League of Legends Reveals Kai'Sa, Daughter of the Void

PASSIVE: SECOND SKIN

Caustic Wounds:

• Kai'Sa's basic attacks mark enemies with Plasma, dealing increasing bonus magic damage. After a few successive attacks, the Plasma ruptures for a burst of damage based on the target's missing health.
• Nearby allies' immobilizing effects add stacks of Plasma.

Living Weapon:

• Kai'Sa's symbiote-suit adapts to her chosen attack style, evolving her abilities based on permanent stats gained from shop items and experience level.

An ability that allows Kai'Sa to operate on her own while also working with teammates, Second Skin takes the three-hit passive trend a few steps farther with a new five-hit passive that deals bonus damage when proc'd.

Like Kha'Zix, this move also allows Kai'Sa's other abilities to evolve and gain new effects, though these evolutions will depend on the champion's stats instead of just levels and ability ranks.

Q: ICATHIAN RAIN

Icathian Rain:

• Kai'Sa releases a swarm of missiles evenly distributed among nearby enemies, with additional hits on the same target dealing slightly reduced damage.
• Nearby allies' immobilizing effects add stacks of Plasma.

Living Weapon:

• With enough bonus Attack Damage, Icathian Rain fires significantly more missiles.

Taking a page from Kog'Maw's Icathian playstyle, the next ability Kai'Sa uses is called Icathian Rain, a bulletstorm of projectiles that spread out to nearby enemies or focus themselves on one solo enemy.

This ability's evolution makes it deal more damage assuming Kai'Sa has invested enough into the attack damage stat. It should also be noted that this abilities shares the description with the passive that says allies can proc the Plasma effect with immobilizing effects, so it's unclear at the moment if that effect is part of the passive or is only made available after leveling Icathian Rain.

W: VOID SEEKER

Void Seeker:

• Kai'Sa fires off a beam of Void energy, revealing the first enemy hit, dealing magic damage, and applying stacks of Plasma.

Living Weapon:

• With enough bonus Ability Power, Void Seeker deals more damage and partially refunds the cooldown on champion hit.

A combination of Kha'Zix's Void Spikes and Jhin's Deadly Flourish, Void Seeker is a long-range attack that spots distant enemies and adds stacks of Plasma.

For an ADC with limited mobility outside of her ultimate and no CC to speak of, Void Seeker will be essential for keeping the champ save from incoming ganks. In the bot lane, it'll also be a useful tool for checking the bushes or the dragon pit, though that may change depending on how high the cooldown is for the move.

E: SUPERCHARGER

Supercharger:

• Kai'Sa charges up, briefly increasing her movement speed but losing the ability to attack. After charging up, Kai'Sa whips out the big guns to increase her attack speed for a few seconds.
• Basic attacks reduce Supercharger's cooldown.

Living Weapon:

• With enough bonus Attack Speed, Supercharger briefly grants true invisibility while charging up.

Kai'Sa's primary repositioning tool looks to be Supercharger, a move that allows her to quickly move to a more favorable spot at the expense of an attack lockout.

Once evolved, this move also allows Kai'Sa to become invisible for a brief time. Again, the cooldowns on this move remain to be seen, but it likely won't allow for as much mobility and repositioning as Vayne has given that it also gives a burst of movement speed with more attack speed coming at the end of the ability.

R: KILLER INSTINCT

Killer Instinct:

• Kai'Sa dashes at extremely high speed with long range to a location near an enemy champion marked with Plasma and briefly gains a damage-absorbing shield.

The champion's final ability is also the simplest, a move that allows Kai'Sa to quickly move in on a vulnerable enemy to burst them down behind enemy lines.

Following the teasers in the previous Champion Roadmap that boasted a high-risk, high-rewards playstyle, this move definitely speaks to that by putting Kai'Sa right in the heat of the battle. By dashing to an enemy who's been marked with Plasma by either Kai'Sa or an ally, she gains a shield and is ready to unload the rest of her abilities. The best Kai'Sa players will likely find ways to use this tool as a disengage ability as well if they can pick off an enemy without it and quickly rejoin a teamfight, though that'll depend on the range at which allies can proc Plasma.

Kai'Sa Tips and Tricks

As is the case with any champion reveal, Riot Games also provided a list of tips and tricks for playing as Kai'Sa along with a video showing her abilities being chained together. More information on the champion like quotes and her release skin can be seen through the official reveal page.

Tips and Tricks

• Watch for enemies wandering without backup, but also keep an eye out for allies already in combat—if they can immobilize and mark an enemy with Plasma, Killer Instinct is a free ticket to a fast kill.
• Living Weapon turns key item purchases into serious power spikes, so don't hesitate to pick fights. Kai'Sa's adaptations work best when you recall and roam—you evolved that vicious new Void enhancement to farm champions, not minions.
• While Icathian Rain can annihilate an enemy isolated enough to take full damage from the missile salvo, Kai'Sa's at her most murderous when she's making good use of her autos. Her passive means each one hits extra hard, and a constant assault will drastically reduce the cooldown on Supercharger so you can keep repositioning.