New Champion Guide: How to Play Gwen
Gwen is the second champion to hit Summoners Rift in 2021, and the 155th overall champion. She is an assassin fighter who will be played in a solo lane like mid or top.
Gwen has an interesting concept, and my initial impressions of her were that she looked like Alice from Alice in Wonderland because of her dress. Anyway, she looks pretty cool, and I can’t wait to play her on non-PBE ping.
In this Mobalytics guide, we will discuss some basic tips on how to play Gwen in League of Legends. Before we being, I want to throw out a disclaimer. This guide is not intended to be an in-depth guide.
It is a basic guide to give you some tips to help you play her once she launches on the live servers.
If you want to know more tips on how to play as Gwen, learn up-to-date builds, and who she counters or gets countered by, check out Gwen’s champion page.
Here are the things we will be covering in this guide:
- Gwen Ability Breakdown
- Build (Runes and Items)
- Fights and Skirmishes
- Combos
- Beginner Tips
Gwen Ability Breakdown
To start any new champion guide, we must first breakdown Gwen’s abilities.
Please note that the numbers attached to the images used in this guide may differ slightly as they’re based on her early PBE stats.
Gwen’s Passive is Thousand Cuts
Basic attacks, the center of her Q and her R deal bonus damage and heal her.
Gwen’s Q is Snip Snip!
Passive: Gwen’s basic attacks grant a stack of Snippy for a few seconds, which can stack up to 4 times.
Active: Gwen snips at least twice and up to 6 times. Each additional snip will consume her stacks. The last snip deals increased damage. In the center of each snip, she deals true damage and applies her Passive.
Gwen’s W is Hallowed Mist
Gwen summons a mist around her that lasts for 5 seconds or until she leaves the area of effect. She can recast it once, or it auto-recasts if Gwen attempts to leave the area.
While she is inside the mist, she gains bonus defensive stats and becomes untargetable to all enemies apart from towers outside of the mist.
Gwen’s E is Skip ‘n Slash
Gwen dashes to a target location and gains bonus stats for 4 seconds. Gwen’s Basic attack timer is reset, and her first auto within the duration will refund some of her E’s cooldown. She can cast her E with any of her abilities.
Gwen’s Ultimate is Needlework
Gwen can activate her Ultimate 3 times, but she needs to auto a target or use her Q to use it again. For her first cast, she launches a needle, on the second cast she launches 3 needles and on the final cast, she launches 5 needles.
Each needle applies her Passive and slows the target she hits.
Gwen’s Build
We’ve done some testing on the PBE to find out what Runes are good for Gwen, and this is a set up we have come up with. Realistically, the best build and rune page may not have been found for Gwen because not everyone has access to the PBE. The best build will be found for her shortly after her release though.
Runes
We will update the Runes and build for Gwen shortly after her launch, so come back after her launch to see if our setup has changed for her. You can get this Rune page and her build directly imported into your client with the Mobalytics app.
This is a standard Rune setup for skirmish heavy champions. You could take different secondary Runes, and you can also adjust your minor Runes depending on your matchup. You can go double armor when against AD champions. Take one magic resistance Rune when you’re against an AP laner.
Items
This is a test build for Gwen. Like we talked about previously, there is no “best setup” for her yet. Check back frequently to see if this build has changed for Gwen. Stay up to date with the latest champion builds and get them directly imported into your client hassle-free with the Mobalytics app.
Fights and Skirmishes
Teamfighting for Gwen can be challenging. To get the most damage out with her Q, she will need to have 4 stacks on her Passive. Try to get 4 stacks and delay team fights or skirmishes until you have 4 stacks. Keep an eye on your hot bar as you can see when your stacks are about to run out.
You could fight around a minion wave, or inside the jungle and auto-attack them to get stacks and then try to fight. Or you can auto-attack the enemy as much as possible and then use your Q mid-fight.
When looking for an all-in with the enemy laner, you can get max stacks by auto-attacking the minion wave and then playing aggressively with your E and Q when they walk too far forward.
You can also use your basic attacks on the minion wave to get Ultimate resets to damage the enemy further. This can be handy if the enemy has been able to create a gap between you and them.
Gwen can tower dive thanks to her W. Before committing to the dive, look at the minimap and get maximum stacks on either the upcoming minion wave or the tower. You can then play aggressively with your Q and E. While your W will not prevent tower shots from hitting you, the additional tanky stats will help you survive the dive better. They will block some of the enemies damage, and the enemy minion’s damage too.
Beginner Tips
Here are some basic tips and tricks to get you started with Gwen. We will add more tips and tricks once we’re not playing on over 100 ping!
- It’s best to use your Q when you have 4 stacks on your Q Passive to deal more damage to the enemy. The more stacks you have- the better. If you use your Q without any stacks, you’ll deal little to no damage. Furthermore, try to aim the ability directly on the enemy for enhanced damage.
- Your W blocks damage coming from outside of the area, including cross-map Jinx and Ashe Ultimates. This means these abilities will not deal damage to her. However, you’ll still take damage if you’re fighting a champion inside your W.
- Your W sounds like it’s useless in 1v1 skirmishes when the enemy is inside your W. This isn’t the case. While inside your W, you get extra defensive stats that can help you survive a trade. Don’t be afraid to use this ability if you’re committing to a fight, but be careful as it does have a long cooldown.
- Your E is an auto-attack reset, so try and auto before using your E for extra damage when possible.
- Extended trades work in your favour as long as you can stick to your target. Keeping the wave closer to your side of the map will allow you to keep the fight going for longer and will enable you to chase them down.
Please do not ruin other peoples games by trying out Gwen in ranked. Stick to normals, customs or bots if you want to play her first. Don’t be that player who complains about people not playing their mains in ranked if you decide to first time her in ranked, thanks.
Conclusion
Gwen hits Summoners Rift on Patch 11.8. What do you think of her? Do you believe her Ultimate is like pre-rework Irelia? Do you think she will dominate Solo Queue? What are your thoughts on the newest champion? Let us know!
We hope this guide has given you some tips to start your Gwen adventures.
If you have any questions or want to learn more, check out PicklePants’s stream.
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