This guide is based on the play style I’ve developed doing mainly solo automatches. I’m probably not the highest ELO so this guide may not be best suited for you at your play level. Further It’s not for new players, In this guide I will encourage very risky and life threatening behavior. i've ended up feeding and adding nothing to the team more than once. You have been warned.
GUIDE BEGINS
First, I’d like to address the misconception that Sivir is not a carry. I concede that she is not a carry in the traditional sense. High DPS able to solo/nuke 2 characters etc. But what defines a carry? A champion that can “carry” a team to victory. This guide will show you how Siver can, without getting kills, Carry a team.
Sprial Blade: I start using this frequently as soon as I get to level 3 (SB level 2) Use it when you can hit minions and a hero, the damage output on this is very high early/mid game. Use it to harass and keep them from farming. If they are low enough, you can snipe from the other side of a mountain or from bushes, (try it it's funny while they are tower hugging at 100hp). This will take a few games to get good with this as it’s a skill shot.
Ricochet: is equally important, however I get it second in priority to Blade. when you buy a chalice you are able to spam this as much as you can (it's the only mana regen item i buy and I never have problems if you use your skills reasonably) as it only cots a few mp and when your low chalice refills more quickly. it can be counter intuitive to play like that, but the more mana you use, the more mana you will have, buy chalice and abuse it!
Further, you should be killing neutrals that have buffsafter you get the vamp scepter. do this while switching lanes, use Ricochet and spiral blade. Golem's regen aura’s makes mana a non-issue.
NOTE: Attack with this 2-3 times before you use Q this will insure you all the gold.
Spell Shield: ya!! it works now. if you are vs a double stun lane or vs. a good nuker get 1 rank at lvl 2. then max at end. also can save your butt if they have a Karthus.
On the hunt:
+1
Early/mid game use this to take down towers, late game stick with the group.
Masteries
8/0/22
OFFENCE
deadliness3/3
arcmage savy 1/3: just for requirements
alacrity 4/4 attack speed is great on her
UTILITY
Spatial accuracy: 1/1: will be using this skill early and often. -5 sec cooldown is worth it
Haste: makes ghost much more amazing.
Perseverance: 3/3 Expand mind 4/4 Meditation 4/4: mana and mana regen is easy to get in masteries so you can save your gold use your points.
Awareness: 4/4: this ability is key in out leveling opponents
Utility Mastery: 2/2: this will make you able to stay in lanes longer
Intelligence: 3/3: this will make a huge difference late game
Presence of the Master: 1/1: this is the reason to spec in utility. Tp and ghost more often.
Note that good hands may be a reasonable selection over expand mind. As you as this is risky. I’m just not a fan. OBV, If you choice clairvoyance over ghost get the spec for it.
Runes
Greater Mark of Haste: att spd + ricochet = win
Greater seal of Evasion: little extra dodge with your passive the others really don’t add enough to matter.
Greater Glyph of Celerity: more ulti
Greater Quintessence of Alacrity: worth saying again how good att spd is on her. Greater Quintessence of Wisdom: is noteworthy also, with your 11% increase and your ability to farm/kill towers, you will be easily 3 levels ahead. this is a great option, and begins to get a little out of hand if you have a zillian on your team.
Summoner Spells
Teleport: IMO the best spell in the game. This makes a trip to the fountain 10 seconds. You can dip into the bushes, BP full heal buy at store and TP back in time to never miss a creep. Early game i go back to town every time this recharges. It allows me to spam spiral blade, within reason. Mid game it allows me to kill a tower, then switch lanes to avoid ganks/keep pushing.
Ghost: you will be putting yourself way out of position and solo. I use this solely to escape, if you’re greedy and use it to chase then you will likely die.. at least I always do
.
