Welcome to the ultimate guide on mastering Rakan, League of Legends' most charismatic support! Whether you're looking to dazzle in the bot lane or simply want to enhance your gameplay, this guide will equip you with all the tools you need to excel as Rakan. Known for his dynamic playstyle and exceptional mobility, Rakan isn’t just a support—he’s a game changer whose presence can turn the tide of battle.

In this guide, we’ll break down Rakan's abilities in detail, starting with his notorious W-R combo that can initiate fights with a flourish. We'll also explore the nuances of his Q and E abilities, ensuring you can sustain and protect your allies effectively. Then we’ll delve into advanced positioning tips to help you make the most of Rakan's agile nature, allowing you to weave through skirmishes and emerge unscathed.

And of course, the cherry on top is that we’ve sweetened the deal by sitting down with Dignitas Support, Jonah ‘Isles’ Rosario, to fill us in on what we should all strive for with Rakan.

Meet Rakan: Abilities Breakdown and Analysis

Rakan’s kit revolves around mobility, charm, and disruption. His Passive, Fey Feathers, provides him with a shield that refreshes periodically, making timing crucial for maximizing its defensive potential. Gleaming Quill (Q), is not just a poke tool; it also heals Rakan and nearby allies if it connects with an enemy champion, which is perfect for sustaining through lane harass.

The way I like to play Rakan early is to be aggressively sweeping wards in the enemies face and poke them with my Q, especially when I’m against a better matchup. The cooldown and mana cost of Q are so low that it’s pretty good reward for the risk.

- Isles

The real game-changer is Rakan's Grand Entrance (W). This ability allows Rakan to dash to a target area, knocking up all enemies upon arrival. It's a cornerstone for initiating team fights or peeling for teammates.

Battle Dance (E) gives Rakan exceptional mobility. He can dash to allied champions twice, shielding them each time. This makes him incredibly slippery in fights, have unique roaming opportunities, and lets him be a guardian angel in the most important moments!

Rakan’s W does allow him to bypass terrain which can allow him to be sneaky, but one thing that, if you have a mid laner with an engage spell and are roaming mid, you can stand behind your mid laner, like Qiyana for example, and just walk up to her, use your E, she can dash onto the enemy and snare them with her ice element, and you can E on her again and layer your CC easily. It’s a gank path that most other Supports cannot do and it pretty easily avoids enemy vision. That’s why Rakan generally synergizes best with champions with forms of engage.

- Isles

Lastly, Rakan’s ultimate, The Quickness (R), enables him to engage or disengage with flair. Upon activation, he gains a burst of speed and charms enemies he passes through, setting up devastating combos with his W or turning the tide of fleeing skirmishes.

Each of Rakan’s abilities seamlessly integrates with others, allowing for fluid, dynamic gameplay that keeps opponents on their toes. Whether you’re swooping in to save an ally or leading the charge into battle, understanding these abilities will ensure Rakan is a force to be reckoned with.

The Art of Engage: Mastering Rakan’s W and R Combo

If you're aiming to dominate the battlefield with Rakan in League of Legends, mastering his W (Grand Entrance) and R (The Quickness) combo is crucial. This combination is a cornerstone for turning team fights in your favor and securing victories for your team.

Layering R Charm with W Knockup

Start by activating Rakan’s ultimate, The Quickness, which grants him a significant speed boost and allows him to charm enemies he passes through. This move not only disrupts the enemy's formation but also makes them vulnerable to follow-up attacks. The key is to swiftly close the gap to your targets during the brief window when they are charmed.

Immediately after deploying The Quickness, use Grand Entrance (W). This ability causes Rakan to dash to a designated area and, after a brief delay, leap into the air, knocking up all nearby enemies. This knock-up is perfectly timed to capitalize on the disorientation caused by your ultimate, ensuring that enemies remain disabled for an extended period, thereby maximizing the effectiveness of your team's follow-up assaults.

The sequence of using R before W is critical because it maximizes the charm’s crowd control effect, allowing Rakan to seamlessly chain into his knock-up without giving enemies a chance to react. Timing and positioning are everything; being too far from your targets when initiating can lead to missed opportunities, while getting too close too soon can expose Rakan to counter-attacks.

It’s important to understand that this combo does have a 0.5 second delay and is not an instantaneous activation like it used to be. Thus, if you’re in a pinch and really need to make sure you chain your crowd control, the best thing to do is Flash onto the enemy after casting your ultimate.

Walk within Flash range so you can Ult-Flash right onto them and W right after to make sure you immediately layer your CC abilities. Most people still think you can R-W to instantly layer your CC but there’s been a 0.5 second delay for a while now that doesn’t make that combo as easy as it used to be. It’s a really useful combo when used against Champions that have an easy answer to your R-W combo. For example, if you want to engage on Xayah but she has her ultimate. If you instead take the R-Flash then W approach, she’s CC’d for 1.5 seconds without any real way to answer.

- Isles

Setting Up R-Flash

Dancing with Feathers: Positioning and Movement with Rakan

Mastering Rakan in League of Legends means not just knowing his abilities, but excelling in positioning and movement. Rakan's high mobility is his greatest asset, enabling swift engagements and strategic retreats that can change the course of team fights. Here’s how to make the most of his agility on the battlefield.

