League of Legends Gwen Guide: Best Build, Runes & Combos

Gwen is a powerful AP top laner in League of Legends who excels at shredding tanks, healing through fights, and dueling almost anyone with her scissors. With high mobility, true damage, and strong sustain, she becomes a deadly threat in both 1v1s and teamfights. Whether you’re looking to carry from the top lane or dive into the backline in late-game skirmishes, Gwen has the tools to outplay opponents and dominate with precision. In this guide, you’ll learn the best build, runes, items, and combos to unlock Gwen’s full potential and take over your games.

Gwen Abilities Overview in League of Legends

Passive – A Thousand Cuts
Gwen’s basic attacks deal bonus on-hit magic damage based on a percentage of the enemy’s max health. She also heals for a portion of that damage when hitting champions, giving her strong sustain in extended trades.

Q – Snip Snip!
Gwen rapidly snips her scissors in a cone up to four times, with each snip dealing magic damage. Enemies in the center take true damage and bonus damage based on Gwen’s AP. This is her main damage tool—position yourself to hit as many snips and center hits as possible.

W – Hallowed Mist
Gwen surrounds herself in a mist for 5 seconds, gaining bonus resistances and becoming untargetable to all enemies outside the mist. This ability is crucial for dodging skill shots and diving into backlines safely.

E – Skip ’n Slash
Gwen dashes a short distance and empowers her next basic attacks with bonus range, attack speed, and on-hit magic damage. If she hits an enemy, the cooldown is partially refunded, allowing her to chase and stick to targets.

R – Needlework
Gwen launches a barrage of needles in up to three waves. Each wave slows and deals magic damage based on AP and a percentage of the target’s health. To activate all waves, she must hit an enemy with a basic attack or ability between casts.

Together, Gwen’s kit makes her a deadly skirmisher who thrives in extended fights, weaving autos and abilities for constant healing, mobility, and damage.

How To Play Gwen In League of Legends

Best Summoner Spells For Gwen

The best summoner spells for Gwen are Flash and Teleport. Flash is a must-have for escaping, chasing, or repositioning during fights, especially when you’re diving into the enemy backline. Teleport gives you strong map presence, lets you return to lane after early trades, and enables you to impact side lanes or teamfights later in the game. If you’re playing aggressively in a 1v1 matchup and want to snowball, you can swap Teleport for Ignite to add kill pressure and reduce enemy healing—but Flash + Teleport is the most consistent and reliable setup for top lane Gwen.

Best Runes For Gwen

The best runes for Gwen come from the Precision tree with a focus on sustain, scaling, and extended fights. Take Conqueror as your keystone for stacking adaptive damage and healing in trades. Follow it with Presence of Mind for mana sustain, Legend: Alacrity to boost her attack speed (which directly powers her passive and Q), and Last Stand for increased damage when low on health. For your secondary runes, go into the Resolve tree with Second Wind for extra sustain against poke and Unflinching for slow resistance and tenacity. This setup makes Gwen strong in trades, hard to push out of lane, and deadly in extended skirmishes. Use attack speed, adaptive force, and armor or magic resist in your rune shards depending on your matchup.

Best Build For Gwen

The best build for Gwen focuses on maximizing her AP damage, sustain, and mobility in fights. Start with Riftmaker as your mythic for bonus omnivamp and true damage in extended trades. Follow up with Nashor’s Tooth to boost attack speed and enhance her on-hit damage from her passive and E. Next, build Zhonya’s Hourglass for survivability and clutch plays with the active stasis. Demonic Embrace is great for added burn damage and tank shredding, especially against frontlines. Round out your build with Rabadon’s Deathcap for a huge AP spike or Void Staff if the enemy has heavy magic resist. For boots, go with Plated Steelcaps versus AD or Mercury’s Treads against CC and AP. This build lets Gwen dive into teamfights, heal through damage, and cut down even the tankiest enemies.

Best Combos To Learn For Gwen

The best combos to learn for Gwen revolve around weaving basic attacks between abilities and maximizing her damage with proper positioning. A simple trade combo is E → Auto → Q → Auto, giving you bonus range and attack speed from Skip ’n Slash, followed by a snip from Q and another auto for passive procs. For extended fights or all-ins, use E → Auto → Q → Auto → R1 → Auto → R2 → Auto → R3, making sure to hit autos or abilities between each Needlework cast to unlock the full three waves. Always try to fight inside your W – Hallowed Mist to stay protected, and angle Q – Snip Snip! so that enemies are hit in the center for maximum true damage. Proper spacing and ability timing are key to mastering Gwen’s high-sustain, high-burst fighting style.

Conclusion

Gwen is a powerful top lane champion in League of Legends who shines in extended fights thanks to her true damage, sustain, and mobility. With the right rune setup, optimal item build, and well-practiced combos, she can cut through tanks and carry teamfights with ease. Whether you’re split-pushing or diving into the enemy backline, mastering Gwen’s mechanics and positioning will make you a serious threat in every game.