Ambessa is a versatile champion with strong mobility and burst potential. To maximize her impact, it’s crucial to master her ability mechanics and passive. Here’s a comprehensive guide to help you play her effectively across different phases of the game.

Early Game & Laning Phase:
Starting Items: Doran’s Blade is a good choice for easier matchups, providing sustain and extra damage.
Trading: Focus on short trades early. Use Q1 to dash in for a quick poke and Q2 to dash out to avoid retaliation.
Shielding: Time your W to block key attacks. This maximizes its shield value and damage return.
Power Spike: Ambessa spikes around level 7. Once you have your first item, start playing more aggressively and look for extended trades.


Team Fights:
Playstyle: In team fights, adopt a front-to-back approach. Use your mobility to harass the enemy backline, but avoid overcommitting if you’re heavily focused.
Flanking: Look for flanking opportunities to catch enemy carries with your R. Use E to slow and lock down priority targets, pressuring the enemy ADC or support.
AOE Damage: Ambessa’s area-of-effect damage makes her effective against clustered enemies, but make sure you don’t get caught without dashes or energy.

Mid & Late Game:
Split Pushing: Transition to split-pushing to apply pressure in side lanes or help secure objectives like Baron or Dragon.
Mobility: Utilize Ambessa’s mobility to rotate between lanes quickly or avoid bad fights while split-pushing.
Backline Diving: In team fights, target priority carries by diving the backline with R, then combo it with Q and E for maximum burst.


Jungle Playstyle:
Early Clear: Ambessa’s early jungle clear is slower, so focus on full clears to maximize XP and gold gain.

Ganking: Ganks are most effective once you unlock R for its lockdown potential.
Objective Play: In the late game, play around objectives. Use your dashes to stick to high-priority targets and engage/disengage efficiently.


Build Recommendations:
Early AD: Ambessa benefits greatly from building flat AD early. Items like Titanic Hydra or Eclipse synergize well with her kit, significantly boosting her damage output.

Situational Items: Itemization depends on the game. Pay close attention to your opponents’ builds and adjust accordingly.

Smite:
Red Smite is generally the best option, but Blue Smite can be useful if you prefer a more aggressive playstyle.


Abilities Overview:

Q (Dash and Attack): Use Q for mobility and damage, but be mindful of the delay between the two phases (Q1 and Q2). Avoid spamming to conserve energy and maintain passive uptime. You can fit in basic attacks or other abilities between Q casts to maximize damage.

W (Shield and Damage Return): Time W to block an enemy’s key attack as you engage. Blocking boosts your shield and damage, making it a powerful tool in fights.

E (Slow and Mobility): E provides a slow on enemies hit, helping you stick to targets or set up kills. For optimal combo damage, use Q -> E -> Q. Use E to slow enemies and secure a hit with your R.

R (Ultimate): Your ultimate can change the outcome of fights. Try to bait enemies into your R range by moving out of their vision, especially near bushes or towers. A basic combo with R is: Q -> E -> W -> Q. If you’re confident, weave in auto-attacks to maximize damage.

Combos and Ability Cycles:
Basic Combo: Q -> W -> E -> Q. This cycle allows you to deal significant damage while maintaining mobility.

Cycles: A cycle refers to one complete rotation of your abilities. Typically, Ambessa can defeat enemies in about 1.5 cycles, but this may vary depending on enemy strength and items.


Team Fights Strategy:
AOE Impact: Ambessa excels in team fights due to her area-of-effect abilities. Except for her second Q, all her abilities deal AOE damage, allowing her to hit multiple enemies at once.


Sustain: Her shield and lifesteal often keep her alive long enough to eliminate enemies, but act quickly to avoid losing momentum between combos.


Target Priority:
Focus the ADC/Support: Always prioritize taking down the enemy ADC and support, as they can often be eliminated within one ability cycle. If they try to CC you, counter with your R and continue your combo.

Pros:

High Mobility:

Ambessa’s Q and E provide great mobility, allowing her to dash in and out of fights, reposition quickly, and chase down or escape from enemies.

Strong Burst Damage:

With her Q and R combo, Ambessa can burst down squishy targets like ADCs and supports quickly, making her a threat to the enemy backline.

Sustained Survivability:

Ambessa’s W grants a shield and damage return, helping her survive longer in skirmishes while punishing enemies who target her.

AOE Damage:

Most of Ambessa’s abilities have area-of-effect damage, allowing her to hit multiple enemies in team fights and contribute significant damage to clustered opponents.

Versatile Playstyle:

She can be played in multiple roles (Top, Jungle, potentially Mid), and can switch between split-pushing or joining team fights depending on what’s needed.

Great Duelist:

Ambessa excels in 1v1 fights, especially once she gets her first item and ultimate, allowing her to dominate in side lanes or during skirmishes.

Flanking Potential:

Her ability to dive into the backline using R and Q gives her excellent flanking potential, letting her catch out key enemy targets.

Cons:

Energy Management:

Ambessa relies on energy, which can be depleted quickly if abilities are spammed. Mismanaging energy can leave her vulnerable and unable to combo effectively in extended fights.

High Skill Requirement:

She requires good mechanics and decision-making, especially with her dashes and ability timing. A poorly executed dive or overcommitment can easily lead to her being punished.

Squishy and Vulnerable to Crowd Control:

Despite her mobility, Ambessa is relatively squishy. If caught by crowd control (CC), she can be quickly focused and taken down, especially in team fights.

Weak Early Game:

If played in the jungle, her early clear is slower compared to other champions, making her vulnerable to counter-jungling or falling behind in farm. Enemies will look to invade.

