Every figure shows its source. Where a source is missing, the number is a placeholder — and it is never written as fact.

By GamGem ResearchLast updated 18 Oct 2026

Lucian Counters, Build and Runes — Bot Lane Matchups · Patch 26.20

the Purifier

Patch 26.20 · Stats from the 26.18 Master+ sample (5,045 games).

Lucian, the Purifier, follows every ability with a double-shot from Lightslinger. Press the Attack was close to unanimous among counted Master+ Lucians, and their one printed path is Essence Reaver, Navori Flickerblade, Infinity Edge. Aphelios, Kalista and Caitlyn were his hardest bot lanes. He had the better of Draven. Jhin, Jinx and Tristana played him about even.

MarksmanAssassin

Patch 26.18 · Bot · Ranked Solo/Duo · Master+ · EUW · KR · NA · 5,045 games · Preview sample

Role snapshot (Bot)

CTier
Win Rate
47.3%
Pick Rate
7.7%
Ban Rate
2.9%

5,045

Games

Very High

Confidence

Most common path

1,294 games

56.3%Win Rate

Start
FlashBarrier

Runes

Patch 26.18

This exact page: taken in 12.6% of games·46.3% win rate over 637 games.

Primary

Precision

Press the Attack

Hitting an enemy champion 3 consecutive times deals bonus damage and amplifies your damage until you leave combat with champions.

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

Inspiration

Cash Back

Get some gold back when you purchase Legendary Items.

Triple Tonic

Upon reaching level 3, gain an Elixir of Avarice. Upon reaching level 6, gain an Elixir of Force. Upon reaching level 9, gain an Elixir of Skill.

Shards

  • Attack Speed
  • Adaptive Force
  • Health

Other keystones taken

  • Electrocute0.9% taken · 42.6% win47 games
  • First Strike0.7% taken · 56.8% win37 games
  • Lethal Tempo0.5% taken · 33.3% win24 games

Tree pairs

  • Precision + Inspiration78.5% taken · 47.7% win3,958 games
  • Precision + Resolve15.7% taken · 45.4% win793 games
  • Precision + Sorcery3.3% taken · 44.9% win167 games

Skill Order

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

Q

Piercing Light

Lucian shoots a bolt of piercing light through a target.

Cooldown 9/8/7/6/5s · 48/56/64/72/80 Mana
W

Ardent Blaze

Lucian shoots a missile that explodes in a star shape, marking and briefly revealing enemies.

Cooldown 14/13/12/11/10s · 60 Mana
E

Relentless Pursuit

Lucian quickly dashes a short distance.

Cooldown 16/15.5/15/14.5/14s · 32/24/16/8/0 Mana
R

The Culling

Lucian unleashes a torrent of shots from his weapons.

Cooldown 110/100/90s · 100 Mana

Max Order

QEW

Max Q first, then E, then W. Take R whenever available (6 / 12 / 16).

Level-up Order

  • Q
  • W
  • E
  • R
Ability123456789101112131415161718
QPiercing LightQQQQQ
WArdent BlazeWWWWW
ERelentless PursuitEEEEE
RThe CullingRRR

Matchup map (Bot)

How Lucian performs against enemy bot laners

Levels 1 – 18 · Master+40%60%Lucian'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

LucianBot average

Gold

102030

Damage to champions

102030

CS

102030

Counter plan — how to beat Lucian

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

  • Deny the reset — it wants a kill to come back out; a warded exit removes it

  • Punish the cooldown — Lucian 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

Ability details

  • P

    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.

    Passive — never cast

  • Q

    Piercing Light

    Lucian shoots a bolt of piercing light through a target.

    Cost 48/56/64/72/80 ManaCooldown 9/8/7/6/5sRange 500

  • W

    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.

    Cost 60 ManaCooldown 14/13/12/11/10sRange 900

  • E

    Relentless Pursuit

    Lucian quickly dashes a short distance. Lightslinger attacks reduce Relentless Pursuit's cooldown.

    Cost 32/24/16/8/0 ManaCooldown 16/15.5/15/14.5/14sRange 445

  • R

    The Culling

    Lucian unleashes a torrent of shots from his weapons.

    Cost 100 ManaCooldown 110/100/90sRange 1400

Lucian balance history

Riot's notes from patch 25.S1.1 to 26.20 change Lucian in 6 patches. The latest is patch 26.20, published 2026-10-06.

