General AD Carry Masteries

Today I will be going over my general AD rune page that I run in about 90% of my AD carry games. I will also try to explain some reasoning behind my choices as well as some alternatives that may be more appropriate for certain champions or situations.

Offense Masteries:

• Fury: +4% Attack Speed
• Deadliness: +12 Attack Damage per level
• Havoc: +2% Damage
• Weapon Expertise: +8% Armor Penetration
• Lethality: +5% Critical Damage
• Brute Force: +3 Attack Damage
• Frenzy: +10% Attack Speed after critical hit
• Sunder: +6 Armor Penetration
• Executioner: +5% Damage to targets below half health

Overall this is a very straight forward set up, taking points in everything on the attack damage side of the mastery tree. The most common summoners run for AD carries now tends to be Flash and Barrier, which makes summoner's wrath pointless. However, if you choose to run ignite, ghost or exhaust, then it is recommended you take the point in it. 

This set up works very well for almost AD carries but certain situations may not make use of some of these points. For example, blue Ezreal or Urgot do not necessarily need the critical strike related enhancements. In those situations I would allocate the leftover mastery points into Sorcery for the extra cooldown reduction and any extra points into either Butcher to last hit easier or Fury for the attack speed.

Defense Masteries:

I usually decide not to take points in this tree since I feel that utility offers much more. Summoner's Resolve only enhances Barrier's strength by a flat 20 hit points which makes it negligible after early game. In addition, you only gain a small amount of armor or magic resist which won't make too much of a difference in the early game. You will also only have an extra 57 hit points from the health masteries as well which I feel isn't worth the points. The only time I would consider running points in this tree is if I choose to run cleanse.

Utility Masteries:

• Summoner's Insight: -15s CD on Flash
• Meditation: +3 Mana Regen per 5 Seconds
• Mastermind: -10% CD on Summoner Spells
• Artificer: -7.5% CD on items
• Runic Affinity: +20% Buff Duration

As an AD carry, your summoner spells can be the deciding factor in a fight which is why I feel that the cooldown reduction for summoner spells are crucial for my AD set up. Having your spells up before the enemy lane opponent will allow you to force a trade that is in your favor. In addition, during the late game, every second matters. Not having your Flash or Barrier available during crucial points in the game can result in your death and the loss of a game. 

The mana regen will allow you to sustain better in lane as well as help you harass your opponents more often with your spells. Champions like Graves and Caitlyn who rely on early pushing will benefit a lot from the regen since it allows them to use them to push with their abilities more frequently. 

The last 2 points in this tree can vary depending on your preferences. For champions like Vayne who rush Blade of the Ruined King as their first item, it is more beneficial to take 2 points in Artificer for a shorter cooldown on the item. For champions who don't necessarily get an active item early on, I would recommend only taking 1 point in it and placing the other in either Biscuiteer for a little bit more sustain early game, or Runic Affinity to extend your buff durations by 30 seconds.

From my personal experience, running the 9 points in the utility tree gives me an advantage over AD carries who choose to go with 9 in the defense tree due to the extra sustain and cooldown reduction I gain from the masteries. After an all in engage where summoners on both sides are used, I know that I have roughly a 20-40 second window where the enemy is at a huge disadvantage once my summoner spells are up.