Clairvoyance: can be used for the same benefit as ghost. IF you have a good team which communicates missing enemies, this is superior to Ghost. if your slumming in pubs, take ghost
Skill Build
Alternate Spiral blade and ricochet take on the hunt when available
Item Build
starting items
Pendant: to rush chalice
1 HP potion
1 MP potion
TP back home when you have 500g and...
finish chalice: as mentioned above, this item is amazing. Abuse it.
Boots: your pick, more att speed the better but this decision is based on opponents.
Starks Fervor: great team item see on the hunt above for synergies already pointed out by DR awesome. get vamp scepter first so you can jungle.
Frozen Maul: gives you some HP that you greatly need, also gives you that little bit you’re missing and are able to kill/chase down champions. epically when combined with on the hunt.
At this point anything else is a luxury, and yes you can easily get enough gold to get one. that is if they can hold off your assault. The game should be ending very soon if you're wining.
If you’re way ahead of the bad guys on gold/level go for carry item. I love phantom dancer as it synergizes greatly with all of your other skills. Infinity edge is good also.
Support roles i suggest Guinsoo sythe...err anything that reduces cooldowns so you can activate your ultimate more and or aura(s) of choice.
Special mention to warmog's living armor if you want to push to end. With your massive creep kills you should max this in no time at all. +1400 hp and + 92.5/5 secs is nothing to laugh about. when combined with life steal and the maul you will look like a tank. This will give you the staying power to keep pressure on.
Another alternative suggestion/addition is Phage, this makes you almost un-escapeable when combined with maul.
Early game: Laneing phase level 1-10
Strategy
You prefer to solo, but if someone else wants it let them, you are not likely to be the primary carry unless you have tons of gold, so be a team player. Hopefully someone who is not item dependant lanes with you as you will be taking most of the gold. If they have a stun use it early to set up a easy double whammy Spiral Blade and get a few wacks in. your goal in this is not necessarily to kill (unless they are dumb and low) but to harass them enough so they back off and you out level them. Once you get good at this you should be 1-2 levels ahead at mid game.
The key to pushing a tower is harassment, make the person(s) your laned against retreat back to town, use On the Hunt with a full creep wave and get on the tower quickly. You should be able to take it down in 1 wave at around level 6 if you’re uncontested.
Goals:
You should have at least one tower down before mid game but goal is 2 if your partnered in a lane.
Chalice and boots minimum, if you did well, 1/2 of Starks Fervor in addition.
Don’t worry about kills, kill creeps and out level.
MID game: push and gank phase 11-18
Strategy
Map awareness, map awareness, map awareness!!
I can’t stress this enough. You will be putting your self in normally idiotic positions and taking huge risks. Meaning, you will be pushing lanes well past the river solo. During mid/late game players tend to group up and most stick mid. Try to avoid this. The only thing you add is your ulti every few minutes.
Instead, be the distraction, push the outside lanes. This will force the enemy to come deal with you and hopefully your allies in mid can push down a couple towers and rack up kills.
Map awareness: this means know where you are. Know where your enemy is at all times. Don’t watch yourself kill creeps. Watch the mini map. Know if an opponent is about to respawn. At the frist sign of trouble and/or you see a champion missing. Ghost and get out of there, duck in some brush, BP out, buy/regen and teleport to the other lane and start over.
Map awareness can’t be taught, it must be learned. If you have trouble with this it may be best to play some games as another champ, or use a different guide. This is the balls to the wall section that you can thrive in. It will either make you or break you, it’s terribly risky but If successful, late game will be yours for the taking.
Defending; if your team gets a few deaths or just needs help and you have TP up don’t be afraid to defend. Always have Ricochet on to scare them off. Don’t worry about killing heros. Kill the creeps, I repeat just kill the creeps, they will not likely tank the tower. After 2-3 unsuccessful waves they will retreat and your allies will respawn.
NOTE: if you are behind because you have gotten killed too many times or spent too much time wandering the map. ABORT MISSION. Stick with the group and divert to late game strategy. Your role has now become support.
