How to Play Seraphine (Abilities, Runes, and Tips)

New Champion: Seraphine Guide

Seraphine, one of the most hyped-up champions Riot has ever created will be released in Patch 10.21 and it’s clear to see that she’s going to see a lot of play on Summoners Rift.

This is the first time a champion’s ever been released with an ultimate skin, and honestly, the excitement that has been around her launch has been incredible.

In this Mobalytics guide, we will talk about how you can play Seraphine; the 152nd champion to hit Summoners Rift. We’ve also created a guide on How to Counter Seraphine, so be sure to check that out as well.

If you want to know more tips on how to play as and against Seraphine, learn her Seraphine’s build and who counters/ gets countered by Seraphine, make sure you check out our Seraphine Champion Page.

Before we begin, let’s make it clear that although I have been testing Seraphine quite a bit on PBE, this guide isn’t intended to be an in-depth-everything you need to know, one-stop-shop on how to play Seraphine. Its intention is to give you tools and tips to help you play her once she launches.

Seraphine will most likely be played as a Support and Mid laner. We will provide tips on how to play as both roles, but although our main focus will be on how to play Support Seraphine, many of the tips will hold true regardless of what lane you’re playing her in.

Ability Rundown

First off, we should discuss what her abilities are. Since this is based off of the PBE, these won’t instantly make you an expert but we will go over the basics of each of her abilities to get you started if you want to play her for the first time.

Also, note that these numbers are of course subject to change when she officially launches.

Seraphine’s Passive is Stage Presence

Every third basic ability (her Q, W, or E) Seraphine casts will echo which causes this ability to be used twice. Think of it like she’s sending two waves instead of one on every third cast.

Also, when she is near her allies and they use an ability, she gains a note. For each note, Seraphine’s attack range increases and deals additional damage. If she auto attacks, the note stack will be consumed.

Seraphine’s Q is High Note

Seraphine throws out a pure note, dealing damage to targets hit. Think of this ability like Neeko’s Q. It has a sort of ripple effect like Neeko’s Q where the damage is dealt in the middle, and ripples outwards. Unlike Neeko’s Q that needs to hit a champion to proc twice, you can use it on anything and it will have this ripple effect.

Empowered: She throws her Q twice.

Seraphine’s W is Surround Sound

Seraphine gains bonus movement speed and a shield. If she is around some allies, they will get a shield and extra movement speed.

If she already has a shield, she will provide them with a heal as well as a shield. Take note that the heal only comes in after a small delay.

Empowered: She gives her allies a shield and a heal.

Seraphine’s E is Beat Drop

Seraphine unleashes a soundwave that deals damage and slows enemies hit. Enemies that are already slowed are rooted instead and immobilized enemies get stunned.

Empowered: She throws out her musical note twice. If an enemy is hit twice, they’re rooted.

Seraphine’s Ultimate is Encore

Seraphine projects a captivating force that charms all enemies hit. Any champion, including her allies, becomes “part of the performance” and extend the range of this ability. Allied champions gain maximum notes too. The maximum number of notes is 4 – each for one of their abilities, but you’ll get 5 stacks as you’ll use your Ultimate which gives you an additional stack.

Runes for Seraphine

Lots of testing and preparation was done on the PBE to provide the best runes for Seraphine on the 1st day of launch. Unfortunately, not every player has access to PBE so the best rune set up may not be found yet.

Take note that we will be constantly updating her rune pages in this guide, so check back every so often to see *potential* new runes for her. Check out Seraphine’s champion page to see the latest recommended runes and builds. Or get her rune and builds directly imported into your client within the Mobalytics app.

Rune page 1: Aery

This rune page is a standard page that can be used in both the Supportive role and in Mid lane. It takes Summon Aery as its main keystone. You can take alternative secondary Runes.

Rune page 2: Glacial Augment

Take note that this is a test rune page and on paper- it synergizes well with her E. If you’re able to slow the enemy before using your E, you can land a root without having to use your empowered ability. You can take alternative secondary Runes.

We will keep these updated as often as possible after her initial launch.

Builds

DISCLAIMER: These are TEST builds and we will be updating the builds frequently once she is released.

Here are two recommended builds for Seraphine in the Mid lane. The builds utilize mana and AP. They also synergize incredibly well with her Passive and allies.

Here are two recommended build path for Seraphine when played as a Support. They’re a mixture of damage and utility that will help her keep her allies alive in team fights. They synergize well with her Passive and kit.

How to team fight

Team fighting is very similar for Seraphine as many other utility Supports like Karma, Janna and Sona. Focus on empowering your allies and letting them deal damage while you top them up with protection and utility.

Use your CC abilities to keep the rest of your team safe from the enemy hard engage or fighters, while looking for perfect pick opportunities with your Ultimate. We will touch on it more in a moment, but try to team fight in tight areas so you get maximum stacks from your Ultimate and potentially CC the whole enemy team.

