Qiyana Empress of the Elements

Here Comes Another Challenger

Riot has done it again! This time around we got a new Magical, no, wait, an Attack Damage Bursting Assassin! Is that right? Well, let’s figure things out. First of all, if you only focus on the Art Style of this new Champion and you add those “Nature’s based Abilities” you may think that all you need is to focus on her abilities. On the other hand, we have some other skills that give you some dashes that help you in jumping in and out from different fights. As a result, we have a mixture of concepts and gaming rules that may confuse you at first but will give some troubles to the enemy team.

However, before we continue, let’s analyze a little bit more about this new “archetype.” At first, glance, as we already stated, you may look at Qiyana Empress of the Elements and think that we got another AD. Additionally, you get a glimpse of her abilities, which include some elemental manipulation. Still, afterward, you figure out that in the middle of everything, you see some dashes and a way for her to become completely invisible. Above all, in her Spotlight video, when you hear that Riot categorize her as an Assassin, there’s no argument anymore. Therefore, if the development team says she does Attack Damage, we cannot argue any longer; even though she doesn’t look like one at all.

As a result, to understand the pure concept of this new champion, let’s explore every single element that Qiyana stands between her Art and her Stats.

Meet Qiyana

Now that we already figure out her archetype (we hope) let’s check how useful she can be within League of Legends. First of all, being an Attack Damage Champion, she’s able to be a core in practically all the lanes and jungle. Therefore, you have the option to explore how effective she becomes in your accustomed role, or when you try other parts of the map. As a result, if you’re thinking of investing some of your credits for this new Champion, you now know that Qiyana Empress of the Elements is viable in different Roles that League of Legends has to offer.

Having options such as these, you always have the opportunity to have fun with this particular champion when you queue in different Roles on Ranked matches. For example, if you pick both Mid Lane or Top Lane, whenever your position maybe, she has the potential to shine in both of those options. Furthermore, if one of your teammates has some troubles along the way, you may have the chance to change lanes between you and that troublesome player. Most noteworthy, being the new acquisition to the roster, as usual, Riot tends to make them a little bit overpowered at first, with some bit of “nerfs” after a couple of months. As a result, you have better chances to win the match with her powerful skills.

Biography

Qiyana Younger Years

Being one of the youngest members in a dominant family, she always had the thought that her brothers will have the potential to rule Yun Tal, instead of Qiyana. Even though both of her parents (the rulers of Ixaocan) gave the right type knowledge to their children, Qiyana always felt the least favorite between the ten children; which in return affected her sense of permanence in the family.

Furthermore, as the knowledge became more apparent to Qiyana, she found out that she practically was a genius when it came to ancient elemental magic. Therefore, in a short time, she was able to understand and master advanced techniques with ease. In contrast, though, her older sister requires more time and hard work to understand the magic of Ixtal.

Sadly, having such talents in the early ages lacked the wisdom to understand her emotions towards her and her sisters. As a result, she felt that her older siblings were inferior and that her parents wasted their time teaching the ancient magic to them. Most noteworthy, as time went by, Qiyana became more resentful toward her sisters where she always humiliated the capacity of their talents. Everything became more complicated when she saw her oldest sister as Qiyana primary target.

The constant conflict between the sisters reached an unturning point when both of them fought in ritual combat. The aftermath left the older sister paralyzed below the waist and improved the arrogance of Qiyana, that now had the throne as her only objective. After the conflict, their parents saw the wrong intentions of Qiyana and denied any particular place for the future ruler of the kingdom. Although she was now known as a “bad seed” in her family, the community felt admiration for her ancient magic capabilities.

Maturity

Driven by her desire to be acknowledged by everyone in the kingdom, on every occasion that she could, she demonstrated her talents as much as she could. After Qiyana achieved this unformidable task, the next part of her scheme was to prove her ancient magic power to the people outside the boundaries on the jungle. As a result, she was able to create a massive conflict between her and some unskilled outsider miners, killing everyone but one. Qiyana’s parents foresaw this behavior as a possible threat to their community and imprisoned their daughter for her deeds.

