Hi guys, Kyari here! I am a Diamond Jungle and AD Carry main playing since the third season of League of Legends. Kai’sa, one of the most recent champion releases by Riot Games, has been a comfort pick for many players in the bot lane. Since she is a pretty hard champion to master, this is a detailed guide about her skills, items, combos, runes, counters, skills, and laning. I hope you enjoy this guide called “How to Carry With ADC Kai’sa,” best of luck in the fields of justice!
Kai’sa Skills
First and foremost, let’s talk about her skills before diving into anything complex. Kai’sa has well-rounded abilities that you can use to trade, burst, escape, and engage. However, she is one of the hardest champions to master in the bot lane. Like all the other AD carries, she excels at dealing damage and staying alive as much as possible during team fights.
Passive: Second Skin
This ability is similar to Vayne’s Silver Bolts. Kai’sa will stack Plasma whenever she attacks an enemy, and it will deal increasing bonus magic damage whenever she reaches full stacks. Allies will also stack Plasma when they immobilize an enemy. On top of that, Kai’sa’s can also upgrade her basic spells whenever she gets stronger by buying items; this passive is called the Living Weapon.
Q: Icathian Rain
Kai’sa will shoot a swarm of missiles on all nearby targets. You can deal the most damage by shooting all the missiles at an enemy by isolating them from their allies. Kai’sa will be able to shoot more missiles when you upgrade Icathian Rain using the Living Weapon passive.
W: Void Seeker
Kai’sa will shoot a single missile that travels for a very long range. On top of that, Void Seeker will also stack Plasma and true sight on the first enemy hit. When you upgrade this skill using Living Weapon, it will grant more plasma stacks and reduce its cooldown whenever you hit an enemy champion. During the early game, this skill is mainly used as a combo with her other abilities or auto attacks to burst enemies, while in the mid game or late game, this can also be used to poke enemies.
E: Supercharge
Kai’sa will increase her movement speed for a short time. And when she finishes charging, Kai’sa will have additional attack speed. In addition to that, when this skill is upgraded using Living Weapon, it will also grant Kai’sa invisibility during the charge.
R (Ultimate): Killer Instinct
Kai’sa will dash to an enemy champion that has plasma stacks. Killer Instinct will also grant her a shield that stacks will both attack damage and ability power. Kai’sa is a strong team fighting champion because of the self-peel potential and survivability that Supercharge and Killer Instinct provides.
How to Carry With ADC Kai’sa: Runes
Primary Tree
Hail of Blades
Since Kai’sa’s damage mostly rely on her plasma stacks, Hail of Blades is probably the best rune choice for her. This rune will allow Kai’sa to quickly stack her Plasma during team fights and the laning phase. Hail of Blades will also allow her to take aggressive fights during the laning phase and minimize her weak trading potential.
Taste of Blood
As mentioned previously, Kai’sa has a really weak early game, and is more prone to pokes because of her short auto-attack range. Taste of Blood will slightly alleviate that problem by providing sustain during the laning phase.
Eyeball Collection
Like all other hyper-carry AD champions, Kai’sa will have maximum damage output once she scales and gets her items. Eyeball Collection will provide additional scaling and strength for the late game. However, this rune might be hard to stack once you fall behind during the mid game, so choose wisely.
Ravenous Hunter
Because of the stacking omnivamp, this rune is also another excellent choice if you want to have sustain during the early game. And as stated above, Kai’sa will significantly benefit from sustains because of her weak laning phase. You can reach full stacks of this rune once you get five unique champion takedowns.
Secondary Tree
Precision
Presence of Mind
Since Kai’sa often runs out of mana, especially during the early game, this rune will provide the sustain that she needs. With the Presence of Mind rune Kai’sa will regenerate 15% of her maximum mana when she kills or assists an enemy. Additionally, damaging an enemy champion will also regenerate 1.5-11 mana per second that scales with your level.
Legend: Bloodline
Another great rune that will provide Kai’sa the sustain that she needs. Legend: Bloodline grants up to 9% life steal for every legend stack she obtains. Achieve the highest amount of life steal by pairing it with Taste of Blood or Ravenous Hunter.
Legend: Alacrity
A great alternative to Bloodline if you prefer the stacking attack speed instead of the lifesteal. If you choose this rune, Legend: Alacrity will allow you to maximize your DPS and evolve your Supercharge faster with the Living Weapon passive in exchange for sustainability.
Inspiration
Magical Footwear
This rune will be a huge help because it provides free 300 gold (boots), which will lessen the time for Kai’sa to build her first item.
Biscuit Delivery
Some players use Biscuit Delivery because of preference. Consuming the biscuit will instantly increase your maximum mana and restore health over time.
How to Carry With ADC Kai’sa: Combos
Auto Attack > Q > Auto Attack
Auto Attack > Q > W
Auto Attack > Q > W > Auto Attack > Auto Attack
Q > E
E > Auto Attack > Q > Auto Attack > W
W > R
W > Flash
Auto Attack > R > Auto Attack
How to Carry With ADC Kai’sa: Laning Guide
Early Game
This is probably the most challenging phase when playing Kai’sa. You should craft your game plan as early as you see the matchup in champion select. If you have a tank/engage support like Leona or Nautilus, it will be a great plan to save your skills, like Icathian Rain and Void Seeker, to pop your Plasma stacks and burst enemies. On the other hand, playing safe and farming is still the best move since Kai’sa is a weak early game champion.
