Lee Sin Guide: Combos, Insec, Ward Hop and Build

🎯 The core idea

Lee Sin is an early-game jungler who wins by spending energy and dashes in the right order. Learn ward hop and kick Flash first, weave two auto attacks after every spell so Flurry pays for your next one, and only then move on to the insec combos. Everything below uses patch 26.21 numbers, including the nerfs to his W and R.

• free costs nothing
• cheap small cost
• setup needs preparation
• grind pays off slowly
• skip the thing to stop doing

This Lee Sin guide is built around the Bav Bros combo video (uploaded 2 May 2026, so recorded on patch 26.9). The video has no voice-over: it shows seven Lee Sin combos in the Practice Tool, each with a difficulty label and an on-screen key sequence. The combo names, inputs and difficulty ratings below are the video's. The ability numbers come from the official League of Legends Wiki and Riot's patch notes up to 26.21, and Lee Sin has had three balance patches since the video. The build section uses stats-site data for patch 26.21 because the video has no build. The video calls this Lee Sin Season 16; Riot calls it Season 2026, and our Season 2026 changes guide covers what is new this year.

As a Lee Sin beginner guide, work through the combos in order: they go from Easy to the video's "Intense" rating, and each one adds one of Lee Sin's mechanics on top of the last. If you have never played jungle, read our LoL jungle guide first. This page covers how to play Lee Sin himself. It follows the same champion guide format as our Yasuo guide.

Lee Sin's kit and energy in patch 26.21

Lee Sin uses energy, not mana: a fixed 200-point bar that refills at 50 per 5 seconds. His first casts cost 50 and his follow-up casts cost 25. His passive, Flurry, is what keeps him going. After any ability cast, his next two basic attacks within 3 seconds gain 40% bonus attack speed. The first one restores 20/30/40 energy (by level) and the second restores half that.

Each basic ability has two parts. You cast the first part, then have about 3 seconds to cast the second (Q2 and E2 only if the first part hit an enemy).

The video shows these spells as Q1, Q2, W1, W2, E1, E2 and R in its key sequences, and so does this guide. "4" is the trinket key (Stealth Ward) and "AA" is an auto attack. You can cast W2 and E2 during the Q2 dash. R and E1 cannot be cast during a dash unless Q2 or W1 interrupted another dash.

Lee Sin changes since the video: 26.10, 26.12 and 26.21

free No combo in the video is broken by later patches, since the inputs and interactions are the same. The numbers did change, and some combos are now stronger or weaker:

• 26.10 – Safeguard rework. W used to have a 12-second cooldown, halved when you jumped to an ally champion. Now it has one flat cooldown no matter the target, and Lee also shields himself when he jumps to a minion or a ward. That makes every ward hop in this guide give you a shield, which was not the case when the video was recorded. The shield went down to 60–240, Tempest's ratio dropped from 100% to 90% AD, and R now keeps flying and hitting enemies even if the kick kills its target.
• 26.12 – Damage nerf. Q1 and Q2 base damage went from 65–185 to 60–180, the bonus AD ratio from 95% to 90%, and AD per level from 3.7 to 3.4.
• 26.21 – Current patch. W cooldown went up from 7 to 8 seconds, and R base damage was cut from 175/400/625 to 150/350/550, collision damage included. Riot said it nerfed him because the W change made him "extremely popular", and called the R cut a smaller nerf.

What that means in practice: your kick does less damage on its own, so the Q2 follow-up after R (covered in the burst section) matters more than before. W now comes back every 8 seconds, so in a short fight you get one ward hop, not two.

Ward hop: Lee Sin's basic tool

cheap Video combo: Wardhop, rated Easy. Inputs: 4 → W1 → AA → AA.

Place a Stealth Ward with your trinket key and dash to it with W1. Your Stealth Ward trinket holds 2 charges and has 625 range, while Safeguard reaches 700, so you can always hop to a ward placed at max range. You don't need pixel-perfect targeting: if you don't click a unit, Safeguard looks for a ward within 100 units of your cursor. The two autos at the end are the Flurry autos. In the video, Lee hops onto a target dummy and hits it twice right after landing.

The Lee Sin ward hop is how you cross walls when ganking, escape when you have nothing to dash to, and set up insecs. It costs one trinket charge. Since patch 26.10 it also gives you a shield on arrival. Practise it until you can do it with quick cast in under a second, because every advanced combo below includes it. You can also hop to a Control Ward or an ally's ward, which saves your trinket charge.

skip Don't spend both trinket charges on ward hops in fights when you are not ahead. Your team still needs those wards for vision; our warding guide explains where they matter.

Kick Flash: redirecting Dragon's Rage

cheap Video combo: R-Redirect, rated Easy. Inputs: R → Flash.

Dragon's Rage has a 0.25-second cast time, and the wiki notes that the kick's direction is decided when it hits, not when you press the key. If you Flash during the cast time, you change your position, so the kick sends the target in a new direction. This is the Lee Sin kick flash (also called R-Flash): click R on the enemy, Flash to their other side right away, and they fly toward your team or your turret instead of away from you.

