Press the Attack is a rune in League of Legends that allows your third auto attack to consume all stacks and deal bonus damage to the enemy. Once all stacks are consumed, the target becomes exposed and takes increased damage from all sources (except true damage).
This is a great rune that is mostly used by DPS champions that can deal a lot of damage in quick succession. Since most DPS champions are ADCs, they can easily proc this rune and deal a lot of damage to the target without any issues. This is great in the bot lane against squishy targets as well as against tanks during the early to mid-game.
Also read: Top summon aery rune champions
The best champions that use the Press the Attack rune in League of Legends are:
- Lucian
- Aphelios
- Pantheon
- Vayne
- Volibear
- Quinn
- Akshan
While there are other champions that use this rune as well but the ones on this list are quite good at quickly consuming its stacks. Also, you can use other runes on the champions mentioned on this list but Press the Attack is also quite good and viable. With that said, let’s dive right in and take a look at why these champions are so good with this rune.
Lucian
If I had to choose only one champion that was the best at using Press the Attack, it would easily be Lucian. He is the poster boy for this rune as he can activate it without giving a second thought. Thanks to his passive, Lucian can auto attack twice in quick succession after using any one of his abilities.
This allows Lucian to attack quickly within a second or two. You can start your combo by using your Q on the enemy and immediately auto-attacking them. This will not only activate Press the Attack but also deal a lot of damage as well.
When the rune is active, you can use your W to activate your passive as well. Try to land auto attacks after using each ability for the maximum amount of damage. Also, you can use your E to either reposition yourself or chase the enemy if they are trying to get away.
Finally, using your ultimate to finish off the enemy is ideal if they flash out of your range. You might think that all of this will take longer than 6 seconds (the duration while PTA is active). However, since Lucian has a lot of attack speed and overall damage, your fights won’t last longer than 6 seconds against most champions.
Aphelios
I have a love-hate relationship with Aphelios due to a few reasons. For starters, he is an amazing champion that is quite unique since he has multiple weapons and each gun has a different ability. However, Aphelios was nerfed to the ground since he was too strong for the rest of the champions.
When he is in the meta (which was a long time ago), Aphelios is the strongest ADC, and no other champion can 1v1 him. However, he isn’t in the meta anymore but when it comes to runes, he is a great user of Press the Attack. While you might prefer using Fleet Footwork or even Lethal Tempo, PTA is superb.
Depending on which weapon you have, you can activate this rune extremely quickly. If you have the lifesteal weapon (Severum, the Scythe Pistol), you can use its ability to quickly attack the enemy and proc Press the Attack within a second.
Plus, once you expose the enemy, you can deal a lot of damage to them with the rest of your weapons and abilities.
Pantheon
While you would prefer to go for the Conquerer rune, using Press the Attack on Pantheon is quite viable and effective. He loves to jump right into the action and deal a lot of damage. If you pick PTA on him, you can deal tons of damage with your combo, especially during the laning phase.
If you jump in using your empowered W, you will not only stun the enemy but attack them a few times quickly. This is all part of your ability so you won’t even have to auto attack to activate the rune. Once your W animation ends, the rune will be activated and you can easily deal additional damage to the enemy with the rest of your spells and attacks.
The main reason most players prefer Conquerer nowadays is that it allows you to perform better in the late game. However, if you are certain that you can end the game quickly and want to bully the enemy laner, choosing Press the Attack is the best course of action.
Vayne
Personally, I love picking Lethal Tempo on Vayne. Since her W’s passive allows her to deal true damage to the enemy after attacking them three times, going for Lethal Tempo is useful since you can gain additional attack speed.
However, since you will build attack speed items anyways, choosing Press the Attack can also work wonders. You will stack both PTA and your W’s passive by hitting the enemy three times. After that, use your Q to roll and deal enhanced damage with your basic attacks.
Plus, combine this with your ultimate and you will deal so much damage that the enemy will be surprised to see where their HP bar went. Whether you choose Lethal Tempo or Press the Attack, make sure that you farm a lot and play safe during the laning phase.
Finally, since you will build Guinsoo’s Rageblade, activating Press the Attack will be extremely easy. You can expose the enemy within two auto attacks thanks to the passive of this item. From there, it is as easy as stealing candy from a baby.
Volibear
Volibear is a great example of a champion that excels in using Press the Attack. You can deal tons of damage to the enemy while keeping them stunned for a short duration. After the rework, Volibear has become a constant meta jungler that provides a lot of utility for his team.
He can deal a lot of damage, is quite tanky, and can disable turrets for a short duration as well to make diving easier. Once you decide to fight the enemy, you can start by stunning them with your Q. After they are stunned, auto attack them once or twice and hit them with your bite.
Since the cooldown of this ability is relatively low, you can start your combo with it and end with it as well. Keep in mind that your bite deals more damage based on how much HP the enemy is missing.
Plus, if they are stunned, you can activate Press the Attack during that time. By the time they can move again, they will be taking increased damage from all sources. Also, since Volibear is mostly a team champion, you will be around your team most of the time. That way, you activate the rune while your team deal enhanced damage to the target.
You might think that since Voli deals a lot of damage, he is easy to kill, right? Well, not exactly. He is quite tanky and can heal a lot as well. Plus, if you finally are about to die, you can press your R to have more HP and become even tankier.
Quinn
While Press the Attack isn’t the ideal choice for Quinn anymore, it is still one of the best runes to pick on her. Quinn can quickly proc this rune thanks to her ability to mark targets. If the enemy champion gets marked, you can hit them twice in quick succession. This way, you will easily activate the rune during the start of your combo.
Also, if you land either your blind or your jump on the enemy, you will mark them. Either way, you can easily hit them twice when the fight begins. Plus, since you will mostly build attack speed items, your third auto attack will immediately launch right after you are done with hitting the marked target.
This makes it quite easy to expose the target and deal enhanced damage to them with the rest of your combo. Plus, if you start with your blinding ability, the enemy won’t realize what happened to them and will take a lot of damage by the time their champion’s vision comes back.
Akshan
Finally, Akshan is a great choice for picking the Press the Attack rune. He can quickly proc it thanks to his passive. His auto attacks strike the enemy two times, making it extremely easy to quickly expose the enemy target and deal additional damage to them.
On top of that, you can also use your E to swing around like an action hero and proc this rune as well. Since Akshan attacks enemies in quick succession while swinging, you can easily activate Press the Attack without even realizing it.
Once the rune is active, use your Q to throw your boomerang and deal increased damage to the enemy. If that wasn’t enough, your auto attacks will deal more damage as well. Keep in mind that you auto attack twice, so, the increased damage will be a lot as compared to most other champions.
