Smolder is League of Legends' newest dragon ADC. Like any new champion in LoL, many players want to try him out, but getting good with him takes practice. In this article, we'll explore some tips and tricks for better gameplay with Smolder and we will help you climb solo queue with the dragon easily:
Table of Contents
Smolder Abilities
Before getting into the tips and tricks, let's take a quick look at Smolder's abilities. Unlike other ADC champions in League of Legends, Smolder doesn't rely on Auto Attacks due to his limited range. Instead, players need to focus on his spells.
Passive
Dragon Practice
- When Smolder hits champions with abilities and kills them with Super Scorched breath, he's granted a stack of Dragon Practice. Stacking it increases his basic ability damage.
Q
Super Scorcher Breath
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Smolder belches flame at his enemies. This ability evolves as it's stacked:
- 25: Damages all enemies surrounding the target.
- 125: Sends explosions behind the target that deal 75% of this spell’s damage.
- 225: Burns the target dealing max health true damage over 3 seconds. Enemy champions that drop below a total health threshold while burning are killed instantly.
W
Achooo!
- Smolder lets out a fiery sneeze, damaging and slowing enemies hit. Hitting champions causes an additional explosion.
E
Flap, Flap, Flap
- Smolder takes flight, gaining Move Speed and ignoring terrain for 1.25 seconds. While flying, Smolder attacks the lowest health enemy.
R
MMOOOMMMM
- Smolder’s mom breathes fire from above, dealing extra damage and slowing enemies in the center of her fire. Smolder’s mom also heals her son if she hits him.
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Smolder in the Draft Phase
Champion Bans: Smolder can be destroyed easily by long-range champions on the Summoner's Rift, such as Caitlyn, Sivir, Brand, Xayah, and Jinx, who counter him.
- The more ranged champions the enemy Ranked team has, the more challenging your performance will be. Smolder is good against melee champions.
Smolder Runes: Currently, Smolder players prefer Conqueror runes paired with Inspiration for free boots and biscuits.
Smolder Items: The core item for Smolder is Essence Reaver, giving him attack damage, critical strike, and ability haste. After using an ability, your next attack deals extra damage and restores mana. Follow up with Ionian Boots and Navori Quickblades for more crit.
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Cons and Weak Sides of Smolder
Smolder has a small attack range, and this is something LoL players need to keep in mind. This ADC will have to be very close to the enemy laner to attack them. This will undoubtedly give a lot of advantage to long-range champions such as Caitlyn.
Smolder's ultimate, MMOOOMMMM, has a lockout, meaning while he's calling out for his mom, you won't be able to move him or do anything else. This makes you vulnerable to attacks from other players on Summoner's Rift.
A big disadvantage for Smolder is his inability to auto smoothly between spells. This makes classic ADC combos such as AA+Q+AA not viable for him.
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Smolder Combos
As mentioned earlier, the ADC combo of AA+Q+AA or AA+W+AA isn't ideal for Smolder due to animation delays. Instead, try moving between Auto Attacks. Kiting is a great solution for this spell problem. Try using the AA+Q+Kite+AA combo on Smolder.
Smolder players should try combos like Q+Flash and W+Flash for smoother animations. It's important to note that you can't pair Smolder's Ultimate with a Flash due to the loading time during which he calls forth his mom.
While using E, you can't perform other actions, or you'll cancel the ability. For better Solder gameplay, use Q and W before casting E. This way, you'll have enough time to fly until the cooldown of the other two abilities is over.
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Lane & Team Fights Tips and Tricks
Super Scorching Breath: Smolder stacks his Q ability. It would be great if you learn how to play around this ability because it can become your main source of amazing damage. Make sure to max out Super Scorching Breath first. Stacking for his passive is important, and you need to focus on it.
Don't Waste Your Ult: Currently, Smolder's R is easy to avoid, making him vulnerable to attacks. Use it to your advantage and activate it when the enemy is either out of movement abilities and spells or immobilized by your support (or any other player on your LoL team).
Max Range: Try to keep a minion between yourself and the enemy you're trying to attack to maximize your range, similar to the way you would play Miss Fortune.
We hope our tips have got you covered for your early Smolder games in LoL! He's a blast to play and has a lot of damage. Remember, in those first days post-release, don't accidentally throw your Normal or Ranked games by not getting the hang of him yet!
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