Sett Counters: Who Beats Sett

Updated for patch 26.21. Ability details come from Riot’s official game data for this patch.

Sett counters are top laners who never let him punch: ranged picks that poke from outside his 125 range, duelists who parry or dodge Haymaker, and anyone who can stand on one side of him so Facebreaker only slows. Sett wins by storing the damage he takes as Grit, then returning it as true damage. Deny the trade and the Grit never fills.

Five top laners follow, with the abilities that matter in the matchup. No win rates were involved.

Why is Sett hard to counter?

• Pit Grit (passive): his punches alternate left and right, with the right one stronger and faster, and he regenerates more Health the lower he gets.
• Knuckle Down (Q): his next two attacks deal extra damage based on the target’s maximum Health, with Move Speed toward enemy champions. Cooldown 9/8/7/6/5.
• Haymaker (W): damage he takes is stored as Grit; on cast he spends it all for a shield and a punch that deals true damage in the center and physical damage on the sides. Cooldown 18/16.5/15/13.5/12.
• Facebreaker (E): pulls enemies on opposite sides of him together, damaging and stunning them; enemies on one side only are slowed instead. Cooldown 16/14.5/13/11.5/10.
• The Show Stopper (R): he carries an enemy champion through the air and slams them down, damaging and slowing everyone near the landing. Cooldown 120/100/80.

Sett’s trades are simple and nasty. He walks up with Knuckle Down speed, lands two max-Health punches, takes some damage in return, then converts all of it into a Haymaker shield and a true-damage punch. The lower he gets, the faster Pit Grit heals him back. In a teamfight, The Show Stopper picks up a tank and drops it on the carries, and Facebreaker stuns anyone caught between him and a minion. Thing is, every piece needs him to get hit first. No damage in, no Grit, no Haymaker.

Which champions are the best Sett counters?

Quinn

Quinn attacks from 525 range, far outside Sett’s reach, and Harrier (passive) marks enemies so her first attack on them deals bonus physical damage. Blinding Assault (Q) hinders his vision on top of the damage. If he does reach her, Vault (E) dashes into him, slows him, interrupts him briefly, and leaps her back to maximum attack range (the whole exchange takes about a second). After each hit on a marked target, Heightened Senses (W) hands her Attack Speed and Move Speed for the follow-up. Behind Enemy Lines (R) lets her fly across the map and lands as Skystrike. Sett can’t store Grit from poke he can’t answer.

Kennen

Kennen pokes from 550 range with Thundering Shuriken (Q), which damages and adds a Mark of the Storm, and three marks stun through Mark of the Storm (passive). Electrical Surge (W) adds a mark every few attacks and can be activated to damage and mark anyone already marked. Lightning Rush (E) turns him into lightning that passes through units, so a Facebreaker that needs him on one side gets a champion who is already on the other. Slicing Maelstrom (R) strikes nearby champions repeatedly for magic damage. Why does Sett hate him? Because none of the damage is a punch he can store and return, and the stuns stop Knuckle Down mid-walk.

Jayce

Two weapons, one plan. In Cannon Stance, Shock Blast (Q) fires an orb that explodes on the first enemy hit, and firing it through Acceleration Gate (E) raises its speed, range and damage. When Sett charges, Jayce swaps to Hammer Stance with Mercury Hammer (R), gains Armor and Magic Resist, and Thundering Blow (E) knocks him back a short distance. Hextech Capacitor (passive) adds Move Speed on each swap, so the kite never breaks. Hyper Charge (W), the Cannon Stance version of his W, pushes Attack Speed to the maximum for several attacks, which is how the poke turns into a kill once Sett dips low. Honestly, Jayce spends the whole lane deciding when Sett is allowed to be close, which is never.