Allies, please don’t flame/complain that Sivir isn’t helping, Do you really want her taking all your gold/xp? She is helping more than hurting keeping the enemies spread out and unorganized. The pressure applied/towers killed during this phase will make your late game much smoother. and PLEASE call mia.
Goal:
Destroy all towers outside of base. With your distractions your teammates should be able to get the mid down you focus on the outside.
Frozen Mallet (or close)
2-3 levels ahead of most others
Note that I have enough to finish the Mallet, all the exterior towers, sans the top are down. These guys defended very well. They almost killed me at least twice. Ghost and good map awareness kept me able to barely escape. Note that I’m ahead in level and gold by a substantial amount. I decide to go with a carry item next.
LATE GAME: Under Siege 18+
You should out level most players easily due to your farming abilities and teleport, BUT at this point it's too dangerous to be on your own. Even if you're 2-3 levels ahead of the other team most can solo you/hunt you down, one good stun and your mostly done. Stick with the group and keep pressure on their base. Take the turrets down a little at a time. Remember as long as they are stuck in their base defending, they can't win. It's kinda like old time knight and castle times, just keep them under siege. Use your ulti and punch thru. Once you get one inhibit down, it's smooth sailing. They have to commit at least 1 champion just to that lane. Push the others, divide and conquer.
Goal
WIN
The names where hidden from these pics so no one would get offended. However they would have no reason to as they played a remarkable game, we where at their front door for 20 minutes before it crumbled, but we stayed alive stuck together and never gave them time to regroup.
Conclusion
If you can be successful with this strategy you will find that a “carry” is not simply the biggest/badest dude on the block. Winning the game, no matter how ugly is still a win. Unlike DotA, in LoL the rewards can outweigh the risks as you don’t lose gold for dying and can still recover fairly quickly. If you have good fundamentals give this guide a try.
This is some of the most fun i've had playing and can be very rewarding if done right.
GUIDE BEGINS
First, I’d like to address the misconception that Sivir is not a carry. I concede that she is not a carry in the traditional sense. High DPS able to solo/nuke 2 characters etc. But what defines a carry? A champion that can “carry” a team to victory. This guide will show you how Siver can, without getting kills, Carry a team.
Sprial Blade: I start using this frequently as soon as I get to level 3 (SB level 2) Use it when you can hit minions and a hero, the damage output on this is very high early/mid game. Use it to harass and keep them from farming. If they are low enough, you can snipe from the other side of a mountain or from bushes, (try it it's funny while they are tower hugging at 100hp). This will take a few games to get good with this as it’s a skill shot.
Ricochet: is equally important, however I get it second in priority to Blade. when you buy a chalice you are able to spam this as much as you can (it's the only mana regen item i buy and I never have problems if you use your skills reasonably) as it only cots a few mp and when your low chalice refills more quickly. it can be counter intuitive to play like that, but the more mana you use, the more mana you will have, buy chalice and abuse it!
Further, you should be killing neutrals that have buffsafter you get the vamp scepter. do this while switching lanes, use Ricochet and spiral blade. Golem's regen aura’s makes mana a non-issue.
NOTE: Attack with this 2-3 times before you use Q this will insure you all the gold.
Spell Shield: ya!! it works now. if you are vs a double stun lane or vs. a good nuker get 1 rank at lvl 2. then max at end. also can save your butt if they have a Karthus.
On the hunt:
Quote:
|
Consider that, if you're holding Stark's and you use your rank 3 ultimate, your teammates now have +57% Attack Speed, +20% Lifesteal, +17% Move Speed, and +30 HP/5s, while all enemies have -25 armor. This is enough to either win a fight at which you had a disadvantage, or enough to run up and melt a tower or two with 5 people.
|
Early/mid game use this to take down towers, late game stick with the group.
