Fiddlesticks is a farming jungler who wins teamfights with perfectly placed Crowstorms. His clear is fast and healthy thanks to W drain. The entire game revolves around finding the right angle for R from fog of war.
Abilities
Skills Overview
P
A Harmless Scarecrow
Passive
Fiddlesticks' trinket is replaced by scarecrow effigies.
Passive places scarecrow effigies that act as wards. Place them in bushes to mimic your position and scare enemies.
Q
Terrify
Fear · Point-Click
Fiddlesticks damaging enemies with spells while unseen or targeting an enemy with Terrify's activation strikes a target unit with fear, causing it to flee in terror for a duration.
CD: 15/14.5/14/13.5/13 · Cost: 65
Q fears enemies. If cast from fog of war or while unseen, fear duration is doubled. ALWAYS engage from fog.
W
Bountiful Harvest
Channel · AoE · Drain
Fiddlesticks drains health from nearby enemies, dealing bonus execute damage at the end of the duration.
CD: 10/9.5/9/8.5/8 · Cost: 60/65/70/75/80
W is your sustain tool. Channel it on camps to heal massively. It deals more damage to low HP targets.
E
Reap
Silence · AoE · Bounce
Fiddlesticks slashes an area with its scythe, slowing all enemies hit and silencing enemies hit in the center of the slash.
CD: 10/9/8/7/6 · Cost: 40/45/50/55/60
E silences and bounces between targets. Use it in camps with multiple monsters for max bounces.
R
Crowstorm
Channel · Blink · AoE
A murder of crows flock wildly around Fiddlesticks, dealing damage per second to all enemy units in the area.
CD: 140/110/80 · Cost: 100
R channels for 1.5s then blinks you to the target location dealing massive AoE. Cast from over walls for surprise.
Skill Leveling Order — Max W first, then E, then Q · R at 6 / 11 / 16
| Level | Q | W | E | R | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Take W — drain sustain for clear | ||||
| 2 | Take Q — fear for safety | ||||
| 3 | Take E — silence + AoE bounce | ||||
| 4 | Level W | ||||
| 5 | Level W | ||||
| 6 | R — Crowstorm unlocked | ||||
| 7 | Level W | ||||
| 8 | Level E | ||||
| 9 | W maxed ✓ | ||||
| 10 | Level E | ||||
| 11 | R rank 2 | ||||
| 12 | Level E | ||||
| 13 | Level E | ||||
| 14 | E maxed ✓ | ||||
| 15 | Start leveling Q | ||||
| 16 | R rank 3 | ||||
| 17 | Level Q | ||||
| 18 | Q maxed ✓ |
Itemization
Recommended Builds
Starter Items
Gustwalker Smite
MS for repositioning between Crowstorm setups.
450g
Amplifying Tome
AP for clear speed.
435g
Core Build
Hextech Rocketbelt
Dash after R for repositioning. Magic pen for Crowstorm damage.
2600g
Sorcerer's Shoes
Magic pen stacking for maximum Crowstorm damage.
1100g
Zhonya's Hourglass
R into 5 people, Zhonya's while Crowstorm keeps ticking. Mandatory second item.
3250g
Rabadon's Deathcap
Multiplies your AP for devastating Crowstorms.
3600g
Situational
Void Staff
40% magic pen vs MR stackers.
2800g
Rylai's Crystal Scepter
Crowstorm permanently slows everyone in it. They can never escape.
2600g
Banshee's Veil
Spell shield protects R channel from being interrupted.
2600g
Rocketbelt → Zhonya's is mandatory. R in, Zhonya's, and Crowstorm keeps dealing damage while you're invulnerable.
Runes
Domination Primary
Dark Harvest
Crowstorm hits everyone — Dark Harvest procs on each low-HP enemy in the AoE.
Cheap Shot
Bonus damage on feared targets from Q.
Eyeball Collection
Free AP per takedown.
Ultimate Hunter
Lower R cooldown — Crowstorm should be up for every fight.
Inspiration Secondary
Magical Footwear
Free boots saves gold for Rocketbelt rush.
Cosmic Insight
Item + summoner spell haste.
Shards
Adaptive Force · Adaptive Force · Health
Gameplay
How to Play Fiddlesticks
01
Early Game
Full Clear, Avoid Fights
- Start Red → Raptors → Wolves → Blue → Gromp → Scuttle. Your AoE clear is one of the fastest in the game.
- W heals you through camps. You should finish full clear at near-full HP.
- Pre-6, your ganks are weak. Only gank if the enemy is extremely overextended and you can Q fear from a bush.
- Place passive scarecrows in river bushes as free wards. They also fear enemies who walk near them.
- Avoid 1v1s at all costs. You're a channeling mage, not a duelist.
