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Gwen Build Guide by

The Passionate Guide On How To Use Scissors

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Guide Discussion (1) More Gwen Guides

Choose Champion Build:

Jungle Build
Straight to Chapters

Runes: Standard

Precision

Conqueror

Triumph

Legend: Alacrity

Last Stand

Inspiration

Cash Back

Cosmic Insight

Bonus:

+10% Attack Speed
+9 Adaptive (5.4 AD or 9 AP)
+10-180 Bonus Health

Spells:

1 2 3

Blue Smite

Ghost

Gustwalker Smite

Items

After Jungle Clears

Boots Options

Core Items

Builds (ITEMS IN ORDER)

New Recommended Build

Defensive

Shadowflame Build

Defensive

Ability Order Abilities

Gwen Passive Ability

Threats & Synergies

Threats

Synergies

Extreme Major Even Minor Tiny

Show All

None Low Ok Strong Ideal

Extreme Threats

Ideal Synergies

Gwen

Extreme

Threats are those ones that limit your freedom to engage and punish your sweet over commitment.

High burst, crowd control, long-range poke, or champions who kite well will stop Gwen before she reaches her optimal range. When those threats are present, you must pick fights carefully.

Gwen

Ideal

Engagers create space and pressure, letting you go in with confidence. Defenders, especially those who shield or heal, help you survive bursts of damage and keep fighting.

Whether it’s someone leading the charge or guarding your back, they give you the freedom to focus on what you do best diving deep and carrying the fight.

Synergies

Ideal Strong Ok Low None

Gwen

Ideal

Engagers create space and pressure, letting you go in with confidence. Defenders, especially those who shield or heal, help you survive bursts of damage and keep fighting. Whether it’s someone leading the charge or guarding your back, they give you the freedom to focus on what you do best diving deep and carrying the fight.

More Gwen Counters

Champion Build Guide

Why play Gwen? She is super fun and overpowered when played correctly!

Why Gwen is super fun to play:

Gwen is exciting to play because her kit is really fun. Her Hallowed Mist is the best thing ever, its so much fun, and when you master it, allows creative plays and clutch outplays once used correctly. Her passive, Thousand Cuts, also surprises enemies, many think they can burst her down, only for her to heal unexpectedly with a well-timed Snip Snip, turning fights around in moments. She is well done in design too, feels really nice to play her in general.

Why Gwen jungle works:

In the jungle, Gwen can powerfarm into a strong mid and late game hypercarry, becoming a dominant duelist and teamfighter. She scales exceptionally well when you focus on objectives and efficient farming to navigate her weaker early game. Gwen excels at shredding tanks and objectives with her percent-health and true damage, while late game she can melt squishies once she completes core items.

Hey, and welcome to my Gwen Guide. My name is Artoria, and I am here to help you learn my favorite champion in the game.

First of all... Huge thanks to Katasandra and Fruxo, they were my biggest inspirations and provided huge help during the construction of this guide.

I have been a Gwen main since I first started playing League of Legends, and I do not see myself stopping anytime soon. To show my passion for the champion, I decided to create this guide and share everything I have learned along the way. I am currently a peak Platinum player, and Gwen has been my most played and most dedicated champion throughout my journey.

My goal with this guide is to help you truly understand Gwen, not just her mechanics, her strengths, limits, and playstyle but also understand how fun it is to play her!

Pros

+ Excellent sustained DPS
+ Strong dueling with Passive/E
+ High mobility through E
+ True damage from Q Center
+ Very strong against tanks
+ Self-sustain during long fights

Gwen excels when fights last longer. Her kit allows her to constantly auto-attack while weaving abilities, converting ability power into sustained on-hit damage. With Nashor’s Tooth and Riftmaker, she becomes extremely difficult to outduel, while Hallowed Mist provides safety and zoning to apply consistent pressure.

Cons

- Weak early-game
- Requires good aim with Q
- Vulnerable to gap closers and CC
- Struggles with mobile ranged
- Limited engage tools
- Needs core items for full function

Gwen can struggle early and is punishable if mispositioned. She relies heavily on extended fights and item spikes, meaning she must play patiently until her core is completed. Champions with strong engage or disengage tools can shut her down before she scales.

