Lee Sin is a real crazy-ass champion, who can function as a jungler, AD carry, ranged carry, and even AP carry. This guide will focus on a semi-tanky jungle Lee Sin. This guide will be different from the guides of Sycho Sid and Cruzer, because I'm PsychicPhantom and I'm a crazy motherfucker. This guide will teach you how to take advantage of Lee Sin's early-game strength and how to build and play correctly toward late game, where he tends to drop off.
My main, PsychicPhantom is currently near 2.1k and learning Lee Sin is what got me there. My former main was Shaco, but after you pass a certain ELO mark, Lee Sin outdoes him in every way. (Lee Sin does Shaco, imagine that)

Smite is irreplaceable, as it's needed for jungling.

The second summoner spell is interchangeable, but I prefer Exhaust to be a crazy counter-jungler and early game powerhouse. Flash is good, but wards can be used as free blinks around walls with Safeguard and if you make good decisions, Flash is never necessary. The only advantage Flash has over Exhaust is that you can position yourself for kicks.

Other Choices:
Next best choice after Flash, cannot function defensively as Exhaust does. Only run Ignite if your team lacks it, or has enough Exhausts.
MonsterBall status, viable if you know when to split push.
Also viable, but Lee Sin is never focused this hard.
Shitty version of Flash, don't do it.
I have tried this...and it works surprisingly well if you know how to counter-jungle properly.
...
......
.........
Only when you're feeling SUPER ULTRA crazy.
Do it.

This is my ideal set-up, although a number of runes can be used alternatively. Armor Penetration marks and armor seals are cheap enough and should be used in all situations. As energy glyphs are expensive, they can be replaced with MR/Level or flat MR, but I've found the energy glyphs to be more beneficial in late-game fights. Quintessences can be replaced with Armor Penetration, Flat HP, or Attack Speed (in that order), but AD Quintessences give the fastest jungling speed while having a strong early-game outside of the jungle as well.

This is the mastery set-up I run. 21/0/9 is my personal preference after playing Lee Sin for a long period of time. Packs the most punch, and extra buff duration or SS reduction not as important. I grab the most possible points in alacrity and minion damage to buff up my jungle speed since this is necessary early. Be sure to grab exhaust and smite masteries.

TL;DR: 21/0/9, everything else sucks 8===D

After Lee Sin uses an ability, his next 2 basic attacks gain 50% Attack Speed and return 10 energy each.



This passive is what makes Lee Sin's jungling so fast. At level 3, you can stagger your skills to have your passive up constantly. Activate a skill every two hits to maximize this passives potential. Do something similar while pushing towers.






Sonic Wave: Lee Sin projects a discordant wave of sound to locate his enemies, dealing 50/80/110/140/170 (+0.8 per bonus Attack Damage) physical damage to the first enemy it encounters. If Sonic Wave hits, Lee Sin can cast Resonating Strike for the next 3 seconds.

Resonating Strike: Lee Sin dashes to the enemy hit by Sonic Wave, dealing 50/80/110/140/170 (+0.8 per bonus Attack Damage) physical damage plus 10% of their missing health.

Cost 50/30 energy

Cooldown 10 / 9 / 8 / 7 / 6 seconds



This skill and Dragon's Rage are what make a good Lee Sin. Can be used to face-check the brush and chase, wonderful skill IMO. Be sure to know what you're diving into if you land a Resonating Strike in a bush as its reveal range isn't very large. In most cases, this skill will be focused, but situations may rise when it's better to max out Safeguard first.

Note: Never open up with this skill when ganking because if you miss, you're a dumbass for trying to do something I told you not to, and you failed your gank.






Safeguard: Lee Sin rushes towards a target ally, shielding them both from 40 / 80 / 120 / 160 / 200 (+80% per Ability Power) damage. After using Safeguard, Lee Sin can cast Iron Will for the next 3 seconds.

Iron Will: Lee Sin's intense training allows him to thrive in battle. For 5 seconds, Lee Sin gains5/10/15/20/25 lifesteal, spell vamp, and armor.

