Azir Build Guide : [13.24] AZIR Mid/Top Ultimate Guide [IN-DEPTH]

Hey guys, ZOOSE here. I started mid Season 3 and steadily climbed every season, playing mostly Mid, ADC and Support. I reached CHALLENGER in Season 8 and have reached MASTER TIER at minimum every season since. I enjoy climbing as it's always a challenge, but what I'm most passionate about is playing a range of Champions and Roles. Favorite champs on that journey were , , , , , , , , , , , , and so many more. So many unqiue playstyles. I love the variety League Champions provide, which is why I'm motivated to create guides on mulitple champions, testing all the best builds, pushing the limits of each champ, and then creating guides, whether it's here on Mobafire, or Ultimate Guides on Youtube.

Starting from the bottom, which was BRONZE 5 back then (equivalent to IRON 4 today), has given me all the experience I need, to know what it's like in EVERY Elo. I'm not always playing in higher elo games (MASTER TIER+). When I'm playing a weaker role or champion, I find out what it's like in different ranks. Which is why I try to create guides that anyone can follow. Completely new to League? Perfect. My guide covers all the basics and helps you understand some more advanced terms. Maybe you're DIAMOND or even higher, but you're trying a different champion or role? No problem! Skip through the abilities and go straight to the stuff you need RIGHT NOW, like Tips & Tricks, Combos and Gameplay.

I'm always willing to listen to feedback, so feel free to ask any questions about this guide, or let me know about ways to improve these guides in general.

Watch the Full Guide on Youtube, with plenty of gameplay examples from ranked matches.

Let's quickly cover 's abilities, then after each one, I'll show you tips and tricks you can use right now in your next game, to give you an advantage.

PASSIVE ABILITY

Shurima's Legacy (Passive): His passive, . creates a tower, Disc of the Sun, on any destroyed tower outside the enemy base. Simply click the area, and a tower will be constructed over 5 seconds. It pretty much has the same stats as a normal tower, with some AP scaling. It's HP will decay over 1 minute. It will even gain gold and xp on any enemy it kills for you.

✦ It loses 100 armor while is dead or too far away.
✦ We'll be using this Passive to siege, with or without your team.
✦ Use it to bait enemies. If they engage and commit to a fight under your tower, you'll have a lot of extra damage.
✦ We'll be using items to survive and increase the bait potential, like , which I'll cover later.

W

Arise! (W): Before we cover Q , let's first go over his W, . creates a solider in the target area. He can then attack enemies within the soldiers range, by auto attacking. These soldiers can not be targeted and they last 10 seconds.
It also comes with a passive, which increases 's attack speed and stocks up to 2 sand soldiers.

✦ Use it to attack enemies further away, past the cast range.
✦ It does AOE damage in a line, so aim to hit as many enemies as possible when they are bunched up.
✦ Use it over walls to extend the range and provide vision in brushes or fog of war.
✦ It's great to poke and harass enemies under tower, however, if the soldiers are within the tower laser range, they will last half as long. You'll know this when they have an exclamation mark above their heads.
✦ Great for waveclear as it's a low mana cost and does aoe damage.
✦ Your attack speed will be doubled if you summon a third sand soldier. This is easier to obtain as you gain ability haste with items and levels.
✦ If your soldiers are seen by enemies, then you will be revealed. Be aware of this so you don't get caught out. Simply move out of range so soldiers disappear early, if you don't want to be seen.
✦ Soldiers AA's applies spell effects like and , but not on-hit effects like Red Buff.

Q

Conquering Sands (Q): Now coming back to His Q. Conquering Sands, allows Azir to reposition all his sand soldiers, damaging and slowing all enemies they pass through.

✦ Use this to poke enemies from far away with the amazing range.
✦ Another great waveclear tool, making sure to hit as many minions as possible.
✦ Aim to hit champions too when they're bunched up.
✦ It becomes a great vision tool, as you can check brushes and fog of war from a safe range.
✦ If enemies are hit by more than 1 solider, they will be slowed a lot more, increasing per soldier.

