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Hwei Build Guide by

[25.22] Your True Colors - Complete Hwei Guide

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Hwei Build Guide By Updated on

Guide Discussion (4) More Hwei Guides

Runes: Personal Favorite

1 2 3 4 5

Sorcery

Arcane Comet

Manaflow Band

Transcendence

Gathering Storm

Precision

Presence of Mind

Cut Down

Bonus:

+10% Attack Speed
+9 Adaptive (5.4 AD or 9 AP)
+10-180 Bonus Health

Spells:

1 2 3 4

Standard

Flash

Teleport

Items

Starting Items

Tear

Early Buys

Boot Options

Trinkets + Warding

Core Items

Mana

Anti-MR

AP Scaling

Situational

Vs. Squishies

Vs. High HP

AP + Haste

Mobility

Defensive

Anti-Heal

Snowball

Elixir

Full Build Examples

Standard

Anti-Tank

Anti-Melee/Dive

Double Mana (Defensive)

Burst

Ability Order Standard

Passive

Subject: Disaster

Subject: Serenity

Subject: Torment

Threats & Synergies

Threats

Synergies

Extreme Major Even Minor Tiny

Show All

None Low Ok Strong Ideal

Extreme Threats

Ideal Synergies

Akshan

Extreme

> Akshan has relatively low range outside of his Avengerang (Q), so look to poke him as much as possible. You should avoid letting him freely push into your turret or else he'll start terrorizing your team.

> If he uses Heroic Swing (E) at you, avoid using EE unless you're casting it perpendicular to him. If you cast it at him straight on, he'll usually just fly past it. You can also EQ him out of his E if you can quickly determine the arc he's traveling in. WW is another option to soak up his E damage.

> Keep track of where he's going by warding the lane and clear the minion waves to prevent/punish his roams. Make sure you are pinging and communicating with your team about where he could be.

Jarvan IV

Ideal

> Hwei synergizes well with champions that have strong engage, teamfighting ability, or CCs, especially if they can frontline for him. Most ganking AD junglers are excellent for Hwei as well. (e.g. Jarvan IV, Xin Zhao, Rek'Sai, Ashe, Rell)

Synergies

Ideal Strong Ok Low None

Jarvan IV

Ideal

> [[Hwei]] synergizes well with champions that have strong engage, teamfighting ability, or CCs, especially if they can frontline for him. Most ganking AD junglers are excellent for Hwei as well. (e.g. [[Jarvan IV]], [[Xin Zhao]], [[Rek'sai]], [[Ashe]], [[Rell]])

More Hwei Counters

Champion Build Guide

Preamble

"There's no secret to art... just begin and keep going. That's all we can do."

is labeled as an artillery mage but he's also a control mage. Blocking off areas and manipulating where enemies can move, punishing those who overstep, and sniping enemies with long-range executes as a finisher is what is all about. Similarly to mages like or , likes to combo his spells to activate his passive: , as it adds a lot of extra damage, especially in teamfights with grouped up enemies. With 9 different basic abilities at his disposal, learning when to use each one effectively at a moment's notice is what makes a true player shine.

As with other immobile mages, requires proper positioning, or else he'll pop instantly to almost anything. Unlike some other mages, however, he also has tools to keep himself safe and is almost untouchable when piloted properly. While his arsenal of spells may seem overwhelming at first, individually they are quite simple to understand and utilize. Throughout this guide, I will refer to his spells using letters and colors to hopefully make it easy to follow (e.g. QW, WE, EQ).

While this guide was created to inform and educate, by no means is it a strict set of rules that must be followed. Keep in mind that there are many viable builds and rune setups, and sometimes it can come down to preference - which is fine! I have simply compiled my own thoughts and experiences as well as what I've seen and heard from other players into one space. Feel free to agree or disagree, and I encourage everyone to discuss and continue to explore the champion. If you have any suggestions, criticisms, or other thoughts to share, feel free to leave a comment and let me know.

Pros and Cons

Pros

→ Versatile kit; has an answer for basically every situation
→ Versatile builds; can itemize well against all comps
→ Decently mid-range mage with self-peel
→ Exceptional zoning capabilities
→ Utility and teamfighting powerhouse
→ Can neutralize almost any matchup while bullying easier ones; a fantastic blind pick/one-trick champ
→ Surprisingly low skill floor, but high skill ceiling

Cons

→ Mana hungry, especially with high AH
→ Higher AH is optimal to fully utilize his arsenal of spells
→ Misinputs are costly - don't spam keys!
→ Almost all spells are slow-moving skillshots with cast times
→ Weaker into high range and/or high mobility comps
→ Not the best at sidelaning; low kill pressure and weak on his own
→ Functions best with a balanced team comp; often unable to solo carry unless ridiculously ahead

Champion Abilities

"Leave everything to my imagination."

Signature of the Visionary (Passive)

Hwei marks enemy champions with his signature finishing touch by first damaging them with his abilities. Hitting an enemy with two damage-dealing spells places Hwei’s signature on the ground beneath them. The signature detonates after a short delay, dealing magic damage to all enemies in range.

's damaging abilities mark enemies hit for 4 seconds. Damaging them with a different ability consumes the mark to create an explosion beneath them, dealing 35 − 230 (based on level) (+ 35% AP) bonus magic damage to enemies in the area after 0.85 seconds.

Does not suffer any damage reduction for multiple procs; multiple enemies stacked on one another will take the full damage from all passive procs
There is no cooldown for passive procs; you are only gated by your ability haste
Can help you waveclear (e.g. QE + EE combo through the wave procs passive, damaging the enemy and minions)
Has to be 2 separate spell casts (e.g. passive can't be proc'd with only WE-enhanced AAs, a single QE with its eruption and DoT portions, or his ult on its own)

Subject: Disaster (Q)
COST: 80 / 90 / 100 / 110 / 120 MANA
COOLDOWN: 10 / 9 / 8 / 7 / 6

Hwei paints visions of disaster that deal a large amount of damage to enemies.

enters a disastrous mood, gaining access to its abilities as well as . He will exit the mood upon casting any of them.

The Q spellbook is for damage.

Q Spellbook

Devastating Fire (QQ)
RANGE: 800

Hwei paints a blazing fireball that flies out in the target direction. It explodes on the first enemy hit or at maximum range, dealing magic damage plus percent max health magic damage to all enemies in an area.

slings a fireball in the target direction that explodes upon colliding with the first enemy or reaching maximum range, dealing magic damage to all nearby enemies. The damage based on the target's health ratio is capped at 250 against .

Bread-and-butter poke spell, comes out fast and deals moderate damage
The AoE is big enough to hit enemies standing too close to their minion wave, especially melee champs
Explosion only occurs upon contact or once the spell reaches max range, making it easier to aim for max range instead

Severing Bolt (QW)
RANGE: 1900

Hwei paints a long-range, devastating bolt at the target location. After a delay, the bolt strikes, dealing magic damage. Immobilized or isolated enemies take increased damage based on missing health.

calls upon a lightning bolt to strike at the target location after 1 second, dealing magic damage to enemies within the area.

If hits only one enemy or immobilized enemies, it deals increased damage based on the target's missing health. This bonus damage is capped at 300 against .

deals 50% damage to and non-epic .

Extremely long range execute spell against squishy, low HP targets
Works on isolated targets AND immobilized targets
More effective than QQ starting at 50% missing HP (when isolated or CC'd) until the target has more than 2k HP. Every 1k HP afterward requires about 10% more missing HP to keep up (e.g. 60% missing HP to match QQ at 3k HP)
Great scouting tool, especially at the start of the game to proc Manaflow Band / First Strike
Pay attention to your runes and items proccing when fishing for QWs in the fog

Molten Fissure (QE)
RANGE: 1200

Hwei paints a field of exploding volcanic eruptions, creating lingering lava in its path. Every eruption deals magic damage to enemies hit. Enemies in the lava area are dealt magic damage per second and are slowed.

marks a blazing path in the target direction. After 0.6 seconds, the path erupts into volcanic explosions every 0.2 seconds from the point of cast. Each explosion creates a shockwave that deals magic damage to nearby enemies.

Each explosion also leaves a lava fissure in its wake. A fissure lasts for 2.5 seconds, dealing magic damage every 0.25 seconds to enemies within the area and slowing them by 30%.

's damage is reduced to 60% against and increased to 135% against .

Powerful zoning tool for chokes and teamfights
Great means of poking your lane opponent through the wave when combo'd with EE
Only outdamages QQ if the enemy stands in it for its entire duration or with items like Liandry's Torment
Incredible AoE potential in teamfights when paired with EE
Be mindful of overusing this spell in teamfights; sometimes more upfront damage on priority targets with QQ is better
If you die mid-cast, it will fizzle out instead

Subject: Serenity (W)
COST: 90 / 95 / 100 / 105 / 110 MANA
COOLDOWN: 18 / 17.5 / 17 / 16.5 / 16

Hwei paints visions of serenity that provide utility for himself and allied champions.

enters a serene mood, gaining access to its abilities as well as . He will exit the mood upon casting any of them.

The W spellbook is for utility.

W Spellbook

Fleeting Current (WQ)
RANGE: 1200

Hwei paints a current of swift waters in a line for a few seconds that grants movement speed to himself and allies.

forms a current of water in the target direction, creating a path for a duration that grants him and allied champions bonus movement speed for 0.5 seconds, refreshing every 0.125 seconds while they remain in the area.

