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

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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).

While this guide was created to inform and educate, by no means is it a strict set of rules that must be followed. 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 → 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

"Leave everything to my imagination."

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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.

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

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

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

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

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Subject: Torment (E) COST: 50 / 55 / 60 / 65 / 70 MANA COOLDOWN: 12 / 11.5 / 11 / 10.5 / 10

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.

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

Hwei launches a vision of pure despair that sticks to an enemy champion for a few seconds. The vision expands and overwhelms all enemies it touches, dealing magic damage per second. Enemies within the zone are afflicted with stacks of Despair over time. Each stack of Despair applies a stacking percent slow. Upon completion, the vision shatters, dealing magic damage. 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. Spiraling Despair can only be cast if Hwei has not entered a mood.

"Every mark should have meaning."

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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.

SORCERY

INSPIRATION

DOMINATION

PRECISION

STAT SHARDS

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 to Teleport. Taking Ghost means you're losing map pressure and team playmaking from Teleport for better skirmishing and additional safety from engages. If you feel like you need more tools to survive engages or you want to be able to quickly position aggressively, you can try taking Ghost. 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.

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

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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 Your best choice for a starting item in most games. Doran's items are incredibly strong after the buffs, plus the nerfs to Corrupting Potion make Doran's Ring your main option. It is often not worth selling your Doran's Ring until after you finish at least one item.

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, Seraphine, 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.

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. Depending on what your game plan is, you can even delay purchasing Tear of the Goddess to abuse Hwei's strong early game, such as opting for Dark Seal instead (350 gold). If you are running Presence of Mind, sitting on just Tear of the Goddess as your mana item is totally viable. I tend to upgrade into Seraph's Embrace at 2 or 3 items, but there are some games where I am so ahead that I don't finish it until 5 or 6 items (the lack of AH is noticeable however).

Boots

Ionian Boots of Lucidity Ionian Boots of Lucidity is a cheap option and provides a good 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 cooldowns. 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.

First Item

Luden's Companion Luden's Companion is a strong one-item spike, providing a lot of AP, AH, and mana all in one item. Getting procs with 1-2 charges constantly adds up to a good chunk of damage, which Hwei does easily.

Seraph's Embrace Seraph's Embrace provides great defensive utility and a huge amount of mana, which you will find Hwei burns through incredibly quickly. If you run Seraph's Embrace with Presence of Mind, you won't ever have to worry about running out of mana. You can either rush Archangel's Staff to stack it quicker or wait to finish it later on.

Horizon Focus After the nerfs to Hextech Alternator and Fiendish Codex - both items that build into Horizon Focus - rushing this item isn't as strong as before, but it's still a great first item if you plan on sitting on Tear of the Goddess. It does slightly less raw damage at 1 item compared to Liandry's Torment, but you do get AH and utility from the vision it can provide, which helps with early skirmishes.

Liandry's Torment Liandry's Torment does the most raw damage for your first item slot, and is an extremely good purchase when facing a tank or enemy who is rushing HP. You miss out on AH, but the damage difference is noticeable and enables you to pressure in these types of matchups.

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Example Buildpaths

VS. Squishies as Solo AP

Luden's Companion

Sorcerer's Shoes

Horizon Focus

Rabadon's Deathcap

This is a standard build order when you're solo AP and/or are looking to pressure your enemy as much as possible to push for a lead. The combination of Luden's Companion and Sorcerer's Shoes gives you everything you need to poke out squishy enemies while clearing the wave. Afterward, you will likely want to build into Horizon Focus for even more AH and 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.

VS. Melee threat

Seraph's Embrace

Ionian Boots

Horizon Focus

Rabadon's Deathcap

Rushing Archangel's Staff so that it upgrades as soon as possible into Seraph's Embrace provides defensive utility against melee threats, especially if you don't want to invest into Seeker's Armguard or Verdant Barrier early on. You might also want to consider sitting on component items like Cloth Armor or Null-Magic Mantle if you need more safety. Ionian Boots of Lucidity are great if you want a lower Teleport and Flash timer, but Sorcerer's Shoes are also viable if you want to lean into more damage. Other than that, you'll build into Horizon Focus and Rabadon's Deathcap as usual.

VS. Tank/HP stacker

Tear of the Goddess

Ionian Boots

Liandry's Torment

Horizon Focus

In this scenario, getting an early Tear of the Goddess and rushing Liandry's Torment allows you to pressure those pesky tanky lanes. If your lane opponent rushes MR, then you might want to consider Cryptbloom as early as your second item, otherwise continue building into Horizon Focus. You can upgrade your Tear of the Goddess into Seraph's Embrace as your third item if you don't need anything else, but it's also fine if you delay it until later if you need other items first.

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Other Items

Horizon Focus Horizon Focus is arguably Hwei's core item; it is on the cheaper side, gives Hwei a lot of stats that he wants, and is easy to proc. The amount of damage Hwei gets from this item alone is insane. 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 is also a nice utility bonus.

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.

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 the game goes on.

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.

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, but I think it's overrated considering how expensive the item is. Most of the time I would rather save a little more gold and go for Rabadon's Deathcap instead - an item that will always have high value unlike Shadowflame.

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 great 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 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 cooldown drops significantly when you upgrade it into Banshee's Veil.

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 Liandry's Torment or Cryptbloom if you don't have them already as a last item.

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 attacks bonus damage (works against turrets).

"Creativity is limitless—for better or worse."

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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 add WE to the start of your combos whenever you want to maximize your damage, but it isn't necessary.
• WE can be cast during the travel time of every single one of Hwei's spells, even EE. This is important to mask your intentions since casting WE first every time will make it obvious when you're looking to be aggressive.
• Get used to the timing of your ult, either by memorizing the duration or listening to the sound so that you can properly time your QW to pop immediately afterward or follow-up with an E spell.
• You CANNOT do QW > EE for the bonus damage. 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

Finisher
EQ/EW/EE > QW - Pair your CC spells to guarantee QW executes the enemy

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.

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

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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.

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.

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 remain vigilant and play safely 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?)
• Which abilities do I need to watch out for? ( Ashe ult, Malphite ult, Syndra stun?)
• Do I need to peel for a specific teammate? (Protect the Kog'Maw?)

As 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.

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

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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!

4/23/2024 - "Champion Abilities" section updated; WQ applies Ghost to all affected allies including Hwei, which has been noted. Also 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