Julian

BTier

Pulls targets in with every basic attack and enhances his combo's finisher.

AssassinFighterJungleDeals hybrid

Julian is a jungle Assassin/Fighter hybrid whose passive, Smith's Legacy, empowers his basic attacks to deal magic damage and pull the target toward him after any skill cast. Landing two different skills enhances his third — Chain — into a wider, harder-hitting finisher, and the enhanced Sword's longer dash turns him briefly invincible, so he can fight through a burst window instead of only opening one.

Difficulty: Hard
Specialities: ChaseMagic Damage

Sequencing two different skills to enhance Chain, then timing basic attacks around the passive's pull window, asks for more setup discipline than a straightforward burst combo.

Beaten by: 104 hard
Strong into: 2
Best duos: 10
Builds: 2

At a glance

Damage	7 of 10
Durability	5 of 10
Crowd Control	6 of 10
Mobility	7 of 10
Utility	4 of 10

Rated against the whole roster, not against their own class.

When Julian is strong

Attributes

Damage: 7
Durability: 5
Crowd Control: 6
Mobility: 7
Utility: 4

Strengths

Smith's Legacy's basic-attack pull after any skill keeps a target from disengaging while he chains his combo.
Casting two different skills enhances his third, refreshing every cooldown down to as low as 6 seconds.
The enhanced Sword dashes further and makes him briefly invincible, letting him ride out a burst combo mid-rotation.
Chain's enhanced version knocks a whole group airborne, turning a single-target skill into teamfight CC.

Weaknesses

Needs to land two different skills before the combo's real payoff — the enhanced Chain — comes online.
Scythe and Sword are both committal skillshots with real cooldowns before the passive's refresh kicks in.
Squishier than a dedicated frontline fighter, so he can be burst down before completing his rotation.
Loses most of his pull pressure against a target with a hard displacement or cleanse.

Skills

Max Scythe first for damage and slow uptime, then Sword for the gap-close, taking a point in Chain whenever it's available since it can be leveled from level one.

Passive

Smith's Legacy

Buff

After casting two different skills, Julian enhances his third skill. Casting the enhanced skill makes all his skills go on a 9–6 seconds cooldown (decreases with his level. After casting any skill, his Basic Attacks within the next 5 seconds to deal 100 (+100% Total Physical Attack) (+100% Total Magic Power) Magic Damage and pull the target toward him. Casting another skill extends the duration.

Our source cuts this description off mid-sentence — the rest is not shown.

Always active — no cooldown

Skill 1

Scythe

SlowMagic Damage

Julian hurls a flying scythe in the target direction that damages and slows enemies. After casting two different skills, this skill becomes Enhanced, hitting harder, slowing more, and lingering near the first non-minion enemy it strikes to keep dealing damage.

DefaultScythe

Julian hurls a flying scythe in the target direction, dealing 420 (+140% Total Magic Power) Magic Damage to enemies along the way and slowing them by 30% for 1 second.

EnhancedEnhanced Scythe

Julian hurls an enhanced scythe dealing 420 (+140% Total Magic Power) Magic Damage and slowing enemies by 50% for 1 second. On hitting a non-minion enemy or reaching max range, the scythe lingers and deals 80 (+30% Total Magic Power) Magic Damage every 0.3 seconds to nearby enemies, up to 8 times.

Cooldown not recorded

Skill 2

Sword

MobilityMagic Damage

Julian summons a flying sword and dashes in the target direction, damaging enemies along the way. After casting two different skills, this skill becomes Enhanced, sending out many swords and briefly turning Julian invincible during a longer dash.

DefaultSword

Julian summons a flying sword and dashes in the target direction, dealing 400 (+80% Total Magic Power) Magic Damage to enemies along the way.

EnhancedEnhanced Sword

Julian summons a large number of flying swords and dashes further in the target direction, becoming briefly invincible and dealing 75 (+15% Total Magic Power) Magic Damage every 0.1 seconds to enemies along the way, up to 9 times.