Seraphine Combos

As she is more of a utility champion, she doesn’t really have any major combos like Riven, Lee Sin, or Syndra. Her kit is very simple which means she’ll lack tons of combos. Here are a few meaningful combos that you can do on her.

R>E>Q

Key notes:

• Your Ultimate has a cast time, so keep this in mind that it’s not an instant-charm.
• Auto-attack after using your Q to deal extra damage.
• Try to get as close to the enemy as possible so you can CC then with your E. As it has a travel time, the enemy may escape the CC if you’re slow or too far away.

E>R>Q

Key notes:

• Start the skirmish with your E if the enemy is already CC’d.
• Auto-attack after using your Q to deal extra damage.
• Ideally, use your E if it’s empowered.

Q>E

Key notes:

• Make sure you have 2 stacks when using your Q. This will surprise the enemy with the CC as you’ll use your E when it’s empowered.
• Auto-attack at the end of the combo to deal extra damage.
• Make sure your allies (ADC) is in a position to follow up and help you trade.

Fight in tight parts of the map

Your Ultimate is an incredibly strong utility spell that can CC enemies that are caught out by it. Hitting as many champions as possible will help your team deal lots of damage to the enemy without them being able to retaliate.

Try to use your Ultimate so it hits as many champions as possible; the more the merrier as some would say. You can do this by holding on to your Ultimate until the enemy is grouped quite closely together, or you could prioritize fights in areas of the map where the enemy will usually be bunched together.

Credit: NA League of Legends

Forcing fights around the Baron or Dragon, around a tower, or inside the jungle will favor you as the enemy will be quite close together which allows you to hit more of them. It also has the bonus benefit that your allies will be quite close to the enemy too, which allows you to get more stacks on your Passive.

Be prepared to hold on to your Ultimate till the right time. A few seconds delay to get the most effective Ultimate off is way better than just hitting 1 enemy with it. While not ideal, if you’re able to flank with your Jungler or another ally in a team fight, you’ll make your engage more surprising which could provide you with an opportunity to land a multi-person Ultimate. This is because the enemy may not see you coming which will offer you the element of surprise.

Think of her similar to an Amumu or Diana apart from the all-inning part- they’re good in team fights!

Avoid using your W when possible

Your W has an incredibly long base cooldown. You should avoid using it unless you have to as you’ll be unable to use it for a long time if you decide to randomly use it. Treat this ability the same as every other healing/ shielding champion in the game. You shouldn’t use it unless you have to.

Good times to use your W are when:

• You’re very low on health. Obviously, use the empowered version so you get a heal.
• The enemy is committing to an all-in. Take note that you need to choose between using your empowered W or empowered E in a trade. Either way, you’ll get a shield at the very least.
• In team fights. Make sure you give as many allies the shield/ heal as possible to keep them alive.

Bad times to use your W are when:

• You’re moving from lane to lane. Even though it gives a brief movement speed boost, it’s not a good idea to use this ability unless you need to.
• When you’ve at no risk of dying. This can be interpreted in many ways, but if you’re at no risk of being killed within the next fight, then you should think twice before using your mana to get a shield/heal. For example, if you’re missing only 150 health, it’s probably not worth using your W.
• When your allies are full health. Seems stupid, but how many times have you given a heal to someone who didn’t need it. In the mid-game, avoid using it if you’re allies are topped up on health.

Always save enough mana to use your W just in case you need to use it to escape a skirmish. Never run out of mana on her if you can help it so you’re always a threat to the enemy and can always use your W to escape.

Look for updated builds

It’s going to be obvious that the best build for Seraphine has not been found yet. While we’ve done the research, other creators have done their research and while tons of videos have been made already, let’s face it, theres no best build for her yet.

This isn’t exactly a tip on how to play Seraphine, but more word of advice. Do your own research and try out unique and different setups for her. We will be updating this guide frequently at launch, so you’ll probably have to adjust your rune setup if you’ve read this guide early on. Check back every so often or check out our Seraphine Champion Page to get the latest runes and builds for her.

Do not play her in ranked yet

For optimal climbing, make sure you do not play Seraphine in ranked just yet. It’s not worth trying to learn a brand new champion in ranked because- let’s face it, you’re not going to be very good with her. We all complain about players first timing a champion, so don’t be that player who does it to others.

Ban her so your allies cannot pick her if you’re playing ranked after her initial launch. Once you have around 10-15 games on her, you can start playing her in ranked. It’s also good to note that people will be experimenting heavily with her like playing her in every single role, including the Jungle. So make sure you ban her so your allies cannot “troll you” if you’ve followed our advice to not pick her.

Conclusion

That wraps up this guide, what do you think about Seraphine? Is she really an updated version of Sona? Or is she unique in her own way and not really like Sona? I think shes similar, but not a copy paste like others have suggested.

We hope this guide has helped you understand some of the basics to Seraphine and give you a little help if you’ve just unlocked her. Make sure you check out our how to counter Seraphine guide when it comes out so you know what to expect when playing against her!

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