Smolder FAQ

He scales into a late-game monster, but his early game is weak. You need to survive the first few minutes without feeding kills. Once you stack your passive, your damage output becomes absurd. The tradeoff is a painful laning phase where you get bullied under tower.

Last-hit minions with your Q whenever possible. Mayhem's faster wave clear actually helps you get gold and stacks faster than on Summoner's Rift. Don't force bad fights just to stack on champions early. Prioritize farm until you hit the critical stack thresholds for your execute damage.

Max Q first for damage and stack acquisition. Take E second so you can reposition during chaotic team fights. The dash lets you dodge key skill shots or chase low-HP targets. W is a one-point wonder for the slow and area damage.

Use it to reveal enemies in bushes or poke before an engage. The slow helps your team land follow-up damage. Don't spam it on cooldown if you need the mana for Q farming. Save it when your team commits to a fight so the area denial actually matters.

Save E as your escape tool unless you see a guaranteed kill. Dashing through enemies deals damage, so use it offensively only when you can exit safely. Many players waste E for damage and get caught out instantly. Treat it like a Get Out of Jail Free card until you have items.

Start with a damage component to help you last-hit. Essence Reaver or similar spellblade items work well with his Q spam. You need mana sustain to keep poking and farming. Delay defensive items until you have at least one completed damage item.

Yes, but build them third or fourth slot. Mayhem has too much damage for a squishy carry to go full glass cannon. Zhonya's or a magic resist item keeps you alive through burst attempts. Positioning matters more than items, but one defensive spike saves you from inevitable poke.

Call Mom brings his mother to breathe fire in a line. Use it when the enemy team groups up or when you need the heal. The heal only triggers if you are below a certain health threshold. Don't hold it forever, but don't waste it on a single target either.

He has no hard crowd control and low mobility. Assassins and divers can run him down if his E is down. His early damage is negligible against tanks with sustain. You rely entirely on positioning and team peel to function.

Hard engage champions like Vi or Malphite ruin his day. Long-range poke mages force him off the wave before he can stack. Hook champions like Blitzcrank punish his predictable farming patterns. Ban whatever gives you the most trouble in your elo range.

Look for augments that boost ability damage or add crowd control. Anything that helps you survive burst is valuable on a scaling carry. Attack speed augments feel good but don't help your stacking speed. Prioritize damage and utility over raw stats.

Play passive and focus entirely on last-hitting with Q. Use the health relics and stay behind your frontline. Don't trade damage with enemies who have better early kits. Your job is to reach your power spike, not to win lane.

He spikes hard once his passive unlocks the execute damage on Q. Around 100 stacks, you start deleting low-HP targets. Two items plus stacks makes you a legitimate carry. The exact timing depends on how well you farmed and how many team fights occurred.

Snowball helps you close gaps for W combos or escape over walls. It's safer than flashing but still risky for a champion with one dash. Use it to reposition during fights, not to engage. Mark targets to check bushes before you face-check.

Stay in the backline and hit whatever is closest. Use Q on cooldown to stack and whittle down frontline tanks. Save E until the enemy commits their gap closers. Press R when your team clusters or when you need the emergency heal.