E

Shifting Sands (E): His E, . will dash to the selected sand soldier, gaining a shield and damaging all enemies he passes through. His dash will be interrupted if he hits an enemy champion and gain a charge of . His E damage will only apply to the first enemy hit.

✦ This becomes your main gap close and escape tool.
✦ Use it over walls for a high chance to chase and escape.
✦ You can even dash over two or more walls in specific areas of the map, mostly around thin walls and narrow areas with multiple walls.
✦ can cast other spells during his dash, which opens up potential to perform combos like the Shurima Shuffle, which I'll cover later on in more detail.
✦ Use it to get to lane faster. Use W over the nexus, E then Q to increase the distance. You'll have E up when you arrive in lane.
✦ E has a long cooldown, so only use it for important situations early laning, like escaping a gank or going for a kill.
✦ Have it ready to dodge any important enemy spells.

R

Emperor's Divide (R): Finally, his Ultimate, , sends out a wall of soldiers in front of , damaging and knocking back all enemies. The wall then stays in place for 5 seconds, acting as terrain. Enemies will not be able to walk through it, but your allies can. It grants sight of the area surrounding the wall.

✦ This is an amazing peel tool, pushing any threats away from . It even covers the area slightly behind him, making easier to land.
✦ The knockback can knock enemies over thinner walls.
✦ It can be used aggressively for the damage and potential to sweep enemies into your team. We'll cover this in combos.
✦ The no. of soldiers increase from 6, 7 then 8 at lv 16, making it an even bigger threat late game.
✦ Zone enemies out of a fight by using it in tight areas of the jungle. Enemies without a dash or blink won't be able to get through, and other enemies will be forced to use these abilities early in a fight.

✦ ABILITY ORDER ✦

> > >

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

Q

W

E

R

As for ability order, you'll want to max Q first. It will decrease the cooldown and increase the damage, making it essential to poke enemies in lane and generally throughout the game. You'll want to max W second specifically for the increase in attack speed you gain per level. With more attack speed, 's soldiers have potential to shred anything in range. W will lower the soldier recharge cooldown. Max E last. There are some rare cases you'll want to max E second, as it increase the shield strength. If you're getting targeted early on, you can max E second, just make sure your team has damage covered. And you'll want to max Ultimate whenever it's up, which is level 6, 11 and 16.

At level 1, you'll only have access to W , making his invades pretty weak, unless enemies stand on your soldier the whole time and you can activate multiple soldiers. Q is always best level 2, unless you're in the rare situation where you need to escape, then take E for the dash. Continue maxing Q after level 3.

When it comes to major runes for Azir, things get a little interesting to say the least, as there are over 4 major runes taken: , , and . Let's first go over the main 4 runes, which are taken by the highest rank mains, then I'll cover 3 other choices: , and .

CONQUEROR
Conqueror the most popular at the moment, does well in extended trades and fights. With 12 stacks, Azir will even heal 9% of damage dealt. This is optimal for most situations, as Azir's kit is best utilised when he's able to output damage through his Arise! Soldiers auto attacks. He still does plenty of damage with his Q Conquering Sands, E Shifting Sands and Ultimate Emperor's Divide, but his soldiers are the key to success with Azir. A very important part worth noting, is that even though Azir is a ranged champion, Conqueror counts his Soldiers AA's as melee, so every AA w/ soldiers, count as 2 conqueror stacks. And for clarity, if 2 or more soldiers hit 2 or more targets, it will still only count as 2 conqueror stacks in total.

ELECTROCUTE
Electrocute is great for a quick burst of damage in short trades. With a W Arise! > AA > Q Conquering Sands > AA, you'll quickly proc Electrocute. Against squishy mobile champs that won't sit there taking auto attacks from your soldiers, this is a solid choice.

