LoL Wild Rift Kassadin Build & Guide (Patch 5.0) - Runes, Counters, Items, Ability Analysis

S+ Tier

Class: Assassin

Recommended Lane: Mid

Best Kassadin Wild Rift build guide for Season 11 Patch 5.0 of WR. With our Kassadin guide you will learn which items to build, runes to select, skill order, who counters Kassadin, and how to use abilities properly.

Recommended Builds

Starting Item

Boots

Core Items

Complete Build

Runes

Starting Item

Boots

Core Items

Complete Build

Runes

Under the robes of a pilgrim hides a man brimming with agony, and the Nether Blade in his hands. A known Shuriman traveler who vowed vengeance for his village that was once devoured by the void. Kassadin is a melee mage assassin that uses void energy in facing monsters that he shall take down.

Kassadin Wild Rift Build Recommendation

Here are Item Build Recommendations that works on this champion and which are the best build for Kassadin Wild Rift in this patch.

Scaling Riftwalker

Void Staff [This item has been removed from WR]

This is a double scaling route due to the presence of Rod of Ages and Archangel’s Staff. A highly preferred build as both items provide mana which is necessary for sustaining Kassadin. Rabadon’s Deathcap and Void staff allow Kassadin to deal more damage. Crystalline reflector on the other hand is a situational item that you may want to equip as it fills Kassadin’s lack of armor, especially when there’s a fed AD champion.

The Voidwalker

This item build is a bit aggressive and is leaning to a strong early-game Kassadin. Each item provides a high amount of AP and magic penetration that is meant to shred enemy’s hp. However, this is an extremely risky build as this will cause Kassadin to become squishy.

Runes for Kassadin in Wild Rift

Electrocute remains to be Kassadin’s best-in-slot keystone as it gives a decent amount of damage that you will need in the early game to outtrade your enemies. Other keystone that you may take are Conqueror and Fleet Footwork. Fleet footwork works better when fighting against champions that can hard counter Kassadin.

First rune build prioritizes sustain over anything else. Triumph restores 10% of missing health after champion takedowns. Nullifying Orb enables you to gain a shield upon reaching a certain amount of HP. While, Sweet Tooth doubles the healing upon taking honeyfruit.

The former works well in maintaining Kassadin’s life as his damage also increases due to the passive of Gathering Storm that grants him adaptive force per level. Second wind restores health every 5 seconds, while Manaflow Band increases your maximum mana for up to 300.

Spells

Despite having an ability that enables you to teleport from one location to another, Flash is still the best option for Kass in Wild Rift. Kassadin is highly susceptible to ganks during the early game as the opponents would want to take him down before he can even scale for the late game. Pre-level 5, Kassadin has no other means of escape aside from his ultimate. With a flash however, he can save himself from dying. Likewise, Riftwalker can also be accompanied by a flash when trying to secure a kill.

Kassadin often shines during late-game. However, his journey will be a lot easier if he manages to gain an early lead from kills. Ignite enables him to deal a few more damages while also reducing the incoming heal to the target enemy.

Skill Order

Kassadin obtains his powerspike upon reaching level 9 and level 13 where he can upgrade his ultimate. Not only will it increase his damage input, but will also reduce the cooldown of his Riftwalker allowing him to stack it rapidly. As for his other abilities, it is advisable for him to focus on his ranged abilities namely, his Null Sphere and Force Pulse. Between the two, Null Sphere is a better option to maximize after your ultimate as it deals higher damage than the latter.

Abilities

Void Stone

Passive

Casting abilities near visible enemies grants him a shield that absorbs 50 (50 + 30% Ability Power) magic that lasts for 1.5 seconds. Void stone has a nine-second cooldown.

Null Sphere

Active

Fires an orb of void energy that deals 80-275 (80 + 80% Ability Power) magic damage to the nearest enemy and silences the first enemy hit for 1s.

Nether Blade

Active

Empowers his blade to enhance his next attack. Kassadin gains 250 attack range, deals 50-140 magic damage and recovers 5% of his missing mana (increases to 25% against champions)

If the Nether Blade kills the target, the skill cooldown is reduced by 50%.

Force Pulse

Active

Force Pulse fires a cone of 60-180 magic damage (60 + 50% Ability Power) that slows down the target enemy by 30% for 1 second. Kassadin also will gain a charge whenever a spell is cast near him.

Upon reaching six charges, Force pulse’s magic damage will be increased by 50% and slow for 90%.

Riftwalk

Active

Kassadin teleports to an area and deals 80-120 magic damage (80 + 30% Ability Power + 2% mana) to surrounding opponents.

Each succeeding Riftwalk within the 12 seconds deals 50% more damage and consumes 200% mana, stacking up 3 times.

