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Recommended Items
Runes: DAMAGE + SUSTAIN
1
2
3
Precision
Resolve
+10% Attack Speed
+9 Adaptive (5.4 AD or 9 AP)
+6 Armor
Spells:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Flash
Ghost
Items
Ability Order
Ravenous Flock (PASSIVE)
Swain Passive Ability
Champion Build Guide
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![]() Hey guys, ZOOSE here. I started mid Season 3 and steadily climbed every season, playing mostly Mid, ADC and Support. I reached CHALLENGER in Season 8 and have reached MASTER TIER at minimum every season since. I enjoy climbing as it's always a challenge, but what I'm most passionate about is playing a range of Champions and Roles. Favorite champs on that journey were ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |

![]() Starting from the bottom, which was BRONZE 5 back then (equivalent to IRON 4 today), has given me all the experience I need, to know what it's like in EVERY Elo. I'm not always playing in higher elo games (MASTER TIER+). When I'm playing a weaker role or champion, I find out what it's like in different ranks. Which is why I try to create guides that anyone can follow. Completely new to League? Perfect. My guide covers all the basics and helps you understand some more advanced terms. Maybe you're DIAMOND or even higher, but you're trying a different champion or role? No problem! Skip through the abilities and go straight to the stuff you need RIGHT NOW, like Tips & Tricks, Combos and Gameplay. |
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I'm always willing to listen to feedback, so feel free to ask any questions about this guide, or let me know about ways to improve these guides in general. |
Watch the Full Guide on Youtube, with plenty of gameplay examples from ranked matches.
Let's quickly cover each ability, then after each one, I'll show you tips and tricks you can use right now in your next game, to give you an advantage.







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✦ These souls will make ![]() ✦ We'll be able to pick up more soul from his W ![]() ![]() |

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✦ Get close up to deal optimal damage, kind of like a mini shotgun. ✦ It will be your main tool to waveclear, with the amazing aoe, low cooldown and decent mana cost, as well as poke melee champions |

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✦ Be on the look out to assist your teammates or even snipe low hp enemies from across the map. ✦ This ability alone is quite hard to land as most players can simply walk out of it, so try to time during specific events. ✦ Use it to block fleeing enemies paths. They'll either have to walk backwards into your team, or run through it, causing them to take damage and be slowed. Aim for areas that are tight and narrow, especially in the jungle and river, or even between towers and walls. ✦ When enemies are using abilities that have charge up or long cast times, like ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ✦ If enemies are already CC'd, you'll have a much easier time landing this. Make a quick mental list of your allies CC abilities when your game starts, so you're ready to follow up. ✦ While enemies are recalling. This one's great because even if you don't hit them, they'll still have to walk out of the range and therefore, cancel their recall. This could be game changing during the early laning phase. ✦ The vision is amazing to check for objectives like Dragon and Baron. Even catch out the enemy jungler taking buffs, helping your team reveal their location, and you might even get some free gold and a buff. Think of it like a free ![]() ✦ Use it to check brushes against enemy threats. ✦ Although Q ![]() ![]() We'll also be using our next ability, to increase our chances to land W ![]() |

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✦ This is your main medium to long range poke tool in lane. ✦ Landing this means you can follow up with all your other abilities. Once you land E ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ✦ Practice this E > W mechanic as much as possible until it becomes muscle memory. ✦ Definitely don't E ![]() ![]() ✦ Since recasting pulls them closer to ![]() ![]() ✦ Throw E ![]() ✦ This is another great waveclear tool for ![]() ✦ Against spell shielded enemy abilities (for example sivir w) or items (banshees, edge of night), you can cancel them with the initial part of E ![]() |

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✦ ![]() ✦ It can be a great bait tool, having enemies believe they'll finish you off, only to heal up and have them quickly regret their decision. ✦ It does heal from minions as well, but only 10% compared to champions. Still, we can use this during an all in against our matchup for slightly more healing. ✦ It works even if you're CC'd or using items like ![]() ✦ ![]() ✦ You can hold on to ![]() ![]() |

✦ ABILITY ORDER ✦
>
>
>
As for ability order, you want to max Q
Death's Hand first. It's essential to waveclear, as because of it's low cooldown, it will be your main damaging tool during fights, as you'll be able to spam Q
Death's Hand on a single or multiple enemies. You'll want to max W
Vision of Empire for the increased damage, slow strength and lower cooldown. You'll max E
Nevermove last, as it doesn't lower the cooldown and will be used mostly for utility, so you can land your Q
Death's Hand and W
Vision of Empire. And of course, level ultimate
Demonic Ascension whenever it's up, which is level 6, 11 and 16.
As for which to take lv 1, you'll want E
Nevermove. The long range and aoe is great for early lanes, and you can start healing and picking up soul fragments every time you start hit your matchup. If your team decides to invade, it's an amazing tool, to catch out 1 or even more enemies, recasting it to pull the enemy into your team. You'll want to take W
Vision of Empire lv 2 against ranged champions, and Q
Death's Hand lv 2 against melee champions.




