Kayn

Kayn
Kayn
General Information
Title	The Shadow Reaper
Real Name	Shieda Kayn
Pronouns	He/Him
Release Date	July 12th, 2017
Cost	6300 975
Primary	Fighter
Secondary	Assassin
Statistics
; HP	655 (+ 99)
; HPR	8 (+ 0.75)
; MP	410 (+ 50)
; MPR	11.5 (+ 0.95)
; MS	340
; AD	68 (+ 3.3)
; AS	0.669 (+ 2.7%)
; RNG	175
; AR	38 (+ 4.5)
; MR	32 (+ 2.05)
Developer Info
DDragon Key	Kayn
Integer Key	141
External Links
Universe	universe.leagueoflegends.com
Game Info Wiki	leagueoflegends.fandom.com

Overview

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Kayn is a champion in League of Legends.

Lore[]

For non-canon multiverse lore, click here

Biography
Story

A peerless practitioner of lethal shadow magic, Shieda Kayn battles to achieve his true destiny—to one day lead the Order of the Shadow into a new era of Ionian supremacy. He audaciously wields the sentient darkin weapon Rhaast, undeterred by its creeping corruption of his body and mind. There are only two possible outcomes: either Kayn bends the weapon to his will... or the malevolent blade consumes him completely, paving the way for the destruction of all Runeterra.

Noxian by birth, Kayn and others like him were conscripted as child soldiers, a cruel practice employed by only the most devious commanders of the empire. Ionian compassion was a weakness to be exploited—their warriors would hesitate before striking down a supposed innocent. Thus, barely able to lift the blade he had been given, Kayn’s first day in battle was also expected to be his last.

The Noxian forces landed at the mouth of the Epool River. Kayn and the others were a reluctant vanguard, facing disorganized bands of locals defending their home from these returning invaders. While his young comrades were cut down or fled the battlefield, Kayn showed no fear. He dropped his heavy sword and snatched up a fallen sickle, turning to face the shocked Ionians just as the Noxian regulars swept in from the flank.

The carnage was staggering. Farmers, hunters—even a handful of vastaya—all were butchered without ceremony.

Two days later, after word had spread throughout the southern territories, the Order of the Shadow came upon the grisly scene. Their leader, Zed, knew this area had no tactical significance. This massacre was intended as a message. Noxus would show no mercy.

A flickering glint of steel caught his eye. A child of no more than ten lay in the mud, leveling his broken sickle at the master assassin, bloody knuckles straining white. The boy’s eyes harbored a pain that belied his age, yet still burned with all the fury of a hardened warrior. This tenacity was not something that could be taught. Zed saw in this child, this abandoned Noxian survivor, a weapon that could be turned against those who had sent him here to die. The assassin held out his hand and welcomed Kayn into the Order of the Shadow.

Acolytes traditionally spent years training with a single weapon of their choosing, but Kayn mastered them all—to him, they were mere tools, and he was the weapon. Armor he viewed as a cumbersome burden, instead cloaking himself in shadows and slaying his enemies with quickness and stealth. These swift executions instilled fear in the hearts of those fortunate enough to be spared.

And as Kayn’s legend grew, so did his arrogance. He truly believed that one day his power would eclipse even that of Zed himself.

This hubris led Kayn to embrace his final test: to seek out a darkin weapon recently unearthed in Noxus, and prevent it being used against the weary defenders of Ionia. He accepted without hesitation, never questioning why he had been chosen for this task. Indeed, where any other acolyte would have destroyed the living scythe known as Rhaast, Kayn took it for himself.

The corruption took hold the moment his fingers closed around the weapon, locking them both in a fateful struggle. Rhaast has long awaited the perfect host in order to join its darkin brethren and lay waste to the world, but Kayn will not be easily dominated. He returns to Ionia in triumph, convinced that Zed will name him the new leader of the Order of the Shadow.

"The child is gone. The killer remains."