SUMMON AERY
Summon Aery is best taken for constant harass, mostly in lane. It has high potential to take advantage of weaker laners early game against champs like Kassadin pre-6. It is better than Electrocute if you're able to constantly proc it, because of the much lower cooldown.

ARCANE COMET
Arcane Comet is best against very long range champions, for example Xerath, where you aren't able to capitalise with the previous 3 runes. With a single Q Conquering Sands poke, you can deal extra damage to the slowed long range immobile champ. Just for clarity, every single AA from soldiers on every single champion reduce's the cooldown of Arcane Comet.

The next 3 major runes are far less popular, but can be viable.

LETHAL TEMPO
Lethal Tempo is another option from the Precision tree, focused on increasing Azir's attack speed, increasing per stack. It scales well and is best taken against immobile champs who will stay within your soldier range for a longer time. However, the 2nd part of Lethal Tempo which increases attack range, will NOT be applied to your soldiers attack range.

HAIL OF BLADES
Hail of Blades. This synergises well with Azir's kit as his soldiers will active the 3 faster auto attacks. However, it does not output more damage than Conqueror over extended fights, especially those important teamfights and skirmishes, since it has a cooldown. So in terms of how it compares to Electrocute, it does slightly more damage within the same time, if you can AA enemies. Against mobile champs, it won't always be possible, so Electrocute is slightly more reliable since it can be activated off abilities. Again, Hail of Blades and Electrocute are very close in damage and both great for quick trades.

FIRST STRIKE
First Strike has potential to be the most efficient rune, if Azir is able to start fights, usually champs you out range. It scales well, rewarding you with more damage and gold. Again, if you can't consistently get the first hit on the enemy, this becomes useless.

How to know which is the best rune? To simplify everything, if you're not sure, stick to the first 4 runes mentioned. For most games, you'll have some enemy tanks and a few immobile squishies to deal with, so take . If you want pressure against a squishy mobile champ, say , take . If you need to pressure a vulnerable champ early on, say , pick . If you are simply outranged in your matchup, take . These aren't all the reasons, but they cover most situations. Overtime, you'll feel what's best.

CONQUEROR

& minor rune choices are clear cut, and not much variety.

You'll want to take , for the mana sustain throughout the game

for the increased attack speed which is critical for 's kit.

Finally, pick up for greater damage on lower hp targets, or if there's 3 or more tanks to deal with

DOMINATION

& , have a lot more flexibility to choose from. Change runes depending on your game.

Pick up , activated anytime you land Q and your Ultimate . If you're after a bit of sustain against some heavy poke, take .

Take for extra AP after takedowns, however, or are viable if you want vision control.

Finally, against lanes you'll dominate, for the other cases, and even is slightly viable if you expect lots of teamfights and skirmishes, as you'll want your Ultimate up faster.

SORCERY

and minor rune options.

Take for the important sustain, making sure to Q poke or W AA whenever its off CD early game.

for some great ability haste, and potential to really snowball fights after level 11, when he'll receive 20% reduced cooldown on enemy enemies for his basic abilities. Your W spam especially will be insane at this stage.

is a minor rune worth mentioning, if you want more early lane pressure while poking. And finally, take for one of, if not, the best scaling rune. This will really spike at 30+ mins. This rune will allow you to have a dominating late game.

INSPIRATION

Just for clarity, does scale well, but you need to be the first champion to land abilities, so usually if you're even or long range than your opponent. Let's go over minor runes.

as the first choice for free boots. Considering the mobility he has from E {{shifting sands]], he can skip on early on.

as the 2nd minor rune for some early game sustain.

Finally, take for general summoner spell and item haste.

2ND PAGE OPTIONS

You can pick any combinations of the previously mentioned runes. Here's a few popular and optimal combinations.

From - , then either , or , for any of the previously stated reasons.

for mana and for attack speed.

From - , with either , for late game or for early pressure.

for some sustain early and .

is another useful option to consider. If you need some anti-burst help, pick up . Take for some extra HP and regen throughout the game. All other runes aren't effective on .

