Talk:Kayle/@comment-70.145.127.152-20120526004808/@comment-2124153-20120526013617

I always max E first. You hit on the important point: mana costs. Using Q as a high damage nuke will run you dry in a hurry. Righteous Fury has a fixed mana cost, and a low one at that. Maxing E first not only boosts the damage, it boosts the AD component on the splash, which makes shoving waves much easier. It also allows you to get early AS without hurting your DPS, since the +60 damage add is significant.

Lately I've been maxing Q last. I find it less useful than putting levels in W. You get most of the utility from Q with the first point (35% slow, 6% damage amp), and levels only increase the nuke/amp damage while also increasing the cost. You never get reduced cooldown, or anything.