Why would you play Rakan ?

Rakan is a delightful mix between an echanter and a melee support. He has as much shields and heal than he has CC. I've heard a lot of people playing against Rakan saying : "He can do anything that's frustrating"
Like an assassin, Rakan will patiently wait for the right moment to engage and take the whole team under his charm.

Abilities :

Fey Feathers (Passive) : Rakan earns a damage absorbing shield scaling on its ability power. The cooldown of Fey Feathers is reduced by 1 second every time Rakan hits an enemy with an ability or a basic attack. This shield can possibly come during a fight and save you from a difficult situations.
Don’t hesitate to use basic attacks as much as possible and as long as your are safe.



Lover’s Leap (Passive) :

When Rakan or Xayah is recalling, the other one can press B next to recall with him. The second to come will thus recall faster. As Rakan, you can start a recall in a bush while Xayah is clearing her last wave so she can join you at the end and earn some seconds. You can also put a ward while your love is recalling and then jump back to her swiftly with the enhanced range of Battle Dance.

Gleaming Quill (Q) :

Rakan throws a short ranged feather skillshot which stops to the first enemy entity touched, dealing magic damage. Hitting a champion or an epic monster allows Rakan to heal his allies and himself by walking close to them. Gleaming Quill is a very efficient spell in laning phase as it provides a lot of poke and sustain.


Grand Entrance (W) :

Rakan dashes to a location and bumps enemies champion in the air for 1 second, dealing magic damage. Grand Entrance is basically your main spell, being your only cc (except ultimate). Use it to engage fights, to protect your carry from an assault or even to get through a lot of walls. Using Flash followed by Grand Entrance really quickly is a unpredictable combo to engage from a very long range.

Battle Dance (E) :

Rakan dashes to an ally, granting him a shield scaling on ability power. The ability can be re-casted for free during the following 5 seconds. Battle Dance is a really multipurpose ability : Protecting a carry, repositioning, dodging spells, engaging fights from afar. Just like Braum does with its W, use your allies as springboards to jump into the melee.

The Quickness (R) :

Rakan enchants his feathers, earning movement speed and charming any enemy he walks by. (Once per champion). The first champion touched grants him a huge burst of decaying movement speed. The Quickness works with dashes which means Grand Entrance and Battle Dance. Rakan’s ultimate is the best way he has to engage a fight. Combined with Grand Entrance, you can CC a great part of the enemy team for more than 2 seconds.
It can also be used as an escape, considering the burst of movement speed granted by the first champion touched.
(Note that in late game, its cooldown can go up to 50 sec with a lot of cooldown reduction, which is really low.)

Flash : Essential on Rakan to engage from long distance, followed by Grand Entrance, or to get away from bad situations.

Ignite : Ignite will increase your overall damage in fights, allowing you and your carry to get more kills. It also prevents the healing from a lot of champions.

Exhaust : Exhaust is a safer option, usefull to take down a disturbing carry. Also great in the 8.14 meta as you get a lot of botlane carries that are already taking an ignite. ( Vladimir or Brand for example.)

Tip & Tricks :


> In lane, use your Q Gleaming Quill as much as possible to survive the poke. It is a short ranged skillshot though, be careful not to expose too much.

> Rakan most powerful phase might be late game. It's now time to show your moves to the enemy team. Engage on carries as much as possible with Turbo Chemtank and The Quickness and make 'em dance !

> Using Flash followed by Grand Entrance is a very fast and unpredictable combo that is good to make pickups. Care not to go too far though, your teammates might not be able to follow you. (based on a repeated true story)

> The Quickness can be used with all your movement spells. The wellest know combo is to use your R The Quickness and to dash in with Grand Entrance. But it also works with your E Battle Dance if an ally is in the melee, which is a less expected combo.


> The first target charmed with The Quickness grants Rakan a lot of movement speed. It is an efficient spell to escape from a sticky enemy.



Playing with Xayah :


Xayah is obviously the greatest ADC for Rakan to play with. Her W Deadly Plumage activates on Rakan when he is near, dealing a disrespectful amount of damage if they focus the same target. It has proved its efficiency at level 1, if you manage to convince your Xayah to take her W. (Most Xayahs wont listen and take their Q ;) )

Also, Rakan's E Battle Dance's range is doubled on Xayah, making Rakan able to take much more risks. Don't hesitate to use this range to surprise enemies who would think your lover was alone...