SHARDS

As for shards, you'll want attack speed first, which synergies amazingly with 's playstyle. Then adaptive as the 2nd shard. The final shard should be taken to counter your laner or even the enemy jungler. Armor for AD champs, MR for AP champs.

-

FLASH: One of the best spells for , whether it's to escape, chase or outplay. Always take this, unless you're playing Top lane, where there are exceptions. Check Other Roles for more info.

IGNITE: The spell to increase your kill potential early and throughout the game with true damage. The healing reduction will be necessary against some matchups, like and , if you want any chance of killing them.

TELEPORT: a safer spell in lanes you'll be heavily pushed or poked. With a guaranteed way to get to lane fast without falling behind on gold and experience. Also becomes a great way to join your team after 14 minutes with Unleashed .

EXHAUST: Definitely worth taking against high burst threats, negating most of their damage for 3 seconds.

BARRIER: A bit more niche against long range champs you can't , but also great for baits under your towers. Counters .

CLEANSE: Heavy CC comps? Might need this.

Starting Items

✦ Doran's Ring
+ 2x for most starts. However, if you're struggling with mana and health, try the next two options.

✦ Corrupting Potion
is best taken if you've taken + . Make sure to attack enemies with the burn passive to make this gold efficient. Still viable with other runes.

Components & Early Item Mention

✦ Dark Seal
is cheap first back item. Provies some AP plus a chance to snowball by increasing ap per kill.

✦ Doran's Ring
If you started , you can pick up a early.

✦ Lost Chapter
is your first goal, as it will build into your Mythic. This resolves most of 's mana issues.

✦ Stopwatch
This might be a game changing purchase, especially against champs like , or in a early teamfight. Great if you're building later on.

✦ Boots of Speed
Pick these whenever you have the extra 300 gold or even prioritise it to dodge skillshots against heavy poke champs.

Mythic Choices

✦ Luden's Tempest
With an AP power spike, mana and a splash damage passive, it has everything Azir needs for most situations. The magic penetration comes in handy too, as its optimal for your solider damage. There is one very important point worth noting w/ . EACH soldier's AA's will reduce the cooldown of Ludens splash passive. If 1 soldier hits 3 champions, it will reduce by .5 seconds each champion, so 1.5 seconds in total. IF 3 soldiers each hit 3 champions, it will be reduced by a total of 3 seconds. This means you can proc Ludens Tempest so many times in a fight, especailly later game, when you have multiple soldiers set up.

✦ Liandry's Anguish
The %HP damage is important against tankier teams. You'll shred any enemies stacking HP. The ability haste passive helps later on, as you'll be able to use and have more soldiers ready, again, helping you shred tanks.

✦ Crown of the Shattered Queen
The ant-burst / assassin item. This might be necessary aaginst multiple threats. If you feel you'll be 1-shot before a fight, or your team lacks any peel, pick this up. Just be aware you damage is lowered compared to the previous 2 mythics. Also, you can make up for defence with legendary choices. Don't always consider this as your only way to survive threats, as you can always take defensive runes (like ) and purchase a .

Legendary Options

Legendary items depend mostly on the enemy team comp and how they are building.
Let's quickly cover some scenarios and then solutions.

✦ Mejai's Soulstealer
is the cheapest legendary item in the game, with potential to snowball, just make sure you've got some stacks on already and there's low chance of dying.

✦ Zhonya's Hourglass
An amazing playmaking and survivability items against certain burst threats. Makes for some creative plays using your passive.

✦ Shadowflame
Currently a strong item, and the magic penetration synergises well with his soldiers auto attacks. Worth buying second if enemies have plenty of shields. Consider the HP you gain from this if you need something with survivability.

✦ Rabadon's Deathcap
If you ever find yourself extremely ahead, you'll want purchase the biggest AP powerspike available. It will increase your total AP by 35%, so you'll gain much more gold value from this item, if you purchase it as your 3rd or 4th item.

