Laning as Sylas: when to trade and when to wait
Wave management and trading windows for Sylas, built from its real range, resource and ability costs.
What your range lets you do
At 175 attack range Sylas has to walk into damage to deal it, so every trade begins with a decision about whether you can afford the walk.
Sylas is mana-gated, which is the real limit on how often you can contest a wave early.
The costs that decide how often you can contest
Petricite Burst
After casting a spell, Sylas stores a charge of Petricite Burst. Sylas's basic attacks will expend a charge and whirl his energized chains around him dealing bonus magic damage to enemies hit. While Sylas has a charge of Petricite Burst, he gains attack speed.
Chain Lash
Sylas lashes his chains out, intersecting at his targeted location dealing damage to and slowing enemies. After a delay, magical energy explodes from the intersection point dealing damage.
Kingslayer
Sylas lunges at an enemy with magical force dealing damage and healing himself against enemy champions.
Abscond / Abduct
Sylas dashes to a location. Sylas can recast the ability to throw his chains out, pulling himself to an enemy he hits.
Hijack
Sylas steals the enemy's ultimate ability and can cast it freely.
The wave decides the trade
Trades are won by the wave before they are won by the champion. Standing in the larger minion wave means taking chip damage for every second the exchange lasts.
Sylas wants to land a cooldown for a burst of damage, then be safe and largely useless until it returns, so the good window is the one where the wave is not helping them and your key cooldown is up.
Recall timing
Backing on a shoved wave is free. Backing on a wave crashing into your own tower costs you the next two minutes. It is the most transferable habit in the game and the one that moves a smurf's MMR fastest.
Riot's own notes on playing Sylas
These are the designers' words, not ours — the tips shipped in the client for Sylas.
- Wait for you or your enemy to reach low health before using Kingslayer for maximum effect.
- Space out your ability usage to get maximum effect from Petricite Burst.
- Clever use of enemy ultimates can open up new possibilities to approach teamfights.
What the stat line does between level 1 and 18
| Stat | Level 1 | Level 18 |
|---|---|---|
| Health | 600 | 2674 |
| Attack damage | 61 | 61 |
| Armour | 29 | 117.4 |
| Magic resist | 32 | 75.4 |
Movement speed 340 and attack range 175 do not grow with levels — they are the two numbers that stay true all game.
Full Sylas page — abilities, stats and every skin →