Guide Sections (15)
- Champion Stats
- The Snip Trade
- Which Gwen Skin to Use
- When They Ban Gwen
- Optimal Runes for Gwen
- Gwen's Ability Priority
- Mastering Gwen's Kit
- Gwen's Lane Opponents
- Hallowed Mist Misuse
- When You Can't Win the Side Lane
- The Frontline Brawl
- The AP Bruiser Build
- Timing Gwen's All-Ins
- The Untouchable Scissors
- Recent Patch History
Champion Stats
Low elo players have zero concept of 'Hallowed Mist' timing. They will panic-throw Lux bindings, Ashe arrows, and Veigar cages at you while you are immune, effectively playing the fight 4v5. Additionally, her max HP % damage melts objectives and tanks alike. You can take a tower in seconds with E resets and Nashor's Tooth, forcing the enemy team to send 2-3 people to stop you—who you can then double kill.
The Snip Trade
The Level 1 Cheese is Gwen's best-kept secret. Start E (Skip 'n Slash). Hide in the top lane bush. Let the enemy walk up to the wave. Auto-E-Auto-Auto. Your E grants bonus attack speed, on-hit magic damage, and range. You stack Conqueror almost instantly. Most bruisers (Darius, Sett) expect to win Level 1, but Gwen's sustained DPS with E resets actually out-trades them if you space correctly using the extra range.
Level 1 E start lets you run down almost anyone. Use the range increase to kite melee champs. Stack Q on minions, then E-Q forward for a true damage trade. Don't just Q the air; maximize the snip damage on the champion. You shred tanks at level 1.
Which Gwen Skin to Use
'Soul Fighter Gwen' is the pay-to-win choice. The visual clarity on the Q snip stacks is precise, and the W mist boundary is very clearly defined, helping you skirt the edge perfectly. 'Cafe Cuties' is excellent for tilting enemies—getting cut up by a giant pair of scissors held by a maid is humiliating.
'Space Groove' has satisfying bubbly sounds but can be distracting. 'Cafe Cuties' has sharp scissor sounds that help with timing. 'Soul Fighter' is visually loud but distinct. The base skin is actually top tier for clarity. Pick for the sound effects that help you rhythm your Qs.
When They Ban Gwen
Fiora is the AD version of 'Max HP % True Damage'. Kayle is the scaling option. Camille is the diver. If you want to shred tanks, Fiora is the closest 1:1 replacement.
Fiora provides the same tank-shredding, split-pushing identity with % Max HP True Damage. Kayle offers a similar 'weak early, god late' hypercarry curve but with range. Camille is the diver alternative for locking down targets. Fiora is the closest mechanical match.
Optimal Runes for Gwen
Conqueror is mandatory for the sustained damage and healing. Presence of Mind ensures you never run out of mana while spamming Q. Legend: Alacrity gives you the fluidity for smoother combos. Last Stand is incredible because you often fight at low HP with your healing. Secondary Resolve (Second Wind/Unflinching) helps you survive poke lanes, but pure smurfs often go Sudden Impact/Treasure Hunter for faster scaling.
Gwen's Ability Priority
Max Q for the true damage output and lower cooldown. E second is crucial because at max rank, the refund on auto-attacks makes the dash almost instant, giving you infinite mobility. W is a one-point wonder used to outplay key ultimates.
Mastering Gwen's Kit
Snip Snip! Center deals True Damage and applies passive. Stack 4 auto-attacks on minions before trading for maximum damage.
Hallowed Mist. You are untargetable by anything outside the ring. You can recast it once to move the zone to you. Use it to negate entire kits.
Skip 'n Slash. Dash + Stats. The cooldown refund on hitting an enemy is huge. Always weave an auto after dashing.
Needlework. 3 casts. You need to hit something (minion or champ) to unlock the next cast. Don't just spam RRR; weave autos: R1-Auto-R2-Auto-R3.
Gwen's Lane Opponents
Skill Matchup. E away from his Counterstrike. Most importantly, your Q deals damage even through his E dodge. Time it well.
Free Farm. He cannot stop you from scaling. W his ultimate knockup call.
Volatile. Dash INSIDE his Q handle to deny the heal. If you get hit by the blade, you lose.