✦ Void Staff
Although you deal plenty of % HP damage from and , sometimes it's just not enough, especially against MR stacking teams. Pick this up for the 45% magic penetration.

✦ Nashor's Tooth
Amplify your attack speed and on hit damage. You'll now have potential to output damage to enemeies with regular autos too. The on-hit passive will not apply to his soldiers, unfortunately.

✦ Rylai's Crystal Scepter
A great slow tool, keeping enemies within your soldier range for longer. A single AA from soldiers will apply the slow.

✦ Morellonomicon
If you're against heavy healing comps then you'll need some sort of healing reduction item to counter them. However, you don't exactly need to finish this item right away and can simply choose to buy for 800 gold.

✦ Cosmic Drive
The extra movement speed and increased AP after 3 attacks or abilities helps with kiting some teamcomps.

✦ Banshee's Veil
A solid defensive option against any CC threats.

✦ Demonic Embrace
Against an extra tanky team comp, you'll need some extra %HP damage.

✦ Lich Bane
Don't ever buy this item on , since his soldiers DO NOT apply the enhanced AA. However, if you've got , plenty of gold and want to go for a backdoor to the enemies Nexus, then you can buy this.

Boot Options

✦ Sorcerer's Shoes
Your number one choice boots. Amazing synergy with his soldiers auto attacks and abilities in general.

✦ Mercury's Treads
Are the best against heavy AP and CC enemy comps.

✦ Plated Steelcaps
Are the best against heavy AD and attack based champs. You can always stick to if you just want damage and are the main carry on your team.

✦ Berserker's Greaves
are better for overall damage and magic pen is too important to skip, even though the attack speed on these are tempting.

Pre-6 Combos

Quick Poke - W > Q > AA

Best to poke long range champs. Great to activate runes like , and . If you already have a solider ready, no need to W .

Quick Trade - W > AA > Q >> AA

Make sure to W close or on top of enemies. Dish out optimal damage in a short amount of time. Great with . Get in more AA's at the beginning and/or the end if enemies are still within your soldier range.

Shurima Shuffle - W > E > Q

You need to Q before you arrive with E . This is more effective over walls, as you can initially extend the distance with W . Use it to jump over multiple walls in certain areas. Great to chase, escape and outplay.

Main Pre-6 Combo - W > AA > E > Q > AA

Aim to hit all abilities on enemies. They'll take damage from E and Q . Once you arrive, continue with AA's and if you're ready to kill. You'll be shielded to take some counter damage. As mentioned in abilities, E has a very long cooldown early on, so should only be used if you know where the enemy jungler is, or you're confident you can kill your laner. You can ignore the first AA if enemies aren't within W range.

Ultimate Combos

Full Ultimate Combo - W > E > Q > R > W > AA

You'll be using E > Q to gap close, then R to sweep the enemy backwards. Place a W soldier on top of the swept enemy. Continue with AA's from your soldiers. Use this combo on multiple enemies, sweeping them into you team.

The Shurima Sweep - W > E > Q > ULT

This takes very careful timing. Your Soldier needs to be next to or behind the enemy. Make sure to spam Ultimate during your dash. This is incredibly hard to pull of in-game, but you'll end up in a much safer place, then the previous combo. You can even try this over walls.

Flash Combos

Flash Ultimate - Flash > R

Simply then R to sweep a single enemy or enemies into your team. This can be used at the end of during your other combo's, to close even more distance.

Ultimate Flash Combo - W > E > Q > FLASH > R > W > AA

For example, we can use the Full Ultimate Combo, then add before R , to close even more distance.

Interactions + Tips

Azir's Auto Attacks w/o Soldiers in range

's damage will come mostly from his soldiers AA's. However, sometimes enemies will be outside of soldier range but within your AA range. Remember to get in AA's, since they do almost as much damage early game, especially in lane to add some extra poke against certain matchups, and during clutch fights.

