Ahri Build & Rune Guide

One of the starting Champions, Ahri is an extremely simple and beginner-friendly Champion to pick up. Having a simple 3-skill rotation, she does not need high-ability knowledge to provide results. While her playstyle can be made complex by manipulating her R, it is completely player-dependant, making an amazing champ to pick up early on in the game.

How To Play Ahri

Ahri is a poke mage, plain and simple. Using her E>W>Q combo, she can harass the enemy laner long enough to gain a CS advantage, allowing her to snowball as the game progresses. Her Q is also great for last-hitting minions, as it does significant AOE damage without needing you to get close.

If you play around her cooldowns properly and manage your mana consumption, any lane should be playable, no matter your lane opponent. You should remember that Ahri excels at short exchanges rather than long-extended fights. She is also not that useful in team fights, so positioning is key if you are up against multiple opponents.

How Do Ahri’s Abilities Work?

Since she was made to be a beginner-friendly Champion, most of Ahri’s abilities are easy to land and require little to no follow-up. The effect radius of both Q and E is quite forgiving, allowing Ahri to constantly land them, even though they are skill shots.

Her Charm is long enough to deal damage, while W is self-targeting. The only ability that requires proper knowledge is her R, so let’s get right into it. There is no special ability rotation that you need to follow to make her effective; just knowing when not to use an ability should get you through the lane phase.

Essence Theft (Passive)

Ahri’s passive, Essence Theft, increases her sustainability in lane based on how well you can last hit. Every time Ahri kills a minion (or jungle monster), she gains a stack of her passive. At 9 stacks, she can heal herself for a small amount. This allows her to negate any poke while entirely focusing on CSing rather than engaging.

Ahri also gains these stacks whenever she gets an enemy takedown and can heal herself for a small amount. This means she does not need to recall or buy more health potions to survive.

Orb of Deception (Q)

Orb of Deception is Ahri’s main poke ability, especially when the opponent is trying to zone her off. It can be used from a distance and is great at killing creeps. Ahri throws an orb in the targeted direction that returns to her once it reaches its max range. This orb deals damage in both cases but does true damage to enemies hit on its way back.

Fox-Fire (W)

Fox-fire is definitely Ahri’s easiest ability as it doesn’t require the player to do anything except stand close enough to the enemy. It gives Ahri three rotating flames around her that target nearby enemies when in range. Ahri also gains a 40% move speed bonus that allows her to get in and out quickly before the enemy can trade. Targets takes less damage from subsequent flames but the damage is increased against minions under 20% health to assist in the last hitting.

Charm (E)

A fan-favorite CC ability in the game, Charm is the ability to master when starting out. If you can land your Es properly, poking the enemy out of the lane becomes drastically easier. Ahri sends out a charm in the targeted direction. Enemies hit are knocked down, charmed, and slowed by 65%. This is a great way to engage in fights and you can even flip the fight if you have teammates around.

Spirit Rush (R)

Ahri’s ultimate is comparatively harder to get the hang of, especially since it basically just a dash with a small amount of damage. This ability is essential for repositioning fights and can help you dodge many skill shots or kite the enemy.

While using Spirit Rush, Ahri dashes in the targeted direction and fires essence bolts to up to 3 nearby targets. She can recast this ability twice within a 15s timeframe. Getting a Champion takedown extends this duration by 10s and gives you another charge.

Ahri’s Build Path (Items + Runes)

Now, since Ahri is supposed to be an easier champ for beginners, her build path is not that difficult. There is a slight variation in her item build that you can use, so we will mention both of those. Pick whichever one feels more suitable for you.

Items

• Starting Item: Doran’s Ring. Ahri is a mage and has a lot of mana trouble at the start. By starting with Doran’s Ring, you recover mana every second and also deal more damage to minions. Since you already self-heal with your passive, you don’t need a lot of sustain.
• A corrupted potion start is also a viable starting item but favors a more aggressive playstyle. If you plan to engage in the earlier levels and know how to play the Champion, feel free to give it a go.
• Core Items: Luden’s Tempest OR Everfrost. Both these items are completely viable and depend a lot on your matchup and the enemy team’s composition. For squishy Champions with high mobility like Zed or Yone, you should go Everfrost, while low-mobility, control mages can be dealt with the burst from Luden’s Tempest.
• After your mythic, go Shadowflame for that extra AP and magic penetration. Zhonya’s Hourglass should be your second item if you are up against high-burst Champions like Fizz. Rabadon’s Deathcap is also an amazing pick-up as it increases your burst potential.
• Situational Items: If the enemy team is heavy on AP, you should go Banshee’s Veil. To cut down on healing, build into a Morellonomicon.
• Boots: Ahri excels with high burst damage, so Sorcerer’s Shoes are the way to go.

Runes

• Primary: Take Electrocute for short trades. Since Ahri’s W auto locks on to Champions, proc-ing your Electrocute won’t be so hard. After every skill rotation, wait for your cooldowns and Electrocute to come back up before engaging.
• Follow this with Taste of Blood, Eyeball Collection, and Ultimate Hunter. Taste of Blood is great for sustainability, especially every time you poke. Eyeball Collection helps with scaling damage, while Ultimate Hunter gives cooldown reduction on your ultimate.
• Secondary: For secondary runes, take the staple Manaflow Band and Transcendence. These will help with any mana issues you face during the early game and give you increased cooldown reduction throughout the game. More cooldown reduction means less time for the enemy to regain health between engages.

Final Thoughts

Ahri is not only a simple Champion but also super fun to play. Using her Charm, you can guarantee a few hits on to the enemy without being worried about them trading. If you want to get into control mages in the mid-lane, she is definitely a great recommendation.