Repositioning tool, can help your melee/engage get in range of enemies or help your squishier allies kite better
Projectile with a travel time (can be stopped by Wind Wall)
MS increase applies no matter which direction you travel in
Does not affect minions
Not mentioned in the wiki or tooltip, but it gives you and your teammates the Ghost effect, allowing you to ignore minion collision
Make sure you aim it towards where your champ will travel, not the target destination (such as when running around corners)

Pool of Reflection (WW)
RANGE: 650

Hwei forms a protective pool at the target location that lasts for a few seconds. Allied champions inside the area gain an immediate shield, increasing in value over a few seconds while in the area.

summons a pool of water at the target location, creating a protective zone for 3 seconds that grants him and allied champions a shield at the start of the cast time and for 0.5 seconds while within the area. The shield refreshes and increases in strength by an amount every 0.264 seconds over the duration while they remain in the area.

's shield strength is reduced to 75% for allies.

A unique, persisting shield that works especially well against DoTs
As long as you stay in the AoE, your shield will continue to increase which is great for baiting enemies
Has a decent range so you can save allies from a distance
Can be difficult for allies to see, so get ready to ping it if your allies need it but don't react

Stirring Lights (QE)

Hwei paints three swirling lights that circle him for several seconds. Hwei's next 3 attacks or spells deal bonus magic damage and grant mana on hit.

surrounds himself in swirling flares that empower his next 3 basic attacks or ability hits within 9 seconds to each deal bonus magic damage and restore mana.

' bonus damage is reduced to 50% against or if applied by his area of effect abilities.

Arguably the most important spell in your arsenal, crucial for mana sustain and damage
Bonus damage will apply to your spells, but the bonus is reduced against minions/monsters unless you're AAing or using a single-target spell
Doesn't count towards passive procs unless applied through AAs (e.g. AA with WE → QQ), and will only count once per WE
You can cast WE while your spells are traveling and it will still apply the effect (e.g. QQ → WE, QW → WE, EW → QW → WE)

Subject: Torment (E)
COST: 50 / 55 / 60 / 65 / 70 MANA
COOLDOWN: 13 / 12.5 / 12 / 11.5 / 11

Hwei paints visions of torment that control enemies.

enters a tumultuous mood, gaining access to its abilities as well as . He will exit the mood upon casting any of them.

The E spellbook is for crowd control.

E Spellbook

Grim Visage (EQ)
RANGE: 1100

Hwei launches a terrifying face that strikes the first enemy hit, dealing magic damage and causing them to flee for a brief duration.

launches a terrifying grin in the target direction that deals magic damage to the first enemy hit, knocks them down, and fears them for 1 second, during which they are slowed by 60%.

Your premier self-peel tool and in my opinion Hwei's most important spell
Has a knock-down effect, meaning it will interrupt dashes as long as they're not "Unstoppable"
Can be used aggressively to guarantee other spells, but be careful when doing so since it'll leave you vulnerable afterward
If you die after your EQ lands, the Fear effect will end. This is intentional and is how Fear/Charm/Taunt effects work.

Gaze of the Abyss (EW)
RANGE: 900

Hwei paints an abyssal eye at the target location that grants vision and locks onto the nearest visible enemy champion. After a short delay, the eye fires at the locked-on champion, rooting the first enemy in its path for a few seconds and dealing magic damage to them.

tosses an eyeball to the target location. Upon arrival, it expands over 0.2 seconds into a dark gaze lasting 3 seconds, granting sight in a larger area. After 0.7 seconds of being placed, the eye locks onto the nearest visible enemy champion, launching itself at the target after 0.3 seconds and colliding with the first enemy hit to deal magic damage, reveal them for 2.5 seconds, and root them for a duration.

Your longest CC spell, great for guaranteeing QW executes
Decent scouting tool, but be careful since you'll be vulnerable after using it
The projectile can be blocked by any enemy, whether neutral or hostile so avoid using it against large groups
Has a travel time and needs to arm, so make sure you account for that when placing it
When placed in a bush, the center (eye) needs to be inside the bush or else it'll be visible (also works the same way when placed in a wall)
The target that it locks onto is revealed while the missile is in flight

Crushing Maw (EE)
RANGE: 800

Hwei paints crushing jaws that deal magic damage to enemies hit and pulls them toward the center, slowing them by a set amount that quickly decays.

conjures a jaw at the target location that snaps after 0.6 seconds, dealing magic damage to enemies in the area and slowing them by an amount that decays over 1.25 seconds. Enemies that are not standing at the center when the jaw snaps are pulled there.

Fastest E spell, great for guaranteeing QQ or even QW poke
Make use of the corners of the AoE to catch people off guard
The slow occurs after the pull
It pulls the enemy into the circle of the indicator, not the exact center of the circle, so be mindful when comboing spells
Your only AoE E spell, so try to use it when you can in teamfights for multiple passive procs

Spiraling Despair (R)
RANGE: 1340
COST: 100 MANA
COOLDOWN: 140 / 115 / 80

Hwei launches a vision of pure despair that sticks to an enemy champion for a few seconds. The vision expands and overwhelms all enemies it touches, dealing magic damage per second. Enemies within the zone are afflicted with stacks of Despair over time. Each stack of Despair applies a stacking percent slow. Upon completion, the vision shatters, dealing magic damage.

launches a globule of pure despair in the target direction that collides with the first enemy champion hit, afflicting them with an aura that grows over 3 seconds, reveals the target, and grants sight within its radius. Enemies within are both dealt magic damage and applied a stack of Despair every 0.25 seconds.

DESPAIR: For each stack, the target is slowed by 10% for 0.25 seconds, stacking up to 12 times.

At the end of the duration or when the target dies, the aura explodes to deal magic damage to enemies within and remove all Despair stacks from affected enemies.

can only be cast if has not entered a mood.

Has a significant cast-time and travels slowly, so be careful when opening with it because it's easy to miss
Pay attention to the sound of the ult when you're timing QW executes as it's easy to miss lethal damage if QW goes off too early
Don't be afraid to use this in lane even if it doesn't result in a kill; forcing summoners/getting someone low can force them to base which lets you build your lead
Only applies one stack of your passive since it's only one spell cast

Wash Brush (R)

is a unique mechanic that allows to exit whichever spellbook - or mood - he's currently in by pressing R while he has a spellbook open. You'll notice that when you choose a spellbook, has unique animations and effects that play. These animations and visual effects can be used to threaten or sometimes even bait your opponent, mostly during the laning phase and other slower moments in a game where they are paying closer attention to you. You can also open a spellbook and hold it without completing a spellcast to pressure in that way as well. Just be careful that you don't accidentally cast spells or even your ult while doing this.

Here's a neat little cheat sheet created by Riot to help you digest his kit!

Runes

"Every mark should have meaning."

can utilize many different rune setups, allowing him to adjust to almost any matchup and team composition. In this section, I will highlight various runes and explain how they benefit . For full rune setups, refer to the example pages at the top of the guide.

SORCERY

Sorcery

KEYSTONES

Arcane Comet: Arcane Comet is the most popular keystone on Hwei. You can run Arcane Comet into almost every matchup if you want, and it'll provide plenty of poke in the early game. Hwei can constantly proc it in teamfights because of his low CDs, AoEs, and DoTs. Keep in mind that Arcane Comet can miss if they're quick enough and move out of its small AoE. You can mitigate this in lane by using EE to poke, but make sure you hit them with the center, or else you'll pull them out of the comet proc.

Summon Aery: You can run Summon Aery against lower-ranged matchups where you know you'll be able to proc it often. Unlike Arcane Comet, Summon Aery will never miss the enemy you're attacking and the damage is basically the same early on while having a lower CD. Summon Aery deals less damage than Arcane Comet later in the game with no way of lowering its CD, but the extra shielding when using WQ and WW is noticeable. The damage is also much more reliable, so the scaling difference isn't as significant as it might seem on paper.

ROW 1

Manaflow Band: Even with WE for mana regen, Hwei suffers from high mana costs which are further compounded by wanting lots of haste (at rank 5, his Q spells cost 120 mana with a base CD of 6 seconds). Manaflow Band allows him to increase his mana pool and mana regen early on. During the early levels, try to look for poke or trades whenever Manaflow Band is up so that you reach max stacks as soon as possible.

ROW 2

Transcendence: Hwei loves ability haste which this rune gives, simple as that. More ability haste means he can pressure more often and utilize different spells as much as possible. The secondary effect of reducing remaining CDs on takedown isn't super noticeable, but it's a nice extra touch for a great rune.

Absolute Focus: Absolute Focus is a much greedier rune in this row, since it competes with the free, consistent value of Transcendence and becomes useless if you fall below the HP threshold of 70%. It can be a viable alternative if you can play safely against the enemy team to maintain the extra AP. It can also be viable if you're running Precision secondary with Legend: Haste, making up for the loss in AH.

ROW 3

Scorch: When combined with Arcane Comet or Summon Aery, Scorch provides you with the strongest laning setup. When taking Scorch, you are playing for the lane; either to poke them down for a solo kill, gank/dive, or to push them out of lane by attacking their health bar constantly.

