Guide Sections (15)
- Champion Stats
- The Element Swap
- The Qiyana Skin Tier List
- When They Ban Qiyana
- Runes That Work on Qiyana
- Leveling Qiyana's Abilities
- Mastering Qiyana's Kit
- Matchups That Matter for Qiyana
- River Ult Addiction
- When They Counter Your All-In
- The Cleanup Crew
- The Lethality Qiyana Build
- Qiyana's Strongest Moments
- The Supreme Display
- Recent Patch History
Champion Stats
Low elo players have catastrophic positioning discipline. They consistently stand next to walls, river edges, and dragon pits—all of which are death sentences against Qiyana. Her Ultimate (Supreme Display of Talent) stuns enemies who hit a wall, and in lower ranks, entire teams will line up against a wall for you. Furthermore, they do not understand how to play against her Grass Q (Invisibility). You can sit in stealth for 3.5 seconds, wait for their cooldowns to expire, and then burst them freely. This 'Grass Element Abuse' allows you to 1v9 fights where you should be outnumbered.
The Element Swap
The 'Element' Start. Start W (Terrashape) to dash and grab an element (usually River or Wall) immediately as you leave base. This gives you attack speed, on-hit damage, and movement speed at Level 1. Walk to lane with the element ready. You can trade surprisingly hard with auto-attacks. However, the real cheese is the Level 3 all-in. Poke with Q (River/Root), W forward (Rock), E through minion/champ, Auto, Q (Execute Rock). Ideally, you poke them to 60% HP at level 2, then flash-E-Q-Ignite at Level 3 for a guaranteed kill.
The Qiyana Skin Tier List
'True Damage Qiyana Prestige Edition' is the flex. The LV pattern is iconic. 'Battle Queen' is great. 'Shockblade' is clean. Default is sassy.
'Battle Queen' has an amazing 'thump' sound when you hit the R on a wall. It makes the impact feel heavier. 'True Damage' is for the style points and the LV pride. Default is for the purists who love the sass.
'True Damage Prestige' is the queen. LV pattern. 'Battle Queen' is great. 'Shockblade' is clean. Prestige buys you respect.
When They Ban Qiyana
Talon hops walls and kills. Zed shadows. Akali shrouds. Talon is the macro alternative.
Talon for roam. Zed for shadows. Akali for shroud. Talon is the easier roamer.
Runes That Work on Qiyana
Electrocute (Burst) or First Strike (Gold). Sudden Impact is mandatory. Secondary Precision (Presence of Mind) or Inspiration.
Leveling Qiyana's Abilities
Max Q for damage. Max W second for move speed/reset. E last.
Mastering Qiyana's Kit
Terrashape. Dash to element. Grab element. Gain AS/MS/On-hit magic damage while holding element.
Audacity. Dash to enemy (fixed distance). Use E-Q for auto-aim (can be dodged if they dash).
Supreme Display of Talent. Shockwave. Push enemies. Explodes along Walls/River/Bush. Stuns and deals massive damage.
Matchups That Matter for Qiyana
Skill. Whoever ults first usually loses (you R him when he appears behind you).
Hard. Windwall blocks ALL your Qs and R. Don't fight him near minions.
Skill. He heals your burst. Don't let him steal your R (it's good for him).
River Ult Addiction
Stop ulting open space! Only bad Qiyana players use R just for the knockback damage. It MUST hit a wall (or River/Bush) to trigger the stun and explosion damage. If you miss the wall stun, you usually lose the fight. Position yourself patiently. Also, stop defaulting to Rock Q for everything. While it deals the most damage to low HP targets, Grass Q (Invisibility) is often infinitely better for survival and outplaying ganks. Being invisible is better than dealing 50 extra damage if it keeps you alive to cast another rotation.
When They Counter Your All-In
Dodge Vex or Lissandra. Anti-dash and point-click CC ruins your day. You can't play the game.
Vex is your hard counter. Every time you dash (which is always), she gets a fear. If you see Vex, roaming is your only path to victory. Never fight her in a straight 1v1 unless she's at 20% HP.
Dodge Vex. Anti-dash fear ruins you. Lissandra R locks you down. You need mobility to live.
The Cleanup Crew
In teamfights, flank. Grab Grass (Stealth). Q -> W (Grab Water) -> wait. E -> Q (Root) -> R (Stun whole team against wall). Use Prowler's/Opportunity/Youmuu's for mobility. Focus the carry.
Grass Q is your best ability. In a messy fight, stay invisible for as long as possible. Wait for them to clump near a wall, then R. You are a 'one-ult-win-the-game' champion.
Grass Q for stealth. Wait for cooldowns. Earth Q for execute. R against walls for massive AOE stun. Be patient.
The Lethality Qiyana Build
Bruiser Qiyana. Eclipse -> Manamune -> Shojin. You have ability haste to stay invisible forever. You are annoying and unkillable.
Profane Hydra is mandatory for the waveclear and the active burst. Tiamat active during your E-Q combo ensures nothing survives. Add a Serylda's for the constant slow and pen.
Profane Hydra -> Opportunity -> Serylda's. Hydra waveclear lets you roam. Serylda's slow ensures R hits. One-shot combo.
Qiyana's Strongest Moments
Level 3 (Full kit). Dirk spike. Level 6 (R).
Level 3 is when you become a champion. Level 6 is when you become a threat. After Dirk, you can 100-0 most mid-laners with one perfect combo. By 3 items, the ADC should be afraid of every bush in the game.
Level 3. Dirk Spike. Level 6 River Fights. You own the river. Fighting near walls is your win condition.
The Supreme Display
Spamming the Hula Hoop dance. Staying invisible (Grass Q) next to a panic-stricken ADC for 3 seconds before executing them.
Your passive deals bonus damage on the first hit to any target. In a jungle skirmish, swap elements between every auto. Q(Grass)-W(Water)-Q-W(Rock). You are the avatar of the rift—act like it.
Hula hoop dance. 5-man R stun. Dab on them. You are the Empress. 1v9 or go home.
Recent Patch History
Recent Balance Changes
| Patch | Date | Type | Changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| V14.16 | Aug 14, 2024 | BUFF | Q buffed, Base stats buffed |
| V14.1 | Jan 10, 2024 | BUFF | R buffed |
| V13.24 | Dec 6, 2023 | BUFF | Base stats buffed |
| V13.5 | Mar 8, 2023 | BUFF | Q buffed, E buffed |
| V12.15 | Aug 10, 2022 | NERF | P nerfed |
