Because when I play him top/mid, I've never played a player bad enough to get hit with his W, unless I cast it on top of myself then use 
.
Furthermore, I've never been hit with it at all.
So, is it strictly meant for ganking and team fights, because I definitely can't use it in lane outside of turret diving or surviving a dive.
Tyrone Lannister1 votesIts because you want to use it in fog of war where there less time to react
Radiant Wukong1 votesEven in FoW it's loud af! There stills a sound queue if you're in top lane brush.
MLDzXnRRR1 votesUse it from unwarded bush or predict where the enemy will go and follow with your E. Ekko's kit is still better for bruiser. AP Ekko gets shredded in teamfights and his dmg is not that great compared to the other AP Assasins (if we don't count the ult, because you are never gonna land it vs players that don't lag).
GeminiRune1 votesHe was introduced as a mid lane champion if memory serves. But he has a kit that can play the jungle as well. The W is one of the major factors to his ganking ability. It's somewhat hard to telegraph the first few times. Naturally aside from just building a jungle item and roaming, he can pretty much be played the same way he normally would as a mid or top lane.
Hencho1011 votesI'm doing better with AP mid than i ever did i the jg. He just kinda clicked for me and once you play him more and more you can land that W. Engage with it, don't engage then W midfight, you will never hit it