Gathering Storm: Gathering Storm is your scaling option, giving Hwei free AP as the game goes on. At 20 minutes you get 24 AP, and at 30 minutes you get 48 AP (18 more than Eyeball Collection). If you want to play for scaling or know you can't pressure your lane opponent with Scorch, this is the rune you take. Gathering Storm also has great synergy with Rabadon's Deathcap and Blackfire Torch's passive, providing massive amounts of AP as the game goes on.

INSPIRATION

Inspiration

KEYSTONES

First Strike: First Strike can be taken for a scaling setup, granting you lots of early gold if you can use it effectively and proc it off CD. It's more effective against melees since ranged opponents will have an easier time hitting you first to put First Strike on CD. First Strike is at its best against tankier matchups that you can't force out of lane (e.g. Sion, Garen, Akali). You have the tools to poke them but lack the sustained damage to push them out of lane, in which case you can use combos while First Strike is up to gain gold and scale via a higher income.

ROW 1

Magical Footwear: You save 300 gold and can skip buying Boots when running this rune, although you're forced to play with lower MS for most of the early game. If you won't need early boots and can survive the early game without any, this can be a worthwhile pickup.

Cash Back: As the name suggests, Cash Back refunds a portion of the cost of a legendary item which gives you a headstart toward your next item. For reference, 6% of Blackfire Torch is 168 gold, or 180 gold for Liandry's Torment. You are accelerating your build every time you finish an item, and the total gold return from this rune adds up to large amounts by the end of the game depending on your build.

ROW 2

Triple Tonic: Triple Tonic is a more aggressive option in this row with its various elixirs. At level 3, you gain an Elixir of Avarice which can help you last-hit minions with your AAs while granting you 40 gold at the end of its duration for free. At level 6, you can gain an Elixir of Force, which grants you 20 AP for 60 seconds. This extra AP can often be the difference between whether or not you get a kill or the enemy lives with barely any HP left, so make sure you are decisive about when you use it. The extra skill point that Elixir of Skill provides is a nice little bonus at level 9, giving your E spells a boost.

Biscuit Delivery: Biscuit Delivery provides you with early-game lane sustain in tougher matchups. Use the biscuits only when you're low on health since the health restoration is based on missing health. This rune is a weaker pick compared to the value you'd get from Triple Tonic simply because Hwei doesn't have many matchups where he's at risk of dying. It can be worth taking however if you need sustain in difficult matchups against lane bullies (e.g. Orianna, Viktor).

ROW 3

Cosmic Insight: Hwei gains a lot of safety with Cosmic Insight thanks to its summoner spell haste. For reference, Cosmic Insight by itself reduces your Teleport CD by about 55 seconds, and Flash by 45 seconds. These CDs are further reduced if you opt for Ionian Boots of Lucidity. Having Flash up more often gives you more windows of safety, and being able to Teleport more often lets you better play the map.

Jack of all Trades: With just a fully built Lost Chapter item and Sorcerer's Shoes, Hwei is able to reach the 5 stat threshold to gain the extra adaptive stats from Jack of all Trades. However, with his typical builds, reaching 10 different stats is difficult if you want to build optimally. At most, Hwei ends up with 5 to 7 stacks with his normal builds, which can provide a decent amount of extra stats.

PRECISION

precision

KEYSTONES

Conqueror: A niche pickup that is ideally taken against 3+ tanky frontline targets. Hwei can stack Conqueror fairly quickly during teamfights thanks to his large AoEs and low CDs. Getting 2 spells off + his passive is already 6 stacks of Conqueror. Keep in mind that you will only gain stacks off of unique spell casts, with passive procs counting as one cast regardless of how many passives are procced off of a spell (i.e. proccing multiple passives off of one spell will still only give 2 stacks of Conqueror. Against the right team comps, you can get a lot of free AP from Conqueror, plus the Precision tree is fantastic for Hwei. This rune does almost nothing in lane unless you're against a tanky melee target, so you should still stick to Summon Aery or Arcane Comet in ranged matchups even if the overall enemy team comp would be good for Conqueror.

ROW 1

Presence of Mind: A bit of a controversial pick on Hwei, but a personal favorite of mine. The mana restoration from Presence of Mind is incredibly helpful once you start skirmishing around objectives and teamfighting. Without having to worry about mana conservation during the mid-late game, Hwei is open to more liberal use of his W spells for better teamfight utility. You are also allowed to spam your other spells and be even more oppressive with your zoning and poke, then regaining most of your mana after you or your team gets a pick.

ROW 2

Legend: Haste: A great new addition in the Precision tree for Hwei. You get a total of 15 AH for your basic abilities with this rune after it stacks up fully. You gain stacks towards the Legend runes when you score takedowns on enemy champions, neutral monsters, or simply CSing. It takes anywhere between 11-15 minutes to fully stack Legend: Haste in a typical game.

ROW 3

Coup de Grace: This rune synergizes with your QW executes, but usually you're overkilling the enemy with QW anyway thanks to its built-in execute damage. Not an extremely powerful rune by any means, especially with competition from Cut Down in the same row.

Cut Down: Cut Down has been reworked in 14.10, going from a rune that helps deal with tanks to a rune that provides bonus damage against healthy targets (above 60% HP). The damage bonus is the same as Coup de Grace at 8%, and since Hwei's job is preferably to whittle down the enemy from afar - and the fact that healthy enemies are more common than low health ones - this rune becomes much more effective in comparison. It also helps more in lane, whereas Coup de Grace might help you finish off an enemy, Cut Down helps you get them low to threaten the kill in the first place.

DOMINATION

domination

KEYSTONES

Electrocute: Electrocute is somewhat of a middle ground between the early poke of Arcane Comet and the scaling of Dark Harvest. With just two spells and a passive proc, you can easily activate Electrocute. The damage also increases significantly later on, allowing you to deal some serious burst damage. However, Hwei deals a lot of AoE damage and is not the best at singling out specific targets unless a squishy is completely out of position, resulting in Electrocute sometimes activating on the wrong enemy. It works great in 1v1 scenarios though.

Dark Harvest: A greedy scaling option that sacrifices early-game pressure for potent mid/late-game executes on squishy targets. Hwei can proc this a few times in certain matchups with effective poke, but its effect on your laning phase is noticeable especially when compared to early-game focused setups that run Arcane Comet or Summon Aery. If you are able to stack it up decently, you can secure a lot of surprising kills, especially with your Signature of the Visionary passive procs and Dark Harvest.

ROW 1

Cheap Shot: Hwei can easily proc Cheap Shot with his QE, any of his E spells, and his R. You'll often find Cheap Shot dealing well over 1k damage even in shorter games. Cheap Shot is essentially the Domination equivalent of Scorch, except it has much better uptime on Hwei with its lower CD and ease of use.

Taste of Blood: Taste of Blood provides moderate lane sustain with its healing which can come in handy against obnoxious poke such as when facing Xerath or Lux. The healing might seem negligible at first, but it really adds up throughout the lane phase if you're proccing it consistently.

ROW 2

Grisly Mementos: At max stacks, your trinket cooldown is effectively halved if you have no other item haste. This means more ward uptime, which is especially useful for scouting if you've swapped to Farsight Alteration. However, this rune does take a while to stack up even with assists counting towards takedowns, so it's effectively a dead rune for most of the early/mid-game if you haven't been skirmishing much.

Deep Ward: A more difficult rune to use compared to Grisly Mementos, but it makes your wards much stronger if you choose to stick with Stealth Wards. Not only do your Stealth Wards last longer when "Deep", they also take an extra auto to kill which eats up even more time if they're spotted. The main issue is that you can't use Farsight Alteration with this rune, which is a powerful - and safer - scouting tool for a champ like Hwei.

ROW 3

Ultimate Hunter: Getting one or two stacks of Ultimate Hunter early on significantly reduces the CD of your ult, allowing you to better secure kills and help in early skirmishes. The ult haste falls off as the game goes on though, since Hwei tends to build AH and his ult CD drops significantly as you level it. Once you reach the late-game, you can sometimes even cast your ult twice in the same teamfight though thanks to all your AH and Ultimate Hunter.

Treasure Hunter: A simple rune that gives extra gold for each unique enemy you've killed, for a total of 450 gold once you're at 5 stacks. The extra gold is often more useful than the few seconds you'd cut from your ult cooldown with Ultimate Hunter, especially since Ultimate Hunter quickly loses value once Hwei hits level 11 and gets his second or third item - which should be most games.

RESOLVE

resolve

STAT SHARDS

stat shards

Summoner Spells

"One breath and brush at a time."

SUMMONER SPELLS
-

FLASH: A staple summoner for the vast majority of champs in the game and for good reason, giving you the ability to be both aggressive and defensive when it's up. QQ, EQ, and R can all be buffered as needed. You should take this every single game.

TELEPORT: Currently the standard pairing with for midlane mages. Since you have low kill pressure early on, your main goal is simply to farm up and deny CS when possible, which is further aided by the consistency of having . Later in the game, allows you to farm and pressure side lanes while being able to to teamfights and objectives.

GHOST: is a viable alternative, especially after the changes to . Taking means you're losing map pressure and team playmaking from for more combat versatility. can be used to help you space around enemies or dodge skillshots, but it also allows you to position aggressively or chase down enemies if needed. If you choose to forgo for or any other summoner, make sure that you're keeping an eye on objective timers and the map so that you're prepared for upcoming fights.

