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Smolder Build Guide by Alvatorz

ADC [14.15] | The Fiery Fledgling [In Depth Guide-Builds]

ADC [14.15] | The Fiery Fledgling [In Depth Guide-Builds]

Updated on July 30, 2024
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League of Legends Build Guide Author Alvatorz Build Guide By Alvatorz 15 1 36,943 Views 0 Comments
15 1 36,943 Views 0 Comments League of Legends Build Guide Author Alvatorz Smolder Build Guide By Alvatorz Updated on July 30, 2024
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Runes: Fleet Footwork | Basic version

1 2 3
Precision
Fleet Footwork
Presence of Mind
Legend: Alacrity
Cut Down

Inspiration
Biscuit Delivery
Magical Footwear
Bonus:

+10% Attack Speed
+9 Adaptive (5.4 AD or 9 AP)
+10-180 Bonus Health

Spells:

1 2 3 4
Standard Choice
LoL Summoner Spell: Flash

Flash

LoL Summoner Spell: Heal

Heal

Items

Starter Items
Boots
If you go caster build
If you go crit build
1st Item
Better with Fleet Footwork | Great mana item on the early game, allows you to take strong trades early on and scales well with crit
Better with First Strike | Insane scalling, you can stack it while stacking your passiv and allows you to one shot waves latter on
2nd Item
Tankiness and even more damage and CDR for spells
3rd Item
Standard 3rd item
If you don't need range and there is too much burst
4th Item
If you havn't bought it 3rd item
Tankiness with shield, lifesteal and damage
If there is multiple tanks/bruiser AND you went caster build
5ft Item
Tankiness with shield, lifesteal and damage
Need Survavibility

Threats & Synergies

Threats Synergies
Extreme Major Even Minor Tiny
Show All
None Low Ok Strong Ideal
Extreme Threats
Ideal Synergies
Synergies
Ideal Strong Ok Low None

Champion Build Guide

[14.15] | The Fiery Fledgling [In Depth Guide-Builds]

By Alvatorz
| Table of Content |













| About Me |



Hey everyone. My name is Tyspect and i'm a French diamond ADC.

I've started playing League 7 years ago and focused on ADC's 4 years ago.
I do play most of the ADC's but some of them are my little favorites, like Zeri, Jhin or Varus.
Smolder is a champion I wouldn't think I would appreciate to be honest, but he's playstyle and the stacking mechanic makes him a very pleasant champion to play. Riot said it was an easy character for people that learns ADC, I don't think it's true. Smolder is a bit more complicated than just Q, Q, Q and I will try to show you that !

My peak elo is Diamond 1 but I do want to achieve Master rank in the end of the year.
I am French so if there's any mistake or error in the guide, don't hesitate to mention it in the comments, i'll check them as fast as possible !!

I'm also streaming on Twitch occasionnaly and creating content on Youtube so if you want to join me there, you are welcome !
| Pros and Cons |





PROS
+ Versatile in builds/runes
+ Great teamfight potential
+ Safe in lane
+ Strong mid game / Insane late game
+ Able to comeback
+ High carry potential

Smolder is one of the most versatile AD Carry of the game. You can build a lot of different builds depending on the situation. Ap , crit or tankier are all viable options that can give you an advantage in your games. Most of the other adc's can only build 1 or 2 builds, but you, as Smolder, you have a tons of different options to consider depending on the situation or the game itself.
Smolder is a safe champion that you can compare to Ezreal in a way. He wants to farm and stack peacefully in the first levels to burst devasting Super Scorcher Breath later on that will obliterate most champions. His ability to clear wave safely in lane with Achooo! and MMOOOMMMM! (in worst cases) can help him a lot to survive the early game. His E Flap, Flap, Flap can also be very usefull to reposition yourself in better spots to avoid being catched or killed.
CONS
- Very weak early
- Support dependant in early
- Low range
- Easily abused
- Weak to all in
- Requires game knowledge

Being one of the WEAKEST adc in the game in early game, Smolder is a very easy champion to punish in lane if you don't know how to play him properly. You must be very selfish and avoid as much trade as you can. You can fast trade to get 3 or 4 stacks but don't overxtend in trades, it will cause you to be punished for it and get killed or lose any lane control.
Despite his strong late game, Smolder has to be very carefull about everything surrounding him. Any assassin or mage can make him. His low range makes the fights a lot harder and you'll have to be prepared to reposition yourself with your E Flap, Flap, Flap near an ally or behind a wall.
Finally Smolder is, as I said, a late game champion, wich means you wont be able to help your team a lot in the early game. Midgame is favorable since you can get stacks but keep in mind that you are weak and need to grow even bigger in order to be a strong scarry dragon.
| Summoners Spells |








