Loading guide...

Playing Against Smolder

Bot

Patch 16.2.1

What They Do

Smolder is a hyper-scaling ADC who evolves his kit by collecting stacks of . He starts with weak, single-target damage but eventually gains AoE explosions, multi-target bolts, and a true-damage execute burn. He uses to kite over walls and to provide massive area denial.

Abilities (What to Watch For)

Ability	What You'll See	What It Means For You
	A counter on his buff bar or floating numbers when he hits you	Stacking mechanic. Every hit with or , and every kill with , grants a stack. Stacks directly increase the damage of all his basic abilities.
	A fireball spit at a single target	His primary tool. At 25 stacks, it splashes AoE. At 125 stacks, it sends fire bolts behind the target. At 225 stacks, it deals true damage and executes enemies below a health threshold.
	A slow-moving flaming glob that travels in a line	Achooo! deals damage and slows. If it hits a champion, it explodes in an AoE. It is his main way to poke and stack in the early laning phase.
	Smolder flies briefly, ignoring walls and obstacles	His only mobility tool. While flying, he automatically attacks the lowest health enemy. It has a massive 24-18s cooldown, making him highly vulnerable if he wastes it.
	A massive shadow on the ground followed by a wave of fire	A huge area-of-effect ultimate. The center line deals extra damage and a 40% slow. It also heals Smolder if he is standing in the fire.

Respect

!
225 Stack Milestone→Once he reaches this, his applies a true damage burn and an execute. He becomes the highest priority target in the game at this point.
!
Poke→The projectile is slow, but the explosion range is generous. If you stand near your minions, he will farm and poke you at the same time.
!
Center of →The 'Sweetspot' deals 50% increased damage and a heavy slow. Fighting in the middle of this wave usually results in a lost trade or death.
!
Terrain Scaling→ allows him to escape over any wall. If you don't have a dash or flash to follow, he can bait you into bad positions and then fly away.

Punish

+
is on cooldown→This is a 24-second window at rank 1. Without his flight, he is an immobile, squishy dragon with zero self-peel. Dive him immediately.
+
Pre-25 Stacks→His waveclear is terrible early on. Shove him under tower to force him to use for last-hitting instead of poking you.
+
Missing →If he misses his sneeze, he loses his only way to slow you. Walk him down and force a trade while his main poke tool is down.
+
Early Game Short Range→His range is only 550. Use high-range champions like Caitlyn or Ashe to punish him every time he steps up to stack his .

Laning Tips

•Stand away from your minion wave. If you stand inside it, his will hit the minions and explode onto you, giving him free stacks.
•His flight can be interrupted by hard CC like stuns or displacements. Save your CC for the moment he tries to fly away.
•Force him to choose between using to last hit or to poke you. If he pokes you, he misses stacks from minions.
•Check the scoreboard often. If Smolder has 150+ stacks, you need to stop playing for the long game and start looking for a decisive end.
•Smolder is extremely mana-reliant early. If he is low on mana, he cannot use to escape a gank, making him an easy kill.
•The bolts from his 125-stack travel behind the target. If he hits your tank, don't stand directly behind them.

Teamfight Warning

⚠Don't fight in tight jungle corridors where his covers the entire path; the center slow is a death sentence.
⚠His bolts prioritize the lowest health target. Even if you aren't his main target, the flight bolts will execute you if you are low.
⚠Smolder wins front-to-back fights once he has his true damage burn. You must use assassins or flankers to dive the backline and kill him first.
⚠Watch for his healing. If he is low, he might drop his ultimate on himself to stay in the fight longer.
⚠If he hits 225 stacks, avoid grouping too closely. His splash will spread the true damage burn to your entire team.

AI-generated counterplay guide • Patch 16.2.1 • Cached