Ahri often runs Electrocute, which she can easily proc with just her W and a few AAs thanks to the MS boost. If you space her properly, you can bait her W out at level 1 and get an early push on her. In general, you should try to position yourself behind a minion or two so that she can't land a charm on you.
As long as you avoid her charm, she shouldn't be able to solo kill you. You don't want to stand in the middle of your minion wave either; while she can't charm you this way, she can freely push the wave with Q while fishing for poke on you. Your poke is much stronger than hers early on, so you should look to harass her early and keep her from CSing when her abilities are down.
Ahri's strength lies in her ability to catch people out and set up kills thanks to her low ult CD and charm, so she'll often play with her jungler by shoving and roaming or setting up ganks. Make sure you set up vision to track her and/or the enemy jungler.
Akali
You're usually unable to kill her early because of Doran's Shield + Fleet Footwork + Second Wind + natural high regen. Focus on poking when Manaflow is up and keeping the wave towards your side of the lane, or else she'll run you down if she finds an opening.
The main thing with Akali is playing around her shroud (W) CD, which has a 20 sec CD at all ranks. When she uses it, immediately back off, but once it fades away you have a large window to pressure her. If she lands E1, be patient with your EQ to cancel her E2. If your EQ isn't up to cancel E2, be prepared to use WW to block damage otherwise it's going to hurt.
Once she hits 6, she will look to roam more or all-in you. Do not panic if she ults onto you, just make use of your WQ or WW to create some distance or block damage. As long as you are close to your turret you shouldn't die.
Like with any other assassin outside of the laning phase, you want to make it as hard as possible for them to get onto you in the first place, or else you'll likely pop.
Akshan
If he E's 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.
Other than that, this is just an obnoxious roaming matchup with his stealth. Keep track of where he's going with wards, clear the minion waves to prevent/punish his roams, and respect that he could be ratting around somewhere.
Anivia
Pre-6 you have the advantage, however, it's hard to solo-kill her while her passive is up unless your jungler comes, and attempting to do so often leaves you at low mana. Despite this, it's important to keep up the pressure and deny CS and prio, since she becomes much more threatening for you post-6.
You can EQ or EE her when she casts ult on you, but your E CD is much longer than her R CD. Focus on clearing the wave and matching her roams rather than 1v1ing her post-6. This matchup is more about who can set up for their team better without getting caught out.
Annie
She can be annoying in lane if she takes Aery, allowing her to trade using her shield (reflects damage and procs Aery), long-range AAs, and low CD Qs to proc it. She is also able to secure an early level lead if she takes Q first thanks to its CD resetting when used to last-hit. If she takes Electrocute or First Strike, then the lane is much easier as long as you play around them. Annie's shield CD is 12 seconds at rank 1 so keep that in mind as it gives her a lot of MS.
As long as you pay attention to her stacks and are wary of flash engages, it's a simple lane. Try to get prio with your superior waveclear so that you can poke her down or pressure the map. If she's able to constantly get prio and play around her jungler, she can very easily gain leads thanks to her reliable CC and damage.
Aurelion Sol
Laning phase is straightforward since he's weaker early on and mostly stationary, so take advantage of this and poke him down as much as possible. Be careful of punishing his Q with your E spells, since he can cast W towards you and recast his Q mid-flight, leaving you with no way to stop his engage.
ASol stacks much more quickly when he's proccing his Q, which is easy to avoid as long as you space him properly and cancel his W engages. He becomes much more threatening once he finishes Rylai's, allowing him to set up ganks or bait out spells more easily. Your E CD also gets much lower at this point though, so keep track of when he Ws and make sure you cancel it.
Aurora
Her range is short aside from her E, allowing you to poke her if she oversteps. However, her waveclear is fast and safe, letting her neutralize the lane if she chooses to - especially if she's running Fleet. Once she hits 6, she becomes obnoxious to 1v1 so avoid doing so whenever possible. She can set up ganks for her jungler with her ult as well, so avoid wasting your E if you feel the enemy jungler is nearby.
Azir
He can farm safely out of your range with soldiers, but you will win most extended trades. His Q and E also have high mana costs early on, so forcing trades to attack his mana pool can be beneficial.
Once he hits 6, it becomes more dangerous since he can drift at you from different angles and set up ganks. Either respect the shuffle or react properly to his dash with an EQ. A good Azir will be prepared to flash past your EQ so be wary of that.
Cassiopeia
Take E at level 1 or 2, or else you'll potentially lose lane from getting hit by a single Q and getting run down. Other than that, you completely outrange her and are safe as long as you hold onto E to disengage from fights.
Outside of the laning phase, you have a lot of zoning/spacing options built into your kit especially if you use WQ to dodge her Qs. Continue clearing waves and fending her off in teamfights with your range.
Corki
I recommend starting E in this matchup, especially if he is running HoB. His level 1 trade can bring you down to half HP if you don't respect it, so make sure you EQ him if he walks at you while his E is active. After he hits level 2, he might choose to put a point in his W (his movement ability) to jump at you, so pay attention to the minion wave and anticipate the all-in if it looks like he'll hit 2 first. For this reason, it's important that you AA the wave as much as possible so that you can hit 2 at the same time as him - or at least shortly after if he's Eing the wave. Once you hit level 3, the lane becomes much more manageable since you can begin poking him down and matching his waveclear. While his early laning phase is strong, it quickly evens out as long as you've been CSing well and secure some item components. If you hold onto your E defensively, he shouldn't have many opportunities to freely jump at you, making him much less effective since he can no longer mindlessly spam his R for tons of damage.
Cho'Gath
As long as you don't get hit by his Qs, this should be a simple lane. You can also rush T2 boots for more MS to help you dodge. Getting hit by a single Q after he hits 6 can easily kill you, but that's basically all he can do. Keep in mind that it has a very low CD though. It's an even easier lane if he goes a tank build since you can just respond with Liandry's and freely melt him.
Diana
Take E at level 1 or 2. She'll often look to shove the wave to stack her passive while fishing for angles to jump on you. You can use this to your advantage and try to keep the wave closer to your tower, limiting the space she has to aggress and opening her up to gank opportunities.
Her Q has a deceptively far reach with its big AoE at the end (basically the same range as your QQ). Respect the engage, especially if she runs Phase Rush, which makes her significantly more dangerous and obnoxious. EQ is your best friend against her so hold onto it defensively. Diana can be deceptively tanky thanks to her shield so make sure you take that into account when trying to kill her.
Once she gets access to her ult, be prepared to shield yourself or your team with WW. A lot of Dianas will rush Zhonya's 2nd or 3rd, allowing them to dive in much more freely and before you can react with EQ. The key to countering this is maintaining vision and tracking where she's going or where she could be. The best counter to assassins is preparation and prediction rather than pure reaction*
Ekko
Take E at level 1 or 2. Ekko is an annoying matchup later on but is fairly manageable in lane. The main issue with Ekko is his E. Even if you EQ him as he jumps on you, his E can still go through depending on the timing since there's a slight delay before he blinks. He is extremely dangerous with Hail of Blades since he can simply E at you off CD (Ekko E is 9 sec at rank 1) and quickly proc his passive. As long as you properly EQ him after he's blinked, he won't be able to proc his passive, allowing you to trade back and at least go even. Oftentimes, you can even win the trade this way.
