Kai'Sa Build Guide : 26.21 Void Hunter — Kai'Sa ADC Guide: Build, Game Plan, Tips & Tricks

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THE CODEX OF

KAI'SA
ADC ◆ PATCH 26.21
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I · THE ARMORY

II · THE HUNT

III · THE ARSENAL

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CHAPTER I
THE ARMORY
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◆ CORE BUILD
EVERY GAME

▸

◆ RUNES

◆ DEFAULT
EVERY GAME

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Lethal Tempo stacks attack speed on every auto, so Plasma builds faster. Triumph and Bloodline keep you healthy, Cut Down adds 8% damage against champions above 60% max health, Magical Footwear gives you free boots at 12:00 (45 s sooner per takedown, and you cannot buy boots before then), and Cosmic Insight shortens your summoner and item cooldowns.

◆ SUMMONER SPELLS

Barrier + Flash
The default pair: Barrier answers burst and dives. Swap Barrier for Cleanse against long chains of stuns, roots and snares.

◆ STARTERS START AND FIRST BACK

◆ START 0:00
Doran's Blade and a Health Potion.

◆ FIRST BACK 875G+
Pickaxe: 25 AD toward your Q evolve, and the first step to Guinsoo's Rageblade.

◆ FULL BUILD ITEMS 4 AND 5 CAN SWAP ORDER, THE 6TH IS YOUR CALL

◆ DEFAULT
every game

▸

◆ SITUATIONAL ITEMS WHEN TO LEAVE THE DEFAULT BUILD

Statikk Shiv
INSTEAD OF KRAKEN SLAYER, VS RANGE AND POKE

Its chain lightning clears the wave for you and hits champions standing near it, so you farm safely without spending Q and mana. The right first item when the enemy out-ranges you.

Runaan's Hurricane
INSTEAD OF BLOODTHIRSTER, VS GROUPED TEAMS

Its bolts hit two more enemies and carry your on-hit effects, so Plasma and Kraken Slayer stack on several targets at once. Best when the enemy team fights close together.

Mercurial Scimitar
INSTEAD OF BLOODTHIRSTER, VS LONG CC CHAINS

Its active removes every crowd control except knock-ups and gives 50% movement speed for 2 s. The 10% life steal keeps some of the sustain Bloodthirster gave you.

Zhonya's Hourglass
INSTEAD OF GUARDIAN ANGEL, VS ASSASSINS

Its 2.5 s stasis lets you dodge a dive, and its 105 AP is enough on its own to evolve Void Seeker. Take it when an assassin can reach you.

◆ BOOTS ONE PAIR PER GAME

Berserker's Greaves. The default pair: 30% attack speed means more autos, more Plasma and faster Lethal Tempo stacks.

DEFAULT

Gluttonous Greaves. 4% omnivamp that grows with takedowns, up to 10%. Take them against poke lanes, where your sustain is the problem.

VS POKE

Boots of Swiftness. 25% slow resist. Take them against teams that slow you, so you can still close the gap.

VS SLOWS

◆ SKILL ORDER LEVEL-UP, 1 TO 18

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3

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5

6

7

8

9

10

11

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13

14

15

16

17

18

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◆ THREATS BOTTOM LANES TO RESPECT. CLICK A NAME FOR THE NOTE

EXTREME 3 CHAMPIONS

DRAVEN

CAITLYN

VARUS

MAJOR 9 CHAMPIONS

SAMIRA

XAYAH

KOG'MAW

ASHE

LUCIAN

APHELIOS

TWITCH

NILAH

KALISTA

◆ SYNERGIES SUPPORTS THAT TURN THEIR CC INTO KILLS

IDEAL 6 CHAMPIONS

NAUTILUS

THRESH

LEONA

BLITZCRANK

ALISTAR

PYKE

STRONG 4 CHAMPIONS

NAMI

BRAUM

LULU

JANNA

◆
CHAPTER II
THE HUNT
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◆ GAME PLAN FROM LEVEL 1 TO THE LAST FIGHT, DISTILLED FROM THE BEST RATED KAI'SA GUIDES

LANING PHASE

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Weave Q between your autos. Q has no cast time, so fire it while you walk or attack and keep trading. It costs 55 mana on a 10 s cooldown at rank 1: spend it on champions, not on the wave.

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Clear the wave before you Q a champion. Q splits its missiles evenly between every nearby visible enemy, minions included. Cast it when the wave is thin, or to finish minions under 35% health (they take double damage).

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W then three autos pops your Plasma. W adds 2 stacks and each auto adds 1. The 5th stack deals bonus damage based on the target's missing health, so W plus three autos is your best short trade.

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Early surprise: three autos, Q, W, Flash, auto. Three autos put 3 Plasma stacks on them, W adds 2 and pops it. Flash over minions or the enemy to close the gap and land the last auto. It burns your Flash, so keep it for a kill.

