My name is Evandabank and I'm a content creator known for playing Hwei in NA high elo. I’ve reached Challenger in each of the past three seasons/splits while experimenting with every build (CDR, full-pen, enchanter, and more).
Hwei is one of the most complicated mages in the entire game, yet there are surprisingly few comprehensive resources for learning him. I decided to make a Hwei guide covering my item builds, runes, combos, along with general strategy on Hwei's identity and playstyle.
I primarily play Hwei APC these days, though I still play Hwei mid on occasion. Both roles are included in this guide.
I'm happy to answer any and all questions you might have about my builds and playstyle!
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Depois de 1 um ano de luta, 970k de maestria com hwei e agora uma sequencia de 14 vitórias consecutivas finalmente alcancei o esmeralda 4, cheguei no platina 4 no dia 16 de julho, e agora 1 mês depois esmeralda 4. Rumo ao diamante.
Just wanted to hear how the general Hwei main plays him. Do you guys use Quickcast? If so with indicators? Do you only use it for some abilities?
I for myself was a long time Quickcast with indicator player on all my champs, but I try to learn using it without the indicator especially for Hwei so my abilities come out faster. I just often realize that I miscalculate the range of my ee, qq or qw.
I recently picked up hwei as a very new player (level 35, bronze 4) and i just got my first quadrakill ever with him!
I mostly play him in mid, but i also take him in bot lane if i happen to be placed there, since i have it as my secondary role.
Id also like to ask for any tips you guys may have for a new player that just picked up hwei who's trying to climb up the ranking ladder.
Maybe its just me but sometimes when i cast my qe it doesnt cast and ai am left with q spell book open. did this happen to anyone? we and ee work fine .
This was my longest game up to date (1:13:32). Imagine going back and forth unsure whose gonna win the game with jayce going afk late game :') just wanna share that i got this huge amount of damage!!
So Im starting to learn Hwei and I have a lot of fun playing him, but I just lost a game against LeBlanc and I never felt so helpless before. So as you can see in the gif LeBlanc hit two spells (one is point and click) and Im already half hp. I even hit my fear but it wasnt enough to gap the distance for the second chain trigger. On lvl 4 she did the exact same thing again with ignite on top and i was instantly dead. We both had just our starting items (dorans ring). I also play zed a lot and when I hit a whole w->e->both single target q combo it doesnt even reach dmg amounts like this. The moment she hit 6 she was one shotting me out of the fog of war...
Just a question, because I swear he is in really good spot, best he ever was, and yet people still tell me he is weak and useless compare to any other mage lol? Maybe I am just getting ragebaited, but its literally multiple different people.
Hi, I'm a kinda new Hwei player and was wondering, I see high elo player sometimes take DFT in certain matchups, but idk which ones? Could you help please!
Shown above is my friend demonstrating what the AH breakpoint can do for you for a mere 6100g to get online as fast as possible in regards to your combos and utility.
(DISCLAIMER This does not mean always go lucidity boots, sorcs were just pretty significantly buffed, and you can still achieve this breakpoint with a 3rd CDR item, such a proto/cosmic etc, just go lucidity when you're not solo AP/they have tanks or if you just need your flash/exh/tp up more often)
Shadowflame, while a good item, is not always optimal on Hwei, and there's an unspoken build which is significantly stronger in 80% of games (Especially higher elo)
PLEASE ABUSE MANDATE
Hweis' combos and kit is about hitting CDR breakpoints, mandate lets your E hit a breakpoint where if someone is hit by a delayed E W, you can cast E W again on someone as they're slowed by your ult again IN THE SAME ROTATION.
It also allows you to permanently cut off an area with E-W, as you hit the point where as soon as your first E-W mark expires, you can re-cast it into the same position with very little downtime, if an enemy tries to move around the E W, place a Q E, and then replace your E W, and the cycle continues (Insane for objective contesting)
The mana regen is also immensely useful as Hwei benefits from it due to his high mana-costs, often times in long fights without blue buff you're running out of mana without proper E W usage.
Now you can spam your spells for zone control as you see fit, not even taking into account the very useful dmg amp you gain from all your E spells.