HOW TO CHOSE ?
-
FLASH: Basic summoner that just fits perfectly with any ADCs. Without his low mobility and lack of escape, it's basically Smolder only tool to get out of hard situations. Chose wisely when to use your flash !
GHOST: Ghost isn't the most efficient summoner on most ADCs right now. After the nerfs he got, Ghost lost most of it's power and is very bad on adcs.
CLEANSE: As written in the notes on top of the summonners tab, cleanse is really specific. Against champions like Leona, Ashe Enchanted Crystal Arrow or Thresh Death Sentence.
HEAL: Heal is the standard summoner spell for ADC's,good for 2v2 situations. It's a good choice if you're learning ADC and botlane in general !
TELEPORT: Teleport is the saffest option to take. Smolder uses a ton of mana so if you need to refil or to buy items in base, Teleport will help you to get back in lane fast. This also helps you to not miss any stacks on cs if you're forced to leave your lane in a rush. Will great option to consider !
BARRIER: Barrier is actually an amazing summoner spell to use, espacially as a low range/weak adc. The shield it grants you can help you to get out of most situations. Dives, catch, 1v1, very versatile and super usefull in most cases.
| Runes |








FLEET FOOTWORK

| When ? |

If you need SUSTAIN in lane and SURVAVIBILITY. Also gives movement speed in fights.

Example : Caitlyn or Ezreal / Lux or Senna

FIRST STRIKE

| When ? |

Good to go if you are confident enough on the champion and you want to scale FASTER + every sub runes of this tree are good for Smolder.

Example : Samira or Kai'Sa / Pyke or Thresh

ARCANE COMET

| When ? |

If you want to CREATE PRESURE with your support. I do not recommend going Arcane Comet but it can be a sutiable choice for certain situations.

Example : Xerath or Lux or Brand ect.. is your support



SECOND TREE

Cash Back allows Smolder to get extra gold everytime he spends money on legendary items. This rune can help you to get your important items faster but it's less interesting than some other runes. Super niche.
Magical Footwear is a great rune for Smolder. 300 golds that you don't have to bother and you can invest on something else is great + the extra move speed is always good to take.
Biscuit Delivery is an amazing rune on Smolder due to the high use of mana in lane with your Q Super Scorcher Breath and W Achooo!. Having a little bit more of sustain in lane is very much appreciated.
Jack of all Trades is also a super interesting rune ! Smolder is building a lot of different stats, HP, Mana, AD, Crit, Attack Speed ect.. All of these different stats are buffing Jack of all Trades and creates a nice little combinaison !

Absorb Life is a great option if you need high sustain or survavibility on your lane. It scales with level so the more you go in the game the most intersting the rune is. Even in late game, you can kill some minnions with it and get nice heals.
Cut Down is the only option we have on the last branch of Precision. Even if Smolder builds a bit of HP in his builds, it still intersting to deal a bit more damage to tanks.
Presence of Mind is great for new Smolder players that would want to play the champion with thinking of theyr mana. Good rune but I think Absorb Life is better in more situations.
Legend: Haste is a nice subrune to have on Smolder but is a bit overshadowed by his 2 friends Legend: Bloodline and Legend: Alacrity. They are all really good and works very well on Smolder so it's your preference to pick between one of those 3 runes.

Manaflow Band is a good option if you want to stack up some mana in the early game.
Absolute Focus has a good potential for Smolder because you will be full health or at least high on hp most of the fight.
Gathering Storm can perform really well on a late game champion such as Smolder, free AD for you. The later the game gets, the better it is for you. More stacks, more AD.
Transcendence is less interesting than Gathering Storm because you're already building a lot of Haste with all of your items or different other runes.
| Abilities |







DRAGON PRACTICE


PASSIV: When Smolder kills a minions, champion or monster Super Scorcher Breath OR he hits a champion with any of his abilities, he gains a STACK.
Each stacks increases Smolder's basic abilities Super Scorcher Breath, Achooo! and Flap, Flap, Flap magic damage.

TIPS: Smolder's passiv is the center of the character. You need to stack fast but cleverly. You need to focus on staying alive in the first place. Yes damaging ennemy champions can be tempting at first but you must keep in mind that you are really bad early game. Trading to get stacks can put you out of lane and make you lose a lot of time. Focus on killing minnions with Super Scorcher Breath and poking with Achooo!.






SUPER SCORCHER BREATH


ACTIVE: Smolder spits a fireball that deal damage, applies on-hit and lifesteal effect and grants him a STACK.