BARRIER: Similar to , is another option to replace if you need even more safety, especially against assassins with burst damage. Simply having acts as a deterrent, since the enemy team knows you have a strong shield that can be popped at a moment's notice. If you feel like you need more tools to survive - especially if the enemy team has someone who can easily jump on you and deal a lot of damage (e.g. , , ), it might be worth considering .

CLEANSE: Extremely situational. I would only take against champs like , , or maybe , who rely on their strong CCs to kill you. can also be useful against team comps with heavy CC, such as against or .

Itemization

"Keep an open mind, and we'll find meaning together."

's itemization is incredibly flexible compared to other mages which is part of why he's such a good blind pick. At the same time, that means your build has to change almost every game if you want to be optimal. Hopefully with my descriptions and example builds, you'll have a better idea of what to buy in all situations.

Note: If an item is not listed, then I most likely do not recommend buying it. Feel free to comment or reach out for questions!

Starting Items

Doran's Ring
gives you the best stats for the lane phase. It is often not worth selling your for as long as possible since the stats are valuable. If you can reach an important item breakpoint later on by selling it, go for it.

Tear of the Goddess
Starting is viable when facing tanks or other matchups where you are unable to threaten a kill and would rather focus on scaling instead (e.g. , , etc.). Otherwise, you lose a lot of damage and overall laning power when starting .

First Back

Lost Chapter
is an incredibly well-rounded item and one of the best to buy on your first back if you have the gold. Getting early on will solve a lot of your mana issues, plus it gives a good amount of AP and AH which Hwei wants. Even if you plan on going for / first, it is still worth it to buy on your first back if you can immediately afford it unless you're rushing something else.

Dark Seal
An incredible item to purchase early on. If you are forced to back early or get first blood, buying and sitting on a can help snowball your games, giving you the option to upgrade it into a if you get enough stacks.

Boots
Against certain matchups (e.g. , , ), it can be valuable to rush boots or T2 boots to help with dodging skillshots or neutralizing AP/CC threats. Buying and on your first back is a common safe, defensive option.

Refillable Potion
It is generally a good idea to buy if you have the extra gold for it, especially if you happen to back after your lane opponent and see that they have purchased it to match them.

Tear of the Goddess
A necessary component if you plan on building towards , even if you want to delay finishing it. You should try to get your as soon as possible unless you have a ton of gold on your first back and can push your lead.

Boots

Sorcerer's Shoes
provide a noticeable damage increase thanks to the flat mpen. If you are solo AP and/or the enemy team won't be purchasing a lot of MR, you should go for to deal as much damage as possible.

Ionian Boots of Lucidity
is a cheap alternative to other boot options. Getting a bit of summoner spell AH is nice to help lower your and CDs. If the enemy team is tanky and will buy MR, or your team has multiple people who deal magic damage, you should lean towards buying . The Feats of Strength upgrade () is arguably the best boot upgrade, so it is totally viable to hold off on upgrading boots in case your team wins the Feats.

Mercury's Treads
Getting early against certain champions - such as - can completely neutralize them and allow you to play without having to worry about getting one-shot or CC-locked. If your lane opponent and the enemy jungler are AP/CC heavy, I highly recommend .

Boots of Swiftness
have become increasingly popular after all the nerfs to the other boot choices. It is a cheap option and serves a similar role to as a defensive option, except it's much more versatile. The damage and utility loss from not taking or are still noticeable, but the movement speed is fantastic for helping you kite and space any threats.

First Item

Blackfire Torch
can easily and consistently apply the burn to enemies thanks to his AoEs and high AH builds. It also scales well into the late-game, especially if you have high AP items like or to take advantage of the item's passive. 's waveclear becomes even faster with , allowing you to melt waves with only a QE. The tooltip is deceptive since it only shows the burn damage and doesn't take into account any damage you've gained from the AP passive.

Seraph's Embrace
provides great defensive utility and a huge amount of mana, which you will find burns through incredibly quickly. You can either rush to stack it quicker or hold onto and wait to finish it later on. You can also pair with to boost the AP and shield amount from 's passive, although this is highly situational.

Luden's Companion
is a more situational item for after its changes, and with the addition of , he doesn't have as much reason to build it. However, if you're going for a more burst-focused build into a high range, squishy team, it can be worth considering.

Other Items

Liandry's Torment
An incredible item on that synergizes with his hybrid artillery/control mage playstyle. loves spamming spells, and combined with his persisting large AoEs, he is able to apply the burn effect constantly. The damage boost uptime can be inconsistent outside of teamfights, but otherwise you'll have it up without issue. It only gives 60 AP which reduces its synergy with and , but it's still a great item on that helps him melt through HP stacking enemies. It can be especially effective against midlaners like , , and who tend to have a lot of HP.

Shadowflame
The passive synergizes well with 's kit and typical itemization, amplifying all of his DoTs, QW execute, passive procs, and his backloaded ult. In terms of pure damage, is one of the best for . Unfortunately it is expensive and has a difficult build path, so ideally you're able to recall and purchase the first if you're planning to buy this. Thankfully it gives tons of AP, meaning it scales well with and , although pay attention to enemies buying MR, otherwise the flat pen will lose value if not paired with a %pen item.

Stormsurge
Another flat pen option like , except it's much cheaper with a nice build path. The passive effect is easier to proc compared to when it was first released, and the permanent movement speed is especially helpful for repositioning and kiting or chasing down enemies. If you want flat pen and don't recall with enough for a , or if you want more movespeed for safety, is a great option. The big AoE effect is a nice visual bonus as well if you manage to get it off. As with other flat pen items, make sure you're paying attention to the enemies' MR, otherwise the flat pen loses value.

Horizon Focus
gives a lot of stats that he wants for a cheap price, and is easy to proc. The high AP also means it pairs well with and . The fact that it provides vision whenever you tag someone makes it a lot easier to snipe people with QW. The AoE vision effect from its passive is also a nice utility bonus during teamfights and will often spot enemies hiding nearby which comes in handy around the jungle, especially around the and pits. Most notably, is a worthwhile pickup against stealth champs (camouflage, not invisibility) such as or since the vision effect will reveal them.

Rabadon's Deathcap
A classic AP stat stick that boosts your entire kit - more damage, more shielding, more everything. If you can, getting early on (usually as a third item at the earliest) feels great, plus it only gets better and better as you get more items. However, this is not an item you should force if you need something else. Make sure you don't need anti-tank/anti-MR items first. On the other hand, delaying can be awkward if the game goes on for too long, since holding onto two s can be rough.

Cryptbloom
Your option against tanks/MR stacking enemies. It doesn't give as much %magic pen or AP as but it gives a lot of haste. The buildpath is also very nice, not to mention the passive which will proc in basically every fight, giving your team a small but welcome heal. You can even consider buying as your 2nd item against certain teams if you're certain that they'll be rushing MR since its stats and buildpath are so good after its changes.

Void Staff
Gives a lot more AP and a significant 40% magic pen instead of the 30% that and provide. If you already have a good amount of AH and are against enemies with a lot of MR, it can be worth considering over the other options.

Bloodletter's Curse
A %magic pen option that shreds MR through a debuff rather than simply ignoring MR. This item should only be purchased if your team has multiple sources of magic damage and the enemy team is building MR. You can also build it as a pseudo-defensive item if you want the extra HP. can easily apply stacks on enemies with his AoEs and lingering abilities, making him a good candidate to buy it for the team to help in teamfights since the MR shred works multiplicatively with other sources of %magic pen besides itself.

Cosmic Drive
An incredible defensive option for . The buildpath is decent and it provides a lot of AH and HP. It can be a lifesaver into melee-heavy comps that you need to kite out. The damage drop is noticeable compared to other options, but staying alive thanks to the MS and HP may prove more useful.

Zhonya's Hourglass
is a great anti-dive option, especially against champions like , , or who have point-and-click spells and can easily get onto you. You should almost always go for first to take advantage of the one-time effect if you plan on going for .

Banshee's Veil
The MR version of . It can be a lifesaver against enemies with a lot of pick potential such as , , or . Sitting on provides a bit of breathing room, but the effect's CD drops significantly when you upgrade it into (goes from 60 seconds down to 30 seconds).

Morellonomicon
This is basically your anti- and item for mid, but it can also be worth picking up against champs like and . You should never rush if you need anti-heal, since you will out-damage their healing simply by rushing your usual first items. After you finish your first item, you can consider purchasing and sitting on it until you finish your core items. is great at applying grievous wounds thanks to his range, low CDs, and DoTs.

Mejai's Soulstealer
If you bought an early and have it stacked up, it can be worth it to upgrade it into especially if you're at low risk of dying. The snowball potential of is enormous thanks to 's long range and self-peel. The MS boost at 10 stacks also helps you move around and kite more. If you reach the late-game, you can sell for another item once you've saved up enough to fully purchase it.

Elixir of Sorcery
Realistically the only elixir that will want. You usually only buy this in the late-game after you've finished your build, or if you know the next fight will decide the game. gives a bunch of temporary AP and mana regen, as well as giving your basic attacks and abilities bonus damage (works against turrets).

Example Buildpaths

The next segment showcases my logic for itemization in various scenarios. is extremely flexible in how he can build, so learning what to look for when choosing your items is important to being as optimal as possible. Whether it's maximizing your DPS against a squishy or tanky team, or picking a defensive setup that will keep you alive against threats, can do it all if you know how.

