Template:C-top
Lanes and Roles
- is perhaps one of the most versatile champions in the game. Her kit and stats allow her to be played with a multitude of builds, with the most common ones being utility support and ability power carry.
- The most common role for Lulu at the moment is of a utility carry mage. With a lot of AP items, Lulu becomes a force to be reckoned with, and while her damage is below the average damage for mages, her insane utility more than compensates for that. With
- Don't make the mistake of understimating Lulu's damage just because she is primarily a support, because with good base damage, her passive, hard CC, a shield, and a / -esque ultimate, she can duel many champions very effectively.
, she can push the lane; with , she can escape ganks. This allows her to push and harass her enemies, making them miss CS and allows her to become a lane bully, especially at the top lane, where she can harass most bruisers and tanks.
- Due to her enormous utility, Lulu can also be played as an utility support. She generally counters engage-based tanky supports such as
- When going support, pay attention to your team's needs. If your team lacks an AP champion for example, it may be better to buy a , a , then go full AP. If your team is in need of tanky champions, it may be better to build Lulu as a tank support. If neither is needed, however, Lulu can afford to make a build that balances utility with AP, so that she doesn't need to sacrifice either utility or damage.
and because these supports have no sustain to keep up with Lulu's harass, and her abilities counter their engage. However, she fares poorly against sustain supports that are more passive, such as and , although she still has an excellent late-game when compared to those supports.
- There are a lot of builds that Lulu can use effectively aside from APC and support. She can be played with a Machine Gun build (a bruiser build that makes use of a lot of attack speed items to take advantage of her passive), as an ADC, and even as a full-tank.
- It is important to note that, no matter the build Lulu decides to use, she never falls off late-game. Even if she loses her lane and is behind when compared to her enemy, Lulu has so much utility, that she will always be useful to her team.
- In addition to her strong teamfighting utility, one of Kiting ability. Her movement speed scales with AP and allows Lulu to kite easily. She can slow enemies using , and her and provide powerful defensive capacity. Because of this, she strongly excel in dueling through kiting trades regardless of her item build and can beat even the toughest duelists such as and through careful kiting. 's biggest strengths is her
Skill Usage
- strength comes from her large amount of utility and high base damage from her skills. encourages players to harass more with auto-attacks as it scales quite well, and her , , , and , have both offensive and defensive properties. Thus, decision making with her skills is vital to creating openings for her team to follow up on.
- has a moderate mana cost at early ranks. Use it sparingly to poke, as it can quickly drain your mana.
- You can use
- However, for better mana efficiency, auto-attack a few times before casting on an enemy. As they try to retaliate or escape, use on them to disengage or continue the attack.
on allies, enemies, or minions in order to greatly extend the range on and make an unexpected poke at an enemy champion.
- As a support,
- Though some early game aggressive carries such as , , and , may force to change her style of play, they too can make good use of her kit.
- Despite lack of poke, kit synergizes well with her. combined with greatly increases her movement speed and allows her to chase down fleeing enemies easily. can catch enemies by surprise when exits out of stealth and give extra survivability. will not only help keep alive with a shield, but adds additional DPS with from which can continue to lock down enemies with .
works best with attack damage carries with large amount of poke and/or those that require more passive playstyles such as , , , , , , and .
- Always be careful when using . The speed boost on is very useful, but using it this way may mean that it won't be available when you find that you need it to disable a high burst damage enemy such as , or , or to interrupt a channel such as or .
- use then and you will disable the entire enemy team for a couple of seconds.
excels at supporting initiation: attach to a tank, then them to allow them to move into range of the enemy quickly and fire off a to slow much of the enemy team.
- A single rank makes quite mobile, allowing for ganks or wards depending on her build.
- Use on enemies who can use stealth like , or to keep them revealed and sabotage one of their biggest strengths.
- Use on high attack speed allied champions such as , , or as they will trigger your passive damage more often and since they are squishy most of time, they will benefit from the shield.
- has many uses; it can enhance an already disruptive tank with its knockup and slow field, make a bruiser virtually impossible to peel off an enemy carry, or even protect a carry of your own. In lane, it can make ganks from champions with a leap or dash ability more potent, or to help escape enemy ganks. In general, it should be used early and often as its cooldown is far shorter than most ultimates.
- If timed correctly, can be used to interrupt dashes or delay escapes long enough for your allies to finish the job.
