Kensei joins the Sovereign’s Rise in Update 3.3 to slash away pesky tanks. Healthy foes beware — Kensei’s attacks deal more damage to beefier opponents. Broken Myth is here with an early look at Kensei’s abilities, talents, and best builds to avoid busting your Update 3.3 meta picks.



Kensei’s kit revolves around chained activations to maximize the effectiveness of his empowerment stance. Each of his abilities set him up to land more basic attacks, meaning that attack speed is key. Because of this, he follows a primary weapon build path and thus fits into the bottom lane, but he can also flex into the top lane or jungle. Deciding which enemy you’re going to target before a team fight is crucial to victory. Kensei has a choice between combating on the frontline (often against a utility-based enemy) while absorbing damage from his heroic perk’s barrier or diving onto the backline with his gap-closing abilities to first devastate ADCs. Let’s break down Kensei’s abilities.

Vainglory Kensei Abilities

Immovable Mind (Heroic Perk)

After striking enemy heroes or jungle monsters 3 times, Kensei’s next basic attack deals 25% bonus damage and grants a burst of barrier.

Bonus Barrier: 30-140 (level 1-12)

Bonus Barrier (Heroes): Target max health * 0.05% of bonus weapon power

Additionally, Kensei’s basic attacks deal increased damage to heroes with higher health.

Attack Damage: 40% of weapon power + (target max health * 0.03% of bonus weapon power)

LVL 1 LVL 12 Health 761 2493 Energy 280 643 Armor/Shield 20 60 Base Weapon 86 163 Attack Speed 100% 136.3% Range 3.5 Move Speed 3.5

Lotus Strike (A)

Kensei rushes forward, swinging his blade and dealing basic attack damage in an arc in front of him.

This ability can be reactivated two additional times within 5 seconds.

LVL 1 LVL 2 LVL 3 LVL 4 LVL 5 Cooldown 14s 13s 12s 11s 8s Energy Cost 25 25 25 25 25 Damage 55% 55% 55% 55% 65% Bonus Damage 20 40 60 80 100 Slow Strength (Kensho) 30% 35% 40% 45% 50%

Kensho (B)

Kensei strikes his target and leaps backward, entering Kensho Stance and generating fortified health for the duration.

Kensho Stance: The next Lotus Strike or Path of the Ronin gains a powerful bonus effect when activated within 2.5 seconds of canceling this stance.

Lotus Strike (A) travels farther and slows enemies hit.

(A) travels farther and slows enemies hit. Path of the Ronin (Ult) stuns enemies hit.

(Ult) stuns enemies hit. Stance is canceled automatically upon movement, attacking, or using any ability.

LVL 1 LVL 2 LVL 3 LVL 4 LVL 5 Weapon Ratio Cooldown 16s 14.5s 13s 11.5s 8.5s Energy Cost 40 45 50 55 60 Bonus Damage 20 30 40 50 80 Fortified Health / Second 30 50 70 90 110 20%

Path of the Ronin (Ultimate)

Kensei readies himself before quickly rushing forward, dealing basic attack plus bonus damage to all enemies in his way.

LVL 1 LVL 2 LVL 3 Cooldown 70s 55s 40s Energy Cost 100 120 140 Bonus Damage 200 300 400 Stun Duration (Kensho) 0.8s 1.1s 1.4s

Vainglory Kensei Talents

Accelerated Mind (Rare)

Hitting an enemy hero or jungle monster grants max stats of Immovable Mind (Perk). Level 20 stats:

Attack Speed: 115%

Barrier: 165%

Enlightened Kensho (Epic)

Kensho’s empowered attack grants Kensei temporarily invulnerability. Level 10 stats:

Passive Weapon Power: 19%

Cooldown: 37.5%

Duration: 2s

Endless Path (Legendary)

Landing Path of the Ronin (Ult) resets its cooldown. Level 5 stats:

Damage: 180%

Cooldown: 30%

Vainglory Kensei Builds

Below are the two recommended builds SEMC has curated for Kensei. For more information on situational items for carries, visit our complete breakdown. Be sure to check our top hero builds page soon for Broken Myth’s Kensei hero guide!

Mobile Fighter

Low cooldowns allow for easier movement around the battlefield with Lotus Strike (A). Be sure to use Kensho (B) to frequently empower your abilities.

(High Mobility, Moderate Defense)

Continuous Damage

Constantly attack your opponents to refresh Immovable Mind’s (Perk) barrier and deal massive damage to targets with large health pools.

(High Damage, High Defense)

The Update 3.3 activation day is currently unknown, but is planned to release this week with no downtime. Be on the lookout for optional joystick controls, voice chat, and quality of life improvements. If you have any questions about Vainglory’s newest hero Kensei, ask away in the comments below, and we’d be happy to answer them!