Qi — Patch 1.63 Verdict
[Liquipedia RPL: S | Web: S | Web: S | Web: C | Web: B] Pro play (RPL 2026): 80 picks, 37.5% WR, 47.4% pick/ban rate. Note: pro meta may differ from ranked. Ranked S on zathong.com. Ranked S on metatierlist.com. Ranked C on pillarofgaming.com. Ranked B on commonsensegamer.com.
Qi — Warrior Guide
Key Insights
- Passive (Protection Aura): each skill cast adds 1 Aura stack (max 3); hitting an enemy procs 2 empowered autos with bonus speed, damage, and HP restore.
- Q (Starchaser): airbornes every enemy it passes through for 0.5s; hitbox is wider than it looks, angled casts can clip targets off the direct path.
- W (Mountain Shaker): armor-reduction pulse that stacks up to 5 times on a target; each cast adds an independent stack, so rapid casts in the opening seconds stack fastest.
- R (The Brawler): first cast knocks enemies back, wall contact = 1.5s stun + bonus damage; second cast dashes forward and scales damage on Qi's missing HP.
- R (The Brawler): always use first cast to pin before the re-dash, flipping the order wastes the wall-stun window entirely.
Strengths
Starchaser into 
Mountain Shaker is a solo kill combo needing zero setup.
Protection Aura's armor stacks and heal autos win short melee trades.
The Brawler pins enemies solo for 1.5 seconds without any teammate CC.- Mountain Shaker's 5-stack armor shred pushes late damage past warrior tier.
Weaknesses
- Any dash or blink after Starchaser breaks the wall-pin and kills the combo.
- Protection Aura stacks last 5s; ranged poke burns the window before she heals.
- Starchaser is her only gap-closer; using it defensively wastes a full rotation.
- Pure physical damage means one Gaia's Standard noticeably blunts her impact.
Matchups
Abilities
PProtection Aura
When Qi uses an ability, she accumulates Aura stacks (max 3). Each stack grants her armor for 5s. If an ability hits enemies, her next 2 auto attacks gain 100% attack speed and deal physical damage while restoring HP.
1Starchaser
Qi dashes forward, dealing physical damage to all enemies hit and knocking them airborne for 0.5s.
2Mountain Shaker
Qi releases a shockwave, dealing physical damage and reducing enemy armor in the area for 5s (max 5 stacks).
RThe Brawler
Qi pushes all enemies back, dealing physical damage. If enemies hit an obstacle, they take additional physical damage and are stunned for 1.5s. Qi can recast to dash forward and deal physical damage (15% of HP lost).
Skill Order
Priority: R > Q > W| Skill | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Starchaser | 1 | · | 3 | · | 5 | · | 7 | · | 9 | · | · | · | · | · | · |
| 2Mountain Shaker | · | 2 | · | 4 | · | · | · | 8 | · | 10 | · | 12 | · | · | · |
| RThe Brawler | · | · | · | · | · | 6 | · | · | · | · | 11 | · | · | · | 15 |
Loadout
Golden Body
Spirit
Dragon's ClawStandard Build
1
2
3
4
5
6Core Combos
Standard Lane Kill
1P2Use Q to airborne the target, immediately cast W to stack armor shred, then collect both Passive-empowered autos during the lift window for maximum sustained damage in lane.
Wall-Pin Execute
12RREngage with Q, proc W shred mid-air, cast R first cast to pin the enemy into a wall for the 1.5-second stun, collect the two empowered autos, then re-cast R's dash while they're stunned and your HP is low enough for the missing-HP bonus to hit hard.
Flicker Wall-Pin (no dash required)
2RRAgainst targets hugging a wall but outside Q range, W first to pre-apply armor shred, then R and immediately Flicker behind them so they get pushed into the wall before they can react. This is the setup your opponents least expect.
Full Rotation Brawl
1P2RRThe complete all-in for squishies with no escape: Q airborne into W shred, R wall-stun, empowered autos during stun, then re-dash for the missing-HP burst to finish the kill if they popped a shield or healed mid-fight.
Expert Video Guide
RoV : Qi สอนเล่นฉี ออฟเลน กับเทคนิคการกดเลนขั้นสูง กดจนอีกฝ่ายยับ!! - Best Ryouta — Best Ryouta
Gameplan
Qi's first real spike is level 4, when all three abilities are online and the full Q into W into R combo is available. She snowballs hard once Broken Spear is done; the armor penetration plus Mountain Shaker's shred makes her trade damage genuinely scary. The Omni Arms rush after that turns her empowered autos into proper burst, and Fenrir's Tooth marks her damage ceiling. She is weakest in the first two levels before Q is leveled, and she fades slightly in a 5v5 if she can't find isolated wall-pin opportunities. Force extended 1v1s before 15 minutes, and play for picks in the mid-game rather than frontline brawling.