VS. Balanced Team

Blackfire Torch

Sorcerer's Shoes

Horizon Focus

Cryptbloom

This build path works against balanced team comps, offering great damage against both squishy targets and beefier threats. and give you everything you need for the early and mid-game: consistent DPS, waveclear, and flat magic pen for extra damage against squishy targets. I enjoy getting 2nd since the high AP and haste make poking and fishing for picks feel even easier, plut it's extremely cheap. Otherwise, if you can afford a , transitioning into for tons of AP and flat pen can be a huge boost while targets still have low MR. You can go for with its easier buildpath if you still want flat pen but need a cheaper option. You can also go for second if your opponents are stacking HP early. If the enemy team isn't stacking HP or MR, then is a classic option to solidify your position in the mid-game, otherwise you should get a %pen item like or . Typically, your 3rd and 4th item slots will be and a %pen item in whichever order they're needed. The key to itemization is understanding what the enemy team comp will be building and being flexible so you can adapt to each game.

VS. Melee / Burst threat

Seraph's Embrace

Boots of Swiftness

Cosmic Drive

Liandry's Torment

Rushing so that it upgrades as soon as possible into provides defensive utility against melee threats, especially if you don't want to invest into or early on. You might also want to consider sitting on component items like or if you need more safety. are great if you want a lower and timer, otherwise you can take if you can kite enemy threats. Other than that, you can build into as it's a powerful item for and will boost your shield and AP even further (You can swap the order of these two items as well). If you're not going for a double mana item build, then you can opt for as your second item to help you kite and survive in the side lane. From here on, you can adjust your build as needed.

Note: Running Presence of Mind when going double mana items is not recommended as you'll already have a ton of extra mana.

VS. Tank / HP stacker

Blackfire Torch

Ionian Boots

Liandry's Torment

Cryptbloom

In this scenario, you'll want and (or another %pen item) as soon as possible to deal with tanky enemies. You can swap the order as well; versus early HP stacking and or another %pen item against early MR stacking. You should prioritize %pen if they are rushing any tank MR items unless it's only one enemy that you're not laning against. is still a strong item to rush, allowing you to at least waveclear easily against your opponent while doing respectable damage. You can also consider running a delayed build where you sit on an early and rush into so that you can really melt down a tanky target. This is usually unnecessary however since you can typically ignore and scale through tanky matchups with your powerful waveclear, but it is an option if you feel like you'll need the safety from . are also better against high HP/MR since flat mpen loses value, or you can go for if you're planning to rush and have enough AH, since the flat pen will be better once you have %pen.

VS. Squishy / Long Range

Luden's Companion

Sorcerer's Shoes

Stormsurge

Rabadon's Deathcap

Burst builds aren't common on , but against squishy or higher range team comps where you don't get much value from , can be a niche but effective answer. You'll likely want for your boots to really lean into your damage, with and as your 2nd item flat pen options. Once again, if you manage to get the gold for it, getting a and building towards will be a massive damage increase. On the other hand, has an easy build path while also being much cheaper. The movespeed can also be incredibly valuable to help you kite or dodge skillshots. Your 3rd item will likely be unless the enemy team is itemizing MR - which should be unlikely if you're opting for a burst build in the first place - but be flexible and adapt to what's happening in the game.

Combos

"Creativity is limitless—for better or worse."

Rather than learning strict combos, with you will often find yourself adapting your spells to each specific situation and choosing which spells you need in the moment. Knowing when to use each and being flexible is part of what makes a difficult champion, and what will make you a great player. However, there are a few common spell combos that I will briefly mention here. Keep in mind that these are by no means strict combos - switch things up as needed!

It is crucial that you pair spells together as much as possible in order to proc his passive.
You can add WE to the start of your combos whenever you want to maximize your damage, but it isn't necessary.
WE can be cast during the travel time of every single one of Hwei's spells, even EE. This is important to mask your intentions since casting WE first every time will make it obvious when you're looking to be aggressive.
Get used to the timing of your ult, either by memorizing the duration or listening to the sound so that you can properly time your QW to pop immediately afterward or follow-up with an E spell.
You CANNOT do QW → EE for the bonus damage off of EE's CC. EE literally does not come out fast enough due to cast times and delays. This has been confirmed by Riot Emizery.

Note: Spells surrounded by parentheses are optional casts.

Waveclear
QE	Standard waveclear spell
QE → (WE) → EE	Fast waveclear combo but leaves you vulnerable afterward
(WE) → EE → QQ	Fast waveclear combo performed perpendicular to the wave, leaves you vulnerable afterward

Poke
QQ	Standard fast poke spell
EE	Alternative fast poke spell; bypasses minion wave + easier for Arcane Comet to land due to the slow but can leave you vulnerable
QE → EE	Waveclear + Poke combined; the passive proc from landing this combo can also help clear the wave
EE → QQ	Fast combo
EE → QW	Alternative combo that bypasses the minion wave, but does less damage if the target isn't isolated
QQ → WE → AAs	Passive proc combo that lets you hold onto E

Finisher
EQ/EW/EE → QW	Pair your CC spells to guarantee QW lands and deals its maximum damage

Disengage
EQ → (WQ) → (QE)	EQ shuts down the engage and can be followed up with WQ and/or QE for extra damage or disengage

EE → WE → AA for Passive Proc

Extended trade with WE empowered AAs, into EE → QW

All-in
EE → R → QQ/QW	EE is the quickest way to help land your ult
QE → R → EW → QW	QE tags the target for the slow, letting you ult from a longer range
EQ/EW → QQ → R → EW → QW	Requires some AH so that your E spells come up fast enough. You can chain your ult slow into another E spell which then leads into a free QW spell.
EQ/EW/EE → WE → AA → R → QQ/QW/QE	Single rotation, double passive proc combo. Requires you to AA once with WE active so that it counts toward your passive. Can be done in many ways, this is just one example.

QE → EE into R → timed QW

EW → QW to scout and follow-up with poke. EQ after she Es in, followed by QQ → R → WE while CC'd, then finish with QW

Flash Combos

can his QQ, EQ, and R. This can be used to surprise an enemy, reposition quickly while locked in animation, or to avoid hitting the wrong target. You simply have to cast and then use immediately after, although I recommend trying it in the Practice Tool first to get used to the timing. Depending on when is used with his ult, the projectile can become visually disjointed as seen in the clip below. Using with his other spells will not change where the spell is cast from or its direction. Make sure you're making this type of play with purpose rather than just to be fancy.

Champ Select

"What's heavy in the mind, becomes light on the page."

Create a Gameplan

The game starts during champ select, not after you load into the game! Figure out your gameplan during champ select and the loading screen, and be ready to adapt accordingly as the game progresses and you gain more information.

What's the matchup? Who's the enemy midlaner, jungler, and support? What about your team?
What rune setup are you running?
Which summoner spells will you want?
What is your build path going to look like?
What are your win conditions?

These are the types of things you should be thinking about every single game if you truly want to learn, improve, and succeed. Knowing what to do is one thing, but knowing why you should do it is just as important. Avoid autopilot and engage that brain!

Laning Phase

"Life has to be valued, no seconds wasted... Time is ripped away too quickly."

Laning Goals

has a safe and potentially oppressive laning phase depending on the matchup. You are often able to secure lane prio and affect the rest of the map via your waveclear and excellent utility. Even in tougher matchups, he has plenty of ways to neutralize the lane and farm safely while scaling.

Concept art for the symbols representing disaster, serenity, and torment

Your goal overall should be to harass your opponent when possible, pressuring them off CS and off the wave to get prio. With lane prio, you can get vision down and enable your jungler and team to make plays around the map or defend yourself from ganks. is great at absorbing pressure thanks to his strong self-peel and utility spells, so having vision down and baiting the enemy jungler to waste time coming to your lane (without you dying of course) is huge for your team. doesn't need to have a lead in lane to be useful, but he has the tools and power to form one in most matchups.

Level 1

In most ranged matchups, you'll start Q at level 1 and look to poke your opponent with QQ if they stand apart from the wave or too close to minions (make sure you abuse the QQ AoE). You can also immediately QE the wave to get prio and force your lane opponent to use spells on the wave to match you. Starting E can also be viable since EE is fast and can be used to poke through the minion wave, but you risk losing prio when doing so.

Against melees, the ability you level first completely depends on the matchup. Please refer to the matchup section near the start of the guide for more details. For aggressive melees, you'll likely level E first to access EQ. You'll want to hold onto your E defensively to stop engages from enemies with gap closers while keeping the wave in the center as much as possible.

Level 2

At level 2, you can level either Q/E or W depending on what you took level 1. Leveling Q/E lets you perform combos such as EE → QQ. Leveling W lets you use WE to harass with AAs and regen mana. Usually you'll level Q/E second. Avoid spamming too much if you don't have access to WE for mana regen. Focus on getting procs with efficient trades while playing for prio if possible.

Level 3 to 5

Once you hit level 3, you should level whichever spell you haven't already, giving you access to your full spellbook and combos. You'll then continue to put points into Q as you level to increase your damage. With all your spells unlocked, you can start to more aggressively trade and play for prio. Focus on shoving the wave while maintaining good map awareness.