- does not grab turret or minion aggro when knocking up enemy champions as it does not do damage. Thus it can be safely used within turret range.
- isn't affected by healing reduction because it increases health, not heals it.
- is especially useful when used in conjunction with , as it solves her inability to stick to her target.
- In particular, synergizes exceptionally well with , as it can knock up several enemies in a large area for him to use on, along with a cooldown low enough to use it again in another fight.
synergizes especially well with AoE ultimates, trapping enemy champions in the area for the duration such as , , and .
- Use to help allies escape dangerous situations. Casting on them or on the enemy will make for an easier getaway.
Build Usage
is a mage/support champion that has a wide variety of different item builds. However, two of her most common builds are AP Lulu build and "machine gun"/AD Lulu build.
AP Lulu
AP Lulu is the most common build due to her strong AP scaling in her utility kit such as her movement speed buff on magic penetration items, Cooldown reduction items, spellblade effects from items such as , or attack speed to increase her damage output.
, health boost, and shield. AP Lulu puts more emphasis in teamfighting power and has strong kiting ability thanks to . She will not be as strong as a split-pusher like most late-game champions such as or , but even with her AP build, she can effectively duel other champions late game through careful kiting with her abilities. Because her damaging spells have low AP scaling, some AP builds may either have- Since
- At 40% cooldown, you can constantly keep on an ally.
- Cooldown reduction also allows her to keep constant CC on enemies in teamfights.
has high base damage but low ability power ratios on her offensive abilities, magic penetration and cooldown reduction benefit her a lot.
- As for magic penetration, getting an early
- Liandry's passive will deal damage for the duration of the slow from .
- The health is also good as without one or two items that offer health, Lulu is very squishy.
- Note that Lulu's passive, , will not apply Liandry's passive.
is a good, albeit not that common option on Lulu. The flat magic penetration allows Lulu to do a lot of damage to enemy champions early game, due to her base damage. You can upgrade it to , but it's generally recommended to do so only when you finish at least 2 other AP items.
- Lulu is somewhat mana hungry. If you keep spamming her abilities early game without caution, she will become oom quickly. For this reason, it's recommended to buy an item that increases her mana regeneration or mana pool.
- Most players opt to buy a due to being a cheap item that instantly solves her mana problems, and the magic resistance is useful if Lulu is laning against an AP champion. When upgraded to , this item also offers cooldown reduction, which is an stat that, as explained above, is essential for Lulu.
- An alternative to the above item is . This item lacks mana regeneration, but the extra mana pool compensates for that. However, this item takes a lot more to reach its full benefits, when compared to Athene's Unholy Grail. It also lacks the cooldown reduction. The main reason why Rod of Ages is a good option, however, is because it makes Lulu a lot tankier when compared to Athene's. This item is actually recommended over Athene's if Lulu is laning against an AD champion.
- Another option is . This item offers much less mana regeneration than Athene's Unholy Grail, and doesn't have any defensive stats. However, it offers slighty more AP, and the passive is great against sustain-based champions, such as and .
- Since Spellblade item.
- adds to Lulu's damage, making her surprisingly bursty, and she can very often proc this item's passive due to her low cooldowns, especially if she builds cooldown reduction. The extra movement speed also helps, as Lulu has a below-average base movement speed.
- Keep in mind however, that Glitterlance already slows her opponent. In addition, Lulu has one of the lowest base attack damage on the game, and since this item does not scale with Lulu's ability power, the damage it deals is very weak. While Iceborn Gauntlet has AP, it is not sufficient to boost Lulu's overall damage. If you are purchasing Iceborn Gauntlet, you should be purchasing it for the extra armor and cooldown reduction.
is also a viable alternative, due to the armor this item offers, making Lulu surprisingly durable against AD opponents. It also has other good stats, such as cooldown reduction and mana. The Spellblade this item offers is different; while it does much less damage when compared to Lich Bane, it slows down the enemy, making easier for Lulu to land her , and also adds to her chasing and peeling power.
is somewhat auto-attack based, and she only has 2 offensive spells, she makes great use of a - This item combos well with 's passive, adding even more on-hit magic damage, and increases her overall DPS, due to the extra attack speed.
- Similarly, items such as and are good items to consider as well.
is also a good item to buy, and an alternative to Lich Bane, especially if you decide to buy Rod of Ages, to compensate for not having the cooldown reduction that Morellonomicon and Athene's Unholy Grail offers.
