Kraken Slayer

What is Kraken Slayer? 🐉

Kraken Slayer is the primary anti-tank ADC item for marksmen who need to cut through high-health targets with true-damage-adjacent burst on every third hit. Its BRING IT DOWN passive stacks on every basic attack hit; at 2 stacks, the third hit deals up to 262.5–367.5 bonus physical damage — scaling both with the holder’s level AND with how much health the target is missing. The more the tank has been chipped down, the harder each third hit lands.

What makes Kraken Slayer the benchmark anti-tank item for marksmen is that its BRING IT DOWN damage is physical damage that ignores armor in a specific sense: it doesn’t bypass armor like true damage does, but the missing health scaling (0%–75%) means that against a 6,000 HP tank at 50% health (3,000 HP missing), the damage multiplier is near maximum. The item punishes the act of surviving — the more you’ve whittled a tank down, the more each third hit accelerates their death.

At 3,000 Gold, Kraken Slayer provides a broad stat package: +45 AD, +40% attack speed, and +4% movement speed — one of the few ADC items offering all three simultaneously. Building from Rectrix, Hearthbound Axe, and Recurve Bow with a 325g combine. Sell price: 2,100 Gold. ID: 6672. Removed Masterwork version: Wyrmfallen Sacrifice.

📊 Base Statistics

🔨 Recipe & Components

Kraken Slayer builds from Rectrix + Hearthbound Axe + Recurve Bow with a 325g combine:

⚔️ BRING IT DOWN Passive — Complete Mechanics Reference

Stack Accumulation and Consumption

BRING IT DOWN stacks on every basic attack on-hit — including empowered attacks (Jinx Q Fishbones rockets, Ezreal Q if it qualifies as an on-hit), but with important exceptions detailed below. Each hit grants 1 stack, lasting 3 seconds and refreshing on each subsequent hit. The maximum stack count is 2. At 2 stacks, the very next basic attack consumes all stacks and fires the BRING IT DOWN bonus damage — this third hit is the high-damage proc that defines the item’s anti-tank function.

The 3-second stack duration means rapid attack patterns (high attack speed builds) maintain stacks reliably between hits. At very low attack speed (slow attackers in the base game), stacks can expire between auto-attacks. The +40% attack speed from the item itself helps ensure stacks don’t decay in normal combat — stacks are nearly always active in a sustained fight with normal attack speed builds.

Missing Health Scaling — The Anti-Tank Execution Pattern

The 0%–75% bonus based on target’s missing health creates an execute-style damage curve that amplifies BRING IT DOWN’s value specifically during the phase of a fight where tanks are most dangerous to kill — the second half of their HP bar. Against a target at full health, BRING IT DOWN fires at base 150–210 damage. Against the same target at 25% HP remaining (75% missing), the damage hits the maximum 262.5–367.5.

This scaling pattern directly counters the tank’s primary defensive strategy: stacking HP to force more time-to-kill. The more HP a tank builds, the longer the fight lasts — and the longer the fight lasts, the more BRING IT DOWN procs fire at higher missing health percentages. A 6,000 HP Warmog’s tank doesn’t escape BRING IT DOWN’s scaling; they extend the fight long enough for BRING IT DOWN to fire at 50%+ missing health bonus for the entire second half of the engagement.

BRING IT DOWN — Full Mechanics Table

Guinsoo’s Rageblade Interaction — Every 2 Hits

The Guinsoo’s Rageblade Phantom Hit interaction is the most significant BRING IT DOWN synergy in the game. Phantom Hit grants a bonus on-hit effect every 2 basic attacks — and that phantom hit also grants an additional BRING IT DOWN stack. With Phantom Hit activating every other auto, BRING IT DOWN reaches 2 stacks after just 2 attacks instead of 2 standard on-hits — effectively tripling the proc frequency compared to building Kraken Slayer alone.

The practical result on champions who build both items: BRING IT DOWN fires on every second basic attack rather than every third. Against a tank who would normally receive ~10 BRING IT DOWN procs in a 30-second fight, the Guinsoo’s + Kraken Slayer combination delivers ~15 procs. On champions with naturally fast attack speeds (Jinx, Tristana, Kog’Maw), this combination creates an extraordinary HP-% shredding pattern.

