Gwen · Jungle
Gwen Matchups and Counters
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This guide is assembled by the site from match data and the game's own information — nobody wrote it by hand. Official and community guides appear alongside it when they exist.
Overview
This guide covers Gwen's matchups and how to adapt to them. Riot publishes no matchup statistics, so the matchups below come from the champions' own stats and kits: attack range, starting durability, crowd control and mobility. They describe an advantage on paper, not a measured result.
Strengths
- Sustain from A Thousand Cuts.
- Mobility: Skip 'n Slash lets you reposition, engage or escape.
- Clear job in the team: clear camps efficiently, gank the lanes that can win and control dragons, grubs and Baron.
Weaknesses
- Falls behind if the early ganks fail: every wasted trip is lost farm.
- Predictable if you always play it the same way: adapt your build to the enemy team.
Build cheat sheet
Pick the build that fits what you want to do this game.
- Against physical damageDefensiveRecommendedFor a lane or a team that hits with attacks: armor boots and an armor item in the core.
- Against magic damageDefensiveSituationalFor a team that kills with abilities: magic resist boots and a magic resist item in the core.
- Against healingDefensiveSituationalFor games against healers, life steal or regeneration: the anti-heal item goes into the core instead of waiting.
Builds
Against physical damage
When to use it
For a lane or a team that hits with attacks: armor boots and an armor item in the core.
Where it's played
Picked before the game: the main lane first, then the alternatives.
249%151%- JungleMain51% of matches
- TopPriority 249% of matches
Jungle priorities
StartRed buff
Objectives by priority
- 1Voidgrubs
- 2Gank top
- 3Rift Herald
- 4Scuttle Crab
- 5Dragons
- 6Baron Nashor
- 7Atakhan
Guideline, not a measurement: an early skirmisher starting red side. Take the void grubs and look for ganks while your early damage is ahead, then Herald and dragons.
Starting items
Core items
- 1Black Cleaver
- 2Trinity Force
- 3Death's Dance
Boots
Situational
Runes
Primary· Resolve
Secondary· Precision
Shards
Summoner spells
Flash
Smite
Against magic damage
When to use it
For a team that kills with abilities: magic resist boots and a magic resist item in the core.
Where it's played
Picked before the game: the main lane first, then the alternatives.
249%151%- JungleMain51% of matches
- TopPriority 249% of matches
Jungle priorities
StartRed buff
Objectives by priority
- 1Voidgrubs
- 2Gank top
- 3Rift Herald
- 4Scuttle Crab
- 5Dragons
- 6Baron Nashor
- 7Atakhan
Guideline, not a measurement: an early skirmisher starting red side. Take the void grubs and look for ganks while your early damage is ahead, then Herald and dragons.
Starting items
Core items
- 1Black Cleaver
- 2Trinity Force
- 3Mercurial Scimitar
Boots
Situational
Runes
Primary· Resolve
Secondary· Precision
Shards
Summoner spells
- Flash
- Smite
Against healing
When to use it
For games against healers, life steal or regeneration: the anti-heal item goes into the core instead of waiting.
Where it's played
Picked before the game: the main lane first, then the alternatives.
249%151%- JungleMain51% of matches
- TopPriority 249% of matches
Jungle priorities
StartRed buff
Objectives by priority
- 1Voidgrubs
- 2Gank top
- 3Rift Herald
- 4Scuttle Crab
- 5Dragons
- 6Baron Nashor
- 7Atakhan
Guideline, not a measurement: an early skirmisher starting red side. Take the void grubs and look for ganks while your early damage is ahead, then Herald and dragons.
Starting items
Core items
- 1Black Cleaver
- 2Trinity Force
- 3Chempunk Chainsword
Boots
Situational
Runes
Primary· Resolve
Secondary· Precision
Shards
Summoner spells
- Flash
- Smite
Abilities
A Thousand CutsPassiveGwen's attacks deal bonus magic damage based on the targets health. She heals for a portion of the damage dealt to champions by this effect.
QSnip Snip!6.5/5.75/5/4.25/3.5s40 mpGwen snips her scissors in a cone up to 6 times dealing magic damage. Gwen deals true damage to units in the center and applies her passive to them on each snip.- Cooldown
- 6.5·5.75·5·4.25·3.5
- Cost
- 40
- Range
- 450
WHallowed Mist22/21/20/19/18s60 mpGwen summons mist that protects her from enemies outside of it. She can only be targeted by enemies who enter the mist.- Cooldown
- 22·21·20·19·18
- Cost
- 60
ESkip 'n Slash13/12.5/12/11.5/11s35 mpGwen dashes a short distance then gains Attack Speed, attack range, and magic damage On-Hit for a few seconds. If she hits an enemy during that time, this Ability's cooldown is partially refunded.- Cooldown
- 13·12.5·12·11.5·11
- Cost
- 35
- Range
- 400
RNeedleworkUltimate120/100/80s100 mpGwen hurls a needle that slows enemies hit, deals magic damage, and applies A Thousand Cuts to champions hit. This ability can be cast up to two more times, with each cast throwing additional needles and dealing more damage.- Cooldown
- 120·100·80
- Cost
- 100
- Range
- 1200
Strategy
1Good matchups
Gwen does well against these:
- Karthus: Skip 'n Slash lets Gwen reach Karthus, who has no escape in the kit.
- Evelynn: Skip 'n Slash lets Gwen reach Evelynn, who has no escape in the kit.
- Fiddlesticks: Skip 'n Slash lets Gwen reach Fiddlesticks, who has no escape in the kit.
2Tough matchups
Gwen struggles against these:
3Synergies
Gwen works well alongside these, because their kits fit together:
4Adapting the build
The situational builds in this guide answer specific threats: Against physical damage, Against magic damage and Against healing.
5Playing against Gwen
If you're on the other side, this is what to exploit:
- Gwen's Hallowed Mist shroud will only follow her once, after that it will dissipate when she leaves.
- Gwen must hit something to recast her Ultimate, try to evade her between casts.
- Gwen needs to attack a few times to set up her damage, so try to get the jump on her.
Tips
Matchups
Strong against
Skip 'n Slash lets Gwen reach Karthus, who has no escape in the kit.
Skip 'n Slash lets Gwen reach Evelynn, who has no escape in the kit.
Skip 'n Slash lets Gwen reach Fiddlesticks, who has no escape in the kit.
Weak against
Burrow / Un-burrow (knock-up) lets Rek'Sai pin Gwen down before Skip 'n Slash gets them out.
Rootcaller (root) lets Ivern pin Gwen down before Skip 'n Slash gets them out.
Ixtal's Impact (stun) lets Skarner pin Gwen down before Skip 'n Slash gets them out.
Changelog
- Guide created for patch 16.19.1.
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