Okay, let’s talk about how to counter Gwen.
So I was playing a ranked game the other day, and I got absolutely smashed by a Gwen top. She’s a real pain in the ass if you don’t know how to deal with her. After that game, I was like, “Alright, that’s it, I gotta figure this chick out.”
First thing I did was hop into some practice games. I tried a bunch of different champions against her, just to see what felt good and what felt terrible. I started with some of my usual top laners, you know, the ones I’m comfortable with. But man, most of them just got shredded. Gwen’s mobility and damage output are just insane if you let her get rolling.
Then I remembered something I saw in a pro game a while back. They picked a tank into Gwen and it seemed to work pretty well. So I decided to give that a shot. I picked Ornn, because he’s one of my go-to tanks and he’s got some good tools for dealing with slippery champs.
The first few levels were a bit rough, ngl. Gwen’s got a lot of poke, and Ornn’s early game isn’t exactly stellar. But I just focused on farming up, taking what CS I could without getting chunked too hard. I also paid close attention to her Snip Snip! (Q) cooldown. Once she used it, I knew I had a small window to trade back without taking a ton of damage.
Once I got my Bami’s Cinder, things started to change. I could actually stand up to her a bit more. I started using my own Q (Volcanic Rupture) to poke her back and zone her off the wave a bit. The key was to not let her get too many stacks of her passive on me. If she did, I just backed off and waited for it to reset.
Then, once I finished my Sunfire Aegis, it was a whole different ball game. I could actually fight her head-on, and my damage output was surprisingly high. I also maxed my W (Bellows Breath) second, which helped me deal with her mobility and reduce the damage from her ult (Needlework).
Here’s what I learned from those practice games:
- Don’t fight her early unless you have a clear advantage. She’s just too strong.
- Track her Q cooldown. It’s her main source of damage.
- Build armor and magic resist. It’ll make her life much harder.
- Use your crowd control to lock her down when she tries to all-in.
- Don’t let her get too many stacks of her passive.
My conclusion
Picking a tank, especially someone like Ornn, seems to be a solid strategy against Gwen. You can soak up her damage, out-sustain her, and eventually just run her over. Of course, it’s not a guaranteed win, but it definitely gives you a much better chance than trying to duel her with a squishy champ.
So yeah, that’s my experience with countering Gwen. Hopefully, this helps some of you guys out there who are struggling with her. It took some trial and error, but I finally feel like I have a decent game plan against her. Good luck on the Rift!