🗺️ Map-Specific Differences

🎯 When to Build Kraken Slayer

Kraken Slayer is optimal against high-health enemies who cannot be burst down in under 4-5 basic attacks. The item’s core power requires time — the third-hit proc fires only after 2 stacks build up, and the missing health scaling reaches maximum only after the target has been whittled to lower HP. Against targets who die in 2-3 basic attacks, BRING IT DOWN may fire only once at low missing health, providing minimal value.

✅ Build Kraken Slayer When:

• Enemy team has 2+ high-HP tanks: Ornn, Malphite, Cho’Gath (R HP scaling), Sion (P HP growth), Mundo (W+R HP restoration), Gragas — targets with 4,000-7,000 HP receive BRING IT DOWN at near-maximum missing health scaling during the second half of the fight; the item’s anti-tank identity is most fully realized against explicitly HP-heavy compositions
• Playing a high-attack-speed ADC or on-hit champion: Jinx (Q Fishbones mode), Kog’Maw (W Bio-Arcane Barrage), Tristana (rapid attacks), Vayne (rapid kiting attacks) — faster attackers accumulate BRING IT DOWN stacks faster, fire the third-hit proc more frequently per second, and benefit more from the +40% AS stat that Kraken Slayer provides
• Building Guinsoo’s Rageblade in the same build: Phantom Hit accelerates BRING IT DOWN from every-3rd to every-2nd attack; the combined on-hit core deals extraordinary sustained DPS against HP-heavy targets; this specific combination is the strongest anti-tank on-hit build available for ADCs and on-hit hybrids
• Enemy tank survives primarily through HP stacking rather than healing: BRING IT DOWN is physical damage — it doesn’t directly counter healing. Against HP stackers (Warmog’s, Heartsteel), BRING IT DOWN’s missing health scaling punishes their HP investment. For heavy healers (Mundo R, Soraka-supported), consider Mortal Reminder alongside Kraken Slayer to address both threats

❌ Do NOT Build Kraken Slayer When:

• Enemy team is predominantly squishy: BRING IT DOWN fires at low missing health against squishies who die before significant damage is dealt — the 150-210 base (without missing health bonus) against a 2,000 HP ADC who dies in 3 hits delivers one proc at ~0% missing health bonus = base 150-210 damage. Infinity Edge + crit scaling provides more total damage against squishy targets in the same gold investment
• Primary threat is a healing champion surviving through regeneration: BRING IT DOWN is physical damage — it doesn’t reduce healing. Against a Mundo at 80% HP from his regeneration, the missing health scaling is low (only 20% missing = ~15% bonus). Mortal Reminder (40-60% GRIEVOUS WOUNDS) more directly counters healing survival than BRING IT DOWN’s damage output
• Already building Lord Dominik’s Regards for armor pen: both Kraken Slayer and Lord Dominik’s Regards serve the anti-tank role but through different mechanisms. In a typical 6-item build, running both is a viable late-game choice; however, Kraken Slayer as second item after Lord Dominik’s (or vice versa) is the recommended order based on whether attack speed or armor pen is more immediately valuable

👥 Best Champions for Kraken Slayer

✅ Ideal Picks — High Attack Speed ADC

• Kog’Maw — Bio-Arcane Barrage (W) extends attack range to 710 and adds 5-8% max HP on-hit magic damage. Kraken Slayer’s BRING IT DOWN stacks alongside W’s on-hit — both trigger simultaneously on the third hit from Kraken Slayer, dealing BRING IT DOWN bonus physical damage AND W’s max HP magic damage. Guinsoo’s Rageblade + Kraken Slayer on Kog’Maw is the strongest anti-tank ADC build: Phantom Hit doubles BRING IT DOWN frequency while W adds a second HP% on-hit layer.
• Jinx — Get Excited (P) reset + Fishbones (Q) rocket mode. Fishbones rockets deal area damage — while BRING IT DOWN stacks from Q hits on the primary target, the item’s on-hit is single-target per the mechanics. The +40% AS synergizes with Jinx’s attack patterns in both Pow-Pow (E) minigun (rapid stacking) and Fishbones (AoE hits). The Get Excited reset movement speed combined with Kraken Slayer’s +4% MS allows Jinx to pursue retreating tanks after stacking BRING IT DOWN.
• Tristana — Rapid Fire (E) attack speed steroid. BRING IT DOWN stacks accumulate extremely fast during Rapid Fire’s attack speed burst — with E active at 6 stacks, Tristana fires 6-7 attacks per second, meaning BRING IT DOWN procs every ~0.4-0.5 seconds. Rocket Jump (W) repositioning enables kiting between procs while maintaining BRING IT DOWN stacks (3-second window). Buster Shot (R) knockback during BRING IT DOWN proc extends the fight duration against tanks trying to retreat.
• Vayne — Silver Bolts (W) true damage every 3rd hit stacks separately from BRING IT DOWN. Silver Bolts 3rd hit does NOT consume BRING IT DOWN — the two passives stack independently. In a sustained fight: Silver Bolts fires on hits 3, 6, 9… and BRING IT DOWN fires on hits 3, 6, 9… from its own stack counter — creating overlapping proc patterns where both fire simultaneously or in rapid succession. The double anti-tank passive combination makes Vayne + Kraken Slayer one of the highest single-target sustained DPS outputs against tanks.
• Caitlyn — Headshot (P) every 6th shot (or 2nd shot from brush). With Kraken Slayer: Headshots deal crit bonus damage while BRING IT DOWN fires on every third hit. Caitlyn’s long range (650) means she accumulates BRING IT DOWN stacks from maximum safety range against diving tanks. The +40% AS accelerates Headshot cycling and BRING IT DOWN stack accumulation simultaneously.

