Does Lucian climb? An honest read
Whether Lucian is a good climbing pick, judged on what the kit demands and what it hands you for free.
What the kit asks of you
Riot rates Lucian at 6 out of 3 for difficulty. Blunt, but it tracks something real: how much of the champion's power sits behind execution rather than being handed to you.
500 attack range means Lucian wins by not being where the fight is. Spacing is the whole skill, not a detail of it.
The kit you are being asked to execute
Lightslinger
Whenever Lucian uses an ability, his next attack becomes a double-shot. When Lucian is healed or shielded by an ally, or when a nearby enemy Champion is immobilized, his next 2 basic attacks will deal bonus magic damage.
Piercing Light
Lucian shoots a bolt of piercing light through a target.
Ardent Blaze
Lucian shoots a missile that explodes in a star shape, marking and briefly revealing enemies. Lucian gains Move Speed for attacking marked enemies.
Relentless Pursuit
Lucian quickly dashes a short distance. Lightslinger attacks reduce Relentless Pursuit's cooldown.
The Culling
Lucian unleashes a torrent of shots from his weapons.
The case for
A marksman that can deal damage every second of a fight from behind people who can absorb one scales with individual skill rather than coordination — and coordination is exactly what you cannot rely on in the lower ranks.
The case against
The counter-argument is stepping forward for one more auto-attack — a habit the lower ranks reward right up until they suddenly do not, which makes it hard to unlearn later.
Lucian is mana-gated, which is the real limit on how often you can contest a wave early.
Where the power actually is
| Stat | Level 1 | Level 18 |
|---|---|---|
| Health | 641 | 2341 |
| Attack damage | 60 | 60 |
| Armour | 28 | 99.4 |
| Magic resist | 33 | 51.7 |
Movement speed 335 and attack range 500 do not grow with levels — they are the two numbers that stay true all game.
Riot's own notes on playing against Lucian
Worth reading even when you are the one playing Lucian: it is the list of what your opponent is being told to do to you.
- Lucian has strong burst, but little sustained damage.
- Lucian cannot change the aim of The Culling. Take advantage of this by avoiding the angle of the bullets.
- Piercing Light does not give Lucian extra Attack Range. He still needs to find a target in range to line up his shot. Avoid Piercing Light by anticipating the angle Lucian will choose.