Firstly, understanding the range and cooldowns of Rakan’s abilities is crucial. His Grand Entrance (W) is perfect for quick dives into enemy lines or escaping sticky situations. Meanwhile, Battle Dance (E) allows him to leap to allies, providing shields and repositioning himself during skirmishes. This makes him slippery and difficult to pin down, giving his team various advantages during engagements.

His engage is usually so quick and usually risk free because of the way his E and W work. You can usually spontaneously engage and disengage if there’s any risk of danger.

- Isles

Positioning before a fight is just as important. Rakan should ideally stay out of sight to minimize the reaction time of opponents when he initiates with The Quickness (R). Using terrain such as bushes for cover can maximize the element of surprise, making it harder for enemies to counteract his engages.

Using Flank Angles

During teamfights, Rakan’s movements should be fluid and purposeful. He can dash in with The Quickness and immediately follow up with Grand Entrance to disrupt multiple enemies. After the engage, swiftly moving to the backline to shield and heal with Battle Dance keeps allies in fighting shape while Rakan himself stays relatively safe from counterattacks.

When it comes to the late game, you pretty much want to play the same way and look for some angles. It’s hard to engage first as Rakan, but if you keep track of enemy Summoner’s then you can really take advantage of his abilities. If not, then you definitely want to use it more in a follow up than the primary source of engage.

- Isles

In essence, Rakan’s effectiveness hinges on his ability to maneuver around the battlefield, leveraging his quickness and the protective capabilities of his abilities. By staying unpredictable and utilizing his mobility, Rakan can be a formidable support, turning the tide in his team’s favor while ensuring his own safety.

Warding Wins Games: Best Practices for Rakan Players

When playing Rakan in "League of Legends," effective warding can significantly enhance your team's performance. As a support, your role in providing vision is critical to controlling the map and making strategic plays. Here’s how to optimize your warding with Rakan.

Rakan’s safety is fantastic. His ability to sweep wards and get deep vision is really good compared to other Supports. You can pretty consistently get up into the enemy’s face and get deep vision and just be annoying. You want to take advantage of this and be annoying, get deep vision, and find creative angles to engage when you’re out of vision.

- Isles

Using E To Escape After Deep Wards

1. Strategic Control Ward Placement: Rakan players should make frequent use of Control Wards. These are essential not only for revealing and disabling enemy wards but also for spotting stealthed champions like Evelynn or Twitch. Position these wards in high traffic areas to maximize their utility and ensure they cover key pathways or objectives.
2. Adapting the Trinket Choice: Early in the game, start with the Warding Totem to establish initial vision. As the game progresses, switching to the Oracle Lens (Red Trinket) upon completing your warding quest item is crucial. This change allows you to clear enemy vision effectively, paving the way for safer team movements and objective controls.
3. Effective Warding Spots During Laning: In the early phase, placing wards in the river bush can alert you to enemy jungler movements. As Rakan, you can easily place these wards without leaving your lane, maintaining pressure while ensuring safety. This practice is particularly important when facing aggressive enemy junglers known for early ganks.
4. Advanced Warding in Mid to Late Game: Later in the game, focus on deep warding in the enemy jungle and around major objectives like Baron or Dragon. Use the Farsight Alteration for distant warding post-level 9 if you're playing a role that isn't support, ensuring you can monitor these critical areas safely from afar.

By mastering these warding techniques, you can significantly impact the game's outcome, helping your team secure victories through superior vision control.

Build to Succeed: Core Items and Situational Adaptations for Rakan

When playing Rakan in "League of Legends," selecting the right items is crucial for maximizing his support capabilities. Rakan's item build should enhance his natural strengths—mobility, crowd control, and utility. Here's how to gear up Rakan for success on the Summoner's Rift.

Core Items:

1. Knight's Vow - This item pairs well with Rakan, allowing him to protect key teammates by redirecting some of the damage they would take to himself and healing from their damage output.
2. Locket of the Iron Solari - Providing a protective shield to nearby allies, this item enhances Rakan’s role as a protector, especially during crucial team fights where burst protection can make a significant difference.
3. Ionian Boots of Lucidity - These boots are great for Rakan due to the cooldown reduction they offer, enabling him to use his abilities more frequently, which is vital given his role as an active engager and peeler.

Situational Items:

• Zeke's Convergence - This item synergizes well with Rakan's ability to engage, enhancing both his and his ally's damage output following his ultimate. It's an essential item that boosts his utility in team fights.
• Trailblazer - This item item synergizes with Rakan because of the movement speed it provides him and his allies. It helps Rakan carve his way into the fight and make space for his teammates to follow up!
• Redemption - An excellent choice for larger team fights, providing healing and damage in a significant area, which can swing skirmishes in your favor.

Adapting Your Build: Rakan’s build can vary significantly based on the team composition and the flow of the game. If facing heavy magic damage, consider incorporating items like Mikael's Blessing for additional magic resistance and utility. For more armor and cooldown reduction, Frozen Heart can be a valuable addition, especially against heavy attack speed reliant champions.

