Talk:Ahri/@comment-25970203-20150115223232/@comment-5475313-20150116082028

As a veteran Ahri player, I shall grace you with my knowledge. =w=  BE GRATEFUL, PEASANT! (Jk.  But seriously, these tips will help you.)

First things first, Ahri's game phases. Early game, she's awful. Her role early is mostly Mage-oriented, focusing more on poke and farm more than anything else. Ahri's damage early is decent enough once you hit enough Q's, but honestly, don't try and go aggresive with a charm unless you know you can hit one since 85 mana cost early is VERY heavy. She can be OOM very easily without a mana item. Until you hit 6 and get your ulti, don't even try and go super-aggressive because like all assassins, she can be defeated easily by CC. For mid-game, she's relatively strong, being able to burst down opponents when landing a charm combo. But during this time, she still has mage-like qualities, not assassin-like qualities, so she can't 100-0 an ADC unless she gets fed in lane. Late-game is where she REALLY shines, having enough power to single-handedly burst down someone with a simple charm combo. This is where her assassin qualities shine, and this is where she can really go aggressive.

Now, her spells. Her orb of deception (Q) is the main damage for her. This is the skill that you want to max first, as well as get first, and this is the skill that you will use most often. A pro tip for Ahri-players is to hit the enemy champion with the end of your Q. With that, they get dealt both magic and true damage at the same time, and a HUGE chunk of their health bar can disappear in an instant. In addition, always, try and use this skill whenever her passive is up. Using her Q on a minion wave can recover a lot of health mid-late game when she gets battered down in battle.

Her Foxfire is the second skill you want to max second after ultimate, but you want to get this skill 3rd when in lane. When using her foxfire, the free damage seems like a good idea, but it's honestly a waste to even bother using it in lane unless you're trying to get rid of a couple low minions. Because of its lock-on, foxfire really doesn't serve much purpose beyond when you're trying to burst someone to death because the damage can go to 3 seperate targets due to minions aroudn the area. As such, try and hold off on using this spell till you know you can execute because late game, this skill has clocked in for me, about 660-700 magic damage when all 3 are hit. Surprising, ain't it?

Then we have her bread and butter, the crux of her set, her E, charm. This is the skill you want to max out last, but this is the skill you want to get right after you get your Q. Several reason swhy you want to get it second is so you can escape ganks in lane because charming the jgler pretty much garentuees your escape from a gank, plus, the fact that you can potentially kill your lane opponent if they leave themselves open. Max this last because the spell damage increase stays the same at 20% at all ranks, with only damage and stun duration being the only things benefitted. Trust me. 1 second of stun is LONG enough for you to execute during early game. (Every spell she has gets buffed for 6 seconds against charmed people, including her true damage.)

And then, her ult. Like every ult, get this at lvl 6 and max it second. Her ult is not heavily damage oriented, and you have 10 seconds to expend all 3 charges, so you don't have to use it all right away. This ulty serves a multitude of uses. It can save you from ganks, close gaps between a weak adc and you, surprise enemies, go through barriers, and even finish off opponents if everything else is on CD because 300 magic damage/bolt is decent enough. Also, you can use it to escape threatening situations like any roots, snares, or dangerous situations. Aggressive or defensive, this ult can do it all.

As for items builds, go for a standard APC build like zhonya's, deathcap, sorc shoes, void staff, and DFG (until patch 5.2 of course.)  But of course, the thing that really matters more is your first item, morellos or athene's grail. Either one of these has to be your first item due to Ahri's mana problems persisting even through mid-game. (Without mana, she's a sitting duck.)  Depending on your situation, get one or the other. If you're facing an AP champ, get an athenes. An AD champ, morello's. Healing support? Morellos. Really, it all depends on the matchups that you have.

As for matchups, ahri has many, many counters including Talon, Fizz, Zed, and even Syndra in certain situations. Like all assassins, she's countered very easily by hard cc, and the moment she gets caught, she's dead. Her playstyle heavily relies on skillshots and landing charm, which can get very punishing due to the unspammability of her spells that she has early game. She has to either go all in or none at all without any half-assed executions due to that being her downfall. Her ultimate is versitale, and it's always good to learn how to use it for different situations because a single ultimate dash can be the difference between living and recalling, or feeding another kill.

Hope this helps! (This message was brought to you by someone who literally has all the ahri skins.)