Master Kayn with these Builds and Runes - Kayn Guide
9 min read
4/18/2023
kayn build
blue kayn build
red kayn build

Master Kayn with these Builds and Runes - Kayn Guide

Master Blue Kayn and Red kayn with this Kayn guide. Learn how to build and dominate with our beginner's guide.


Kayn is a champion that can be played in both the jungle and top lane, but he truly shines in the jungle due to his mobility and ganking potential. As a jungler, Kayn's main objective is to clear camps efficiently and look for opportunities to gank lanes. His Shadow Step ability allows him to move through walls, making it easier for him to surprise enemies and secure kills.

One of Kayn's unique features is that he has two forms: Shadow Assassin and Darkin also known as Blue Kayn and Red Kayn. The form he takes depends on which type of enemy champions he deals more damage to during the game. Shadow Assassin is more focused on burst damage and mobility, while Darkin is more tanky with sustained damage.

When ganking as Kayn, communication with your laners is key. Coordination between you and your teammates will help ensure a successful gank. Look for overextended enemies or low health targets that you can quickly eliminate with your abilities.

To master Kayn in the jungle requires good map awareness, efficient farming, and effective ganking strategies. With practice and experience, you can become a formidable force on the Rift with this versatile champion.

The story of Kayn

Kayn was once a member of the Noxian army before becoming a shadow assassin. His story is one of internal struggle, power, and humanity. In this section, we'll dive into the story of Kayn and explore his journey from a soldier to a powerful shadow assassin.

Kayn's Journey

Kayn was born in Noxus and raised in an environment where strength was everything. He joined the Noxian army at a young age and quickly rose through the ranks due to his exceptional skills as a fighter. However, Kayn's desire for power soon consumed him.


During one mission, Kayn discovered Rhaast, a sentient weapon that granted him immense power but also threatened to consume him. The weapon spoke to Kayn and offered him even more power if he allowed it to take over his body completely.

The internal struggle between Kayn's desire for power and his humanity is a central theme in his story. As he continued to use Rhaast's power, he became more ruthless and lost touch with his emotions.

Shadow Assasian’s Skill Order vs Rhaast’s Skill Order

Kayn is a versatile champion in League of Legends, capable of transforming into either an assassin or a Darkin form. However, to maximize his potential as a champion, it's crucial to understand the basics of Kayn's skill leveling order and form.

Kayn's assassin form benefits from leveling up his Q ability first. Reaping Slash (Q) allows Kayn to quickly dash forward and deal damage to enemies in his path. This ability also has a low cooldown, making it useful for chasing down fleeing enemies or escaping dangerous situations.


On the other hand, Kayn's Darkin form benefits from prioritizing his W ability. Blade's Reach (W) allows Kayn to strike multiple enemies in front of him with his scythe, dealing significant damage and healing himself based on the number of champions hit. This ability is especially effective in team fights when Kayn can hit multiple enemies at once.


While, if you're playing as Kayn's assassin form, building items that increase his damage output such as Powler's Claw and Youmuu's Ghostblade may be more beneficial.

Social Proof:

According to League of Graphs (a website that provides statistics for League of Legends), Kayn has an overall win rate of 50.9% in Platinum+ ranked games worldwide. However, this win rate increases significantly when players prioritize leveling up their Q ability first in assassin form or W ability first in Darkin form.


For example, when players level up Shadow Step (Q) first in assassin form, their win rate jumps up to 53%. Similarly, when players level up Blade’s Reach (W) first in Darkin form, their win rate increases to 54%.

These statistics highlight just how important it is to understand the basics of skill leveling order and form when playing as Kayn. By prioritizing the correct abilities based on your team's needs and enemy composition, you can significantly increase your chances of winning games and climbing the ranks in League of Legends.

Builds for Blue Kayn and Red Kayn

Blue Kayn Build: Lethality and Burst Damage

Shadow Assassin Kayn is a popular pick in League of Legends due to his high mobility, burst damage, and assassination potential. To maximize his strengths, players should focus on building items that enhance his lethality and burst damage.

Prowler’s Claw is a must-have item for Shadow Assassin Kayn. This Mythic item provides him with additional mobility through its active ability, which allows him to dash towards an enemy champion and deal bonus damage. Youmuu's Ghostblade is another essential item that enhances Shadow Assassin Kayn’s lethality by providing additional armor penetration and movement speed.

Manamune may seem like an unusual choice for Shadow Assassin Kayn, but it can be extremely effective when used correctly. Since Shadow Assassin Kayn relies heavily on his abilities to deal damage, Manamune’s passive ability can provide him with a significant boost in damage output as he stacks it up over time.

In terms of boots, Ionian Boots of Lucidity are the best option for Shadow Assassin Kayn due to their cooldown reduction. With lower cooldowns on his abilities, he can use them more frequently and deal more burst damage.

Situational items like Guardian Angel can also be useful for Shadow Assassin Kayn since they provide survivability in team fights. If he gets caught out or focused down by the enemy team, Guardian Angel can give him a second chance at life.