Cooldown not recorded

Ultimate

Chain

CCAirborneMagic Damage

Julian casts a chain at the target location that damages and immobilizes enemies after a short delay. After casting two different skills, this skill becomes Enhanced, dealing continuous damage and slowing enemies caught inside, then launching any who remain into the air when the effect ends.

DefaultChain

Julian casts a chain at the target location, dealing 300 (+100% Total Magic Power) Magic Damage to enemies hit after a short delay and immobilizing them for 1.2 seconds.

EnhancedEnhanced Chain

Julian casts an enhanced chain at the target location, dealing 40 (+10% Total Magic Power) Magic Damage every 0.2 seconds to enemies inside and slowing them by 30%. Enemies still inside when the effect ends are knocked airborne and take bonus damage.

Cooldown not recorded

Signature combo

Scythe to slow from range → Sword to dash in, completing the two-skill combo → Chain, now enhanced, to knock the group airborne, basic-attacking after every cast to pull the target back in with Smith's Legacy.

Julian builds

Core items in buy order, with the emblem, talents and battle spell that go with them.

Hybrid Lifesteal Jungle

7,740g total

Default pick when Julian is drafted as the jungler for early tempo and dueling.

Emblem

Assassin

T1Rupture
T2Master Assassin
T3Lethal Ignition

Battle spell

Retribution35s CD

A well-timed Retribution on a low-HP objective — a 'smite steal' — can snatch Turtle or Lord away from a team that appeared to be securing it, often the single biggest swing play of the early-to-mid game.

Swap in when needed

Winter Crown — Against burst assassins threatening to kill him before he finishes a rotation.
Ice Queen Wand — Against mobile carries he needs to keep pulled in through the fight.
Divine Glaive — Against a team stacking magic defense to blunt his damage.

Bruiser Sustain

7,110g total

When drafted to lane as a durable EXP bruiser instead of jungling.

Emblem

Fighter

T1Firmness
T2Tenacity
T3Impure Rage

Battle spell

Flicker120s CD

The 'Flicker combo' — blinking in right as a hook or stun lands, or blinking out the instant an enemy ultimate is cast — is the single most common high-elo outplay moment in the game.

Swap in when needed

Immortality — Second life for extended skirmishes where he over-commits to a combo.
Antique Cuirass — Against skill-combo fighters and assassins punishing his engage.
Dominance Ice — Against a heavy-lifesteal frontline that outlasts his combo.

Who counters Julian

The heroes that make this matchup hard, and the mechanic that does it.

Full counter page

Items to build against Julian

Julian is strong into

Heroes whose own counter list names Julian — the same matchup, read from the other side.

Who to pair Julian with

Duo partners whose kit completes this one.

Playing Julian well

1
Open with Scythe from range to slow, then Sword in to close the gap — casting both different skills primes the enhanced Chain.
2
Basic-attack the target immediately after every skill cast to trigger the passive's pull and keep it from walking out of range.
3
Save the enhanced Chain for when the enemy is grouped — its ticking damage and the airborne launch when it expires are worth far more than the base version's single immobilize.
4
Hold the enhanced Sword for the moment the enemy commits — the invincibility during its longer dash is the only defensive tool in the kit.

Julian — common questions

Is Julian good for beginners?

Julian is moderate difficulty — his skills are simple to aim, but getting real value means sequencing two different skills to enhance Chain and following up with basic attacks for the passive's pull.

What is the best build for Julian?

Swift Boots into Haas' Claws, Genius Wand and Holy Crystal covers burst, sustain and magic penetration for most jungle matchups.

Which heroes counter Julian?

Tigreal and Minsitthar can lock him down before he starts his combo, and tanky sustain heroes like Hylos and Baxia blunt the payoff of his two-skill setup.

Does Julian have an ultimate?

Julian has no traditional ultimate — his third skill, Chain, fills that role and can be leveled from level one instead of waiting until level four like other heroes' ultimates.

Similar heroes

Yin