Matchup
Skill matchup
You are stronger early — look to snowball before your opponent scales.
Build vs Darius
Build adapted to this matchup
Starting items
Core build
Standard
Summoner spells
100%Anti AD
Anti AP
Anti Tank
DPS
Other options
Domination
Dark Harvest
Cheap Shot
Grisly Mementos
Treasure Hunter
Inspiration
Magical Footwear
Cosmic Insight
Power Spikes
Strength by game phase
Taliyah
DariusDarius's abilities
Passive, spells and ultimate
Darius' attacks and damaging abilities cause enemies to bleed for physical damage over 5 seconds, stacking up to 5 times. Darius enrages and gains massive Attack Damage when his target reaches max stacks.
Cooldowns
Cooldowns by spell rank
| Level | Q | W | E | R |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 9s | 5s | 26s | – |
| 6 | 7s | 5s | 26s | 2m |
| 9 | 5s | 5s | 26s | 2m |
| 11 | 5s | 5s | 26s | 1m40 |
| 16 | 5s | 5s | 21s | 1m20 |
| 18 | 5s | 5s | 16s | 1m20 |
Playing against Darius
How to counter and exploit weaknesses
Don't take long trades: Darius wins all extended trades thanks to Hemorrhage stacks. Short trade and disengage.
Dash toward him (not backward) when he casts Q — the inner circle deals much less damage and he doesn't heal.
Buy boots early: his W slows heavily and his only gap-closer is E (short range). Kiting is the key.
Respect his level 6: Darius with 5 stacks + R has one of the highest bursts in the game. Don't stay in lane below 50% HP.
Source: op.gg + LTL Engine · Patch 16.9.1 · May 8, 2026