W Tip

Your W placement can have a huge impact depending on how the enemy moves. If enemies are chasing you, place it in front of them, as they'll now have to walk through them, taking more AA's. If you're chasing them, place it ahead of enemies, either with W or Q , so again, you'll get in more AA's. This is important to keep in mind for laning, maybe to zone enemies from CS, or in teamfights.

The 2+ Q soldier problem

Although it may seem miniscule, there is a specific problem when you use Q and have 2 or more soldiers. The best way to describe this problem, is that soldiers seem to get in each others way, and can randomly stop another soldier from reaching its maximum range. I've missed out on so many kills because of this issue. The only way to consistently avoid this is to only have 1 solider up at a time, or aiming Q way beyond the target your aiming for, otherwise, it's all upto luck as to which soldier gets in the way. Not much you can do when you have 2 or more soldiers, but its worth knowing it exists.

✦ EARLY GAME ✦

Since is only able to level W at lvl 1, he has very weak invade potential, unless enemies stand on your soldiers. I wouldn't recommend invades most games, but use your soldiers over walls to scout for enemies who are trying to invade your team. This will save you from using a ward early on.

In most lanes, you'll want to push waves with W , aiming to hit multiple minions with the AOE soldier damage, so you can get level 2. Look for Quick Trade combos on most enemy laners, or Poke trades on others. You can look for hard trades at level 3, and even look for kills.

Since you've most likely pushed in waves, be ready to escape any ganks with your E , so play closer to the opposite side the enemy jungler is most likely going to come from. Get ready to join any skirmishes with your jungler, especially if they're invading or fighting for . Help take objectives like when you can, as you deal plenty of consistent damage through Soldiers AA's. If you're really ahead and there's little to no jungler threat, look to poke and even dive enemy laners under tower. You can really snowball lanes junglers aren't ganking you.

Roaming isn't 's strength, especially against mobile champs, however, if the enemy lacks vision through river or you come from behind, you should look to sweep enemies back into your team. Best to try this only against immobile champs, with no flash, or you risk losing farm from mid and falling behind. relies heavily on Levels and Items to stay strong.

Look to push towers when you can and aim for 3 soldiers to double your attack speed. Look to transform any fallen towers using your passive and even go for plays against enemies who try to dive you.

✦ MID GAME ✦

has a range of options to play out the mid game.

Look to siege and take out the mid tower if its still up. Use your Q poke and even go for sweep plays with a dive, just make sure you have an escape plan or at least ready.

Making picks will be a great way to gain an advantage. Aim to E dash in then R sweep enemies into your team, or Solo kill an immobile enemy squishy with a full combo.

Take objectives and teamfights around important areas like the river, jungle and epic monster pits. with 2-3 items will do insane consistent damage, so you can even 2-3 man a if the opportunity arises.

Grouping is your best bet as you'll usually need at least 1 champ to frontline or peel, so you can effectively output damage.

If you've fallen behind, sidelaning is an option, however you'll either need to have an escape route ready, or have your tower constructed, using it as a safe zone. You might even look to bait enemies who force fights under your tower. Try to stay alive after any bad fights or if your team gets caught, so you can waveclear, farm up and prolong the game to reach the late stages.

✦ LATE GAME ✦

has insane scaling. You'll shred through anything at this point, as long as you have and . Grouping is essential for . Most of the Mid game applies.

Look for sieges, objectives, make picks and teamfights.

Sidelaning won't be an option in most late games.

You have incredible peel with your Ultimate , so remember to use it to help your AD Carry late game if it can save them.

Look to sneak a 2 man with another damage dealer or you and a tank, preferably the jungler.

✦ TEAMFIGHTING ✦

dominates teamfights if he's allowed to AA constantly with his soldiers. This makes your W placement and Q reposition important so always try to predict how enemies will move, so soldiers are always positioned in their path.

With medium to long range, look to Q poke enemies before a fight even starts. With 1 or more enemies chunked, you'll give your team an early advantage.

Enemy frontline and tanky champs will be your likely first priority as they'll usually be the closest. However, you should always be ready to Shurima Shuffle and then R any squishy backline enemies into your team. has high potential to surprise Engage enemies bunched up.