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Trade when your support lands CC. A stun, root or snare from your support adds a Plasma stack by itself. Step up on their CC, pop the stacks with autos, and step back when it ends.

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E is movement in lane. While it charges you walk faster (at least +55% at rank 1) and through units. Use it to return to lane or to step up to a trade.

SAFE OR AGGRESSIVE

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Aggressive with a hard-CC support. Nautilus, Leona, Thresh, Alistar, Blitzcrank and Pyke give you Plasma stacks and a target that cannot move. Fight on their CC, and from level 6 follow up with R.

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Safe against range and poke. Caitlyn, Varus and Ashe out-range your 525 and Draven wins early trades: they hit you at every last-hit. Stay under tower, buy Statikk Shiv first, and trade only when your support catches them.

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With an enchanter, play for the mid game. Nami, Lulu and Janna give attack speed, damage and peel but little CC. Farm, evolve Q and E, and look for fights once your core build is done.

MID GAME AND OBJECTIVES

5:00
DRAGON

15:00
HERALD

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Your spike is the core build. With Kraken Slayer, Guinsoo's and Terminus your Q fires 12 missiles and your E hides you for 0.5 s. This is the window to take towers and fight, not to farm.

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Use R to join fights across the map. R reaches 2000 units at rank 1 and 3000 at rank 3. When a fight starts in another lane, hit a target with W and R in.

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Group before objectives. You have 525 range and no CC of your own, so alone you are easy prey. With your team, their CC feeds your Plasma and your R picks the target.

TEAMFIGHTS

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Wait for the first CC. Hold R until your team has crowd control on someone. The Plasma stack is already on them, and R drops you beside a target that cannot move.

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Charge E before the fight, not in it. While E charges your attack commands turn into move commands. Cast it as the fight starts, then arrive with +40% to +80% attack speed for 4 s.

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Cast Q and W during the R dash. You can cast any ability while you dash, and the shield lasts 2 s. Dive on the squishiest Plasma target and use the dash to start your damage.

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Q hits harder on several champions. Each target takes its first missile at full damage and later ones at 25%. Fire Q when two or three champions are grouped.

WHEN IT GOES WRONG

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Out-ranged and behind: stop trading. Farm under tower and wait for a fight where your support has CC. Evolves come from items, so a clean farm is your comeback.

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E is your main escape. You walk faster and through units while it charges, and briefly invisible if it is evolved. R only helps if a Plasma target stands where you want to go.

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Against assassins, change the build. Buy Zhonya's Hourglass in place of Guardian Angel and keep Barrier for the dive.

◆ TIPS AND TRICKS PRO KNOWLEDGE: WHAT THE TOOLTIP DOES NOT TELL YOU

MECHANICS

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Your core build evolves Q and E. Kraken Slayer, Guinsoo's and Terminus give 105 AD and 100% attack speed, enough for 12 Q missiles and an invisible E. W needs 100 AP, so it stays base unless Zhonya's joins the build.

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R needs fresh Plasma. It only casts on a visible champion hit by Plasma in the last 4 s: land W or an auto first. R also resets your next auto.

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W can pop and keep the rest. On a target with 4 stacks, W pops the Plasma and the extra stack carries over. Stacks last 4 s and refresh on every hit.

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W scouts too. It lights up its whole path and reveals the first enemy hit for 4 s. Fire it into a bush before you step in.

WATCH OUT

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Runes and shards do not count toward evolutions. Only items and level growth do: Q needs 100 AD, E 100% attack speed, W 100 AP. Check the numbers before you buy a stat you do not need.

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Q picks its targets when you cast it. Missiles already sent at minions do not switch to a champion that steps in later, so cast Q with the right enemies in range.

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R lands you next to an enemy. It drops you beside the Plasma target, not away from the fight. Dive when your team can follow.

◆ COMBOS PLASMA POPS ON THE FIFTH STACK

PLASMA POP ANY TIME THE TARGET IS IN RANGE

W

▸

AA

AUTO

▸

AA

AUTO

▸

AA

AUTO

W adds 2 stacks, the three autos add the other three, and the 5th stack pops for missing-health damage.

FLASH BURST EARLY GAME, WHEN A KILL IS ON THE LINE

3×AA

AUTOS

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Q

▸

W

▸

F

FLASH

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AA

AUTO

Three autos and W make 5 Plasma stacks, so W pops it. Flash to jump over minions or the target and finish with an auto.

STEROID TRADE E OUT OF RANGE, THEN STEP IN

E

▸

Q

▸

AA

AUTO

▸

AA

AUTO

Charge E before the trade, then arrive with bonus attack speed. Q has no cast time, so it costs you no autos.