Combo:

R + Normal attack + W + E + Q

E + Q + R + Normal attack + W

Abilities Analysis

Passive: Void Stone

When Kassadin casts a skill near an enemy, he will gain a magic shield. This allows him to become a bit stronger than champions that rely on magic attacks. Take advantage of his passive in mitigating attacks that can otherwise make you lose a lot of HP.

Q | 1st: Null Sphere

Kassadin unleashes a cone of void energy that deals magic damage and silences the enemy for 1 second. Unlike his PC version, Kassadin’s Null Sphere is now a skill shot rather a Point-and-Click ability, similar to the changes with Annie’s Disintegrate and Miss Fortune’s Double Up. With that being said, his Null Sphere can now also be used in facechecking or when attempting to attack invisible targets. However, it will be easier to miss and can get blocked by enemy minions. Likewise, Kassadin used to only disrupt channeling abilities such as Diana’s Moonfall and Katarina’s Death Lotus. Now, he’s able to silence any abilities at will.

Utilize the range of his Null Sphere to either secure an enemy minion or poke your opponents from a safe distance. Null sphere can also be used in preventing or delaying champions from casting skills that may even bring you death.

W | 2nd: Nether Blade

Nether Blade enhances his blade, allowing his next attack to gain 250 in range, additional magic damage, and restore his lost mana. It is useful, especially when fighting against ranged champions as once Nether Blade is activated, his increased attack range will allow you to safely hit your opponent or last hit a minion from a short distance. Using nether blade would also provide you an instant auto attack reset that you can take advantage of along with your other abilities. To maximize his damage, you can do a normal attack-nether blade-normal attack.

Kassadin is known to be a mana-hungry champion due to his ultimate and this ability saves him from that problem. Not only can it damage enemies but it also offers mana restoration and an ability he can rely on particularly in team fights when he is out of mana.

E | 3rd: Force Pulse

Kassadin fires a cone of void pulse to enemies in front of him. This will enable him to deal magic damage and apply slow effects. Once the force pulse is activated, he will automatically gain a charge and will gain another when an ability is cast near him. Upon getting six charges, Force Pulse will be enhanced. His magic damage will increase by 50% and the slow effect by 90%. This ability is more effective in teamfights as each ability cast by everyone else can contribute charges, hence you will quickly enhance your Force Pulse.

This is rather different from the PC version as Wild Rift’s Kassadin can cast Force Pulse even prior to reaching six charges.

R | Ultimate: Riftwalker

Riftwalker is considered to be his bread and butter. His ultimate ability allows him to teleport a short distance and deal great damage to enemies upon landing. It is a highly functional ability as it can be used in an aggressive manner, catch enemies or a way to escape. Most importantly, it has a very short cooldown.

By the same token, Kassadin’s Riftwalker makes him a late-game monster. He may be relatively weak in the early game but he, with his ultimate, can delete a champion in an instant with his insane damage output during the late game phase. Each subsequent blink allows him to deal more damage and can stack for up to 3 times. The only downside is that each Riftwalker would double the mana cost. That’s why it is advisable to constantly check your mana bar.

Kassadin Early Game Guide

Kassadin shines best during the late game, but it will take skills and discipline in order to carry the game. He is rather weak in the early game so, it is recommended to stay passive and avoid taking free damage from the enemies. Just focus on farming and keep trading at minimum until you’re at level 5. You can take advantage of the range of your Null sphere and your Force Pulse to last hit minions. At the same time, you can proc the magic shield from your passive when the enemy tries to harass you. Make the most of your netherblade as well by using it for the auto attack reset, securing minions and sustaining your mana.

Only play aggressive when you already unlocked your Riftwalker unless an ally decides to gank your lane for an early kill. Go for trades and kills if it’s safe to do so especially if you’re accompanied by your jungler or support. Getting stomped on in the early phase makes it difficult for Kassadin, so make sure to avoid that.

Post level 5, prioritize reaching level 15 as soon as you can by taking all the resources you can get. Roaming is a viable option as it can grant you a kill or two and can get an early lead off of it. Assess whether it is a good and safe decision to do. One of the worst things that could happen to a Kassadin is dying as it will delay your power spike.

Also as a Kassadin player, you should never miss Cs. You may try to split up and take the side lanes. Not only will it allow you to scale better, but it can also distract your enemies and take down their turrets.

Kassadin Late Game Guide

This is where Kassadin steals the spotlight. Thanks to his fully upgraded Ultimate. Now that it can deal burst damage with a very short cooldown, he can then begin assassinating squishy opponents with a single and fully-stacked Riftwalker. In the late game, seek out enemies that you can pick that will put your team one step closer to winning the game. With his ultimate at maximum, his mobility will get higher and may even allow him to flank on the enemy and surprise them.