Recommended Boots Options

Sorcerer's Shoes:

BEST OVERALL OPTION

The default option when the enemy team has low magic resistance. The flat magic penetration significantly increases Gwen's early and mid-game damage, allowing her to pressure squishier targets and snowball leads more effectively. This choice is strongest when you are ahead or when opponents are slow to itemize MR.

Ionian Boots of Lucidity:

2ND BEST OVERALL OPTION

A situational option focused on ability haste. These boots allow Gwen to cast her abilities more frequently, improving uptime on Skip 'n Slash and Hallowed Mist. Best used in lower-threat games where extra damage rotation matters more than raw survivability. And also helps with Summoner Spells both in jungle with the smite and your Ghost.

Plated Steelcaps:

ARMOR DEFENSIVE OPTION

A strong defensive option against heavy physical damage and auto-attack–focused champions. Steelcaps reduce incoming basic attack damage, making them especially valuable against AD champions in general, They help Gwen survive lane pressure and teamfight, sustain through fights with her passive.

Mercury's Treads:

MAGIC RESISTENCE DEFENSIVE OPTION

A strong defensive option against heavy magic damage and crowd-control–focused champions. Making them especially valuable against AP champions in general, They help Gwen survive lane pressure and teamfights against magical threats, giving her more time to scale, sustain through fights with her passive, and consistently deal damage without being locked down by crowd control or burst magic.

Recommended Legendary Items

Nashor's tooth:

Is a core item on Gwen because her kit heavily revolves around basic attacks and on-hit effects. Her passive and Skip 'n Slash apply on-hit magic damage, and the attack speed from Nashor's allows her to trigger these effects far more often. This converts her ability power into consistent sustained DPS rather than short, burst-focused damage, which perfectly fits her extended-fight playstyle.

Riftmaker:

Synergizes naturally with Gwen's kit by rewarding prolonged combat. Gwen thrives in extended fights where she can stack Snip Snip, repeatedly apply her passive, and remain inside Hallowed Mist. Riftmaker provides omnivamp, bonus health, and scaling true damage, allowing Gwen to out-sustain bruisers and tanks while steadily increasing her damage output over time.

Dusk & dawn:

Works well on Gwen because it rewards her ability-to-auto weaving while adding survivability. Its Spellblade effect empowers her next basic attack after casting a spell, fitting naturally into E usage. The bonus health and ability haste help her stay in fights longer and cycle abilities more often. Dusk and Dawn shifts Gwen toward stronger bursts then just DPS.

Shadowflame:

Is super strong as a finishing damage item because it amplifies her magic and true damage against low-health enemies. Gwen excels at extended fights where she shreds opponents down over time, and Shadowflame rewards that by significantly increasing her damage once targets fall below the health threshold. This makes all damage far more lethal in the final moments of a duel.

Rabadon's deathcap:

It Completes the core by massively amplifying Gwen's ability power scaling. This directly increases the damage and healing from her passive, strengthens her Q and ultimate, and significantly boosts the on-hit damage provided by Nashor's Tooth. Once Deathcap is completed, Gwen transitions into a dominant late-game skirmisher capable of shredding high-health targets with ease.

Zhonya's Hourglass:

Is a core item on Gwen because it provides a crucial defensive tool that directly supports her extended-fight playstyle. Gwen often needs to fully commit into the middle of fights, which makes her vulnerable to burst, crowd control, and focus. Zhonya's allows her to negate this threat by entering stasis at key moments, buying time for cooldowns, or waiting for allies to follow up.

Void Staff:

Becomes a core item on Gwen when the enemy team is stacking magic resistance. Gwen's damage profile is heavily magic-based, so high MR values can significantly reduce her impact if not addressed. Void Staff's percentage magic penetration allows her to cut through these defenses efficiently, ensuring her sustained damage remains threatening even against tanks and bruisers.

