Smolder is a stacking ADC. Farm Q on everything — minions, champions, monsters. At 225 stacks, Q becomes one of the most devastating abilities in the game with massive AoE explosions.
Abilities
Skills Overview
P
Dragon Practice
Passive
Hitting champions with Abilities and killing enemies with Super Scorcher Breath grants a stack of Dragon Practice. Stacks increase the damage of Smolders basic Abilities.
Dragon Practice: Q gains permanent stacks on champion/minion hits. At 25/125/225 stacks, Q evolves with bonus effects.
Q
Super Scorcher Breath
Skillshot · Stack · Evolve
Smolder breathes fire on an enemy. As he gains more stacks, this ability becomes more powerful.
CD: 5.5/5/4.5/4/3.5 · Cost: 25
Q is your main ability. Hit everything with it for stacks. At 225, it explodes on hit for massive AoE.
W
Achooo!
AoE · Slow · Terrain
Smolder lets out an adorable flaming sneeze that explodes when hitting enemy champions.
CD: 14/13/12/11/10 · Cost: 50/55/60/65/70
W drops fire that slows. Evolved at 125 stacks for bonus damage.
E
Flap, Flap, Flap
Dash · AoE
Smolder takes flight ignoring terrain and bombarding the lowest health enemy.
CD: 24/22/20/18/16 · Cost: 65
E is a short flight dash. Use for escaping.
R
MMOOOMMMM!
Global · AoE · Execute
Smolder calls his mom to breath fire from above, dealing extra damage and slowing enemies in the center of her fire.
CD: 120/110/100 · Cost: 100
R is a global AoE that deals %HP damage. Execute low targets from across the map.
Skill Leveling Order — Max Q first, then W, then E · R at 6 / 11 / 16
| Level | Q | W | E | R | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Take Q — stack farming | ||||
| 2 | Take W — slow | ||||
| 3 | Take E — dash | ||||
| 4 | Level Q | ||||
| 5 | Level Q | ||||
| 6 | R — MMOOOMMMM! | ||||
| 7 | Level Q | ||||
| 8 | Level W | ||||
| 9 | Q maxed ✓ | ||||
| 10 | Level W | ||||
| 11 | R rank 2 | ||||
| 12 | Level W | ||||
| 13 | Level W | ||||
| 14 | W maxed ✓ | ||||
| 15 | Level E | ||||
| 16 | R rank 3 | ||||
| 17 | Level E | ||||
| 18 | E maxed ✓ |
Itemization
Recommended Builds
Core Build
Essence Reaver
Sheen proc on Q spam. Mana sustain.
2800g
Berserker's Greaves
AS.
1100g
Infinity Edge
Q crit at high stacks deals massive damage.
3400g
Rapid Firecannon
Extended range for safe Q poke.
2500g
Situational
Lord Dominik's Regards
Armor pen.
2900g
Bloodthirster
Lifesteal.
3400g
Maw of Malmortius
Magic shield.
2800g
Essence Reaver → IE → RFC. Sheen Q spam while farming stacks.
Runes
Precision Primary
Fleet Footwork
Sustain + MS for safe farming.
Presence of Mind
Mana for Q spam.
Legend: Bloodline
Lifesteal.
Coup de Grace
Execute.
Sorcery Secondary
Absolute Focus
Bonus AD for poke.
Gathering Storm
Free AD scaling.
Shards
Adaptive Force · Adaptive Force · Health
Gameplay
How to Play Smolder
01
Early Game
Q Farm, Stack Obsessively
- Q every minion for stacks. Q gives stacks on hit, not on kill.
- Don't fight early. You're one of the weakest early ADCs.
- E is your escape. Never waste it aggressively.
- W slow helps set up ganks for your jungler.
- Track your stack count. 25 stacks = first Q upgrade.
02
Mid Game
Evolving Q, R Snipes
- At 125 stacks, Q gains bonus effects. Your poke gets dangerous.
- R is global %HP. Snipe low enemies across the map.
- Keep farming. 225 stacks is your real power spike.
- Play safe until 225. You're a ticking time bomb.
- Sheen Q poke chunks from distance.
03
Late Game
225 Stack AoE Monster
- 225 stacks = Q explodes on hit. Massive AoE damage.
- Every Q is a teamfight-winning ability at 225 stacks.
- R execute from across the map finishes fights.
- You're the hardest-scaling ADC. At 225+, you outDPS everyone.
- Continue stacking past 225. Each stack still adds damage.
Teamfighting
How to Teamfight as Smolder
At 225 stacks, Smolder Q is an AoE nuke that devastates teamfights.
1
Poke — Q Spam
Before fight
01
Q poke from range.
02
At 225 stacks, Q explodes for AoE.
03
W slow to zone.
Before 225 stacks, you're a mediocre ADC. Don't force fights early.
2
DPS — Q Explosions
AoE damage
01
Q hits explode for AoE at 225+.
02
Hit the frontline — explosions reach the backline.
03
Auto-attack between Q casts.
3
Execute — R Global
Cleanup
01
R to finish fleeing enemies globally.
02
R deals %HP — stronger on tanks.
03
E to escape if threatened.
225 stack Q explodes on the first target hit, dealing AoE behind. Aim at the frontliner to hit the backline with the explosion.
Tips & Tricks
Advanced Mechanics & Hidden Tech
Advanced mechanics for Smolder.
Basic
Stack Q
Q gives stacks on HIT, not kill. Q every minion, champion, and monster. Stack obsessively.
Intermediate
Stack Milestones
25 stacks = Q burn. 125 stacks = Q bonus damage. 225 stacks = Q AoE explosion. Track your count.
Basic
E Escape
E is your only escape. Never waste it. Save it for assassin dives.
Advanced
225 Stack Explosions
At 225, Q first target hit creates an explosion behind. Aim at frontliners to AoE the backline.
Basic
R Global
R is global %HP damage. Use to snipe low enemies or soften up objectives.
Intermediate
Farm Everything
Q minions, monsters, champions — everything gives stacks. More stacks = stronger Q forever.
Matchups
Counters & Matchups
Smolder struggles against aggressive early-game ADCs. He excels when left to farm to 225 stacks.
Click any matchup to expand tips & how to play against them
Loses Against
Draven kills you before you can stack.
Farm under tower. Don't trade. Outscale at 225 stacks.
Lucian's burst overwhelms your weak early.
Farm safely. You're a ticking time bomb.
Caitlyn outranges and bullies you.
Q farm from distance. Survive to 125 stacks.
Wins Against
Both scale but you have more utility with R.
Farm equally. You're both scaling — but R gives you global pressure.
Twitch is weak in lane. Free stacking.
Farm freely. Stack to 225.
Both waveclear — equal farm lane.
Match her farm. You outscale.