Champion Guide

Kalista Guide

By LoLSuggest

ADC

Kalista is a hyper-mobile, skill-intensive marksman. Martial Poise makes her hop a short distance after every attack or Pierce, so she is always repositioning; each hit leaves spears in the target that Rend tears out for damage and a slow, Sentinel scouts and adds damage with her Oathsworn ally, and Fate's Call pulls that ally to her and launches them into the enemy. She wants an engage support and constant aggression, and she secures objectives extremely well.

Recommended Setup

Our recommended Kalista 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 Bow and a Health Potion, or Doran's Blade into poke-heavy lanes. On your first back a Pickaxe, Scout's Slingshot or Aether Wisp with boots and a Control Ward works. The standard spike is Statikk Shiv, Guinsoo's Rageblade and Terminus with Gluttonous Greaves; when snowballing, take Blade of the Ruined King first instead. Finish with Wit's End, Jak'Sho, The Protean and Guardian Angel, or Nashor's Tooth and Experimental Hexplate for more on-hit damage; Randuin's Omen and Mercurial Scimitar are defensive options. Run Lethal Tempo with Triumph, Legend: Alacrity and Last Stand, plus Sudden Impact and Grisly Mementos; Bone Plating with Overgrowth or Cash Back with Triple Tonic are alternative secondaries, and Hail of Blades is a burst option. Take Flash with Barrier, Heal or Cleanse. Max E, then Q, then W.

Runes

Primary Tree

Secondary Tree

Summoner Spells

Skill Max Order

Strengths

Martial Poise makes her one of the hardest marksmen to pin down.
Rend gives strong objective control and execute pressure.
Fate's Call creates engages and saves her ally from bad positions.

Weaknesses

Disengage and crowd control supports such as Morgana, Janna, Lulu and Nami shut down her aggressive style.
Mechanically demanding: every hop direction is a decision.
Relies heavily on her support for engage and follow-up.

Laning Phase

Make every attack end in a hop, even in lane: hop away from your target when you do not need to close the distance, and toward them only when you mean to engage. Use Pierce to poke from maximum range and to farm caster minions under your tower without trading attacks. Stack Rend on the enemy laner whenever you get a free hit, but hold the detonation until the stacks threaten a kill or a big chunk. Respect disengage supports, because their crowd control stops your movement-heavy trades.

Mid & Late Game

After laning, pre-stack spears on several enemies before a fight starts so Rend is ready the moment it goes off, and use Sentinel to scout river brushes, Faelights and jungle entrances before rotations. Start stacking Rend on dragon or Baron 30 to 40 seconds before a contest to secure it. In late teamfights stay at maximum range and keep adjusting your hops; use Fate's Call first to save your Oathsworn ally if they are caught, or offensively to launch them onto the enemy backline.

Key Tips

Issue a move command while the attack fires to hop; the direction of every hop matters.
Pierce passes through enemies it kills and transfers their Rend stacks to the next target.
Pre-stack Rend on epic monsters before the enemy arrives to win objective contests.
Fate's Call makes your ally untargetable while you pull them, so it can save them from a stun or burst.

Matchups