Ezreal is the safest ADC. E blink escapes everything, Q poke is constant, and his Sheen build scales well. He trades raw DPS for safety — the ADC for players who never want to die.
Abilities
Skills Overview
P
Rising Spell Force
Passive
Ezreal gains increasing Attack Speed each time he successfully hits a spell, stacking up to 5 times.
Rising Spell Force: hitting abilities gives stacking AS. Stack passive before fights with Q spam.
Q
Mystic Shot
Skillshot · On-Hit · CD Reset
Ezreal fires a damaging bolt of energy which reduces all of his cooldowns slightly if it strikes an enemy unit.
CD: 5.5/5.25/5/4.75/4.5 · Cost: 28/31/34/37/40
Q applies on-hit effects and reduces ALL cooldowns by 1.5s on hit. Hit Q constantly for infinite E blinks.
W
Essence Flux
Mark · Burst
Ezreal fires an orb that sticks to the first champion or objective hit. If Ezreal hits an enemy with the orb, it detonates and deals damage.
CD: 8 · Cost: 50
W marks a target. Your next ability or auto on the marked target deals bonus damage. W → Q for poke, W → E for burst.
E
Arcane Shift
Blink · Damage
Ezreal teleports to a target nearby location and fires a homing bolt which strikes the nearest enemy unit. Prioritizes enemies stuck with Essence Flux.
CD: 26/23/20/17/14 · Cost: 70
E blinks you in a direction. It's your escape AND your reposition. Never waste it offensively unless E comes back up from Q spam.
R
Trueshot Barrage
Global · AoE
Ezreal winds up before firing a powerful barrage of energy that deals massive damage to each unit it passes through (damage is reduced for minions and non-epic monsters).
CD: 120/105/90 · Cost: 100
R fires a global AoE skillshot. Use to waveclear, snipe, or start fights from afar.
Skill Leveling Order — Max Q first, then E, then W · R at 6 / 11 / 16
| Level | Q | W | E | R | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Take Q | ||||
| 2 | Take E — blink | ||||
| 3 | Take W — mark | ||||
| 4 | Level Q | ||||
| 5 | Level Q | ||||
| 6 | R — Trueshot Barrage | ||||
| 7 | Level Q | ||||
| 8 | Level E | ||||
| 9 | Q maxed ✓ | ||||
| 10 | Level E | ||||
| 11 | R rank 2 | ||||
| 12 | Level E | ||||
| 13 | Level E | ||||
| 14 | E maxed ✓ | ||||
| 15 | Level W | ||||
| 16 | R rank 3 | ||||
| 17 | Level W | ||||
| 18 | W maxed ✓ |
Itemization
Recommended Builds
Core Build
Trinity Force
Sheen proc on every Q. Core identity item.
3333g
Ionian Boots
CDR for more Q spam and E uptime.
950g
Essence Reaver
Mana sustain + Sheen proc stacking.
2800g
Manamune
Muramana on-hit on every Q. Massive damage scaling.
2900g
Situational
Serylda's Grudge
Armor pen + slow on Q.
3200g
Maw of Malmortius
Magic shield.
2800g
Guardian Angel
Revive.
3200g
Trinity → Manamune → Serylda's. Q Sheen procs are your main damage.
Runes
Precision Primary
Conqueror
Q spam stacks Conqueror fast.
Presence of Mind
Mana sustain for Q spam.
Legend: Bloodline
Lifesteal.
Coup de Grace
Execute damage.
Inspiration Secondary
Magical Footwear
Free boots.
Biscuit Delivery
Lane sustain + permanent mana increase.
Shards
Adaptive Force · Adaptive Force · Health
Gameplay
How to Play Ezreal
01
Early Game
Q Poke, Farm Safely
- Q poke through minions. It's your primary harass tool.
- E is your escape. Don't waste it aggressively early.
- W → Q on the enemy ADC for burst trades.
- Farm with Q if you can't walk up safely. Q one-shots caster minions at higher levels.
- Stack Tear early. Buy it on first back for Manamune scaling.
02
Mid Game
Q Spam DPS
- Trinity + Manamune = massive Q damage. Poke constantly.
- Q reduces all cooldowns by 1.5s on hit. Spam it to keep E always available.
- E repositioning is what makes you safe. You can dodge any skillshot.
- R waveclears and snipes. Use to clear waves you can't walk to.
- W → E for burst damage if you need to go aggressive.
03
Late Game
Safe Consistent Damage
- Q Sheen procs deal 600-800 damage. Poke before fights.
- You're the safest ADC. Position aggressively because E escapes anything.
- Serylda's slow on Q means enemies can never escape your poke.
- Weave autos between Q casts for maximum DPS.
- R to start fights from across the map, then Q spam.
Teamfighting
How to Teamfight as Ezreal
Ezreal pokes with Q, repositions with E, and deals consistent safe damage.
1
Poke — Q Spam
Before fight
01
Q from max range. Sheen proc + Muramana.
02
W → Q for bonus damage.
03
Stack passive AS with Q hits.
Don't E forward to engage. E is your escape. Only E offensively if Q spam has reset it.
2
DPS — Auto + Q Weave
Sustained damage
01
Auto → Q → auto → Q. Weave autos between Q casts.
02
E to reposition if dived.
03
Q reduces all CDs by 1.5s. Keep E available.
3
Safe — E Escape
Survivability
01
E away from any threat.
02
Continue Q spam from new position.
03
You should NEVER die in teamfights.
Every Q hit reduces E cooldown by 1.5s. In a teamfight, you can E every 4-5 seconds if you're landing Q consistently.
Tips & Tricks
Advanced Mechanics & Hidden Tech
Advanced mechanics for Ezreal.
Basic
E is Sacred
E is your escape. Never use it to engage unless you're 100% sure it comes back up before you need it.
Intermediate
Q CD Reduction
Every Q hit reduces ALL ability cooldowns by 1.5s. This means more E blinks, more W marks, more R.
Basic
W → Q Combo
W marks a target. Q on the marked target deals bonus damage. Use for burst trades in lane.
Advanced
W → E All-In
W → E blink onto the marked target deals massive burst. Only do this when E comes back up quickly.
Basic
Stack Tear Early
Buy Tear on first back. Q spam stacks it fast. Muramana is your biggest power spike.
Intermediate
Q Through Minions
Q stops on the first target hit. Position at angles to hit the enemy champion, not minions.
Matchups
Counters & Matchups
Ezreal struggles against ADCs who outscale his poke damage and champions who can match his safety. He excels against skill-shot reliant champions he can dodge with E.
Click any matchup to expand tips & how to play against them
Loses Against
Draven's raw damage overwhelms your poke. He kills you even through E.
Poke from max Q range. Never let him get in auto range.
Kai'Sa's burst matches yours and she scales harder.
Poke her down before she can all-in with R.
Vayne outscales you and tumble dodges your Q.
Bully her early with Q poke. She outscales — win lane hard.
Wins Against
Ashe has no escape. You poke her down and E her R stun.
Q poke constantly. E dodge her R.
Jinx has no mobility. Q poke chunks her freely.
Poke with Q. She can't dodge it.
Kog has no escape. Q poke and E dodge everything.
Free lane. Poke and scale.