He has a ton of waveclear with his Q, so you need to force him to use it on you or make sure you match his waveclear so that he can't roam freely. Keep track of his CDs, and beware of W's from fog. Even if his W doesn't land on you, it lingers for some time which he can use to shield himself and trade with you.
A single bad trade can leave you vulnerable to dives with his ult.
Ekko players can delay putting a point into their ult until right before they need to use it, masking the location of their ghost (ult indicator) and catching people off guard. Keep track of this once he hits 6 and let your team know if possible.
Fizz
Take E at level 1 or 2. Try to crash the 2nd or 3rd wave while constantly pressuring him so that the wave will bounce back and he's at low HP. Once you have a freeze going, you are much safer and he'll be pressured into trading with you in the hopes of unfreezing the wave with his E. Avoid standing in the middle of your minions to prevent this. Be prepared to use WW to block damage or to maintain a freeze.
Post 6, he will start to look for ult angles. Fizz can hide his ult cast while dashing with his Q so keep that in mind. Like any other assassin, the best counter is preparation and prediction rather than pure reaction, so maintain vision and look at that map.
Galio
Galio isn't too threatening in a 1v1, especially since you can cancel his E with its noticeable windup. Punish the windows when his E is on CD since he has no real way of getting onto alone without it. If he ever manages to get into taunt range without using his E, you're often better off absorbing the incoming damage with WW first rather than EQing.
He becomes more dangerous in 2v2s and once he hits 6, since he can quickly respond to skirmishes around the map with his ult and play off of his team. You'll likely want Liandry's and Cryptbloom since Galio tends to build tanky.
Gragas
His lane sustain can be obnoxious thanks to his passive and damage reduction from W, but otherwise, he doesn't have many ways to get onto you. Your EQ will cancel his E, but minions will do the same so play around the wave.
If he chooses to spam Qs to poke you, his waveclear suffers immensely, allowing you to shove him in and poke him under his turret.
Be careful around his turret once he hits 6, as he'll likely go for a fancy combo with his ult and force you to take turret shots. He can do the same under your turret if he gets you low enough. You should be able to harass him freely by abusing your range advantage otherwise.
Irelia
Take E at level 1 or 2. This lane is all about wave control; the more you're able to keep the wave close to your turret, the more manageable the lane gets. You pretty much never win a 1v1 against Irelia since she can easily heal up and outmaneuver you, but your goal in this lane is just to survive and keep up in CS anyway.
If you are somehow able to EQ her mid-dash during the early levels, you can put her dash on a decently long CD and poke her down a bit afterward. Once it hits the mid-game, her Q CD gets pretty low even if she doesn't proc the reset so don't let your guard down. You're basically dead the second she's on top of you and you don't have E up.
Jayce
Use your range to poke him down, and back off whenever your E is on CD. Despite having a ranged form, he still has a fairly short range which you can abuse.
His melee form is almost useless against Hwei since you can easily EQ him out of his melee Q. As long as you don't have an enemy minion or something right on top of you, there's a decent window to cancel his melee Q.
He becomes more annoying once he gets some items and can spam ranged E + Qs, but as long as you dodge those you're fine. Make use of your WQ and WW spells to help dodge or absorb damage.
Karma
She can be threatening if she gets past your minion wave to harass you. The majority of her damage comes from mantra Q, but it is also her only way of pushing the wave quickly. If she chooses to spam Qs on the wave, you have more opportunities to poke her out but try to keep the wave in the center as much as possible by constantly AAing it. You don't want to get stuck under your turret CSing while she pokes you down.
Once she gets her W and E, she'll look to get in range to tether you and guarantee mantra Qs. You'll often have to EQ her off of you, but make sure you wait for the MS to decay before going for it. Her gank setup is reliable thanks to her MS boost to get into range as well as mantra W to bait you in if she gets low.
Once you get your first few items, your waveclear is much better than hers so you can simply crash waves and force her to focus on waveclearing (Karma often struggles to CS under turret too). You should be more effective than her in teamfights thanks to your AoEs and range once those start breaking out.
Kassadin
An easy lane to bully pre-6, but Kassadin will quickly outscale you if you don't maintain a lead and pressure him. Make sure his Q is down before you use spells since it'll block a good chunk of damage. Aery + WE AA spamming is great in this matchup.
Once he hits 6, you should hold onto your E defensively to punish him if he jumps on you. Kiting backward with WQ while EQing him is often your best bet outside the laning phase (as long as he isn't too strong).
Limit your time spent in sidelanes as much as possible unless you know where he is. You don't want to get caught out from behind while pushed up since the game can quickly get out of hand with Kassadin. Try to catch waves when they're closer to your turret, or if you can, push as quickly as possible and group with your team.
Katarina
As long as you pay attention to where her daggers are going to land, this lane can be fairly simple. The dagger from her Q will always land opposite of where she throws it from, so you can manipulate where it lands once you understand how it works. Forcing it to land towards the sides of the lane rather than in the path of where you're traveling is extremely important to stopping her extended trades. Early on, her E CD is pretty long even if she catches a dagger, so play patiently and make sure you land EQ if she jumps onto you. Good Kat players will often E onto you and cast W to place another dagger while juking with the MS boost to avoid your EQ, so be wary of this.
AP Kat is very easy to deal with, but if she goes Conqueror the matchup gets exponentially more difficult.
If she runs Conqueror and starts Doran's Blade or Long Sword, she'll look for extended trades with AAs (she gets adaptive AD without any AP items). She can be threatening with this setup since she can quickly stack Conqueror and stick onto you with her Shunpo (E) while resetting her AAs. A single extended trade can put you in kill range, or even kill you straight up depending on where you are in the lane. She'll likely buy Merc Treads and Wit's End with this setup so be prepared to get an early Cryptbloom.
Kayle
Kayle isn't threatening at all until level 6, so make sure you take advantage of this huge window of vulnerability and harass her as much as possible.
Once she hits 6, she'll try to run you down after dodging your E spells, so make sure you hold onto it defensively. Her W gives her a significant MS boost to help her do this. Other than that, this matchup should be easy. You have plenty of options to zone her off and poke her down.
LeBlanc
LeBlanc has low range without burning her W, plus weaker waveclear. Her gank setup is strong after she hits level 3 though, and it's difficult to get a kill on her thanks to her mobility.
Her Q has a short CD and partially resets if she kills minions with it, but the range is short. After she uses W, you have a big window to harass her back. LeBlanc W CD is 15 seconds at level 1, scaling down to 10 seconds as she ranks it up (usually the first spell she maxes). Remember that you can cancel her W damage if you manage to EQ her before she lands. Use your range advantage to poke her down as usual. Once you can clear the wave comfortably, that's mostly what you'll be doing to reduce interactions with her and to stop her from roaming.
