Kalista Build Guide by

[12.17] Kalista Top Guide In-Depth

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Kalista Build Guide By Updated on

Guide Discussion (2) More Kalista Guides

Runes: lethal tempo & resolve

1 2 3

Precision

Lethal Tempo

Overheal

Legend: Alacrity

Coup de Grace

Resolve

Conditioning

Overgrowth

Bonus:

+10% Attack Speed
+9 Adaptive (5.4 AD or 9 AP)
+6 Armor

Spells:

1 2

Flash & Teleport

Flash

Teleport

Items

Standard Build

starting items

always rush boots

standard mythic options

standard finishing items (full damage)

situational: vs heavy AD

situational: vs heavy AP

full build example

"Bruiser" Build

starting items

defensive boots

trinity force

one of these

bruiser item options

full build example

Threats & Synergies

Threats

Synergies

Extreme Major Even Minor Tiny

Show All

None Low Ok Strong Ideal

Extreme Threats

Ideal Synergies

Wukong

Extreme

No. Just no. Banned. Mr. Monkey is probably the greatest counter to Kalista top because of... well ALL his abilities. His passive gives him bonus armor and health regen which makes your poke against him pretty damn useless. His Q will do a lot of damage because of your squishy nature. His W allows him to leave all of your spear stacks on him on his clone, leaving them useless. His E is a great gap closer, and if you get caught in his R, you're dead. Do I need to say more? Banned.

Amumu

Ideal

Basically, all these champions here can wombo combo ults with kaliista and make for great oathsworns.

Synergies

Ideal Strong Ok Low None

Amumu

Ideal

Basically, all these champions here can wombo combo ults with kaliista and make for great oathsworns.

Champion Build Guide

Introduction

So, you want to play top? Cool, me too.

I love ’s kit because it’s very simple but complex at the same time (if you play her, you know what I mean). She’s almost all auto attack based (right click spam), but she has a lot of mobility and kiting power that’s more mechanically difficult to pull off well. Anyone can really pick up Kalista and successfully play her, but her kit has so many nuances that will clearly differentiate a new kalista from an experienced kalista. Before you queue up with her, I highly recommend jumping into the practice tool with her just to get used to her mechanics.

Kalista is a strong duelist, along with having a lot of out-play potential, which is why she can work in the top lane. She’s definitely a fun champion to master, and it feels really good when you do. For whatever reason you want to play Kalista, I hope this guide is helpful to you in some way! Let’s get started…

Pros & Cons

PROS

-
☺︎ basically limitless mobility as long as you have something to auto attack
☺︎ ultimate lane bully
☺︎ best kiting power in the game
☺︎ high base attack speed and attack speed scaling
☺︎ can do insane damage with
☺︎ high skill ceiling so it feels really good if you master her (and she looks cool)

CONS

-
☹︎ mechanically intensive (when I was first learning , I can’t tell you the amount of times I accidentally inputted the wrong movement command and made me dash right into the enemy team)
☹︎ ultimate depends on another ally (useless in laning if you don’t get a gank from your oathsworn)
☹︎ pretty useless when behind/ really depends on snowballing

Ability Run Down

MARTIAL POISE (PASSIVE)
RANGE: 250/265/280 (based on boots tier)

When Kalista winds up her attacks, issuing a movement command will cause her to dash in that direction after she throws. Kalista's basic attack windup is uncancellable except by casting Rend, although she can input a new attack command to change her target during the windup. Her basic attacks have no effect if she loses sight of the target at any point before it hits. Additionally, Kalista's basic attacks deal only 90% of her total attack damage.
Kalista also begins the game with Black Spear, allowing her to become oathsworn to one of her allies permanently.

✧ Kalista’s dash from will be knocked down by any immobilizing or polymorphing crowd control.
✧ The base distance of is reduced when dashing toward the direction of her attack, to a minimum of 150/165/180 (based on boots tier) units.
✧ The dash speed is affected by movement speed modifiers (like slows). However, additive movement speed modifiers do not affect it.

KALISTA PASSIVE SKILL SHOWCASE

PIERCE (Q)
RANGE: 1200
COST: 50/55/60/65/70
COOLDOWN: 8

Kalista hurls a spear, dealing 20/85/150/215/280 (+100% AD) physical damage to the first target hit. If this kills the target, the spear continues onward, carrying any Rend stacks to the next target hit.
Kalista can dash after using this ability using Martial Poise.

