Xayah’s passive “Razor Sharp Feathers” requires good decision making in order to be fully utilized. This is because every time Xayah uses an ability, her next 3 autoattacks deal area damage and leave a feather behind. Since your autoattack range is below average, you need to know exactly when you can afford further attacks for additional feathers and when you should keep your distance from your opponents.

On the other hand, your Q – twin feathers, which you level up to level 1 in most cases, offer more range. Xayah throws 2 daggers, which cause area damage and also leave behind a feather each. You can use this ability to poke effectively, especially at the start of the laning phase. As the game progresses, however, you will mainly use it if you want to place 2 additional feathers as quickly as possible. You maximize Q last, as it only receives a small amount of additional damage from the extra ability points.

At level 2, if you have skilled Q at level 1, always use the E – Blade Caller, in which Xayah calls all feathers back to her and these inflict damage on all enemies hit on the way to her. This gives you the opportunity to use Q->AA->E or AA->Q->E to quickly place 3 feathers behind an enemy and hold them with your E so that you can escape or attack them together with your allies.

In addition, the damage of this ability is all the higher if Xayah was able to distribute more feathers beforehand and therefore more feathers hit the opponents on the way to her. Xayah is therefore able to deal a lot of burst damage. A well-hit E can often be the difference between life and death or even winning or losing a teamfight. The E can also be combined with your Flash to pull the feathers in a different direction. As the damage increases for each feather and the cooldown is reduced, maximize the E first.

This is Xayah’s primary skill order. However, if the enemy botlanes are positioned away from each other or you are playing a botlane that is generally weak at level 1, you can start the game reactively with W – Feather Whirl. The conditions for this are as follows: If you are playing Xayah with Rakan, both champions gain bonus damage and movement speed from attacking while Xayah’s W is active. If your opponents do not respect this and have not picked an exceptionally strong level 1 bot lane, you can definitely start with W as long as your Rakan does. Use pings to communicate your intentions. However, Xayah can also start with other Supporters with her W, the first condition of the weaker or poorly positioned botlane also applies here. For example, if you are playing with a hook champion such as Nautilus, Pyke or Blitzcrank, you can hit the ability, level up your W and run down the target you hit. In most cases, you will be able to gain a life bar and possibly draw the opponent’s Flash.

This ability to make different skill order decisions with Xayah at level 1 also teaches you an important general League concept. Skill abilities only when you want to use them. Even at level 2, if you started the game with W – Feather Whirl, Xayah has the opportunity to make another decision. If you are able to play an all-in against the opponent’s bot lane or if they play into you and therefore run forward while you are trading, it is quite possible to surprise your opponents with W and E at level 2. If there is no such opportunity, level up Q and play a little safer until you have the root of E – Blade Caller available at level 3. If you make good decisions and choose the right skill sequences for the situation, you can stand out as a good Xayah right from the start of the laning phase.

At level 3, if you have not already done so, you will unlock the W – Feather Whirl. Xayah creates a blade vortex around herself for 4 seconds, which gives her extra attack speed and increases the damage dealt by her autoattacks. She also gains movement speed when attacking champions, allowing her to kite or chase them more effectively while the W is active. The W is therefore your best tool for all-ins, as it significantly increases your damage per second and at the same time the first 3 attacks after activation leave additional feathers thanks to your passives, which you can then use with the E for rooting and bursting. You’ll want to maximize the W second, as the additional attack speed increases and the cooldown decreases when you put points into the ability.

Xayah’s ultimate ability “Roaring Feathers” can be leveled at level 6, 11 and 16. When activated, Xayah jumps into the air, cannot be targeted for 1.5 seconds and then rains daggers that leave feathers behind. This ult is a very powerful tool for self-protection. Xayah can simultaneously dodge an enemy Engage and initiate a counterattack with a combo of R->E.