Once she hits 6, she becomes even more dangerous with her ability to E you twice, so do your best to sidestep it with WQ, or else you'll be forced to flash. Feel free to get Merc Treads or sit on Null-Magic Mantle to lower her kill pressure. If you get out of the laning phase without dying, you're already doing great since LeBlanc relies on early leads to snowball the game and end quickly.
Lissandra
Lissandra has a much shorter range compared to Hwei and struggles to keep up with him in pushing power. You can abuse this to freeze the wave or keep her under her tower, but be careful of her gank setups especially after she hits 6. Avoid standing in your minion wave so that she can't freely push the wave while harassing you.
If she ever chooses to jump on you without her jungler, you can block her damage with WW and trade back with spells and AAs after she's blown all her CDs.
It can be worth it to buy Merc Treads or run Cleanse against Liss to completely negate her CC.
Lux
Dodgeball simulator. This lane is all about dodging skillshots, which is much easier to do if you rush T2 boots. Try to stand outside of your wave so that even if she hits you with E, she isn't pushing the wave at the same time.
At level 6, she'll often ult the second she lands a Q just to get you to low HP. Good Lux players will use their E to land Q, or even ult with just the E slow, so be wary of that. Her ult has a decently long cast time though, giving you an easy target to QW or even to full-combo if she's close enough. Keep in mind that you can't cancel her ult with EQ/EE once she starts casting it unless you kill her before it finishes.
She becomes an ult-bot in the mid/late-game, so be prepared to use WQ to help your team dodge her skillshots easier.
Malphite
This matchup is basically the same as vs Annie but even simpler. His passive shield can be annoying to break, but if you take Aery and continue to harass him you'll eventually whittle him down enough. His gank setup is obviously scary once he hits 6, but as long as you respect where his jungler is, Malphite shouldn't have the damage to solo-kill you unless he's ahead.
Similarly to Cho'gath, if he chooses to run a tank build he's even easier to deal with. Make sure you get Liandry's and Cryptbloom if this is the case.
Malzahar
You can proc his passive easily, and your waveclear outmatches his since you can melt the voidlings as soon as they spawn.
He becomes more dangerous once he hits 6 thanks to his point-and-click ult, but you can also EQ him out of it if you cast it right before he ults you. Keep track of where their jungler is, since the only way you should be dying in this lane is to his ult plus a gank.
You can opt for a QSS if you feel like he's focusing you a lot (especially with flash ults), but most of the time you shouldn't be easily accessible for him in the first place.
Mel
More testing required*
Her poke in lane is extremely annoying since she can ignore the minion wave, plus she has good waveclear early on to match you if you choose to shove. Her W is also extremely annoying for Hwei since almost all his spells are projectiles with cast times that travel relatively slowly. Using EW to force her to burn W keeps you safe from your own spells and forces her to use W or be rooted. Other than that, you still excel in teamfights whereas she is mediocre, plus you provide a ton of utility, so play with your team and keep track of whether she's used W or not.
Naafiri
Naafiri can be intimidating at first because of all the dogs running around, but this lane is actually pretty easy to deal with. You can poke her down and kill the dogs fairly easily, especially if you proc your passive on Naafiri. Whenever she tries to W onto you, you can cancel it with EQ since her dogs spawn behind her and are untargettable.
She'll try to roam once she hits 6, so make sure you maintain vision and shove in the wave to keep her in the lane. Naafiri often builds items with HP like Black Cleaver and Edge of Night, and combined with her natural high HP, Liandry's can be a valuable purchase. If she Ws at you with Edge of Night, make sure you proc the spellshield with QQ or QE before using EQ.
Neeko
Neeko's poke in lane is much easier to land compared to yours, plus her root lasts a long time if she hits you with it. Rushing Mercs can help you deal with Neeko, but otherwise, you outscale and outrange her.
Just be aware of her passive disguise, since a lot of Neekos will try to turn into a minion and ult you. Also, make sure you ping missing for your team so they don't get caught off-guard by her shenanigans. Be prepared to WW yourself or your team if she manages to get close.
Orianna
This matchup can be tough early on thanks to her consistent poke and area denial with her ball - especially if she runs Aery or Comet. Once your waveclear is consistent enough, you can neutralize this lane, but until then, focus on getting control of the wave so that she can't spend as much time harassing you.
Be careful fishing for E spells onto her since she moves quickly with her W. She also gives resistances to whoever has her ball - including herself - so take that into account if you think she's in kill range. Avoid grouping up during teamfights, especially if you don't have vision of her. If your team is grouping up for whatever reason, try to use WQ to help them dodge her ult if it comes or WW to absorb some of the damage. Orianna can ult-flash while the ball is attached to herself to catch people off-guard, so be mindful of that option.
Pantheon
A fairly simple lane; Pantheon's gap closer is a short-range linear dash, which makes him easy to disengage from as long as you hold onto E defensively. You can freely poke him otherwise, but if he ever gets onto you he does a lot of damage. Don't forget that he blocks ALL damage with his E - including your QW - as long he uses it while facing towards you.
After he hits 6, try to keep the wave shoved in as much as possible to limit his roam opportunities. Be careful of him ulting onto you while coming back from base though, since he can run you down easily if you burned spells on the wave.
Qiyana
Qiyana can't do much at levels 1 and 2, so use this time to harass her. As soon as she hits level 3, she becomes much more annoying with her flexible mobility. Try to keep the wave closer to your tower, and be careful of her powerful all-in at 6. Walls are not your friend. Qiyana players will often dive you using your turret for her ult, so be wary of that.
Zhonya's active is difficult to use against her since you can't activate it if you get caught by her ult. You have to activate it during the small window where she's winding up her ult, or else you'll be swept up into it.
Rumble
Another lane where you simply hold onto E defensively. You can freely poke with Qs and AAs, but if you use E aggressively and miss, he has an opportunity to run you down - especially once he gets his ult. You should be able to avoid his E poke as long as you play around the wave properly. Rumble will often look to push and roam so try to get vision down to see where he goes, especially lane wards.
Ryze
Ryze is relatively short-ranged but has great waveclear. I recommend starting E against Ryze to stop him from trading too heavily pre-level 3. He can be dangerous with his point-and-click slow/root, but other than that you should be able to match his waveclear and poke him with your superior range especially as you gain levels and items. Ryze tends to run Phase Rush so be wary if it's up; missing an E spell while he procs Phase Rush can be dangerous.
Once he hits 6, he can pull off some plays with his ult such as setting up flanks or getting into position for a gank with it. Be mindful of where he's leaning towards so that you can cancel his ult if needed. Sidenote: His ult gives vision in the area it's being cast to.
Seraphine
Seraphine isn't threatening in lane since she's more focused on scaling rather than fighting you. If you can constantly AA the wave while zoning her off of it with your poke, you should be in good shape. She can be tricky to pin down thanks to her W giving MS and a shield, so be careful of getting baited into a gank.
