- Win Rate
- 50.6%
- Pick Rate
- 4.3%
First Strike Rune Effect & Numbers
- Patch
- 26.20
- Games with rune
- 42,599
- Lane
- All Lanes
- Tier
- All Tiers
- Last Updated
- Oct 19, 2026 UTC
- Methodology
- Data Methodology
- Author
- Dakota Chinnick
Cooldown:
- Rune tree
- Inspiration · Keystone
- Cooldown
- 25–15s (by level)
- Win Rate
- 50.6%+0.2 vs row avg
- Pick Rate
- 4.3%
- Best champion
- Gwen · 55.7%
- Most played by
- Miss Fortune
How First Strike works
Inspiration · KeystoneFirst Strike: hitting a champion within 0.25s of entering combat grants 10 gold and, for 3s, 7% extra damage plus 50% (35% ranged) of bonus damage as gold.
- You must start the fight: the window is only 0.25 seconds after entering champion combat, so being hit first usually means no proc.
- The cooldown drops from 25 to 15 seconds as you level, making it easier to trigger repeatedly later in the game.
- Rewards long-range pokers and burst champions who can land the opening hit safely and turn trades into extra gold.
Other Inspiration keystones:
Glacial Augment
Unsealed Spellbook
More Inspiration runes:
First Strike numbers by level
Patch 26.20Base values of First Strike at champion levels 1, 5, 9, 13 and 18. AP, AD and health scaling is listed in the last column.
| Value | Lv 1 | Lv 5 | Lv 9 | Lv 13 | Lv 18 | Scaling |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Damage increase | 7% | 7% | 7% | 7% | 7% | — |
| Bonus damage converted to gold | 50% | 50% | 50% | 50% | 50% | 35% for ranged |
| Cooldown | 25s | 22.6s | 20.3s | 17.9s | 15s | — |
Values between level 1 and level 18 are interpolated linearly from the tooltip's range.
First Strike calculator
Set your level and stats to see exactly what First Strike gives you.
Your champion
| Damage increase | 7% |
| Bonus damage converted to gold | 50% |
| Cooldown | 20.3s |
Level-scaled values are interpolated linearly between the level 1 and level 18 values.
Is First Strike good in Patch 26.20?
Patch 26.20First Strike is a solid pick this patch with a 50.6% win rate over 42,599 games. That is 0.2 points above the average of its row (50.4%).
- Tier
- A
- Win Rate
- 50.6%vs row +0.2
- Pick Rate
- 4.3%
- Games with rune
- 42,599Large sample
Best lanes for First Strike
All ranksFirst Strike is played mostly in ADC (35% of games). It wins most in Mid at 51.8%.
| Lane | Win Rate | Pick Rate | Share | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ADC | 51.3% | 7.4% | 35% | 14,863 |
| Mid | 51.8% | 6.6% | 31% | 13,235 |
| Jungle | 48.3% | 5.0% | 24% | 10,015 |
| Top | 49.7% | 1.4% | 7% | 2,850 |
| Support | 50.5% | 0.8% | 4% | 1,603 |
Best champions for First Strike
All ranksGwen leads with a 55.7% win rate with First Strike; 32 champions take it this patch.
First Strike win rate by game length
First Strike scales: 51.3% in games over 35 minutes vs 48.1% in games of 25 or less.
Runes paired with First Strike
On the best rune pages that include First Strike, Cash Back shows up most (88% of pages).
Who takes First Strike
Marksman champions account for 33% of First Strike games.
- Marksman · 33%
- Assassin · 31%
- Mage · 25%
- Fighter · 11%
- Tank · 0%
- Support · 0%
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First Strike FAQ – Patch 26.20
What does First Strike do in League of Legends?
First Strike: hitting a champion within 0.25s of entering combat grants 10 gold and, for 3s, 7% extra damage plus 50% (35% ranged) of bonus damage as gold. It is in the Inspiration tree (Keystone).
What are First Strike's numbers and cooldown?
First Strike: 7% damage increase. Cooldown: 25–15s (by level).
Is First Strike good in Patch 26.20?
Yes, it is a solid choice: a 50.60% win rate over 42,599 games in Patch 26.20. It is A tier on the rune tier list. That is 0.2 points above its row's average of 50.4%.
Which champions should take First Strike?
By win rate with the rune: Gwen (Mid), Veigar (ADC), Veigar (Mid). Gwen leads at 55.7% over 1,173 games. Most played with it: Miss Fortune (ADC), Qiyana (Jungle), Zed (Mid). Marksman champions make up 33% of its games.
First Strike vs Arcane Comet: which is better?
On the same champions, First Strike wins 2.2 points more often than Arcane Comet (across 22 champion-lane pairs). Across all games: First Strike 50.6%, Arcane Comet 49.9%.
Is First Strike better early or late?
Late: First Strike wins 51.3% of games past 35 minutes vs 48.1% of games that end by 25.