Everything You Need to Know About Kayn in League of Legends

Kayn is a champion who allows you to play in multiple different ways, depending on which form you choose to submit to in that specific game. If you want to one-shot people as an assassin, you can embrace the order of the shadow, by becoming Shadow Assassin Kayn.

Or if you want to become an unkillable demon, then maybe the Darkin, Rhaast is the demon for you. But what do both of these different forms do for Kayn, and how does it alter how you play him? Well, that and so much more is covered here, with everything you need to know about Kayn in League of Legends. 

Kayn’s abilities in League of Legends

Passive: The Darkin Scythe
 

Kayn will have another bar of experience in game, which allows him to transform into either the Darkin, Rhaast, or the Shadow Assassin.

To get orbs to become the Darkin, Kayn must attack melee champions, whilst if he wants to become the Shadow Assassin, he will need to attack ranged enemy champions. Whatever form he changes into determines how he plays for the rest of the game.

To transform, click your character portrait on your HUD when you are in base with a fully filled bar. When Kayn changes forms he gets a unique bonus based on form. These are:

• Darkin: Rhaast heals for the post-mitigation damage when he damages enemy champions. 
• Shadow Assassin: When out of combat with enemy champions, or when the Shadow Assassin casts his R, he deals up to 45% of post-mitigation damage as bonus magic damage.

Q: Reaping Slash
 

Kayn dashes in the direction of his choosing, swirling his scythe around when he arrives. This does a large area of AOE damage to any enemies he hits, scaling with 80% of his bonus AD.

Reaping Slash also gets a bonus if Kayn is in Darkin form, as it will do a percentage of Kayn’s AD, and a smaller percentage of the target’s maximum HP as physical damage. This also increases by 3.5% for every 100 bonus AD that Kayn has.

The speed of the slash of Reaping Slash scales with Kayn’s total movement speed too, so make sure to use this to your advantage with early boots.

W: Blade’s Reach
 

Kayn slices forward, dealing damage to any enemies hit in an AOE rectangle in front of him. This also slows enemies by 90% for 1.5s.

When he is in Shadow Assassin form, this ability reaches further and is longer, as well as it no longer tying Kayn to the position he casts this ability from. This means he can cast it as he is moving, making assassinations a lot more fluid.

When in Darkin form, Blade’s Reach instead knocks up any enemies it hits for 1 second.

E: Shadow Step
 

Kayn can ghost through any terrain when activating this ability, with 40% bonus movement speed added on top. This lasts for up to 9 seconds, but is cancelled after 1.5s when getting into combat.  The duration increases up to 7/7.5/8/8.5/9 seconds if Kayn is not in combat with enemy champions.

This only lasts for 1.5 seconds if Kayn has recently been in combat with enemy champions in the past 3 seconds.

When Kayn chooses Shadow Assassin, the cooldown of this ability drops from 21 to 13 seconds based on level, to 10 seconds at all ranks. This then gives Kayn a slow resist whilst using Shadow Step, and the bonus movement speed he gets is increased to 70% rather than 40%. 

R: Umbral Trespass
 

Kayn can teleport inside of any enemy champion he has marked by attacking recently, and by doing so he dashes to them, becoming untargetable.

Kayn can remain within the target champion for up to 2.5 seconds, but he can choose to bail out after 0.75 seconds, and in a target direction, dealing up to 350 physical damage, plus 175% of his bonus AD.

If Kayn decides to become the Shadow Assassin, this ability gains a bonus cast range of 200, meaning he can cast it from further away. It also resets the Shadow Assassin part of his passive, The Darkin Scythe.

When Kayn is in Darkin form, he instead deals physical damage equivalent to 15% of the targets maximum HP, with an additional 10% added on for every 100 AD that Kayn has. This also heals Rhaast for 9.75% of the targets maximum HP, with an additional 6.5% added for every 100 bonus AD Kayn has.

When was Kayn released in League of Legends?
 

Kayn  was released in Patch 7.14, which was just after mid-season of Season 7, which was on July 12, 2017.

He was released alongside his base skin of Soulhunter Kayn.

Where is Kayn from in League of Legends?
 

Kayn’s origins are very interesting in the League of Legends lore as the base character of Kayn has been around Runeterra. Kayn himself was born in Noxus, but currently resides in the Temple of Thanjuul in Ionia, alongside the Kinkou Order, and champions such as Akali and Zed.

The Darkin Scythe corrupts him when he gives into its powers, so Kayn is not actually a pure Darkin!

Kayn’s Age in League of Legends
 

Kayn was born in roughly 976 AN in Noxus, which places him at about 21 years of age. His young age makes him dangerously naive, and whether he chooses to succumb to the Darkin Blade or whether he masters it is yet to be seen, but his power is limitless nonetheless.

Kayn’s Voice Actor in League of Legends
 

Kayn and Shadow Assassin Kayn are voiced by Robbie Daymond, whilst Rhaast is voiced by Sam A. Mowry. These both voice most of Kayn’s skins, including the new HEARTSTEEL versions of Kayn!

Who has a crush on Kayn?

In the main story, no champion has a confirmed crush on Kayn. But there are a few hints in other versions of the game. In the Odyssey universe, Jinx shows that she likes Kayn. She flirts with him, and Kayn also flirts back. This only happens in that alternate world and not in the main lore.

Some fans also point to Akali. She calls Kayn "cute" in one comic. But this is a small moment and does not lead to anything serious. Riot has not shown any strong romantic story between Kayn and another champion. These moments are fun, but they do not mean Kayn is in a real relationship.