02
Mid Game
Crowstorm Wins Teamfights
- Level 6 Crowstorm changes the game. Always R from fog of war (over walls, from bushes) for maximum fear.
- R → Zhonya's is your core combo. Blink into the enemy team, press Zhonya's, and Crowstorm keeps ticking.
- Dragon fights are your strongest. R from behind the pit wall into the enemy team for a surprise 5-man ult.
- Clear Control Wards before setting up R angles. If they see you channeling, they walk away.
- Communicate with pings before R. Your team needs to know you're going in.
03
Late Game
One R Wins the Game
- One good Crowstorm wins the game at this point. Your AoE damage with full items is catastrophic.
- Always position in fog of war before objectives. Bushes, over walls, behind terrain — never in plain sight.
- R → Flash extends your Crowstorm range. R over a wall, then Flash further into the enemy team.
- If your R is down, you're useless in fights. Do not engage without Crowstorm.
- Baron pit is your playground. R from over the wall into the pit for a steal + teamfight win.
Teamfighting
How to Teamfight as Fiddlesticks
Fiddlesticks wins teamfights with one button — Crowstorm from fog of war. Everything else is about setting up that one perfect R.
1
Setup — Find the Angle
Before the fight
01
Position in fog of war. Behind a wall, in a bush, or around a corner.
02
Wait for the enemy team to group. You want 3+ people in Crowstorm range.
03
Clear vision around your position. If they see you channel, they'll scatter.
R has a 1.5 second channel. If interrupted, it goes on full cooldown. NEVER channel where enemies can see you.
2
Engage — R + Zhonya's
The Crowstorm
01
R over the wall into the enemy team. The blink makes you appear instantly in the middle of them.
02
Immediately Zhonya's. You become invulnerable while Crowstorm keeps dealing AoE damage.
03
Q the nearest carry before Zhonya's for a free fear.
3
Aftermath — W Drain to Survive
After Zhonya's ends
01
W immediately when Zhonya's ends. Drain heals you back up while enemies are still taking Crowstorm damage.
02
E for the silence to prevent enemies from escaping.
03
Flash away if needed — you've already done your job.
R → Flash extends Crowstorm range. Start R behind a wall, then Flash deeper into the enemy team during the blink for maximum surprise.
Tips & Tricks
Advanced Mechanics & Hidden Tech
Advanced mechanics for Fiddlesticks.
Basic
Always R from Fog
Crowstorm from fog of war applies your passive fear to EVERYONE hit. From visible, it's just damage. Always, always R from out of vision.
Intermediate
Scarecrow Wards
Passive effigies act as wards and mimic your idle animation. Place them in bushes to trick enemies into thinking you're standing there. Free vision + mind games.
Advanced
R Flash Combo
You can Flash during Crowstorm's blink to extend the range. R over a wall, then Flash further into the enemy team. This catches enemies who think they're safe.
Basic
W Camp Healing
W heals you for a massive amount when channeled fully. Always let W complete its full channel on camps — don't cancel early.
Intermediate
Zhonya's Timing
Press Zhonya's IMMEDIATELY after R lands. Don't wait to Q or E first. The invulnerability protects you while Crowstorm deals damage.
Advanced
Objective Steals
R over Baron or Dragon pit wall for a surprise steal. Crowstorm damage + Smite is nearly impossible to outsmite.
Basic
AoE Clear Speed
Start raptors with W — your drain hits all of them at once. Fiddlesticks has one of the fastest full clears in the game because of AoE W.
Matchups
Counters & Matchups
Fiddlesticks struggles against champions who can interrupt his channels or invade him early. He excels against melee-heavy teams that group tightly.
Click any matchup to expand tips & how to play against them
Loses Against
Lee Sin invades you early, kicks you out of W channel, and his R interrupts Crowstorm channel.
Ward your jungle. Give up camps if invaded. You outscale him massively — don't die early.
Nocturne's spell shield blocks your Q fear and his R reveals the map, countering your fog-of-war play.
Wait for Nocturne to use spell shield on something else before using Q. Don't R when Nocturne R is up.
Shaco's boxes interrupt your W channel and his Q stealth lets him invade freely. He also splits the team so you can't 5-man R.
Sweep your jungle. Group with team. Force 5v5s where Shaco is useless.
Wins Against
Both want to teamfight, but your Crowstorm deals more damage than his entire kit. You win the AoE war.
R after Amumu engages. His R groups the enemy team perfectly for your Crowstorm follow-up.
Sejuani can't stop your R channel from fog and she can't peel Crowstorm damage off her team.
Let Sejuani engage first, then R from behind. Her engage + your R = enemy team deleted.
Karthus has no interrupt for your channels and your drain out-sustains his damage in 1v1.
W through his Q damage. You heal more than he deals. Contest his camps freely.