On-Hit Hybrid Champions

• Teemo — Toxic Shot (P) poison on every basic attack stacks alongside BRING IT DOWN. As an on-hit AP champion who basic attacks continuously, Teemo’s stack pattern is natural for BRING IT DOWN. The +40% AS enables faster stack accumulation and more frequent third-hit procs. Against HP-stacking tanks in top lane, Kraken Slayer provides the physical damage layer while Toxic Shot and Shrooms (R) deal magic damage.
• Kaisa — Supercharge (E) attack speed steroid. AP build Kaisa running Guinsoo’s Rageblade + Kraken Slayer benefits from Phantom Hit accelerating BRING IT DOWN to every 2 hits while Void Seeker (W) plasma stacks simultaneously. The combination of plasma charges and BRING IT DOWN creates layered on-hit burst that scales with both the target’s HP (Plasma explosion) and missing health (BRING IT DOWN).

❌ Less Optimal

• Crit-primary ADC builds (Ashe, Miss Fortune): crit builds prioritize Infinity Edge and Lord Dominik’s Regards for burst amplification through crit damage. Kraken Slayer’s +40% AS is partially redundant when the primary damage vector is burst-from-crits rather than sustained-from-on-hits. On Ashe specifically, Kraken Slayer works but Infinity Edge provides more burst damage per gold for the crit-Frost Shot synergy
• Melee fighter AP builds: the +45 AD and +40% AS have some value on bruisers, but Kraken Slayer is categorized under Marksman for a reason — the item’s passive requires sustained auto-attacking at range where tanks can’t easily interrupt the stack pattern. Melee fighters who build Kraken Slayer get cut off on stacks more frequently and typically benefit more from Lord Dominik’s Regards or Trinity Force for their primary damage patterns

⚙️ Recommended Build Paths

Kog’Maw — Maximum Anti-Tank On-Hit Core

1. Recurve Bow — First back (700g) — +25% AS for faster W Bio-Arcane Barrage cycling and BRING IT DOWN stack accumulation; highest AS-per-gold component
2. Kraken Slayer — First full item — BRING IT DOWN live; +45 AD + +40% AS; W on-hit + BRING IT DOWN stacking enabled from first full item timing (~13-15 min)
3. Guinsoo’s Rageblade — Second item — PHANTOM HIT every 2 attacks grants additional BRING IT DOWN stack; BRING IT DOWN now procs every ~2 attacks instead of every 3; combined with W max HP on-hit and Phantom Hit magic damage = maximum anti-tank on-hit DPS
4. Wit’s End — Third item — FRAY: on-hit magic damage + MR reduction; stacks with Guinsoo’s, W, and BRING IT DOWN as additional on-hit layer; AS bonus further compresses BRING IT DOWN proc interval
5. Lord Dominik’s Regards — Fourth item — 35% armor pen + GIANT SLAYER 0-15% vs bonus HP; armor pen amplifies BRING IT DOWN’s physical damage against armor-stacking tanks; GIANT SLAYER bonus HP scaling pairs with BRING IT DOWN’s missing health scaling
6. Runaan’s Hurricane — Fifth item — WIND’S FURY bolts spread W Bio-Arcane Barrage on-hit to multiple targets; NOTE: Wind’s Fury bolts do NOT stack BRING IT DOWN — but W max HP on-hit fires from bolts, enabling multi-target HP% damage on teamfights

