A complete guide to mastering K'Sante in League of Legends Season 13

A detailed guide to K
A detailed guide to K'Sante in League of Legends Season 13 (Image via Riot Games)

League of Legends' Pride of Nazumah is one of the strongest top laners in competitive pro play. The unkillable tanky champion is heavily visible across all the major regions (LCS, LEC, LCK, and LPL).

For a class that often lacks mechanical depth, K'sante is a top lane tank created to be a skill-expressive and potent addition. K'Sante is a monster hunter from the remote Shuriman city of Nazumah.

He uses his Ntofos as both a shield and a sword in skirmishes. Shields are used as a defensive weapon, and the same shatters and transforms into sharp blades while K'Sante is hunting for prey.

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On his debut, K'Sante had a victory percentage that wasn't particularly impressive—or, to put it another way, it was noteworthy in the wrong ways. Upon release, K'Sante had a win rate of just above 40%, and now it hovers around 50.

The champion is a top-lane beast in the hands of pro players, though. Competitions are being destroyed by players who have mastered the mechanical difficulty of the newest League of Legends character.

For those who want to master Nazumah's destructive top laner, Sportskeeda has the perfect League of Legends build, runes and strategies right here.


Abilities, Runes, and Build items of K'Sante in League of Legends

K'Sante is one of the best top laners in the season 13 meta (Image via Riot Games - League of Legends)
K'Sante is one of the best top laners in the season 13 meta (Image via Riot Games - League of Legends)

The following is the complete list of K'Sante's abilities in League of Legends:

Passive - Dauntless Instinct

The key to playing K'Sante effectively is to take advantage of his passive, which is the backbone of his laning phase and trade patterns. After being struck by one of K'Sante's devastating abilities (Q, W, or R), Dauntless Instinct marks foes, even minions and champions so that he can claim the mark with an auto attack.

Attacking a marked League of Legends enemy provides extra physical damage and damage equal to the percentage of maximum health, clearly making it a trading tool, particularly in the baron lane.

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Interweaving auto attacks between abilities when trading and clearing waves are crucial because the damage from K'Sante's passive ends up being the game's majority of his power. The sole purpose of K'Sante's use of "Grasp of the Undying" is to boost this passive.


Q: Ntofo Strike

Ntofo Strike's most straightforward comparison can be made with Yasuo and Yone's Q's. Usually, the ability is a close-range smack in front of K'Sante that slows down enemies significantly and provides only modest amounts of damage.

However, after hitting an enemy twice, the third Q is a powered-up, long-range blow in a brief period. The strengthened Q drags adversaries toward K'Sante and slows them down even more while traveling like a shockwave with the same width as the smash.

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Even in the game's early stages, the cooldown on this ability is exceedingly low, making it practically a second auto-attack for the Shuriman tank. K'Sante typically finds it difficult to stay with his opponents because he prefers to have them come to him rather than pursue them.

Since most champions need to back off to make room after trading into their Qs and passive autos, it can be tempting to utilize his third Q to drive enemies back into you as they flee.

However, the pull is not intended to be used at the maximum range. To punish enemies before they flee, the shockwave is more of an extension tool than an initiating tool because it moves too slowly to capture and drag in an enemy.


W: Path Maker

K'Sante's W, a fascinating mashup of Ornn's Bellows Breath, Poppy's Heroic Charge, and Irelia's Defiant Dance, is unquestionably the most overloaded aspect of his kit.

In addition to improving his defensive stats and making him immune to CC for the charge duration, the ability roots the opponent. Depending on how long he has been rooted, K'Sante rushes forward after being released, pushing and stunning any foes he comes across.

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Like K'Sante's Q3, it can be tempting to utilize his W to chase or engage enemies, but doing so will overextend and take away the most essential defensive ability. This ability must be used in reaction to an enemy's engage or dive into interrupting their damage and providing protection from burst attacks effectively.


E: Footwork

The most uncomplicated ability in K'Sante's kit, Footwork, gives him a quick dash and a shield. Since it is fundamentally very similar to Riven's Valor, this is the fundamental mechanism by which K'Sante executes his combos.