- Kayn

THE BLADE OF MILLENNIA

Kayn stood confidently in the shadow of the noxtoraa, surrounded by dead soldiers, and smiled at the irony. These triumphal arches of dark stone were raised to honor the strength of Noxus—to instill fear and to demand fealty from all who passed beneath them. Now this one was a tombstone, a monument to false strength and arrogance, and a symbol of the fallen warriors’ own fear turned against them.

Kayn relished fear. He counted on it. It was a weapon, and as his brothers in the Order of the Shadow had mastered their katana and their shuriken, Kayn had mastered fear.

But as he felt Noxian soil beneath him for the first time in years, amid the enemy soldiers slain and soon to be forgotten, there was unease. It hung in the air like the pressure before a storm, begging to be released.

Nakuri, Kayn’s fellow acolyte of the Order, reversed the grip on his blade and prepared for a more personal fight. To his credit, he almost managed to hide the tremor in his voice. “What’s it going to be, brother?”

Kayn said nothing. His hands rested empty at his sides. He knew he was in control. Even so, he felt a flickering sense of déjà vu, like something out of a dream. It came in a flash, and then was gone.

A voice rose from the empty space between them—a dark and hateful voice that echoed with the pained cries of a thousand battlefields, daring each of them to act.

“Who will prove worthy?”

Zed had summoned his greatest student.

Spies of the Order had confirmed the disheartening rumors. The hated Noxians had discovered an ancient scythe of darkin origin, as powerful as any magic in Ionia. A single eye of crimson hate stared out from the heel of the blade, tempting the strongest of men to wield it in battle. Evidently, none had proved worthy. All who touched it were quickly and painfully consumed by its malevolence, so it had been wrapped in chainmail and sackcloth, and secured by a guarded caravan bound for the Immortal Bastion.

Shieda Kayn knew what would be asked of him. This would be his final test.

He had reached the outskirts of the coastal city of Vindor before he ever considered the journey’s significance. Taking the fight to the enemy in their own land was audacious. But so was Kayn. There was no other who could match his talents, none to whom Zed would entrust the fate of Ionia, and so there could be no doubt: Kayn was destined for greatness.

He set his trap shortly before sunset. The approaching caravan was just visible in the distance, as wisps of dust rising into the orange sky—ample time to dispatch the three guards at the noxtoraa.

He moved in silence across the archway’s lengthening shadow as the first guard paced out a patrol. Kayn summoned his shadow magic and stepped into the black stone wall as if it were a passage open only to him. He could see the guards in silhouette, grasping their pikes tightly with both hands.

He lunged from the edifice cloaked in shadow, and snuffed the life from the second guard with his bare hands. Before the third could even react, Kayn dissolved into tendrils of pure darkness and darted across the cobbled road, reforming in front of his victim. In a flash, he wrenched the man’s head around, snapping his neck with ease.

The first guard heard the bodies fall, lifeless and limp, and turned toward Kayn.

The assassin smiled, taking time to relish the moment. “It paralyzes, does it not?” he hissed, slipping into the shade of the noxtoraa once more. “The fear...”

He rose from the quaking soldier’s own shadow.

“This is the part where you run, Noxian. Tell others what you witnessed here.”

The soldier threw down his pike and sprinted for the safety of Vindor. He didn’t get far.

Clad in robes every bit as dark as Kayn’s, Nakuri leapt from behind the noxtoraa and plunged his katana into the belly of the fleeing soldier. The other acolyte locked eyes with Kayn. “The vaunted strength of Noxus? Such delusion...”

“I knew you were impetuous, brother,” Kayn spat. “But this? Following me all this way, hoping to share in my glory?”

There was no time for further admonishment. They could hear the caravan of soldiers approaching.

“Get out of sight, Nakuri. I will deal with you later. If you survive.”

The long shadows of twilight hid the bodies until the approaching soldiers were almost beneath the grand arch.

“Hold!” the first outrider cried, drawing his sword. “Fan out! Now!”