For 's more difficult matchups (e.g. , ), you'll want to keep the minion wave closer to your side of the map to prevent the enemy from running you down or freezing the wave. 's waveclear isn't strong enough until after purchasing or completing a full item, so if the enemy is able to freeze the wave against you early on you're going to have a rough time.

Level 6 and Beyond

Once you hit level 6, you get access to your ult, , which is huge for getting picks. Even using it to chunk out your lane opponent can be useful, since it threatens a dive or solo kill, forcing them to play extra safe under turret or recall which gives you and your team a timing to affect the map. Aside from that, continue to farm toward your first item for a big powerspike, playing for prio and securing objectives.

Trading

When you are exchanging damage with the opponent, you are trading. Ideally, Hwei wants to abuse his range to make trades as one-sided as possible, otherwise known as poking. When playing a ranged artillery mage like , you might be tempted to trade and poke as much as possible so that you can threaten a kill on your opponent, but this isn't always efficient. Always have a plan in mind, and make sure that what you're doing aligns with that plan. There's a lot more to trading than just lowering the opponent's health. These are just some examples of what you have to take into account when trading:

Are you managing your mana properly?
> If I use a combo now I won't have anymore mana, so I'll save my mana to clear the next wave and recall.

Will the trade leave you vulnerable to retaliation or a gank?
> I'll poke but I'll save my E in case the Zed jumps on me.

How is the wave state affected by your trading?
> If I QQ them now it'll cause the minions to push towards them and they might set up a freeze.

Conditioning and Pattern Recognition

Conditioning in psychology is the theory that behaviors and reactions (the "response") to an object or event (the "stimulus") can be modified by learning. When it comes to League, conditioning during the laning phase is when you "teach" your lane opponent to behave a certain way as a reaction to what you are doing. This might sound complicated but I promise it's very simple; when you do "X", the enemy does "Y". "X" could be hitting your lane opponent with a QQ, and in reaction they play behind minions from then on - this is "B". You are now conditioning the enemy to be wary of "X" - the QQ in this case - which causes them to do "Y" - play behind minions - and that's what you need to abuse.

This concept can be used by any champ, but it gets even more interesting thanks to 's unique ability to choose which spells to cast. Let's use one of 's most common spell combos as an example: QE → WE → EE. After you've used this once or twice, you might notice your lane opponent standing apart from the wave so that they don't get caught by the combo. What do you do with this information? Rather than continue using a combo that will no longer hit them, you have to change things up. This is where pattern recognition comes in.

Concept art of Hwei’s temple on Koyehn

Once you notice this pattern, you can adapt by attempting, for example, an EW since they're no longer behind any minions, which lets you follow up with QQ or QW as a new poking option. In other words, you noticed your lane opponent doing "Y" to avoid "X", so you switch things up and try "Z", creating a new scenario the enemy has to be careful of.

The best players are able to recognize these kinds of patterns and exploit them, gaining advantage after advantage no matter how microscopic it might seem. Every player has patterns and habits they fall into. Once you start to recognize patterns in play, you can punish them, and when you can create those patterns through conditioning, you get to dictate those plays.

Recall Timing

So you've been beating up your lane opponent for a while now. Maybe you've gotten a kill, but you've definitely accumulated a lot of gold from CSing. When do you recall? Recalling is a simple action, but there is a deceptive amount of decision making behind it. A good recall minimizes the amount of gold, XP, and pressure you lose while you are in base. It takes around 30-40 seconds (including the channel time) to recall and get back to lane, and that's assuming you buy your items right away. A lot can happen in that time!

Here's a checklist of things to keep in mind when planning your recalls:

Is there an incoming cannon wave?
What is the wave state?
How much gold do I have and what can I buy?
Is there an upcoming objective?

Final Hwei concept art by Gem “Lonewingy” Lim

You'll usually want to recall while a cannon wave is spawning since they take longer to clear, giving you more time to get back before the enemy laner crashes the wave. You should also keep track of how much gold you have so you can decide what you'll buy when recalling, or maybe if you can stay in lane a bit longer so you can afford that big item breakpoint ( at 1200 gold!). Upcoming objectives are also an important factor for deciding when to recall, since you really don't want to be sitting on a bunch of gold when those spawn. I'll be going over wave states in greater detail in the later "Wave Management" section, but the gist is that you want your wave to be in a position where you're losing as few CS as possible.

Wave Management

"Every question, every burden, every vision: I'll lay them out, here."

What is Wave Management?

Wave management - or wave manipulation - is the deliberate control of the minion wave to gain advantages. There are three main techniques when it comes to wave management: Fast push, slow push, and freezing. This section provides a quick rundown of each along with when and when not to perform them.

I highly recommend spending some time doing further research on this topic and watching videos that demonstrate it since wave management is an important concept used by all lanes and at all levels. Don't worry if you don't understand or can't implement these techniques right away! Wave management is a highly dynamic and advanced concept that even high level players discuss and struggle with.

Fast Push

Fast Pushing is when you clear the minion wave as quickly as possible so that it fully goes under the enemy turret. This usually means using however many spells it takes to instantly melt the wave (e.g. QE → WE → EE). Doing so allows one or more of the following:

Recall
Quickly set up a dive

Enable a quick roam
Keep opponent in lane

Punish a roam
Reset the wave

Depending on when you fast push, you can create a slow push towards your side of the lane which can be converted into a freeze, or you can completely reset the minion waves so that they meet in the middle.

You should avoid fast pushing if the enemy laner wants to set up a freeze and you would be unable to unfreeze it. Normally this isn't an issue for thanks to his waveclear and range, unless you're against a champ like or who have the mobility and damage to run you down.

Slow Push

Slow Pushing is when you build up multiple waves before letting them crash into the enemy turret. This gives you more time to reset, roam, or harass your lane opponent under turret since they have to spend longer catching the wave.

Slow pushing might sound like the opposite of fast pushing but it actually lets you do similar things, the only difference being how much time it takes to perform and how much time you get from it. The main drawback of slow pushing is it can leave you vulnerable to ganks due to how long it takes to build multiple waves. It's also weak against champs with high waveclear, since they can simply melt the wave before it can build.

Freeze

Freezing is when you keep the minion wave on your side of the lane for an extended period of time. There are a few ways to perform a freeze - which I recommend you look up videos for - but the basic requirement is the enemy minion wave pushing towards you with a slight minion advantage. What ends up happening is the enemy wave kills yours first since they have more minions, but due to them having to travel further down the lane to where the wave is, the wave ends up staying in the same spot. You must only last-hit minions when performing a freeze, and any extra damage done to your wave has to be matched so it stays even.

Keeping a freeze going in mid is difficult, but there is still value in performing short freezes. Freezing should be done when you have low prio and want to farm safely or if there is nothing on the map to play for. You can also use freezes when ahead to zone the enemy from CS, forcing them to take uneven trades or awkward roams, which you can punish. If you have a lead with however, it's often more valuable to use your lead to get your team ahead since he has low kill pressure on his own.

can actually use his WW to tank the minion wave while he waits for his own wave to arrive as well, letting you set up a quick freeze if you're not being contested. You can also pull the wave by taking aggro and moving to the sides of the lane, delaying the crash and setting up a freeze.

Priority and Roaming

"Act on inspiration when it strikes."

What Is Priority?

Priority or "prio" refers to the state in which a player has agency over the lane, which affects how quickly they can react to or dictate plays around the map. Think of it like having the ball in a soccer game (or football for the rest of the world); the one with the ball gets to take their turn and make a play, while the others have to play around them or try to steal the ball back before making their own play. The ability to move first is a major advantage when it comes to starting skirmishes or helping with them. Moving first also lets you set up vision before these fights break out or to protect yourself from unwanted fights. Lastly, lane priority opens up roam timers especially if you've properly used the aforementioned wave management techniques (e.g. setting up a slow push to help with an upcoming skirmish around the ).

Early Hwei concepts from artist Nancy “Sojyoo” Kim

What Affects Priority?

Priority is something that is constantly juggled around, rarely in one person's hand for too long. Priority is determined by: Kill pressure, champion matchup, item differences, wave state, jungle presence, vision control, or some combination. While he lacks kill pressure, the majority of 's matchups are either great or decent, with very few where he is unable to do much. He also has amazing waveclear and utility, letting him melt waves with ease and backup his jungler.

Basically, he's great at contesting lane priority, and when he does have priority, he can be a massive headache for the enemy team. In cases where you don't have priority, whether it's the matchup or the game state, you must be flexible and communicate efficiently with your team so they know which plays to avoid or that you'll be late to them. Just because you don't have priority now, doesn't mean you won't have it later, so play with that in mind.

Should You Roam as Hwei?

The problem with this question is that people have different definitions for what counts as roaming. Roaming is merely moving away from your lane, whether it's to gank another lane, assist your jungler, or just to set up vision elsewhere. Using this definition, you should absolutely be roaming as . His ganks aren't as potent as an assassin's or mages who actually excel at roaming (e.g. or ), but his ability to get lane prio combined with his utility options makes him excellent for setting up vision and assisting the jungler.

Even just standing right outside of vision is a great way to use your prio to exert pressure on not only your lane opponent, but the enemy team. They are forced to play around your possible roam, relieving the rest of your team of pressure.

