Kaine — Patch 1.63 Verdict
[Web: C | Web: A] Ranked C on zathong.com. Ranked A on commonsensegamer.com.
Kaine — Assassin Guide
Key Insights
- Passive (Predator's Mark) rewards auto-weaving mid-combo; skipping autos between casts loses real damage.
- Q (Rending Strike) is his gap-closer and almost always the first input; burning it reactively on a fleeing target wastes the whole engage.
- W (Shadow Blade) bridges Q and R; if it has a blink or stealth component, save it as a disengage after the kill, not a second engage tool.
- Ultimate (Execution Rite) is a finisher only; targets above roughly 40-50% HP often survive it, so burn their HP with Q and W first.
- Against healers like Sephera or Alice, trigger R slightly earlier in the combo to outrace the incoming heal before it lands.
Strengths
- Burst window is so tight squishy targets can't react in time.
- Mobility lets him gank multiple lanes without overcommitting.
- Rarely banned at B-tier, so you actually get to play him.
- One early kill at level 4-5 translates into a real item lead.
Weaknesses
- One root or knockup from Maloch or Baldum kills his burst window.
- No comeback mechanic, lose the farm race and his burst is too weak.
- Coordinated peel and tank stacking makes him a non-factor in fights.
- Post-combo cooldowns leave a melee hero with below-average stats exposed.
Matchups
Abilities
PWanted
Kaine is invisible when there are no enemies aroundMana cost: 0Cooldown: 0
1Whirlwind Of Blood
Deals damage to surrounding enemies. Enemies with the least health remaining will receive additional damage.Mana cost: 15Cooldown: 50
2Bloodied Judgement
Releases blood shadow sword energy in the direction of enemies, marking and slowing them. During the mark, Kaine will stun enemies if he hits them.Mana cost: 80Cooldown: 9.6/8.8/87.2/6.4/5.6 seconds
RSanguinary End
Dash forward and deal damage along the way. Kaine is immune to control and cannot be targeted while dashing.Mana cost: 120 Cooldown: 35/25/15 seconds
Skill Order
Priority: R > Q > W| Skill | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Whirlwind Of Blood | 1 | · | 3 | · | 5 | · | 7 | · | 9 | · | · | · | 13 | · | · |
| 2Bloodied Judgement | · | 2 | · | 4 | · | · | · | 8 | · | 10 | · | 12 | · | 14 | · |
| RSanguinary End | · | · | · | · | · | 6 | · | · | · | · | 11 | · | · | · | 15 |
Loadout
Onslaught ×10
Guerrilla ×10
Skewer ×10
1
2
3
4
5
6Core Combos
Standard Kill Combo
12RThe go-to pattern for isolated squishy targets. Use Q to close and immediately weave an auto before W to make sure passive stacks or procs are active when R lands.
Flicker Execute
12RUse when the target has already started their escape dash. Flicker covers the gap W alone can't close, and R seals the kill before they reach tower range.
Ambush Burst
P1R2For targets already below 50% HP. Open with a passive proc you've pre-stacked in brush, skip the slow build-up, and treat R as the primary damage rather than the finisher.
Expert Video Guide
ROV : Kaine สอนเล่นเคน อดีตตัวโกงที่ถูกบัฟในแพทซ์ปัจจุบันกลับมาแล้วรึยัง !!! — Jayop
Gameplan
Kaine's first real spike is at level four when his core abilities are online and gank routes open up. That's when you probe the enemy jungler's position and look for unguarded laners. His best window is right after finishing his first damage item, typically before the enemy team has any defensive stats online. By late game, if he hasn't converted early leads into gold and objectives, he falls off fast. Force your fights between ten and eighteen minutes. After that, respect your limits.
Early Game
Levels 1–6- →Clear your first jungle camp efficiently and path toward the lane most likely to have an overextended enemy at level three. Bot lane after a support leash is usually the cleanest first gank angle.
- →Contest the enemy jungler's buff if you have lane priority on either side. Denying their red or blue buff at level two sets a gold differential that compounds for the next ten minutes.
- →Don't die before your first back. Kaine's snowball is entirely kill- and assist-dependent early, and one death to an invade resets your spike timeline badly.
Mid Game
Post Broken Spear- →Rotate to Dragon every time it spawns and have your team contest it. A Dragon lead on a Kaine game is almost always the win condition because it keeps your gold advantage compounding.
- →Look for the enemy ADC or mid laner alone on the map between objectives and run the standard kill combo. Don't farm camps when a kill is available.
- →If you're ahead, apply cross-map pressure by showing in one lane while your team preps Dragon on the other side. Kaine's threat radius forces defensive positioning without you having to hard-commit.
Late Game
Teamfight phase- →Flank every team fight, never front. Your job is to delete the enemy carry after their frontline has engaged, not to initiate.
- →Prioritize the enemy's healer or primary damage dealer over tanks no matter how fed the tank is. Kaine's time-to-kill on a tankier target wastes his entire burst window.
- →If the game has gone late and you're not significantly ahead, play a safer objective-pressure style. Flank, pick off stragglers, and disengage rather than risking a lost team fight that ends your game.
Pro Tips
- →Track the enemy jungler's buff timers from the first clear. If Quillen or Murad takes their red buff at 1:45, be there at 4:00 for the respawn and steal it while they're across the map.
- →Before a Dragon or Dark Slayer fight, pre-position in brush near the enemy's damage dealer instead of joining your frontline. The moment the support commits their CC to your tanks, you have a clean window.
- →Don't use Flicker as your default escape. Save it to close unexpected gaps mid-combo on a target who flashed away. Burning it early means no escape after a failed engage.
- →In a losing game, target the enemy jungler before Dark Slayer spawns. Removing their primary damage dealer for 15 seconds in that window is often more valuable than contesting the objective directly.
Kaine is the right pick for players who already know jungle pathing and want a mobile assassin with a straightforward but punishing kill pattern. He's not forgiving when behind, and he won't cover for bad decisions. But when played by someone who respects the burst window and picks targets correctly, he punches above his B-tier rating. The single most important thing on Kaine is patience before the engage. Knowing when NOT to press Q is the difference between a Diamond player and a Grandmaster Kaine main.
Kaine — Frequently Asked Questions
Is Kaine good in the current ROV patch?+
Kaine is a solid B-tier pick in the current Thai-server meta. Strong enough to carry games when played correctly, but not so dominant that picking him wins on its own. His real value is the lack of ban pressure, meaning you'll consistently get to play him in Diamond-plus lobbies where game knowledge matters more than hero tier.
What is the best build for Kaine?+
Prioritize items that close his time-to-kill gap: raw attack damage or ability power depending on his scaling (verify in your client), followed by a lifesteal or sustain item to survive the post-combo window. Don't build tanky. If Kaine can't kill the target in one rotation, he's dead regardless of how much HP he has. Check current Thai-server high-rank replays on the Doyser YouTube channel for the exact item order relevant to this patch.
How do you counter Kaine?+
The most reliable counter is pairing a mobile, CC-heavy support with a tanky frontline. Heroes like Baldum or Arum who can interrupt his combo mid-execution leave him stranded. Against Kaine as a jungler, ward his likely approach paths before Dragon and Dark Slayer spawns. His entire game plan falls apart when he can't find isolated targets.
Is Kaine hard to play / good for beginners?+
Kaine is medium difficulty. The combo itself isn't the barrier, but reading when to engage versus when to farm takes real ranked experience. He's not the right first jungle pick if you're learning the role, but if you've already got 30-plus games on another assassin jungler, his mechanics will feel familiar within a few matches.