Confusion set in among the others as they left their horses and, for the first time, Kayn laid eyes on their cargo. It was just as Zed had described—wrapped in chainmail and sackcloth and strapped to the back of a sturdy Vindoran steed.

Patience was a virtue that Nakuri did not possess, and he heedlessly dove for the nearest soldier. Kayn always selected his targets carefully, and so struck with precision at the lead outrider, felling him with his own sword.

He turned again to the Vindoran, but the scythe was gone.

No. He had come too far to fail.

“Kayn!” Nakuri yelled as he cut down one soldier after another. “Behind you!”

A desperate Noxian had freed the weapon, its red eye now revealed and glowing with inhuman rage. The soldier’s own eyes grew wide as he swung in vicious arcs at his own comrades. He was clearly not in control, trying in vain to release the scythe.

The rumors were true.

Calling again on his shadow magic, Kayn dove into the writhing Noxian’s darkin-corrupted flesh. For the briefest of moments, he saw through the eyes of this ageless being, witnessing millennia of inflicted pain and suffering, screams and lamentations. This thing was death reborn again and again. It was the purest evil, and it had to be stopped.

He burst from what was left of the Noxian—the soldier’s flesh having warped into scales of hardened carapace that shattered into black shards and choking dust. All that remained was the scythe, its eye now closed. Kayn reached for it as Nakuri dispatched the last of their enemies.

“Brother, stop!” the acolyte cried, flicking blood from his katana. “What are you doing? You saw what it can do! It must be destroyed!”

Kayn faced him. “No. It is mine.”

The two of them drew up, neither willing to back down. Beyond the city boundaries, warning bells began to toll. The moment seemed to stretch out.

Nakuri reversed the grip on his blade. “What’s it going to be, brother?”

The scythe spoke to Kayn, then. It seemed as if it was echoing in his mind, and yet the other acolyte’s widening eyes showed he had heard it too.

“Who will prove worthy?”

Kayn conjured fingers of darkness that snatched up the weapon, lifting it into the night and spinning it into his waiting hands. It felt like a part of him, like it had always been a part of him, as if he alone was born to wield it. He spun it with a comfortable flourish and leveled the blade toward Nakuri’s throat.

“Do what you must.”

Abilities[]

		The Darkin Scythe					[Passive]
			Cooldown: 8s				[Passive]

	Innate: Kayn wields an ancient weapon and first Rhaast, the darkin within it, for control. One will win, the other will die. The Darkin Rhaast thrives on fighting melee enemies, while hunting vulnerable ranged enemies strengthens Kayn, the Shadow Assassin. Darkin Heal for 25% of spell damage dealt to champions. Shadow Assassin For the first 3 seconds in champion combat, deal percentage of all damage dealt to champions as bonus magic damage.	Magic Damage: 15 - 45% (based on level)

		Reaping Slash					[Q]
		Cost: 50 Mana	Cooldown: 7 / 6.5 / 6 / 5.5 / 5s		Range: 350		[Q]

	Active: Kayn dashes forward to strike nearby enemies. Both dash and strike deal physical damage, with bonus 40 damage against minions and monsters. Darkin Deals a percentage of the target's maximum health instead.	Physical Damage: 75 / 95 / 115 / 135 / 155 (+85% bonus)
		Darkin Damage: (+65% total) [+5% (+3.5% per 100 bonus)% target's max]
		Darkin Max Damage to Monsters: 200 / 250 / 300 / 350 / 400

		Blade's Reach					[W]
		Cost: 60 / 65 / 70 / 75 / 80 Mana	Cooldown: 13 / 12 / 11 / 10 / 9s		Range: 700 \| 900		[W]

	Active: Kayn deals physical damage and slows enemies hit by 90%, decaying over the next 1.5 seconds. Shadow Assassin Creates a Living shadow, which casts Blade's Reach for him. Darkin Enemies hit are knocked up for 1 second.	Damage: 90 / 135 / 180 / 225 / 270 (+110% bonus)