High-Risk Diving:

Diving into the enemy backline can be risky if Ambessa doesn’t have dashes or escape tools ready. Without proper coordination or map awareness, she can get focused and die before dealing significant damage.

Basic Trade Combo:
Q1 → Auto Attack → Q2
Use When: Early in the laning phase or during short skirmishes when you want to poke and disengage.

Standard All-In Combo (1v1 or Extended Fights):
Q1 → E → Auto Attack → Q2 → W → Auto Attack

Catching an Opponent:
E → W → Q

Ultimate Lockdown Combo
Q1 → E → R → Auto Attack → W → Q2

Initiate with Q1 to close the gap, then slow your target with E to set up for your R. After locking them down with R, weave in an auto attack and W for additional burst and sustain, finishing with Q2 to reposition or chase fleeing enemies.

Escape Combo
E → Q1 → W → Q2
Use E for the slow to peel enemies off you, then Q1 to dash away. W can block incoming damage and provide a shield, while Q2 lets you dash again to create further distance or dodge incoming abilities.

ULTIMATES

R → Q1 → Auto Attack → E → Auto Attack → W → Q2 → Auto Attack
R: Start by activating R to trigger the passive healing effect.
Q1: Immediately dash in with Q1 to get your first ability cast, triggering the first wave of healing.
Auto Attack: Weave in an auto attack to apply pressure and benefit from your passive’s bonus damage.
E: Use E to slow your target and get another heal tick from the R passive.
Auto Attack: Again, weave in an auto attack to stack damage.
W: Use W to shield yourself, block incoming damage, and trigger another heal tick from R’s passive.
Q2: Finally, use Q2 to dash out or reposition, healing once again.
Auto Attack: End with another auto attack to capitalize on the R healing duration and passive damage.

Healing Burst Combo (When You’re Low HP):
R → W → Q1 → E → Q2 → Auto Attack

R: Activate R to initiate healing from your abilities.
W: Cast W immediately to block incoming damage and trigger a heal tick from R. The shield from W adds sustain, and the heal will help you stay in the fight.
Q1: Dash in with Q1 to engage and heal again.
E: Follow up with E for another ability heal and slow the target.
Q2: Use Q2 to reposition, dodge damage, or continue chasing while getting another burst of healing.
Auto Attack: Finish with an auto attack to maintain aggression and extend your passive damage while benefitting from the healing window.


TIPS:
Energy Management: Make sure to manage your energy during combos. Avoid spamming Q too quickly in long fights, as running out of energy mid-combo can leave you vulnerable.

Weaving Auto Attacks: Ambessa’s passive boosts damage on auto attacks after using abilities, so always weave autos between abilities when possible for maximum damage output.

Flank and Surprise: Ambessa excels when she can engage from unexpected angles. Utilize bushes and fog of war to catch enemies off guard and engage with R.

Ambessa excels at taking down jungle objectives like Dragons and Rift Herald thanks to her strong area-of-effect (AOE) damage on most of her abilities.
Her W and Q deal AOE damage, making it easy for her to clear jungle camps quickly, while her E allows her to kite and slow down neutral monsters, reducing the amount of damage she takes in return.


Dragons: Ambessa can solo most Dragons with ease after getting a few items, but she might struggle with the first Dragon solo, especially if she lacks sustain or isn’t well farmed. If you’re attempting to take the first Dragon alone make sure you have enough items and health to withstand its damage and consider calling for backup if necessary.

Best Dragon Buff for Ambessa: Ambessa benefits most from Infernal Drake which amplifies her damage output synergizing well with her high burst potential and AOE damage. The bonus AD from Infernal enhances her all in and combo power Ocean Drake is also useful for added sustain, especially when paired with her R's healing passive.

When facing teams with heavy crowd control (CC), Ambessa needs to adjust her playstyle to avoid getting locked down and burst before she can fully engage. Here are key strategies to help you navigate these challenging matchups:

Pick Red Smite: In games against strong CC compositions, Red Smite is a great choice for Ambessa. It gives you damage reduction when smiting enemies, helping you survive longer in fights and reducing the effectiveness of enemy CC bursts.

Use R to Close the Distance: Ambessa’s R not only deals damage and locks down targets, but it also provides mobility, allowing her to quickly close the distance on key targets. Against CC-heavy teams, use R strategically to bypass their front line and engage directly on the enemy backline (ADC or support), reducing the time you spend exposed to potential CC. Positioning is key—try to flank or use fog of war to get the jump on them without risking CC chains.

Itemize for Tenacity: Consider building items like Mercury’s Treads or Sterak’s Gage to reduce the duration of stuns, snares, and other CC effects. Tenacity from items and runes can make a big difference, giving you more freedom to continue your combo even when hit by crowd control.

Facing ranged champions in the top lane can be tricky for Ambessa due to their ability to poke and harass from a distance. However, with the right strategy, you can outplay them and turn the lane in your favor. Here’s how:

Play Passively Until Level 6: Early on, it’s often best to play safe and focus on farming. Ranged champions will likely try to poke you down, so avoid taking unnecessary damage by staying back and only last hitting minions. Look for opportunities to last-hit minions

avoid direct trades until you have all 3 skills.

Outplay with E and W: If the ranged top laner tries to engage on you, use your E and W to outplay them. E can slow them and prevent them from escaping, while W allows you to block crucial harass abilities and retaliate with a shield and damage return. Try to time W to block their most damaging abilities.

Power Spike at Level 6: Once you hit level 6, Ambessa becomes much more dangerous. Look for an opportunity to engage using one of the combos mentioned earlier. A good tactic is to bait them into overextending—head toward the bushes to break their vision, and when they approach, quickly turn around and engage with R. This surprise engage gives you the upper hand, especially if they don’t expect the lockdown and burst damage from your combo.