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Q |
Q |
Q |
Q |
Q |
W |
W |
W |
W |
W |
E |
E |
E |
E |
E |
R |
R |
R |
As for ability order, you want to max Q







As for which to take lv 1, you'll want E



When it comes to Major runes, there are 3 Top Runes to choose from, each with a specific goal.
Conqueror and
Phase Rush, for Mid, Bot Carry and Top Lane, and
Electrocute, for Support.








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Starting Items
✦ Doran's Ring![]() ![]() |
✦ Corrupting Potion![]() ![]() ![]() |
✦ Tear of the Goddess![]() ![]() ![]() |

Components & Early Item Mention
✦ Dark Seal![]() |
✦ Doran's Ring If you started ![]() ![]() |
✦ Lost Chapter![]() ![]() |
✦ Stopwatch This might be a game changing purchase, especially against champs like ![]() ![]() |
✦ Boots of Speed Pick these whenever you have the extra 300 gold or even prioritise it to dodge skillshots against heavy poke champs. |

Mythic Choices
✦ Liandry's Anguish This is the most optimal and popular Mythic for ![]() |

Legendary Options
Legendary items depend mostly on the enemy team comp and how they are building.
Let's quickly cover some scenarios and then solutions.
Legendary items depend mostly on the enemy team comp and how they are building.
Let's quickly cover some scenarios and then solutions.
✦ Mejai's Soulstealer![]() ![]() |
✦ Zhonya's Hourglass One of the best playmaking, as well as safest choice for Swain. This has amazing synergy with his ultimate ![]() ![]() ![]() |
✦ Demonic Embrace Another damage over time item on top of ![]() |
✦ Rylai's Crystal Scepter Although ![]() ![]() |
✦ Spirit Visage The HP plus the 25% increased healing will help you become unkillable in teamfights, especially against AP champs, with the MR. |
✦ Morellonomicon If you're against heavy healing comps then you'll need some sort of healing reduction item to counter them. However, you don't exactly need to finish this item right away and can simply choose to buy ![]() |
✦ Rabadon's Deathcap If you ever find yourself extremely ahead, you'll want purchase the biggest AP powerspike available. It will increase your total AP by 35%, so you'll gain much more gold value from this item, if you purchase it as your 3rd or 4th item. |
✦ Void Staff Although you deal plenty of % HP damage from ![]() ![]() |
✦ Frozen Heart Heavy AD comp? Pick this up to reduce AD damage and attack speed of nearby enemies. |
✦ Force of Nature A viable choice against heavy AP comps. Just make sure you have enough damage on your team. |

Boot Options
✦ Sorcerer's Shoes Are your first main choice for the movement speed and magic penetration, especailly early game. However, you should consider 2 defensive boot options, especially when playing a close up champ like ![]() |
✦ Mercury's Treads Are the best against heavy AP and CC enemy comps. You already have some tenacity if you've chosen ![]() ![]() |
✦ Plated Steelcaps Are the best against heavy AD and attack based champs. You can always stick to ![]() |
Pre-6 Combos
Main Trade Combo - E1 > W > E2 > Q

This is your bread and butter all game long. Master this and you'll be doing optimal damage with your 3 basic abilities. It might seem easy, but landing E
Nevermove will be the hardest part. Once E
Nevermove has hit the enemy, place the W in front of them, and then recast E
Nevermove to have them pulled, as close to the center of W
Vision of Empire as possible. This will give them the least chance to escape. Follow up with a Q
Death's Hand.
Some enemies with mobility can dash or blink out of W
Vision of Empire, even if you land E
Nevermove, so you'll have to instantly cast W
Vision of Empire. Try to get an AA in, If you're within range.


This is your bread and butter all game long. Master this and you'll be doing optimal damage with your 3 basic abilities. It might seem easy, but landing E





Some enemies with mobility can dash or blink out of W



Catch Out Combo - W > E
Here's a useful combo to catch out enemies from further away. The strategy behind this is to either force enemies to get hit by W
Vision of Empire first, and when they are slowed, follow up with an easy E
Nevermove. However, most players will walk around the W
Vision of Empire. This opens up an opportunity to now go for an E
Nevermove towards the edge of W
Vision of Empire enemies have sidestepped. The worst case, is the enemy is now forced to walk into you, which you can now use Q
Death's Hand or engage with your ultimate. This is best used in tight areas of the map where enemies have little choices to manoeuvre.