		Shadow Step					[E]
		Cost: 90 Mana	Cooldown: 21 / 19 / 17 / 15 / 13s				[E]

	Active: Kayn gains 40% Movement Speed and the ability to walk through terrain for 1.5 seconds. When he first enters terrain, he is healed and the duration of this effect is extended. Shadow Assassin While in terrain, Kayn gains slow immunity, his Movement Speed bonus is increased to 70%. Shadow Step's cooldown is reduced to 10 seconds.	Heal: 90 / 100 / 110 / 120 / 130 (+45% bonus)
		Extended Duration: 7 / 7.5 / 8 / 8.5 / 9 seconds

		Umbral Trespass					[R]
		Cost: 100 Mana	Cooldown: 120 / 100 / 80s		Range: 550 \| 200		[R]

	Active: Kayn infects an enemy champion he has recently damaged, becoming untargetable for up to 2.5 seconds. Reactivate to end this effect early. When Umbral Trespass ends, the target takes physical damage. Shadow Assassin Gains 200 extra range and refreshes The Darkin Scythe on exit. Darkin Deals percent maximum health damage and heals for a percentage of target maximum health.	Physical Damage: 150 / 250 / 350 (+175% bonus)
		Darkin Damage: [15% (+10% per 100 bonus)% target's max]
		Darkin Heal: [9.75% (+6.5% per 100 bonus)% target's max]

Patch History[]

Patch 11.9

Q Darkin damage modifier increased.

Shadow Assassin Kayn has been overshadowing his Darkin counterpart, so we’re bringing that part of Kayn… out of the dark.

Q - Reaping Slash

DARKIN DAMAGE MODIFIER : [55% of total AD] ⇒ 65% of total AD

Patch 10.10
Passive Rhaast heal decreased.

While Assassin form seems to be in the right spot, Rhaast benefited a touch too much, so we’re nerfing the utility specific to that side.

Passive - The Darkin Scythe

RHAAST HEAL :	[34.5-43%]
⇒	30-40%	of damage dealt (levels 1-18)

Patch 10.9
Q cooldown decreased; bonus damage now applies to minions. W decaying slow increased.

Our last few adjustments to Kayn haven’t pulled him out of the shadows as we’d expected, so we're adding a dash of spice to his overall game impact, from ganks to duels. We're hoping that the addition of minion damage on his Q will give Kayn more positional flexibility, and that lower cooldowns and increased slows will help players capitalize on faster clearing and early skirmishes.

Q - Reaping Slash

COOLDOWN :	[7/6.5/6/5.5/5]
⇒	6/5.5/5/4.5/4

MONSTER MASH Bonus damage against monsters now also applies to minions

W - Blade's Reach

DECAYING SLOW : [70%] ⇒ 90%

Patch 10.6

BLADE'S REACH BUGFIX : Kayn is no longer able to damage monsters and champions globally if he casts Blade's Reach

Passive orb gain speed increased later.

Last patch we smoothed out Kayn's orb gain, but his transformation times shifted back to later in the game. We're moving his average transformation times closer to where they used to be.

Passive - The Darkin Scythe

ORB GAIN SPEED : At 10-13 minutes into the game, Kayn will increase his orb gain speed by 15%, rising throughout the duration.

Patch 10.5
Passive orb gain increased. W slow increased.

Smoothing out Kayn's transformation rules so he's not punished due to confusion or complexity. We're adding a slight buff to his catching ability too to overall make him easier to succeed with.

Passive - the Darkin Scythe

ORB GaIN RaTE :	Increases	[at 8 and 12 minutes]
⇒		constantly (every second) after 5 minutes, flattening out at 13 minutes

W - Blade's Reach

DECaYING SLOW : [60%] ⇒ 70%

Patch 9.21
Q damage increased; Rhaast's modified damage ratio increased; bonus damage to monsters decreased.

Both of Kayn's forms are underperforming right now, so we're adjusting his damage to give him a bit more oomph against champions, regardless of which form you choose.