Cost 50/30 energy

Cooldown 8 seconds



This is the skill that allows Lee Sin to be a lifesaver, baiter and also be ungankable. You can save your carries from those pesky tanky DPSers as well as jump to an ally and land your Tempest to turn a 1v1 into an easy 1v2. What makes Safeguard truly special is the ability it has to jump to wards. This skill allows Lee Sin to gank even a warded lane by jumping behind the opposing team from the jungle by placing a ward by turret and jumping to it, most likely followed by a kick. Safeguard is also crazy to escape ganks and get out of sticky situations. Place a ward and jump out or jump to a further up ally while fleeing a fight. Safeguard will save you and your teammates's asses so many times in a single game that you will learn to love this skill more than anything. You'll also learn that the most aggravating thing with Lee Sin is when your allies run out of your Safeguard range when running and you die.

This skill is also ideal to focus against a team with multiple ignites or non-bursty champions who you can out-lifesteal with a high-leveled Safeguard.

Note: Remember to save your allies with Safeguard if they're getting ignited or something at the end of a fight, as it shields both Lee Sin and his target.





Tempest: Lee Sin smashes the ground sending out a shockwave that deals 60 / 95 / 130 / 165 / 200 (+0.6 per bonus Attack Damage) magic damage and reveals enemy units hit. If Tempest hits an enemy, Lee Sin can cast cripple for the next 3 seconds.

Cripple: Lee Sin cripples nearby enemies revealed by Tempest, reducing their Movement and Attack Speed by 30 / 37.5 / 45 / 52.5 / 60 % for 4 seconds. Movement and Attack Speed recover gradually over the duration.

Cost 50/30 energy

Cooldown 10 seconds

Range 450



Meh, this skill is pretty much a slow, the damage is not very strong, just remember to open up ganks with this if you can, makes landing your Q a lot easier. Don't ever focus this skill; its honestly Lee Sin's least dynamic skill and isn't as useful as the other three. Can be used on enemies kicked by your ult if used right after.




Lee Sin performs a powerful roundhouse kick launching his target back, dealing 200 / 400 / 600 (+1.5 per bonus Attack Damage) physical damage to the target and any enemies they collide with. Enemies the target collides with are knocked into the air for a short duration.

Cost 0 energy

Cooldown 90 / 75 / 60 seconds



This skill is one of the most versatile Ultimates in the game, as it can function as burst damage, AoE disable, or push to save your ass. This skill has a crazy 2.0 Bonus AD ratio, and is part of the reason why I run AD Quitessences as well as run 21/0/9 masteries. When you hit level 6, your ganks and counter-jungling potential skyrocket.

Use the kick to kick a carry into your team, kick out that Amumu wanting to ult, or disable a channel. If you have the chance, try to kick someone into their team to knock up multiple people as this is the most effective way to use your ult. If you kick someone into a wall, it disables them for the total duration of the push, similar to Alistar's Headbutt.

Note: An enemy killed by this cannot be knocked into their team.

+ (Boomerang Status)

Hit an enemy with Sonic Wave then Resonating Strike them and dash back to an ally or allied creep with Safeguard. Used best as a poke in lane or before fights break out. Again, be careful what you dash into, because they can CC you if they react fast enough. This legendary skill was taught to be by Munologist, the great MunoloSIN.

+ + (Burst Status)

This combo can take down a squishy carry from 70% or a tankier person from 30%. QRQ is the basic combo, but the strongest way to execute it is Sonic Wave, two auto attacks, Tempest, two auto attacks, Dragon's Rage then resonating strike. Be careful how soon after you activate Q after R because if you activate it too soon, you won't be able to reach them after they get kicked or too late, and it isn't as bursty.

+ + (Probo Status)

This is one of the most annoying ganks if you can pull it off. Drop a ward behind an enemy, jump to it and kick them into an ally for an easy kill.

+

Kick can be used to land an easy Q, this is a good combo, but there aren't many situations that call for it.