Super Scorcher Breath has 3 tier of evolution.

TIER 1 : 25 STACKS
The fireball explose and deals damage in a area arround the targetted ennemy. The damage dealt by the explolsion ALSO gives you STACKS.

TIER 1 : 125 STACKS
The fireball throws a cone of fire that deals damage behind the targetted ennemy. The damage death by the cone ALSO gives you STACKS.

TIER 1 : 225 STACKS
The fireball throws a cone of fire that deals damage behind the targetted ennemy. In addition to that, ennemies hit by Super Scorcher Breath or by it's cone of damage are set in fire during 3 seconds. ON TOP OF THAT, Super Scorcher Breath will EXECUTE ennemies under 7% HP.

Every 100 stacks adds a new fireball is added to Smolder's Super Scorcher Breath.


TIPS: Smolder Super Scorcher Breath is his main source of damage and stacking. In the early, as I wrote just in the passiv section, focus on using your Q to last hit minnions to reach 25 stacks. When you'll be at 25 stacks, you can target multiple minnions or ennemies that would hide in minnions with the explosion. At 125 stacks, you can hit ennemies BEHIND minnions or also last hit multiple minnions at the same time with only one Super Scorcher Breath due to the cone. When you are at 225, victory is ahead, you must spam your Q to multiple targets to set them on fire and get EXECUTES as much as you can.

If you stack correctly and cleverly, you should come to these timings :

25 STACKS = 4/5 minutes
125 STACKS = 13/14 minutes
225 STACKS = 19/22 minutes







ACHOOO!


ACTIVATE: Smolder sneezes and throws a big fireball that deals damage and slows ennemies. The fireball will slow down after a certain distance. If the fireball hits a champion, it explose and create an area of damage.

TIPS: Achooo! is a super cool ability to use if you need a bit of slow to catch ennemies OR slow opponents that would chase you. Achooo! can also help you to get some free STACKS in the early game since ennemy champions have no mobility. In best cases, you can hit both adc and support to get 2 free juicy stacks !







FLAP, FLAP, FLAP


ACTIVE: Smolder starts flying for 1,25 seconds, gaining movement speed, true vision in his auto attack range and ignoring terrain. While he is in flight, he fires up to 5 spits of fire to ennemies, targetting in priority the lowest ennemy in his range.

Smolder will stop using Flap, Flap, Flap if he uses an other ability.

TIPS: Flap, Flap, Flap is a Swiss knife. You can chase low health ennemies, reposition yourself in fights or escape from dangerous threaths like Nocturne or Gwen for exemple. Use it wisely and for escaping in most cases.






MMOOOMMMM!


ACTIVE: Smolder calls his mom for help ! She exhale a huge fire breath on the ground, dealing damage to any ennemy in the area, increased if they are in the center and slows them. Also heals Smolder if he is in the area of the fire breath.

TIPS: MMOOOMMMM! is an underated ability. In the first levels, it can cause a huge difference since it heals Smolder and it damages and slows ennemies. Later on, this spell is even better since it can deal massive damage in a huge area, perfect for big teamfights.


| Skill Order |









1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
Q
W
E
Q
Q
R
Q
E
Q
E
R
E
E
W
W
R
W
W


This skill order is focusing on Smolder's capacity of KITTING and repositionning. A common mistake I see most of Smolder's players do is to max W Achooo! second instead of E Flap, Flap, Flap. Don't get me wrong, i'll explain under this section why W Achooo! is good as well, but if you're going Essence Reaver and the crit build, maxing your E is way more interesting for the value of every fireball and the opportunity to reposition yourself anytime you need.





1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
Q
W
E
Q
Q
R
Q
W
Q
W
R
W
W
E
E
R
E
E


This skill order is mostly focused on Smolder's ability to be a powerfull CASTER. Since W Achooo! is a really usefull spell to use in fights, you can max it if you're building things like Manamune, Liandry's Torment or Spear of Shojin to maximize your damage and CASTING side.
| Items |






This section will be the a complete part of the guide explaining every items for every Smolder variants existing, wich means
AP ,TANKIER and finally CRIT and AD .

Please be aware that this entire section is subject to changes due to buff and nerfs that Smolder or the Items could suffer !




Essence Reaver was always the way to go with Smolder. Now that the Sheen active got removed, the item is ok tier since your Q Super Scorcher Breath also applies on-hit effects, you can regen your mana easily while spamming your Q's. It has great stats for Smolder, has a decent price and allows Smolder to take the advantage in trades. It will always be your first item in CRIT builds.