  1. Patch 26.202026-10-06

    Base Stats

    • Attack Damage60 + 2.5/Levelto60 + 2.9/Level
    Why, in Riot's words

    Last patch's adjustment to help normalize mid and bot performance ended up landing as a nerf for bot lane, so we're following up with a buff to make up for the lost power.

  2. Patch 26.192026-09-22

    PVigilance

    • Empowered On-Hit Damage15 (+20% AD)to5 (+15% AD)

    QPiercing Light

    • Base Damage80 / 115 / 150 / 185 / 220 (+100% bonus AD)to90 / 130 / 170 / 210 / 250 (+100% bonus AD)
    Why, in Riot's words

    Years ago, we added the Vigilance Passive so Lucian bot players didn't feel like their champ was being nerfed because of mid laners, which ended up being super effective. We think now is a good opportunity to adjust the tuning of the passive and strike a balance between both roles.

  3. Patch 26.82026-04-14

    ERelentless Pursuit

    • Cooldown18 / 17 / 16 / 15 / 14to16 / 15.5 / 15 / 14.5 / 14
    • Mana Cost40 / 30 / 20 / 10 / 0to32 / 24 / 16 / 8 / 0
    Why, in Riot's words

    Lucian has a unique role as an AD Carry that dashes in, out of, and around fights which is why many of his players enjoy him. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been doing that as effectively recently so we’re looking to remedy that. To get there, we’re lowering both the cooldown and mana cost of his dashes.

  4. Patch 26.12026-01-07

    Base Stats

    • Attack Damage Growth2.9to2.5
    • Attack Speed Growth3.3%to2.5%

    QPiercing Light

    • Damage85/115/145/175/205 (+ 60/75/90/105/120% bonus AD)to80/115/150/185/220 (+ 100% bonus AD)

    RThe Culling

    • R Extra Bolts from Crit ChanceUp to 25to100% of bonus crit damage: Up to 22/28
    • Total R Bolts22-47 (based on critical strike chance)to22-44/50 (based on critical strike chance and damage)
    Why, in Riot's words

    Lucian's builds are pretty sensible and as a spell-focused ADC, but we want to make sure his spell scaling is good. We're updating R to fire even more bullets with crit damage, which will make crit scale his ult just as well as it scales basic attacks. Considering he's already got extremely strong AD scaling and we want to make sure that Navori Flickerblades feels good, we're bringing down some of his Q's AD scaling.

  5. Patch 25.112025-05-27

    ERelentless Pursuit

    • Cooldown16 / 15.5 / 15 / 14.5 / 14to18 / 17 / 16 / 15 / 14
    Why, in Riot's words

    Lucian has been dominating the bot lane for a while now. While he's meant to shine in the early game, he's a little too good at getting himself early advantages.

  6. Patch 25.062025-03-18

    ERelentless Pursuit

    • Cooldown19 / 17.75 / 16.5 / 15.25 / 14to16 / 15.5 / 15 / 14.5 / 14 seconds
    Why, in Riot's words

    Lucian's a touch underpowered in the current League landscape, so we'd like to give him a little more power. We're giving him some mobility that he can use aggressively in early laning and mid-game team fighting with the goal of making him succeed as a high-octane, aggressive ADC who relies on quick decision making.

Lucian skins (15)

Riot's data lists 15 looks for Lucian with their own art, the base skin included and 58 chroma variants.

ARAM performance

EstimateB
Win Rate
49.8%
▲ 0.7%
Pick Rate
9.2%
▼ 1.4%
Ban Rate
1.4%
▲ 0.4%
Damage dealt
98.8%
Damage taken
92.4%
Healing
91.4%
Shielding
97.3%
Ability Haste
+20

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. 26.1945.1% over 1,427 games-1.1
  2. 26.1847.7% over 2,799 games-0.8
  3. 26.1750.0% over 796 games · small sample—

Lucian's base stats against all 173 champions

StatLucianRankMedian
Base health64147th620
Health per level100=117th104
Base armor28=98th30
Armor per level4.2=122nd4.6
Base magic resist33=4th32
Magic resist per level1.1=145th1.55
Base attack damage60=72nd59
Base attack speed0.638=108th0.656
Attack speed per level2.5%=75th2.5%
Move speed335=74th335
Attack range500=64th175