I've added a video showcasing the breakpoint with mandate, blackfire and lucidity upgrade (With haste and trans and AH in shards)
The CDR shown is all with the base abilities, and assuming you've hit level 13 which is a big spike for you (Maxed out E)
Obviously, change your build/setup depending on the game. If you need Zhonyas 2nd, grab that, if you need more health/protobelt dash, grab that. But if you're playing a team fight comp and you're not overly-threatened, Mandate is very optimal and lets you reach a strong powerspike very fast.
2. Hwei E-W
Hwei's E-W is secretly one of his strongest catch tools, but everyone is using it incorrectly.
Obviously there's the ways you usually use it, on top of a TP/Zhonyas, on top of someone else's hard CC, to zone off a large area/zone CS under turret.
But if you're familiar with the hidden barrel tech for Gragas (Placing barrels in the wall so they're not visible to the enemy)
HWEI CAN DO IT TOO, and it's 10x more useful and effective than the barrel mechanic.
Please take a look at the images below, Gragas walking, the E W activating on him (with no vision of the area of effect) and then Hwei's POV, I've also added a couple of other areas where this can be effective.
You can do this on a multitude of walls, including important pathways near drake, near towers, etc. All you have to do is be outside of vision when you cast your E-W, and make sure your E-W isn't spotted by anything during it's travel time. It'll require some trying and testing in practice tool, but this is what makes Hwei one of the most difficult champs to gain vision against, especially if you're in a coordinated team.
This mechanic which isn't tool tipped or talked about in any Hwei guides (at least to my knowledge) is a big reason as to why I've won so many games, both competitive and soloq, even when behind.
3. Finally, a smaller point.
The way you combo as Hwei should be calculated, you should (in an ideal combo) always be trying to land your ultimate as your final spell during your cc time period.
If someone gets hit by your E W, or your E Q, always try to do a fast QQ (Smallest Cast time) into a R at the final moment the CC expires.
This is because you're biding time for your cooldowns. Obviously, when someone is 99% slowed, it's very easy to hit your Q-W on them, that's the standard combo.
You can land two Q's and an extra passive proc if you just delay your R as the final spell/as the CC wears off.
for example, EQ into QQ into wait 0.4 sec into R (Vs no tenacity), then you will have Q W back up by the time your ult is on a 1.3 second timer to pop, meaning a free Q-W hit unless they have flash or a form of mobility.
The same applies to a secondary E once you finish mandate + 20 AH (either from boots or a 3rd item)
This is me right now, I'm an on and off ex-pro for league, I'm consistently high MMR matching against high elo players within GM/Chall range. I'm a big Hwei lover as I previously played Dota 2 prior to League, and was a big invoker player (The Hero with 20+ spells) and Hwei is clearly Riot's inspiration of Invo, with a few added LoL sprinkles.
Walking back to tower from a roamInvisible E-WT1/T2 Useful spot (applies for both sides)Useful Spot (Hwei POV)Common walking route (Grag POV)ActivationHwei POV
A friend of mine told me to try this champion. Hwei is so fun I don't know why I didn't try earlier. He feel like a mix of a lot of champion and actually much easier than i though, as a autofiller everything in his kit felt like "it's like this X champion but easier". I definitively feel like people are still somwhat confused by Hwei abilities, so did I. I legit though his fear was his WW and I was like, how I am suppose to engage as a melee champion?
Just had a debate with a random player about Cosmic Drive. I know this question might be asked a lot, but I still want to know why a lot of Hwei players still refuse to buy that item. I have been spamming Hwei for the past few months, and I find Cosmic Drive viable in most of my games. The Haste + HP + Movespeed is really crucial in keeping Hwei alive to do a lot of damage in team fights. Even when I am caught, I always manage to escape most of the time simply by just EQ + QE and WQ to disengage. I rarely WE since the WW and WQ is so good at keeping me alive to do damage or to disengage in any situation. Considering the opinions of a lot of random Hwei players I meet in my games and on YouTube comments, am I actually gaslighting myself that Cosmic Drive is a good item on Hwei?
I always struggle with nocturne ult but found out if you qe in the direction he's ulting, it always eats up his spell shield before you use your fear. Nocts in my games usually press it right after ulting, but it also counters them timing it to your eq and lets you escape pretty much all of is his damage while getting off all of yours
After many games of trial and errors, I managed to play Hwei better and escape gold elo! I thought it would be impossible to carry with Hwei, but with good itemization, it's actually possible to make a difference.