Talk:Kassadin/@comment-4946259-20120404182011/@comment-88.186.19.90-20120405090053

I go: tear, sorc boots, nashor tooth, AA staff, Rilay, Lich's bane, Zhonia, Rabadon. Void staff instead of Zhonia or rabadon if opponents are stacking MR.

Kassadin doesn't have particularly good AP ratios (around a 2.2 ratio depending on how many AA you land), so you must concentrate on his survivability and his mobility rather than going pure AP.

I finish AA staff as my first item after my sorc boots; the AP and mana boost are too good to pass by, and it's a mistake to leave the tear as it is IMO. Nashor tooth allows me to one-shot the CDR cap, meaning I can almost double my damage output in most teamfights, the AS makes autoattacking with nether blade cost-efficient, and it helps so much for escaping. Rilay is also a must in my opinion, you NEED that HP pool to avoid getting counter-engaged, and there's a very interesting synergy with nether blade that applies the slow even though it's an on-hit effect. Lich's Bane adds a free 1.0 AP ratio to your burst, gives MS, mana, and AP; a must-have for kassadin, the MR also enhances your survivability. Zhonia is necessary as a 5th item, because by the time you build it opponents will be capable of 1-shotting you, so you can jump in, make the AD carry mid-life, use the active, and take advantage of the teamfight confusion to GTFO. After that, void staff can sometimes be more cost-effective if the opponent has been stacking MR.