To help Smolder with his low range, here comes Rapid Firecannon to the rescue ! This item will provide your crit, attack speed and a buff of range that will help you significantly to throw your Super Scorcher Breath during fights. A really good option, both in terms of aggression and defense.



Yes, yes, yes. I know. Bloodthirster doesn't give crit anymore. Yet it's an item you only build when your going crit on Smolder. So let me explain. Since you have a bit of healing with Fleet Footwork, you can increase your sustain potential with Bloodthirster, giving you massive healings on your Qs Super Scorcher Breath and your autos, giving you sustain AND massiv defensive power with Bloodthirster's shield.



Immortal Shieldbow is a good way to gain survavibility and crit if you are planning to go 100% crit. They got rid of the lifesteal on the item, making it weaker than before but it still an option to counter burst.



Being able to deal with tankier target is a problem for Smolder since he can't crit with his Q Super Scorcher Breath. However, Lord Dominik's Regards can help you to take down tanks since it has a huge armor penetration.






Manamune is an underestimated item on Smolder. I think it is really good especially if you're confident enough on Smolder. Crit is a way to play him but right now, I still think that raw damage is really great. Manamune allows you to focus on not building crit item, like Spear of Shojin or Trinity Force.



Spear of Shojin as it's counterpart Essence Reaver is a go to for Smolder in every single build. The value that is given by the item is just too good to be thrown away. It increses the damage of your abilities, gives you damage, hp, haste and has a great recipe for Smolder. Amazing item. Build it every time.



Trinity Force is a special case. It is good on Smolder because it gives him a tons of intersting stats for him such as HP, Attack speed, damage, haste ect.. but also has the Sheen proc on top of that. Unfortunatly, it is too expensive to build it on ADC Smolder, so I recommend building Trinity Force if you are playing him TOP or MID but not ADC.



You need some armor pen to help you takedown those filthy tanks and you're not building crit on top of that ? Serylda's Grudge is here to save the day. I don't understand why people are not building this item more often, it has great stats, an amazing passiv and the slow on top of that, every Q is a slowing machine, really great if you're going raw damage. I recommend a lot !



Guardian Angel gives you an extra life, AD, Armor. It is great if you really need that extra life during tought fights.






AP items on Smolder is kind of special so I'll try to explain it the best I can. Riftmaker on Smoler is good because it has a lot of good stats that you want on the champion. Some AP, omnivamp, haste and health. However, I recommend building it if you're going Liandry's Torment and Spear of Shojin to get a better value out of Riftmaker's passiv.



Let's talk a bit about Blackfire Torch now. This item perform pretty well on champions like Brand or Karthus so why would it work on Smolder ? Super Scorcher Breaht's burn of course ! Coupled with your Liandry's Torment, your Qs will melt down ennemies, especially tanks. However, it is a really niche item, I wouldn't recommend it to a new Smolder player.



As we were saying earlier, Liandry's Torment is a good option to use this burn on Q Super Scorcher Breath or on your other abilites as well. It works incredibly well with Spear of Shojin and Manamune, you should deffinitly give it a try. Great stats, great passiv, great recipe. Good item on Smolder.



Really great option to consider if there is all-in such as Kha'Zix, Rengar or more recently Naafiri. Gives you AP, Armor and CDR wich are really good for Smolder !





This section is about tankier items so they are really situationnal. Iceborn Gauntlet is a good tanky option if you want to have the Sheen proc and to get armor, HP and haste. It is less interesting now but still quite good with items like Liandry's Torment or Spear of Shojin.



An other very situationnal item to build if you plan on getting tankier items and there is a lot of AP threat on the other team. Huge MR buff for yourself.



Great item for both Armor and Magic Resist, Jak'Sho, The Protean is great into all kind of teams.



Also a great option if you need mana and armor. Weaker than before because of the high cost of the item but still decent on Smolder.






Great boots for caster build, allows you to stack more often. The cost of these boots are super cheap, making it a good 2nd buy most of the games.



Really great boots for the crit build, gives you lots of movespeed and huge slow resist that is incredibly usefull against all the different slows there is in the game, especially in the botlane.
| Combos |





This section will be talking about the few combos Smolder has. Why "the few" ? Because Smolder isn't a super hard character to master and to utilize as it's full potential. He actually is kinda easy when you understand the abilities and the connection they have with each others. I hope this will help you understand more about him and will guide you trough the process of mastering Smolder !








This combo is an early game combo, allowing you to take very short trades to respond to an opponent comming in front of you or your support.









A simple Q Super Scorcher Breath + Flash combo. As you can see the ball will follow Smolder's flash and reposition itself depending on where Smolder is after the Flash.