Synergies

Kassadin is generally weak early game and can be countered by anyone, especially AD champions. With that being said, Kassadin may sometimes suffer in the laning phase due to this limitation. However, a jungler that can gank early such as Lee Sin can make his life bearable. With a successful gank, opponents may burn their spells or perhaps it can grant you a kill. Either way, this will put Kassadin at an advantage.

Aside from her massive heal, Yuumi can also boost Kassadin’s movement speed allowing him to place himself in a better position when trying to pick off enemies. When attached, Yuumi provides adaptive force, completely enhancing the Kassadin’s damage input.

All Kassadin Wild Rift Counter Champions

There are a lot of champions that counter Kassadin in Wild Rift in early game (before level 5) but two champions are particularly problematic for him. Overall most ranged champions and AD mid laners are pretty strong against him in early.

Kassadin’s passive can only shield him from magic damage. Hence, he is heavily countered by AD champions such as Zed. Zed with his abilities can take chunks of HP off of Kassadin, and eventually destroy him. Furthermore, Zed can easily follow up to a gank in a blink.

Pantheon, similar to Zed is also an AD champion that is strong against Kassadin. He can harass Kassadin with his Comet Spear, dash towards him and stun him with Shield Vault and even block most of his abilities with Aegis Assault. Pre-level 5, Pantheon can easily take him down.

Pros & Cons About Kassadin

Here are some pros and cons if you are playing with Kassadin in Wild Rift.

Pros

Due to the short cooldown of his Riftwalker, he can teleport from one position to another quickly. Even allowing him to flank the enemy team.
Splitpushing is one thing he’s good at due to his great waveclear and high mobility. Nether Blade can also be used against turrets.
Some assassins fall off late game which is quite the opposite with Kassadin. Kassadin is meant to scale into the late game and is considered to be one of the strongest assassins. Under the right hands and a fully-stacked Rift Walker, he can immediately delete the enemy carry or support with a quick combo.
He’s best when fighting against AP champions as his passive, Void Stone allows him to gain a magic shield that can block off several magic damage.
His ultimate Riftwalker also gives him the ability to enter teamfights and escape with ease.

Cons

Kassadin has low base armor and can only shield against magic damage, hence AD champions such as Zed, Pantheon, Akshan and Lucian can make the laning phase and scaling per se, difficult for him.
He is weak early game. He must focus on farming and not dying, otherwise scaling into the late game would be impossible for him.
Before level 5, Riftwalker cannot be unlocked. He has no other means of escape nor a hard peeling ability aside from his silence and slow. With that being said, Kassadin can be vulnerable to ganks.
Kassadin is a melee champion, making it harder to lane against ranged ones.

FAQ's About Kassadin in Wild Rift

What role / lane should I play with Kassadin in Wild Rift?

Traditionally, Kassadin is positioned in the middle lane due to its short distance. Consequently, it also supplies the fastest income of gold and experience which highly favors Kassadin. Reaching level 15 and gaining powerspikes from his ultimate and items should be his priority in order to scale late game.

Some players however grew fond of bringing him to the top lane. Kassadin has a higher chance of winning against AP top/tank champions, thanks to his passive. But difficulties will arise if you’re laning against AD bruisers such as Irelia, Camille and Jayce.

What abilities do I level up with Kassadin?

Prioritize your Ultimate as this will be your highest source of damage, and also reduces the cooldown. Upgrade it as soon as you can. As for his other abilities, you may pick between his first ability (Null Sphere) or third (Force pulse).

Which keystone should I use when playing as Kassadin?

Kassadin isn’t that strong in the early game but you may take advantage of the Electrocute to deal additional damage to the enemy upon landing three consecutive attacks. On the other hand, if you’re fighting against AD lane bullies, you might want to consider Fleet Footwork as it can provide healing and a boost on your movement speed.

How to solve Kassadin's mana issues?

Kassadin possesses a rewarding ultimate as it allows you to travel from one spot to another instantly, and even inflict a large amount of damage. But the downside of this ultimate, is the more you use your ultimate, the more you’ll lose mana. Each subsequent Riftwalk can consume 200% mana, making Kassadin a mana-hungry champion. This can however be solved by equipping items that provide mana such as Rod of Ages and Archangel’s staff. It is also advisable to take the blue buff as there is no item in the game that can help in regenerating mana.

When to pick Kassadin in Wild Rift?

While Kassadin is considered to be one of the strongest late-game assassins, blind picking him is not recommended as he has plenty of champions that can destroy him from early to late. If the enemy team picks an AD champion like Zed and Pantheon, you may want to pick another champion. In general, Kassadin counters AP champions because of his passive.