Red Kayn Build: Sustain and Tankiness

Rhaast is another popular form of Kayn that focuses on sustain and tankiness rather than burst damage. To maximize Rhaast’s strengths, players should prioritize building items that provide sustain and tankiness.

Gore Drinker is a must-have item for Rhaast since it provides him with additional healing based on the damage he deals. This item also provides him with additional attack damage, ability haste, and omnivamp, making it an all-around great choice for Rhaast.

Black Cleaver is another essential item for Rhaast since it provides him with armor penetration and additional health. The passive ability of this item also allows him to shred the enemy’s armor over time, making his attacks even more effective.

Death's Dance is a great choice for Rhaast since it provides him with additional healing based on the damage he deals. This item also reduces incoming damage by a percentage, making him more difficult to kill in team fights.

Spirit Visage is an ideal choice for Rhaast due to its passive ability that enhances his healing from all sources. With this item, he can heal up quickly after taking damage in team fights or while clearing jungle camps.

Situational items like Randuin's Omen or Thornmail can be useful against physical damage dealers who are focusing down Rhaast. These items provide additional tankiness against physical damage and can help keep him alive in team fights.

Kayn Runes

Blue Kayn Runes

For Blue Kayn, the best primary rune is Dark Harvest. This rune provides burst damage that complements his playstyle. As a Shadow Assassin, Kayn excels at taking out squishy targets quickly and efficiently. With Dark Harvest, he can deal even more damage with each takedown. The secondary runes for Shadow Assassin Kayn should be Sudden Impact, Eyeball Collection, and Relentless Hunter.

Sudden Impact increases Kayn's mobility and damage output when he uses his E ability to dash through terrain or enemy champions. Eyeball Collection grants additional attack damage or ability power as he collects more eyeballs from champion takedowns or ward destructions. Relentless Hunter further enhances his mobility by granting out-of-combat movement speed after he takes down an enemy champion.

Red Kayn Runes

On the other hand, for Red Kayn, Conqueror is the ideal primary rune. This rune grants additional damage and sustain during extended fights which suits Rhaast's playstyle as a bruiser who can take on multiple enemies at once. The secondary runes for Rhaast Kayn should be Triumph, Legend: Tenacity, and Last Stand.

Triumph allows Rhaast to heal himself after taking down an enemy champion which helps him stay alive in team fights or skirmishes. Legend: Tenacity reduces crowd control duration on him as he gains stacks from attacking enemies while Last Stand increases his damage potential when facing enemy champions with low health.

Blue Kayn vs Red Kayn: Stats

Shadow Assassin is a high-risk, high-reward form that excels at taking out squishy targets quickly. With his superior mobility and damage output, he can easily eliminate enemies before they even know what hit them. On the other hand, Rhaast is a tankier option with more sustain and crowd control abilities. In this section, we'll take a closer look at the stats of these two forms to help you decide which one to choose for your next game.

Stats:

Blue Kayn has higher base movement speed (335) than Red Kayn(345). This means that he can move around the map faster and dodge enemy attacks more easily. However, Rhaast has higher base health (575) than Shadow Assassin (572), making him more durable in team fights.

In terms of attack damage, both champions have similar base values. Shadow Assassin starts with 63 AD while Rhaast begins with 68 AD. However, as the game progresses, Shadow Assassin's passive ability "The Darkin Scythe" allows him to deal bonus damage based on his target's missing health. This makes him especially deadly against low-health targets.

Tips and Tricks for Early Game Success: First Camp Trends and Jungle Paths

As a Kayn player, you know that the early game is crucial to your success. The way you start your jungle path can set the tone for the rest of the game. In this section, we'll discuss some tips and tricks for early game success, focusing on first camp trends and jungle paths.

Firstly, it's important to understand that different champions have different strengths and weaknesses in the early game. Some champions are better at clearing camps quickly, while others are better at ganking enemy champions. As Kayn, you have a unique advantage in that you can choose between two forms - Shadow Assassin or Rhaast - depending on what your team needs.


When starting out as Kayn, it's best to focus on clearing your own jungle camps first before attempting any ganks. This will give you time to level up and gain strength before engaging with enemy champions. Start by taking either Red Buff or Blue Buff (depending on which side of the map you're on), then move onto Raptors or Wolves.


One trend we've noticed is that many junglers tend to start at Red Buff before moving onto Krugs or Raptors. This can make them vulnerable to invades from enemy champions who may be waiting in the brush nearby. To avoid this, try starting at Blue Buff instead.

Another tip is to pay attention to terrain when choosing your jungle path. For example, if you're playing as Shadow Assassin, you might want to take advantage of walls and other obstacles to quickly move around the map undetected. On the other hand, if you're playing as Rhaast, you might prefer more open areas where you can engage enemies head-on.Finally, don't forget about vision control! Placing wards in strategic locations can help prevent enemy champions from sneaking up on you while also giving your team valuable information about their movements.


For those looking to take their Kayn gameplay to the next level, we highly recommend utilizing our League of Legends coaching and boosting services at OdinBoost, links are down below.

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