Shaping Hwei's concept

As mentioned before, isn't the best at full blown sidelane ganks like other midlane champs. You should only opt for a committed gank if the odds of success are high - almost guaranteed. Determining these odds in a split second can be difficult and only comes with game experience.

Warding

"There is light in me... I can't lose sight of it."

Warding as a Midlaner

Warding and vision control are integral to your success in League, regardless of what role or champion you play. While mid lane is shorter compared to top and bot, there are many more paths to watch out for, so knowing when and where to ward is crucial. Not only do you have to ward to protect yourself from ganks, the midlaner's natural "reach" due to the lane's location means they can ward for their team as well. Warding is a complicated topic that would require its own separate guide to properly cover, so this section will instead stick to the most basic and essential wards for midlane. I will have Blue side wards on the left and Red side wards on the right.

Warding as an Immobile Mage

Despite being an immobile mage, is decent at face checking and setting up vision thanks to his utility options and respectable range outside of the lane. You can use QQs and QWs to poke and prod around bushes for any potential enemies, EW to grant temporary vision and close off chokepoints, or WQ to quickly get away should any unwanted appearances occur. Saving your E spell also lets you EQ anyone that jumps on you while you’re putting your ward down, as long as you’re ready for it.

The Warding Mindset

Whenever you go to place a ward, there are certain things you need to be thinking about:

Do you have prio? Will you have prio? What about your team?
What is your jungler's plan? Do they plan to invade or farm safely?
Where is the enemy jungler? Which side are they playing towards?
What does this ward do? What are its strengths and weaknesses?

It might be overwhelming at first, but eventually you'll understand it intuitively!

Blue Side Warding	Red Side Warding

Note: Wards highlighted in green can be stealth wards or control wards depending on the situation.

Standard Wards

Side Bushes

The Side Bushes at mid are likely the first spot most midlaners think of to ward, and for good reason. They're easy to place and give quick vision for potential ganks without having to step out of the lane. The problem with this ward is that it leaves many openings and gives limited info. Notice how there are bushes and gaps that enemies can abuse to skirt around the ward. Compared to the other options we'll go over, this ward is clearly inferior and should only be placed in a pinch when you need immediate vision. These are what I call "lazy wards", which I'll go over more later on.

It's worth noting that if you have a lead in lane and can keep your lane opponent under their tower, you can place a here instead of a . This lets you place deeper s while still having a ward nearby to protect yourself - assuming you can protect the that is. Make sure when placing this ward that it is closer to your side so that enemies have to put themselves slightly at risk to clear it.

Top and Botside River

These wards are the more efficient versions of the previous Side Bush wards while only requiring a few more steps. They cover more of the river, increasing your response time against incoming ganks. They also cover the respective blue and red buff entrances depending on which side is warded, which the Side Bush wards do not do.

The main downside to this ward compared to the Side Bush version is that it cannot be replaced with a since it would be way too exposed. Also, if the enemy team spots you placing this ward down, they can exploit that and jump directly into the Side Bush if their champ allows them to.

Red Ramp

An alternative to the Top and Botside River wards, giving your team more information into the enemy team's red side jungle while leaving you a bit more exposed through the river. This ward is also ideal against junglers with high mobility or stealth (e.g. , , or ), giving you a ton of response time without having to leave your lane much. This ward pairs well with the River Bush .

I like using this ward if my team has warded further down the river, covering other entrances, or if it's the side my jungler is playing on. Keep in mind the side differences with this ward: The Blue side version protects your top lane more from mid roams, while the Red side version protects your bot lane.

River Bush

This ward is similar to the previous Red Ramp ward except for the opposite side. It doesn't cover as much of the enemy jungle, but it does reach into the river to protect from ganks. Make sure you check the range when placing this since it can be somewhat precise for river coverage (the images are accurate for precise placement). This ward pairs well with the Red Ramp Bush .

I often place this kind of ward to protect my sidelanes from potential roams, but also for upcoming and skirmishes. While niche and difficult to protect, this can also be switched out for a but I very rarely do that.

Lane

Lane wards are placed specifically to counter roams, especially if you have low prio, have a freeze setup, or are about to recall. You get constant vision on your lane opponent so you can warn your team the second they start to lean towards a particular side. I love placing this ward against champs like , , or even since they are constantly leaving lane to mess with my team.

Defensive Wards

Red Ramp Bush

The defensive version of the previous Red Ramp ward. This is my most placed when I'm playing Blue side, while it's a bit more niche on Red side. Its location makes it easy to defend, providing constant vision and protecting your red side jungle and botside. This is also just a common that's placed while fighting around when you're Blue side.

River Bush

The defensive version of the previous River Bush ward. While the last defensive ward was Blue side's ward, this is my favorite Red side version to put down. Just like the last ward, it's close enough to midlane that you can defend it if you have prio, plus it protects your blue side jungle and botside.

Raptors Bush

An extremely defensive that is only placed when you have little to no prio for an extended period of time and/or your jungler is getting heavily pressured by the enemy jungler or midlaner. Spotting the enemy jungler or midlaner on this ward lets you and your team collapse on them since they are likely trying to steal camps or set up an ambush.

Aggressive/Deep Wards

Raptors Bush

A deep ward that should only be placed if you have prio and info on the enemy jungler's location, otherwise it can be risky. Getting this ward down lets you and your team get tons of early info on the enemy jungler's pathing, especially since you'll know if their camp is up. You can also abuse this info and go for invades with your jungler for a big punish.

Wolves Bush

A more niche version of the Raptor deep ward, except for the bush in front of the enemy . While this ward doesn't give as much info on the enemy jungler, it can still spot them walking by or even when they're finishing the camp depending on their pathing. The nice part about this ward is that it can spot the enemy midlaner roaming as well, plus it almost never gets cleared. Make sure you follow the images when placing this ward since the wall geometry can block vision.

Early Wards

Early Raptors

This is probably the most common early ward used due to how much value it gives. With this ward, you can spot the enemy jungler's starting position and therefore where they'll likely path towards. That is crucial information not only for you, but for your entire team and especially your jungler.

There are a few ways to place this ward, with a time range between 1:15 and 2:10. Depending on the matchup, can often get early prio, allowing him to place this ward inbetween the first and second wave or after the second wave - closer to the 2:10 mark. Otherwise, this ward can be placed level 1 around 1:15 so that you don't lose all lane pressure while achieving a similar effect.

Avoid "Lazy Wards"

“Lazy wards” are either inefficient or flawed in some way. These are the kinds of wards players will place because they know they’re supposed to ward, but the ward doesn’t actually achieve much. Bad vision is almost as bad as having no vision at all, and in some cases it’s even worse. It is devastating when you play around a ward because it has given you a false sense of security, only to die because the information given was incomplete or misleading.

Here’s an example of what I would consider a lazy ward: Let’s say you're playing blue side and you currently have mid prio – your lane opponent is stuck under turret farming a full wave – and you just saw that the enemy (because he can't jump walls) attempted a gank top and is now walking down river towards mid. Where do you put your ward while you have this timing? Option A, B, or C?

Option A	Option B	Option C

You might remember that Option A is the Side Bush ward that I already called a lazy ward. This is especially true in this case because placing this ward only protects you from potential ganks and does nothing to help your team or provide additional information. You have plenty of time to step out of lane for a bit to place a more efficient ward.

Option B, on the other hand, is a great ward to place. This is the River ward. It protects you from the potential river gank since you know the enemy jungler went down into the river. It also spots out the enemy jungler if they walk through the red ramp, giving your team info to react and plan around the enemy jungler's pathing.

Lastly is Option C. We'll call this the lazy version of the River ward. Notice how this ward isn't placed in the Side Bush ward location, but also not in the proper River ward location to cover the red ramp. This is incomplete information. If you or your teammates aren't paying close enough attention, they might think this ward covers the red ramp. The enemy jungler could cross through this area without being spotted, so your team might think he's still somewhere in the topside river or invading your team's blue side jungle. Avoid lazy wards like these as much as possible!

Map Awareness and Jungle Tracking

"Life flows in currents. Twisting... turning."

Map Awareness

Being able to quickly glean as much information as possible from what you see is what map awareness entails as a skill. That definition might seem confusing; isn't map awareness just looking at the map from time to time? While that is an important part of map awareness, doing only that doesn't tell you enough, especially when you have other tools to get information from.

League has default keybinds that let you instantly pan over to your allies when you press their respective key: These are the function keys (or F keys)! While it might feel awkward at first, I highly recommend including the usage of these keys into your gameplay, whether it's taking the time to get used to clicking them or rebinding them to whatever is comfortable for you. I personally have mine bound to Shift + 1 - 4, which feels much easier to reach. It will absolutely feel awkward for a bit, but I got used to it and you can too with time. You can quickly check your allies' current health, wave state, and just overall situation at the push of a button - information you wouldn't get just from looking at the minimap.

The other tool you should use is the scoreboard. While the most fun part of the scoreboard is looking at your awesome KDA, it also gives you tons of information without having to click all around the map. You should be checking your team's summoner spell availability, itemization of both teams, and which enemies are currently visible (the scoreboard displays a question mark if an enemy is out of vision). Keeping an eye on enemy itemization will help you decide what to buy since 's itemization options are so flexible.

With the minimap, scoreboard, function keys, and - hopefully - your allies' pings for communication, you have all the information you need to play proactively, allowing you to anticipate enemy plays. With more information and the ability to understand it, you can prevent "nightmare scenarios" from ever happening in the first place rather than getting surprised and wondering how you can "fix" what has already happened.

