Hello guys, I'm MisterFirstBlood from EUW, and today I'm going to show you how to play Kalista.

Kalista, the Spear of Vengeance, is one of the most unique and mechanically challenging AD Carries in League of Legends. Her playstyle revolves around exceptional mobility and precision, making her a perfect choice for players who enjoy high skill-cap champions. Kalista's kit allows her to hop around the battlefield with every auto attack, making her incredibly difficult to pin down when played correctly.

Her passive, Martial Poise, gives her unmatched kiting potential, while her abilities offer a mix of damage, crowd control, and utility. Kalista excels in skirmishes and can dominate the laning phase with her aggressive playstyle. Her ultimate, Fate's Call, provides a powerful engage or peel tool, adding significant value to her team's compositions.

In this guide, I'll walk you through everything you need to know about Kalista—from her abilities and rune choices to item builds and advanced tactics. Whether you're new to the ADC role or a seasoned veteran looking to master a challenging champion, you'll find valuable insights to help you make the most out of Kalista.

So, let's jump into the Rift and unleash the full power of the Spear of Vengeance!

+ Very easy to Dodge Skillshots
+ It's extremely rewarding to be a mechanically better player than your enemies.
+ Shines in Teamfights.
+ Snowballs very hard if you get lead

- You are dependent on your support.
- Very long ult cooldown.
- You might need a little bit peel against some teams.
- Hard to master.
- In a 1v1/when your support dies you just have 2 abilities

Passive: Martial Poise
Enter a movement command while winding up Kalista's basic attack or Pierce to lunge a short distance when she launches her attack.

Q: Pierce
Throw a fast moving spear that passes through enemies it kills.

W: Sentinel
Gain bonus damage when Kalista and her Oathsworn strike the same target. Activate to send a soul to scout out the path, revealing the area in front of it.

E: Rend
Attacks impale their targets with spears. Activate to rip the spears out, slowing and dealing escalating damage.

R: Fate's Call
Kalista teleports the Oathsworn ally to herself. They gain the ability to dash toward a position, knocking enemy champions back.

Blade of the Ruined King and Guinsoo's Rageblade are still your bread and butter items. While Kalista is more dependent on Berserker's Greaves than other ADCs, there are still some nice additions and flexibility when it comes to your 3rd and 4th item choices. Runaan's Hurricane is always nice to spread your damage, Terminus gives you a nice variety of stats, and Wit's End provides on-hit damage and survivability. There's at least one item for each situation you need.

Also, Guardian Angel isn't a bad idea because spears stay even if you die and get revived by GA effect. Sometimes you can benefit from this.

Lethal Tempo offers the best synergy with Kalista's kit. It allows you to stack as many spears as possible. Combining this with Legend: Alacrity to boost your attack speed, Cut Down to increase execute damage, and Triumph along with Treasure Hunter for healing after kills creates a powerful combination. If you choose the Domination tree as your secondary, Sudden Impact further enhances this synergy, making it highly recommended.

Trading Technique: The best and most common technique for trading with enemies in the bot lane is to attack them, then weaken a minion and press E to damage both and get your cooldown and mana cost refreshed by the minion kill.

Cannon Minion Trick: Stack some spears into a cannon minion and try to kill it with Q. If your Q scores a kill, the spear will continue onward, passing all E stacks from the dead victim to the next enemy it hits. This gives you a good chance to engage, slow, or deal significant damage.

Short Trades: Short trades are fine as long as you can heal up and your enemies cannot. Just trigger your W passive, land 1-2 spears, disengage, and heal up again. You don't always have to go all-in.

Waveclear with Runaan's Hurricane: After getting Runaan's Hurricane, you have very strong pushing and waveclear power because every single auto attack can place 3 spears instead of 1, and 1 kill is enough to reset your E's cooldown.

Kalista is a highly challenging yet immensely rewarding AD Carry. She stands out due to her unique mechanics and exceptional mobility. Mastering her takes significant practice and skill, but the payoff is substantial for those who invest the time.

One of the hallmarks of Kalista's kit is her passive, Martial Poise, which allows her to dash with each auto attack. This makes her incredibly elusive and capable of sidestepping numerous skill shots and ultimates. With good positioning and a bit of peel from her team, she can be nearly untouchable in fights.

In lane, Kalista can trade effectively by utilizing her E, Rend, to stack spears on minions and enemies, then refreshing the cooldown and mana cost upon killing a minion. Her Q, Pierce, offers the potential to transfer spear stacks from a killed minion to an enemy champion, making it a powerful tool for engaging and dealing significant damage.

Her ultimate, Fate's Call, provides strong engage or disengage options, depending on the situation. This makes her a versatile pick, able to adapt to the ebb and flow of teamfights. Properly coordinated with her support, Kalista can initiate fights or save allies, adding another layer of strategic depth to her play.

Despite these strengths, Kalista does have vulnerabilities. Her reliance on landing multiple auto attacks to maximize her damage means that positioning and kiting are crucial. She also requires a good support synergy to fully utilize her potential, as her ultimate depends on having an ally nearby.

As a Kalista player, you need to be acutely aware of your surroundings and enemy abilities. Her early game can be tough, especially against champions with strong engage or poke. However, as the game progresses and you build items like Runaan's Hurricane, she becomes a formidable force with strong pushing and waveclear capabilities.

In summary, Kalista is a champion that thrives in the hands of a skilled player. Her mobility, damage potential, and unique mechanics make her a standout pick for those willing to master her intricacies. The satisfaction of outplaying opponents with her dashes and securing kills with well-placed spears is unmatched. While she may be difficult to play, the rewards are immense for those who invest the time and effort into mastering her.

If you enjoyed my guide, I would appreciate a vote. Also, if you want to see more of my content, check out my other ADC guides.

Here are links to my other guides:


Caitlyn
Ezreal
Jinx
Xayah
Miss Fortune
Draven
Ashe
Jhin
Kalista
Kog'Maw
Lucian
Sivir
Tristana
Twitch
Varus
Vayne
Kaisa
Zeri
Samira
Aphelios
Senna
Nilah
Smolder