Once she hits 6, she'll look for skirmishes and teamfights where she can lock multiple people down. Avoid clumping together with your team, and keep in mind that her ult range extends whenever it hits an ally or target. She can get annoying if the game goes for too long since she's a teamfighting powerhouse, so do your best to get an early lead and end the game before then.
Swain
He has low CDs, but also fairly low range aside from his W. He'll try to push the wave while harassing you with his Qs and throwing out Es to pull you in. The most important thing to dodge is his E, so as long as you do that you'll be fine.
Once he hits 6, make sure to hold your E defensively to stop his all-in if he decides to ult. It's definitely worth getting an Oblivion Orb after your first item to counter his healing. You should be able to space him with ease and chunk him down with your range and waveclear.
Sylas
The main thing you have to watch out for is his E. If you dodge his E's second-cast, this lane is fairly easy. You can also cancel his E with your EQ if you time it correctly. Aside from watching out for his E, you can poke him freely with Q spells and AAs (Aery is great in this lane).
Unfortunately, your ult is really strong for him since he can either fish with it or guarantee it if he manages to hit an E. Just make sure you play safe if he steals your ult since he can easily run you down if you get hit by it. Liandry's is great against Sylas due to his naturally high HP. Oblivion Orb can also be considered if you find that he's healing too much in teamfights, but usually it's not needed especially when 1v1ing.
Syndra
Syndra is a strong lane bully with her low CD Qs, but your poke is just as strong if you trade and dodge properly. I highly recommend rushing Merc Treads against Syndra, since it'll often let you dodge follow-up spells if she lands a stun on you. Her stun is her main tool to pressure enemies and without it, she becomes significantly less threatening. Try to bait it out before you go for any trades. She can be difficult to pin down since she can cast while moving, so play patiently.
Once she hits level 6, she can kill you at about 50-60% HP with proper setup if you don't have Mercs or your shield. Her damage will only continue to increase as the game goes on due to her passive stacking mechanic, so be ready to get Verdant Barrier/Banshee's Veil if needed.
Taliyah
Taliyah often isn't concerned with trading against you, but will instead quickly shove the wave and pressure the rest of the map. If she chooses to use her abilities on the wave to do this, you need to respond by harassing her as much as possible since you can't match her waveclear early on. Make sure you get vision down as well so you can track where she's going.
If she happens to be ulting at you, you can EQ along the length of her wall depending on the angle to get her off of it early (EW will miss).
Talon
If you get hit by both parts of his W, he will usually win the trade. Try to stand apart from the wave so that he can't push while harassing you with his W. His W has a 9 sec CD at rank 1 (7 sec at rank 5), so you have a decent window to harass him after he uses it. Be careful of him jumping on you with Q though, since he'll chase you down as his W is coming back up and then proc his passive with it that way. Talon loves to roam and mess with your jungler, making it extra important that you track where he's moving with wards and pings.
Be careful of immediately following him - especially once he hits 6 - since he can bait you into walking into a bad position and then instantly turn on you. He becomes even more dangerous if he opts for Edge of Night, allowing him to get close with his ult invisibility to avoid the spellshield breaking early. Try to tag him with QQ as soon as he jumps over a wall to break it, or better yet, avoid being in a position to be jumped on in the first place.
Tristana
Tristana is all about pushing and all-ins with her rocket jump, allowing her to deal huge amounts of damage and leaping away afterward. However, Hwei's EQ is the perfect tool to disengage as soon as she tries to jump on you. Her W has a noticeable wind-up animation and travels fairly slowly, giving you plenty of time to react and interrupt it. As long as you hold your E defensively the lane is fairly simple.
Tristana naturally pushes the wave thanks to her E passive, which makes it safer for you but also gives her a lot of lane prio. Try to AA the wave as much as possible to keep it in the center longer. Be careful if she takes Cleanse.
Tryndamere
A very simple lane; hold E defensively for when he tries to jump onto you. You should be able to kite him long enough even through his ult, that is, if he can even get you low enough to ult at you. You can also ult him as he's E-ing at you to guarantee that it lands, stopping his engage. You can even ult him towards the end of his ult
- if you're safe to do so - so that it pops after his ult wears off. The stacking slow will help guarantee a QW if he manages to survive through the ult pop.
First Strike is an option into this lane since he has a ton of sustain with his Q, Doran's Shield, and Second Wind if he takes it.
Twisted Fate
TF is very weak in lane compared to Hwei, but he becomes obnoxious once he hits 6 since he can quickly waveclear and pressure sidelanes with his ult. Make sure you abuse him early on and match his waveclear to prevent him from freely affecting the rest of the map. The main thing to watch out for is his point-and-click stun with yellow card, which allows him to set up for ganks or simply threaten a gank by holding onto it. His waveclear takes a big hit whenever he doesn't choose to use red card though.
Similar to Kat, if he goes AD his extended trades in the early game will be a lot stronger. Be careful of steeping up too far, since he might pop ghost and run you down with AAs. He also has the option of building Merc Treads and/or Wit's End if he goes AD/on-hit, so make sure you itemize properly.
Veigar
Veigar is forced to use his Q on minions to stack his passive, giving you plenty of opportunities to punish him while it's down. Avoid standing behind low-health minions since he'll get another stack for free if he hits you. His E (cage) makes it easy to set up ganks, so be careful of playing overly aggressive without vision.
Veigar players are starting to build Shurelya's to give him more safety and setup, so keep track of its CD once he finishes building it.
Overall, your waveclear and poke are better than his, giving you more agency in the lane phase, so build up your lead before he scales too hard.
Vel'Koz
Vel'koz has decent range and is a lot more consistent after the changes to his E. Play around the minion wave to dodge his skillshots, but try to avoid playing in the middle of your minion wave as it'll make pushing easier for him.
After 6, he can chunk you for a lot of damage if he lands an E (you can cancel his R as long as you have E up and no minions between you though). Rushing T2 boots early on can help with dodging skillshots.
Vex
Vex's CDs are fairly long early on, allowing you to harass her without much repercussion. Keep track of the bar underneath her HP and Mana, since it'll tell you if her fear is up.
Once she hits 6, she becomes a bit more dangerous with her long-range ult which can set up for ganks. You can actually EQ her as she's flying towards you with her ult, which will fear her as soon as she lands if you timed it correctly. Always keep in mind where she can come from once you're out of the laning phase; getting hit by a Vex ult at the wrong time can result in you instantly dying.
Viktor
Viktor can be obnoxious with his nearly undodgeable E and mini-shield from Q. He tends to out-trade you in lane, but you perform much better in skirmishes and outside of laning phase. Try to match his poke when possible and keep up in CS. If you end up fairly even with him then you're doing well.
Viktor struggles with pushing the wave early on and is usually forced to constantly AA the wave to keep up with enemy waveclear. Use this to your advantage and push him under turret if possible. Once he gets his first item and upgrades his E, he can match your waveclear so you'll usually both end up deleting the waves and posturing toward objectives and whatever else is happening around the map.
