Smolder is the newest League of Legends marksman and many fans have little to no idea how to build him or which Runes to take.
Usually, when new champions release, it’s hard to nail down the exact formula for success. Items and runes in League have so many variations, and changing them even slightly has a huge impact on DPS output and survivability. Smolder is an AD carry champion and that means most of his damage is physical. On top of that, he’s quite mobile, and you should always look to keep a safe distance from your enemies. Here are the best builds, items, and runes for Smolder.
Smolder gameplay in League
Smolder is a marksman, which means you should look to bring him to the bot lane. He’s quite squishy if the enemy team manages to get hold of him, and you need a support to peel for you or heal you up. His passive, Dragon Practice, which deals bonus magic damage when you hit an ability or kill a monster or a minion, pushes him more toward items like Sheen and Navori Quickblades.
Essentially, you want to combine your Super Scorcher Breath with auto attacks and optimize your damage output. Always save his Flap, Flap, Flap ability when you need to escape a tricky situation or when you have a clear angle to run down your enemies.
Best runes for Smolder in League
The best Smolder runes by far are in the Precision tree. You can choose between Fleet Footwork and Press the Attack. While Fleet Footwork grants you additional survivability with additional healing and movement speed, Press the Attack is great for trading and nuking down enemies in the mid-to-late game. If you’re playing against tanky champions like Sejuani or Volibear, Press the Attack is definitely a better option, since it makes them vulnerable after three auto attacks.
Further in the Precision tree, grab Presence of Mind for mana refunds, especially because you’re combining auto attacks with your abilities. If you don’t proc this regularly, you’ll be out of mana before you know it. Next, choose Legend: Alacrity to increase your base attack speed. Finally, Smolder has low base HP, and your best option from the last row is Cut Down. This allows you to deal more damage against champions with more max HP than you.
For the secondary tree, I recommend you go Sorcery and choose Manaflow Band and Gathering Storm. Both are meant to help you scale, especially Gathering Storm. Manaflow Band is there for the laning phase, because if you spam your Q, you’ll run out of mana quite soon.
In the final tree, choose Attack Speed, Adaptive Force, and Health. These are standard marksman runes, and you can switch them around if necessary.
Best Smolder ability max order in League
Smolder is quite straightforward, and so is his ability max order. You first want to put all your points into Super Scorcher Breath, then Achooo!, then Flap, Flap, Flap, and of course, don’t forget to grab your ultimate spell upgrades at levels six, 11, and 16. That means your max order is Q > W > E. You’re using all your points on damage and utility, and your escape won’t be as good.
Best item builds for Smolder in League
You definitely want to start your game with Doran’s Blade. This is the item with the best value, and it gives you attack damage, health, and life steal. For challenging lanes where you’ll get poked a lot, I recommend you bring Doran’s Shield.
Smolder’s core build consists of Essence Reaver, Muramana, Navori Quickblades, and Ionian Boots of Lucidity. This is because you’re not a classic right-clicking marksman, but you use Super Scorcher Breath as a regular part of your rotation. This ability has a short cooldown, and when you pair it with Ability Haste from these items, it’ll be even more effective.
In the early-game, make sure to grab Tear of the Goddess and Sheen. This helps in the damage department and guarantees you have enough mana to work with.
The last two items are quite situational, but you should stick to raw attack damage items like Lord Dominik’s Regards, Ravenous Hydra, Immortal Shieldbow, or Guardian Angel if you need to stay alive a bit longer.