In her parents’ court, Qiyana laid out her ambitions—to drive off the miners and restore the lands. Qiyana’s parents rejected the idea. Contact with the “outlanders” would bring hatred, war, and disease, jeopardizing what their dynasty had protected for centuries. Qiyana stewed, impatient to prove her strength to the world, and determined to prove her parents wrong.

Thanks to the aid of the other Elementalist, she was sent free from all of her chains and began her journey to dominate the rest of the world with her supreme talents.

Analysis

Taking both the looks and her lore, which consist of her powerful ancient magic capabilities. Furthermore, her motives revolve around the search for knowledge and renown. We can speculate that she’s a dominant “magical” champion with devastating spells in her arsenal. Do you get my point now? However, if Riot says she’s an assassin, we cannot say otherwise. After all, due to her compelling stats (at the moment), she’s capable of dealing with powerful right-click attack damage.

Abilities

(P)Royal Privilege

Qiyana’s first basic attack or ability against each enemy deals bonus damage.

Strategy: With this passive, you do not have to think twice, just hit everything you see. Furthermore, if you have items that give you critical damage and attack damage, you’ll surely deal more damage on your first hit. Most noteworthy, if you’re lucky enough, if the first hit has critical properties, you’ll probably melt the enemy’s health with a single right-click or ability.

(Q)Elemental Wrath / Edge of Ixtal

Qiyana swings her weapon, dealing damage with a bonus effect based on her element.
(Water)Elemental Wrath: Blast your weapon’s enchantment in the target direction, consuming it. This projectile detonates to deals some physical damage and briefly root enemies hit, then slow them for a while.
(Field)Rock Enchantment: bonus damage to units with low health.
(Grass)Wild Enchantment: Leaves a canopy trail that stealths you and grants movement speed. Canopy fades after attacking from it, exiting it, or after its duration.
Edge of Ixtal: If you do not have an enchantment, slash in the target direction, dealing physical damage to enemies in a small area. Both abilities deal damage to targets beyond the first.

Strategy: Probably one of the most impressive abilities in the entire League of Legends game, but, it can be challenging to master. Furthermore, depending on the lane you want to dominate, it is best that you keep one type of nature associated with this ability. For example, to obtain more control in the middle lane, you may want to keep the water counterpart (Elemental Wrath) and root your enemies; which can either help you in starting a Gank or leave a dangerous situation. Most noteworthy, changing elements between team fights have the potential to confuse your enemies with different debuffs and give your team an upper hand. Indeed, to master all those outcomes, you need to spend some time figure in out all those different properties that each element contains.

(W)Terrashape

Qiyana dashes to a location and enchants her weapon with an element. Her attacks and abilities deal bonus damage while her weapon is enchanted.
Active: Target River, Wall, or Brush. Conjure elemental power from the environment and dash towards it to enchant your weapon with it and reset Elemental Wrath’s cooldown.
Passive: While your weapon is enchanted, you gain Attack Speed and your attacks, and basic abilities deal bonus magic damage. Additionally, you gain movement speed while out of combat and near the corresponding terrain type.

Strategy: As you can already tell, this is both one of the “Assassin” Parts of this champion and one of the first abilities to start a combo. Depending on the part of the map that you use this skill, you’ll change the element of Qiyana’s weapon. Furthermore, you’ll refresh the “Q” ability, allowing you to perform different buffs and damage properties if you can achieve the combo correctly. Last but not least, you always need to check where Qiyana is standing before you play this ability. Therefore, the more you practice the different properties of this skill, the better you’ll become with this Champion.

(E)Audacity

Qiyana dashes to an enemy, damaging them.
Dash through target enemy and deals some physical damage to them. If Elemental Wrath / Edge of Ixtal is cast while this ability is targeting a champion, Qiyana will automatically aim it at her target.

