Overview
An ADC with a bit of a unique play style thanks to how she auto-attacks, Kalista is a champion that literally hops around as she fights and has the ability to snowball fights on her own in the hands of a strong mechanical player. She also brings a very unique ultimate to the game that serves as one of the best safety devices while still offering offensive potential. Click here for the latest data on her best builds, including Runes, Items, Summoner Spells, and more.
Keys to Remember About Kalista
Kalista is mechanically unique ADC (if not altogether difficult) because she can dash a small distance after every auto-attack. You'll need hands if you want to maximize her potential, but she still pumps a lot of damage even if you're standing still (honestly, it's more damage, and in lower ranks, you are probably okay to just stand still sometimes).
She's extremely good at securing objectives -- you can out damage junglers with your spears, so you should always focus on objectives at let your team zone the enemy.
Strengths
She’s great in small skirmishes because of her Martial Poise [P] allowing her to quickly dash back and forth after an auto-attack. This can make it extremely easy for her to either kite opponents or chase them down, and when combined with Rend [E], she has a lot of kill potential in extended engagements. Rend [E] is also a great tool for securing objectives because of how much single target burst she can bring to the table by sticking a ton of spears into the high HP neutral objectives. Finally, Fate’s Call [R] pairs up extremely well with an aggressive support player or a support champion that scales very well -- you can always save them from a pinch or be proactive and throw them in to start a fight.
Weaknesses
She’s vulnerable to CC as her mobility is reliant on being able to auto-attack. And because her range is relatively short, she’ll always need to be close to the thick of the action to maximize her value. This makes it easier for enemies to immediately turn on her. Sentinel [W] is a nice utility ability but it can feel underwhelming when it comes to adding combat value, which will make her feel even more reliant on her auto-attacks than other ADCs.
Game Plan
Early Game: She has a strong early game and you should be looking to pair her with an aggressive support. Your chasedown potential in extended fights before enemies have a ton of burst is going to help you net a lot of kills.
Mid Game: Use your mobility to your advantage in fights -- you will do very well into enemy bruisers who lack gap closers in particular. Look to be present for neutral objectives as you can help your team win those 50/50 smite fights.
Late Game: The game plan doesn’t change much from mid game. The big thing here will be when and where you use your ultimate, but some of that is going to be reliant on what your support player wants to do as well. Look for picks with it if you can!
