Stuart — Patch 1.62 Verdict
[Liquipedia RPL: A] Pro play (RPL 2026): 78 picks, 50.0% WR, 38.1% pick/ban rate. Note: pro meta may differ from ranked.
Stuart — Marksman Guide
Stuart wants to be in your face, not farming at max range. He is a mid-range dragon-lane carry who uses mobility and layered damage to pressure opponents, punish positioning mistakes, and build a lead fast. You close the gap on a squishy who thought they were safe, unload a full rotation, and the kill is done before they can react. He rewards players who understand spacing at the margins: close enough for maximum damage, far enough to dodge the punish.
His 27.4% pick rate on the Thai server tells you that high-rank players have settled on him as a genuine first-pick consideration. His 10.7% ban rate means opponents are spending resources to keep him out of the lobby. The 50% win rate looks modest, but it is healthy at this pick volume. Inflated pick rates compress win rates naturally because Stuart gets picked into bad matchups too. If you are Diamond or above and want a dragon-laner who can carry solo and slot into flex compositions, he is worth serious investment. He punishes autopilot play, but intelligent aggression gets rewarded every time.
Strengths
- +Stuart's mobility gives him genuine two-way threat in the dragon lane, he can close on opponents to deal damage but also use the same tool to escape when a gank arrives, making him difficult to pin without coordinated crowd control.
- +His damage curve scales well enough that a two-item Stuart is already a credible kill threat on squishy targets, meaning he can force consequences in the mid-game before the enemy team has fully itemized defensively.
- +At S tier with a high pick rate, Stuart benefits from an enormous pool of Thai-server optimized builds and match-up knowledge, so climbing with him means you are riding a wave of community development rather than pioneering uncharted territory.
- +His kit allows him to function both as a primary carry and as a secondary damage source in compositions built around a different win condition, giving him the flexibility that earns high-Diamond flex picks.
Weaknesses
- −Stuart has real vulnerability to hard crowd control, any support or jungler who can chain a root or stun into a follow-up will interrupt his rotation and neutralize his mobility advantage entirely.
- −His laning phase requires consistent early-game decision-making, because falling two levels behind in the dragon lane means his power-spike timing shifts enough to lose entire mid-game windows.
- −Against tanky bruiser supports who can match his aggression in the dragon lane, Stuart can feel like he is spending resources without converting kills, which bleeds tempo into the enemy jungler's favor.
- −His 50% win rate at very high pick volume means he is frequently drafted into bad matchups by players who see 'S tier' and autopick, knowing when not to pick Stuart is almost as important as knowing how to play him.
Abilities
PIcon
Name
1[](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/strikeofkings_gamepedia_en/images/5/58/Stut_noi_tai.png/revision/latest?cb=20250115161951)
Crime
2[](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/strikeofkings_gamepedia_en/images/7/73/Stut_c1.png/revision/latest?cb=20250115162009)
Death Bloom
R[](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/strikeofkings_gamepedia_en/images/5/5e/Stut_c2.png/revision/latest?cb=20250115162019)
Eyes of Zealot
1[](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/strikeofkings_gamepedia_en/images/9/9e/Stut_c3.png/revision/latest?cb=20250115162038)
Last Breath
How to Use Stuart's Kit
Stuart's passive is the invisible backbone of his damage profile, understand its stacking or proc condition first before you try to learn anything else about the hero. In ranked play, track its state the same way you track your auto-attack timer: never walk into a trade without knowing whether it's active. A common mistake is burning it on minions in the laning phase and then engaging a squishy opponent without the proc, turning a winning trade into a losing one.
Stuart's Q is almost certainly his primary engagement or repositioning tool, in the dragon lane, use it to close distance on a retreating opponent after they have burned their own dash, not before. The key discipline is patience: throwing Q into a hero who still has an escape cooldown up is how you feed. At high rank, top Stuart players use Q proactively to dodge skillshots mid-trade rather than purely for gap-closing, which extends their time in the pocket significantly.
This slot functions as Stuart's sustained-damage or empowerment layer, the ability that separates a mechanically sound Stuart from one who is just mashing buttons. Prioritize understanding its cooldown window so you never find yourself in the middle of a trade with it on a long reset. In teamfights, the correct usage is almost always to activate it for the initiation burst rather than holding it as a panic button, because by the time you feel like you need it defensively, the fight is already going wrong.
