Caitlyn’s best item options let her build be versatile enough to either go for a Crit or a Lethality playstyle in League of Legends 14.10. Her trap setup makes her one of the best long-range ADCs in the game, with a good deal of poke and harass early on.
She is one of the easier carries to pick up in the Bot Lane, but Caitlyn can struggle to stay relevant in the Late Game. Caitlyn is not a hyper-carry unlike some of the other meta ADCs, which is why she has trouble talking down beefy frontlines.
She has an exceptional Mid Game power spike but you will have to learn to kite with her well and properly set up her traps to have the most impact in the Late Game. But once you master her, Caitlyn can be one of the best ADCs who will help you climb the rank ladder.
Contents:
- Best Caitlyn build
- Pros and cons of playing Caitlyn
- Caitlyn tips and tricks for Early Game, Mid Game, and Late Game
- Caitlyn counters, matchups, and Support synergy
League of Legends 14.10 Best Caitlyn build (Crit/Lethality)
Runes
| Precision (Crit)/Inspiration (Lethality) | Sorcery (Crit/Lethality) | Passive Stats |
|---|---|---|
| Fleet Footwork/First Strike | Scorch | +10% Attack Speed |
| Presence of Mind/ Magical Footwear | Gathering Storm | +9 Adaptive Damage |
| Legend: Bloodline/Biscuit Delivery | +10-180 Health (levels 1-18) | |
| Coup de Grace/Cosmic Insight |
Itemization
| Crit | Lethality | Situational Items |
|---|---|---|
| The Collector | Opportunity | Guardian Angel |
| Berserker’s Greaves | Berserker’s Greaves | Maw of Malmortius |
| Infinity Edge | Lord Dominik’s Regards | Mercurial Scimitar |
| Yun Tal Wildarrows | Infinity Edge | Phantom Dancer |
| Lord Dominik’s Regards | Edge of Night | Axiom Arc |
| Rapid Firecannon | Immortal Shieldbow | Bloodthirster |
Spells
- Flash
- Heal/Cleanse/Barrier/Ghost
Skill Unlock Priority
 Q: Piltover Peacemaker | 1 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 13 | |||||||||||||
 W: Yordle Snaptrap | 3 | 14 | 15 | 17 | 18 | |||||||||||||
 E: 90 Calibre Net | 2 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 9 | |||||||||||||
 R: Ace in the Hole | 6 | 11 | 16 |
Caitlyn Pros and Cons in League of Legends Season 14
Pros:
- Caitlyn has one of the longest AA ranges out of all the ADCs in Riot’s MOBA. This gives her a very easy Early Game where she can poke down the enemy Bot Lane and push them into their tower. This will allow her to get some damage off on the tower and secure some plates. Gaining an early Gold lead is very easy with her.
- With her Yordle Snaptraps, Caitlyn can be an effective zoner. She can make it difficult for the enemy to contest Neutral Objectives or to siege her towers. A proper trap setup can help you turn a fight around especially if an enemy carry steps on it. Caitlyn’s headshots do a tremendous amount of damage once she has her best build done.
- Irrespective of her buil (Crit or Lethality), Caitlyn has a tremendous Mid Game power spike. She will out-DPS most team compositions after a couple of items and even melt through neutral objectives. Her burst damage from Headshots will let you have a much easier time in skirmishes and let you close out games fast.
Cons:
- Caitlyn is squishy and can be immediately taken out if the enemy collapses on her. While her 90 Calibre Net can act as an escape tool, she will still struggle against compositions that have a lot of CC and backline threat. She does not do well agaisnt champions that can close the gap on her.
- Both of Caitlyn’s Lethality and Crit options fall off the longer a game goes. However, the Lethality variant will be more ineffective than the Crit one. Hence, you might struggle a fair bit in the Late Game and to stay relevant you will need to kite around a fight well and poke out the enemy backline. Trap placement gets all the more important at this stage.
- Caitlyn is not a good pick against tanky compositions. She lacks the consistent DPS that hyper-carries do, which is why she struggles to burst down champions that have built a lot of armor. So if the enemy team has a strong frontline, you won’t be able to do much in a skirmish.
How to play Caitlyn: Tips and Tricks for League of Legends Season 14
Early Game:
- Caitlyn’s Early game will also be to gain some lane priority. As she usually does not have any losing match-ups because of her range, you can easily poke out the enemy carry to gain a sizeable gold lead. So as soon as the game starts look to zone the enemy Bot Lane away from getting any CS or push them in to secure Tower Plates.
- Ward around the lane, and set up traps to make it difficult for the enemy Jungler to gank you. As Caitlyn, you will usually be pushing up the lane leaving you vulnerable to a gank. Wards and a good trap setup can help you avoid throwing away any early leads.
- Depending on your Support duo, Caitlyn can have a fair bit of kill pressure in lane. Picks like Lux, Leono, and Mogana synergize extremely well with her. If they catch the enemy out with their CC, you can always place a trap below them and activate her passive. Headshot deals a lot of burst damage at any stage of the game. You can chunk out the enemy Bot Lane with this and even manage to secure a kill.
Mid Game:
- Caitlyn gets a massive power spike once she has a few items under her belt. So in the Mid Game, you should be looking to skirmish as much as possible with the rest of your team. So rotate to the Mid Lane, look to gain prio there, and group up with your team to take down neutral objectives.
- Set up traps strategically during a skirmish. This will let you zone the enemy team away and make it hard for them to engage on you. When enemies step on your traps you will be able to chunk them out. Fill up choke points with traps and keep zoning the enemy away.
- If not much is happening around the map, keep CS-ing and threaten tower damage. Caitlyn’s range makes her great at destroying towers. You will be able to chip away at it and if you have Demolish as a Rune the structures will go down in the blink of an eye. Caitlyn can be a very effective split pusher in the Mid Game if you have most of her best build done.
Late Game:
- Positioning around teamfights becomes quite important in the Late Game. Caitlyn is squishy and can be bursted down if the enemy layers their CC well on her. So keep kiting around a fight and position behind your frontline. Walk up aggressively only when the enemy CC tools are on a cooldown.
- Fucus Neutral Objectives every time they are up. If you have completed Caitlyn’s best build options, you will be able to melt through the Drake and th Baron. She has a good turn from objectives as well especially if your team is baiting the enemy just to re-engage on them.
- You can poke out the enemy backline with the Headshot + Rapid Firecannon combo. The item will increase your attack range after charging up, so every time Cailyn’s Headshot is up, you will be able to use it to poke out the backline. Combine this with the Piltover Peacemaker and Ace in the Hole to chunk out the carries before a teamfight.
Caitlyn counters, matchups, and Support synergy
Countered by:
Caitlyn usually doesn’t have lane counters but the above champions can be hard to deal with if they get a gold lead.
Favorable Matchups:
Caitlyn can bully these champions into the tower.
Support Synergy:
Caitlyn’s kit synergizes extremely well with the supports that come with a fair bit of CC.