Strategy: This is practically the other “Assassin” part of Qiyana, where she dashes once again. Most noteworthy, having two abilities with moving properties is kind of the “new rule” when a new Champion appears on the roster. Therefore, you have more tools in your arsenal to move as quickly as possible around the map. As a result, you can reduce the gap between you and those slow enemies that practically affects almost all the gaming roster. Above all, since Riot acknowledges this Champion as an Assassin, with these dashing abilities, you will have all the potential to continue the damage without interruption.

(R)Supreme Display of Talent

Qiyana sends out a shockwave that detonates whatever elements she hits with it, stunning and damaging nearby enemies.
Launch a shockwave that knocks back enemies and detonates when it hits a Wall. The entire Wall then explodes to stun nearby enemies for a moment and deal them physical damage equal to their max health.

Strategy: Depending on your target area, the properties of this chaotic ability changes for the better. Therefore, instead of just focusing on landing this skill on your opponents, you still need to consider the place where you click with your mouse. For example, if you see that some of your enemies in the bottom lane use the grass near the wall, use your ultimate to surprise them. As a result, all the wall that is attached to your “target,” will be affected by this powerful ability. If your enemies are fast enough, they may opt to leave the grass and avoid the damage, but at the same time, they’ll become a target for more attacking damage.

Pick Your Favorite Role

Mid Lane

Thanks to the availability of the water thanks to the rivers on both sides on the Mid-Lane, you have more chances to acquire this element in your beloved weapon. Furthermore, having the advantages of the Elemental Wrath, you can have more control in your lane. Above all, use your ability’s combos to trap the enemy and give him as much damage as possible. In contrast, you have the potential to control additional treats if they try for a possible Gank in your part of the map.

Top Lane

In here, you have the option to gather a combination of Water and Grass. Due to the weakness that Qiyana has in the early levels, you may need to keep that Elemental Wrath and control your adversary’s movement. Therefore, you’ll have the chance to deal as much damage as possible with some right-clicks. Furthermore, if things aren’t going your way and you accidentally become a target for the Jungler, pick the elemental Grass as soon as possible. With that in mind, you’ll have tools to escape any potential threats that invade your Lane.

Bot Lane

Be creative in this part of the map as you rapidly chance between the three elements available to you. First of all, you’ll always rely on that supporting player that aids you and give you the freedom to farm as much as possible. Furthermore, the more Elements you pick around, the more you’ll confuse the enemy as you deploy different debuffs to keep things interesting. Last but not least, with the Grass Element, you always have the potential to appear behind guarding support and deal as much damage as possible to the other Attack Damage Carry.

Jungle

Create a combination between Grass and Earth as you progress in the different parts of the Jungle from your side of the map. Furthermore, when available, use as many dashes as possible to travel between the Monster’s camps. Remember to use your Earth element for some groups of monsters and Grass to avoid the attacks of the bigger beasts. Last but not least, if you’re planning for a possible Gank, remember to pick Water along the way to control your target and improve your combo as much as possible.

Ability Build

For better results, try to have all your abilities available as soon as possible. Starting with your “Q” (Edge of Ixtal), continue with your “W” (Terrashape), and finish with your “E” (Audacity). When everything is at your disposal, try to place as many ability points as possible to Edge of Ixtal. Secondly, master your Terrashape next.

Last but not least, finish upgrading your Audacity and complete the set of skills. Remember to place ability points on your ultimate when you get the chance. Most noteworthy, with this build, you’ll get the opportunity to improve the elemental damage and their possible debuffs. Therefore, you’ll have more crowd control to keep everything at your disposal. Later on, you’ll have more dashes to improve your combo and reduce the distance from your enemies as much as possible.

Summoner’s Spells

Ignite

Fantastic option to give Qiyana additional opportunities for her powerful combos. Still, though, it is advisable that you master all of her abilities before considering this damaging spell. Above all, with your “assassin” abilities, you’ll have better chances of getting the kill and keep your enemies away from you.

