Billow — Patch 1.63 Verdict
[Liquipedia RPL: S | Web: S] Pro play (RPL 2026): 76 picks, 50.0% WR, 46.0% pick/ban rate. Note: pro meta may differ from ranked. Ranked S on zathong.com.
Billow — Warrior Guide
Key Insights
- Passive likely stacks or enhances damage through auto-attack chains or ability hits; retreating too early lets it decay and you lose the trade.
- Q is almost certainly the entry point for every trade, not a mid-combo tool; using it reactively as an escape costs you the burst window.
- W appears to function as a mid-combo damage tool or defensive layer; blowing it on poke tells your opponent exactly when their free trade window opens.
- Hold R until they burn their dash or blink; committing the ult before they do risks getting locked down mid-combo.
- In teamfights R has area potential, look to hit multiple targets rather than tunneling one carry every time.
Strengths
- One of the shortest time-to-kill sequences in the slayer lane.
- Self-sufficient in lane; no support needed to trade favorably.
- 19.3% ban rate forces opponents to waste a ban slot on him.
- One early kill snowballs into mid-game objective control.
Weaknesses
- Entirely cooldown-dependent; patient opponents punish him freely.
- Weak to ranged poke; mage-type slayer matchups punish his early game.
- Falls off against tanky late-game comps without an early lead.
- Short engage range; mobile carries can kite him in teamfights.
Matchups
Abilities
PHunter
Billow’s passive allows him to identify vulnerable targets. When an enemy’s health is below 30%, they are considered “prey”. Billow’s basic attacks and abilities on “prey” deal 15% more true damage, giving him an advantage in teamfights and finishing off targets.
1Wavebreaker
Billow utilizes the power of the Sea Beast to increase his movement speed for 3 seconds. He then jumps out of the water and gets a 50% cooldown refund. While in Sea Beast form, this skill also allows Billow to dash out of the water, dealing physical damage and slowing the target by 50% for 1.5 seconds.In particular, if the skill is used near a river, the Sea Beast form will not have a time limit, significantly increasing the attack effectiveness. When detecting "prey" within 15m, the acceleration effect is increased by 450 points, thereby helping Billow easily approach and finish them off.
2Space Split
Billow exhibits the ability to close in and attack the target with continuous slashes, causing strong physical damage. When activated, Billow receives a mark, and each time he hits an enemy, an additional mark is added. A target can receive up to 3 marks. With each mark, Billow's attacks heal, but if the target is not a hero, the healing effect is halved.In Sea Beast form, Billow will charge forward and then slash at enemies.
RDeath From Below
He unleashes a powerful sword strike in the designated direction, slowing enemies significantly for a moment, then dashes in a wide range, dealing massive physical damage.When in Sea Beast form, his ultimate move does not require a sword strike but automatically dashes forward, while reducing the cooldown of Water Dash. With the ability to cause large-scale pressure and high damage, this skill makes Billow an extremely formidable opponent in teamfights.With flexible mobility and powerful damage from his skill set, Billow promises to become a formidable Assassin on the battlefield.
Skill Order
Priority: R > Q > W| Skill | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Wavebreaker | 1 | · | 3 | · | 5 | · | 7 | · | 9 | · | · | · | 13 | · | · |
| 2Space Split | · | 2 | · | 4 | · | · | · | 8 | · | 10 | · | 12 | · | 14 | · |
| RDeath From Below | · | · | · | · | · | 6 | · | · | · | · | 11 | · | · | · | 15 |
Loadout
Onslaught ×10
Assassinate ×10
Skewer ×10
1
2
3
4
5
6Core Combos
Standard All-In
12RYour bread-and-butter kill combo for lane duels, open with Q to close distance and trigger the trade, weave auto-attacks between abilities to maximize passive stacks, and save R as the finisher once the opponent's escape is burned.
Flicker Ambush
12RUse Flicker to close an unexpected gap before the opponent can react, then chain the full combo immediately, best used in the mid-game jungle skirmishes where the enemy is slightly out of position.
Poke-to-Execute
12A safer partial combo for when you want to test the opponent's HP without fully committing, if they drop below 40% HP, transition into the full all-in with R to secure the kill.