This is the standard rune page that you should always pick for Gwen

These are the Precision Runes that you should use on Gwen

MAIN RUNE - Conqueror

Conqueror works best on Gwen because she is strongest in long fights rather than quick burst trades. She stacks it very quickly with her auto attacks, E reset, and multi-hit Q, so she gets full value almost immediately when a fight starts. The bonus damage increases the power of her autos, Q, and ultimate, while the healing at full stacks synergizes extremely well with her passive sustain. As fights go on, Gwen becomes harder to kill and deals more consistent damage, which is exactly how she is meant to be played. Conqueror also scales well into mid and late game, making it far more reliable than other keystones that only provide short-term or early-game value.

FIRST SLOT - Triumph

Triumph is great on Gwen because it heals her after takedowns, letting her stay in fights longer, survive risky skirmishes, secure multiple kills, and fully utilize her damage and sustain in extended fights. It works perfectly with her passive and playstyle, keeping her alive when diving into the enemy backline.

SECOND SLOT - Legend Alacrity

Legend Alacrity gives Gwen bonus attack speed as fights go on. Since her kit relies on repeated auto attacks to stack her Q and passive, more attack speed means she deals damage faster, stacks her abilities quicker, and heals more from her passive. It's perfect for extended fights, helping her stay strong and consistent throughout skirmishes and teamfights.

THIRD SLOT - Last Stand

Last Stand is great on Gwen because it increases her damage when she's low on health. Since Gwen often dives into fights and takes some damage while dealing sustained damage, Last Stand helps her hit harder in clutch moments, letting her turn fights around or finish off enemies when she's close to dying.

THIRD SLOT - Cut Down

Cut Down synergizes well with Conqueror. You start fights with bonus damage from Cut Down. This gives stronger damage at the beginning of the fight. As the fight continues, Conqueror stacks adaptive force, keeping your damage high in extended combat. when enemies are low on health, helping you deal consistent damage as the fight goes on.

These are the Inspiration Runes that you should use on Gwen

FIRST SLOT - Cash Back

Cash Back will be better for mid to late game because it gives or you can say save way more gold then Magical footwear, Its more worth just getting the boots early on, it will help you in the early game, then Cash back does it's thing in the mid to late game

SECOND SLOT - Cosmic Insight

Cosmic Insight is an excellent rune for Gwen because it significantly reduces the cooldowns of her Summoner Spells and her Smite, allowing for more frequent ganks, safer objective control, and better mobility. Even better with items like .

Ghost is the only one that you should use.

Ghost gives Gwen the sustained movement she needs to do what she does best: stick to targets, kite through fights, and finish off enemies after E resets. Gwen's kit rewards prolonged engagements (auto-attacks, Q stacking, and passive healing), and Ghost helps ensure those fights actually stay prolonged instead of the enemy kiting away. So thats why you should always use Ghost.

I really think that Ghost is the only option... So let me talk about the Jungle pets instead!

Gustwalker Hatchling (Blue Smite)

Junglers already get some speed boost in the jungle, but its barely noticeable. So Blue Smite still stands a strong option. Improving Gwen’s jungle by granting additional movement speed on bushes or killing jungle monsters, which helps you move between camps faster. It lets you chase enemies more effectively, very helpful because she needs to stick to targets but also disengage or escape.

Mosstomper Seedling (Green Smite)

Green Smite focuses on survivability. It grants a shield while fighting champions or jungle monsters. This helps Gwen against assassins and combo or burst focused champions, and it remains useful against all champions. A shield reduces damage taken and increases room for error. A shield is straightforward and easy to understand.

Scorchclaw Pup (Red Smite)

Red Smite is a strong choice for Gwen. Sticking to targets matters a lot for her damage output. This smite applies a slow in a 250 unit range, which makes it easier to stay on targets! Red Smite also adds percent health damage, increasing effectiveness against tanky/Bruiser champions. Overall it helps secure kills and win isolated skirmishes.