Vladimir
Vladimir is surprisingly easy to deal with as Hwei. You outrange him and clear the wave much more quickly and safely in comparison. You are able to bully him early on as long as you manage your mana properly. Just make sure you space his empowered Q, and you'll be fine.
In teamfights, Hwei has a lot of tools to zone off Vladimir or at least slow him down, so as long as you or your team don't get caught off guard (e.g. Vlad flashing or ghosting onto your team), he shouldn't be a problem.
Do NOT rush Oblivion Orb against Vlad - you outdamage his healing up until about 1-2 items. You can consider sitting on orb after you finish at least your first item.
Xerath
Similar to Lux and Ziggs, this lane is all about dodging skillshots. Rushing T2 boots against Xerath is common to help with this. Like with other mages, avoid stacking with the wave so that he has to choose to hit you or the wave. When he charges up his Q, you have a pretty easy target for QW poke. You can also WQ/WW to help with surviving his ult. If he happens to ult too close to you, you can cancel it with EQ or EE.
Yasuo
A good Yasuo can be a nightmare to deal with in the laning phase. Be ready to start E, since some Yasuos will start E (dash) and immediately jump onto you for trades. Your cast times and skillshots are all fairly slow, allowing him to easily react with his Windwall (W) to block everything. His mobility is also flexible which doesn't help you. Yasuo does tend to push the wave as he dashes and stacks his Q, so he can be gankable if you keep the wave towards your side.
Avoid fighting him 1v1 as much as possible and focus on teamfighting instead. Always pay attention to your minion wave, since he can choose to dash through the whole thing and stick onto you.
Yone
Compared to Yasuo, Yone is much easier to deal with. He relies on his Q3 + E to run you down, which is much more telegraphed compared to Yasuo's flexible E (also no Windwall). Holding E defensively helps with stopping his engage as well. As long as you respect his trade windows this lane is fairly simple.
After he hits 6, he becomes more threatening with his stronger gank setup, so be careful of getting run down. A lot of his abilities allow him to buffer CC, so even if you think you're about to land an E spell on him, be careful of him ulting straight through it or E-ing back to safety.
Zed
Harass him as much as possible levels 1-2 while slow pushing so that the wave bounces back towards you and he's lower HP. Make sure you abuse his long W CD whenever possible (20 sec at rank 1).
Zed can be intimidating once he hits 6, but you have tools to stop his all-in - or at the very least soften the blow. Zed will always land on the opposite side of where he ulted from, so you can pretty easily EQ behind yourself to catch him. Using WW can also help absorb a good chunk of his damage depending on the situation. Like any other assassin, the best counter is preparation and prediction rather than pure reaction, so maintain vision and look at that map.
Ziggs
Similar to Xerath and Lux; this lane is all about dodging skillshots. Consider rushing T2 boots to help with this. Your poke and waveclear are stronger than his, so as long as you avoid his poke this lane should be straightforward. His Q has a decent AoE and low CD, so be careful standing too close to minions - especially if they're low health - as a good Ziggs will use the minion wave to catch you with the AoE. If you step up too far, Ziggs can W you into a bad position due to how quickly it comes out so be careful of that.
Be mindful of your wave if you decide to roam. Ziggs can push and take plates and turrets incredibly quickly if he's left alone.
Zoe
Another skillshot matchup, except Zoe can be a bit more threatening compared to the others. Her Q has a noticeable AoE, allowing her to hit you if you stand too close to your minions. However, playing around your wave is important to dodge her bubble as well.
You outrange her during the early laning phase, plus you have better waveclear. Pay attention to which items/summoner spells she picks up with her W passive since she might play more aggressively depending on what she has. She is incredibly slippery as she uses her balloons, making her annoying to pin down and get away from depending on how unlucky you get.
Zoe's roams are surprisingly strong thanks to her bubble going through walls, and if she joins a fight late, she might pick up a bunch of different spells/items that were used. Keep your wards up and try to shove in the wave as much as possible once you have items to keep her in the lane.
Jarvan IV
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. J4, Xin, Rek'sai, Ashe, Rell)
Xin Zhao
Ashe
Rell
Nidalee
Having multiple teammates that want to stay back and play safe or who don't have CC makes it much harder for Hwei. Having too much AP - especially an AP jungler - also makes it difficult for itemization since the enemy is likely to rush Mercs or other MR items. (e.g. Nidalee, Karthus, Taliyah, Diana)
Karthus
Diana
Synergies
IdealStrongOkLowNone
Jarvan IV
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. J4, Xin, Rek'sai, Ashe, Rell)
Xin Zhao
Ashe
Rell
Nidalee
Having multiple teammates that want to stay back and play safe or who don't have CC makes it much harder for Hwei. Having too much AP - especially an AP jungler - also makes it difficult for itemization since the enemy is likely to rush Mercs or other MR items. (e.g. Nidalee, Karthus, Taliyah, Diana)
"There's no secret to art... just begin and keep going. That's all we can do."
Hwei 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 Hwei is all about. Similarly to mages like Brand or Vel'Koz, Hwei likes to combo his spells to activate his passive: Signature of the Visionary, 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 Hwei player shine.
As with other immobile mages, Hwei 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).
DISCLAIMER
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 → Exceptional zoning capabilities → Mid-range control mage with a long-range execute → Great early game with decent scaling → Great team utility and teamfighting power → 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 → Perfect positioning is a must → 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.
Hwei'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 − 180 (based on level) (+ 35% AP) bonus magic damage to enemies in the area after 0.85 seconds.
Proccing the passive on multiple targets will essentially multiply your passive damage since it'll drop an AoE for each person you combo
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 AAs enhanced by WE or a single QE with its eruption and DoT portions)
Hwei paints visions of disaster that deal a large amount of damage to enemies.
Hwei enters a disastrous mood, gaining access to its abilities as well as Wash Brush. 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.
Hwei 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 monsters.
Bread-and-butter poke spell, comes out fast and deals great damage to tanky targets
The AoE is big enough to hit enemies standing too close to their minion wave, especially melee champs
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.
Hwei calls upon a lightning bolt to strike at the target location after 1 second, dealing magic damage to enemies within the area.
If Severing Bolt 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 monsters.
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.
Hwei 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%.
Hwei paints visions of serenity that provide utility for himself and allied champions.
Hwei enters a serene mood, gaining access to its abilities as well as Wash Brush. 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.
Hwei 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
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.
Hwei 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.
Can be difficult for allies to see, so get ready to ping it if your allies need it but don't react
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 at a distance
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.
Hwei 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.
Hwei paints visions of torment that control enemies.
Hwei enters a tumultuous mood, gaining access to its abilities as well as Wash Brush. 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.
Hwei 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
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.
Hwei 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.
When placed in a bush, the center (eye) needs to be inside the bush or else it'll be visible
The projectile can be blocked by any enemy, whether neutral or hostile
Your longest CC spell which will guarantee QW, but is easily blocked if there are too many enemies
EW has a travel time and needs to arm, so make sure you account for that when placing it
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.