I like to start the game with and or and . Boots start is better for sustained counter-jungling, while long sword start makes for a strong level 2 gank. Also, an early Madred's Razor on Lee Sin makes jungling and buff control a breeze. Either way I start at dual golems with my Q. Have someone leash for you and take the first golem by using your Q once, smiting, then hitting your Q again to kill it. Note: You can get in 3 Auto-attacks at level 1 between Qs to get the most out of the 10% bonus damage. At level 2, I usually grab my Tempest and go for a level 2 gank or try to catch their jungler while he's low at wolves or blue. I grab safeguard at 3 and beyond that, I level whatever is necessary. Giving your first blue to your AP carry mid is usually a good idea if you can manage without it.

Generally, my path is dual golems, wraiths, wolves, with a period of counter-jungling or ganking at level 2 after dual golems. Focusing your Safeguard allows for variations in your jungling as well as epic counter-jungling.

There are two types of Counter-Jungling. You can steal the opposing jungler's jungle creeps or you can catch him in the jungle and kill him. In other words, you can be a pussy, or you can be brave. Lee Sin is one of the strongest level 1 fighters in the game, and there's no jungler that can beat him in a 1v1 fight at equal level.

Easy to Counter-Jungle:
- Reliant on blue, predictable path
- Reliant on blue, predictable path
- Predictable if you know where's he's starting, weak
- Only because you have two stealth reveals
- Easy to catch him taking buffs since he can't gank without them

Harder to Counter-Jungle:
- Double CC, carries Flash
- Double CC, Drain, carries Flash
- Strong, Scary dude
- Normal gameS?!??!S?/s/s/Z.z.z..z.:|
- Speed Buff and a crazy slow, impossible to stick to him and he's probably stealing your camps anyway
- Strong 1v1 fighter
- Strong 1v1 fighter

If you find an enemy jungler low, be sure to back out when necessary, because a decent team will come ASAP and fuck you up. If you can't get them quickly or have an escape route, don't engage the enemy in their jungle. If you catch someone low while Lee Sin, be sure to wait until they Flash over a wall to use your Resonating Strike so you can jump over and finish them off.

I open up ganks with Tempest 9/10 times as it's the easiest skill to hit and the slow makes landing Q and positioning ult a lot easier. If you can land your Q and are in auto-attack range, hold off on the second hit in-case they flash. Ult is usually used as damage during ganks early on, but you can also kick them away from their turret to keep them from escaping. A gank spot which not a lot of people can avoid is through the brush along sides of the map as most people only lay down river wards.

Easy (Solo Lane)Targets:
- Weak CC, tendency to push, no escape
- Weak CC, tendency to push, no escape
- AoE reveal with Tempest, tendency to be over-aggressive

Look for these champions as Lee Sin, as they are usually food for you.

Hard to Gank:
- Egg and Stun, if you commit too hard, you might cause a death without getting the kill
- Low cooldown dash, extremely hard to gank unless he pushes up
- He can blink away from you while also knocking you up
- LB can kill someone and get out if you fight in the wrong situations, has a double blink, probably three counting flash
- Unkillable with his Ult, best to gank him before 6

There are a lot of other champions in either category, but these are the ones that stick out the most to me.

Lee Sin can accomplish two different things in a teamfight. He can either peel people off his carries or focus enemy carries. In most cases, you will do both in the same teamfight, but I primarily like to focus enemy carries first. I throw down my Exhaust on either their ranged or AP carry and go balls-out on them, taking them out as fast as possible. I find this to be the most successful way to team fight with Lee Sin as their carry will be more of a glass-cannon than Lee Sin, and taking them out of the fight gives your team a huge advantage.

One thing to remember is it's always best to shield an ally, so both of you benefit from the shield. Don't doubt the burst potential of the Full-Crazy Combo or the lifesteal and shielding from Safeguard and Iron Will. Sometimes you can out-lifesteal that shitty Ashe when you only have 100 HP and end up killing her.

Endgame Core:
or

Situational Items:
- For heavy burst teams.
- For heavy AP teams, should have some HP items in addition to this.
- For heavy AoE slows with this and Tempest, yum.
- When you just gotta be crazy twice.
- I personally like this one, as it deters people from focusing you.
- This works well against teams that have a lot of AD or a really fed ranged carry.
- If you want to be really annoying.

Videos coming later~