Riot Games has recently released details about League of Legends’ upcoming champion, Gwen: The Hallowed Seamstress. Now, Riot’s Games Analysis QA Engineer Brad “Blizz” Dallair is giving fans advice on which items and runes work best for a Gwen build.
The top-lane ability power light attack fighter is the first of its kind, featuring powerful abilities and strengths never seen in other champions. Following her announcement, Riot Games pushed out the full scope of Gwen’s abilities. However, players are already comparing her to other fighters, such as Camille and Fiora. Unlike those champions, Gwen will work best with specific AP items and builds to fight against some of her top lane counters. Blizz gave Upcomer some exclusive advice for players who plan on making Gwen their main pick.
Picking the best Runes
As an AP light fighter, Gwen should follow a different Rune build from other top lane champions. The same build for Diana won’t work for Gwen because Diana’s an AP bruiser. For starters, those who pick Gwen will want to start with Conqueror.
“Some players prefer Fleet Footwork or Grasp of the Undying in some situations like Fiora or Camille,” Blizz said. “Fleet Footwork is decent, but Grasp is pretty awful for AP champions. For Gwen, I’d suggest Conqueror and probably Triumph in that next slot. Alacrity, Tenacity and Last Stand also work depending on enemy composition.”
Grasp of the Undying fans may consider looking elsewhere for a more effective Rune combo when it comes to Gwen. The Rune only procs on physical damage and basic attacks, which means that Gwen won’t be performing to the best of her ability. For the Inspiration slot, Biscuit Delivery, Magical Footwear or Time Warp Tonic may be great choices for her to keep mana and her health bar at its fullest.
Planning to pick from the other Rune trees? Blizz said the best Resolve combination for Gwen includes Bone Plating, Second Wind and Overgrowth.
“I think the one that will be most common,” he said, “will be Ravenous Hunter in the Domination tree, just because she has true damage. For the other slots, you could use Taste of Blood, Sudden Impact or Eyeball Collection.”
What are some good items to start with?
For Gwen going against AD champions, choosing Seeker’s Armguard would be the safest bet.
“The only reason why mages are allowed to fight like assassins in the mid lane is because they have this effective defensive item,” Blizz said, “and top laners, such as Kennen and Mordekaiser, can benefit from it.”
He also suggests that completing a Zhonya’s Hourglass isn’t a bad option either, depending on how the game is going. Overall, Gwen is designed to not have any mana issues. However, she does have problems sticking to targets. For example, her enemies can walk right out of her Q ability. Blizz recommended that Gwen players build Hextech Rocketbelt or Riftmaker to help her succeed in lane.
Nashor’s Tooth or Lich Bane?
“A lot of people think Nashor’s Tooth is good on her. She auto attacks a decent amount, she’s an AP champion and her passive is auto attacks. However, we found that Lich Bane is way better on her,” Blizz said. “The thing that you can do is press your E onto someone. Doing this gives you Lich Bane plus your passive. Then, you can auto attack them and you press your Q when it’s fully stacked. This would count as a really good trade. If the enemy wants to commit, you can hit W and run away.”
The final verdict? League of Legends fans who plan to play Gwen should play around with any AP combinations, especially those that Riot’s Blizz suggested. While Gwen’s a completely new champion, Blizz also said she’s a bit underpowered, so plenty of practice may be needed before actually winning matches with her. Regardless, Gwen’s fun abilities and unique position may be a new challenge for players that have already mastered the top lane.
Published: Apr 1, 2021 03:10 pm