Masteries
8/0/22
OFFENCE
deadliness3/3
arcmage savy 1/3: just for requirements
alacrity 4/4 attack speed is great on her
UTILITY
Spatial accuracy: 1/1: will be using this skill early and often. -5 sec cooldown is worth it
Haste: makes ghost much more amazing.
Perseverance: 3/3 Expand mind 4/4 Meditation 4/4: mana and mana regen is easy to get in masteries so you can save your gold use your points.
Awareness: 4/4: this ability is key in out leveling opponents
Utility Mastery: 2/2: this will make you able to stay in lanes longer
Intelligence: 3/3: this will make a huge difference late game
Presence of the Master: 1/1: this is the reason to spec in utility. Tp and ghost more often.
Note that good hands may be a reasonable selection over expand mind. As you as this is risky. I’m just not a fan. OBV, If you choice clairvoyance over ghost get the spec for it.
Runes
Greater Mark of Haste: att spd + ricochet = win
Greater seal of Evasion: little extra dodge with your passive the others really don’t add enough to matter.
Greater Glyph of Celerity: more ulti
Greater Quintessence of Alacrity: worth saying again how good att spd is on her. Greater Quintessence of Wisdom: is noteworthy also, with your 11% increase and your ability to farm/kill towers, you will be easily 3 levels ahead. this is a great option, and begins to get a little out of hand if you have a zillian on your team.
Summoner Spells
Teleport: IMO the best spell in the game. This makes a trip to the fountain 10 seconds. You can dip into the bushes, BP full heal buy at store and TP back in time to never miss a creep. Early game i go back to town every time this recharges. It allows me to spam spiral blade, within reason. Mid game it allows me to kill a tower, then switch lanes to avoid ganks/keep pushing.
Ghost: you will be putting yourself way out of position and solo. I use this solely to escape, if you’re greedy and use it to chase then you will likely die.. at least I always do
. Clairvoyance: can be used for the same benefit as ghost. IF you have a good team which communicates missing enemies, this is superior to Ghost. if your slumming in pubs, take ghost
Skill Build
- Spiral blade
- spell shield
- spiral blade
- ricochet
Alternate Spiral blade and ricochet take on the hunt when available
Item Build
starting items
Pendant: to rush chalice
1 HP potion
1 MP potion
TP back home when you have 500g and...
finish chalice: as mentioned above, this item is amazing. Abuse it.
Boots: your pick, more att speed the better but this decision is based on opponents.
Starks Fervor: great team item see on the hunt above for synergies already pointed out by DR awesome. get vamp scepter first so you can jungle.
Frozen Maul: gives you some HP that you greatly need, also gives you that little bit you’re missing and are able to kill/chase down champions. epically when combined with on the hunt.
At this point anything else is a luxury, and yes you can easily get enough gold to get one. that is if they can hold off your assault. The game should be ending very soon if you're wining.
If you’re way ahead of the bad guys on gold/level go for carry item. I love phantom dancer as it synergizes greatly with all of your other skills. Infinity edge is good also.
Support roles i suggest Guinsoo sythe...err anything that reduces cooldowns so you can activate your ultimate more and or aura(s) of choice.
Special mention to warmog's living armor if you want to push to end. With your massive creep kills you should max this in no time at all. +1400 hp and + 92.5/5 secs is nothing to laugh about. when combined with life steal and the maul you will look like a tank. This will give you the staying power to keep pressure on.
Another alternative suggestion/addition is Phage, this makes you almost un-escapeable when combined with maul.
Early game: Laneing phase level 1-10
Strategy
You prefer to solo, but if someone else wants it let them, you are not likely to be the primary carry unless you have tons of gold, so be a team player. Hopefully someone who is not item dependant lanes with you as you will be taking most of the gold. If they have a stun use it early to set up a easy double whammy Spiral Blade and get a few wacks in. your goal in this is not necessarily to kill (unless they are dumb and low) but to harass them enough so they back off and you out level them. Once you get good at this you should be 1-2 levels ahead at mid game.