Gwen's Passive - Thousand Cuts

Simple

Gwen's basic attacks deal bonus on-hit magic damage based on a percentage of her enemies' maximum health. Basic attacks against champions will heal her for some of the damage dealt.

Detailed

Gwen's attacks deal an additional 1% (+0.6% per 100 ability power) of the target's max health as magic damage on hit. Gwen recovers health equal to 50% of the damage this ability deals to champions.

Gwen's Q - Snip Snip!

Gwen’s early game in the jungle is about efficient clearing, minimizing risk, and reaching level 6 without falling behind. She is not an early skirmish jungler and should not force fights before her first recall unless the situation is very favorable.

Your primary goal is to full clear. Gwen’s clear is good enough to reach Scuttle Crab right when he spawns, if pathing correctly. Start on the side where you receive the strongest leash. Gwen performs best with a full clear into Scuttle if safe, or a full clear into recall. Avoid early invades and early 1v1s unless the enemy jungler is extremely weak.

While clearing, always stack your Q before using it. Auto attack four times, then use Q for maximum damage. This significantly speeds up your clear. Use E to reposition between camps. Smite should be used as usual,

Early ganks should be selective. Only gank lanes that are overextended or already fighting. Gwen has no hard crowd control, so forcing ganks usually wastes time and puts you behind. If no good gank exists, continue farming. Farming is never a mistake on Gwen.

If the enemy jungler shows on the opposite side of the map, you can safely take objectives. Gwen can solo early dragons with proper health management and Smite timing, but only do this when you are certain you will not be contested.

Before level 6, play defensively. Your job is to survive, scale, and prepare for your first major power spike.

Once Gwen unlocks her ultimate, her role changes significantly. This is where she becomes a real threat in skirmishes and objective fights.

With R available, Gwen can contest neutral objectives confidently. She excels in extended fights around Dragon, Herald, and jungle corridors. When possible, try to get your Q stacked before you enter fights with Q, you can do this by clearing vision for example, anything can stack it, but do not get out of position because of it, just when you can, and never waste your ultimate on targets you cannot reach.

In mid game, prioritize:
– Farming efficiently between fights
– Taking Objectives
– Fighting when your ultimate is available
– Punishing isolated enemies

Gwen is very strong specially in 1v1 scenarios at this stage, especially against bruisers and tanks. Look for opportunities to Gank or collapse on enemies who overextend. Do not front-to-back teamfight yet unless you are ahead.

Split pushing becomes a strong option only when you have a good team and when it's reasonable and once you complete core items. Gwen melts towers quickly and can win most side-lane duels. If your team can hold the enemy safely, applying side pressure is often the correct play.

Use Hallowed Mist intelligently. It allows you to ignore ranged threats and survive burst, but it does not make you immortal when someone is in.

If you fall behind in mid game, return to farming. Gwen scales extremely well, and forcing fights while behind is the fastest way to lose the game.

Late game is where Gwen becomes a true carry. With multiple items and level 16, she has the damage to shred tanks, assassinate carries, and win extended fights.

In teamfights, Gwen should almost never be the first to engage. Let someone else start the fight, then enter from the side or after key enemy cooldowns are used. Your goal is to reach the backline or fight in the middle of the enemy team while protected by Hallowed Mist.

Always stack Q before committing. Your damage comes from repeated autos into empowered Q casts. Use your ultimate in sequence, not all at once. Each cast should help you stick to targets and continue dealing damage. A huge tip is remembering that it's an AOE Q and Ultimate, you can use on multiple targets.

Target priority depends on positioning:
– If you can safely reach carries, kill them
– If not, shred frontline while healing through passive damage

Late game split pushing remains viable if your team struggles in 5v5 fights. Gwen can force multiple enemies to respond, creating advantages elsewhere on the map. Always track enemy crowd control and teleport timers when splitting.

Vision control is critical. Gwen is extremely strong in fog of war but vulnerable when caught. Do not walk blindly into unwarded jungle without information.

Overall, late game Gwen wins through patience, positioning, and sustained damage. Do not rush fights. Wait for the correct moment, then overwhelm the enemy with constant pressure and healing.