Combos · ADC

Kalista combos

the Spear of Vengeance

3 Kalista 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 AA › Q › AA › E. Further down: every ability's cooldown, cost and range, and the skill max order measured over ranked games.

Kalista combos

Written guide · based on the official ability texts

Harassment

AA AA

Q AA AA

When: An enemy is within range.

Your attacks stick spears, Pierce passes through the enemies it kills, then Rend rips out the spears to slow and deal increased damage.

Scouting

When: You want vision.

Sentinel sends a soul patrolling along a route, revealing the area ahead of it; it also deals bonus damage when you and your oathsworn hit the same target.

The ultimate

When: Your oathsworn is in danger or must engage.

Fate's Call teleports your oathsworn to you; they can then charge to knock back nearby enemy champions.

Common mistakes

Attacking without hopping: you lose your mobility.
Using the ultimate without coordinating with your oathsworn.
Ripping out the spears with no decisive effect.

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 · Pierce	9	60/65/70/75/80 Mana	1150
W · Sentinel	30	—	5000
E · Rend	0	30 Mana	1000
R · Fate's Call	160/140/120	100 Mana	1000

Official ability descriptions

PassiveMartial Poise

Enter a movement command while winding up Kalista's basic attack or Pierce to lunge a short distance when she launches her attack.

QPierce

Throw a fast moving spear that passes through enemies it kills.

WSentinel

Gain bonus damage when Kalista and her Oathsworn strike the same target.

Activate to send a soul to scout out the path, revealing the area in front of it.

ERend

Attacks impale their targets with spears. Activate to rip the spears out, slowing and dealing escalating damage.

RFate's Call

Kalista teleports the Oathsworn ally to herself. They gain the ability to dash toward a position, knocking enemy champions back.

Skill order

Max order: E > Q > W58.1% · 86 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 120 games).

Riot's official tips for playing Kalista

Rend is a valuable last hitting aid, since its cooldown resets if it kills a target.
Entering a move order once to trigger Martial Poise will not clear Kalista's basic attack target.
Due to her passive, Kalista's Move Speed is effectively increased by Attack Speed.

How to play around Kalista's combos

Kalista's mobility is dependent upon attacking. This means it is low when she is outside of her attack range and that Attack Speed slows reduce the amount of distance she can cover in an engagement.
Kalista cannot cancel her basic attack wind up. While she is very mobile, this offers a window to land spells on her if you anticipate when she will begin attacking.
If you can break line of sight from Kalista, including through brush, her basic attacks will miss you, falling harmlessly to the ground.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kalista's main combo?

Harassment: AA › Q › AA › E. An enemy is within range. Your attacks stick spears, Pierce passes through the enemies it kills, then Rend rips out the spears to slow and deal increased damage.

Which ability should I max first on Kalista?

The most-played max order is E > Q > W (86 games, 58.1% win rate).

What is the cooldown of Kalista's ultimate?

Fate's Call has a 160/140/120 second cooldown depending on its rank.

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