Lucian at level 1 and level 18

  • Lucian reaches 2341 health at level 18 — 641 at level 1 plus 17 × 100, the 61st-lowest of 173 champions on patch 26.20.
  • Lucian reaches 1051 mana at level 18 — 320 at level 1 plus 17 × 43, the 70th-lowest of 145 mana users on patch 26.20.
  • Lucian reaches 99.4 armor at level 18 — 28 at level 1 plus 17 × 4.2, the 41st-lowest of 173 champions on patch 26.20, shared with 1.
  • Lucian 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
Health641+1002341113th of 173
Mana320+43105176th of 145
Armor28+4.299.4=132nd 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 Lucian

Playing Lucian

  • For optimal burst, try to combine Relentless Pursuit into Piercing Light.
  • Ardent Blaze actually explodes in a star pattern. Try to line it up so the spokes hit enemy champions.
  • Once you have chosen an angle for The Culling, you cannot change it. Pick your moment well!
  • Because of Lightslinger, Lucian benefits more from Attack Damage than he does from Attack Speed.

Playing against Lucian

  • 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.

Quick answers about Lucian

How does Lucian do against Aphelios?
Lucian won 38.6% of 114 counted Master+ games against Aphelios. Aphelios is one of the opponents that beat Lucian.
How does Lucian do against Kalista?
Lucian won 41.7% of 168 counted Master+ games against Kalista. Kalista is one of the opponents that beat Lucian.
How does Lucian do against Caitlyn?
Lucian won 43.2% of 185 counted Master+ games against Caitlyn. Caitlyn is one of the opponents that beat Lucian.
How does Lucian do against Draven?
Lucian won 56.0% of 100 counted Master+ games against Draven. It is a matchup Lucian wins more often than not.
How does Lucian do against Jhin?
Lucian won 50.2% of 400 counted Master+ games against Jhin. It is close to even.
How does Lucian do against Jinx?
Lucian won 48.8% of 217 counted Master+ games against Jinx. It is close to even.
How does Lucian do against Tristana?
Lucian won 48.3% of 348 counted Master+ games against Tristana. It is close to even.
How does Lucian do against Kai'Sa?
Lucian won 47.4% of 304 counted Master+ games against Kai'Sa. It is close to even.
What class is Lucian?
Riot classes Lucian as Marksman and Assassin. This site files the champion under Bot.
How hard is Lucian to play?
Riot rates Lucian's difficulty 6 out of 10.
What resource does Lucian use?
Lucian's abilities spend Mana.
What is Lucian's attack range?
500 units — the 64th-highest of 173 champions on patch 26.20 (shared with 8 others).
What are Lucian's abilities?
Passive — Lightslinger, Q — Piercing Light, W — Ardent Blaze, E — Relentless Pursuit and R — The Culling.
How many skins does Lucian have?
Riot's data lists 15 skins with their own art, the base look included, plus 58 chroma variants.
How much health does Lucian have at level 18?
2341 — 641 at level 1 plus 17 × 100 per level, Riot's own values, before items and runes.
What is Lucian's ultimate cooldown?
The Culling (R): 110/100/90 seconds by rank, before ability haste, in Riot's Data Dragon 16.20.1.
When did Riot last change Lucian?
Patch 26.20, published 6 October 2026 — the latest of 6 patches that change Lucian in Riot's notes from 25.S1.1 to 26.20.

Lucian at a glance

Lucian, the Purifier, is a Marksman and Assassin champion in League of Legends. Riot rates the kit 6/10 for difficulty, 8/10 for attack, 5/10 for defense and 3/10 for magic. Lucian spends Mana and has 15 skins with their own art.

Attack8/10
Defense5/10
Magic3/10
Difficulty6/10

Lucian's story

Lucian, a Sentinel of Light, is a grim hunter of wraiths and specters, pursuing them relentlessly and annihilating them with his twin relic pistols. After the specter Thresh slew his wife, Lucian embarked on the path of vengeance—but even with her return to life, his rage is undiminished. Merciless and single-minded, Lucian will stop at nothing to protect the living from the long-dead horrors of the Black Mist.
— Riot Games, Data Dragon 16.20.1. League of Legends Universe

Share cheat sheet

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.

Lucian on video

Published by League of Legends on YouTube, 21 August 2013.

13 years old. League of Legends has been patched since, so watch it for how the kit plays, not for numbers — the rest of this page is written for the current patch.

It plays in YouTube’s own player once you press play. Nothing is downloaded or re-hosted here, and nothing loads from YouTube until then.