Each champion in Ruined King has a diverse set of abilities that allows them to bave a unique role in your party. However, with only three party slots, it can be hard to decide who’s worth keeping around. While some Champions fill a very similar role to their League of Legends counterparts, others stand out in some unique ways and aren’t utilized as you may initially expect. 

Best Illaoi build

Illaoi is a jack-of-all-trades Champion. She has strong stats in healing, damage, and tank. While this is a strength, it can also make it difficult to figure out her exact role. However, with how late you get Ruined King’s second healer, Illaoi has to be your healer until much later in the game.

There are some crucial ability upgrades that’ll be helpful at every stage of the game, and they’ll make Illaoi’s healing worth keeping around in any party.

Upgrade 2A for Grace of Nagakabouros, Illaoi’s single-target heal, is the most important upgrade to take out of anything else in the early game. Seriously. Debuffs are very strong in Ruined King, and having a way to cleanse debuffs from either yourself or others on your team will come in clutch. Having the bonus come in the Speed Lane only makes things better, and it makes Illaoi a must-have in your party until later in the game.

Test of Spirit is another very strong healing ability, especially for bosses. The upgrade that allows you to take away buffs is a powerful ability to have on your side, and the healing on this ability is strong for all allies. Not only do Illaoi’s tentacles only target that enemy, but allies will be able to get separate procs on the heal for each hit they get in.

So, let’s say you use Miss Fortune’s Shredder ability on a single target.

She doesn’t heal once for 53, she heals 6 times for a total of 318. Almost every Champion has a way to hit targets multiple times, meaning that Illaoi can use Test of Spirit to heavily heal her allies without having to take a turn to charge up her heal. This makes her a strong pickup for boss encounters at any point in Ruined King.

As a tank, Illaoi is sub-optimal and you won't find much success flexing her as a tank and a healer both. Grouping Illaoi with two DPS characters and expecting her to do all the healing and tanking is ill-advised.

Best Braum build

Braum is the best tank you get at any stage of the game, and he’s a safe choice for any party. His combination of high base defense, heavy CC, and good mana sustain makes him easy to play and hard to kill. That isn’t to say Braum can’t be built to do damage, but it’ll never be as strong as a main tank build.

Starting with his base attack, you’ll want 1B and 2A. An increased stun duration combined with only needing nine concussion stacks to stun will keep enemies from using abilities for a long time, which, in turn, makes Braum tankier. Concussion works the same way with multiple hits as Illaoi’s Test of Spirit does, meaning that multi-hit attacks will quickly stun opponents.

It’s also recommended to take 1B, 2B, and 3A in his taunt. The overcharge and healing from the first two upgrades stacks faster than you’d think, and the 20% damage reduction in exchange for having to Taunt a little more is a worthwhile tradeoff. Taunting doesn’t have any delay and is used instantly, so you can pair it with other abilities without penalty.

Braum has enough Overcharge buffs to keep his mana bar high, and it’s likely you’ll be using these two abilities the most along with Defend, his other instant ability. Defend 1A grants 5 Overcharge upon getting attacked, so that small upgrade will help a lot if the Taunt usage drains your mana bar.

As far as Braum’s damage abilities go, you’ll want to take anything that adds Concussion stacks to his abilities. This is why taking Concussive Blow 2A is so important. Heroic Leap, Shield Slam, and Winter’s Bite all have upgrades that give them the ability to stack Concussion, and every single one of those upgrades is recommended.

With a DPS build, Braum will never compare to the true DPS champions. However, as a tank, Braum truly excels. Building him in a way that augments that playstyle will give you the best results.

Best Yasuo build

Yasuo is all about crit. He’s a DPS carry through and through, with a few quirks that separate him from the other high-damage options in Ruined King. His utilization of Overcharge, as well as strong AoE and single-target damage, make him a strong damage dealer.

Starting with Steel Tempest, Yasuo’s Instant attack, you’ll want to build toward getting Steel Tempest stacks. The increased damage granted to both Gathering Storm and Raging Wind combined with the removal of mana cost make those Tempest Stacks just as important as the damage Yasuo’s attack does.

Aside from Steel Tempest, you’ll want pretty much anything that augments Yasuo’s crit chance except for one ability. 

Way of the Wandered 1A seems good, but only in the very late stages of the game where you can get access to items that grant high crit chance. In comparison to ability upgrades that grant 10% more crit chance for that specific ability, this pales in comparison. Don’t get baited into taking this upgrade and getting almost no reward.

Instead, try Gale Strike’s 2A upgrade. If you combine this and a high roll Raging Wind, your next attack (or perhaps another Raging Wind) will have a crit chance that gets into the 50-60% range without needing to have a special item build.

Critting is everything for Yasuo. Flow stacks by landing crits, meaning that, if you want to be able to tank a stray attack from a major threat, you’ll need to be critting in order to survive and do enough damage to take down the enemy.

Best Miss Fortune build

Miss Fortune is, ironically, way less dependent on RNG than the other damage options. While there are build paths that enhance her crit chance and abilities that hit random targets, MF's biggest damage payoff doesn’t require luck if you’re building the right way.

Love Tap, MF's single-target Instant ability, is the best way to apply the Tapped debuff. This is an essential part of augmenting her other damage sources, so you’ll be using this ability a lot. Getting Strut stacks and some Overcharge is nice for keeping your mana bar high and gaining a buff for free.