- Although Lulu has low AP ratios,
- Alternatively, a can greatly amplify her magic damage and provide a debuff on an enemy target that is beneficial to your entire team.
will still significantly increase her damage, as well as making her utility spells stronger.
- Due to Spell vamp items such as and are very useful items in Lulu.
- A life steal, spell vamp, ability power, and attack damage in a single item. And the item's active slow is relatively useful in Lulu's kiting kit. is very expensive item. However, it provides
- is the typical mage item, cooldown reduction and ability power. While it's cheaper than , it does not provide the same benefits that has to offer in 's basic attack nature of her kit.
's lack of sustain and low cooldown in her kit. - are the recommended boots of choice due to the magic penetration. However, and are viable options.
"Machine gun"/AD Lulu
scales well with attack speed, due to . If Lulu purchases on-hit attack speed items, not only she can trigger her passive more often, but her DPS will increase dramatically. This build is known as "Machine Gun Lulu", and is usually played at top-lane. This build is considered sub-optimal by some players, because AP items typically don't have synergy with most of the aforementioned options. However, "Machine Gun Lulu" has two advantages over a normal AP build. The first is that it allows her to beat some of Lulu's counters, such as . The second is that this build allows Lulu to purchase some tanky items, making her somewhat of a bruiser. Even though her utility will be weaker than a full AP build, she can still provide good DPS through basic attacks and strong utility with at the same time. In addition, this build has better late game scaling and more sustained damage than AP Lulu build. Finally, "machine gun" and AD builds provide better dueling and split-pushing power thanks to her basic attack nature of her kit and her mobility through . Players should consider "machine gun" or AD builds if your team's AD Carry is in a bad matchup, or if your team already have a mid laner or support that can already provide powerful defensive utility such as and to help protect the AD Carry and need more late game DPS.
- Much like AP , "machine gun" focuses around kiting in her kit. However, most Lulu builds will max to greatly boost her kiting ability since all of her other abilities scale in AP and most of Lulu's damage will come from basic attacks.
- Three of the most common items in "machine gun"
- life steal, attack speed, and a powerful on-hit item that deals % health damage. The active is also very useful, as it not only heals and slows the enemy champion, but it will greatly increase her movement speed. Combined with , Lulu will be nearly untouchable. is the most standard item in "machine gun" Lulu builds. The item has
- has a built-in on-hit bonus magic damage that synergizes well with . The item also reduces target magic resistance per basic attack as well as boosting Lulu's magic resistance, thus causing to deal more damage per basic attack. The magic resistance reduction from Wit's End is a very powerful teamfighting utility as well, as it will amplify not only your magic damage from , but other player's magic damage abilities as well.
- Much like the AP Lulu build, synergizes well with with attack speed and cooldown reduction in addition to the increased damage with the ability power. The cooldown reduction is especially useful as it will allow to use more.
are , , and .
- A grants a powerful on-hit slow that will allow to Lulu to kite better with basic attack. The bonus health is also useful to help compensate a weaker as well.
- Since spell vamp, life steal should be built instead of spell vamp for sustained damage:
- life steal item that grants 20% life steal. The built in shield is also useful to compensate for 's weaker shield. is a powerful
- life steal when compared to , but the item has cooldown reduction, and the mana restore through basic attack is invaluable for high mana cost in her abilities. has a weaker
does not trigger - 's basic attacks will not apply through bolts, however, it has strong synergy with other on-hit items such as and .
- If is built, an should be considered as well.
is a good alternative to . The item has a built in attack speed and movement speed. And since Shiv's next basic attack passive deals magic damage itself, it greatly synergizes well with for a large burst in magic damage. The electric bolt itself can critically strike as well.
- spellbade passive due to 's low base attack damage (90). However, it will most likely be built for it's attack speed and movement speed bonus. In addition, the 's built in movement speed bonus per basic attack helps kite better and the item itself synergizes with . would most likely will not be built for the 's
- Even though most of magic penetration item is . 's damage comes from basic attacks, most of her damage is magic damage through . Across from , the only other useful
Supportive options
- As an AP support, can pick up as a good starting item since her kit encourages her to auto-attack and harass. The active of its final upgrade, , can allow you to catch out enemies from a longer distance.
- will increase the effectiveness of and on both you and your allies, since shields & health bonuses are able to soak up more damage with higher defenses.