DIVE PICK-OFF ON A LONE TARGET

W

▸

R

▸

Q

▸

AA

AUTO

W puts the Plasma that R needs on the target. R resets your auto timer and you can cast Q during the dash.

ENGAGE FOLLOW-UP WHEN YOUR SUPPORT LANDS CC

R

▸

Q

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AA

AUTO

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W

Their CC gives the first stack and R drops you on the target. Q and autos stack more, then W pops it.

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CHAPTER III
THE ARSENAL
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P ◆ SECOND SKIN
MAX STACKS 5 | DURATION 4 s

PLASMA

Your autos add 1 stack and Void Seeker adds 2. Nearby allies' immobilizing effects and polymorphs on enemy champions add 1.

DAMAGE

Each application deals 4 to 30 (+ 12% AP) magic damage plus 1 to 8 (+ 3% AP) per stack already on the target, by level. The 5th stack pops all of them for 15% (+ 6% per 100 AP) of the target's missing health.

EVOLVE

Items and level growth evolve your basic abilities: Q at 100 AD, W at 100 AP, E at 100% attack speed. Each evolution is a 2 s cast.

PLAY

Stay on one target: the stacks live on the enemy, so switching targets restarts your count.

◆ WATCH P

Q ◆ ICATHIAN RAIN
COOLDOWN 10 / 9 / 8 / 7 / 6 | COST 55 | CAST TIME NONE | RANGE 600

ACTIVE

Releases 6 missiles that spread evenly over nearby visible enemies, each landing after 0.4 s. It needs an enemy in range to cast.

DAMAGE

40 / 55 / 70 / 85 / 100 (+ 55% bonus AD) (+ 20% AP) physical damage per missile

SAME TARGET

A champion takes only 25% from each missile after its first: 10 / 13.75 / 17.5 / 21.25 / 25 (+ 13.75% bonus AD) (+ 5% AP). Minions under 35% health take double damage.

EVOLVED

At 100 AD: 12 missiles. Single-target total 150 / 206.25 / 262.5 / 318.75 / 375 (+ 206.25% bonus AD) (+ 75% AP).

PLAY

Your free damage: no cast time and no aim. It also keeps firing while you charge E.

◆ WATCH Q

ACTIVE

Fires a void bolt that grants sight along its path, hits the first enemy, applies 2 Plasma and reveals them for 4 s.

DAMAGE

30 / 55 / 80 / 105 / 130 (+ 130% AD) (+ 45% AP) magic damage

EVOLVED

At 100 AP: applies 3 Plasma instead of 2, and refunds 75% of its cooldown if it hits an enemy champion.

PLAY

Your Plasma starter and your scout. Land it before R, since R needs a target that has Plasma on it.

◆ WATCH W

E ◆ SUPERCHARGE
COOLDOWN 16 / 14.5 / 13 / 11.5 / 10 | COST 30 | CAST TIME 1.2 to 0.6

ACTIVE

You charge while still able to move, ghosted and faster: +55 / 60 / 65 / 70 / 75% movement speed, up to +110 / 120 / 130 / 140 / 150% with bonus attack speed. Attack commands become move commands.

BONUS

Then +40 / 50 / 60 / 70 / 80% attack speed for 4 s with a shorter windup. Each attack lowers its current cooldown by 0.5 s.

EVOLVED

At 100% attack speed: you are invisible for 0.5 s at the start of the charge.

PLAY

Your engage and your escape. Cast it before a fight, never in the middle of one.

◆ WATCH E

R ◆ KILLER INSTINCT
COOLDOWN 130 / 100 / 70 | COST 100 | RANGE 2000 / 2500 / 3000 | RADIUS 525 | SPEED 3800

ACTIVE

Dashes to a spot near a visible enemy champion that was hit by Plasma in the last 4 s, and shields you for 2 s (refreshed when the dash ends).

SHIELD

100 / 150 / 200 (+ 90 / 135 / 180% AD) (+ 120% AP)

EXTRA

Resets your basic attack timer, and you can cast any ability during the dash.

PLAY

Your pick-off and follow-up tool. It does no damage by itself: land W first, then use the dash to start your burst.

◆ WATCH R

◆ WATCH AND LEARN HIGH-ELO KAI'SA POVS ON TWITCH

◆

ELOSANTA

Reached rank 1 worldwide on Kai'Sa and calls her his most comfortable champion.

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Coach Myga

Coach who has reached Challenger or Grandmaster on ADC, jungle and support.

Watch for patterns, not just highlights: how they trade with Q between autos, when they evolve, and when they commit R.

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THANKS FOR READING
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Good luck on the Rift, and happy hunting!

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26.21 Void Hunter — Kai'Sa ADC Guide: Build, Game Plan, Tips & Tricks

26.21 Void Hunter — Kai'Sa ADC Guide: Build, Game Plan, Tips & Tricks

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