Is Kayle AP or AD? – Quick Guide + Builds (Season 13)

Chris Lee
Chris Lee 7 Min Read

Kayle, a paradox in League of Legends, begins each match unassumingly as a frail melee fighter. Yet, as the game evolves, so does she, transforming into a formidable mage/marksman capable of overwhelming enemy teams.

This raises the burning question: is Kayle’s might rooted in AP or AD, and how does this shape her battlefield impact? Let’s solve this riddle.

The answers lie just ahead, as we shed light on the path to dominance with Kayle.

Key Takeaways

  • Kayle’s abilities scale significantly with ability power, making AP builds a viable option for her.
  • Celestial Blessing’s heal and Starfire Spellblade’s passive on-hit magic damage both benefit from AP.
  • Divine Judgment, Kayle’s ultimate, also scales with AP for increased magic damage.
  • AP Kayle requires a thoughtful playstyle, keen positioning skills, and accurate timing to maximize her damage potential.

Kayle’s Abilities

Typically, you’ll find that Kayle’s abilities scale significantly with ability power, making her a potent AP champion under the right conditions.

Exploring the details, her Celestial Blessing’s heal strengthens with a 25% AP ratio, which is beneficial for her survival in skirmishes.

Starfire Spellblade’s passive on-hit magic damage gains from a 20% AP ratio, reinforcing her consistent damage output, especially when it activates the Aflame bonus in team battles.

The formidable Divine Judgment scales with a 70% AP ratio on its magic damage, transforming Kayle into a champion with both support through invulnerability and offensive power.

Giving priority to AP in your build takes advantage of these ratios, enhancing her role as a powerful champion later in the game.

Is Kayle AP or AD Champion?

Determining whether Kayle excels as an AP or AD champion in your matches involves examining her abilities, which allow for both AP and AD builds.

An AP build focuses on her celestial magic, improving the scaling of her abilities and giving her stronger burst damage. This route typically provides superior wave clear and area damage because her passive’s effectiveness increases with AP.

Alternatively, AD builds emphasize steady auto-attack damage, taking advantage of on-hit effects for prolonged damage during fights.

Your choice depends on your team’s needs and the opponents you face. Should your team lack magic damage or require more burst, an AP build could be the better option.

On the flip side, if your team needs to deal with tanks or maintain damage over time, an AD build could be more beneficial.

It’s crucial to adjust your strategy based on the match and select the appropriate build.

Can You Play AP Kayle in Season 13?

Harnessing the power of AP Kayle in Season 13 allows you to inflict substantial magical damage on your adversaries. An AP build draws on her strong ability scalings to enhance your influence during small clashes and larger battles. Focus on these items:

  1. Rabadon’s Deathcap: Increases your total AP, which significantly enhances your damage.
  2. Nashor’s Tooth: Grants attack speed and additional AP damage with each hit, complementing Kayle’s abilities.
  3. Lich Bane: Improves potential for sudden damage bursts, particularly after casting your ultimate.
  4. Zhonya’s Hourglass: Provides a defensive option with its stasis effect, along with a good amount of AP.

Adopting an AP strategy with Kayle involves a thoughtful style of play, keen positioning skills, and accurate timing to take full advantage of her strength at key moments and synergy between her abilities.

Best Item Build & Runes For AP Kayle

For optimal performance with AP Kayle in Season 13, your core item build should feature:

  • Nashor’s Tooth: This item enhances your attack speed and ability power, working well with Kayle’s passive to improve wave-clearing and dueling capabilities.
  • Rabadon’s Deathcap: This item significantly increases your ability power, greatly amplifying your damage.
  • Lich Bane: This item is critical for situations requiring sudden damage increases, as it allows you to take advantage of the spellblade passive following an ability use.

The Precision and Resolve rune branches are recommended for this build. The runes Lethal Tempo, Triumph, Legend: Alacrity, and Last Stand are instrumental in strengthening your performance during prolonged engagements and team conflicts.

The Resolve branch, including Bone Plating and Overgrowth, provides the necessary resilience to withstand early vulnerabilities and grow into a powerful late-game threat.

Best Item Build & Runes For AD Kayle

When you play AD Kayle in Season 13, your aim is to choose items that enhance your auto-attack capabilities. Your item choices should work well with Kayle’s passive ability, Divine Ascent, which improves her basic attacks.

Your item build may include:

  1. Kraken Slayer: This item provides true damage with every third attack, working well with increased attack speed.
  2. Blade of the Ruined King: This provides damage with each hit and lifesteal, which is useful for one-on-one combat.
  3. Runaan’s Hurricane: Enhances your ability to clear minion waves and deal damage to multiple targets during team engagements.
  4. Infinity Edge: Amplifies the damage you deal with critical strikes, making your attacks hit harder.

For your rune setup, choosing the Precision path with Press the Attack or Lethal Tempo can give you the attack speed and damage boost you need.

Your secondary rune choices should support your individual playing style and the specific challenges of your lane opponent.

Conclusion

As you navigate the battlefield with Kayle, consider her a versatile chess piece, capable of playing both the role of a sharp bishop with AP might and a sturdy rook with AD force.

Your strategic decision in itemization shapes the game’s outcome.

For AP, embrace Nashor’s Tooth and Riftmaker as your scepter and orb.

For AD, stride with Kraken Slayer and Guinsoo’s Rageblade as your sword and shield.

Command the board wisely, and victory shall be your checkmate.

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Hello, Summoners! I'm Chris Lee, the face behind LaneLectures. Peaking at Master (459 LP) in Season 12 and with nearly a decade in the League of Legends arena, I've explored the depths of this complex game. Now, with LaneLectures, I aim to share the crucial tips and insights garnered over the years to help you climb the ranked ladder. Whether you're battling out of Elo Hell or eyeing the prestigious Challenger tier, together we'll navigate the strategies to reach your League of Legends goals!