Many of MF's ability upgrades are geared toward increasing her evasion. Don’t get baited into taking them. Rather than leaving damage up to RNG, just play around having a tank that will soak damage for her. It’s preferable to have Braum or Illaoi take 400-ish damage from an attack than to leave MF vulnerable with a 30% chance to evade and a 70% chance of getting one-shot.

For dealing with AoE threats, Fancy Footwork will help you keep your Strut stacks high and allow you to keep the passive Haste Miss Fortune gets for stacks of Strut.

Double Up with 1A and 2B allows MF to get a guaranteed crit on the second hit of this ability, making her good for clearing out enemies quickly or doing big damage to bosses that have minions. Other than these abilities, MF’s build is up to personal preference. If you consider yourself a high roller, taking crit buffs isn’t a bad idea. However, there are also ability upgrades that grant debuffs like Bleed, Ignite, and Sunder.

All that said, MF has the least single-target damage out of any DPS champion. While she’s more consistent than someone like Yasuo, the payoff isn’t nearly as high.

Best Pyke build

Pyke has the highest damage potential in the game, bar none. However, there are a ton of conditions that need to be met in order for Pyke to succeed and maximize his DPS. He’s the hardest champion to master and requires some careful planning and the ability to identify which ability is the best choice to finish the job.

Serrated Slice, Pyke’s Instant attack, doesn’t do nearly as much damage as Miss Fortune’s or Yasuo’s. It’s mainly focused on stacking Overcharge, giving yourself Stealth, and afflicting enemies with Bleed. 3A grants an additional 40% Stealth, and, if RNG really hates you, it can be a strong pickup. 3A and 1A combined gives Serrated Slice an 80% chance at applying stealth, meaning you’re almost guaranteed to get the buff.

That said, stealth is more about augmenting the damage of your abilities than the stealth itself. You should have a tank that’s taunting the enemy, and there aren’t reliable Stealth builds with other champions that make stealthing the entire party an option.

Ambush has a massive damage bonus for being Stealthed, one that doesn’t need the help of ability upgrades in order to give you a huge damage payoff. I wouldn’t recommend upgrading Ambush. Even without critting, it does a massive amount of damage, and Pyke’s crit chance isn’t very high unless you invest a ton of resources into items and abilities that help him out. It’s a viable path far into the game, but one that isn’t worth investing in until you’ve got all the pieces to get Pyke’s crit chance 70% or higher.

Plunder is the go-to for finishing low-health targets. Since it hits twice, the second hit will get the low-health if the first hit knocks them below 30%. If you’ve got a Pyke build that gives him a ton of base damage rather than crit, Plunder can hit basic mobs for half their health with no problem. Running 1B and 2A will allow him to have reduced recovery time as well as a Stealth that resets every time he kills an enemy.

Pyke’s playstyle is very fun once you get the hang of how to juggle Stealth and debuffs to maximize his damage potential. Since you get him later in the game, it can be hard to justify replacing him with a damage champion you already know so well. However, making the transition is worthwhile, and his playstyle is as effective as it is fun.

Best Ahri build

Ahri is Ruined King’s second healer, and someone you won’t get your hands on until around halfway through the main story. Adding Ahri to the mix creates a ton of potential to switch things up and vary your party. That said, she’s a healer through and through. Building her in a way that augments her ability to heal allies and debuff enemies is the way to go.

Starting with Orb of Deception, Ahri’s main Instant attack, the combo of 1A and 2B allows you to stack 15 overcharge per attack. That combined with gaining three stacks of Essence Theft makes this upgrade path almost essential if you want to keep your mana bar full while putting out a ton of healing. 3B is really nice to have for the reduced recovery time, but it’s not necessary by any means.

Spirit Mend’s 1A and 2A upgrades essentially gives Ahri two of Illaoi’s abilities in one. Using Spirit Mend in the Speed Lane cleanses debuffs just like Illaoi’s upgraded single-target heal, and using Spirit Mend in the Power Lane grants an AoE similar to one of Illaoi’s other abilities. While some Hazards can throw a wrench in the versatility of Spirit mend, taking 1A and 2A is a must.

Guardian Spirit is another strong heal for the entire party, and it’s great for keeping allies in tip-top shape. The base heal per damage taken is nice (and does really well against DoT debuffs), but the Essence Theft stacks gained are just as important. 

Whenever Ahri reaches nine stacks of Essence Theft, her next ability heals an ally for a substantial amount of health. Not only are you healing your allies, you’re also stacking toward the next heal without much effort. The short recovery time granted by taking 2B only sweetens the deal.

As far as damage abilities go, personal preference is the deciding factor. Ahri’s meant for healing but the 2A upgrade for Debilitating Orb is a really strong choice for tough bosses. Dispelling a buff can be worth more than any damage ability depending on the target.

Ahri uses a ton of mana, but her healing output and fast recovery make her a worthy party member. Her healing is neck and neck with that of Illaoi, and the choice between the two is up to you. Neither is that much stronger than the other, and they can both put out enough healing to keep your party alive.

MORE RUINED KING GUIDES

In-depth guide to combat in Ruined King
Six essential things to know before playing Ruined King