✧ will cast from wherever the caster is at the end of the cast time.

KALISTA Q SKILL SHOWCASE

SENTINEL (W)
RANGE: 5000
COOLDOWN: 30
RECHARGE: 90/80/70/60/50

Passive: When Kalista and her Oathsworn both attack the same target, she deals 14/15/16/17/18% of target's max health as magic damage. This effect has a 4 second cooldown per target.
Active: Kalista sends a ghost to patrol an area for three laps. Champions spotted are revealed for 4 seconds. This ability has 2 charges.

✧ 's sight reveal on enemy champions is accredited for assists and potentially kills (if they die shortly after being spotted).
✧ It does not reveal stealthed targets.

KALISTA W SKILL SHOWCASE

REND (E)
RANGE: 1100
COST: 30
COOLDOWN: 14/12.5/11/9.5/8

Passive: Kalista's spears linger in their target for 4 seconds, stacking any number of times.
Active: Kalista rips the spears from nearby enemies, dealing 20/30/40/50/60 (+70% AD) plus 10/16/22/28/34 (+23.2%/27.6%/31.9%/36.3%/40.6% AD) physical damage per spear beyond the first. Slows enemies hit by 10/18/26/34/42% for 2 seconds. If this ability kills at least one target, its cooldown is refreshed and it refunds 10/15/20/25/30 mana.

✧ cannot activate on untargetable enemies.
✧ The coolldown will not reset if the target is protected by resurrection effects.
✧ A stack is not applied if the attack is dodged (’s ), blocked (’s ), or missed while blinded by ’s .

KALISTA E SKILL SHOWCASE

FATE’S CALL (R)
RANGE: 1200
COST: 100
COOLDOWN: 150/120/90

Kalista puts her Oathsworn into stasis and draws them to herself for up to 4 seconds. The Oathsworn can click to launch themselves, stopping at the first champion hit and knocking back all nearby enemies for (1/1.5/2 seconds). If the Oathsworn hits a champion, they are placed at their maximum attack range from it.

✧ can be cast even if the Oathsworn is untargetable.
✧ can be used even if the Oathsworn is in a zombie state (, , and passives).
✧ 's death does not cancel .

KALISTA R SKILL SHOWCASE

Skill Sequence

✧ For most games, you’ll put your first point in E to start stacking your spears and begin bullying your lane opponent level one. The only time you should start Q is if you need to last hit all three melee minions to get the farm.
✧ Your skill order will always be E > Q > W, putting a point in R at levels 6, 11, and 16.
✧ At max rank, E will refund 100% of the mana cost (+ refresh the cooldown) if it kills a target, allowing you to spam this ability.
✧ Into easier matchups, you can wait to put a point into W to get more damage in these earlier skirmishes. However, if you’re worried about the enemy jungler ganking, or want vision for bush control, you can put a point in W at level 3 for the active. 

Runes Explained

LETHAL TEMPO

HAIL OF BLADES

You want to go against high health targets. This rune will give you the most DPS in extended fights and the extra attack range is a nice bonus as well.

You can go into squishier team comps when you aren’t expected to be in these longer fights. With , you can 100 to 0 squishies with a few autos and .

In short, is a late game rune, and you will want to take it as your keystone when the enemy team has lots of tanks or bruisers. is better for the early game, and you should take it into squishy team comps. Both and allows you to temporarily exceed the attack speed limit.

PRIMARY TREE: PRECISION

OVERHEAL
is a great rune for in the top lane because it can provide that extra durability you need to sustain yourself in tankier matchups.

LEGEND: ALACRITY
With , you want as much attack speed as you can get as you are extremely auto based. will allow you to dish out more DPS and get more stacks.

COUP DE GRACE
Either or works for . You’ll want to take into tankier matchups, and into all other matchups to give you more domination potential.

PRIMARY TREE: DOMINATION

SUDDEN IMPACT
’s gives her basically an unlimited amount of dashes, making extremely easy to proc and gives a great burst of extra lethality. is also a viable rune choice for extra lane sustain.

GHOST PORO
You can take either or . I prefer over because you are in top lane (the notorious island) and chances are you won’t have a lot of murder fiestas up there. Plus, it’s a nice reminder to ward (and ward well). is definitely the riskier choice, as it requires you to get kills to get the bonus AD.

