Hi, I'm Hitsugaiya. I'm a support main who plays on several Chinese servers, mostly 巨龙. I've been playing LoL for about 8 years, though it's been off an on at times.

Rakan is a high mobility support with a very fun and, if used properly, devastating kit. His high mobility and CC make him more flexible than most other supports, being able to tank or full support, start fights or bodyguard.

PROS

+ Crazy mobile with Battle Dance and Grand Entrance. + Great peel or engage with Grand Entrance + The Quickness. + Great ganking. + Makes plays easily with the jungler in laning phase. + Shield passive from Fey Feathers + Has a special ADC partner. ( Xayah)

- Avoiding CC can be a challenge. - Very hard to master. - Timing and placement of The Quickness will make or break team fights.

CONS

You'll notice that my runes are different from the other guides (at least all the ones that I've seen). Because Rakan is such a versatile character, there are many ways to play him.

My Runes are focused around one thing. Winning fights early in lane. The laning phase is where we can have the most impact as an individual (as we are 50% of the play or 33% if the jungler comes).

Aftershock allows us to hit hard with Grand Entrance land Gleaming Quill and one or two auto attacks before Battle Danceing out, all the while having more than double the armor and MR of your opponents. While Summon Aery would get us more damage on a single engage, dominating your lane isn't about one engage. It's about maintaining greater health than your enemies in lane and either threatening to use it to deny your enemies minion kills or actually getting kills. As long as you land Grand Entrance Aftershock will all but guarantee you come out on top in trades.

Bone Plating makes us take even less damage from our early engages.

Shield Bash since our passive is a shield, this makes a lot of sense.

Revitalize stronger heals and shields on our friends.

Biscuit Delivery for more health and mana in lane. Allowing us to attack, heal and, once Aftershock and Bone Plating are off CD, do it all again before they have recovered from the last bout.

Cosmic Insight Rakan is ability dependent, so this is an obvious choice.

For a little more early damage and kill potential we'll be taking two AP boosts and for a little more poke resist one armor. Aftershock will protect us in engages early, so we don't need a lot more Armor or MR. Just take two AP boosts to make your engage even stronger.

A strong early game turns into a strong mid game and strong finish. Having a fed ADC is better than having runes more suitable for late game or runes better suited for protection. Rakan's kit is already very suited for protection without the little extra boosts. Therefore I recommend doubling down on early game and taking the fight to the enemy early.

SUMMONER SPELLS - FLASH: for obvious reasons. Good for suddenly engaging or getting out of trouble. IGNITE: for securing kills early and dominating the lane.

FEY FEATHERS

FEY FEATHERS (Passive): Rakan periodically generates a 33-254 (+90% of ability power) shield with a cooldown of 40-16 seconds (based on level). Damaging an enemy champion with a basic attack or ability reduces Fey Feathers cooldown by 1 second. Lover's Leap: If either Rakan or Xayah is recalling, the other may move nearby and activate their own recall to join them. Both reach base at the time of which the initiator's recall ends. This passive is wonderful for our engages early. This + Aftershock + Shield Bash will make it so you lose very little health in skirmishes you start. This can even let you bate enemies into making bad decisions if timed properly.

Q

GLEAMING QUILL (Q): Rakan slings an enchanted feather forward, dealing 70 / 115 / 160 / 205 / 250 (+60% of ability power) magic damage to the first enemy hit. If that enemy was a champion or epic monster, a small circular area is marked around Rakan. After a short period of time or if an ally champion comes into contact with the marked area, Rakan heals himself and surrounding allies by 18-120 (based on level) (+70% of ability power). Great all in one sustain and poke ability. Range is a little lacking, but you'll get used to that.

W

GRAND ENTRANCE (W): Rakan dashes forward, landing stylishly at his destination. After a 0.35s pause, he leaps into the air, dealing 70 / 120 / 170 / 220 / 270 (+70% of ability power) magic damage and knocking up surrounding enemies for 1 second. This ability is often best used as a follow up to Battle Dance. If the enemy are smart they will respect this ability and keep their distance from you. So look to land it after bouncing off a teammate.

E

BATTLE DANCE (E): Rakan leaps to an ally champion, shielding them for 40 / 65 / 90 / 115 / 140 (+80% of ability power) for 3 seconds. Battle Dance can be re-cast for 5 seconds at no cost. When re-cast, Rakan may select the same target again. If Xayah is the target, Battle Dance's range is increased by 300. This ability and Grand Entrance are what make you one of the most mobile characters in the game. Use this to save teammates, position yourself for engages and avoid being focused down by the enemy team.

R

THE QUICKNESS (R): Rakan gains 50% bonus movement speed for the next 4 seconds, dealing 100 / 200 / 300 (+50% of ability power) magic damage to each enemy he touches and charming them for 1 / 1.25 / 1.5 seconds. Enemies can only be affected once. The first champion charmed grants Rakan 150% decaying movement speed. 1.5 seconds of CC that can be cast on all five enemies. Grouping enemies up with this and following up with Grand Entrance will hold a group of enemies still for an astounding 2.5 seconds while your team rips them to pieces. This is why Rakan is to be feared in team fights. In addition to starting fights, this ability is also crazy good at peeling enemies off your carries.

While Ancient Coin can get us a lot of money, Spellthief's Edge can get us a lot more damage when we hard engage early, 52 more damage including the increased AP. That's a TON at level 2 and not including ignite.