Q - Reaping Slash

DAMAGE :	[60/80/100/120/140]
⇒	75/95/115/135/155

RHAAST MODIFIED DAMAGE : [0.5] ⇒ 0.55 total attack damage

BONUS DAMAGE TO MONSTERS : [55] ⇒ 40

Patch 9.8
E Shadow Assassin cooldown decreased.

Shadow Assassin has almost always been overshadowed by Rhaast. We're hoping that by doubling down on Shadow Assassin's signature mobility, Kayn players will have more of an option when deciding between the two.

E - Shadow Step

SHADOW ASSASSIN COOLDOWN :	[21/19/17/15/13]
⇒	8 at all ranks

Patch 9.2
Transformation rules are smoother and more intuitive.

There's a lot of text below, but here's the gist: Unlock progress for Red and Blue Kayn are no longer separate (violence always gets you closer to transformation), and capitalizing on advantageous mid-game opportunities against one range type no longer risks undoing the work you did to unlock the other type first. If you still end up unlocking the form you don't want, now you can unlock the form you do want faster by continuing to fight the other range type.

Passive - The Darkin Scythe

TRANSFORMATION PROGRESS : Darkin and Shadow Assassin [unlock progress are separate] ⇒ [share unlock progress]. When transformation becomes available, the form that unlocks is chosen based on which champion type Kayn dealt more damage to.

TRANSFORMATION THRESHOLD :	[400 points per champion type]
⇒	500 points from any champion type (offsetting the rate increase from combining transformation progress)

CLOSE CALL : If Kayn unlocks his transformation when the two forms are near-even, Kayn unlocks the form of the champion type he damaged last

TIME WEIGHTING : Damage dealt later in the game is still worth more transformation progress but doesn't count for more in terms of which form Kayn unlocks

FASTER OTHER FORM Once Kayn's first form is unlocked, he can continue collecting orbs of the other form's type to reduce the timer until his second form unlocks

Transformation Clarity

COLORING Kayn's transformation bar now changes color based on which champion type Kayn has dealt more damage to

PINGING : Kayn can now ping various aspects of his passive to his team:

Pinging the transformation bar tells allies roughly how close Kayn is to transformation (early in the transformation process, midway to transformation, or very near transformation)
Pinging the "Form available" button tells allies Kayn can transform into that form
Pinging the "Form unavailable" button tells allies the time remaining before that form unlocks

E - Shadow Step

LET ME GO HOME : Kayn can now recall before Shadow Step expires as long as he isn't still in terrain

R - Umbral Trespass
Giving Shadow Assassin Kayn a better shot at escaping sticky situations.

SHADOW ASSASSIN EXIT DASH : [300] ⇒ 300-500 range based on Shadow Assassin Kayn's cursor position

Bugfixes

MISSTEP : Fixed a Shadow Step into basic attack into Reaping Slash bug where, if Shadow Step's buff expired during Q's cast time (due to the basic attack putting Kayn in combat), Q dealt no damage

NO SHORTCUTS : Kayn no longer immediately harvests orbs when damaging ranged champions who hadn't yet damaged him. He'll now properly wait until exiting combat.

....HIGHLANDER? : Fixed a bug where Soulhunter Kayn would hear the audio for Master Yi's Highlander forever if he transformed into Rhaast with Master Yi in the game

v8.17
E duration increased early. Shadow E movement speed increased.

Kayn, especially as Shadow Assassin, is struggling to stay competitive with other junglers. This buff should help him move around the map (and through terrain) and extend his opportunities to pick up kills.

E - Shadow Step

DURATION :	[5/6/7/8/9]
⇒	7/7.5/8/8.5/9	seconds

SHADOW ASSASSIN BONUS MOVEMENT SPEED : [70%] ⇒ 80%

v8.7
Passive gains more points early, fewer points later.

Kayn's passive—specifically the way it ramps up over time—means that a lot of Kayn's early actions feel less impactful than they should. First, the low number of points he gets early on makes early ganking and fighting a lot less worthwhile than it should be. Second, the high number of points he gets later on means that his later fights matter so much that they too easily outweigh the earlier ones. We're moving around some of that point accrual so that his actions in the early game matter more.