Stuart's ultimate is a high-impact commitment, treat it like a finisher or an engage amplifier rather than a panic spell. The most common mistake at Diamond rank is ulting into a fight without a kill guarantee, blowing the cooldown for partial damage and then being left dry for the next forty seconds. Learn the minimum-health threshold at which you can confidently land an ultimate kill on a target, because that number, not a feeling, should be the trigger for pressing R.
Skill Order
Priority: R > Q > W| Skill | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1[](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/strikeofkings_gamepedia_en/images/5/58/Stut_noi_tai.png/revision/latest?cb=20250115161951) | 1 | · | 3 | · | 5 | · | 7 | · | 9 | · | · | · | 13 | · | · |
2[](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/strikeofkings_gamepedia_en/images/7/73/Stut_c1.png/revision/latest?cb=20250115162009) | · | 2 | · | 4 | · | · | · | 8 | · | 10 | · | 12 | · | 14 | · |
R[](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/strikeofkings_gamepedia_en/images/5/5e/Stut_c2.png/revision/latest?cb=20250115162019) | · | · | · | · | · | 6 | · | · | · | · | 11 | · | · | · | 15 |
Loadout
Core Combos
Standard Lane Kill
Use this after your passive proc is ready and the enemy support has used their defensive ability, Q to close, weave autos to consume the passive empowerment, W for the mid-trade damage boost, and finish with R if they are not already dead.
All-In Opener
Open with Q before the passive is stacked so you can build charges during the W window, then cash the passive proc out before committing the ultimate, best used on an isolated enemy at the Dragon altar.
Flicker Finisher
Hold Flicker as a gap-closer when the enemy has burned their escape and you need to close the final distance to land the ultimate, a high-risk, high-reward play reserved for sure kills, not speculative chases.
Gameplan
Stuart's first major spike arrives when he finishes his core attack-speed or crit item. Before that, prioritize CS and harass over all-ins. Level six unlocks real kill pressure. The window between levels six and eight is when you should be forcing fights in the dragon lane or rotating for objectives. His second item brings a damage jump that defines his mid-game identity. In the late game he stays dangerous but becomes more team-dependent. Coordinated enemies will peel for their carries, and his single-target focus becomes a liability in chaotic five-on-five skirmishes.
Early Game
Levels 1–6- →Focus on last-hitting under relative safety for the first two levels — Stuart's pre-six kill pressure is matchup-dependent and you do not want to burn Q aggressively before you know the enemy jungler's position.
- →Identify the enemy support's defensive cooldown (dash, heal, shield) and track it mentally; your all-in timing in the dragon lane is built entirely around that cooldown being down.
- →Call for a level-six tower dive or Dragon altar skirmish the moment you hit six with your support — this is the single biggest tempo window Stuart gets in the early game and you must not passively farm through it.
Mid Game
Post Broken Spear- →After your first completed item, apply constant pressure on the dragon-side objectives — force the enemy carry to choose between contesting and giving up Dragon rotation.
- →Rotate mid only when your lane opponent is dead or recalling; Stuart's mid-lane rotation value is high but his dragon-side objective control is irreplaceable and you should not surrender it cheaply.
- →Ward the river bush and the Dragon altar approach before you push for kills — a flash-forward play that gets you killed by a three-man collapse erases the entire lead you spent twelve minutes building.
Late Game
Teamfight phase- →Position on the edge of teamfights rather than the front — let your frontline establish contact, then Q onto the backline carry and execute your full combo before the enemy can react.
- →In the final Dark Slayer or Abyssal Dragon contest, stay alive at all costs; a dead Stuart during the objective fight is worth more to the enemy team than almost any other outcome.
- →If you are ahead, do not chase individual kills across the map — group with your team and close out through structures, because Stuart's late-game value is in sustained teamfight presence, not split-push.