The key to pushing a tower is harassment, make the person(s) your laned against retreat back to town, use On the Hunt with a full creep wave and get on the tower quickly. You should be able to take it down in 1 wave at around level 6 if you’re uncontested.
Goals:
You should have at least one tower down before mid game but goal is 2 if your partnered in a lane.
Chalice and boots minimum, if you did well, 1/2 of Starks Fervor in addition.
Don’t worry about kills, kill creeps and out level.
MID game: push and gank phase 11-18
Strategy
Map awareness, map awareness, map awareness!!
I can’t stress this enough. You will be putting your self in normally idiotic positions and taking huge risks. Meaning, you will be pushing lanes well past the river solo. During mid/late game players tend to group up and most stick mid. Try to avoid this. The only thing you add is your ulti every few minutes.
Instead, be the distraction, push the outside lanes. This will force the enemy to come deal with you and hopefully your allies in mid can push down a couple towers and rack up kills.
Map awareness: this means know where you are. Know where your enemy is at all times. Don’t watch yourself kill creeps. Watch the mini map. Know if an opponent is about to respawn. At the frist sign of trouble and/or you see a champion missing. Ghost and get out of there, duck in some brush, BP out, buy/regen and teleport to the other lane and start over.
Map awareness can’t be taught, it must be learned. If you have trouble with this it may be best to play some games as another champ, or use a different guide. This is the balls to the wall section that you can thrive in. It will either make you or break you, it’s terribly risky but If successful, late game will be yours for the taking.
Defending; if your team gets a few deaths or just needs help and you have TP up don’t be afraid to defend. Always have Ricochet on to scare them off. Don’t worry about killing heros. Kill the creeps, I repeat just kill the creeps, they will not likely tank the tower. After 2-3 unsuccessful waves they will retreat and your allies will respawn.
NOTE: if you are behind because you have gotten killed too many times or spent too much time wandering the map. ABORT MISSION. Stick with the group and divert to late game strategy. Your role has now become support.
Allies, please don’t flame/complain that Sivir isn’t helping, Do you really want her taking all your gold/xp? She is helping more than hurting keeping the enemies spread out and unorganized. The pressure applied/towers killed during this phase will make your late game much smoother. and PLEASE call mia.
Goal:
Destroy all towers outside of base. With your distractions your teammates should be able to get the mid down you focus on the outside.
Frozen Mallet (or close)
2-3 levels ahead of most others
Note that I have enough to finish the Mallet, all the exterior towers, sans the top are down. These guys defended very well. They almost killed me at least twice. Ghost and good map awareness kept me able to barely escape. Note that I’m ahead in level and gold by a substantial amount. I decide to go with a carry item next.
LATE GAME: Under Siege 18+
You should out level most players easily due to your farming abilities and teleport, BUT at this point it's too dangerous to be on your own. Even if you're 2-3 levels ahead of the other team most can solo you/hunt you down, one good stun and your mostly done. Stick with the group and keep pressure on their base. Take the turrets down a little at a time. Remember as long as they are stuck in their base defending, they can't win. It's kinda like old time knight and castle times, just keep them under siege. Use your ulti and punch thru. Once you get one inhibit down, it's smooth sailing. They have to commit at least 1 champion just to that lane. Push the others, divide and conquer.
Goal
WIN
The names where hidden from these pics so no one would get offended. However they would have no reason to as they played a remarkable game, we where at their front door for 20 minutes before it crumbled, but we stayed alive stuck together and never gave them time to regroup.
Conclusion
If you can be successful with this strategy you will find that a “carry” is not simply the biggest/badest dude on the block. Winning the game, no matter how ugly is still a win. Unlike DotA, in LoL the rewards can outweigh the risks as you don’t lose gold for dying and can still recover fairly quickly. If you have good fundamentals give this guide a try.
This is some of the most fun i've had playing and can be very rewarding if done right.