Jinx — Late-Game Tank Destroyer

7. Kraken Slayer — First item — BRING IT DOWN established; +40% AS synergizes with Get Excited (P) speed in reset windows; missing health scaling rewards sustained Jinx fight patterns against durable tanks
8. Runaan’s Hurricane — Second item — WIND’S FURY bolt spread on Fishbones (Q) rockets; NOTE Wind’s Fury doesn’t stack BRING IT DOWN — the primary target still takes stacks; AoE Fishbones + Runaan’s bolts spread damage while BRING IT DOWN focuses the primary tank target
9. Lord Dominik’s Regards — Third item — 35% armor pen amplifies BRING IT DOWN’s physical damage; GIANT SLAYER +15% vs bonus HP targets = same champion class as BRING IT DOWN missing health scaling
10. Infinity Edge — Fourth item — PERFECTION crit amplification; Jinx’s Pow-Pow (E) minigun builds attack speed from crits; at 60%+ crit IE’s bonus damage activates
11. Mortal Reminder — Fifth item situational — if enemy runs heavy healing (Mundo, Aatrox, Soraka-sustained tank); NOTE: FATALITY group — Mortal Reminder and Lord Dominik’s cannot be held simultaneously; sell Lord Dominik’s if healing is the primary threat

🔄 Similar Items — On-Hit, Anti-Tank, and AS ADC Family

❌ Common Mistakes & How to Avoid Them

• Building Kraken Slayer against squishy compositions: the missing health scaling requires the target to be significantly damaged before BRING IT DOWN reaches maximum value. Against an assassin with 1,800 HP who dies in 3-4 basic attacks, BRING IT DOWN fires once at ~0-30% missing health bonus = base 150-175 damage. Infinity Edge + Lord Dominik’s Regards provide more burst damage per gold against squishy crit targets — Kraken Slayer is specifically an anti-HP-pool tool
• Expecting Runaan’s Hurricane Wind’s Fury to stack BRING IT DOWN: Wind’s Fury bolts explicitly do NOT stack BRING IT DOWN. Many ADCs run Runaan’s + Kraken Slayer and assume all three targets being hit by bolts are accumulating stacks — only the primary target stacks BRING IT DOWN from the main auto. Secondary bolt targets receive regular physical damage from the bolt but no BRING IT DOWN stacks. Compare to Guinsoo’s Rageblade Phantom Hit, which does grant additional stacks
• Not building with Guinsoo’s Rageblade for on-hit builds: on-hit champions (Kog’Maw, Kaisa, Jinx who wants maximum on-hit DPS) who skip Guinsoo’s Rageblade are halving their BRING IT DOWN proc frequency. Phantom Hit’s 2-attack cycle vs the base 3-attack cycle is a 50% faster proc rate — the single most impactful Kraken Slayer optimization available in the itempool
• Not accounting for armor on BRING IT DOWN damage: BRING IT DOWN deals physical damage, which means enemy armor mitigates it. Against a 300 armor tank without armor pen, BRING IT DOWN hits at 25% effectiveness. Pairing with Lord Dominik’s Regards (35% armor pen) improves BRING IT DOWN’s effective damage significantly — the two items are synergistic and should typically be built together in the same build when the enemy has both high HP AND high armor
• Attacking structures expecting BRING IT DOWN bonus: BRING IT DOWN does NOT deal its on-hit bonus damage to structures (towers, inhibitors, Nexus). Stacks still accumulate from attacking structures, so switching between structure and champion attacks doesn’t reset stacks — but the third-hit proc’s bonus damage fires only against non-structure targets. This is relevant for split-push patterns where a champion alternates between tower hits and champion fights

