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By GamGem ResearchLast updated 18 Oct 2026

Caitlyn Build, Runes and Counters for the Bot Lane · Patch 26.20

the Sheriff of Piltover

Patch 26.20 · Stats from the 26.18 Master+ sample (6,177 games).

Caitlyn, the Sheriff of Piltover, sets Yordle Snap Traps and nets enemies with 90 Caliber Net so her Headshot fires at double range. Lethal Tempo was the keystone in most counted Master+ games, and Hexoptics C44 then Infinity Edge was the path players bought most.

Marksman

Patch 26.18 · Bot · Ranked Solo/Duo · Master+ · EUW · KR · NA · 6,177 games · Preview sample

Role snapshot (Bot)

CTier
Win Rate
48.2%
Pick Rate
9.4%
Ban Rate
10.0%

6,177

Games

Very High

Confidence

Most common path

876 games

55.5%Win Rate

Start
FlashBarrier

Other first item

342 games

55.3%Win Rate

Start
FlashGhost

Runes

Patch 26.18

This exact page: taken in 18.4% of games·47.1% win rate over 1,137 games.

Primary

Precision

Lethal Tempo

Attacking an enemy champion grants you Attack Speed, up to 6 stacks. At max stacks, deal bonus adaptive damage On-Attack.

Presence of Mind

Restore a small amount of mana or energy when damaging an enemy champion. Takedowns restore mana or energy.

Legend: Bloodline

Takedowns on enemies grant permanent Life Steal, up to a cap. Once the cap is reached, increase your max health. Weaker earlier but stronger later game than other Legend Runes.

Cut Down

Deal more damage to high health enemy champions.

Secondary

Sorcery

Absolute Focus

While above 70% health, gain extra adaptive damage.

Gathering Storm

Gain increasing amounts of AD or AP, adaptive over the course of the game.

Shards

  • Attack Speed
  • Adaptive Force
  • Health

Other keystones taken

  • Fleet Footwork11.9% taken · 49.7% win735 games
  • Hail of Blades4.1% taken · 48.6% win251 games
  • First Strike2.4% taken · 45.3% win148 games

Tree pairs

  • Precision + Inspiration48.5% taken · 49.1% win2,993 games
  • Precision + Sorcery43.7% taken · 47.6% win2,697 games
  • Domination + Inspiration2.7% taken · 48.5% win165 games

Skill Order

Which ability to max first, and the level each point goes in — Caitlyn's most common path.

Q

Piltover Peacemaker

Caitlyn revs up her rifle for 1 second to unleash a penetrating shot that deals physical damage (deals less damage to subsequent targets).

Cooldown 10/9/8/7/6s · 55/60/65/70/75 Mana
W

Yordle Snap Trap

Caitlyn sets a trap that, when sprung, reveals and immobilizes the enemy champion for 1.5 seconds, granting Caitlyn an empowered Headshot.

Cooldown 0.5s · 20 Mana
E

90 Caliber Net

Caitlyn fires a heavy net to slow her target.

Cooldown 16/14/12/10/8s · 75 Mana
R

Ace in the Hole

Caitlyn takes time to line up the perfect shot, dealing massive damage to a single target at a huge range.

Cooldown 90s · 100 Mana

Max Order

QWE

Max Q first, then W, then E. Take R whenever available (6 / 11 / 16).

Level-up Order

  • Q
  • W
  • E
  • R
Ability123456789101112131415161718
QPiltover PeacemakerQQQQQ
WYordle Snap TrapWWWWW
E90 Caliber NetEEEEE
RAce in the HoleRRR

Matchup map (Bot)

How Caitlyn performs against enemy bot laners

Levels 1 – 18 · Master+40%60%Caitlyn's win rate
≥ 60%Very favorable
55 – 60%Favorable
50 – 55%Even
45 – 50%Unfavorable
40 – 45%Hard
< 40%Very hard

Conditional build matrix

Recommended items by enemy team composition

Master+ · Patch 26.18
Mythic / CoreFirst major item
Core 2Second item
Core 3Third item
BootsBoot slot
SituationalPick as needed

Scaling — minute 10–30

CaitlynBot average

Gold

102030

Damage to champions

102030

CS

102030

Counter plan — how to beat Caitlyn

  • Close the gap early — it wins at range and at three items — neither before ten minutes

  • Punish the cooldown — Caitlyn is exposed while its rotation is down

  • Ward the flank — vision is what turns its best opening into a worse one

  • Respect the spike — Riot rates the kit 6/10, so a practised player gets more out of it than the average

  • Trade on your terms — take the fight where its damage lands on nobody

Ability details

  • P

    Headshot

    Every few basic attacks, or against a target she has trapped or netted, Caitlyn will fire a headshot dealing bonus damage that scales with her critical strike chance. On trapped or netted targets, Caitlyn's Headshot attack range is doubled.

    Passive — never cast

  • Q

    Piltover Peacemaker

    Caitlyn revs up her rifle for 1 second to unleash a penetrating shot that deals physical damage (deals less damage to subsequent targets).