IMPORTANT NOTE : As you can see during the video, when you reach 125 STACKS, the spits or fire throwed by the fireball are also following Smolder's position, making it a really good way to finish an ennemy by surprise, for example by using Q Super Scorcher Breath on his support or a minnion that would be near him !








Achooo! and Flash have a weird interaction together. When Smolder is using Achooo!, he steps back a little, sneezes and spits out his fireball. If you Flash before he sneezes, the fireball will start moving from where Smolder is at the end of the Flash, making it visible to ennemies. HOWEVER, if you flash after Smolder has finished his sneeze, the fireball will start moving from where Smolder was BEFORE he flashed, making it completly invisible for ennemies and impredictable !








An other simple interaction between Flap, Flap, Flap and Flash. As you can see here, Flap, Flap, Flap will NOT stop if you Flash while using it, making it a great way to escape OR chase ennemies !

Remember that Flap, Flap, Flap will keep targeting the lowest ennemy in range !








This combo is most easy way to trade, giving you multiple stacks and allowing you to respond to aggression.









This isn't really a combo, but it's a interesting thing to understand and to know. If you reverse Smolder R MMOOOMMMM!, it will come way faster than if you fire it normally. This can be super usefull espacially in trades where to KNOW you can kill because your ennemies wont know it comes from behind them rather that in front of them. You need to understand the range to use it, if you're not close enough, MMOOOMMMM! wont do any damage. Take the time to know the range and the speed that the breath comes in and you'll land perfect Rs !








This is the full burst combo of Smolder ! Keep in mind that you must use your R MMOOOMMMM! at the begining OR at the end of the combo since you can't cancel the animation of it and it takes 1 second for Smolder to stop crying. So you can basically do Auto Attack + W Achooo! + Q Super Scorcher Breath + E Flap, Flap, Flap + R MMOOOMMMM! aswell and it will be as good as the base one. It just less predictable if you use your R at the start of the trade.


Here you go, those are the most IMPORTANT combos or tips for Smolder. You can experience those by yourself and try things ! Smolder isn't that hard to master so try it yourself !
| Stacking Tips |





This section will be talking about a few tips and tricks to farm your STACKS of passiv Dragon Practice easier and faster in order to carry your games for often ! We will also talk about how to farm safely and to maintain a proper lead during the entire game.

There will be 4 segments :

0 to 25 stacks
25 to 125 stacks
125 to 225 stacks
225 and more


Each of those segments are here to help you understand how you need to play during certain phase of the game and how you can optimize your stacking gain through the game in order to be relevant and not behind in the late game.






As shown above, the 5 first minutes are kinda chill and more focused on getting minnions, golds, XP and STACKS. Last hit with AUTO + Q Super Scorcher Breath or just with Q. You can also follow your support or take some quick trades with AUTO AUTO + W Achooo! + Q Super Scorcher Breath to burst the ennemy and get more STACKS !







Now that you are past 25 STACKS you can focus on last hitting multiple minnions with your Q Super Scorcher Breath ! To do it, you just have to put mutliple minnions low health so you can last hit all of them with only one Q. If you're not sure about how to do it, watch the first part of the video above, it shows how to do it and the pleasure there is to do it! On the second part, i'm focusing more on showing you how to take trades and answer to aggression from the ennemy botlane in order to get more stacks and put presure into them. As you can see, Smolder deals significant damage if you cicle through his abilites perfectly !






Here we go, now that you are between 125 and 225 STACKS, you will focus on last hitting multiple minnions like before but this time, both melee and casters at the same time ! The first part of the video shows how to proceed, you'll see, it is super easy to do. Second part shows some example of fights and why they are so GOOD for Smolder. As you can see, you can get a lot of STACKS just by fighting along side your team. I've putted a little "tracker" of how much STACKS you can get in those kind of long fights, it is thrilling to see how much value it can give you !







From this part, you're on your own ! Now that you have the foundamentals of STACKING you can keep on farming minnions with Super Scorcher Breath or taking trades against your opponents, the choice is up to you ! Every 100 STACKS gives you an extra spit of fire to your fireball so don't stop STACKING, it's important and makes you scarier !


| Conclusion |



There it is, here comes the end of the guide !

To conclude, Smolder is a super cool champion that just need a bit of game knowledge to be played at his full potential !

Hope you liked reading it, it was my second in depth guide, don't hesitate to come and check my other guide on Varus, it is as much detailed as this one, at least, I tried to make it !

Thank you so much for reading me, it has been a pleasure making it and will be a pleasure to know I could have helped new players wanting to start Smolder !

Don't you fear, Smolder is near !
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