Welcome to my guide. As I stated in the preview, I'm assuming you already know Isol's abilities and how a game of Eternal Return will typically play out, so I won't be talking about that too much. Isol specializes in map control, and as a lesser focus, crowd control. He is an 'easy to learn, hard to master' character who will teach you the importance of efficiency in itemization. Having invisibility, CC, and long-range poke, he's a reliable pick to get you to the late stages of the game - although struggles with getting first place. That is, unless, you load up on traps and take control of final zone.

In duos and squads, Isol is an incredible pick. He can open up opportunities for your team that no other character can do. His CC is easy to hit, he can easily open up engagement for your team through either clever trap placement or hail-mary plays like E-ing in and R-ing in the middle of the enemy team, and considering he comes VERY online VERY early, is great to help your allies scale up to carry you through the final fights. As a mainly solo-queue player, I can say that Isol isn't the best for winning, but if you enjoy flexing LP, he's an incredibly consistent character.

Isol can handle a variety of items. Every single item in this build is interchangeable, except for the pistol. The items are chosen because of how quickly they can be built, and I'll provide replacements. Keep in mind; sans Elegance (pistol) and EOD Suit (chest), you can use any item you find off of a body that you believe would be helpful to you.

Pistol : Elegance. Chosen for being the best pistol in game, hands down. Obtainable quickly, although a bit hard to get leather early on.

Chest : EOD Suit. Easily obtainable with the route, also a great choice in general for Isol. If you absolutely can't find it and need a chest, grab a Butler's Suit.

Head : Tactical Ops Helmet. |Replaceable with Helm of Banneret, Motorcycle Helmet.| Chosen for route. From personal experience, it just feels easier to grab this - although Helm of Banneret would be preferred if possible.

Arm : Sword of Shah Jahan. |Replaceable with Draupnir.| Every Isol build takes this, and if you kill someone, there's a high chance they'll have it as well. Take Draupnir if you can't find the materials for it, but it's unlikely. This + Elegance in the second area turns you from a nobody to a terror.

Leg : White Rhinos. |Replaceable with Straightjacket Sneakers.| Here because it fits with the build, is built sooner than Straightjacket Sneakers, and because I don't prioritize White Crane Fan. Not that important, and you can replace it with anything if you want to focus on another item or a trap.

Accessory : Uchiwa. |Replaceable with anything.| Here because I think it's better than Schrodinger's Box, and White Crane Fan is unneeded with White Rhinos. HP is not a priority IMO.

This route is focused on getting to your powerspike as soon as possible. Teleporting from Hospital to Archery Range puts you in a place surrounded by potentially hungry early-game threats, but every build has its flaws, and most times you can actually beat them with your 2 item start.

Elegance and Sword of Shah Jahad / Draupnir are vital to you gaining the momentum needed to carry you through the end game. Not getting them means playing from behind. Those games, focus on minimizing LP loss instead of winning, as it's nearly impossible to gain an advantage. This route will allow you to get Smart Bombs, which are extremely impactful given time to set them up. No fighting for Tree of Life and searching for things like Meteorite means this build is much more consistent than most, as well.

Smart Bombs should be built as you near the Avenue. To keep from cluttered inventories, you can hold off from collecting scrap until Hotel. From personal experience, Hotel always has a couple of scraps left over. The more important component is the Battery. However; only having RDX late game isn't too bad, so don't fret if you can't find any.


The biggest issue you face in the build is not getting 2 leather for your Elegance and Sword / Draupnir. If that happens, don't panic! You're going to Archery Range anyway to complete your boots. The area is dense with monsters to kill, and should easily net you two leather - one for your accessory and one for your boot. Keep in mind not to collect a branch until the 4th area, as the build has a little bit of cluttering issues, so one free slot is definitely appreciated.

This build has a wide variety of foods you can go. Unfortunately, Fish and Chips isn't the best option because of how much space it takes in the inventory, and how out-of-the-way it is. Try to make quick 2-item foods and take early low-risk skirmishes to level up your pistol mastery until you get the active. You will know very quickly when a fight is winnable or not when you see how low their health is after a Q+W combo.

- On Isol, you're typically going to max R -> Q -> W -> E or Passive. Personally, I like to put 3 points in Q then fill out W. However, that's my playstyle, as I enjoy chasing and the extra W procs help me harass when they inevitably sit inside of a bush to wait for me to come close so they can pop me like a grape.

- Don't fight Chiara.

-Purple boxes are almost always worth looking at. Even if it's not a perfect replacement, it'll usually be usable, and at the very least a better option while you either search bodies or areas for more stuff.

-If there are literally 5 players spawning in Pond and you don't want a huge challenge, try going Temple first. Temple -> Hospital -> Pond -> Avenue -> School -> Archery Range -> Hotel. Not as efficient, but with the added benefit of early explosive traps, if you're into that.

Reinstated, Isol is the definition of consistency and potential. He plays just like a 'think ahead' character, but doesn't require intense focus to play. He might not have the most skill expressive kit, but if you want a great character to boost your teammates' abilities, thicken up your LP, or just cheese a couple kills, then Isol is the character for you.

Thanks for reading.