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Here’s how to play League of Legends’ Gwen like a pro
With some helpful tips from the pros, you’ll be able to master the latest League of Legends champion in absolutely no time.
Gwen, the Hallowed Seamstress, is the latest champion released for League of Legends. Since the start of the Summer Split, she can be played by pros in official Riot sanctioned professional leagues around the world.
Gwen is designed to be played as a top laner, but players have also experimented with her in the jungle and the mid lane. If you’re having a hard time getting wins with Gwen, don’t worry – we’ve asked the pros for some help.
Gwen is one of the first AP scaling duelist champions in the game. She plays similarly to champions like Fiora, as well as Irelia and Jax. Her special skill is that she can create a Xin Zhao-like ultimate zone around her. Enemies outside of that zone are unable to damage and CC her. She also has a dash and her Q ability has a small sweet spot where she can deal true damage. Combined with her healing and an ultimate ability that has multiple uses, her kit is extremely stacked.
Dawid ‘Melonik’ Ślęczka, top laner for BIG, believes that Gwen is way too strong in the current patch: He said: “She is a triple flex that has sustain, true damage, a low cooldown dash which boosts her attack speed and damage, as well as an ability that makes her untargetable. Her kit is generally really strong, combined with her big damage numbers and items.”
Antonio ‘Th3Antonio’ Espinosa, top laner for the Vodafone Giants agrees, adding: “Gwen can play both strong and weak sides, which makes it extremely easy to draft powerful team compositions around her."
Is she difficult to learn? The pro’s don’t think so. Melonik thinks you might need a few games to get used to her skills since they work in a unique way but adds that “generally Gwen is not that difficult to learn". Th3Antonio explains that every new champion addition is in some way unique and requires a different way of playing the game. However, in terms of her mechanics, he agrees with Melonik that Gwen’s not an extremely difficult champion to master.
Gwen’s level one is one of the strongest in the game
Knowing when a champion is at their strongest point is important to know when playing them but also when playing against them. For Gwen, her strongest power spike is when she gets her ultimate. On top of being a great offensive skill with extra damage, it also gains her stacks of her passive, giving an even bigger damage boost to her Q. When you’re playing as Gwen, keep a close eye on your experience counter and look for the all-in when you hit level 6.
Melonik explains that Gwen gets another power spike when she hits two items, Riftmaker and Nashor’s Tooth, which increase her attack speed and true damage. “Besides that, her level one is one of the strongest in the game," he adds.
In her current balance state, killing Gwen is difficult. Melonik says: “Even when Gwen falls a bit behind in CS, she still scales pretty strongly so you don't need to be scared to give up resources.”
Currently, picking champions like Riven, Fiora and Jax are strong because of their CC abilities and stronger dashes. It’s easier to stick to Gwen and CC her when her shields are down. Another great pick to play against Gwen is Poppy, since her W can cancel Gwen’s dash and when Gwen decides to use her ultimate as an all-in, Poppy can knock her away using her ultimate.
Duelist champions like Gwen are stronger when tricks are discovered that cancel their animations [the best example for this is Riven]. Melonik already has some of those tips to share, saying: “You can cancel your auto-attack animation by using auto-attack + E + auto-attack, but you can also dash while channelling your Q and you can recast your W while you are still in the zone.”
Gwen can also be played in the jungle, according to Doğukan ‘113’ Balci, jungler for the Vodafone Giants, who adds that she’s a better pick in the top lane. He says: “Gwen doesn’t have the best clear speed but still can compete with the top meta jungle champions.”
The skillset is more about being efficient with the skill than flashy plays
In the professional leagues, 113 explains that in the jungle, Gwen is often only played as a flex pick, since she’s way stronger in the solo lanes. However, she can still stand on her own. The Vodafone Giants’ jungler explains that Gwen can play a more farming-oriented style because of her extremely good late-game scaling, as well as a ganking style because of her damage.
To get the most out of Gwen jungle, 113 advises: "Cancelling the auto-attack animation with the W is really important to maximise your clear speed. Other than that, the skillset is more about being efficient with the skill than flashy plays.”
Rounding out a team composition with Gwen is fairly simple. Since she can be played in three different roles and is strong in the current meta, trying to pick her in both solo-queue and professional play is great. If you have a Gwen on your team and want to get her snowball rolling, pick something that can increase her movement speed like Karma or pick hard-engage champions that let Gwen get into the fray easier.
Overall, Gwen is a super-strong pick right now and you should definitely learn her if you’re trying to climb the ladder. Because of her strength, she’s on the radar for nerfs in the future – however, her unique kit and playstyle are satisfying enough that Gwen will keep being played for some time yet.
