There's no better time to revisit my favorite champion class than right now. For anyone that knows me or plays with me frequently, they know that I'm somewhat of an assassin one trick. Even though the meta has shifted away from favoring assassin champs, assassins are still a whole lot of fun, and can easily run away with the game if played properly. Recently, Riot has stated that the next class of champions to get a large update is the assassin class. This will undoubtedly mean that there will be many people on the rift, trying out all the changes to our favorite bursty, stealthy champs. While it fills my heart with joy to think about all the adc tears that are about to be shed, nothing makes me cringe more than watching assassins being played erroneously. In order to make sure we're playing them optimally, let's first examine what makes the assassin class different, and what the main goal of an assassin is.

If you watch an assassin play the map, it's relatively obvious that their play styles are unique to the class, and that they all have similarities that allow them to make the plays that they do. Generally, assassins have high mobility, and high up-front burst damage. Mobility, in the form of a gap closer, dashes, or blinks, allow assassins to engage and disengage safely. High damage output allows for eliminating high priority squishies before the enemy has time to respond. Having this type of kit means that assassins excel at getting picks, skirmishes, and 1 v 1 scenarios. Your goal should then be to catch people out of position, and to cripple the dps of the enemy team by constantly terminating their carries. And while, this sounds pretty straight forward and narrow, actually pulling it off can be tricky at times. There are a ton of do's and don'ts. Let's start with the don'ts.

Don'ts

1 - Unlike conventional champs that want to churn out steady dps through the course of team fights safely, assassins are high-risk, high-reward. This means you will occasionally have to throw yourself into the middle of the fray. It's easy to tunnel vision on kills and your desire to go in will be great, but please, don't. As an assassin, do not engage on behalf of your team. The exception to this rule is if you have hard CC at your disposal and catch an out of position carry. You can punish weak champs for standing in the front line instead of the back, but be mindful. This maneuver is still not without risk, but can work if you know you can get out.

2 - Assassins have amazing kill potential. To balance this out, they themselves are also usually squishy. Do not frontline for your team. Even if you're fed and think you can zone the enemy team with the threat of your burst potential, getting caught with CC will most definitely mean your demise. Let your tanks and bruisers hold the line.

3 - Getting free picks feels great. Diving into what you think is a free pick with no vision, and getting a gank turned around on you feels terrible. It breaks my heart to see assassins dive a carry, only to realize that the entire enemy team is hiding in the bush next to them. I know it's tempting to dive a carry you think is alone. But, only pull the trigger if you have information on where the rest of the team is. If you have no vision, all the enemies are up, and you see no one else on the mini map, chances are they're not alone.

Don't be a Leeroy (created by Aquiart.com)

Do's

1 - Remember, your goal is to make every ADC in the world contemplate uninstalling the game. Therefore, it would make sense to try and reserve your cooldowns to kill a carry. Don't waste everything on the tank, only to be useless when the team fight starts. Secondly, unless you've snowballed to point of no return, the likelihood of making the enemy tank go 100-0 by yourself is slim. Prioritize your targets properly, and pick your targets accordingly.

2 - A.B.F. Always be flanking. Say it loud and slow. Always. Be. Flanking. As an assassin, you don't always want to position yourself in the middle of your team to team fight. If the enemy team sees that you're about to engage on their carry, they can prepare properly, and stuff your all in. The best way of getting to the back line of the enemy team is to position yourself to the side or behind the enemy team. Wait for your teams to engage, and then attack from a position that the opposition can't defend from. Flanking also cuts off escape routes if you're fighting in a choke point, and puts a stop to enemy teams kiting backwards. A good assassin always wants to engage from unconventional angles, that the other team won't expect. This is the most important lesson that you should take away from this guide.

3 - I lied, this is the most important lesson you should take away from this guide. Be patient. All of the don'ts listed above can be prevented if you exercise great patience. Assassins are opportunistic champs. Wait for the right time to go in. Don't force it. If you have to create an opening to go in, be methodical, instead of rash. Use vision and map awareness to know when it's ideal to roam and make picks, instead of indiscriminately running around the map alone. Good assassins stalk their prey instead of charging in head first.

Seriously...always be flanking (created by Aquiart.com)

The assassin class is an incredibly complex role to fill. However, when played properly, assassins make amazing assets to teams, and can even single handedly hard carry games. As long as you avoid tunnel vision, are patient, and position yourself intelligently (remember, A.B.F please), you will undoubtedly see success with the assassin class. I hope with some of these tips, playing assassins can feel as rewarding to you as it does for me. Happy assassinating ladies and gentlemen!

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