League of Legends best Rakan build guide: Runes, Itemization, Strategy, and more

The best Rakan build paths have gone through some significant improvements in League of Legends season 14. The Charmer has seen a popularity spike in recent patches, with many playing him to a degree of success in pro play and solo queue.

Rakan has a good deal of skill expression that can often let him carry games. He is a playmaker whose kit allows him to have easy access to the enemy backline. Rakan has exceptional flanking and if he can catch out the enemy carries with his CC, his team will have a much easier time dogpiling their damage on them.

He can create situations that can turn a losing teamfight in your favor, and he is great at roaming and making cross-map plays in the early-to-mid game. If you are looking to pick up a highly mobile, playmaking support to climb rank, Rakan might just be the perfect choice.

Contents:

• Best Rakan build
• Pros and Cons of playing Rakan
• Rakan tips and tricks for Early Game, Mid Game, and Late Game
• Rakan counters, matchups, and ADC synergy

League of Legends 14.11 Best Rakan build

Runes 

Itemization

Spells

• Flash
• Ignite/Exhaust

Skill Unlock Priority

Q: Gleaming Quill	1													14	15		17	18
W: Grand Entrance			3	4	5		7		9
E: Battle Dance		2						8		10		12	13
R: The Quickness						6					11					16

Rakan Pros and Cons in League of Legends Season 14

Pros:

• Rakan has a great number of crowd-control abilities at his disposal. He can disrupt enemy champions leaving them vulnerable to damage. This gives Rakan a lot of playmaking potential and he is always going to be a threat from a flanking position. A good flank can help your team whip out the enemy in a flash.
• Rakan is one of the highest mobility supports in League of Legends. The best Rakan builds makes the most of his kit making him quite difficult to pin down in a skirmish. He is capable of zooming around and CC-ing the enemy while evading most of the damage that comes from them.
• Rakan has a special synergy with Xayah making him the best pick to duo with her in the Bot Lane. However, he pairs very well with other hyper-carries as well. He scales well into the late game and his CC tools along with a bit of healing from his Q let him protect his ADCs from getting engaged on.

Cons:

• Rakan is very squishy. If you fail your engage and all your buttons are on cooldown the enemy carries will be able to instantly burst you down. So you will often to forced to pick your moments before going in.
• Rakan is one of the harder Supports to pick up and master. He has a pretty high skill ceiling and required a fair bit of practice to effectively pull off. Hence, he is not recommended for players who are new to the support role.
• Rakan is vulnerable to point-and-click CC. Picks like Annie, Twisted Fate, and Leona, can make it hard for him to engage. You will often be forced to look for flank angles if you are up against champions who are capable of locking him down during a fight.

How to play Rakan: Tips and Tricks for League of Legends Season 14

Early Game:

• Rakan has a great laning phase. There aren’t many supports that can counter him which makes him have an easier time scaling. Additionally, Rakan can start playing a bit aggressively once he gets to level 2. So reach levels 2 and 3 before the enemy Bot Lane and look to trade aggressively to get some poke down.
• Make use of the bushes to catch the enemy team by surprise. Rakan has great all-in potential. So if your ADC has a good deal of damage early on, you can look to fish for a kill or force the Bot Lane to blow their flashes early. This will let your Jungler have an easier time in future ganks.
• Place deep wards in the jungle to spot the enemy jungler’s pathing. This will prevent you from getting ganked if you have the lane pushed up. Rakan is capable of helping his team get early leads by roaming. He can very effectively make cross-map plays, so help your Jungler out when ganking the solo lanes. His incredible tower dive capabilities are very handy in the early game.

Mid Game:

• Rakan’s Mid Game will be about extending your vision score. The best Rakan build lets him be a bit hard to pin down at this stage, allowing him a bit more breathing room when caught out. So when the game is in a neutral state, look to place deep wards in the enemy jungle, and use your sweeper to take out enemy vision.
• Look for engages if you are with your team and the enemy carries are all grouped together. He particularly excels at pressuring objectives because of his mobility. When your team is positioning for the Drake or the Baron, one successful access to the backline will make it significantly easier to secure the objective.
• Rakan can start snowballing and making more plays in the Mid Game. If you have secured early leads, don’t hesitate to go in during 2v1 or 2v2 situations. This will often lead to a kill or make the enemy blow their summoners and CC abilities. 

Late Game:

• The Late Game is when Rakan starts to shine. He scales pretty well the longer the game goes and he starts having more backline threat. In the Late Game, your plan will be to look for getting game-ending engages. Always look to flank the enemy backline to CC them making it easier for your team to focus their damage on them.
• Rakan remains slippery but he can be bursted down in the blink of an eye. So don’t engage if you are not sure that your team will back you up. Go in when the enemy has exhausted their point-and-click CC so that you have a much higher chance of success.
• Skirt in and out of the fight and be a nuisance. Keep peeling for your carries and knock up the enemy backline to disrupt their flow. Don’t forget to continue expanding your vision score. So keep putting deep wards in the enemy jungle. And take out enemy vision around the Dragon and Baron pit while you are at it.

Rakan counters, matchups, and ADC synergy

Countered by:

• Brand
• Morgana
• Taliyah
• Vex
• Rell
• Ashe
• Fiddlesticks

Rakan gets hard-countered by Supports who have a lot of poke and point-and-click CC.

Favorable Matchups:

• Pyke
• Soraka
• Blitzcrank
• Alistar
• Braum
• Sona
• Tahm Kench
• Yuumi

Rakan start accumulating early advantages when he is up against the above supports.

ADC synergy:

• Xayah
• Samira
• Kai’Sa
• Draven
• Jinx
• Lucian
• Nilah

Rakan’s kit synergizes extremely well with the above ADCs.