It is rated Easy because the timing is generous: press Flash right after R. The harder part is the angle. Flash moves you 400 units and has a 300-second cooldown, so make sure you land past the target, in line with where you want them to go. The opposite order, Flash then R, is easier to time but gives the enemy a moment to react.

Early all-in combo and energy weaving

setup Video combo: Early All-In, rated Medium. Inputs: Q1 → Q2 → AA → E1 → E2 → 2×AA → W1 → 2×AA → W2 → 2×AA.

This is the combo for a level 3 gank or skirmish, when you have one rank in each basic ability. Look at the energy: Q1 + Q2 + E1 + E2 + W1 + W2 costs 225, more than your 200-point bar. The autos between spells cover the gap. Each pair of Flurry autos returns energy, and the attack speed bonus makes those autos come out fast.

• Open with Q1 → Q2 so you arrive on the target with the mark spent and full energy minus 75.
• Auto, then E1 for damage and E2 to slow them so they can't walk out of your auto range.
• In the video, W1 is self-cast for the shield; land two autos, then W2 for omnivamp and two final autos.

skip The most common Lee Sin mistake is spamming all six casts back to back. You lose the Flurry attack speed and energy and run dry halfway. Cast, auto twice, cast again.

Dodge engage: Q, ward hop, then Q2

setup Video combo: Dodge Engage, rated Medium. Inputs: Q1 → 4 → W1 → Q2 → AA → E1 → AA.

Here you land Q1, then ward hop sideways before using Q2. Because the Q mark lasts 3 seconds and Q2 reaches 1250 units, you can move out of the way first and still dash in. Use it when the enemy has a skillshot ready to hit you on the way in, or when you want to come in at an angle that pushes them toward your laner.

Lee Sin W during the hop also shields you now (26.10), so you arrive with the shield up. The video finishes with an auto, E1 and another auto. Keep E2 for when they try to walk away.

No-react burst: Q1, R, Flash, Q2

grind Video combo: No React Burst, rated Hard. Inputs: Q1 → R → Flash → Q2 → AA.

This Lee Sin Q Flash style combo gives the target no time to react. In the video: land Q1, press R on the target, Flash into kick range so the kick goes out at once, then Q2 to follow them while they fly and finish with an auto. The kick sends them out of range of anything except Q2, and Q2 follows a marked target that is moving.

Two wiki facts make this combo work:

• Q2 deals up to double damage based on the target's missing health. Using it after the kick, not before, makes it hit for more. With R's damage lowered in 26.21, this order matters more.
• The Q mark lasts only 3 seconds. Everything from R to Q2 has to fit in that window. If you wait too long after Q1, the kick has nothing to follow.

Save it for a target you can kill. It uses Flash and your ultimate, and Lee Sin has no way out after it.

How to insec: the basic insec

grind Video combo: Basic Insec, rated Hard. Inputs: Q1 → Q2 → 4 → W1 → R.

The Lee Sin insec (named after the Korean pro player who made it famous) means getting behind an enemy and kicking them into your own team. The basic version, step by step: land Q1, dash in with Q2, put a ward on the far side of the target, hop to it with W1, and press R. The target flies back toward where you came from, which is toward your team.

What makes it Hard is the ward placement. It must be within your 625 trinket range and far enough behind the target that the kick sends them the way you want. Press 4 and W1 almost together; if the ward lands too close you end up next to the target instead of behind it. Use Q2 to get close first. If you hop before you're close, the ward has to go too far away.

This is the answer to "how to insec in LoL" for most players. Practise it on a dummy before using it in ranked, and only insec when your team can hit the target once they land.

In-and-out insec with Flash

grind Video combo: In and Out Insec, rated Intense (the video's hardest). Inputs: Q1 → 4 → W1 → Flash → R → E1 → Q2.

The advanced version adds Flash and keeps Q2 for after the kick. Land Q1, ward hop to get closer at a better angle, Flash behind the target, kick with R, then E1 and Q2 to follow them toward your team. That puts both dashes and Flash into one combo, and you end up next to the target with Q2 dealing its missing-health damage.

Two limits from the wiki: everything up to Q2 has to happen within Q1's 3-second mark, and once the hop is used your W is on its 8-second cooldown. Since 26.21 the in-and-out insec costs you Flash, your ward charge and your W, so only try it to start a teamfight you can win or to kick a carry into your team.

Lee Sin build 2026: runes, items and skill order (patch 26.21)

The video doesn't show a build. The Practice Tool Lee in it has only boots. The build below is the most-played setup on op.gg and lolalytics for Emerald+ jungle on patch 26.21 (both sites label it 16.21). It is a common baseline, not the only choice. Check it again after the next patch, as Lee is nerfed or buffed often.

Lee Sin runes:

Summoner spells: Flash and Smite (practically every Lee Sin game).