During its duration, other abilities can be used, and dashes to allies have a much greater range and can shield both champions. This quick shield is important during laning phase trades due to its short cooldown.

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The slow from K'Sante's Q typically isn't enough to keep opponents close; instead, he uses his E to stay on enemies until they dive on him. When an enemy commits early in a trade during the laning phase, it is advisable to use the dash to absorb significant damage.

K'Sante can occasionally dash twice, even in shorter deals, providing an excellent way to dash out to conclude with a health advantage and relative safety or to complete the chase down on the adversary. He's a good diver, especially in coordinated play, thanks to how quickly he can rush to allies.


R: All Out

While it is the kit's signature move, K'Sante's ultimate makes it ridiculously simple to run it down entirely. K'Sante uses it as a transformation ult, shattering his Ntofos into blades and dealing damage at the expense of health, armor, and magic resistance. He also gains the ability to move more quickly and inflict more damage with his basic abilities.

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However, it's pretty simple to misuse K'Sante's ult. By reducing health and resistance and isolating him in hostile territory, one can run the risk of accidental suicide. So one must be careful to avoid losing the battle due to a percentage loss in health or to ensure that isolating an adversary will put them in a position where they can prevail.


Ideal Items for K'Sante in League of Legends

K'Sante ideal build items for League of Legends season 13 (Image via League of Legends analytics website u.gg)
K'Sante ideal build items for League of Legends season 13 (Image via League of Legends analytics website u.gg)

K'Sante is a tank, so his itemization is relatively straightforward in League of Legends. He builds typical tank items around the core of Sunfire Aegis or Frozen Gauntlet.

When it comes to extended trades, K'Sante thrives, but he has trouble keeping his opponents in those bouts. In those circumstances, Sunfire Aegis boosts his damage output, and Frozen Gauntlet allows him to keep nearby enemies slowed.


Ability Max Order

K'Sante skill priority for League of Legends season 13 (Image via League of Legends analytics website u.gg)
K'Sante skill priority for League of Legends season 13 (Image via League of Legends analytics website u.gg)

K'Sante takes the ability first and maxes it first. His Q is the foundation of his kit. After maxing Q, the next goal is to reduce his W's cooldown, or Path Maker, because being able to deny CC twice in a League of Legends battle defensively may be extremely fight-warping.


Runes for K'Sante in League of Legends

K'Sante ideal top lane Runes for League of legends season 13 (Image via League of Legends analytics website u.gg)
K'Sante ideal top lane Runes for League of legends season 13 (Image via League of Legends analytics website u.gg)

Grasp of the Undying is the best option for K'Sante's keystone because it fits his kit far too well for anything else to be the choice. Triumph and Last Stand as precision keys suit him well.


K'Sante's playstyle tips in League of Legends season 13

Due to his passive playstyle and rune selection, K'Sante excels at punishing extended trades throughout the laning phase. He can stay in lane for a considerable time and defeat his opponent in an attrition battle when early health itemization is considered.

However, most of his laning phase is relatively passive early in the game as he lets waves come into him and gradually farms up due to his noticeable lack of damage and kill pressure.

However, his displacement (while on a long cooldown) might catch a League of Legends opponent off guard and allow him to get a kill under tower, especially in lower elos.

As a tank, K'Sante concentrates on zone control while trying to avoid opponent encounters and deal damage to any foes who cross his path. Unlike Ornn or Sejuani, he waits for the adversary to approach him before using his damage and sustain to punish anyone who tries to brawl with him.


K'Sante can effectively protect his carries by pushing foes off his team's backline because his W can deny CC and push a diver out of the way. While hunting down enemies for kills may be tempting, staying close to the allies will make K'Sante significantly more effective in League of Legends.

Even though his primary playstyle focuses on methodically protecting his carries, K'Sante's All Out forces him to play with the exact opposite goals. He loses HP during the fight and burns through the first round of cooldowns. Thus, All Out allows him to isolate one enemy carry and attempt to get an easy kill.

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Edited by Arkaprovo Roy
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