Qiyana ARAM Build and Guide

Updated for patch 26.22. Ability details come from Riot’s official game data for this patch; ARAM balance numbers come from the League of Legends Wiki’s champion data.

A Qiyana ARAM build is an area-damage Lethality build, because the Howling Abyss turns her into a teamfight assassin rather than a single-target one. Few champions get more help. In ARAM Qiyana deals 115% damage, takes 90% damage and has 120% tenacity. A walled lane gives her ultimate plenty of terrain to work with, too.

Every item here answers to a line of her patch 26.22 ability text; win-rate tables weren’t consulted.

How is Qiyana changed in ARAM?

Big buffs across the board. Her damage rises 15%, the damage she takes falls 10%, and stuns on her wear off faster. Why so generous? An assassin who relies on picking off isolated targets has very few isolated targets on a single lane, where everyone stands together, so Riot props her up to compensate. The extra tenacity is quietly the best part (she dives into five people, after all). Fewer seconds stuck in crowd control means more seconds swinging.

Why does Qiyana fit the Howling Abyss?

Because her ultimate detonates elements across an area, and the Abyss packs enemies close to walls. Riot’s patch 26.22 text:

• Royal Privilege (passive): bonus damage on her first attack or ability against each enemy.
• Elemental Wrath / Edge of Ixtal (Q): a swing with a bonus effect tied to her element. Cooldown 7.
• Terrashape (W): she dashes and enchants her weapon with an element, so attacks and abilities deal bonus damage. Cooldown 7.
• Audacity (E): a damaging dash to an enemy. Cooldown 11/10/9/8/7.
• Supreme Display of Talent (R): a shockwave that sets off any elements it hits, stunning and damaging enemies nearby. Cooldown 120.

In practice, Royal Privilege is a quiet winner here. It gives bonus damage on the first hit against each enemy, and in a teamfight there are five enemies to hit for the first time. Supreme Display of Talent is the flashy part. In a corridor with walls on both sides, a shockwave aimed along the lane can stun most of the enemy team at once. With two dashes on short cooldowns, she gets in and out faster than nearly anyone else in the pool. Honestly, the modifiers almost feel like overkill.

What should a Qiyana ARAM build focus on?

Lethality with area damage, Ability Haste for more dashes, and one way to survive diving in. Real talk, full single-target burst wastes half her ARAM value.

Profane Hydra goes first. Cleave makes her attacks hit nearby enemies, and Heretical Cleave deals physical damage around her on use, which spreads every dive’s damage across the whole frontline. The item carries 18 Lethality and 10 Ability Haste for faster dashes.

Voltaic Cyclosword is second. Galvanize readies her Energized attack whenever an ability damages an enemy champion, and Firmament makes that attack deal a share of the target’s current Health as bonus physical damage plus bonus Lethality for 4 seconds. Audacity into an attack is exactly that pattern.

Third, Serpent’s Fang. Shield Reaver cuts shields on any champion she damages, and random ARAM teams often bring a shielding support. It’s 15 Lethality at 2,500 gold, the cheapest item here.

Guardian Angel closes it out. Rebirth brings her back with 50% of her base Health after 4 seconds of Stasis, a second chance for a champion whose whole plan is jumping into the enemy team, and the 45 Armor helps on the way in. Boots are Ionian Boots of Lucidity for 10 Ability Haste, or Plated Steelcaps against a physical damage team.

How do you play Qiyana on the Howling Abyss?

• Aim Supreme Display of Talent along the walls. It detonates the elements it hits, stunning enemies nearby.
• Hit every enemy once early in a fight. Royal Privilege adds bonus damage to the first hit on each one.
• Keep Terrashape for the exit. Audacity gets you in; a dash to a location gets you out.
• Use Profane Hydra’s active the moment you land. It hits everything around you.
• Wait for the enemy’s crowd control to be spent before diving, even with the tenacity bonus.

How do no-recall shopping and Mark affect Qiyana?

ARAM never lets you recall, so gold only becomes items on the fountain’s terms: game start and every respawn. Qiyana has no healing in her kit, so after the opening trades she’s usually waiting for relics (or for the next death). That’s fine (it’s expected, really). Diving is her job, and the shop visit after it is part of the rhythm.

Mark is the snowball spell; land it and you get a dash to whoever it hit. Whatever you pick in the lobby is what you play with. She already has two dashes, so Mark is mostly for reaching a carry standing behind the walls of their own team. Snowball, dash, Audacity, ultimate. Is that a lot of commitment? Yes. To be fair, Qiyana was never built for half measures.

Is Qiyana good in ARAM?

Yes, very. The 115% damage dealt, 90% damage taken and 120% tenacity modifiers are among the biggest buffs any champion gets, and walls along the whole lane give her ultimate easy stuns. What holds her back? Sustain. Without healing in her kit, a Qiyana who trades poorly early spends the fight at low Health.

The mid laners who give her trouble are covered in our guide to beating Qiyana. Mid is her usual Rift role. Our LoL positions guide explains what that involves. If you’d like the raw numbers behind every item named here, the League item database has them, and the Qiyana skins page collects her cosmetics in one place.

The Qiyana ARAM build, start to finish: Profane Hydra, Voltaic Cyclosword, Serpent’s Fang and Guardian Angel, with the ultimate aimed along the walls.

FAQ

Is Qiyana buffed in ARAM?

Yes, heavily. Her patch 26.22 ARAM line on the League of Legends Wiki reads 115% damage dealt, 90% damage taken and 120% tenacity.

What items should Qiyana build in ARAM?

Profane Hydra, Voltaic Cyclosword, Serpent’s Fang and Guardian Angel, with Ionian Boots of Lucidity or Plated Steelcaps.

Why does Royal Privilege suit teamfights?

It adds bonus damage to Qiyana’s first attack or ability against each enemy, and a teamfight gives her up to five first hits.

Why Serpent’s Fang?

Its Shield Reaver passive reduces shields on champions she damages, which helps against shielding supports and champions with self-shields.

How was this build chosen?

Each item had to match something in Qiyana’s patch 26.22 kit. We didn’t use win rates.