Hwei 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
It pulls the enemy into the circle of the indicator, not the exact center of the circle, so be mindful when comboing spells
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.
Hwei 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.
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, 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
Here's a neat little cheat sheet created by Riot to help you digest his kit!
Runes
"Every mark should have meaning."
Hwei 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 Hwei. For full rune setups, refer to the example pages at the top of the guide.
Important Note: Domination is currently a mediocre tree overall for Hwei, but since it has been viable in the past I am leaving it in for now (and I don't want to have to readd it later).
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. You should avoid running Magical Footwear if you expect to rush early T2 boots. For example, rushing Mercury's Treads into heavy AP/CC matchups (e.g. Syndra, Fiddlesticks, Leona) is a common strategy to stay safe.
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 want to trade heavily, although runes like Cut Down can help you do so.
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.
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. I personally would rather have the added damage of Cheap Shot to help get you in range of proccing Dark Harvest in lane.
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.
PRECISION
precision
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.
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.
STAT SHARDS
stat shards
Most stat shards - especially in the top row - have a time and place for Hwei. Your options for Row 1 are Adaptive Force, Attack Speed, and Ability Haste. Make sure you're thinking about which one you pick for each game.
Having extra Attack Speed can be helpful when CSing and pushing the wave. It also makes your trades smoother since you often incorporate AAs during the laning phase. Keep in mind that while Adaptive Force will add a bit of extra damage to your spells, having the ability to better control the wave thanks to extra AS can give you more opportunities to harass your enemy, as well as affect the rest of the map.
The Ability Haste shard can be useful in situations where you either want to make up for a lack of AH, are playing for scaling, and/or know you won't be fighting too hard for lane prio. For example, I like to take Ability Haste when I'm running Domination/ Inspiration primary and Precision secondary, in which case I'm losing Transcendence and want to make up for it with my stat shards. The loss of AS is noticeable though, so it depends on the matchup and my game plan.
The Adaptive Force shard is the least recommended since you're often better off taking the Attack Speed shard, but it can help boost your early spell poke.
For Row 2, you should usually take the Adaptive Force shard to strengthen your early damage. You can consider taking Movement Speed or Health Scaling if you feel like you need either or want to experiment, but Hwei will typically want the extra damage instead.
As for Row 3, Flat Health can be taken into matchups where you are vulnerable pre-6 and would enjoy the immediate 65 HP. Otherwise, you should take the Health Scaling shard to gain more survivability throughout the game since it gives more health starting at level 7. Most of the time you'll be taking Health Scaling since Hwei's laning phase is so safe.
Summoner Spells
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 Flash buffered as needed. You should take this every single game.
TELEPORT: Currently the standard pairing with Flash 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 Teleport. Later in the game, Teleport allows you to farm and pressure side lanes while being able to Teleport to teamfights and objectives.
GHOST: Ghost is a viable alternative, especially after the changes to Teleport. Taking Ghost means you're losing map pressure and team playmaking from Teleport for more combat versatility. Ghost 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 Teleport for Ghost 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 Ghost, Barrier is another option to replace Teleport if you need even more safety, especially against assassins with burst damage. Simply having Barrier 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. Zed, Talon, Fizz), it might be worth considering Barrier.
CLEANSE: Extremely situational. I would only take Cleanse against champs like Lissandra, Annie, or maybe Zoe, who rely on their strong CCs to kill you. Cleanse can also be useful against team comps with heavy CC, such as against Fiddlesticks or Leona.
Itemization
"Keep an open mind, and we'll find meaning together."
If an item is not listed, then I most likely do not recommend buying it OR it's for support Hwei. Please refer to the Items section at the start of the guide where I quickly go over almost every item.
Starting Items
Doran's Ring Doran's Ring gives you the best stats for the lane phase. It is often not worth selling your Doran's Ring 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 Tear of the Goddess 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. Garen, Sion, etc.). Otherwise, you lose a lot of damage and overall laning power when starting Tear of the Goddess.
First Back
Lost Chapter 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 Lost Chapter 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 Archangel's Staff/ Seraph's Embrace first, it is still worth it to buy Lost Chapter 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 Dark Seal can help snowball your games, giving you the option to upgrade it into a Mejai's Soulstealer if you get enough stacks.
Boots
Against certain matchups (e.g. Xerath, Ziggs, Syndra), it can be valuable to rush boots or T2 boots to help with dodging skillshots or neutralizing AP/CC threats. Buying Ionian Boots of Lucidity and Tear of the Goddess on your first back is a common safe, defensive option.
Refillable Potion
It is generally a good idea to buy Refillable Potion 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 Seraph's Embrace, even if you want to delay finishing it. You should try to get your Tear of the Goddess as soon as possible unless you have a ton of gold on your first back and can push your lead.
Boots
Ionian Boots of Lucidity Ionian Boots of Lucidity is a cheap option and provides a decent amount of AH which Hwei always wants. Getting a bit of summoner spell AH is also a nice bonus to help lower your Teleport and Flash 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 Ionian Boots of Lucidity.
Sorcerer's Shoes Sorcerer's Shoes provide a noticeable damage increase thanks to the flat mpen. If you are solo AP and the enemy team won't be purchasing a lot of MR, you should go for Sorcerer's Shoes to deal as much damage as possible.
Mercury's Treads
Getting Mercury's Treads early against certain champions - such as Syndra - 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 Mercury's Treads.
Boots of Swiftness 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 Mercury's Treads as a defensive option, except it's much more versatile. The damage and utility loss from not taking Sorcerer's Shoes or Ionian Boots of Lucidity are still noticeable, but the movement speed is fantastic for helping you kite and space any threats.
First Item
Blackfire Torch Blackfire Torch is basically a mana version of Liandry's Torment, which is another great item on Hwei. It makes sense then that Hwei loves this new addition for mages. He 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 Rabadon's Deathcap or Shadowflame to take advantage of the item's passive. Hwei's waveclear becomes even faster with Blackfire Torch, allowing you to melt waves with only a QE.
Luden's Companion Luden's Companion is a more situational item for Hwei after its changes, and with the addition of Blackfire Torch, he doesn't have as much reason to build it. However, if you're going for a more burst-focused build into a squishy team, it can be worth considering.
Example Buildpaths
VS. Squishies / General Build
Blackfire Torch
Sorcerer's Shoes
Horizon Focus
Rabadon's Deathcap
This is a standard build order and most likely what you'll be doing in most games. Blackfire Torch and Sorcerer's Shoes give you everything you need for the early and mid-game: consistent DPS, waveclear, and flat magic pen for extra damage against squishy targets. Afterward, you will likely want to build into Horizon Focus for even more AH, utility, and damage. You can also go for Liandry's Torment second if you want to maximize your damage. If the enemy team isn't stacking HP or MR, then Rabadon's Deathcap is a classic option to solidify your position in the mid-game.