    Cost 55/60/65/70/75 ManaCooldown 10/9/8/7/6sRange 1250

  • W

    Yordle Snap Trap

    Caitlyn sets a trap that, when sprung, reveals and immobilizes the enemy champion for 1.5 seconds, granting Caitlyn an empowered Headshot.

    Cost 20 ManaCooldown 0.5sRange 800

  • E

    90 Caliber Net

    Caitlyn fires a heavy net to slow her target. The recoil knocks Caitlyn back.

    Cost 75 ManaCooldown 16/14/12/10/8sRange 750

  • R

    Ace in the Hole

    Caitlyn takes time to line up the perfect shot, dealing massive damage to a single target at a huge range. Enemy champions can intercept the bullet for their ally.

    Cost 100 ManaCooldown 90sRange 3500

Caitlyn balance history

Riot's notes from patch 25.S1.1 to 26.20 change Caitlyn in 4 patches. The latest is patch 26.1, published 2026-01-07.

  1. Patch 26.12026-01-07

    PHeadshot

    • Crit Scaling0-148.75/182.75% total ADto100%*Bonus Crit Damage (0-100/130% total AD)

    RAce in the Hole

    • Crit ScalingUp to 1.5xto30% of bonus critical strike damage: up to 1.3/1.39x with IE
    Why, in Riot's words

    Caitlyn's top-end Headshot damage has gotten out of hand and with the value of critical strikes going up it's about to get even stronger, so we're taking a heavy swing to Headshot's top end. We're also making her R scale with Infinity Edge, as it already scales with critical strike chance, but we're reducing its damage to make room for her stronger basic attacks.

  2. Patch 25.232025-11-18

    PHeadshot

    • Champion Damage Increase60 / 90 / 120% total ADto60 / 80 / 100% total AD (Crit formula unchanged)
    • Non-Champion Damage Increase110 / 115 / 120% total ADto110% total AD (Crit formula unchanged)
    Why, in Riot's words

    Like Ashe above, Caitlyn has also been eating up a lot of ADC pick rate. We think she should maintain her identity as a long-range lane bully, but she's also bursting champions too hard with late game Headshots, so we're bringing down the top-end damage a bit.

  3. Patch 25.192025-09-23

    Base Stats

    • Base AD60to62
    Why, in Riot's words

    Caitlyn's been missing from pro play for quite some time now despite her reputation as a lane bully. As her ability casts are potent enough, we’re pushing up her basic attack power with the hope that she has a real shot at making it into some games this Worlds.

  4. Patch 25.062025-03-18

    WYordle Snap Trap

    • Headshot Damage Increase vs Trapped Targets40 / 85 / 130 / 175 / 220 (+ 40% bonus AD)to35 / 80 / 125 / 170 / 215 (+ 30% bonus AD)

    RAce in the Hole

    • Damage300 / 500 / 700 (+ 100% bonus AD)to300 / 475 / 650 (+ 100% bonus AD)
    Why, in Riot's words

    Caitlyn is looking to be quite strong at the moment, much of which is due to the amount of guaranteed damage within her kit. In order to level the playing field we're looking to tone down some of her point and click damage this patch so landing those Q's and E's will be more important if you want to go for the takedown.

Caitlyn skins (21)

Riot's data lists 21 looks for Caitlyn with their own art, the base skin included and 42 chroma variants.

ARAM performance

EstimateB
Win Rate
49.5%
▲ 0.2%
Pick Rate
4.7%
▲ 3.7%
Ban Rate
2.2%
▼ 1.1%
Damage dealt
109.0%
Damage taken
107.1%
Healing
95.5%
Shielding
103.7%
Ability Haste
+25

Best ARAM build

Patch timeline

Riot’s notes

This champion’s win rate on each patch the preview sample spans, over its own games there. What actually changed each patch is in Riot’s own notes.

  1. 26.1949.5% over 1,871 games+1.1
  2. 26.1847.3% over 3,317 games-0.7
  3. 26.1749.2% over 966 games · small sample—

Caitlyn's base stats against all 173 champions

  • Caitlyn's attack range of 650 is the highest of 173 champions on patch 26.20.
  • Caitlyn's attack speed per level of 4% is the 4th-highest of 173 champions on patch 26.20 (shared with 2 others).
StatCaitlynRankMedian
Base health580=141st620
Health per level107=61st104
Base armor27=104th30
Armor per level4.7=42nd4.6
Base magic resist33=4th32
Magic resist per level1.1=145th1.55
Base attack damage62=50th59
Base attack speed0.681=25th0.656
Attack speed per level4%=4th2.5%
Move speed325=154th335
Attack range6501st175

Caitlyn at level 1 and level 18

  • Caitlyn reaches 2399 health at level 18 — 580 at level 1 plus 17 × 107, the 85th-highest of 173 champions on patch 26.20.
  • Caitlyn reaches 995 mana at level 18 — 315 at level 1 plus 17 × 40, the 46th-lowest of 145 mana users on patch 26.20, shared with 1.
  • Caitlyn reaches 106.9 armor at level 18 — 27 at level 1 plus 17 × 4.7, the 85th-lowest of 173 champions on patch 26.20, shared with 2.
  • Caitlyn reaches 51.7 magic resist at level 18 — 33 at level 1 plus 17 × 1.1, the 6th-lowest of 173 champions on patch 26.20, shared with 27.
StatLevel 1Per levelLevel 18Rank at 18
Health580+107239985th of 173
Mana315+40995=99th of 145
Armor27+4.7106.9=87th of 173
Magic resist33+1.151.7=141st of 173

Riot Data Dragon 16.20.1. Growth curve: League of Legends Wiki — Champion statistic.