Passive - The Darkin Scythe

HEAD START : Increased the amount of points gained from interacting with enemy champions pre-10 minutes

IN THE PAST NOW : Decreased the amount of points gained from interacting with enemy champions post-15 minutes

Q - Reaping Slash

ONE TWO SLASH : Other abilities can now be queued up while casting Q

v8.6
W and R ratios increased.

W - Blade's Reach

RATIO : [1.2] ⇒ 1.3 bonus attack damage

R - Umbral Trespass

RATIO : [1.5] ⇒ 1.75 bonus attack damage (Rhaast's ratio unchanged)

v7.24b

Yeah, yeah, Kayn isn't a toplaner. He's got similar issues as other fighters on this list, though, so we're lumping him in for solidarity.

Base stats

ATTACK DAMAGEGROWTH : [2.8] ⇒ 3.3

Passive - The Darkin Scythe

RHAAST SPELL VAMP VS CHAMPIONS :	[25% + 1% per level]
⇒	34% + 0.5% per level	(max 43% at level 18)

v7.22

BASE ARMOR : [29] ⇒ 38

BASE ATTACK DAMAGE : [60] ⇒ 68

Q - Reaping Slash

BASE DAMAGE :	[55/75/95/115/135]
⇒	60/80/100/120/140

W - Blade's Reach

BASE DAMAGE :	[80/125/170/215/260]
⇒	90/135/180/225/270

v7.16

More bugfixin’.

Passive - The Darkin Scythe

BUGFIX : Kayn no longer gains transformation progress from ticks of Corrupting Potion, Deathfire Touch, Red Buff, or Challenging Smite. (Other periodic effects, such as Ignite, already had no impact on transformation progress.)

W - Blade's Reach

TOOLTIP FIX : Shadow Assassin Kayn’s tooltip for Blade’s Reach now displays the proper slow duration, slow value, and bonus attack damage ratio. In-game effects are unchanged.

R - Umbral Trespass

BUGFIX-FIX : Kayn once again marks targets for Umbral Trespass, even when his damage is completely absorbed by a shield

v7.15
Ultimate bonus AD ratio increased. Duskblade now appropriately interacts with Kayn’s abilities.

Kayn’s been on the Rift for a patch and we mostly like what his Darkin form is doing. However, Shadow Assassin has been struggling to keep up. Specifically, his burst when he goes all-in hasn’t been enough to consistently net kills - even when ahead - so we’re buffing his scaling.

R - Umbral Trespass

RATIO : [1.1] ⇒ 1.5 bonus attack damage (Darkin form loses this ratio in favor of an enemy max health ratio, so is unaffected)

Bugfixes

Fixed a bug where Umbral Trespass wasn’t making Kayn ‘unseen’ for Duskblade of Draktharr’s Nightstalker proc
Fixed a bug where Shadow Assassin's passive wasn’t amplifying damage-over-time (ex. Deathfire Touch) or proc (ex. Duskblade of Draktharr) effects
Fixed a bug where Shadow Assassin's passive triggered against Fiora's Riposte, Pantheon’s Aegis Protection, and Shen's Spirit's Refuge even though there's no damage to amplify
Fixed a bug where Kled's Bear Trap on a Rope ended Kayn’s Umbral Trespass early.
Fixed a bug where Kayn could cast Umbral Trespass on an enemy he attempted to damage when all of the damage was absorbed by a shield

v7.14

BUGFIX : Fixed a bug causing Kayn's UI to break, sometimes preventing him from transforming altogether

BUGFIX : Kled no longer ends up in a weird spot if Kayn uses Umbral Trespass on him to avoid the targeted dash at the end of Chaaaaaaaarge!!!

Kayn, the Shadow Reaper will be unleashed on the Rift later during patch 7.14. In the meantime, learn more about the shadow and his scythe here: