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Attachment 377008
my new updated guide for her.
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ToC_____________________

- INTRO
- SKILLS
- SKILL LvLing
- SMART CASTING
- FIGHTING
- SUMMONER SPELLS
- ITEMS
- RUNE'S
- MASTERIES
- DOMINION
- WHATEVER ELSE

- Questions and comments much appreciated

INTRO___________________

- Cass is excels at whittling down the enemy from a long range when needed and going head to head with almost any champ.
- can take a while to really master and get the combo's down etc.
- not very forgiving if you hit a target not poisoned with Twin Fang, very frustrating.

- has very few counters so once you learn her things should start to go well regularly.

- watch out when your against Galio

SKILLS__________________

General Stuff
-If you are facing/ running away and go to cast a skill behind you it will have a bit of a delay since your champ has to turn around first in the direction.
-Its better to cast in-front of you at times when running because of this (think casting Miasma) and note the delay from casting in front of you vs behind.

Deadly Cadence
- You don't need to keep this up all the time, or even most of the time.
- If your going to cast NB an Miasma in quick succession, try and cast NB first.
- You save mana casting this way, though it isnt much it can decide a fight.

Noxious Blast
- Has a short delay until the first tick takes effect.
- The .9 AP ratio means its usually better to get the dmg from your AP, rather then through lvling it up.

Miasma
- Gives vision a little bigger then its radius for the duration + 2 or so seconds. (Vision area shrinks).
- Can be used to slow down the wave so they dont take tower hits (and you dont take dmg from holding them).

Twin Fang
- Has a flight time and CD starts when it hits the target so its always going to be a bit longer then .5 sec
- This means the closer you are the faster you can get them off, since you cant cast again until it hits (+ the .5 sec).

Petrifying Gaze
- Has a slight delay but checks for the stun condition near the start of casting it.
- Skills make champions turn in the direction where there being cast so watch for this and it will give you some good opportunity for the stun.

SKILL LvLing__________________

- There are 2 viable paths. One focused on TF, one on NB, then one split.
- A lot of this is preference and a bit on who your against.
- (personal opinion) Early on the game isnt about team fights as much so i find TF better to focus.

NB > TF > TF > Miasma > TF > PG > TF > NB.......

NB > TF > NB > Miasma > NB > PG > NB > TF.......

NB > TF > NB > Miasma > TF > PG > NB or TF > the one not got >.......

- Focus on NB if you will need to play your lane safer.
- Perhaps if their jungler is around mid often trying to gank you or because of your opponent (if they have long range as well).
- Putting more points in NB means if it does turn to a fight you will have to wait for your dmg to kill them (usually a bad thing) and you will lose much more often.
- By doing so TF lacks severely as its AP ratio is .55 and each lvl of it is worth 80AP.

- Focus on TF in all other scenarios or if you feel comfortable doing so.
- Head to head Cass should come out on top when things get into a fight (if you focused on TF)
- Spellvamp works much better when you focus on TF and can really decide fights with an early Revolver.

SMART CASTING_______________

- allows for faster skill activation by removing the need to click the mouse and just press the appropriate key.
- it may not seems like much time is saved but this is an absolute must for Twin Fang!

- to set this up just go into the options menu and go into Key-binding.
- you will have to scroll down a little bit until you see Smart cast spell 1 etc.
- make sure you dont mistake Self cast spell 1 etc above it.

- you can also do it like this, though i just have all 4 of my skills (including summoners) set to smart-cast. Its just the way i have done things for a long time.

FIGHTING_____________________

- Not unlike other champs Cass is very much about reading your opponent and watching their movement. You want to do this for the best chance of hitting your skills.
- You can watch for low health minions that the enemy might come in to last hit or when they try to get some harass on you.
- You should be able to read when certain champs want to use skills etc. Brand and Morgana for instance.

- try to zone your enemy or at least change where they will go with Miasma.
- say they turn one way to dodge NB, you can hit them with Miasma on the other side and start casting Twin Fang

- The burst some champs have can be scary but a lot of times you will come out and win if you just keep up NB and TF.
- Since they have cooldowns in most case's your dmg will far surpass what they can do (if you keep with it) In the time they recharge.

- For champs with a dash you can cast Miasma right in-front of you as they dash in so your ready when they get there to start casting TF.
- This can also be a good time for PG, stunning them right as they come into Miasma.

SUMMONER SPELLS______________

Flash+Ignite
- The best option for her and most mids out there.

Teleport
- has its use's to allow for ganks and defending towers etc.

Exhaust
- possible if your in a duo lane or you have a good jungler and can get the enemy to burn Flash

ITEMS__________________________

- Cassiopeia does not make good use of CDR items and really only gains a benefit to PG.
- other then the Blue Buff you should not itemize for it.

- she can make good use of some mana as it will allow her to get a few more Twin Fangs off etc then she others wise wouldn't have be able to.
- take her passive into account when figuring the cost of spells, a Sapphire Crystal means 3 extra Twin Fangs for instance.

- still start with boots if your going for a RoA and go back when you have enough for the complete Catalyst.

Starting Items

- Consider only these 3 in most situations. Others such as Cloth Armor and Regrowth Pendent can be taken with good effect.

Boots+pots
- are in most case's what you should start with. Boots greatly increase the benefit from NB, while allowing you to land skills and escape ganks easier.
- most enemies will start boots against Cass, if they dont already do it all the time. So you will need boots for this reason as well.

D ring
- good if you really want an early game advantage and the enemy your against didn't start boots.
- you will want that extra regen/health if they are going to be aggressive and push so they can gank your team elsewhere.
- only get more then one D ring if you are losing the lane and need an advantage, dont just stack them if your winning.

Amp Tome+pots
- good if you are confident/able to land NB consitently and conserve mana.
- by forgoing D ring you save a few hundred gold and are that much closer to a Revolver, Haunting Guise or RCS.

T2 Boots

Sorc Shoes
- the default choice and should be taken in most situations.

Merc Treads
- sometimes a good choice if their team really has a lot of CC, since Cass will most often be focused in fights.
- against champs such as Veigar and Xerath who have easier to land stuns. Which translate into their combo's either killing or almost killing you if you get caught.

Boots of Swiftness
- the least common choice of these 3 but increases the benefit from NB.
- allows for better chasing/escaping during fights etc and paired with RCS means the enemy will find you near impossible to catch.

Items to consider

Rabadons Deathcap
- key on most AP champs and especially Cass since she has a great, spammable and long range .9 AP DoT spell.
- If you are quite close to the enemy or are just able to get off many Twin Fangs it really adds up because the dmg keeps coming.

Will of the Ancients/Hextech Revolver
- works well because Cass can keep doing dmg and in fights is often casting many Twin Fangs along with NB.
- this translates to a great deal of health where other champs would be waiting for their cooldowns, Cass just keeps going.

Zhonya's Hourglass
- the choice for armor if you need it on Cass and also because of the active it provides, buying you some much needed time in a lot of case's.

Abyssal Scepter
- great because of the aura it provides to help your team to increase its dmg.
- there are a number of AD champions with skills dealing magic dmg so this helps with that as well.
- more often beneficial then a Void Staff because of the MR and passive.

RoA
- gives her a lot of extra mana, health and ability power.
- the mana especially is good as it allows for quite a lot more spells to be cast.
- dont leave it to long (buy boots then rush RoA)

RCS
- really improves your ability to chase and escape, allowing NB to also slow (helping your team) and saving Miasma for other times.
- If the enemy doesn't have very good escapes it usually means they will die since you can keep them slowed constantly.

Situational Items

Void Staff
- good if 2 or more enemies are building 70 or more MR
- as mentioned beneficial to the rest of the team and only helps to take down that one target stacking MR.
- for the other 4 members of the enemy team Abyssal is almost always the better choice.

Warmogs Armor
- great against champs with very high burst (Veigar, Leblanc, Xerath)
- Helps keep you alive and able to cast quite a few more Twin Fangs then you might normally (since you are probably CC'd down)

Items to never get

Tear/AAS
- Cass does not need the extra mana at all and can get the regen from other places (rune's)
- Tear severely hurts her since it does not give any AP.

DFG
Nashor's Tooth
Morello's Evil Tome
Moonflair Spellblade

Build examples

- experimentation and adaptation are good things.
- these builds are a good base to start with.

- i leave WotA until Deathcap is finished since teamfights start to happen often around that time and the nerf means there is less incentive to upgrade it earlier.

- knowing your getting Abyssal and Hourglass eventually, it can be nice to mix and match to buy the Chain Vest or Negatron Cloak earlier and varied to defend yourself.

Boots+pots > Revolver+Sorc Shoes > Deathcap > WotA > Abyssal/Hourglass

D ring > Sorc Shoes+Amp Tome > Revolver+Blasting Wand > Deathcap > WotA > Abyssal/Hourglass

Amp Tome+pot > Sorc Shoes+Revolver > WotA > Deathcap > Abyssal/Hourglass

Boots+pots > Catalyst > RoA > Sorc Shoes > WotA > Deathcap > Abyssal/Hourglass

RUNE'S_______________________

- There are a number of good options and this part leans heavily on preference, since many things work well.

Quints

Potency
- great for an aggressive early game

Transmutation
- good later in the game when you have a large amount of AP
- can save you early as well and provides some sustain to stick around in lane and fights a bit longer.

Swiftness
- very good when starting boots to give them much more benefit and make you quite a bit faster without hitting NB.
- useful to catch up to the enemy to get combo's going and just get that much closer at times for a killing Twin Fang etc.


Marks

Insight
-The only option to be considered for Marks.

Seals

Clarity
- the most common option for Cass and all the M regen you should need.
- surpasses Replenishment by lvl 6

Resilience
- consider if going against an AD carry mid (not very common atm)

Vitality
- great to survive more of that burst and also surpasses Fortitude by lvl 6.


Glyphs

Shielding
- a good option since most often you will be facing an AP mid.
- the better option usually because of the dmg it negates, allowing you to get more spells off

Force
- more glass cannon for sure and if your team is able to support and protect you then this would be the way to go.

MASTERIES_______________________

- The best setup would be something along the lines of this.
- It maximizes damage while still giving some defense.
Attachment 377000

- another option would be putting the 9 into Utility
- you gain an extra 30 sec of Blue Buff,
- increased MS (paired with MS Quints) which can be quite good if starting boots
- a few hundred more mana which might not seem a lot. When your casting your spells at a reduced cost it means a few more then you normally could..
Attachment 376999

DOMINION________________________

- the item build is mostly the same though consider getting WotA earlier as teamfights are constant.

- skill order is similar to what you like on SR

- bot and top both work well for Cass.
- if your bot you should focus on getting the kills and pushing since that is the whole point to her and what she does well.
- just use NB right when the 3 minions group for the first time and keep using it on recharge to push your lane.
- there arnt many champs who can push faster and safer then Cass can so you should be able to control the middle Health Relic as well.

WHATEVER ELSE__________________

- i would be happy to practice in game
- either me as Cass so you see better how she works or you can use her and il use a champ you have trouble with etc.

- if you want another skin for her support me here @RIOT Do snakes shed skin often?

Jokes

Smartcast tip: Bind your ALT key from Self-Cast to Smart Self Cast (a relatively new option). You can still hold Alt and selfcast for when you play a healer or whatever as long as you aren't mousing over an ally.

However you can then use ALT key to toggle smartcast. Sure, I love smartcast on Cass's E, but not so much on W, and not on my Ult.
But even if I did, next match comes and I gotta REBIND the stupid keys again. Ugh.

With ALT on self-smartcast, I can hold alt and smartcast whenever I want for any champ without ever messing with keybinds.

Why alt? Shift is technically fine, but holding shift down is awkward. Whereas bending thumb to hold ALT down is easy and doesnt require me to move my fingers off of Q,W,E,R
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What about Rod of Ages? Didnt see that covered and its my typical first item. If I am doing well, Ill grab catalyst on my first B. If not, Ill grab another Dorans or two.
The catalyst gives me sustain, health, mana, and Rod is excellent for toughening up.

The downside is that you will probably already take Rylais, so you really do wind up exceptionally tough at the cost of faster damage boosting which may be bad for a really long ranged champ.

But I always seem to get focused so I like the Rod.


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You might wanna try Jungling with her too. It actually is quite entertaining because she clears really fast and has several advantages during ganking. Ranged autoattack and red buff application, movespeed buff on Q. AoE slow with miasma that REVEALS BUSHES where they always run off to, massive burst damage with Fang spam. Ability to engage from 850 range(!) Ult is pretty sweet on ganks too.
Standard 21offense, but take 9 defense (3 armor, 2 -dmg, 1 bladed armor, 3 magic resist). Make sure to take Armor yellows, but otherwise the same setup.
Cloth and 5 pots is necessary, start with Noxious Blast.

Start at blue, get help from team to beat up blue golem pretty significantly. Tell em not to just 1 hit and run, but to have 2 or 3 dudes all hit it. A clean blue buff is really helpful. Get miasma!

Then you can make a judgement call to go TOP or MID as your NB/miasma, or jungle more.

Go RIGHT UP TO WOLVES and drop NB/Miasma. DO NOT ENGAGE FROM RANGE! You wanna ensure wolves sit in the miasma and eat the 25 dmg/sec for the full 8 seconds. Damage saved from starting ranged pales in comparison.
Then wraiths, 2 golems(with a bit of kiting after miasma wears off), redbuff.

You should be at FULL HEALTH when you gank bottom.
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Twin Fang question: I heard that you only vamp 1/3rd or so even from FANG though its not an AoE? Is that still the case? Is it a bug? It looked like I was spell vamping a pretty good chunk from fang, but its hard to compare my DOTs with the fangs insta-dmg.

I will add something on RoA, i did forget it and there is a point to be made for having some extra mana and not just m regen

I do jungle with her though i didn't feel i should add it since it gets to much hate from your team. (and someone trying it out is sure to get more hate.) As well there are simply better junglers. (Trundle my fav atm)

True, but it is lots of fun! Even stonewall puts her at Tier 3. (as opposed to tier 4,5 or off the chart)

Here's a Cass question: what do you do in a mid match up vs. Orianna? I'm fairly new to trying Cass out, but it's usually worked pretty well in my favor, but one impressionable game I got DESTROYED by the robit. That ball just seemed perfect for zoning Cass out of even a sensible distance to harass her or even exchange.

Really? Orannas ball is 825 range (down from 900 originally), and Cass's Noxious has an 850 as does miasma...along with the AoE which gives it slightly longer range.

Maybe she started with boots+3 pots, whereas you started with a Dorans? That might account for being slower to dodge skill shots and her ability to do so a bit better.

Ahri is the much more common mid nowdays with a longer range 880 ball, along with her nasty nasty comboes where she Ults close to you, Rockets you, taunts you, balls you, and repeats the Ult 2 more times.

Yes, pretty much this. Start boots+pots against champs such as those. (most mids youl play against have that kind of insane range) so boots+pots is never a bad choice anyway.

Just takes more practice. Watching as she is coming in range to hit you with her ball. Then casting NB at the right time so it goes off right as she's reaching the far edge of it can be hard with its delay.