Vs Jax: Skill Matchup. E away from his Counterstrike. Most importantly, your Q deals damage even through his E dodge. Time it well. Vs Ornn: Free Farm. He cannot stop you from scaling. W his ultimate knockup and snip him down every time he walks up.
Hallowed Mist Misuse
Stop pressing W just to run faster. Your W has a 20+ second cooldown. If you use it to gap close and then the fight doesn't happen, you are vulnerable. Use W reactively to dodge a spell (like Twisted Fate Gold Card) or to isolate a 1v1. Also, aim the CENTER of your Q. The outer edges deal peanut damage. The center deals True Damage. Don't be lazy with your aim.
Stop pressing W just to run faster. Your W has a 20+ second cooldown. If you use it to gap close and then the fight doesn't happen, you are vulnerable. Use W reactively to dodge a spell or to isolate a 1v1. Also, aim the CENTER of your Q. The outer edges deal way less damage.
When You Can't Win the Side Lane
Dodge Tryndamere. His ult ignores your damage, and he out-sustains you early. Dodge Akali. She can shroud inside your mist, making it a skill-shot nightmare where she usually wins.
Dodge Tryndamere. His ult ignores your damage, and he out-sustains you early. Dodge Akali. She can shroud inside your mist, making it a skill-shot nightmare where she usually wins. Gwen is a scaler—don't int for one minion wave.
Dodge Tryndamere. His ult ignores your damage, and he out-sustains you early. Akali is also a nightmare because she shrouds inside your Mist, making it a skill-shot guessing game where she usually wins. You cannot outplay her shroud.
The Frontline Brawl
You are a flanker. Use your E to hop over a wall, press W immediately to immune the enemy backline's peel, and then shred the closest target. Ideally, you want to stack your Q on a tank, then flash-E onto the ADC and execute them with a fully stacked Q snip and R3. If they group up, your R slows and destroys the entire team.
Your R has 3 casts and each cast slows more than the last. Use R1 and R2 to set up your R3 nuclear snips. If you hit R3 on three people, the fight is over.
The AP Bruiser Build
Nashor's Tooth -> Riftmaker -> Rabadon's Deathcap. This build ignores defensive items for pure damage. With Deathcap, your passive healing is so high that you effectively tank by dealing damage. You can 2-shot towers and 1-shot squishies.
Nashor's Tooth -> Riftmaker -> Rabadon's Deathcap. This build ignores defensive items for pure damage. With Deathcap, your passive healing is so high that you effectively tank by dealing damage. You can 2-shot towers and 1-shot squishies.
Nashor's Tooth -> Riftmaker -> Rabadon's Deathcap. This build ignores defensive items for pure damage. With Deathcap, your passive healing is so high that you effectively tank by dealing damage. You can 2-shot towers and 1-shot squishies.
Timing Gwen's All-Ins
Level 6: Your all-in kill pressure triples. 2 Items (Nashor + Rift): You are the strongest champion on the map. Level 16: Your R cooldown is short and deals massive % HP damage.
At level 6, your R slow guarantees you can land your Qs. Don't fight without R unleess you're absurdly ahead. Riftmaker completion is your 'stat-check' spike. Level 16 R cooldown means you can use it to clear waves if needed (don't, but you could).
Level 6 triples your kill pressure with the needle slow. 2 Items (Nashor + Rift) makes you the strongest duelist on the map. Level 16 R cooldown is short enough to use for waveclear. Don't fight without R unless you are absurdly ahead.
The Untouchable Scissors
Type 'Gwen is immune' in all chat every time you block a global ultimate. Standing still inside your W while a Caitlyn unloads her entire clip into the mist is the ultimate flex. Spam the 'Snip Snip' emote.
Type 'Gwen is immune' in all chat every time you block a global ultimate. Standing still inside your W while a Caitlyn unloads her entire clip into the mist is the ultimate flex. Spam the 'Snip Snip' emote for the mental edge.
Recent Patch History
Recent Balance Changes
| Patch | Date | Type | Changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| V14.2 | Jan 24, 2024 | BUFF | P buffed |
| V13.18 | Sep 13, 2023 | BUFF | P buffed, Base stats buffed |
| V13.15 | Aug 2, 2023 | BUFF | W buffed, Base stats buffed |
| V12.20 | Oct 19, 2022 | BUFF | Q buffed |
| V12.15 | Aug 10, 2022 | NERF | Q nerfed |