Jungle Tracking

Jungle Tracking simply means deducing the enemy jungler's location via in-game information and jungle knowledge. Different jungle champions have different gameplans and clear timings, but there are general patterns and timings you can look out for. The first is that most junglers will start either their Red or Blue buff first. This depends on the champ they are playing and/or which side of the map they want to play towards. Whichever side they start is the opposite of where they will end since most junglers do full clears in the current meta (clearing all camps before ganking or recalling), which is why it's a big advantage to find the enemy jungler's starting position. As for timers, 3:00 - 4:00 is a dangerous window since most junglers finish their clears after 3:00, giving them some time to look for ganks before or after the spawns at 3:30. There are exceptions to this of course; junglers like , , and love going for cheeky early ganks, so keep that in mind. As for second clears, we know that small camps respawn after 2:15 minutes, while the blue and red buffs respawn after 5 minutes. Junglers will usually start their second clears around 4:20 when their first small camp respawns. It's also worth noting that each camp cleared counts as 4 CS (e.g. 12 CS means 3 camps cleared).

Example Scenario

Let's assume that you've placed an early ward at the enemy s (1) and see that they started clearing it. After they finish the s (1), they path upwards towards their (2). You can safely assume they are clearing the rest of their red side jungle, either the (2) first or the s first (3), but either way their general position is known while doing so. This is when you have to think about the different paths they can take. Which one is the most likely when you think about their champion and the lanes? Which is the riskiest for them, and riskiest for you? Until you see them again, you have to keep these possible scenarios in the back of your mind and play accordingly. After taking a second to think, feel free to uncover the spoiler and look at where the enemy jungler could go.

Read example before revealing!

Mid/Late-Game and Teamfighting

"A heart bared isn't broken... it's freed."

Mid-Game and Sidelaning

There is no hard rule or timing for when the mid-game begins, but it is usually indicated by the first turret falling and your team rotating positions to better play around objectives and power spikes. This mostly happens after the 14-minute mark when turret platings fall and towers become more vulnerable. Typically what happens at this point is the mid and botlaners swap so the midlaner can begin sidelaning. ADCs are generally more vulnerable compared to midlane champs so the shorter lane is helpful. They can also work on taking down the mid turret with their higher DPS to free up more of the map, or set up for objective fights alongside their support and jungler.

In the meantime, immobile mages like instead focus on safely catching waves in the sidelanes - either bot or top - while paying attention to objective timers‎‎
( and especially). Play around your vision and jungler while trying to push out as far as you safely can. Then, be prepared to rotate for objectives as they spawn or for potential teamfights. Use your proactively if you have it; early presence is vital to success.

Green = Safe | Yellow = Contested | Red = Dangerous
Notice how the safe zones change due to which turrets are still standing

Splitpushing

Some champions are more comfortable playing in contested territory due to their kits, but as an immobile mage without kill pressure, you are mostly only looking to stay alive, CS, and participate in teamfights. Splitpushing as is extremely rare and I don't really recommend it. Once again, doesn't have high kill pressure, especially when the enemy is under turret. He also doesn't do a lot of damage to turrets even with WE, meanwhile he's an amazing teamfighter and mid/late-game skirmisher. You are usually only losing value when splitpushing unless the turret is completely undefended and your team can stall or outright win fights without you.

Late-Game

Your goal in the late-game is the same as it was in the mid-game: Catch side waves and group up for objectives and teamfights. The only difference is that mistakes are significantly more punishing, and often game ending. should stick with the team even more in the late-game, often sacrificing sidelane waves if necessary to ensure that he is there for teamfights (as long as it doesn't lead to losing the game of course). If your is up, you'll want to be on the opposite side of the map as the objective (i.e. top lane if is spawning, or bot lane if is spawning). If you aren't running , you'll have to do the opposite and play on the side where the objective is spawning. Continue grouping up and play for your win condition(s).

Teamfighting

When approaching teamfights, there are a few general things you need to think about, especially as an immobile mage.

Who are the priority targets? (The ADC? Enemy midlaner? Annoying Soraka?)
Who should I be careful of? ( Evelynn sneaking around? Rell hexflashing?)
Which abilities do I need to watch out for? ( Ashe ult, Malphite ult, Syndra stun?)
Do I need to peel for a specific teammate? (Protect the Kog'Maw?)

As you will usually just be hitting whoever is right in front of you, but if and when an enemy squishy champion gets low, mispositions, or breaks away from their team, you can look to catch them out or snipe them with QQ and QWs. Don't get stuck in the habit of only spamming QE in teamfights. While the AoE slow and zoning are powerful, your QQ does a lot of upfront damage and can be just as - if not more effective when used properly. EE also becomes much more powerful in teamfights, letting you stack up multiple procs for massive damage. Just make sure you don't need to save your E for defensive use. WQ and WW are amazing utility options to help your team move around quickly or to absorb damage as well.

The main thing you want to look for in teamfights is how you're going to land your . Fighting in tighter spaces - such as in the jungle - makes it easier to group up enemies with AoEs and land ult. Try to reduce the chance of your missing as much as possible by pairing it with your or your allies' CCs, since missing it is a huge damage and pressure loss. Ideally you land your ult on a squishy target, getting tons of damage off and likely burning key spells. It's not the end of the world if your ult lands on a tank if they are near other priority targets, since the large AoE will help separate and disrupt their team.

It's also important you don't hold onto your ult! While 's ult is powerful and can do significant damage, it's on a relatively low cooldown in the mid and late-game, and not something relies on. The long detonation time also gives enemies ample time to absorb or avoid the damage, but even then the large AoE and slow makes it valuable.

Above all else, you need to be flexible. 's arsenal of spells requires you to think on the fly and adapt to different situations, so it can get overwhelming and chaotic - especially in teamfights - if you're not used to piloting the champion. Think about which one you're using and why, until it becomes second nature and you no longer have to dedicate your cognitive energy to it. Everything comes with time and experience. Even if you feel intimidated now, just keep at it and continue learning.

Teamfight Example

QE → EE against grouped enemies while using WW to delay ally death. QQ to quickly finish the Fizz. EW cuts off Jhin's escape, followed by an ult to slow and finish off enemies. (I recommend watching at 0.5x speed)

Conclusion

"I'll always be a student of the brush, never its master."

Thank you for reading through my guide! I hope it proves to be a helpful resource for any aspiring Hwei players, and if so, make sure you hit that upvote button!

If you have any questions, criticisms, or simply want to point out a spelling mistake, please feel free to leave a comment on the discussion page or contact me on Discord in the Hwei Mains server (softheadpats or "Benji"). I will try to respond as soon as possible.

I also want to give a big thank you to Making a Guide by jhoijhoi and A Table Coding Guide by Katasandra which helped immensely with the formatting for this guide!

Skins Showcase

Changelog

mm/dd/yy

11/05/25 - Updated for 25.22. Descriptions for , , , and under "Itemization" section slightly adjusted. Decscription and build for "VS. Balanced Team" example updated under "Itemization" section.

10/23/25 - Updated for 25.21. Added Kennnen, Morgana, and Zilean to "Threats" section. Spelling mistakes and grammatical errors fixed. "Synergies" formatting slightly updated to match "Threats" section.

10/09/25 - Updated for 25.20. Cleaned up "Changelog" section. Added "Wave Management", "Lane Priority and Roaming", "Warding", and "Map Awareness and Jungle Tracking" sections. Updated "Champ Select", "Laning Phase", and "Mid/Late-Game Teamfighitng" sections. Updated Items Cheat Sheet. Various formatting and description adjustments throughout the guide. More quotes!

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[25.22] Your True Colors - Complete Hwei Guide

Preamble

Pros and Cons

Champion Abilities

Runes

Summoner Spells

Itemization

Combos

Champ Select

Laning Phase

Wave Management

Priority and Roaming

Warding

Map Awareness and Jungle Tracking

Mid/Late-Game and Teamfighting

Conclusion

Skins Showcase

Changelog

[25.22] Your True Colors - Complete Hwei Guide

[25.22] Your True Colors - Complete Hwei Guide

Recommended Items

Runes: Personal Favorite

Spells:

Flash

Teleport

Flash

Ghost

Barrier

Flash

Cleanse

Flash

Items

Ability Order Standard

Subject: Disaster (Q)

Subject: Serenity (W)

Subject: Torment (E)

Spiraling Despair (R)

Threats & Synergies

Ahri

Akali

Akshan

Anivia

Annie

Aurelion Sol

Aurora

Azir

Cassiopeia

Corki

Cho'Gath

Diana

Ekko

Fizz

Galio

Gragas

Irelia

Jayce

Karma

Kassadin

Katarina

Kayle

Kennen

LeBlanc

Lissandra

Lux

Malphite

Malzahar

Mel

Morgana

Naafiri

Neeko

Orianna

Pantheon

Qiyana

Rumble

Ryze

Seraphine

Swain

Sylas

Syndra

Taliyah

Talon

Tristana

Tryndamere

Twisted Fate

Veigar

Vel'Koz

Vex

Viktor

Vladimir

Xerath

Yasuo

Yone

Zed

Ziggs

Zilean

Zoe

Jarvan IV

Xin Zhao