RELENTLESS HUNTER
is really nice for roaming, and the out of combat movement speed is helpful if you didn’t take . Honestly, all of the “hunter” runes are not ideal for top lane since it requires you to roam or wait until late game to get all the stacks. However, is the best choice out of the options. can also work if you plan to go items with cooldowns, like , , , or .

If Lethal Tempo is your keystone, you can take Resolve or Sorcery as your secondary tree. Take Resolve for more sustain; take Sorcery for more damage. If Hail of Blades is your keystone, Precision is the best option for the secondary tree.

SECONDARY TREE: RESOLVE

CONDITIONING
Any of these defensive runes work, and are very dependent on lane matchups. To simplify it, take against bruisers/ champions that can engage on you. Take against poke champions. Take against tanks.

OVERGROWTH
The extra health from provides you with enough durability, and can sometimes give you that small bit of extra health you need to survive fights. is also a viable option, and I take that rune whenever I plan to buy items with shields like or .

SECONDARY TREE: SORCERY

ABSOLUTE FOCUS
gives you a pretty good chunk of extra damage while above 70% health. This is a really great extra source of damage, especially if you’re going the lifesteal.

GATHERING STORM
is obviously one of the best (if not the best) scaling minor rune you can take. Even though is an early game champion, will give you more scaling, and can allow you to out damage opponents in the late game.

SECONDARY TREE: PRECISION

LEGEND: ALACRITY
Same explanation as above. Attack speed is everything to . can also work, but I don’t think it out-values because of the lifesteal nerfs.

COUP DE GRACE
When taking , will really help you burst squishies down and snowball. If you are in a harder matchup, or the enemy team has a lot of assassins, is also viable, especially with the way it synergyzes with .

Summoner Spells Explained

SUMMONER SPELLS

FLASH: don’t be an idiot, take flash.

TELEPORT: As a marksman in the top lane, you should have no problem dishing out damage; however, you do struggle with survivability, which is why is one of the most optimal summoner spells for top lane. prevents you from missing a significant amount of CS or XP when you need to recall. In addition, once it transforms into unleashed teleport, it allows you to join fights across the map in an instant which offers you the opportunity to the turn the tides of a fight.

IGNITE: While Kalista typically doesn’t need the extra damage from in fights, is a viable option against heavy healing champions, such as and .

Items Explained

GOTTA RUSH DEM BOOTIES

-OR-

For most games, you’re going to want to rush . Getting second tier boots early on is typically recommended on because it increases the range of , enabling her with better kiting power and more mobility overall. is great for because it’s the cheapest attack speed item in the game and is worth the rush. Go into a full AD enemy team, and go into a full AP enemy team or against heavy CC.

MYTHIC OPTIONS

IMMORTAL SHIELDBOW

KRAKEN SLAYER

TRINITY FORCE

✧ is one of the best–– if not thee best–– mythic options for . This is more of a defensive mythic, as it give you 7% lifesteal and a shield that procs when you’re below 30% health. is an ideal mythic against assassins, and I will typically go this item when there are no tank threats on the enemy team and need survivability rather than more damage.

✧ is like every marksman’s wet dream mythic item. Typically, you only want to go when against a heavily tanky team. Because this is an exclusively offensive item, keep in mind that you will be extremely squishy and your mistakes will be less forgiving. However, this mythic will allow you to dish out the most DPS compared to the other options, and the bonus attack speed from the mythic passive is perfect for since that’s her most important stat.

✧ is the most off-meta pick out of the three, but is definitely a viable choice for top. I like for the bruiser stats, and it makes feel more balanced, giving her enough durability while not stripping her from her identity as a damage threat. The damage output and movement speed from makes her a stronger duelist and also allows her to take towers faster.

LEGENDARY ITEM OPTIONS

✧

Guinsoo's Rageblade
is arguably the best on-hit item in the game. Since is extremely auto-based, this item will help you shred and will make you an extreme DPS threat.

✧

Blade of the Ruined King
is a great item on and synergizes a lot with her kit. However, I wouldn’t necessarily call it a staple item and will only build it into tanky matchups.

✧

Runaan's Hurricane
is the best item for aoe attacks on kalista since the bolts add a stack of as well. This item can help you split push a lot faster, so I’d recommend it as a late game item since doesn’t have horrible wave clear with so much attack speed and ] + .

✧

Bloodthirster
is by far one of the best lifesteal items, and its passive is incredibly helpful for the extra sustain and durability you’ll be needing in the top lane. is a better option for than since you can get a better aoe item with instead.