Our core will consist of three items:

Eye of the Watchers gives us a little bit of everything. CD, AP, health and mana regen.

Knight's Vow is a great defensive item with a buff that greatly benefits you and your ADC.

Shurelya's Battlesong health, AP, movement speed, mana regen and a great active to help you and your team engage more quickly or escape safely. Great item on Rakan.

While Shurelya's Battlesong takes a little getting used to, once you are used to having it, it is a great additon to your kit. I have found this core to work very well for me in a majority of circumstances.

As you get close to getting your core, you need to take a hard look at the game you're in and decide what your role is going to be. Who is doing damage on the enemy team? Who is a threat to my ADC? Am I going to peel or engage?

If your ADC is relatively safe and your team needs someone who can start fights well, then tanking up so you can safely start team fights is the way to go.

Dead Man's Plate gives us some great mobility and tank so we can roam and engage more effectively.

Spirit Visage is great against AP and gives us a lot more survivability.

For utility, if you decide you need to be the protector instead of the primary engager, I strongly recommend:

Ardent Censer more AP, mobility and a wonderful buff to give your ADC and other AA heavy team mates.

Zeke's Convergence tanks us up a little and gives us a great buff for slowing and shutting down enemies. Engages with this item practically guarantee kills.

Note: Most games you'll be able to pick a mix of utility and tank. Over time, you'll be able to look at the other team, see who's fed and respond accordingly.

I used to start Gleaming Quill for procs on Spellthief's Edge early, but considering you'll have level 2 by the second creep wave and some people like to try to push level 1, Grand Entrance + Aftershock can give us some serious level 1 fighting strength if they're gusty enough to try to push us.

Once you get on lane, your goal is to get level 2 first, that means AAing some minions while being careful not to steal minion kills from your ADC. If you beat them to level 2 and they don't back off, look for an immediate engage with Grand Entrance + Gleaming Quill. If you and your ADC are on the same page, use Ignite and go for the kill right then and there. At the very least you'll get their Flash and you'll have room to bully them since they have no Flash and lower health.

Upon getting level 3, we are going to continue looking for trades since we have Aftershock + Bone Plating + Biscuit Delivery, we will always come out on top as long as we land Grand Entrance.

Our combo will either be Grand Entrance + AA + Gleaming Quill + Battle Dance back to your ADC or if the enemy is keeping their distance from you (smart guys) we can wait for an opportunity to Battle Dance to our ADC or jungler then Grand Entrance + AA + Gleaming Quill + Battle Dance back to your ADC.

This build will give you a lot more fighting strength in lane, but if you find yourself still getting pressed early, be patient, look for openings and wait for ganks from the jungler.

Also, if you succeed in taking control of the lane early and are bullying them, MAINTAIN VISION. Though you are winning your lane, your chances of winning 2v3 with the enemy jungle present are not great. Keep a Control Ward in the Triangle bush if you're blue or in the river if you're red and a normal ward in the other bush respectively.

Midgame and beyond is where Rakan truly shines. You can shut down enemy carries like Master Yi, Lee Sin or virtually anyone who jumps in after your carry with The Quickness + Grand Entrance. You can also use the same combo to set up devastating engages on the enemy team, CCing a large group while your team rips them apart.

Learning when and how to use The Quickness is the hardest part of playing Rakan. I often see people see the enemy team ahead and use The Quickness to try to pursue them. It's painful to watch because when they finally catch someone, there is no one there to follow up on the CC they applied. The Quickness is ONLY useful when there are teammates around to apply damage to the disabled enemies.

To start, I will give you two conditions under which to use The Quickness that will ensure it isn't wasted.

1. As a counter-engage. Once the enemy has jumped on your carry or front line (if there's not a risk of your carry getting targeted by an assassin) Battle Dance to your teammate taking damage and use The Quickness followed by Grand Entrance. This way you're team is present to deal damage on the enemy and will ensure a good use of The Quickness.

For example: Let's say the enemy team has a fed Master Yi. You should be saving your super for when he engages and use The Quickness + Battle Dance to the ally he jumped to. In that kind of game, you use The Quickness for him and him only.

2. As a quick engage tool off of Grand Entrance. If the enemy (someone who you think could be bursted by your nearby teammates) steps in range of Grand Entrance, use The Quickness and hit them with Grand Entrance. The Quickness will attract them to you and keep them from escaping the subsequent Grand Entrance. This will reduce the overall amount of time the enemy is CCed, but it's very hard to avoid if done properly.

This is especially good if you Battle Dance to a teammate who is moving in ahead of you.

As you improve in using Rakan, you'll be able to use The Quickness in more versatile and creative ways, especially when you burn Flash to make plays. If you're just getting started though, just stick to the conditions mentioned above and you'll be able to make some good plays.

With such a powerful ult, it's important to have a clear team fighting plan going into midgame and beyond. Who am I going to us The Quickness for? Who am I going to burn flash to catch? Who do I need to protect? Am I going to start this fight or body guard?

I hope you enjoyed this guide.

It should be said that this build was originally created for use with my girlfriend who is a Xayah main. She takes runes that are also geared towards early game, with devastating results. However I've played this build with many other ADCs and players and it still works great.

Also, if you caught the Naruto references in this guide I would like to commend you on being an awesome person. ;)

Have a great day!