Expert Video Guide
RoV : สอนเล่น Billow แบบละเอียด+เทคนิคลับ อันดับ 1 ของเซิฟ! — SiNEz
Gameplan
Billow's first real spike is level 4, when his core abilities are available in combination and he can run a full trade rotation for the first time. The second, more dominant spike arrives when he completes his first major damage item. That is when his burst window goes from threatening to lethal. His peak window is between the first and second towers, where map geometry forces skirmishes and his short-range kit is not exposed. Late game, against full-build tanky compositions, stop committing into the front line and force fights on isolated targets instead.
Early Game
Levels 1–6- →Play aggressively at level 2 once your Q is available, most slayer opponents have not yet reached their own power spike and you can force an early HP lead.
- →Track the enemy jungler's first clear path and avoid overextending in river-adjacent bushes; Billow has limited escape tools and an early gank can erase your lane lead instantly.
- →Deny the opposing laner farm under tower by threatening every time they step up to last-hit, your threat range is enough to make them respect you even if you don't always commit.
Mid Game
Post Broken Spear- →Rotate to Dragon immediately after your first tower falls, your burst damage in skirmishes is at its peak and Dragon teamfights are where Billow earns his keep.
- →Look for solo picks on the enemy carry if they step into the river without their support nearby; one successful assassination mid-game often breaks the enemy draft's coherence.
- →Maintain lane pressure even while rotating by pushing the wave before leaving, Billow's wave clear should be fast enough that you lose minimal tower HP for each objective contest.
Late Game
Teamfight phase- →Identify the enemy's lowest-mobility damage dealer and make them your assassination target in every teamfight, do not frontline, do not tank; find your kill and commit.
- →Peel back toward your own carry if the enemy has a fed assassin; Billow's burst damage is a legitimate deterrent and positioning between your carry and the threat is sometimes more valuable than engaging.
- →In close late-game fights, hold your ultimate until after the enemy support or tank has used their displacement abilities, going in before they do guarantees you get locked down mid-combo.
Pro Tips
- →Track your opponent's escape ability cooldown visually, the exact moment they burn their dash or blink on a non-committal poke is your window to go all-in; this is the single biggest skill expression gap between average and high-rank Billow.
- →Against heavy poke lanes, buy your first component item before backing rather than waiting for a full-item back, the extra HP and damage you get sooner is worth more than one efficient recall.
- →In teamfights, resist the instinct to target whoever is closest to you; take the extra half-second to identify the enemy's main damage dealer and path toward them through the skirmish rather than dumping your combo on a tank.
- →Use Flicker offensively rather than defensively in at least 70% of your games, Billow's disengage without Flicker is acceptable, but his engage without Flicker is predictable and easily respected by high-rank opponents.
Billow is the right pick for players who want to control a game from the slayer lane outward. He is punishing, snowball-oriented, and genuinely scary when ahead. He rewards the discipline to wait for the correct all-in window far more than he rewards mechanical complexity, so game-sense investment pays off faster here than on flashier heroes. The single most important habit to build on Billow is opponent cooldown tracking. The instant their dash is burned, you go in without hesitation. Players who internalize that will find S tier is not just a label on a tier list.
Billow — Frequently Asked Questions
Is Billow good in the current ROV patch?+
Yes. Billow is firmly S tier on the Thai server this patch, with a 50% win rate backed by a 26.7% pick rate and a 19.3% ban rate. Those ban numbers confirm that high-rank lobbies consider him a genuine threat worth removing from the game entirely, which is the clearest sign of a dominant meta pick.
What is the best build for Billow?+
Prioritize attack damage and armor penetration in your first two slots to maximize damage during his short combo sequence. Add survivability in your third slot so you are not dead immediately after going in. The exact recommended items shift with each patch, so cross-reference with current Thai-server build data for the latest optimal order.
How do you counter Billow?+
A mobile slayer who can dodge his engage or reset mid-trade is the cleanest answer. Butterfly and Murad are the best options in the current roster. At the team level, running hard-displacement supports like Grakk or Baldum against him (rather than alongside him) removes Billow's ability to safely reach his assassination targets in teamfights.
Is Billow hard to play / good for beginners?+
Billow sits at Medium difficulty. The basic combo is approachable, but the ceiling is high. Beginners can learn the core burst rotation quickly, and consistently reading cooldown windows, both yours and the enemy's, takes real game sense to develop. Players coming from other burst warriors will find the transition comfortable. Players new to the slayer role should expect a learning curve around trade timing.