- gives you a bit of health, a good amount of Cooldown Reduction and also grants your AD allies bonus attack damage and life steal.
can easily support other champions from the back, making aura items a viable choice.
Recommended builds
Countering
- reduces both the duration of her disables, as well as her damage output, making it an ideal item.
- However, has a much higher damage output than most other support champions along with her terrifying amount of CC. Don't ignore her in team fights.
- Despite strong crowd control, poke, and peeling power, she does not have any form of heals to keep the AD carry healthy except for her ultimate, and her abilities are mana intensive. Therefore, support champions with healing like , , and can stay in lane longer.
does not have a very high natural damage output, so when alone or focused, she'll die quickly without much retaliation.
- true power comes from the CC she can apply, and as such, is extremely dependent on her teammates; her damage doesn't scale well into the late game, due to her medium ratios, but remains a powerful disabler.
- By late game can give a very high speed boost depending on her build, and can be used quite often in conjunction with CDR. Beware if she uses it on a power initiator as it could mean an easy engagement.
- In lane, will often harass heavily with her and her passive. Unlike many piercing skillshots, standing behind minions will not mitigate the damage, so moving erratically can help mitigate damage taken.
- has no consistent heal, so poking at her or her lane partner will whittle down their health or waste her mana trying to shield them.
- Be wary that Pix will become a threat if has built a lot of attack speed. The damage scales quickly, and getting hit by all three bolts lets her outdamage carries during the laning phase. By level 17 Pix adds up to 105 magic damage per auto (not accounting for AP), and becomes even deadlier when used on a carry with higher attack speed. By this time champions don't have much magic resist unless they have itemized for it, making it deceptively powerful.
has mediocre auto-attack damage (44.4) as her passive gives her more damage on attacks and it quickly scales as she levels up. Do not be afraid to exchange auto-attacks early with as champions often have more magic resist than armor early on. (Pix will barely deal about 5.5 damage at level one)
- Wait for to use before trying to use any channeled abilities or heading into the fight. This leaves her without the polymorph or speed buff, and allows your team to fight without disruption. It has a fairly high cooldown, especially at earlier ranks, meaning you have a good amount of time to fight before can use it again.
- is deadly for ganks as a combination of , and will leave you in an extremely crippled condition.
- When she and her lane partner hit level 6 it can be very hard to beat them in a 2v2 situation as
- Like many ultimates on supports, has a somewhat high mana cost and can be rendered unusable if you manage to harass her into draining her mana pool.
delivers a devastating disable and heals her target for a significant amount.
- is an excellent baiter due to ; be very careful about diving or committing to kill her if she has the ability up.
- Watch out for as second bolt will fire from position, meaning that can pick up an unexpected kill on you or a nearby ally if she tags you or a nearby champion/minion with it.
- Despite being squishy, she is extremely hard to catch, being able to escape with , slow you with , prevent some damage with and if you get too close she will send you flying with while the slowing field will keep you from catching up.
- Try to get
- If she does use it, be careful of what you do next.
- While the knock up, health, and slow are disruptive, they don't hurt your team much after the initial knock up, so staying and fighting may be a good option if you can take out the champion before can shield them or give them the ability power and speed buff from .
- If you have to run, beware of the slows from and . If you get slowed by both of them, a polymorph from may take you out if team is nearby. Also keep in mind that extends range, making it a very effective chasing tool if she attaches it to you or a nearby champion/minion.
- Finally, remember that reveals a tagged enemy champion until Pix leaves, making it impossible to juke through bushes or past corners for the duration of the debuff.
to waste her ultimate without her team initiating. If uses in conjunction with a great initiating champion such as or , your team will be locked up for a few seconds.
- If she does use it, be careful of what you do next.
- On the other, pay attention to which lane can go. While she's normally played as a support, she can also be played as an ADC due to her and disabling kit. She can easily go top and middle lane due to her crowd control and poking kit in addition to and speed boost makes it incredibly difficult for melee bruisers and assassins to kill her quickly. Consider playing sustain based champions like , , and instead to counteract her crowd control and poke.
is one of the few champions that has strong flexibility in her item builds and kit in a similar vein to and . Pay attention to her build and build accordingly to counter her. For example, if she goes for a "machine gun" type build where she builds a lot of attack speed and on-hit items with the use of , consider building and to counter her.
Champion Spotlight
Template:C-bot