Champion Guide

Hwei Guide

By LoLSuggest

Mid

Hwei is a control mage with a spell for almost every situation. Each of his three subjects, Disaster (Q), Serenity (W) and Torment (E), opens three different spells, and landing two different spells on a target triggers Signature of the Visionary for extra damage. He has a safe, often oppressive lane, excellent zoning and teamfight utility, and Spiraling Despair to lock down grouped enemies. He is mana-hungry and relies on slow skillshots, so he does best behind a balanced team.

Recommended Setup

Our recommended Hwei build

Our recommended runes, summoner spells and items. Compare build win rates on the stats page.

Items

Starting Items

Core Items

Situational Items

Start Doran's Ring and a Health Potion. The core is Blackfire Torch, Spellslinger's Shoes, Shadowflame and Cryptbloom, finishing with Zhonya's Hourglass and Rabadon's Deathcap. Luden's Echo, Void Staff, Liandry's Torment, Horizon Focus and Stormsurge let you adjust to the enemy team, Archangel's Staff helps with his mana, and Hextech Rocketbelt adds mobility. Run Deathfire Touch with Manaflow Band, Transcendence and Gathering Storm, plus Presence of Mind and Legend: Haste; Arcane Comet is better against long-range lanes, and Summon Aery with a Resolve secondary helps against melee all-in champions such as LeBlanc or Fizz. Take Flash with Teleport. Max Q, then E, then W.

Runes

Primary Tree

Secondary Tree

Summoner Spells

Skill Max Order

Strengths

A versatile kit and builds that can answer almost any matchup, which makes him a good blind pick.
Exceptional zoning and teamfight utility from range.
Strong wave clear gives him lane priority to influence the map.

Weaknesses

Mana-hungry, and he wants a lot of ability haste to use his whole arsenal.
Almost all of his spells are slow skillshots with cast times, and misinputs are costly.
Weak in side lanes and against long-range or very mobile teams.

Laning Phase

Hwei's lane is safe and can be oppressive. Clear waves with QE, poke with QQ, or use EE to hit enemies behind their minion wave; QE followed by EE combines wave clear and poke. Always pair two different spells so Signature of the Visionary triggers. WE can be cast during the travel time of any other spell, so you can hide your aggressive intentions and empower your next attacks. Use your priority to move with your jungler, and against an engage, EQ fears the enemy and stops their follow-up.

Mid & Late Game

In the mid and late game Hwei is a utility and teamfight powerhouse: zone choke points and objectives with your E spells, then land Spiraling Despair on grouped enemies and follow with QW for heavy damage. Pair your crowd control spells, such as EQ, EW or EE, with QW so it is guaranteed to land. He is not a strong side laner, so stay with your team and fight from range.

Key Tips

Pair two different spells on the same target to trigger Signature of the Visionary.
QW deals its maximum damage on immobile or crowd-controlled targets, so set it up with an E spell first.
You can Flash immediately after casting QQ, EQ or your ultimate to surprise enemies.
Learn your ultimate's timing so your QW lands right as it explodes.

Matchups

Matchups and synergies

Our picks for difficult opponents, favorable lanes and strong allies. Compare matchup win rates on the stats page.