Guide · ADC

Kalista Guide

the Spear of Vengeance

Marksman

Tier S ADC

Kalista, the Spear of Vengeance, is a marksman champion that is demanding to master. Across our 724 analysed ranked games, Kalista is mostly played as ADC (100% of its games), with a 50.8% win rate in that role: tier S among ADC champions (#3 of 36, ranked by win rate). Kalista's damage is mostly physical (75%): armor is the best defensive answer against this champion. Win rate varies with game length: 54.2% in short games (under 25 min, 299 games) versus 47.3% in long games (over 35 min).

Averages measured over 724 ADC games played with Kalista, from our ranked Solo/Duo data collection.

Combos and how to play

Kalista is a marksman who hops while moving during her attacks: give a move command during the animation of her attack or Pierce to advance slightly. Her attacks stick spears into targets, which she rips out to slow and deal increased damage. Her ultimate teleports her oathsworn ally to her.

Harassment

AA AA › Q › AA AA › E

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

W

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

R

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.

Laning phase

Attack and hop at the same time: it is the basis of your mobility. Rend has no cooldown: use it when the stuck spears are enough to kill or to slow.

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.

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.

Build, runes and summoner spells

The most-played core build is Statikk Shiv, Guinsoo's Rageblade, and Terminus (432 games, 54.6% win rate).

Statikk Shiv+Guinsoo's Rageblade+Terminus

432 games · 54.6%

Statikk Shiv+Guinsoo's Rageblade+Jak'Sho, The Protean

226 games · 53.5%

Guinsoo's Rageblade+Terminus+Jak'Sho, The Protean

219 games · 55.2%

Summoner spells

Flash + Barrier51.8% · 446 games

Exhaust + Flash50.0% · 148 games

Cleanse + Flash48.5% · 130 games

Most-played runes

Lethal Tempo + Domination

49.7% · 499 games

Primary tree · Precision

Triumph99%

Legend: Alacrity95%

Last Stand51%

Secondary tree · Domination

Sudden Impact99%

Treasure Hunter86%

Shards

Attack speed98%

Adaptive force100%

Health98%

Lethal Tempo + Resolve

52.4% · 124 games

Primary tree · Precision

Triumph97%

Legend: Alacrity94%

Last Stand48%

Secondary tree · Resolve

Bone Plating62%

Overgrowth60%

Shards

Attack speed93%

Adaptive force98%

Health96%

Lethal Tempo + Inspiration

54.0% · 87 games

Primary tree · Precision

Triumph95%

Legend: Alacrity88%

Cut Down54%

Secondary tree · Inspiration

Cash Back84%

Triple Tonic69%

Shards

Attack speed69%

Adaptive force100%

Health90%

For each row, the most picked rune among the games played with this page (share of games in brackets).

Which items to build against the enemy team?

We sort every game by the enemy team's damage. These are Kalista's completed items and their win rate in each situation; "▲" marks an item that does at least 3 points better than its usual win rate.

Mostly magic-damage enemy team50.2% · 207 games

At least 50% of their damage is magic

Statikk Shiv 49.8%

Guinsoo's Rageblade 53.0%

Terminus 55.2%

Jak'Sho, The Protean 52.7%

Wit's End 53.3% ▼

Blade of The Ruined King 72.7%

No item clearly stands out in this situation: the usual build remains the reference.

Mostly physical-damage enemy team50.8% · 185 games

Less than 35% of their damage is magic

Statikk Shiv 50.6%

Guinsoo's Rageblade 54.3%

Terminus 53.6%

Jak'Sho, The Protean 58.6% ▲

Randuin's Omen 67.7% ▲

Blade of The Ruined King 54.5%

The item that stands out most is Randuin's Omen: 67.7% win rate, +12 points versus its usual win rate.

Balanced enemy team51.2% · 332 games

Mixed physical and magic damage

Statikk Shiv 53.1%

Guinsoo's Rageblade 53.6%

Terminus 52.6%

Jak'Sho, The Protean 52.6%

Randuin's Omen 52.3% ▼

Blade of The Ruined King 42.9% ▼

No item clearly stands out in this situation: the usual build remains the reference.

Counters and matchups

Who counters Kalista as ADC

Jhin Kalista: 39.4%33 games

Jhin has the edge in 61% of the 33 ADC duels against Kalista. See the Jhin guide.

Zeri Kalista: 40.0%30 games

Zeri has the edge in 60% of the 30 ADC duels against Kalista. See the Zeri guide.

Ashe Kalista: 50.0%22 games

Ashe has the edge in 50% of the 22 ADC duels against Kalista. See the Ashe guide.

Kai'Sa Kalista: 55.6%18 games

Kai'Sa has the edge in 44% of the 18 ADC duels against Kalista. See the Kai'Sa guide.

Yunara Kalista: 55.8%43 games

Yunara has the edge in 44% of the 43 ADC duels against Kalista. See the Yunara guide.

Who Kalista is strong against

Lucian82.3% · 17 games

Ezreal78.3% · 23 games

Jinx70.6% · 17 games

Caitlyn62.5% · 16 games

Tristana62.5% · 16 games

How to play against Kalista

• 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.

Win rates measured over direct same-role duels; only matchups with more than 15 games are listed. See all of Kalista's matchups.

Abilities

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.

Frequently asked questions

Full Kalista page · League of Legends tier list · All champion guides