Playing against Alistar: what to respect and when
What Alistar threatens, which cooldowns open your safe window, and Riot's own notes on beating it.
What you are up against
Alistar is a tank that wants to start the fight on your terms and be the most costly thing to ignore. At 125 attack range Alistar has to walk into damage to deal it, so every trade begins with a decision about whether you can afford the walk.
That shapes the lane more than any item choice: you are deciding, every wave, whether to stand where it does its job.
The cooldowns that decide your safe window
Triumphant Roar
Alistar charges his roar by stunning or displacing enemy champions or when nearby enemies die. When fully charged he heals himself all nearby allied champions.
Pulverize
Alistar smashes the ground, dealing damage to nearby enemies and tossing them into the air.
Headbutt
Alistar rams a target with his head, dealing damage and knocking the target back.
Trample
Alistar tramples nearby enemy units, ignoring unit collision and gaining stacks if he damages an enemy champion. At full stacks Alistar's next basic attack against an enemy champion deals additional magic damage and stuns them.
Unbreakable Will
Alistar lets out a wild roar, removing all crowd control effects on himself, and reducing incoming physical and magical damage for the duration.
The window is the cooldown
Each of those numbers is a window. With its defining ability down, Alistar is a tank without the tool the whole kit is built around — that is when the lane is yours.
Alistar is mana-gated, which is the real limit on how often you can contest a wave early.
Riot's own notes on playing against Alistar
Worth reading even when you are the one playing Alistar: it is the list of what your opponent is being told to do to you.
- Alistar is very disruptive but very tough - try to target more fragile damage dealers.
- Watch out for the Pulverize-Headbutt combo when around turrets.
- When Alistar uses his ultimate, it's often better to move back and wait until the effect wears off before attacking him.
Where Alistar is strongest
| Stat | Level 1 | Level 18 |
|---|---|---|
| Health | 685 | 2725 |
| Attack damage | 62 | 62 |
| Armour | 40 | 119.9 |
| Magic resist | 32 | 66.9 |
Movement speed 335 and attack range 125 do not grow with levels — they are the two numbers that stay true all game.
Full Alistar page — abilities, stats and every skin →