League of Legends K’Sante has been lurking in the shadows of the MOBA‘s top lane for a while now, threatening to unleash his full power on unsuspecting enemies. As the curtains fall and the pride of Nazumah is finally revealed, here’s everything you need to know about the new champion.
Boasting two tonfas made from the bones of ancient beasts, K’Sante is quite the power house on the Rift. Designed to be both a warden and a skirmisher, he offers aggressive players a reason to chase down their enemies whilst also maintaining enough defence to soak up damage.
His kit revolves around going in, hitting hard, and walking away victorious, with his All Out ultimate even changing the way his weapons look and perform. Riot set out to be dynamic with K’Sante, and he’s all that and more. In fact, he’s League’s most diverse champion to date.
League of Legends K’Sante abilities
Renowned for his beast hunting prowess, K’Sante brings a diverse set of skills to the top lane. His passive, Dauntless Instinct, marks enemies with a debuff that allows K’Sante to deal max health physical damage. In all out form, he also deals additional max health true damage.
His Q, Ntofo Strikes, slows targets briefly and, if he gains two stacks, unleashes a shockwave that pulls enemies. In All Out form, it pulls enemies but no longer slows, but has a greatly reduced cooldown.
His Path Maker W makes use of those defensive tonfas, allowing him to become unstoppable and deflect damage for a short amount of time before he rams forward, stunning and knocking back anything in his path. All Out buffs this, increasing damage dealt, as well as the ability’s charge and dash speeds.
E, Footwork, is a simple dash that shields K’Sante, as well as an ally if he dashes to one of them. In All Out he can dash over a wider radius and plough through walls, all whilst casting other abilities.
Last up is that All Out ultimate I’ve made so many references to. Shattering his two tonfas into deadly, curved blades, he knocks back enemies. Enemies who hit a wall receive more damage, are knocked over the wall, then stunned. K’Sante can dash to these enemies and finish them off with increased attack damage, omnivamp, and all of his transformed abilities. Don’t worry, though, he sacrifices some defence to do so.
So, to recap:
- Dauntless Instinct (Passive): K’Sante’s damaging abilities mark enemies for a short duration. Attacking a marked enemy consumes the
mark to deal damage plus max health physical damage.
All Out: Attacking a marked enemy instead deals physical damage and additional max health true damage.
- Ntofo Strikes (Q): K’Sante slams his weapon, dealing physical damage and briefly slowing targets hit. If an enemy is hit, K’Sante gains a stack for a short duration. At two stacks, K’Sante instead fires a shockwave that pulls enemies.
All Out: This ability’s cooldown is reduced and no longer slows
- Path Maker (W): Begin charging: K’Sante raises his weapons defensively for a short duration becoming unstoppable, and reducing incoming damage.
Release: K’Sante rams forward, dealing a percentage of max health physical damage, knocking back, and stunning enemies he passes through for a short duration based on charge time.
All Out: This ability’s cooldown is refreshed, damage taken reduction is increased, deals an additional amount of physical damage based on charge time, and the charge and dash speed are doubled.
- Footwork (E): K’Sante dashes, gaining a shield for a short duration. If dashing to an ally, the distance is significantly increased and they are also shielded. Other abilities can be cast during Footwork.
All Out: This ability’s dash speed is increased. Dashing to a targeted location has increased range and can go over walls.
- All Out (R): K’Sante shatters his tonfas, dealing physical damage and knocking back an enemy champion. Enemies that hit a wall will instead take a greater amount of physical damage, are knocked back over the wall, and are briefly stunned. K’Sante then dashes after the enemy and goes All Out for an extended duration.
All Out: K’Sante loses a percentage of max health, bonus armour, and bonus magic resistance. K’Sante gains attack damage, omnivamp, and transforms his abilities.
As someone who has played top lane a fair few times, K’Sante looks like he’ll be pretty powerful, but I like his kit’s focus on teamplay. Often top laners feel as though they’re left on an island in the early game, only to become a battering ram as time goes on. K’Sante’s ability to shield allies will make him a menace in teamfights, whilst his wall-shattering dashy abilities simultaneously make him the perfect frontliner.
League of Legends K’Sante release date
K’Sante will debut in League of Legends on November 3, accompanied by the all-new Lil Nas X Prestige Empyrean skin. The skin will be unlockable until November 14.
If you’re looking to pick up the new cosmetic, thankfully you won’t need to worry about how much you’ve spent on League of Legends as it’s all about the grind, not the cash. If you are looking to tear through the Worlds Event pass to pick up this one-of-a-kind skin, be sure to check out our League of Legends tier list to help you pick your champions.