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 Liandry's Torment and Cryptbloom as soon as possible to deal with tanky enemies. Blackfire Torch 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 Seraph's Embrace build where you sit on an early Tear of the Goddess and rush Liandry's Torment into Cryptbloom 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 (especially with First Strike). Ionian Boots of Lucidity are also better against high HP/MR since flat mpen loses value.
Other Items
Horizon Focus
Arguably one of Hwei's best items. Horizon Focus is on the cheaper side, gives Hwei a lot of stats that he wants, and is easy to proc. The fact that it provides vision whenever you tag someone makes it a lot easier to snipe people with QW. A lot of people will forget that you have vision on them and let their guard down too. 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 Baron and Dragon pits.
Liandry's Torment
Another incredible item on Hwei that synergizes with his artillery playstyle. Despite being an item meant to help burn enemies that stack HP it still provides an incredible amount of damage against squishies, especially since Hwei spams spells so often thanks to his high AH builds and has tons of AoEs. Liandry's Torment actually closely matches Rabadon's Deathcap in terms of damage at 3 items. If you're facing enemies that have a lot of HP and want as much damage as possible, you can't go wrong with this item.
Rabadon's Deathcap
A classic AP stat stick that boosts your entire kit - more damage, more shielding, more everything. If you can, getting Rabadon's Deathcap 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.
Cryptbloom
Your option against tanks/MR stacking enemies. It doesn't give as much %magic pen as Void Staff, but it's cheaper and also gives AH. Not to mention the passive which will proc in basically every fight, giving your team a noticeable heal.
Void Staff
Gives a lot more AP and a massive 40% magic pen instead of the 30% that Cryptbloom and Bloodletter's Curse provide. If you already have a good amount of AH and are against enemies stacking multiple MR items, it can be worth considering over the other options.
Bloodletter's Curse
A new %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. Hwei can fairly 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. Hwei's personal damage is lower with this item but it can be worth picking up for your team in certain games as mentioned before. Make sure your team only has one person with Bloodletter's Curse or else it's essentially a dead item.
Shadowflame
A flat magic pen item like Stormsurge, except it provides a lot more AP and has a neat passive effect. It can be a nice purchase against squishy enemies if you're solo AP, especially if you get it as a second or third item. The passive synergizes well with Hwei's kit and typical itemization. However, you must be careful when buying this item since MR counters flat mpen, so be mindful of the enemy team comp and your own.
Cosmic Drive
On paper, this is an incredible item for Hwei. The buildpath is decent and it provides a lot of AH. However, Hwei usually doesn't have the item slots to fit this item into his build despite it being a great defensive option. It can be a lifesaver into melee-heavy comps that you need to kite out, often replacing Horizon Focus. The damage drop is noticeable, but staying alive thanks to the MS may prove more useful.
Zhonya's Hourglass Zhonya's Hourglass is a great anti-dive option, especially against champions like Vi, Camille, or Zed who have point-and-click spells and can easily get onto you. You should almost always go for Seeker's Armguard first to take advantage of the one-time effect if you plan on going for Zhonya's Hourglass.
Banshee's Veil
The MR version of Zhonya's Hourglass. It can be a lifesaver against enemies with a lot of pick potential such as Lux, Syndra, or Blitzcrank. Sitting on Verdant Barrier provides a bit of breathing room, but the effect's CD drops significantly when you upgrade it into Banshee's Veil (goes from 60 seconds down to 30 seconds).
Morellonomicon
This is basically your anti- Vladimir and Swain item for mid, but it can also be worth picking up against champs like Dr. Mundo and Soraka. You should never rush Oblivion Orb 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 Oblivion Orb and sitting on it until you finish your core items. Hwei is great at applying grievous wounds thanks to his range, low CDs, and DoTs.
Mejai's Soulstealer
If you bought an early Dark Seal and have it stacked up, it can be worth it to upgrade it into Mejai's Soulstealer especially if you're at low risk of dying. The snowball potential of Mejai's Soulstealer is enormous thanks to Hwei'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 Mejai's Soulstealer for another item once you've saved up enough to fully purchase it.
Elixir of Sorcery
Realistically the only elixir that Hwei 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. Elixir of Sorcery gives a bunch of temporary AP and mana regen, as well as giving your basic attacks and abilities bonus damage (works against turrets).
Combos
"Creativity is limitless—for better or worse."
Rather than learning strict combos, with Hwei 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 Hwei a difficult champion, and what will make you a great Hwei 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!
The main thing with Hwei is that you want to pair spells together as much as possible in order to proc his passive.
You can addWE 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.
Waveclear QE > WE > EE - Your standard combo to clear the wave WE > EE > QQ - Must be done from the side to be effective; a faster method of clearing the wave
Poke QQ - Standard poke spell EE - Standard poke spell; can bypass having to aim around the wave + easier for Arcane Comet to land due to the slow QE > EE - Waveclear + Poke combined; the passive proc from landing this combo can also help clear the wave EE > QQ - Standard poke combo EE > QW - Does less damage if not isolated, but ignores the minion wave QQ > WE > AAs - Level 2 poke, or if you want to hold onto E
EE > WE > AA for Passive Proc
Finisher EQ/EW/EE > QW - Pair your CC spells to guarantee QW executes the enemy
Extended trade with WE empowered AAs, into EE > QW
Disengage EQ > (WQ) > QQ/QW/QE - You can add WQ and/or QE into this combo for extra disengage
All-In EE > R > QQ/QW - EE is the quickest and easiest way to help your ult land QE > R > EW > QW - If you tag your target with the QE slow, it can also help with landing your ult EQ/EW > QQ > R > EW > QW - This combo requires some AH so that your E spells come up fast enough, but if you start with an E spell and wait until the end of your ult you can extend the CC with EW (basically guaranteed with the slow) which then leads into a free QW.
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
While somewhat niche due to Hwei's reliance on Flash for safety, he can Flash 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. Depending on when Flash is used with his ult, the projectile can become visually disjointed as seen in the clip below. Using Flash with his other spells will not change where the spell is cast from or its direction.
Champ Select
"What's heavy in the mind, becomes light on the page."
The game starts during champ select, not after you load into the game!
Figure out your gameplan during champ select/loading screen
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?
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.
Laning Phase
Early Levels
Hwei has a safe, oppressive laning phase. You are often able to secure lane prio and affect the rest of the map. Even in tougher matchups, he has ways to neutralize the lane.
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). Starting E is also viable at level 1 since EE is fast and can be used to poke through the minion wave. This is especially helpful against champs that poke through the wave, like Syndra or Orianna. At level 2, you can level either W or Q/E depending on what you took level 1. Leveling W lets you use WE to harass with AAs, regen your mana, or push the wave. Leveling Q/E lets you perform combos such as EE > QQ. Once you hit level 3, you should level whichever spell you haven't already, giving you access to your full spellbook and combos. If you don't take W at level 2, make sure you pay attention to your mana pool.
