Guide Sections (15)
- Champion Stats
- The Frenzy Dive
- The Briar Skin Tier List
- When They Ban Briar
- Runes That Work on Briar
- Leveling Briar's Abilities
- Mastering Briar's Kit
- Matchups That Matter for Briar
- Blood Frenzy Overcommit
- When You Can't Win the Side Lane
- The Frontline Brawl
- The Lifesteal Briar Build
- Briar's Strongest Moments
- The Certain Death Dive
- Recent Patch History
Champion Stats
Low elo players don't know how to kite Briar properly or save their CC for when she uses E (Chilling Scream) to cancel her frenzy. They panic when she screams, runs at them at 500 movement speed, and starts shredding them with auto-attacks. They also don't realize she heals based on missing HP, so trying to burst her down when she's low often backfires spectacularly. A smurf knows exactly when to release the pillory (enter W frenzy) to secure kills and when to use E to cancel the frenzy, mitigate incoming damage, and disengage safely.
The Frenzy Dive
Start W (Blood Frenzy). Briar clears jungle incredibly fast with the AOE auto-attacks and built-in healing from her passive. She has NO base HP regeneration—your passive (Crimson Curse) only heals when you hit things, so you must constantly attack to sustain. A Level 2 or 3 invade is possible but risky because if you W near the enemy, you lose control and might chase into bad situations. Generally, aim for a full clear and look for ganks at Level 3 with all abilities available. Your Q (Head Rush) provides a gap closer and stun.
The Briar Skin Tier List
'Street Demons Briar' is colorful. Default is very expressive. Not many skins yet.
'Street Demons' is currently her best for the bright, chaotic VFX that match her berserk state. Default is surprisingly good for the voice lines. Wait for a legendary before you commit to one skin forever.
'Street Demons Briar' is colorful and chaotic. Default is very expressive and fits the theme best. Not many skins yet, so default is often the cleanest choice for clarity.
When They Ban Briar
Warwick is the spiritual brother—low HP baits and relentless chasing. Nocturne if you want the same 'global scream' pressure. Master Yi if you just want to right-click your way to Victory. Pick Warwick for the sustain.
Warwick for the blood hunt style and low-HP baits. Nocturne for the semi-global dive paranoia. Master Yi for the right-click deletion. Warwick is the spiritual brother.
Runes That Work on Briar
Press the Attack (PTA) or Conqueror. PTA is instantly procced by W attack speed reset. Hail of Blades for lethality burst. Secondary Inspiration (Cosmic Insight).
Leveling Briar's Abilities
Max W for the frenzy stats/bite. Max Q second for armor shred/jump. E last.
Mastering Briar's Kit
Head Rush. Leap to unit. Stun. Armor Shred.
Chilling Scream. Channel (Cancels Berserk). Damage Reduction. Heal. Scream knocks back (Stun if wall).
Certain Death. Kick blood gem. Global range. Hits first champ. Fly to them. AOE Fear. Super Berserk (Resists/Lifesteal/Speed).
Matchups That Matter for Briar
Blood Frenzy Overcommit
Stop pressing W under enemy towers! When you enter Blood Frenzy, Briar will automatically attack the nearest enemy champion—you CANNOT control her. If you W while standing in tower range, you will dive the tower and die. ONLY press W if you are 100% sure you can kill the target or if you have E ready to cancel the frenzy before you take lethal tower shots. Managing the self-taunt mechanic is the ENTIRE skill gap between a bad Briar and a good one. Your E (Chilling Scream) cancels the frenzy, provides damage reduction while channeling, and heals you—use it to stop the berserk mode before you run into dangerous situations.
When You Can't Win the Side Lane
Dodge Rammus. You attack fast. He reflects damage. You kill yourself on his shell. You cannot stop attacking him.
Rammus is your permaban. You physically cannot stop attacking him during your W, which means you'll just commit suicide on his thorns. If they pick him, you're forced to play for the early-game ganking, not the duel.
Dodge Rammus. You attack fast. He reflects damage. You kill yourself on his shell because you cannot stop attacking him during W. It is literally unplayable.
The Frontline Brawl
In teamfights, land R on a squishy. You fly to them, fear everyone else, and enter super-berserk mode. Kill them. Use E to soak the enemy retaliation (Damage reduction). Then W to cleanup. You are a diver.
Your E can cleanse your own berserk state. Use it to stop yourself from diving under a tower or into a 5-man ambush. It's your only brain cell—use it wisely.
In teamfights, land R on a squishy. You fly to them, fear everyone else, and enter super-berserk mode. Kill them. Use E to soak the enemy retaliation (Damage reduction). Then W to cleanup.
The Lifesteal Briar Build
Lethality Briar. Collector -> Opportunity. W bite deals massive missing HP damage. You one-shot people but die if looked at wrong.
Sundered Sky is a sleeper hit for Briar. The guaranteed crit and heal on your first auto (which is usually your W bite) makes your burst and sustain feel illegal. Build it third and laugh at their ignite.
Lethality Briar: Collector -> Opportunity. W bite deals massive missing HP damage. You one-shot people but die if looked at wrong. Sundered Sky is also amazing for the crit heal.
Briar's Strongest Moments
Level 6 (Global R). Blade of the Ruined King / Eclipse spike. Late game healing.
Level 6 is where you start to terrorize the map. The global scream sound alone forces ADCs to play safe. Your first item (Eclipse or Bork) is when you can 1v1 any jungler in the game. Don't waste your peak by farming.
Level 6 (Global R) is map-changing. Blade of the Ruined King or Eclipse spike makes you a dueling god. Late game healing makes you a raid boss if not CC'd.
The Certain Death Dive
The global scream sound of R makes everyone panic. Missing R is embarrassing though. 'Hungry' jokes in chat.
The '?' in all-chat after an R-dive that works is mandatory. If you miss R, just type 'lag' and move on. Briar is a feast or famine champ—if you aren't feasting, you're the menu.
The global scream sound of R makes everyone panic. Missing R is embarrassing though. Type 'Hungry' in chat when you land it. If you miss, blame the lag.
Recent Patch History
Recent Balance Changes
| Patch | Date | Type | Changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| V14.9 | May 1, 2024 | BUFF | Base stats buffed |
| V14.8 | Apr 17, 2024 | ADJUST | Q buffed, W adjusted, Base stats nerfed |
| V14.6 | Mar 20, 2024 | NERF | Q adjusted, W nerfed, R nerfed |
| V14.4 | Feb 22, 2024 | BUFF | W adjusted |
| V14.2 | Jan 24, 2024 | ADJUST | P adjusted, Q adjusted |
