Cassiopeia is an AP DPS machine. She spams E like an ADC spams auto-attacks, poisons with Q/W, and R stuns entire teams. She can't buy boots — her passive gives MS, freeing a 6th item slot.
Abilities
Skills Overview
P
Serpentine Grace
Passive
All Move Speed bonuses are more effective on Cassiopeia.
Serpentine Grace: cannot buy boots. Gains MS per level instead. Spend boot gold on a 6th item.
Q
Noxious Blast
AoE · Poison · MS Buff
Cassiopeia blasts an area with Poison after a brief delay, granting her increased Move Speed if she hits an enemy champion.
CD: 3.5 · Cost: 50/55/60/65/70
Q poisons in an AoE and gives you MS if it hits a champion. Land Q before E spamming.
W
Miasma
Zone · Poison · Ground
Cassiopeia releases several clouds of poison, slowing, grounding, and lightly damaging enemies that pass through them. Grounded enemies cannot use Movement abilities.
CD: 24/22/20/18/16 · Cost: 70/75/80/85/90
W creates a poison zone that also GROUNDS enemies (prevents dashes). Devastating vs mobile champions.
E
Twin Fang
Point-Click · Spam · DPS
Cassiopeia lets loose an attack that deals increased damage to Poisoned targets and heals her for a percentage of the damage dealt. If the target dies from this attack, Cassiopeia regains Mana.
CD: 0.75 · Cost: 40
E is a low-cooldown point-and-click. On poisoned targets, it deals bonus damage and refunds mana. Spam it.
R
Petrifying Gaze
AoE · Stun/Slow · Cone
Cassiopeia releases a swirl of magical energy from her eyes, stunning any enemies in front of her that are facing her and slowing any others with their back turned.
CD: 120/100/80 · Cost: 100
R stuns enemies FACING you and slows enemies facing away. Use when enemies are running at you.
Skill Leveling Order — Max E first, then Q, then W · R at 6 / 11 / 16
| Level | Q | W | E | R | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Take E — DPS | ||||
| 2 | Take Q — poison | ||||
| 3 | Take W — ground zone | ||||
| 4 | Level E | ||||
| 5 | Level E | ||||
| 6 | R — Petrifying Gaze | ||||
| 7 | Level E | ||||
| 8 | Level Q | ||||
| 9 | E maxed ✓ | ||||
| 10 | Level Q | ||||
| 11 | R rank 2 | ||||
| 12 | Level Q | ||||
| 13 | Level Q | ||||
| 14 | Q maxed ✓ | ||||
| 15 | Level W | ||||
| 16 | R rank 3 | ||||
| 17 | Level W | ||||
| 18 | W maxed ✓ |
Itemization
Recommended Builds
Core Build
Archangel's Staff
Mana for E spam. Shield from Seraph's.
2600g
Rabadon's Deathcap
AP multiplier for E damage.
3600g
Rylai's Crystal Scepter
E slows enemies. Permanent kiting.
2600g
Void Staff
Magic pen.
2800g
Situational
Zhonya's Hourglass
Stasis.
3250g
Banshee's Veil
Spell shield.
2600g
Morellonomicon
Grievous wounds.
2500g
Tear → Archangel's → Deathcap → Rylai's. No boots — passive gives MS. You get a 6th item.
Runes
Sorcery Primary
Phase Rush
3 E hits proc Phase Rush for MS burst. Essential for kiting.
Manaflow Band
Bonus mana for E spam.
Transcendence
CDR.
Gathering Storm
Free AP scaling.
Precision Secondary
Presence of Mind
Mana sustain.
Legend: Tenacity
Tenacity — you're in closer range than most mages.
Shards
Adaptive Force · Adaptive Force · Health
Gameplay
How to Play Cassiopeia
01
Early Game
Q Poison → E Spam
- Q poison → E spam is your core pattern. E refunds mana on poisoned targets.
- Without boots, you're slower early. Respect ganks.
- Farm with E last-hits. Mana refund on poisoned minions.
- Q gives MS on champion hit. Land it before E spamming for kiting.
- Buy Tear first back.
02
Mid Game
DPS Mage = AP ADC
- Q → E E E E E is your DPS pattern. 5+ E casts per poison duration.
- W grounds enemies — they can't dash. Devastating vs Yasuo, Zed, etc.
- R stuns enemies FACING you. Turn fights by R-ing when they engage.
- Rylai's + E = permanent slow. They can never escape.
- Your DPS rivals ADCs with E spam + AP scaling.
03
Late Game
Highest Sustained AP DPS
- 6 items (no boots needed). You have more stats than anyone.
- E spam DPS is the highest sustained magic damage in the game.
- R into grouped enemies = 2-second AoE stun. Fight-winning.
- W ground zone prevents all dashes. Lock down mobile champions.
- Position like an ADC — behind frontline, E spamming.
Teamfighting
How to Teamfight as Cassiopeia
Cassiopeia E spams from behind her frontline like an AP ADC, then R stuns the enemy team.
1
Poison — Q + W
Setup
01
Q poison the priority target.
02
W ground zone on mobile enemies.
03
MS boost from Q hit.
E deals BASE damage without poison. ALWAYS Q/W first, then E spam.
2
DPS — E Spam
Sustained damage
01
E spam on poisoned targets.
02
5-6 E casts per Q poison duration.
03
Rylai's slow on each E.
3
Stun — R Petrifying Gaze
AoE CC
01
R when enemies run AT you. They're facing you = stun.
02
2-second AoE stun.
03
E spam during stun duration.
R stuns enemies FACING you, slows enemies facing AWAY. Use it when enemies are engaging on you for guaranteed stun, not when they're running.
Tips & Tricks
Advanced Mechanics & Hidden Tech
Advanced mechanics for Cassiopeia.
Basic
Poison First
E deals much more damage on POISONED targets and refunds mana. Always Q or W before E spamming.
Intermediate
No Boots
Passive gives MS per level. You can't buy boots — spend that gold on a 6th item.
Basic
E Spam
E has a 0.75s cooldown. Spam it on poisoned targets like an ADC spams auto-attacks.
Advanced
W Ground
W GROUNDS enemies — they can't use dashes, blinks, or teleports. Devastating vs Yasuo, Zed, Katarina.
Intermediate
R Direction
R stuns enemies FACING you. Use it when they're running at you. It only slows if they face away.
Basic
6th Item
Since you can't buy boots, you get a 6th full item. This is a massive stat advantage late game.
Matchups
Counters & Matchups
Cassiopeia struggles against long-range burst mages who kill her before E can ramp. She excels against melee champions she can poison and kite.
Click any matchup to expand tips & how to play against them
Loses Against
Syndra outranges your E and bursts before you ramp DPS.
Dodge her Q poke. All-in at 6 with R.
Xerath pokes from screen distance.
Roam. You can't reach him.
Lux outranges and one-shots with combo.
W ground her escape. All-in.
Wins Against
W grounds Yasuo — no dashes. R stuns him facing you.
W ground → E spam. He can't dash.
W grounds Katarina — no shunpo. R stuns her R channel.
W ground → she's immobile. E spam.
W ground prevents Fizz E. R stuns his engage.
W when he dashes. He's grounded.