Rakan

Abilities Overview

Rakan's passive, Fancy Footwork, grants a shield periodically that procs on champion damage — perfect for sustaining through lane trades. Q (Gleaming Quill) throws a feather that heals allies and damages the first enemy hit. The heal is stronger if Rakan touches an ally first, rewarding proximity to teammates.

W (Grand Entrance) dashes to a location and knocks up enemies — Rakan's primary engage tool. E (Battle Dance) dashes to an ally, granting a shield — can be used twice quickly for double dash. R (The Quickness) grants 80% movespeed and charms all enemies Rakan touches — used to engage or disengage through the enemy team.

Laning Phase

Rakan is a strong lane bully with good engage. At level 2, look for W knockup to engage — if you land it, the enemy should burn flash or die. Rakan pairs brilliantly with Xayah — their combined root and recall synergy is oppressive. Level 6 adds R for surprise engages from fog of war.

Against engage supports (Leona, Nautilus), use E to dash to your ADC and shield them, then W to knock up the engage support. Against poke supports (Lux, Xerath), Rakan's sustain through Q healing outlasts their poke. Roaming with Rakan is strong — E to gap close quickly, W for CC.

Teamfighting

Rakan is a secondary engage support with unmatched mobility. Open fights with R-W combo — R to speed in and charm, then W to knock up. E back to your ADC for safety. The R-W-E combo is Rakan's signature teamfight pattern — charm multiple enemies, knock them up, then escape.

Against disengage comps (Janna, Lulu, Thresh), bait their disengage tools before committing R-W. Rakan excels in extended fights where he can weave in and out with E dashes. His shield and heal provide meaningful sustain to carries. Rakan struggles against point-click CC (Lissandra, Malzahar, Pantheon).

Build Path

Start Spellthief's Edge. Shurelya's Battlesong for engage speed. Ardent Censer for on-hit damage buff. Staff of Flowing Water for AP and movespeed.

Redemption for AoE heal. Mikael's Blessing for CC cleanse. Chemtech Putrefier for anti-heal. Boots are Ionian Boots of Lucidity or Swifties.

Matchups

Rakan excels against immobile ADCs and squishy supports. He struggles against hard engage supports (Leona, Nautilus, Alistar) who can CC him during his W. Against disengage supports, bait their cooldowns before going in. Rakan + Xayah is one of the strongest bot lane duos in the game.

For more details, check the League of Legends Wikipedia page and the Rakan page on League of Legends Wiki.