Counter Guide

How to Beat Bel'Veth

Matchup Guide · Evergreen · 3 Counter Picks

Bel'Veth has no cap on her attack speed, and once she's taken a couple of kills she hits you faster than the health bar can keep up.

She's hard to fight because every takedown feeds her permanently, and she's got four directions to dash in to stay on top of you. She knocks you up with her tail, dashes in, then roots herself in place to shred whoever's lowest while she heals. She wants that fight every time, and it's got a soft spot. Everything she does is a basic attack or leads to one, and champions who punish being hit, or simply take less from each hit, turn her speed against her. Before you ban her, check where she sits on our solo queue tier list this patch.

Matchup Snapshot Bel'Veth, the Empress of the Void

Where You Meet HerJungle

Damage TypePhysical, true on attacks

Why She Is FrustratingUncapped attack speed

MobilityA dash in four directions

Biggest ThreatAbove and Below [W]

Hardest CounterAmumu

What a Counter Needs

Something that makes each of her hits count for less, or cost her
Hard crowd control for when she roots herself to finish you

Patch 26.18 Matchup Data

Who Beats Bel'Veth on Patch 26.18

Best Picks Into Bel'Veth

Amumu626 games53.3%
Rammus708 games53.1%
Cho'Gath1,135 games52.2%
Udyr486 games52.1%
Nocturne1,363 games51.9%

Picks Bel'Veth Beats

Qiyana634 games43.5%
Nunu & Willump430 games43.5%
Xin Zhao425 games44.0%
Rengar560 games45.5%

Win rates are for the champion listed, in the jungle against Bel'Veth. They come from Nerfplz's own ranked solo queue games on Patch 26.18, Silver and above, 33,977 Bel'Veth games in all. Only matchups that show up in at least 1% of those games are listed.

Bel'Veth Overview

Strengths: What Makes Her Dangerous

She's allowed past the attack speed cap. Death in Lavender [Passive] gives her a permanent stack for every takedown, and champion kills are worth more than camps.
Void Surge [Q] goes four ways. Each direction has its own cooldown (12 to 16 seconds, shortened by her bonus attack speed), so she can dash in, sideways and back out in one fight.
The knock-up refunds a dash. When Above and Below [W] hits a champion, the Void Surge [Q] direction she aimed it along comes back off cooldown.
Her finisher heals. Royal Maelstrom [E] slashes whichever nearby enemy has the lowest health percentage, with life steal and up to 60% damage reduction.

Weaknesses: Where You Get In

Her attack speed doesn't grow with level. Until she's got takedowns her attack speed is ordinary, so the early game is where you stop the snowball.
She roots herself to finish. Royal Maelstrom [E] leaves her unable to move for up to 1.5 seconds.
Every hit is a separate hit. Anything that triggers per attack, or takes a flat amount off each one, is the kind of effect that scales with how fast she swings.
The knock-up telegraphs. Above and Below [W] has a half-second cast before the tail lands (it reaches 660 units, a long way for a melee champion, but you can see it coming).

Countering Bel'Veth

One of these is enough:

Punish or shrink her attacks. Flat damage reduction per hit, or damage back per hit, is something that'll get better the faster she attacks.
Lock her down while she's rooted. A stun or a fear during Royal Maelstrom [E] wastes the one moment she's committed.
Deny the early kills. She's a completely different champion with no stacks (they come from takedowns, camps included), and invading her while she's small keeps her there.

If you're stuck in the matchup without one, you can still keep her damage down.

Playing Into Bel'Veth Without a Counter

Watch the tail. Above and Below [W] needs half a second to wind up, and if you sidestep it she doesn't get that dash back.

When she roots herself for Royal Maelstrom [E], back off if you're the most wounded champion nearby (she aims at the lowest health percentage). If you're healthy, that's your window to hit her.

Rift Herald and Baron matter more against her than against most junglers, because those takedowns spawn a stronger Void Coral for her ultimate (Voidgrubs do it too).

Best Bel'Veth Counters

All three take a different route in. Play whichever suits you.

Amumu Shrinks Every Hit

Tantrum [E] has a passive that takes a flat chunk off every instance of physical damage Amumu takes (5 to 13 by rank, plus a slice of his bonus resistances, and never more than half the hit). A champion who lands a few big blows won't notice much. Bel'Veth lands dozens of small ones, and the reduction applies to each of them. Being attacked also shaves 0.75 seconds off Tantrum [E]'s cooldown per hit, so her speed feeds his damage.

There isn't a better target for Curse of the Sad Mummy [R] than her finishing move. She's standing still inside Royal Maelstrom [E], and she can't slash at all while she's stunned, so a 1.5-second stun there wipes out the channel.

Rammus Hits Back on Every Attack

Defensive Ball Curl [W] lasts seven seconds and piles armor and magic resist onto Rammus. While it's up, anyone whose basic attack lands on him takes magic damage (it scales with those same resistances). Against Bel'Veth that's a lot of triggers.

Frenzying Taunt [E] makes sure she keeps swinging. Once she's taunted she'll keep attacking Rammus for up to two seconds whether she wants to or not, straight into the curl.

Nocturne Blocks the Opener

Shroud of Darkness [W] is a spell shield, and her fights start with Above and Below [W]. Block the knock-up and she's in melee range with no dash refund and no crowd control, while Nocturne's attack speed doubles for five seconds from the block. Then there's Unspeakable Horror [E]. It fears anyone who's still tethered to him after two seconds, and a Bel'Veth who's rooted in Royal Maelstrom [E] can't walk out of the tether unless she ends the channel early.

Itemizing Against Bel'Veth

Frozen Heart cuts the attack speed of nearby champions by 20% (it's an aura, so there's nothing you've got to aim). Thornmail hits her back on every attack and applies 40% Wounds, which lands right on the life steal from Royal Maelstrom [E]. Plated Steelcaps take 10% off each attack. On a damage dealer, Executioner's Calling applies the same Wounds from your side.