✧

Lord Dominik's Regards
is a vital item when you’re against very tanky enemy teams. is also a viable option for armor penetration, but you have to buy the full item in order to get its value whereas builds out of so you can start getting armor pen sooner.

✧

Mortal Reminder
is a must into heavy healing team comps. Buy and then wait until you have your core items to upgrade it.

SOME BRUISER OPTIONS

✧

Titanic Hydra
is a really suitable item for in the top lane. ’s main purpose is aoe damage which is really helpful for wave clear, but its on-hit passive is also great for shredding enemies. This is a great item to buy once you already have some attack speed items.

✧

Black Cleaver
is like the bruiser option of . Both of these items are good on , but when you’re building her with this bruiser item path, it’s better to go for the bonus health since other items like and both scale off of bonus health.

✧

Sterak's Gage
is a good defensive item when you are building a lot of health items like and since its passive shield scales off of bonus health.

AGAINST HEAVY AD

✧

Randuin's Omen
can be a great counter item for a lot of top lane matchups like . It’s also a viable late game purchase against heavy AD teams, when needs more survivability over more damage.

✧

Guardian Angel/color]
is a good 5th or 6th item when you are built full damage and need to survive getting targeted in team fights. I personally don’t love this item just because it has such a long cooldown that it’s like might as well build instead (not actually… but sorta).

AGAINST HEAVY AP

✧

Wit's End
If there are any AP threats on the enemy team, is definitely an item you want to consider rushing or building in your last items. It gives AD, attack speed, and magic resist, along with an on-hit passive–– do I need to provide any more reason as to why this is a perfect item for ?

✧

Spirit Visage
is a perfect item for a lifesteal-oriented build, as it provides 25% bonus healing and shielding on you. Since this is a purely defensive item, I would only consider purchasing it if the enemy team is heavily AP and I have already purchased and .

How to play the Early, Mid, & Late Game

EARLY GAME: Kalista is an early game monster–– don’t doubt your early game bullying potential. You’ll want to start E so you’ll be able to stack rend with your attacks and begin bullying your lane opponent level one. Most of the time, your lane opponent will be melee so if you can kite them, you’ll win fights and can often get first blood. Kalista is an inherently good duelist because she has insane mobility with her passive, martial poise (you should practice her mechanics in practice tool until you feel comfortable with kiting and inputting movement commands for her passive). Your goal is to win lane, win game. Her range and mobility are her biggest advantages in the top lane. Even if you cant kill the enemy, you can still win lane by out-farming your opponent by punishing them for CSing, so they either have to miss CS or lose health for last hitting. Learn the art of slow-pushing, which can also make your opponent lose CS or force them to go in a vulnerable place in the lane where you can engage on them. You can also extend your lead by ganking mid (make sure you have good wave management first), taking rift herald with your jungler, stealing enemy jungle camps, getting deep vision, etc. Basically, if you have a lead, don’t let it go to waste. If you are behind for whatever reason, play from behind. Farm safely under tower and try your very best not to int. Wait patiently for the enemy to make a mistake (because they will) and then make your way back into the game.

MID/LATE GAME: Even though you are a marksman, remember you are not the primary adc of the game. Typically the top laner belongs in the side-lane. As I mentioned, Kalista is a great duelist and she can also take towers incredibly fast with her high attack speed. In other words, Kalista is a great split-pusher. Learn when to split-push and when to join fights. Create pressure on the opposite side of the map from the current objective your team is eyeing to draw the enemy team to you. Look to join up with your oathsworn (which with most often be your jungler) for good ult opportunities. Kalista is really good at securing dragons and barons for her team because her rend stacking allows her to out-smite the junglers. Typically, Kalista looks to close out games as soon as she can before she can get out-scaled. Hopefully, your team can help peel for you because you are still a huge damage threat with your item build. Position well in team fights so you don’t get engaged on and die immediately. If you get to the late-late stages of the game (30 min+), stick with your team and take objectives together so you don’t get picked because the death timers are cancer long at this point.

Conclusion

Wow… we made it! I tried my best to be concise but detailed as well–– I personally love in-depth guides so I hope you found this helpful in some way. It took me a long time to make this guide (not just writing it and doing the BBC code, but also playing a lot of top that I felt comfortable writing about her). I would really appreciate it if you could like this guide if you know… you liked it.

If you have any questions or just wanna say something, leave a comment and I’ll get back to you! Thanks for stopping by :3

Changelog

Last updated: patch 12.16