About Sylas

Sylas is one of the most distinctive characters in the popular video game League of Legends. He was born and raised in the kingdom of Demacia which is known for its strict control over magic. Sylas, however, rebelled against this dogmatic approach to magic and became known for his resistance against the oppression of mages.

Playing Style

As a unique mid-lane mage, Sylas is best suited to close-range combat. He is also recognized for using one of his special abilities, known as Hijack, to steal and use the ultimate moves of his enemies. His adaptive potential and his dynamic style of play enables him to manipulate his opponents’ abilities and turn them against them in strategic ways. This creates a challenging and exciting play experience as it facilitates constant action, sharpens players’ use of ability combinations, and encourages weaving in powerful basic attacks between spells. His entire kit is designed to reward active and aggressive plays.

Core Abilities

Sylas has five core abilities:

• Petricite Burst: After casting a spell, Sylas’s next basic attack deals bonus magic damage in an area and increases his attack speed.
• Chain Lash: Sylas deals area damage and slows enemies in an X-pattern, followed by a secondary explosion for extra magic damage.
• Kingslayer: Here, Sylas lunges at an enemy causing damage, and heals himself more when his health is low. This is vital for his sacrificing and trading capabilities.
• Abscond/Abduct: Initially a short dash (Abscond), followed by a chain throw that pulls Sylas to the struck enemy (Abduct), it provides high mobility and situational utility.
• Hijack: Arguably his most notorious ability, Sylas can steal an opponent’s ultimate skill. This adds depth to his dynamic playstyle and is influenced significantly by the enemy team composition. Mastery over timing and judgment is key.

Impact on Match Progression

Within the game, Sylas prefers to take solo lanes, especially the mid, utilizing his Q and W for early skirmishes. Post level 6, Sylas becomes a significant game influencer with his Hijack ability. In team fights, he’s known to be highly disruptive by using enemy ultimates to change the fight dynamics. His high resilience and mobility make him a tough character to overcome, and his strength escalates with access to impactful enemy ultimates.

Sylas’s strength lies in his adaptability. He performs well against teams with powerful ultimates but he’s less successful against teams whose ultimates do not benefit him.

Game Strategies

Standard builds recommended for Sylas players include items like Lich Bane, Zhonya’s Hourglass, and Rabadon’s Deathcap. His effectiveness rises with such key items and levels, signalling a potential turning point in the game if he manages to excel. However, kite champions, who prevent Sylas from closing the gap for attacks, could pose a challenge to him. Additionally, teams with low-impact ultimates tend to decrease his effectiveness significantly.

Popularity and Skill Requirement

For advanced players, Sylas poses a unique challenge – the better a player understands other champions, the more effectively they can use Hijack to carry games. This dependence on extensive knowledge of the game mechanisms retroactively adds to his popularity amongst players since every match with Sylas offers unique challenges and choices, thereby ensuring high replay value and continuous strategic depth as new champions and ultimates are added to the game.