Items:

Skill order: max Q first, then W, then E, and take R at 6, 11 and 16. Most players have Q, W and E by level 3. op.gg's most common order starts with E at level 1 for the clear, while lolalytics' most common order starts with Q. Either works.

Lee Sin jungle clear and ganks

setup Lee Sin is strongest in the early game, so plan your first clear around your first gank. The 2026 jungle rules from our jungle guide still apply: buy a pet, Unleashed Smite comes at 15 treats and deals 1000 damage to monsters, Rift Scuttler spawns at 2:55, Voidgrubs at 8:00, the Herald at 15:00 and Baron at 20:00. For your first Lee Sin full clear, clear all six camps with Q and E (Q2 hits harder on low-health camps, which makes finishing camps faster), then go to Scuttle or a lane that is ready for a gank. If a lane is already set up, clear three camps and go there instead.

The Lee Sin ganks that work:

• Q from the fog. Q1 reveals the target, so a hit from out of sight gives your laner a target they can see and gives you Q2 to dash in.
• Over a wall with a ward hop. Put the ward on the lane side of a wall and hop to it. The enemy laner usually only watches the lane brush.
• Kick them toward your laner or turret. A kick Flash or basic insec into your turret is often a kill on its own.
• W to your laner. If the gank goes badly, W1 onto your ally shields both of you and gets you out.

Objectives: epic monsters are 10–35% tougher in 2026 (patch 26.1), so Lee alone takes a while to kill a drake. His Q2 is useful for securing it: hit Q1 on the drake, then Q2 + Smite at the end, as Q2 deals more to low-health targets.

Lee Sin counters and common mistakes

skip On patch 26.21, op.gg (Emerald+, EUW) shows Lee Sin's worst jungle matchups as Bel'Veth, Rek'Sai, Zac and Taliyah, and his best as Trundle, Zed and Gragas. These samples are only a few hundred games each and change from patch to patch. The reason behind them doesn't change: Lee falls off if the game goes long, so junglers who scale or match him early are a problem.

What beats Lee Sin, and the Lee Sin tips to avoid it:

• Hard crowd control. A stun or a knock-up stops Q2 and W1 mid-dash. Before you go in, check whether the enemy has CC left.
• No ward, no hop. If your trinket is on cooldown, you have no escape over walls. Check the charge before invading.
• Falling behind late. Lee's damage drops off later in the game. If you're ahead, use it early to take objectives and turrets instead of farming.
• Spending R for damage. Since 26.21 the kick on its own does less damage. Kick to separate a carry from their team or to knock up several enemies, not as a finisher.
• Missing Q1 and going in anyway. Without the mark you have no Q2 dash or follow-up. Wait for Q to come back (10 seconds at rank 1, 6 at rank 5).

How this guide was fact-checked

• Official League of Legends Wiki (Lee Sin page and patch history, Stealth Ward, Flash, Eclipse, Black Cleaver, Death's Dance, Conqueror): base energy and regeneration, Flurry's 40% attack speed and 20/30/40 energy, every number in the ability table, Q mark and Q2 range, Safeguard's 100-unit ward search, which spells can be cast during dashes, R's 0.25 s cast time, 800-unit knockback and collision damage, the note that only Flash during the cast time changes the kick direction, ward 625 range and 2 charges, Flash 400 range and 300 s cooldown, and item and rune stats.
• Riot patch notes 26.10, 26.12 and 26.21: the Safeguard rework (flat cooldown, shield on wards and minions), the Tempest ratio cut and R corpse change (26.10); the Q and AD growth nerfs (26.12); the W cooldown increase to 8 s and the R damage cut to 150/350/550 (26.21). Lee Sin changes listed in 26.19 and 26.20 apply only to Arena and ARAM: Mayhem, not Summoner's Rift.
• From the video (Bav Bros, 2 May 2026, patch 26.9): the seven combo names, their key sequences and difficulty ratings, all shown on screen in the Practice Tool. The explanations of why each combo works are ours, based on the wiki.
• From op.gg and lolalytics, patch 26.21 (both list it as 16.21): runes, starter, item order, boots, skill order and matchup win rates. These are play-rate snapshots, not Riot data.
• Corrections to the video: the video was recorded before Lee Sin's 26.10, 26.12 and 26.21 balance patches, so ward hops now shield Lee, W has an 8 s flat cooldown, and Q and R deal less damage than when it was recorded. The video says "Season 16"; Riot calls it Season 2026. We found nothing in the combos that the wiki contradicts.

What this guide doesn't answer

• A camp-by-camp clear route with times. The video has no jungle footage, and clear routes depend on your pet and leash; see the jungle guide for pathing.
• Lee Sin top or mid. Some players run him in lane, but the numbers above are for the jungle pick that almost all Lee games are.
• Ward-hop and insec practice routines. The video only shows each combo a few times; how long you practise is up to you.
• Arena and ARAM: Mayhem Lee Sin. Those modes have their own Lee changes (for example, a different Q cooldown in Arena) and need separate builds.
• Exact win rates. Stats sites update daily, so we only use them for which build is most played, not to rank him in a tier list.