Combos · Support

Alistar combos

the Minotaur

3 Alistar combos explained key by key: in which order to cast the abilities, when to use them and what each step does. The main combo is W › Q. Further down: every ability's cooldown, cost and range, and the skill max order measured over ranked games.

Alistar combos

Written guide · based on the official ability texts

The engage combo

When: An enemy is within Headbutt range.

Headbutt charges the target and knocks them back, Pulverize knocks nearby enemies into the air: the chain puts the whole enemy team under control.

The Trample stun

E AA AA

When: An enemy is in melee range.

Trample several times to reach the maximum stacks; your next attack against a champion deals bonus magic damage and stuns them.

The defensive ultimate

When: You are caught in crowd control.

Unbreakable Will removes all the crowd control affecting you and reduces the damage you take: engage during its duration without fearing controls.

Common mistakes

Using Pulverize and Headbutt at the same time without coordination.
Forgetting your roar: heal yourself and your team by chaining controls.
Casting the ultimate too early: it is your best protection against a decisive control.

Cooldowns, costs and ranges

A combo only comes back once its abilities are off cooldown: these values (rank 1 to max rank, in seconds) tell how long to wait between two combos. Source: Data Dragon 16.19.1.

Ability	Cooldown (s)	Cost	Range
Q · Pulverize	14/13/12/11/10	50/55/60/65/70 Mana	365
W · Headbutt	14/13/12/11/10	50/55/60/65/70 Mana	650
E · Trample	12/11.5/11/10.5/10	50/55/60/65/70 Mana	350
R · Unbreakable Will	120/100/80	100 Mana	1

Official ability descriptions

PassiveTriumphant Roar

Alistar charges his roar by stunning or displacing enemy champions or when nearby enemies die. When fully charged he heals himself all nearby allied champions.

QPulverize

Alistar smashes the ground, dealing damage to nearby enemies and tossing them into the air.

WHeadbutt

Alistar rams a target with his head, dealing damage and knocking the target back.

ETrample

Alistar tramples nearby enemy units, ignoring unit collision and gaining stacks if he damages an enemy champion. At full stacks Alistar's next basic attack against an enemy champion deals additional magic damage and stuns them.

RUnbreakable Will

Alistar lets out a wild roar, removing all crowd control effects on himself, and reducing incoming physical and magical damage for the duration.

Skill order

Max order: Q > W > E69.6% · 69 games

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15
Q		●		●	●		●		●
W	●							●		●		●	●
E			●											●	●
R						●					●

The order shows which abilities reach rank 5 first; the grid shows the most-played level-up sequence with that order (measured over 144 games).

Riot's official tips for playing Alistar

Using Pulverize can allow you to establish better positioning for Headbutt.
Move Speed is very important on Alistar. Consider which boots to buy carefully.
Using Flash can allow you catch your target off guard to knock them back into your allies with Pulverize and Headbutt.

How to play around Alistar's combos

Alistar is very disruptive but very tough - try to target more fragile damage dealers.
Watch out for the Pulverize-Headbutt combo when around turrets.
When Alistar uses his ultimate, it's often better to move back and wait until the effect wears off before attacking him.

Frequently asked questions

What is Alistar's main combo?

The engage combo: W › Q. An enemy is within Headbutt range. Headbutt charges the target and knocks them back, Pulverize knocks nearby enemies into the air: the chain puts the whole enemy team under control.

Which ability should I max first on Alistar?

The most-played max order is Q > W > E (69 games, 69.6% win rate).

What is the cooldown of Alistar's ultimate?

Unbreakable Will has a 120/100/80 second cooldown depending on its rank.

Build, runes and counters: full Alistar guide · every champion's combos · tier list