| PATCH 13.17
How to Play Tristana in ARAM: Guide, Tips and Tricks
Fierce, feisty and undeniably explosive, Tristana is a rewarding champion to play, who rewards good positioning, mechnics and item building. When played to her potential she can be an extremely strong champion.
Play Style and Positioning
One of the most important decisions to play Tristana effectively in ARAM is knowing when to jump in with her W (Rocket Jump). A common mistake is to jump first into a skirmish, getting focused and killed instantly. Instead, you should bide your time and only do so to clean up after enemies have already spent their CC abilities. By getting a kill, you get a reset in the ability, allowing to jump back to safety or chase another kill. A big display of mastery can also be shown by timing her W correctly so that she jumps even after getting CC'd by buffering the ability cast.
In the early game, it's usually better to play safely since her 550 range is in the low end and can easily put her in harm's way. By getting some levels under her belt she becomes one of the longest range ADCs in the game, so it's smart to wait it out without falling behind.
Tristana is also an amazing turret-taker, so players should always look to hit towers with her E (Explosive Charge) on it since it not only does a lot of damage to it but also explodes, dealing damage to any champions standing near their own tower.
Tristana Items and Runes in ARAM
Tristana has a natural Attack Speed steriod on her Q, so it's udually better for her to focus on items with high AD instead of double-dipping into AS. In the current patch (13.17) Statikk Shiv is a very strong first item on her, giving her good wave-clear that in turn helps her be able to afford more items.
Other critical damage items like Navori Quickblades which allows using her abilities more often, inclulding her Q for the AS or Infinity Edge for the crit damage give good results. Other sitational items that get good results on her are Last Whisper, Blade of The Ruined King and Bloodthirster.
In the runes side, there are too big options: Lethal Tempo or Hail of Blades. LT is usually better against pure tanks while HoB gives higher burst and has a generally higher win rate. Other options don't fare too well on her currently.
You can find all the most up to date stats on her champion page.
Conclusion
Tristana has a particular play style, but in the right hands he can dominate games in ARAM. She has some ARAM-specific buffs that can help players survive those early levels until she becomes a menace with thr right items and play style.
Go Back