Playing against lane bullies like Draven, Caitlyn, and Lucian will automatically be a challenging laning phase. Not only that, but tank/engage type enemy supports (Leona and Rakan) will make it even harder for you. So, the plan to execute during this situation is to play safe and manage your waves perfectly. There are a lot of wave management guides on the internet, check this out if you are interested.
Use the Auto Attack to Icathian Rain combo for trades during the laning phase. You can also try to proc your Plasma after every engagement to maximize your damage output.
Keep in mind that Kai’sa can easily clear waves because her Icathian Rain deals additional damage on minions below 35% health. Play around with this mechanic so that you can manage waves during the laning phase perfectly.
Mid Game
Farm as much as you can (jungle camps and minions) so that you can scale into the late game. Objectives are also important during this phase. That is why you should also play around lane prioritization to make it easier for your team.
Late Game
As the AD carry, you mustn’t get picked off randomly. Never push alone or face check the fog of war. And as much as possible, try to survive during team fights and use your Supercharge and Killer Instinct to self peel. Remember that you should always be dealing the most damage in the teamfight. To do that, you should STAY ALIVE.
You can also try to look for picks around the map, like enemy AD carries that are pushing alone, using Void Seeker and Killer Instinct. However, you should remember that this is very risky and often leads to a disadvantageous situation.
How to Carry With ADC Kai’sa: Items
Mythic Items
Kraken Slayer
In my opinion, Kraken Slayer is the best Mythic item for Kai’sa. The additional attack speed and critical strike damage will let you deal the most damage during team fights. What’s more, you can also evolve Supercharge as early as possible because Kraken Slayer will empower your Legendary items by adding 10% attack speed (Mythic passive).
Galeforce
A viable alternative to the Kraken Slayer, Galeforce provides bonus movement speed for your Legendary items. Not only that, but the active effect of this item is also great for bursts and escaping. Although, I still prefer Kraken Slayer because of the additional attack speed and damage, which will let you evolve your Icathian Rain and Supercharge much faster.
Legendary Items
Phantom Dancer
A great second item after finishing either the Kraken Slayer or Galeforce. After completing this item, you can also evolve your Icathian Rain and/or Supercharge.
Infinity Edge
The core Legendary item for Kai’sa, Infinity Edge, maximizes your damage output because of the additional critical strike damage. I always pair this item with The Collector and Phantom Dancer for maximum effectiveness.
The Collector
This item lets you burst squishy enemies. Additionally, the critical strike chance is also important to your AD build.
Boots
Berserker’s Greaves
I build these boots 100% of the time. There is no reason not to purchase Berserker’s Greaves. Kai’sa relies on attack speed so buy this item even when you are going for the ability power build.
Situational Items
Lord Dominik’s Regards
I always run this item if I am against a really tanky composition. To get the most out of this item, I suggest building Lord Dominik’s right after finishing Phantom Dancer.
Mercurial Scimitar
I always build this item if there is a lot of crowd control (CC) on the enemy team. Mercurial Scimitar always helps with survivability and magic resistance.
Situational Items: Ability Power Builds
Only build these items if your team lacks ability power damage. Replace The Collector, Infinity Edge, and Phantom Dancer with the items below.
Guinsoo’s Rageblade
A strong item if you always want to proc your Plasma. The combination of additional attack speed and ability power makes this item a must-have for an AP Kai’sa build.
Nashor’s Tooth
The 50% bonus attack speed paired with the bonus magic damage on auto attacks is nuts on Kai’sa.
Wit’s End
This is more of a well-rounded item for Kai’sa. Wit’s End provides bonus attack speed, damage, and magic resistance. Like the Nashor’s Tooth, this item’s unique passive gives you bonus magic damage on your basic attacks.
Rabaddon’s Deathcap
This is an excellent addition to your inventory if you focus on building magic items. I rarely build this item since I prefer buying the core AD items like Infinity Edge and Phantom Dancer.
Zhonya’s Hourglass
Like Rabaddon’s Deathcap, I rarely build this item for Kai’sa. Zhonya’s is a situational item. However, it would be a great choice against heavy attack damage team comps. Remember that Mercurial Scimitar is still the better choice to prevent crowd control.
How to Carry With ADC Kai’sa: Counters
Caitlyn
This matchup is very similar to a Vayne vs. Caitlyn matchup. It will be hard to deal with her during the laning phase since she will just bully you to death and push all of your waves. It is almost impossible to trade and isolate her for your Icathian Rain because of Caitlyn’s superior range.
Draven
A very similar situation to the Caitlyn matchup, but with better all-ins. Just try to play safe and scale because you will beat him in the late game 99% of the time.
Tristana
Because of her scaling range and all-in potential, Tristana is also a hard matchup to play against. However, unlike the other AD carries on this list, this lane matchup is winnable if you execute your game plan right.
Leona
The worst support matchup that you can have. Leona’s crowd control and engage potential will give you nightmares. Do not give her a chance to engage you because you will die every single time.
Counters: Final Tips
Always talk to your support during champion select if you can. Or better yet, find a friend who you can play with. Supports make or break the laning phase, so plan your laning phase during the champion select. I suggest playing with tank/engage supports like Nautilus and Leona because they can easily deal with your counters like Caitlyn and Draven by engaging with them.
Conclusion
That ends the “How to Carry With ADC Kai’sa,” I hope you learned a lot of things from this guide. The AD carry role can sometimes be very challenging because you have to play with a support ally paired with the complex laning phase. Just apply the tips that I gave above, and I assure you that there will be an instant improvement in your gameplay. Good luck on the rift and wreck the bot lane, fellow summoner!
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