Early Game
Levels 1–6- →Play for short aggressive trades at level 1 using an auto-attack into minions to stack one Passive charge before level 2. This puts you ahead in the first real exchange when Q comes online.
- →After hitting level 4, look for the first solo-kill attempt by forcing the enemy under tower range with Starchaser's airborne, cutting off the safe retreat distance they need to survive the wall-pin combo.
- →Rotate to Dragon only if your jungler is already contesting. Never sacrifice a push wave or lane bounty for a Dragon fight you are not needed for.
Mid Game
Post Broken Spear- →After completing Broken Spear, roam toward the mid lane specifically to pin squishy mages or marksmen against the narrow corridor walls where R's wall-stun is almost unavoidable.
- →Use Mountain Shaker at full stack depth in every teamfight. Dive into the centre of the enemy cluster so the armor shred applies to as many targets as possible and amplifies your entire team's physical damage.
- →Track the enemy jungler's position before every side-lane all-in. Qi is extremely vulnerable to counter-ganks if she has burned Q on the lane opponent and has no escape tool for 8+ seconds.
Late Game
Teamfight phase- →In late-game 5v5s, open each fight with R's first cast to shove the carry or mid-laner into a wall before your team's damage dealers arrive. A 1.5-second stun on a squishy is a death sentence.
- →Build Death Sickle before Blade of Eternity if the enemy team has heavy burst. The active shield combined with Passive armor stacks makes Qi nearly unkillable in a 2-second window, long enough to land the full combo.
- →If you have secured enough kill gold to be ahead, transition to being the primary engage rather than waiting for a jungler initiation. Your wall geometry knowledge is your biggest late-game edge.
Pro Tips
- →When using the Flicker Wall-Pin combo, cast R first and Flicker in the same instant. The game registers the push from your new position, so enemies near a wall can be stunned without landing Starchaser first.
- →Mountain Shaker's five-stack armor reduction is a buff on the enemy, not a refreshing debuff. Each cast adds a new stack independently, so rapid successive casts at the start of a fight deal far more total physical damage than spacing them out.
- →Qi's R re-cast scales on missing HP. Taking a few hits before firing the second cast in a duel, rather than using it immediately, can mean the difference between a kill and a flash escape.
- →In the slayer corridor, the bushes near each turret create a natural wall angle many opponents never account for. Bait the enemy into the bush, then R-push them into the side wall rather than straight back, where the stun geometry is more predictable.
Qi is the slayer pick for players who want agency without giving up tankiness. She can carry on individual mechanics while still working as a frontliner when the team needs it. Her ceiling depends entirely on map-geometry knowledge and the discipline to save Starchaser for engage rather than burning it reactively. Master the wall-pin consistently and learn to stack Mountain Shaker before your carries arrive in a fight, and she rewards you with games that feel almost unfair. Diamond-and-above players who like punishing positional mistakes and dominating physical-heavy metas should keep her in the active pool right now.
Qi — Frequently Asked Questions
Is Qi good in the current ROV patch?+
Yes. Qi is a solid A-tier pick on the Thai server with a 37.5% win rate across a 28.1% pick rate, so she is played heavily and still performing. Her 19.3% ban rate confirms coordinated enemy teams would rather remove her than deal with her wall-pin in a live game. Not broken, but consistently reliable.
What is the best build for Qi?+
Recommended core is Gilded Greaves into Broken Spear into Omni Arms into Fenrir's Tooth into Death Sickle into Blade of Eternity. Broken Spear is the most important spike because the armor penetration stacks devastatingly with Mountain Shaker's armor shred. Death Sickle before Blade of Eternity is preferred in games where the enemy has burst assassins.
How do you counter Qi?+
The fastest way to neutralize her is a hero with a reliable dash or blink. Murad, Butterfly, and Florentino all deny her the wall-pin that makes her dangerous. Building one physical defense piece like Gaia's Standard on a tank also cuts the Mountain Shaker shred's impact in the mid-to-late game. Stay away from walls when she has her ultimate up.
Is Qi hard to play, and is she good for beginners?+
Medium difficulty, with some truth to beginner-friendly. Her base combo is learnable quickly, but the real value comes from knowing every wall angle on the map to land the R wall-stun consistently. Beginners can win with the basic Q into W into R rotation, but players who practice geometry and the Flicker wall-pin combo perform dramatically better. Not recommended as a first slayer pick for brand-new players.