Riot's tips for Caitlyn

Playing Caitlyn

  • Make use of her Yordle Snap Traps by placing them pre-emptively to ensure that you'll have one off of cooldown during combat.
  • Avoid using Ace in the Hole in large team melees as it might be blocked by the wrong target.
  • Fire 90 Caliber Net away from the opponent to close the gap or hop over walls.

Playing against Caitlyn

  • Keep behind allied minions if Caitlyn is harassing you with Piltover Peacemaker (it deals less damage with each subsequent target).
  • You can intercept Ace in the Hole's missile from hitting an ally if you stand in its path.

Quick answers about Caitlyn

What class is Caitlyn?
Riot classes Caitlyn as Marksman. This site files the champion under Bot.
How hard is Caitlyn to play?
Riot rates Caitlyn's difficulty 6 out of 10.
What resource does Caitlyn use?
Caitlyn's abilities spend Mana.
What is Caitlyn's attack range?
650 units — the highest of 173 champions on patch 26.20.
What are Caitlyn's abilities?
Passive — Headshot, Q — Piltover Peacemaker, W — Yordle Snap Trap, E — 90 Caliber Net and R — Ace in the Hole.
How many skins does Caitlyn have?
Riot's data lists 21 skins with their own art, the base look included, plus 42 chroma variants.
How much health does Caitlyn have at level 18?
2399 — 580 at level 1 plus 17 × 107 per level, Riot's own values, before items and runes.
What is Caitlyn's ultimate cooldown?
Ace in the Hole (R): 90 seconds by rank, before ability haste, in Riot's Data Dragon 16.20.1.
When did Riot last change Caitlyn?
Patch 26.1, published 7 January 2026 — the latest of 4 patches that change Caitlyn in Riot's notes from 25.S1.1 to 26.20.

Caitlyn at a glance

Caitlyn, the Sheriff of Piltover, is a Marksman champion in League of Legends. Riot rates the kit 6/10 for difficulty, 8/10 for attack, 2/10 for defense and 2/10 for magic. Caitlyn spends Mana and has 21 skins with their own art. Caitlyn's attack range of 650 is the highest of 173 champions on patch 26.20. Caitlyn's attack speed per level of 4% is the 4th-highest of 173 champions on patch 26.20 (shared with 2 others).

Attack8/10
Defense2/10
Magic2/10
Difficulty6/10

Caitlyn's story

Renowned as its finest peacekeeper, Caitlyn Kiramman is also Piltover's best shot at ridding the city of its elusive criminal elements. She is often paired with Vi, acting as a cool counterpoint to her partner's more impetuous nature. Even though she carries a one-of-a-kind hextech rifle, Caitlyn's most powerful weapon is her superior intellect, allowing her to lay elaborate traps for any lawbreakers foolish enough to operate in the City of Progress.
— Riot Games, Data Dragon 16.20.1. League of Legends Universe

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Methodology

Data window
Preview sample — a one-time snapshot of 65,406 ranked games (Master+, EUW/KR/NA, patch 26.18), counted by GamGem while our Riot production key is under review. Figures will update daily once it is approved. Counted 26–27 Sept 2026; patches 26.18 (35,477) · 26.19 (18,580) · 26.17 (11,048) · 26.16 (293) · 26.15 (8); by server EUW 22,382 · KR 21,922 · NA 21,065 · EUNE 20 · TR 17. 642 games without a result — remakes ended by vote in their first minutes, and games recorded with no winner — were not counted.
Rank aggregation
Master, Grandmaster and Challenger, pooled — the three ladders the count read its players from. Splitting further leaves samples too small to separate a real effect from noise.
Role assignment
A champion is filed under every lane that holds at least a tenth of its counted games — the position the match itself reports, not the champion’s class. Its headline win rate is across all of them; each lane’s own win rate and games are counted too, and a lane’s tier list ranks by them.
Counters
The two champions in the same position on opposite teams, over that pairing’s own counted games — ranked on the edge pulled toward zero by its sample size, printed raw.
Minimum sample
None — no figure is hidden for being thin. Every rate prints its games, and the confidence band is its 95% margin: Very High within ±1.5 points, High ±2.5, Moderate ±3.1 (1,000 games), Low wider.
Why a build is not a cause
An item is counted when the match ENDS with it, so late items show long games and an item bought when already ahead shows games that were being won. Correlation is what a rate can show; it is not evidence that buying the item caused the win.
Where the numbers come from
Names, classes, abilities, items and runes are Riot Data Dragon. Win, pick and ban rates, builds, keystones, spells and matchups are counted by GamGem from Riot's ranked match records. An estimate, not a count: this panel is not in the preview sample, and is labelled so.

Caitlyn on video