Matchup

Heavy AD damageSustained DPSHeavy poke

You are stronger early — look to snowball before your opponent scales.

Build vs Caitlyn

Build adapted to this matchup

Starting items

Doran's Shield
Health Potion

Core build

Eclipse
1DPS
Serylda's Grudge
2vs Tank
Hullbreaker
3Bruiser

Standard

Boots of Swiftness
4vs Slow
Trinity Force
5DPS

Summoner spells

41262%
41428%

Anti AD

Plated Steelcaps
4vs AD
Thornmail
5vs Hybride
Randuin's Omen
vs AD
Dead Man's Plate
vs AD
Guardian Angel
vs AD

Anti AP

Mercury's Treads
4vs CC
Spirit Visage
5vs AP

Anti Tank

Voltaic Cyclosword
5vs Tank
Black Cleaver
vs Tank
Bastionbreaker
vs Tank
Youmuu's Ghostblade
vs Tank

DPS

Trinity Force
DPS
Spear of Shojin
Bruiser
Liandry's Torment
Mage tank

Other options

Sterak's Gage
Survival
100.0% WR2 games
SorcerySorcery
Arcane CometArcane Comet
Manaflow BandManaflow Band
TranscendenceTranscendence
Gathering StormGathering Storm
InspirationInspiration
Magical FootwearMagical Footwear
Biscuit DeliveryBiscuit Delivery
Attack SpeedAdaptive ForceHealth Scaling

Power Spikes

Strength by game phase

Early (0-15)
Mid (15-30)
Late (30+)
YorickYorick
CaitlynCaitlyn
Passive
Favorable
Favorable

Caitlyn's abilities

Passive, spells and ultimate

Headshot (P)

Every few basic attacks, or against a target she has trapped or netted, Caitlyn will fire a headshot dealing bonus damage that scales with her critical strike chance. On trapped or netted targets, Caitlyn's Headshot attack range is doubled.

Cooldowns

Cooldowns by spell rank

LevelQWER
310s0.5s16s
68s0.5s16s1m30
96s0.5s16s1m30
116s0.5s16s1m30
166s0.5s12s1m30
186s0.5s8s1m30

Playing against Caitlyn

How to counter and exploit weaknesses

1

Caitlyn is the queen of early game thanks to her range (650) — she's weaker in mid game before her 3rd item.

2

Traps (W) are visible: don't walk over them, go around. They're often placed under turrets.

3

An ally can block her R (Ace in the Hole) by stepping in front — protect your wounded carry.

4

Engage in melee: Caitlyn is weak up close and her E has a long cooldown.

Source: op.gg + LTL Engine · Patch 16.9.1 · May 9, 2026