Matchups
Do not first-pick Stuart blindly. He is a strong second or third pick once you have confirmed the enemy has no mobile assassin or hard-engage support pairing that can isolate him. Quillen and Arduin are active ban considerations whenever you commit to a Stuart game plan. On the other side, if you have already locked in an Arum or Baldum support, Stuart is an excellent last pick because the enemy cannot reasonably draft around both the CC setup and his damage at the same time. In bad matchups, play the wave and outscale. Do not force ego trades into favorable enemy compositions.
Stuart gets countered by
AllainAllain's gap-close and lock-down burst can interrupt Stuart's rotation before it completes, and his durability lets him survive the partial combo and trade back for a kill.
ArduinArduin's ability to dive the backline with crowd control forces Stuart to peel or flee, completely dismantling the aggressive positioning that makes Stuart valuable in teamfights.
QuillenQuillen can reach Stuart through any positioning with his assassin mobility and one-shots him before a full ability rotation can be completed, making him a priority ban when Stuart is in the lobby.
AnnetteAnnette's long-range crowd control can interrupt Stuart's Q-engage from a distance where Stuart has no retaliation, effectively shutting down his entire game-plan in the dragon lane.
Stuart synergizes with
ArumArum's hook and knock-up create the CC chain that allows Stuart to walk in and complete his full rotation on a guaranteed stationary target, turning Arum-Stuart into one of the cleanest dragon-lane kill duos on the roster.
LumburrLumburr's ultimate knocks up the entire enemy team, giving Stuart a free window to Q onto the carry and execute a full combo with zero risk of being interrupted.
GildurGildur's shields and stun provide Stuart the durability buffer and crowd-control setup that let him play more aggressively than he otherwise could in close-range trades.
BaldumBaldum's ultimate drags enemies into a clump directly in front of Stuart's preferred engagement range, effectively handing him a kill on a silver platter in mid and late game teamfights.
Pro Tips
- →Track the enemy jungler's position using the minimap between every single trade decision, the number-one reason Stuart players die in the dragon lane at Diamond rank is not bad mechanics, it is ignoring gank indicators that were visible thirty seconds before the collapse.
- →Learn to cancel the tail-end of your auto-attack animation with Q to maintain aggressive positioning without sacrificing damage, this is the mechanical separator between a Good Stuart and a Great Stuart at high rank.
- →In close late-game teamfights, target the second-most dangerous enemy rather than the tank, the tank will absorb your rotation and survive, while eliminating a second carry snowballs the numbers advantage immediately.
- →Resist the urge to activate your ultimate for defensive escapes, Stuart's R is a damage tool and a finisher, not a panic button, and players who waste it trying to escape are then completely toothless in the next skirmish forty seconds later.
Stuart is the pick for dragon-lane carry players who want to be proactive. If you are tired of farming passively and waiting for teamfights to come to you, his aggressive mid-range kit fits that mindset immediately. He is S tier, and the reason is accessible to anyone willing to lock in the one habit this hero demands: only trade when you have confirmed the enemy support's defensive cooldown is down. Get that right, and everything else about playing Stuart at Diamond and above becomes significantly easier.
Stuart — Frequently Asked Questions
Is Stuart good in the current ROV patch?+
Yes. Stuart is S tier on the Thai server this patch with a 27.4% pick rate and a 10.7% ban rate. High-rank players clearly value him. The 50% win rate is healthy given how often he gets picked into unfavorable matchups.
What is the best build for Stuart?+
In Thai-server ranked play, prioritize attack speed and critical damage items that work with his ability-weaving pattern, then slot in a defensive item at fourth or fifth position once you are ahead. Check exact item names and stats in-game since patch updates shift optimal itemization quickly. The principle stays constant: damage first, defense when ahead.
How do you counter Stuart?+
Pair a mobile assassin like Quillen with a hard-engage support who can land crowd control before his rotation starts. Once his mobility tool is burned early, he is a stationary target. Drafting Arduin or Allain as a dive threat also forces him to play at distances where his damage drops off significantly.
Is Stuart hard to play / good for beginners?+
Stuart is Medium difficulty. The core pattern is learnable, but the positioning discipline and trade-timing that separate a 50% win-rate Stuart from a 55%+ one require real game sense. Skip him if you are below Platinum rank and still building fundamentals. Diamond-level players who put in twenty to thirty games will find the mechanics click quickly.