[12.17] Kalista Top Guide In-Depth
Build Guide By spaghalli
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10
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36,869
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Comments
Kalista Build Guide By spaghalli
36,869
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2
Comments
Kalista Build Guide By spaghalli
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Runes: lethal tempo & resolve
1
2
3
Precision
Resolve
+10% Attack Speed
+9 Adaptive (5.4 AD or 9 AP)
+6 Armor
Spells:
1
2
Flash & Teleport
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![LoL Summoner Spell: Flash]()
![LoL Summoner Spell: Teleport]()
Flash
Teleport
Items
Standard Build
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"Bruiser" Build
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Threats & Synergies
Threats
Synergies
Extreme
Major
Even
Minor
Tiny
Show All
None
Low
Ok
Strong
Ideal
Extreme Threats
Ideal Synergies
Wukong
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
Basically, all these champions here can wombo combo ults with kaliista and make for great oathsworns.
Synergies
Ideal
Strong
Ok
Low
None
Amumu
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 
Kalista top? Cool, me too.
I love Kalista’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…
Kalista top? Cool, me too.I love
Kalista’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
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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 Rend☺︎ high skill ceiling so it feels really good if you master her (and she looks cool) |
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CONS
-☹︎ mechanically intensive (when I was first learning Kalista, I can’t tell you the amount of times I accidentally inputted the wrong movement command and Martial Poise 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
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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.
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Martial Poise will be knocked down by any immobilizing or polymorphing crowd control.✧ The base distance of
Martial Poise 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-
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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.
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Pierce will cast from wherever the caster is at the end of the cast time.KALISTA Q SKILL SHOWCASE-
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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. |
Sentinel'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-
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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. |
Rend 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 (
Jax’s Counter Strike), blocked ( Shen’s Spirit's Refuge), or missed while blinded by Teemo’s Blinding Dart.KALISTA E SKILL SHOWCASE-
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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. |
Fate's Call can be cast even if the Oathsworn is untargetable.✧
Fate's Call can be used even if the Oathsworn is in a zombie state ( Sion, Kog'Maw, and Karthus passives).✧
Kalista's death does not cancel Fate's Call.KALISTA R SKILL SHOWCASE
Skill Sequence
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1 |
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3 |
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5 |
6 |
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15 |
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E |
Q |
W |
E |
E |
R |
E |
Q |
E |
Q |
R |
Q |
Q |
W |
W |
R |
W |
W |
Rend to start stacking your spears and begin bullying your lane opponent level one. The only time you should start Q Pierce 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
Sentinel active.
Runes Explained
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LETHAL TEMPO |
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HAIL OF BLADES |
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You want to go Lethal Tempo 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 Hail of Blades into squishier team comps when you aren’t expected to be in these longer fights. With Hail of Blades, you can 100 to 0 squishies with a few autos and Rend. |
PRIMARY TREE: PRECISION
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OVERHEAL Overheal is a great rune for Kalista in the top lane because it can provide that extra durability you need to sustain yourself in tankier matchups.
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LEGEND: ALACRITY With Kalista, you want as much attack speed as you can get as you are extremely auto based. Legend: Alacrity will allow you to dish out more DPS and get more Rend stacks.
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COUP DE GRACE Either Coup de Grace or Cut Down works for Kalista. You’ll want to take Cut Down into tankier matchups, and Coup de Grace into all other matchups to give you more domination potential.
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PRIMARY TREE: DOMINATION
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SUDDEN IMPACT Kalista’s Martial Poise gives her basically an unlimited amount of dashes, making Sudden Impact extremely easy to proc and gives a great burst of extra lethality. Taste of Blood is also a viable rune choice for extra lane sustain.
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GHOST PORO You can take either Ghost Poro or Eyeball Collection. I prefer Ghost Poro over Eyeball Collection 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). Eyeball Collection is definitely the riskier choice, as it requires you to get kills to get the bonus AD.
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RELENTLESS HUNTER Relentless Hunter is really nice for roaming, and the out of combat movement speed is helpful if you didn’t take Teleport. Honestly, all of the “hunter” runes are not ideal for Kalista top lane since it requires you to roam or wait until late game to get all the stacks. However, Relentless Hunter is the best choice out of the options. Ingenious Hunter can also work if you plan to go items with cooldowns, like Immortal Shieldbow, Blade of the Ruined King, Randuin's Omen, or Guardian Angel.
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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
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CONDITIONING Any of these defensive runes work, and are very dependent on lane matchups. To simplify it, take Bone Plating against bruisers/ champions that can engage on you. Take Second Wind against poke champions. Take Conditioning against tanks.
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OVERGROWTH The extra health from Overgrowth provides you with enough durability, and can sometimes give you that small bit of extra health you need to survive fights. Revitalize is also a viable option, and I take that rune whenever I plan to buy items with shields like Immortal Shieldbow or Bloodthirster.
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SECONDARY TREE: SORCERY
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ABSOLUTE FOCUS 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.
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GATHERING STORM Gathering Storm is obviously one of the best (if not the best) scaling minor rune you can take. Even though Kalista is an early game champion, Gathering Storm will give you more scaling, and can allow you to out damage opponents in the late game.
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SECONDARY TREE: PRECISION
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LEGEND: ALACRITY Same explanation as above. Attack speed is everything to Kalista. Legend: Bloodline can also work, but I don’t think it out-values Legend: Alacrity because of the lifesteal nerfs.
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COUP DE GRACE When taking Hail of Blades, Coup de Grace 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, Last Stand is also viable, especially with the way it synergyzes with Immortal Shieldbow.
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Summoner Spells Explained
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SUMMONER SPELLS
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Items Explained
GOTTA RUSH DEM BOOTIES
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-OR-
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For most games, you’re going to want to rush Berserker's Greaves. Getting second tier boots early on is typically recommended on Kalista because it increases the range of Martial Poise, enabling her with better kiting power and more mobility overall. Berserker's Greaves is great for Kalista because it’s the cheapest attack speed item in the game and is worth the rush. Go Plated Steelcaps into a full AD enemy team, and go Mercury's Treads into a full AP enemy team or against heavy CC.
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MYTHIC OPTIONS
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IMMORTAL SHIELDBOW |
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KRAKEN SLAYER |
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TRINITY FORCE |
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✧ Immortal Shieldbow is one of the best–– if not thee best–– mythic options for Kalista. This is more of a defensive mythic, as it give you 7% lifesteal and a shield that procs when you’re below 30% health. Immortal Shieldbow 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. |
✧ Kraken Slayer is like every marksman’s wet dream mythic item. Typically, you only want to go Kraken Slayer 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 Kalista since that’s her most important stat. |
✧ Trinity Force is the most off-meta pick out of the three, but is definitely a viable choice for Kalista top. I like Trinity Force for the bruiser stats, and it makes Kalista 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 Trinity Force makes her a stronger duelist and also allows her to take towers faster. |
LEGENDARY ITEM OPTIONS
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Mortal Reminder Mortal Reminder is a must into heavy healing team comps. Buy Executioner's Calling and then wait until you have your core items to upgrade it.
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SOME BRUISER OPTIONS
AGAINST HEAVY AD
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How to play the Early, Mid, & Late Game
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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. |
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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 Kalista 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
Kalista 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
spaghalli
Kalista Guide
[12.17] Kalista Top Guide In-Depth
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