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 the most part, you'll likely want to hold onto your E defensively to stop engages from enemies with gap closers while harassing with Q spells and enhanced AAs (or just normal AAs).
For Hwei's most difficult matchups (e.g. Yasuo, Irelia), 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. Hwei's waveclear isn't that strong until after his first back, so if the enemy is able to freeze the wave against you you're going to have a rough time.
Post-6
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. You can also skirmish around objectives or follow your jungler around, helping to secure kills.
Laning Goals
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. Hwei 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. Hwei 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.
Mid/Late-Game and Teamfighting
Hwei is at his personal strongest in the mid-game once you've completed one or two items. He falls off a bit in terms of damage in the late-game compared to champs like Aurelion Sol, Syndra, or Azir, but as an artillery/control mage with tons of utility, you can still teamfight extremely well while melting side lane waves.
Mid-Game
Hwei plays like any other immobile mage outside of the laning phase. In the mid-game, you want to continue farming side lanes while paying attention to objective timers so that you're ready to group up and help your team at the right time. Try to push up as far as possible while staying safe by utilizing vision or playing alongside your jungler. If your matchup is difficult, your team is losing, you don't have vision, and/or your jungler isn't nearby, you need to play safely and remain vigilant while collecting side lane CS and XP. If you aren't running Teleport or it's on cooldown, you should either push as far as possible and as quickly as possible before grouping up with your team, or you can catch the wave right before it crashes into your tower.
Late-Game
Your goal in the late-game is the same as it was in the mid-game, except you're more likely going to be using Teleport if you're running it to get to teamfights - which will be even more common. Usually, you want to be on the opposite side of the map as the objective if you have Teleport up (i.e. top lane if Dragon is spawning, or bot lane if Baron Nashor is spawning). If you aren't running Teleport, you'll have to do the opposite and play on the side where the objective is spawning. Grouping up for teamfights as Hwei is essential to closing out games.
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?)
Do I need to peel for a specific teammate? (Protect the Kog'Maw?)
As Hwei 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. Hwei has different spells for different situations, so it can get overwhelming and chaotic in teamfights if you're not used to piloting the champion. You need to think about these kinds of things to prepare yourself beforehand.
For Hwei specifically, the main thing you want to look for in teamfights is how you're going to land your ult. Fighting in tighter spaces - such as in the jungle - makes it easier to land your ult and group up enemies with his AoEs. It usually doesn't matter who your ult lands on in a teamfight, since hitting a tank with it helps your team kite while zoning off the rest of their team, while hitting a squishy helps you and your team pick them off specifically. Try to reduce the chance of your ult missing as much as possible by casting it off of your teammate's CC or CCing them yourself first.
Don't get stuck in the habit of 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. You can also tag people with QW for long-range poke or even to get vision with Horizon Focus. Be flexible with your spells. 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.
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.
- Big thank you to jhoijhoi's Making a Guide which helped immensely with almost all the formatting for this guide!
Changelog
2/6/25 - Updated for 25.S1.3 and updated Mel matchup.
1/31/25 - Readded Ghost and revised descriptions for "Summoner Spells" section.
1/27/25 - Revised itemization sections
1/23/25 - Updated for 25.S1.2. Mel matchup added, plus many champs moved around (still a WIP).
1/12/25 - Updated for hotfix. Triumphant Boots descriptions updated.
1/11/25 - Updated for 25.S1.1. New runes, boots, and Bloodletter's Curse added. Removed Dark Harvest rune page and Luden's Companion from recommended items. Updated descriptions for many things.
12/29/24 - Adjusted descriptions for example builds, rune pages, and Shadowflame. Removed "Burst" rune page (again).
12/13/24 - Updated for 14.24.
12/5/24 - Minor adjustments to some descriptions
11/27/24 - Ability Cheat Sheet fixed. Updated several item descriptions.
11/21/24 - Updated for 14.23. Full Build examples adjusted
11/6/24 - Updated for 14.22. Item descriptions updated for Shadowflame and Stormsurge.
10/25/2024 - All videos for "Champion Abilities" fixed!
10/20/2024 - Updated for 14.21. QQ base damage reduced by 10 across all ranks. AP ratio decreased from 75% to 70%. E spellbook CD increased from 12-10 to 13-11.
10/10/2024 - Updated for 14.20. Item description for Luden's Tempest updated. "Support" example build adjusted.
9/27/2024 - Updated for 14.19. Separated Shadowflame and Stormsurge into their own "Burst" category. Added an example of a "Burst" build. Removed "Defensive" build.
9/18/2024 - Replaced Ghost with Barrier under "Summoner Spells" section.
9/11/2024 - Updated for 14.18. WW buffed from 50% to 75% effectiveness on allies. Adjusted recommended Rune pages/descriptions and readded "Burst" rune page.
9/8/2024 - Fixed video for passive. Working on fixing other broken videos, sorry!
8/28/2024 - Updated for 14.17. Cut Down nerfed back from 50% to 60% HP.
8/17/2024 - Updated for 14.16. Minor adjustments.
8/2/2024 - Updated for 14.15. Added more full build examples and adjusted some descriptions.
7/19/2024 - Added Aurora to "Threats" section
6/25/2024 - Minor adjustments to wording and formatting
6/12/2024 - Adjusted example rune pages, and added Jack of all Trades to "Runes" section
5/30/2024 - Patch 14.11 nerf: QQ max HP damage decreased from 4-8% to 3-7%. QE AP ratio decreased from 25% to 20% per second.
5/23/2024 - "Threats" section updated for Corki
5/16/2024 - Guide updated for Patch 14.10
5/7/2024 - Minor formatting changes (gold lines!), "Threats" section updated for Ekko. Karma moved down to "Even", Pantheon moved down to "Minor", Zoe moved up to "Major"
5/5/2024 - "Threats" section updated for Annie and Ryze. Formatting for "Runes" section updated, more details under "Stat Shards" for Row 2 and 3
5/4/2024 - Minor formatting changes
5/3/2024 - Added example clips to "Combos" and "Teamfighting" sections. Also added "Flash Combos" under "Combos" section
5/2/2024 - "Champion Abilities" section updated, adding ability videos and the Hwei Cheat Sheet
4/30/2024 - "Runes" section updated, adding more detail to most descriptions
4/23/2024 - "Champion Abilities" section updated; WQ applies Ghost to all affected allies including Hwei, which has been noted. Updated "Laning Phase" section a bit
4/17/2024 - Patch 14.8 buff: Signature of the Visionary AP ratio increased from 30% to 35%
4/8/2024 - "Threats" section updated, adding more detail to almost all matchups. Kassadin and Katarina moved from "Even" to "Major"
4/4/2024 - Removed "Full Burst (Electrocute)" page. Overhauled the "Items" section at the start of the guide
4/3/2024 - Edits to "Threats" (Akali, Irelia, Syndra, Yasuo, Yone). Edits to tips on some spells under "Champion Abilities"
3/29/2024 - Minor formatting/grammatical changes
3/27/2024 - Guide published
You must be logged in to comment. Please login or register.