Using these items effectively requires understanding both Rakan's role in the team and the specific threats posed by the enemy composition. Always consider the state of the game and adapt your item choices to what will most benefit your team's chances of securing victory.

Synergy in the Bot Lane: Ideal ADC Partners for Rakan

Rakan's dynamic support style makes him an excellent partner for many ADCs in "League of Legends," thanks to his ability to engage, disengage, and protect. Let's delve into some ADC champions that particularly shine when paired with Rakan.

1. Xayah: It's no surprise that Xayah tops the list. As Rakan's canonical partner, their abilities are designed to complement each other. Xayah and Rakan together unlock enhanced abilities, making them a fearsome duo in the bot lane. Their combined crowd control and damage output can dominate lane opponents and control team fights.

2. Zeri: Zeri is almost like a long-lost sister in a way. What Rakan does well, Zeri does too!

Zeri is really good at playing defensive and snap engaging as soon as she hits 6. Rakan is the same way and can both play out that level 1-6 well to get to that symmetrical power spike.

- Isles

3. Twitch: This pairing excels in ambush tactics. Twitch's stealth combined with Rakan’s quick engage can catch enemies off guard, leading to devastating results. Rakan’s ability to jump in and out of combat protects Twitch, allowing him to safely deal damage.

Each of these ADCs brings unique strengths that, when allied with Rakan's versatile skill set, can lead to a commanding presence on the battlefield. Whether through strategic AOE synergies, burst damage, or chase potential, Rakan's adaptability makes him a valuable support to these ADCs.

Synergy Around the Map

It’s always hard to look at Supports and what other picks might work in isolation unless it’s the bot lane partner. But, looking at Rakan’s strengths and weaknesses, it’s a little easier than most to identify.

1. Top Lane: The ideal top laner for Rakan is a Champion that can be the primary engage for the team. If not, then at least they’ll be the primary tank for the team. Rakan doesn’t exactly fit into either of those camps, so it’s important to diversify within the team and cover Rakan’s strengths. In an ideal world, his engage is used as follow up, or disengage! Think champions like Malphite, Gragas, or even Kled!
2. Jungle: The jungle situation is pretty similar to the top lane. Cover Rakan’s weaknesses. It’s fine to have a more damage-oriented champion here, as long as they also fulfill another piece of the team. Usually that means engage. Think of champions like Wukong, Vi, or Hecarim!
3. Mid: The mid lane is definitely the trickiest piece. It’s always important to think about mid/jungle synergy. Consider mid/jungle synergies that are amplified by Rakan’s strengths. A great example of this is the Diana/Yasuo combo!

Common Mistakes Rakan Players Make and How to Avoid Them

Playing Rakan in "League of Legends" offers a thrilling support role experience, but certain common mistakes can hinder your effectiveness. Here’s how to avoid these pitfalls and enhance your gameplay:

A lot of people forget about certain interactions with Rakan that can really stunt his engage. The most prominent are Poppy and Taliyah. These matchups are really difficult for Rakan when entering the fight first. These interactions can stop him easily. So when these champions are in the game, you need to be a little bit more creative to make angles like this work. But you have to consider this beforehand.

- Isles

1. Overreaching with Engagements: One frequent error is misjudging Rakan’s engage distance, leading to risky plays where backup from the team isn't assured. To avoid this, always ensure your team is close enough to follow up on your initiations before diving in.
2. Mismanagement of Ability Cooldowns: Rakan's effectiveness relies heavily on the proper use of his abilities, especially his W (Grand Entrance) and R (The Quickness). Using these prematurely or without purpose can leave you vulnerable. Practice the timing and coordination of these abilities in various game scenarios to optimize their impact.
3. Inefficient Warding: Placing wards without maximizing their vision potential is a common oversight. Ensure that your wards cover strategic areas that provide valuable information about enemy movements. This not only prevents ganks but also secures objectives. Place wards at the edges of bushes to maximize vision coverage and avoid common paths that enemies might use to evade detection.
4. Neglecting Wave Management: Supports, including Rakan, can influence lane control. Help your ADC manage minion waves by understanding when to push, freeze, or thin the wave. This control can dictate lane dominance and make it easier to secure kills or force the enemy to miss minions.
5. Sticking Too Closely to the ADC: While it's crucial to protect your ADC, Rakan’s mobility allows him to impact other areas of the map effectively. Utilize opportunities to roam, place deep wards, or assist other teammates when your ADC is safe or when you've pushed the lane sufficiently.

By addressing these common errors, you can elevate your Rakan gameplay, making you a formidable ally and a daunting foe on the battlefield.

Conclusion: Becoming a Rakan Maestro

Congratulations on reaching the end of our comprehensive guide to mastering Rakan! By now, you should be well-equipped with the knowledge to charm your way to victory. Whether you're swooping into team fights with the perfectly timed Grand Entrance or safeguarding your allies with Battle Dance, Rakan’s versatility makes him a formidable presence on the battlefield.

We’d like to thank Isles for taking the time to sit down with us for this interview! If you’ve still got any more burning questions about playing Rakan in Season 14, check out Isles’s socials and ask him for more of his thoughts!

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