Teleport

Keep your presence in the Lane as much as possible with this particular spell in your repertoire. As a result, if things get a little troublesome and you need to refill your mana poll, you can TP back to the fountain and go back as soon as possible. Furthermore, you have the option to give additional support to your teammates in any potential team fights as you teleport near all the action and provide them with some pain.

Barrier

Give yourself some protection against other Assassin counterparts with this guarding spell. Therefore, if you can see the enemy’s picks, and check that they have an assassin or two, do not hesitate and protect yourself for their attacks. Most noteworthy, this spell has the potential to give you more resistance in the middle of some extended team fights, giving you the chance to deal as much damage as possible.

Cleanse

Liberate from all those crowd control abilities that stick you in the ground for a couple of seconds. Furthermore, by removing these effects, you can surprise the enemy and attack with your arsenal. Still, though, remember that you have your dashes to move as much as possible and avoid troublesome spells that require much skill to land.

Exhaust

Reduce the gap even more between you and the enemy. Indeed, this spell works best if your targets have long-range attacks. As a result, hide with the Grass Element and surprise the enemy ADC with this spell, which reduces their chances of escaping from the encounter. Above all, if you’re planning on dealing as much damage as possible in the early stages of the game, this may be the best bet for you.

Pros and Cons

PROS

Too many Combos to Spare

Due to the different attributes that every one of her nature properties has to offer, Qiyana has many ways to use her abilities in many ingenious ways. Therefore, when you get to know more about the different cooldowns and debuffs, you’ll be able to do as much attack damage as possible.

Flexible Lanes to Use Her Skills

Since Qiyana has great main stats in her repertoire, she’s able to show her presence in different parts of the League of Legends map. Therefore, if you play Ranked regularly (or even regular matches) you have the option to pick your accustomed lane or counter-attack the enemy’s line-up.

Amazing Movement Abilities

With not one but two powerful ways to move her around the place as fast as possible, the enemy will have a harder time to control your movements. Hence, you can either shorter the distance between you and your prey; or try to escape from dangerous Ganks that may be dangerous. Furthermore, you have the Grass properties to make up invisible for a while.

Variable Ways to Build Your Items

Again, thanks to her main stats, you always have the option to buy items according to your lane and function within the game. Most noteworthy, you have the potential to improve your Bruise damage, your assassin criticals, or gain defense so sustain more in team fights.

CONS

Low Mana Poll

One of the difficulties that you may encounter when you’re trying to master this Champion is to complete a combo without deploying all your mana at once. Above all, with the Teleport Summoner’s Spell, you always have a chance to do as much damage as possible, go back to the base, and return to your lane as soon as possible.

Element Gathering

One of the main problems to gather all the elements for a full combo is that you need to be in crucial parts of the map. Most noteworthy, you can only find water in the middle, or grass in troublesome parts. Indeed, when you’re trying to push lanes and destroy buildings, you’ll only count on the Earth element.

Crowd Control is a Weakness against Qiyana

Some skills that have the debuff that keeps you stuck in the same place for a while is practically your downfall. Still, with Cleanse at your disposal, things may go sour quickly due to this spell cooldown. As a result, you need to hide behind your teammates, wait for those spells to target them, and then jump in.

Hard to Master

With that many Combo options, different attributes around the elements, positioning, and low mana poll; you need a lot of matches to play Qiyana as a professional. Indeed, it may be discouraging on your first random matches, but when you’re through, everything becomes better. Above all, remember to have fun as you play with those Champions that you find interesting.

Conclusion

Qiyana has the potential to give you a lot of exciting new ways to play League of Legends. Due to her different attributes with the elements and the multiple combos, you’ll always find something new. Furthermore, remember that even though she looks and has lore as a magician, she’s an assassin. First of all, she two different abilities that give you some movement advantages and the passive which increases the first hit damage. Above all, due to her main stats, always try to use your attack damage to improve your hurting capabilities.