Want to start playing as an ADC but can’t seem to find a beginner friendly champion? Do you want to impact team fights even if you’re on the other end of the map? If you answered a resounding yes, have we got the champion for you. In this guide, we’ll show you everything you need to know to get you started playing Ashe.

Ashe is one of the most beginner-friendly champions in the game. In fact, you can actually buy her for the low low price of 450 BE. She’s a good entry point for those who want to learn the basics and fundamentals of playing as an ADC. Despite her low skill floor, she has a very high ceiling. Her versatility as one of the premier Utility ADCs, makes her a great pick at all levels of play including the professional leagues. So yeah, Ashe definitely holds up.

Champion Abilities

What makes Ashe such a great champion is because of all the utility she provides. She has a lot of CC, a global ultimate, and a built-in Farsight Alteration, which is a trinket  that reveals an area and places a fragile ward up to 4000 units away. Just because Ashe has all these utility in her kit, don’t make the mistake of underestimating her damage. When played right, Ashe can hard carry a game to victory. Let’s take a closer look at all of her abilities. 

Passive – Frost Shot

Ashe’s basic attacks and abilities apply Frost to enemies, slowing them by 20 – 30% for 2 seconds. Basic attacks deal increased damage to enemies with Frost. In addition, Ashe’s critical strikes deal no bonus damage, instead they double the strength of the slow caused by Frost.

Her passive is pretty self-explanatory. Your basic attacks and spells have a lot of slow so kiting your enemies would be very easy. Enemies would also have a hard time trying to get away from you once you’ve fully activated your passive. Since she doesn’t get damage from building crit items, it’s much better to build items with on-hit damage.

Q – Ranger’s Focus

Ashe’s basic attacks grant a stack of Ranger’s Focus for 4 seconds. At 4 stacks, she can activate this ability to gain bonus Attack Speed and her attacks become a flurry of 5 arrows that deal increased damage.

This ability gives Ashe a lot of DPS. To stack it fast, you’ll benefit from building a lot of Attack Speed items. Once it’s fully stacked, it gives you even more Attack Speed. Kind of like a double Attack Speed steroid that also increases your damage.

W – Volley

Ashe fires a volley of arrows in a cone and each deals damage. Champions will only be damaged by the first arrow that hits but the slow will still apply. 

This is a great tool for harassing enemies in lane. Whenever you’re going to fight pre level 6, always open with Volley so that your coming auto attacks will deal more damage.

E – Hawkshot

Ashe sends forth a hawk to grant vision for 5 seconds anywhere on the map. It also reveals the area around as it flies.

This ability works the same way as the Farsight Alteration trinket but it’s way better since it has a global range. Since vision is an important aspect of the game, this ability has a ton of use. You can use it to protect yourself from incoming ganks, you can use it to keep an eye on objectives like Baron or Dragon, you can use it to phase check any brush to prevent you or your team from getting ambushed, and a whole lot more. Basically, you’ll use it to keep an eye on parts of the map that are covered by the fog of war. 

R – Enchanted Crystal Arrow

Ashe launches a crystal arrow of ice that stuns the first champion hit and deals magic damage. The stun duration increases with distance travelled, up to 3.5 seconds. Surrounding enemies take half damage.

This is the best utility spell from an ADC in the entire game. It has a very long stun and can hit anyone anywhere on the map. This is the primary reason why Ashe is so strong. The stun from Enchanted Crystal Arrow can turn the tides of a team fight in your favor. 

Runes and Item Builds

For items, you build Ashe like a typical ADC. Except, that you opt for attack speed items with on-hit effects rather than crit items. On-hit effects and attack speed synergize great with your passive’s slow and increased damage. In the current meta, your build should look something like this:

Start off the game with a Doran’s Blade plus a couple of Health Potions. On your first back, go for a Noonquiver to start building towards your Immortal Shieldbow. If you’re a little short on gold, try to get a Hearthbound Axe instead. Whatever item you first buy, you’ll still be rushing Immortal Shieldbow first. Shieldbow gives you all the stats you need to get you started from damage to attack speed to crit chance and life steal. Plus, the shield from it’s passive allows you to be aggressive early on. You should build Wit’s End next for the massive 40% attack speed and the bonus on-hit damage. Once you have these two items, you’ll be pretty hard to stop. Next, go for a Guinsoo’s Rageblade and a Mortal Reminder. Rageblade gives you more attack speed and turns your critical strike chance into bonus on-hit damage, while Mortal Reminder adds Grievous Wounds with each of your basic attacks. Cap off the build with a Guardian Angel for additional damage and survivability.

For runes, take Hail of Blades to deal more burst damage with you fully stacked Ranger’s Focus. Take Cheap Shot since it increases your damage against enemy champions with impaired movement or actions. With all the CC you have, any enemy being attacked by you will always have impaired movements or actions. Eyeball Collection increases your damage, while Ravenous Hunter provides additional lifesteal. For your secondaries, take Biscuit Delivery to help you sustain through the early game. However, if you feel like you don’t need the sustain, feel free to swap it out with Magical Footwear for free Boots. Next, take Approach Velocity to get bonus movement speed whenever you impair an enemy champion’s movements near you.

These should be your standard item and rune set for every game. If you’re looking to change things up with more damage, a great way to do this is by swapping out Immortal Shieldbow with Kraken Slayer. This item gives you damage, attack speed, and critical strike chance plus its passive makes every third attack deals additional true damage. If you chose to go with Kraken Slayer, it’s better to swap out your runes with a slightly different set. 

This rune set is geared towards giving you more attack speed and DPS. Lethal Tempo allows you to gain a large amount of attack speed in a short amount of time and allows you to temporarily exceed the attack speed limit. Presence of Mind will help you with mana shortage in the early game, Legend: Alacrity gives you more attack speed, and Coup de Grace gives you more damage against low health enemy champions.

Useful Tips

1. Despite having a lot of CC and utility spells to protect herself, Ashe lacks a true escape tool. Be careful to walk around if you’re unsure where your enemies are and your Ultimate is on cooldown. It’s better to play it safe than risk dying to your enemies.
2. Don’t be afraid to use Enchanted Crystal Arrow from a very long range. If it hits, the enemies will get stunned for a long time. At the very least, it can help in zoning enemies letting them think that their escape routes are sealed off.
3. Ashe is very strong against other hyper carries like Jinx, Vayne, or Kog’Maw. While she is very weak against ADCs with a lot of burst like Lucian or Jhin.
4. Ashe synergizes well with most support champs but works really well with champions with excellent engage tools like Thresh or Leona. When paired with these champions, Ashe can help CC-lock the enemies and prevent them from escaping.
5. For summoner spells, always take Flash because Ashe lacks mobility. Take Heal or Cleanse for your second spell depending on your matchup.

So there you have it! That’s all you need to know about playing Ashe in League of Legends. This champion is excellent for beginners to help them ease into the ADC role. Be sure to check back with us again for more guides on your favorite games. Have fun and we’ll see you on the Rift!