If enemies get too close, use E defensively to reposition, even over walls to escape a major threat. You can play a lot more aggressively if you have , items like and especially if you have ultimate ready to peel.

Place soldiers in areas where enemies may walk through. It might zone them out completely, or they risk taking serious damage.

If you're behind but have a fed carry, save your ultimate to peel for them.

Be ready to chase and clean up fights with E to gap close and Q to finish off low HP enemies. The Q slow will allow you and your team to catch up to most enemies.

STRENGTHS

+ 1. Insane Consistent Damage
+ 2. Mobile for a Mage
+ 3. Strong Lane Bully
+ 4. Solid Teamfighting
+ 5. Amazing Scaling

1. His Soldier damage is the key to success with . While his Q , E and Ultimate have potential to pop some squishies with a combo, any enemies standing on a single or multiple soldiers will keep taking damage. Add items and levels, and you'll start to shred and pop anything that stands within your soldiers range.
2. With a E > Q dash, you'll be able to escape most situations or chase down even the most mobile champs. This is extremely rare in mages with this much consistent damage and poke range.
3. Against most matchups, you'll have the upper hand. Take advantage of this strength early on and you'll reap the rewards later on.
4. As long as there is somekind of peel and tankiness in your team, will output plenty of consistent damage as already mentioned, plus potential to poke from long range and even poses as an engage threat with his Shurima Shuffle Sweep on any vulnerable enemies.
5. Once he reaches late game, with a full build and levels, he'll shred through anything that stands within his soldiers range. No matter how the game is going, remember to always stick it through to the end with , as your true powerspike is just around the corner and your time to dominate will come.

WEAKNESSES

- 1. Weak When Behind
- 2. Lacks Burst & CC
- 3. Relies on Frontline
- 4. Hard to Master
- 5. Subject to Nerfs

1. If you ever fall behind, you'll be close to useless, as your damage will be minimised. Your ultimate is the only thing that will keep you relevant if you fall behind.
2. Compared to other mages out there, he lacks that critical burst that instantly wipes out enemies and reliable CC from range. Even if performs and full combo and 1 shots a squishy, you'll most likely have to get quite close and use your dash aggressively, leaving you in a vulnerable position.
3. does have decent peel with Ultimate and escape potential with his E , however, against multiple threats, this won't be enough. TO truly utilise 's damage, he'll need atleast 1 tank or CC utility type champion, to help further peel enemies.
4. This isn't to say is hard to play, he's just extremely Unique compared to other champs. Having to micro manage multiple Soldiers during a teamfight while 2-3 threats are close by, can be hard at first to figure out your priorities.
5. This is something I've faced in the past. Back in Season 5, when I first reached Diamond with Azir, I was steadily climbing through diamond 5,4 and 3. Then the nerf came and lowered his range and damage numbers.

Quick Solutions to Weaknesses

1. This is why it's extremely important to stay ahead or even in levels and gold. Luckily, has a strong laning phase in most matchups. You'll need to push and pressure laners to abuse your strength early, while having E ready to dash out to safety anytime your ganked. Practice escapes in normals by pushing your limits. You'll be surprised how much you can get away with. Learn some double wall escapes around the river and jungle. Very few enemies will be able to catch you. Don't roam unless you've pushed your waves in and there's a high chance against immobile enemies that you'll kill them, or you risk falling behind. Even look to take enemy junglers farm when possible, to speed up your level and item powerspikes.
2. Your goal should be to chunk enemies and only Dash in when its safe to do so. Your only form of reliable CC is Ultimate , and that's only useful against champions that are close to you.
3. Make sure to fight and position safely behind any of the tanks in your team. Play around these champs will allow you to safely output damage. Keep an eye on enemy dashes or blinks before you commit. IF they use their gap closes on another target, now is your time to go in and dish out damage safely.
4. This weakness is only solved with practice and time. It can almost feel like your controlling 4 champions when you have 3 or more soldiers activated, attacking anything that moves within range. You'll also have to reposition them with Q , again, adding to the list of priorities. Most other champs will throw out an ability and that's the last time they have to think about it before its off cooldown. still has so much to do once his Q is thrown out, like how its positioned, is it safe enough to AA without getting to close, etc.
5. I switched to because it was easier to wins games with little effort, compared to , with even my best games, I struggled to make an impact. These nerfs have happened regularly since, anytime starts to increase in Winrate. Once is strong, he becomes too powerful in the right hands. His commanding lane pressure is too obnoxious for players to deal with, and therefore falls under Riots radar. There's no real solution to this other than to have another champion ready to climb with or continue playing anyway. Good Luck!