Fiora

Riposte (W) parries all incoming damage and disabling effects for a short time, then stabs, slowing the first champion hit or stunning them if she blocked an immobilizing effect. A Riposte timed on Haymaker blocks the true damage, and timed on Facebreaker it turns his stun into hers. Duelist’s Dance (passive) marks a weak point on him that heals her and speeds her up when struck, and Grand Challenge (R) reveals all four at once, healing Fiora and her allies if she hits every one or the target dies after the first. Lunge (Q) gets her to the marked spot. Bladework (E) then speeds up two attacks, the second a guaranteed crit. The catch is that she must parry the right spell. Guess wrong and his Haymaker still lands.

Jax

For a short duration, Counter Strike (E) makes Jax dodge every incoming attack, and when it ends he stuns everyone around him. Sett’s damage is punches. Knuckle Down is two empowered punches, so Counter Strike erases his best trade and stuns him for the counter. Leap Strike (Q) closes or escapes, Empower (W) adds damage to the next attack, and Relentless Assault (passive) raises Attack Speed with each consecutive hit. Grandmaster-at-Arms (R) deals bonus magic damage every third attack and, when activated, damages nearby enemies and raises Jax’s Armor and Magic Resist. To be fair, Haymaker’s true damage still hurts him. He simply skips the punches that would have built it in the first place, and that’s the whole matchup.

How do you play the lane against Sett?

• Stand on one side of him. Facebreaker only stuns if enemies are on opposite sides; alone on one side, you’re just slowed.
• Watch his Grit bar. When it’s full, back off and let Haymaker expire; its cooldown is 18 seconds at rank 1.
• Don’t fight him when he’s low. Pit Grit regenerates more Health the more Health he’s missing.
• Side-step the Haymaker center. Only the middle is true damage; the sides are physical damage, which Armor reduces.
• Keep the tank away from the carries. The Show Stopper slams whoever he grabs onto your backline.

Which items counter Sett?

His sustain is the passive, so Grievous Wounds is the first answer. For 800 gold, Executioner’s Calling puts 40% Wounds on him for 3 seconds whenever physical damage lands; Mortal Reminder keeps the Wounds and adds 30% Armor Penetration for the late game. His punches are physical, so Plated Steelcaps and Thornmail help tanks (Thorns returns magic damage and Wounds when he attacks). None of it stops Haymaker’s true damage. Dodge that part. The full numbers are in the LoL items database, and bruisers who want to out-trade him can look at Black Cleaver.

When is Sett at his weakest?

Right after Haymaker. Once he spends his Grit, the shield is gone, the true damage is gone, and the ability sits on cooldown for 18 seconds at rank 1 (12 at rank 5). That window is where ranged tops win the lane, because Knuckle Down alone is two punches he still has to walk up to deliver. Can he force a fight in that window? Only with Facebreaker, and that needs you on both sides of him.

The other weakness is his range. At 125, Sett has no gap closer except the Move Speed from Knuckle Down, and a kited Sett is a very expensive minion. For what it’s worth, the same goes for The Show Stopper: he has to touch someone to carry them.

Top lane roles and what each one expects of you are in our guide to LoL roles; his looks are on the Sett skins page, and his single-lane game is covered in the Sett ARAM guide. In practice, Sett counters stay out of punching range, dodge or parry the Haymaker, and never stand between him and a minion.

FAQ

Who counters Sett the most?

Quinn and Kennen, who poke from outside his range; Jayce, who kites between two stances; Fiora, whose Riposte parries Haymaker; and Jax, whose Counter Strike dodges his punches.

Does Haymaker deal true damage?

Yes, in the center of the punch. The sides deal physical damage instead. Sett spends all stored Grit when he casts it and gains a shield.

How does Facebreaker stun?

It stuns only when enemies are on opposite sides of Sett and are pulled together. If all enemies are on one side, they’re slowed instead.

Why does Sett heal when low?

Pit Grit grants extra Health regeneration based on his missing Health, so the lower he is, the faster he regenerates.

How were these Sett counters chosen?

We compared his patch 26.21 ability text with each top laner’s kit. No win-rate statistics were used.