Lee Sin · Jungle

Lee Sin Safe Play Guide

DefensiveData-drivenMediumPatch 16.19.1

9.3KUpdated 21 hours ago

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This guide is assembled by the site from match data and the game's own information — nobody wrote it by hand. Official and community guides appear alongside it when they exist.

Overview

This guide is about playing Lee Sin safely and consistently. Safe jungle means full clears, counter-ganking where the enemy jungler shows up and never contesting an objective without vision or numbers. The kit brings mobility with Sonic Wave / Resonating Strike.

Strengths

Mobility: Sonic Wave / Resonating Strike lets you reposition, engage or escape.
Sustain from Safeguard / Iron Will.
High physical damage: Riot rates it 8/10 in attack.

Weaknesses

Falls behind if the early ganks fail: every wasted trip is lost farm.
Predictable if you always play it the same way: adapt your build to the enemy team.

Build cheat sheet

Pick the build that fits what you want to do this game.

Defensive buildDefensiveRecommendedKeeps enough damage while adding magic resist, attack damage and life steal through Mercurial Scimitar, Maw of Malmortius and Death's Dance. Choose it against dive, assassins or a lane you can't win.
Against magic damageDefensiveSituationalFor a team that kills with abilities: magic resist boots and a magic resist item in the core.

Builds

Defensive build

DefensiveRecommended

Open build

When to use it

Keeps enough damage while adding magic resist, attack damage and life steal through Mercurial Scimitar, Maw of Malmortius and Death's Dance. Choose it against dive, assassins or a lane you can't win.

Where it's played

Picked before the game: the main lane first, then the alternatives.

Summoner's RiftRed side · bottom leftBlue side · top right

JungleMain100% of matches

Jungle priorities

StartRed buff

1Voidgrubs
2Gank top
3Rift Herald
4Scuttle Crab
5Dragons
6Baron Nashor
7Atakhan

Guideline, not a measurement: an early skirmisher starting red side. Take the void grubs and look for ganks while your early damage is ahead, then Herald and dragons.

Starting items

Scorchclaw PupHealth Potion

Core items

1Mercurial Scimitar
2Maw of Malmortius
3Death's Dance

Boots

Plated Steelcaps

Situational

Guardian AngelAgainst heavy physical damage.Kaenic RookernAgainst heavy magic damage.Chempunk ChainswordCuts the enemy's healing.Lord Dominik's RegardsAgainst tanky teams.

Runes

Primary· Precision

Secondary· Resolve

Shards

Summoner spells

Flash
Smite

Abilities

FlurryPassiveAfter Lee Sin uses an ability, his next 2 basic attacks gain Attack Speed and return Energy.
QSonic Wave / Resonating Strike10/9/8/7/6s50 mpSonic Wave: Lee Sin projects a discordant wave of sound to locate his enemies, dealing 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 physical damage based on the target's missing Health.
Cooldown
10·9·8·7·6
Cost
50
Range
1100
Basic ability — moves you. Keep it to escape unless the kill is certain.
WSafeguard / Iron Will7s50 mpSafeguard: Lee Sin rushes to target ally, shielding himself from damage. If the ally is a champion, they are also shielded. After using Safeguard, Lee Sin can cast Iron Will. Iron Will: Lee Sin's intense training allows him to thrive in battle. Lee Sin gains Omnivamp.
Cooldown
7
Cost
50
Range
700
ETempest / Cripple8s50 mpTempest: Lee Sin smashes the ground, sending out a shockwave that deals magic damage and reveals enemy units hit. If Tempest hits an enemy, Lee Sin can cast cripple. Cripple: Lee Sin cripples nearby enemies damaged by Tempest, reducing their Move Speed. Move Speed recovers gradually over the duration.
Cooldown
8
Cost
50
Range
450
RDragon's RageUltimate110/85/60sLee Sin performs a powerful roundhouse kick launching his target back, dealing 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. This technique was taught to him by Jesse Perring, although Lee Sin does not kick players off the map.
Cooldown
110·85·60
Range
375
Ultimate. Plan your fights around its cooldown.

Strategy

1Safe laning

Safe jungle means full clears, counter-ganking where the enemy jungler shows up and never contesting an objective without vision or numbers. A gank works when the lane is pushed towards the enemy tower and the enemy has used Flash or their escape: pick those moments instead of forcing a bad one.

2Surviving fights

In fights, enter after the enemy uses their key crowd control and go for whoever your team can reach with you. Your way out is Sonic Wave / Resonating Strike: if it's on cooldown, stay further back.

3Positioning and peel

Stand where the enemy has to go through your team to reach you, and protect whoever the enemy focuses.

4Playing from behind

When the game goes badly, farm what's safe, defend with your team and wait for the enemy to make a mistake: a single won fight can turn it around.

Tips

Keep Sonic Wave / Resonating Strike for escaping, not for chasing.
Keep Safeguard / Iron Will for the enemy's burst, not for chip damage.
Go back when your key abilities are down: a reset costs less than a death.
Never be the first to show on the map in the late game.
If enemies are missing from the map, back off before they appear.

Matchups

Weak against

Viego
Spectral Maw (stun) lets Viego pin Lee Sin down before Sonic Wave / Resonating Strike gets them out.
Rek'Sai
Burrow / Un-burrow (knock-up) lets Rek'Sai pin Lee Sin down before Sonic Wave / Resonating Strike gets them out.
Briar
Head Rush (stun) lets Briar pin Lee Sin down before Sonic Wave / Resonating Strike gets them out.