Most tips from this guide can be applied, but let's cover specific tips for Top Lane.

✦ Just like Midlane, is an optimal rune, if you want damage and some sustain, which is probably best against most top laners. Otherwise, if they're squishy and mobile, for example a top, take or , for the harder trades and quick burst poke.
✦ is best taken as your second summoner spell, for the safety it provides to come back to recover from any bad trades or deaths, as well as the global pressure it has. Unleashed after 14 minutes will become critical when it comes to joining fights while you're sidelaning.
✦ You can even take over , if you don't feel the need for . with will be important to pressure champs that need to be pressured early, like or , who will scale insanely if they're not pressured early. + is another option against hard engage champions, like or .
✦ has a much easier time vs Melee champs, as they are much easier to harass and AA with your soldiers.
✦ Lanes will be way more punishing, and you have only your E to get away from ganks, and after lv 6, your ultimate for peel. Try to freeze next to your tower, or at least in the mid of the lane, when possible.
✦ You'll also be a target for dives. Again, you'll need to rely on kiting, waveclearing, peel to survive. If you're able to constantly chunk enemies to at least half HP, they will think twice diving you or risk dieing themselves.
✦ Look to join skirmishes with your jungler when possible. Try to chain CC with your junglers.
✦ Take with your jungler when there's an opening.
✦ You should only look to to is the enemy top laner has also teleported down, AND you are confident you can win the fight. Otherwise, ping your teammates back and just take tower platings. An early is not worth risking the loss of multiple waves and tower platings.

I'm currently working on making guides of all the Champs I've played over the years. Appreciate the time you've taken to read upto this point and please leave any feedback. If the guide has helped you or you've simply enjoyed it, consider giving it a like or just a quick comment to let me know! Good luck in your ranked games and see you in the next guide! For all video guides w/ gameplay examples, check out my Youtube.

[13.24] AZIR Mid/Top Ultimate Guide [IN-DEPTH]

[13.24] AZIR Mid/Top Ultimate Guide [IN-DEPTH]

Recommended Items

Runes: Most Consistent

Spells:

Flash

Ignite

Flash

Teleport

Exhaust

Flash

Barrier

Flash

Cleanse

Flash

Flash

Heal

Ignite

Teleport

Exhaust

Teleport

Items

Ability Order Skill Order Every Game

Shurima's Legacy (PASSIVE)

Conquering Sands (Q)

Arise! (W)

Shifting Sands (E)

Emperor's Divide (R)

Threats & Synergies

Ahri

Annie

Anivia

Akali

Aurelion Sol

Brand

Cassiopeia

Corki

Diana

Ekko

Fiddlesticks

Fizz

Galio

Heimerdinger

Irelia

Karma

Karthus

Kassadin

Katarina

Kayle

LeBlanc

Lissandra

Lux

Malzahar

Neeko

Orianna

Pyke

Ryze

Swain

Syndra

Taliyah

Talon

Twisted Fate

Veigar

Vel'Koz

Viktor

Vladimir

Xerath

Yasuo

Zed

Ziggs

Zilean

Zoe

Zyra

Champion Build Guide

[13.24] AZIR Mid/Top Ultimate Guide [IN-DEPTH]

League of Legends Champions: