what about the prospectors ring and boots for a start, or is that cost innefficient?

I get Blasting Wand and boots a health pot/mana pot for lulz when going top for the extra damage as your e q ignite w combo will do massive damage, if not kill them.

If I go bot I'll get a catalyst and a health pot. Obviously I do this to get my RoA asap. But Prospectors is by no means a bad choice, I just like getting my RoA quickly.

If you are asking if I buy RoA before tier 2 boots, then yes I do, generally. I feel RoA is a higher priority then Boots, and boots are only 750ish. But I do buy tier one boots quickly if I go bot.

he's too item dependent for dom. you can't get super fed then own like you can on sr because few champions snowball as hard as swain does.

don't build a dfg don't build a wota don't build a SV. none of them are good on swain. an item combo like roa(rylais can work but it's got no mana)/zhonyas/qss gives you way more survivability, more damage, and great activates.

I understand catalyst being a great sustain item, but going with out T1 boots seems odd, even with quints and the 2% from utility. 6.5% is good.

I was imagining a t1 boot, the two parts to catalyst, then 2 health 2 mana pots for some sustain down bot.

Eh, I like having the catalyst when I go bottom, tier one boots will not make or break you. But if you are going up against a Skillshot dependent champion boots and and the parts for the catalyst are a good idea.

thanks Purple, youve been a big help. Like i said, i rarely play AP on any map. usually support on SR or J4 or wukong on Dom.

some items look great when you first look at them, but are noob traps when you get down to brass tacks.

Well he is my favourite champion, and I consider him my "main". So I'm happy to help someone looking to get better with thim.

Just a general tip; If you haven't grabbed your RoA by the 8 minute mark, it's best to just upgrade it to an Odyn's or sell it. The stacking process is one of the reasons why Swain becomes so tanky lategame, and you want to have the full effect of those stacks.

He's pretty much the caster version of a bruiser. The downside is that his gearing has to be very mana heavy to sustain his ult(which sustains you). I'd actually consider running Ryze runes if I had any.