✅ Best Practices

• Buy Recurve Bow at first back (700g): +25% AS begins BRING IT DOWN stack accumulation faster immediately; the highest AS-per-gold component enables earlier BRING IT DOWN proc frequency before completing the full item
• Pair with Guinsoo’s Rageblade for maximum proc frequency: Phantom Hit doubles BRING IT DOWN rate (every 2 attacks instead of 3); on Kog’Maw, Kaisa, and Jinx this is the highest-DPS anti-tank combination available in the ADC itempool
• Target the highest-HP enemy with BRING IT DOWN procs: the missing health scaling means BRING IT DOWN’s value is maximized on the target who has taken the most damage; focus the third-hit proc on the primary tank target rather than spreading attacks across multiple champions
• Combine with Lord Dominik’s Regards in the same build: armor pen amplifies BRING IT DOWN’s physical damage against high-armor tanks; GIANT SLAYER’s bonus HP scaling targets the same champion class; the two items together produce the highest sustained physical DPS ceiling against heavy tanks
• In Arena: leverage the +7% movement speed: Arena Kraken Slayer’s significantly higher MS makes kiting between BRING IT DOWN procs more effective; the kite-window between attacks is covered by more distance than on SR, enabling safer third-hit fishing against diving tank champions

FAQ

Q: Does BRING IT DOWN trigger Electrocute, Arcane Comet, or Conqueror?

A: A: No — BRING IT DOWN deals basic damage, not spell damage. It explicitly will not trigger spell effects such as Electrocute (which requires ability or spell hits) or Arcane Comet. The basic attack itself contributes to Conqueror stacks as a melee/ranged hit, but BRING IT DOWN’s bonus damage is not a separate spell proc. Basic damage passives sit outside the spell effect category — plan rune procs around actual ability casts or regular basic attack stacking patterns.

Q: Do Runaan’s Hurricane Wind’s Fury bolts stack Kraken Slayer?

A: A: No — Runaan’s Hurricane Wind’s Fury bolts explicitly do NOT stack or trigger BRING IT DOWN. Only the primary target hit by the main basic attack contributes stacks and receives the BRING IT DOWN bonus damage on the third hit. The secondary bolt targets receive normal physical damage from the bolts without any BRING IT DOWN interaction. This is a common misconception — Guinsoo’s Rageblade Phantom Hit is the specific mechanic that accelerates BRING IT DOWN stacks, not Runaan’s Hurricane.

Q: Does Vayne’s Silver Bolts interact with BRING IT DOWN?

A: Vayne‚s Silver Bolts (W) — every third basic attack deals 6-14% max HP true damage — and BRING IT DOWN both stack independently. Silver Bolts tracks its own 3-hit counter separately from BRING IT DOWN’s 2-stack counter. This means the two passives can fire on the same hit, on different hits, or in rapid succession depending on the attack pattern. Both can fire on the 3rd, 6th, and 9th attacks if the timing aligns — creating a devastating anti-tank combination where both a max HP true damage hit and a BRING IT DOWN missing health bonus damage hit occur on the same swing.

Q: Does BRING IT DOWN apply to towers and structures?

A: A: No — the on-hit bonus damage from BRING IT DOWN does NOT apply to structures (towers, inhibitors, Nexus). However, stacks continue to accumulate when attacking structures. This means: attacking a tower builds stacks, but the third-hit proc’s bonus damage is wasted on the tower (it fires but deals no bonus). When switching from tower to champion combat, existing stacks are retained (3-second window) and the BRING IT DOWN bonus fires normally against the champion target.

Q: Is Kraken Slayer or Blade of the Ruined King better against tanks?

A: Blade of the Ruined King MIST EDGE deals 6% of the target’s CURRENT health as on-hit physical damage — it’s strongest when the target is at high health and diminishes as they lose HP. Kraken Slayer BRING IT DOWN scales with MISSING health — it’s weakest when the target is full HP and strongest near death. The two items scale in opposite directions against tanks. Early fight: BotRK provides more DPS. Late fight (50%+ HP missing): Kraken Slayer’s missing health bonus climbs. For ADCs who need early sustained on-hit damage against tanks, BotRK is often more impactful in the opening fight phase; for ADCs who sustain through long fights and want to execute tanks at lower HP, Kraken Slayer’s missing health scaling delivers the stronger second-half-of-fight output.

Q: How does BRING IT DOWN interact with Graves‘ shotgun (New Destiny)?

A: A: Graves‘ New Destiny shotgun fires multiple pellets per shot, but BRING IT DOWN only stacks ONCE per Graves shot regardless of how many pellets hit the target. This is a specific exception to the rule that most on-hit effects trigger BRING IT DOWN normally — Graves is explicitly called out as an exception where the shotgun’s multi-hit nature is capped at one BRING IT DOWN stack per attack. This limits Kraken Slayer’s value on Graves compared to other marksmen who stack it with each full-pellet hit.