIBLE KILL they have achance at getting. Be Aggressive. This build is very achievable even if you end up dying a few times.
build rod of ages. Just to put things into perspective, you should be able to complete rod of ages at ~20 minutes. ~16-17 if you're fed. ~25-30 if your team is tanking and you guys are going to lose lol.
At this point, a combination of doran's ring, your boots, rod of ages, and sheen, it is well into mid game (kassadin's favorite part) and you have around 80-100 AP, and can take a little more punishment than you should be able to because of hp from dorans and defensive boots. and to add even more to the deception, your ability to kite just about anyone, silence casters and blind dps champs with exhaust, you've got a trick up your sleeve for just about any situation.
if you don't have 8-10 kills before the 35 minute mark, either your opponents are a 5 man premade playing very carefully or you're not good enough at mind games to be playing a hero like kassadin.
your lich bane should have been finished by now and you should be working on either a nashor's tooth or rage blade or some other heavy AP item as you see fits the situation best. once your inventory is full sell your dorans for a guardian angel.
There are better kassadin builds to fill the role of AP caster ganker and overall badass. Which is exactly what he is. However, too often I've done great with kassadin and still lost because I hogged all the kills from my teammates and they sucked at pushing. I think this build may help fill this void.
lich bane's "After casting a spell your next attack will deal your AP in damage" is awesome for taking down towers. late game you should be pushing 300 AP and be resilient enough to not be called a glass cannon. Just riftwalk and attack and watch as a giant chunk of the tower's hp disappears.
Now look what we've built. A kassadin that can be aggressive all game and push/siege/backdoor late game when your team's dps has been overshadowed by your awesomeness.
This build is tailor built for good, aggressive kassadin players that have hit a plateau just because they don't have a 5 man team.
Random things not mentioned:
Buy elixirs of brilliance. Often.
You should be able to beat everyone 1v1, 1v2, and the majority of 1v3s with proper mind games, kiting, timing of spells, awareness of cooldown on yours and enemy spells.
If you are low hp in the lane, stand in front of your tower and hit B for blue pill. Weak minded opponents will tower dive or go out of their way to throw a spell/ranged attack your way. Avoid it, Q, exhaust, E, he should be dead relatively soon.
Don't be afraid to teleport to a lane that's being pushed and drop the inhibitor while their team isn't paying attention. Most of the time if they see you, one or two might try to stop you but unless it's 3-5 people there, they are usually too scared or unable to stop you.
__________________________________________________ ________________________
FAQ
Why is there no mejai soulstealer?
I asked myself this too. The answer is, Kassadin really doesn't need it. It's overkill. It's too much firepower at one time. So much that you don't even know what to do with it. There's not enough people on the other team to kill. Here's an analogy that dota players might understand. Witch doctor and dagon. remember when you did that and you thought it was the best thing ever because it pretty much guaranteed a kill? Then you realized, witch doctor's spells do enough on their own that getting dagon is just a waste of money.
I used this build and I got raped! How did this happen?
1. Read this guide -> /board...ad.php?t=14432
This build for kassadin is meant for aggressive/loose archetype.
2. Also, step your game up.
Disclaimer: This build not good vs 5 man premades. Also, this is not the best kassadin build. It's just one that works. Find your own "best build" or just one that works for you.