Here's a useful combo to catch out enemies from further away. The strategy behind this is to either force enemies to get hit by W







Ultimate Combos
Even if you don't remember these 2 ultimate combos off by heart, just remember the important reason behind them. Your goal is to keep enemies as close to you as possible, so they take as much damage from
Demonic Ascension as possible, all while spamming your other abilities. With both these combos and depending on our items, you'll have potential to 1v2 or even more enemies.

Full Ultimate Combo #1 - E > W > R > E2 > Q > AA > R2
This combo starts with landing E
Nevermove, then ultimate. This is important to make sure mobile enemies are locked in while they are taking damage over time from his ultimate
Demonic Ascension. Landing E
Nevermove first could also save you from wasting Ultimate
Demonic Ascension, for example, if you miss E
Nevermove against a mobile champ, don't use Ultimate
Demonic Ascension and try again later. If you were to use ultimate
Demonic Ascension straight away against a mobile champ, you would spook them and they can simply just dash or blink away, until your demonic energy bar has run out, pretty much wasting your ultimate. Btw, after
Demonflare, you should keep spamming Q
Death's Hand and following the enemy for as long as you can, making sure they take damage over time.

This combo starts with landing E









Full Ultimate Combo #2 - R > Q > AA > R2 > E > W > E2 > Q
Against immobile champs, you can initiate with Ultimate
Demonic Ascension, so you can have
Demonflare ready quicker. Once they are slowed from
Demonflare, it will be much easier to land an E
Nevermove. We're also taking advantage of the 20% reduced cooldown of E
Nevermove, while
Demonic Ascension is activated. Again, keep following the enemy so they're in your
Demonic Ascension, spamming abilities when they come up.

Against immobile champs, you can initiate with Ultimate







Even if you don't remember these 2 ultimate combos off by heart, just remember the important reason behind them. Your goal is to keep enemies as close to you as possible, so they take as much damage from


Flash Combos
Q Flash
A quick and simple combo to finish off enemies using flash to close distance.

A quick and simple combo to finish off enemies using flash to close distance.
Flash E
Not exactly an amazing combo, but you should attempt it to catch an enemy further away, mostly if they are in a narrow area so they can't just simply side step it. E
Nevermove is a very easy skillshot to dodge for most players, so best used on immobile champs. Just for clarity, E
Nevermove >
Flash does not extend the range of E.

Not exactly an amazing combo, but you should attempt it to catch an enemy further away, mostly if they are in a narrow area so they can't just simply side step it. E



E Flash
You'll be using E
Nevermove, then
Flashing to reposition as the E
Nevermove is returning and catching enemies by surprise. Great for those clutch moments.

You'll be using E



Massive AOE Slow - R > R2 > Flash
If you ever want to engage on multiple enemies, use this. Best used when the rest of your team can follow up. Look for opportunities when enemies are bunched up, like around Baron and Dragon pits, or areas in the jungle.

If you ever want to engage on multiple enemies, use this. Best used when the rest of your team can follow up. Look for opportunities when enemies are bunched up, like around Baron and Dragon pits, or areas in the jungle.
Quick Burst - R > R2 > Flash > Q
For a small burst of quick damage from
Demonflare and Q
Death's Hand. Best to finish off enemies, using
Flash to gap close. The closer you are, the more damage you can get from Q
Death's Hand. This combo assumes you already have
Demonic Ascension on, perhaps during a teamfight or skirmish, and now that 2 seconds have passed, you see an opportunity to quickly finish off an enemy further away with
Demonflare and Q [death's hand]].


For a small burst of quick damage from







Item Combos
Full Ultimate Combo or Main Trade Combo then hit
Zhonya's Hourglass
There isn't any optimal combo, as the
Zhonya's Hourglass active is best used whenever you're at risk of dieing or being CC'd. The worst case is hitting
Zhonya's Hourglass while you're full health and then having enemies run away. The best case is your about to die, but you're able to unload all your cooldowns, enter the safety of
Zhonya's Hourglass stasis, then have enemies burn and die around you, then come out alive. With a full ultimate combo, you'll be healing and damaging enemies nearby while in
Zhonya's Hourglass stasis.

There isn't any optimal combo, as the




✦ EARLY GAME ✦
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Mana can be an issue if start spamming E ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Once you're lv 6, you don't need to push waves in as much and can look to freeze next to your tower. Apart from encouraging jungler ganks, it allows you to deal more damage in all ins with greater distance to chase enemies, as they're far from their tower. As already mentioned earlier, the longer you're in a fight, the more damage you can output with Q ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Skirmishes or teamfights around objectives like Herald or Dragon are perfect for ![]() |
✦ MID GAME ✦
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Sidelaning is a great option if your falling behind or just want some extra farm. You should be able to fight most enemies. ![]() |
✦ LATE GAME ✦
![]() ![]() ![]() Like most Mages, you'll have a much harder time 1 shotting squishy champs, as they'll constantly be grouped and finish their survivability items. Again, fights around Barons and Elder Dragons are great since there's tight narrow areas and brushes to play around. Anytime you hit an E ![]() Remember to finish with ![]() ![]() ![]() |
✦ TEAMFIGHTING ✦
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Look to burst or atleast chunk enemies before a fight starts if possible. With 1 squishy dead, you'll now have a 5v4 advantage. Although not exactly easy to pull off, you'll want to aim all your basic abilities when enemies are bunched, for the AOE damage. Hitting 3 or more enemies can seriously turn most fights in your favor. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Zoning with your W ![]() |
+ 1. Massive AOE + 2. Snowball Potential + 3. Dominates Teamfight + 4. Naturally Tanky + 5. Solid CC 1. With every single ability dealing AOE damage, you'll deal plenty of damage whenever enemies are bunched up. This also means he has great waveclear. 2. If you ever pick up 2 or more kills early on, you'll now have potential to 1v2 enemies. If they can't finish you off quickly enough, you'll be unkillable as you heal up using your passive and ultimate. 3. Leading on from the Massive AOE strength, is the ability to dominate teamfights. This is where ![]() 4. With a passive that heals and permanently stacks HP overtime, along with items that provide HP like ![]() ![]() ![]() 5. With CC from 3 of your abilities, with E ![]() ![]() |
- 1. Mana Issues Early - 2. Outranged - 3. Skillshot Reliant - 4. Mobile Champs - 5. Crows Reveal Location 1. One of the main issues you'll find early when playing Swain, is that you'll go oom pretty quickly if you spam your abilities. If you're landing them consistently then that's no problem, as you might even pick up a kill. 2. Although his W ![]() ![]() ![]() 3. This is especially true with E ![]() 4. Enemies with dash or blinks can prevent you from ever getting close. 5. Although only a small issue, his crows will reveal his location, anytime you land W ![]() |
Quick Solutions to Weaknesses
1. Choose your moments carefully. Wait until enemies are about to last hit a minion before you throw E ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() 2. Against those long range poke champs, make sure to pick up early ![]() ![]() ![]() 3. There is an interesting quality to note about his E ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() 4. You'll be forced to go for W ![]() ![]() ![]() 5. There's no real solution to this, as it's essentially punishing you for landing a skillshot, but it's important to know it exists. |

Most tips from this guide can be applied, but let's cover specific tips for Top Lane.
✦ Since you'll be against most melee matchups, you should look to start Q

✦ Just like Midlane,





✦

✦ You can even take





✦ Lanes will be way more punishing, and you have close to zero escapes. Unless you land W


✦ You'll also be a target for dives. Early



✦ Look to join skirmishes with your jungler when possible. Try to chain CC with your junglers, and as always, its best they land theirs first, as W


✦ Take

✦ At lv 6 you're a much bigger threat and most of the lane vulnerabilities are gone. Even dives are risky for enemy teams.
✦ You should only look to

✦ Be on the lookout to use your W


✦ Pick up the


✦ Poke consistently to proc your




✦ Look to poke enemies with E

✦ Use your W


✦ Your main goal should be to pressure and poke enemies, so your adc can feel safe to walk up and CS. Even just walking back and forth can force enemies to back off, as they'll be anticipating your next E

✦ At lv 6, you'll want to initiate with an E


✦ Anytime your adc is focused, look to use your W



✦ Look to use W

✦ Join skirmishes around dragon and river when possible.
✦ Remember, with less gold and experience, you'll behind on items in general, unless you snowball lane, so you're ability to just go in and sustain will be a lot weaker. You can still go in pretty deep during teamfights, but only after another teammate has engaged.


Basically follow this entire guide from builds to gameplay. Except now you'll have a teammate in lane. You'll really dominate lanes with heavy CC champs like






I'm currently working on making guides of all the Champs I've played over the years. Appreciate the time you've taken to read upto this point and please leave any feedback. If the guide has helped you or you've simply enjoyed it, consider giving it a like or just a quick comment to let me know! Good luck in your ranked games and see you in the next guide! For all video guides w/ gameplay examples, check out my Youtube.
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