Imani Guide: Fire, Ice and the Patch That Flipped Her
Imani, The Last Warder — the last of the Warders, the mages who once commanded dragons. When their beacon was lit, she was the only one left to answer; she tracked her stolen gauntlets to Dredge’s hoard in Marauder’s Port, took them back and joined the Resistance. Released in January 2019, she fights in two stances: ice — fast Frost Bolts and the only root in Paladins that needs no talent — and fire — charged Pyre Balls and a three-second Inferno Cannon. Elemental Shift swaps them in a quarter of a second, and Dragon’s Call hands her a 6000-health dragon for 20 seconds.
Her final shape came in three steps. Patch 6.3 (May 2023) cut Elemental Shift from 6 seconds to 1, the developers conceding she had always had “a high skill ceiling and floor”; 7.2 (March 2024) built 20% more speed into Frostfire Glide and made Inferno Cannon immune to knockback; and 8.1 (January 2025), the game’s last balance patch, removed the one cost of Pyromania — the cut from 1000 to 800 damage on a fully charged Pyre Ball it had carried since October 2020.
The archived PaladinsGuru stats show what that last change did. In four snapshots from March 2023 to August 2024, Pyromania was her lowest-winning talent (45.2–47.8%) and roughly one Imani player in five picked it, while Splitting Ice took two in three. By April 2025 Pyromania was picked by 59% and won 53.1%, Splitting Ice had fallen to 36% and 47.3%, and Imani’s overall winrate had climbed from 46–49% to 50.9%. As with Ying and Makoa, the game’s own presets are her two most-played loadouts and her worst: 42.7–47.6% for the Pyromania preset, 40.4–43.7% for Mana Rift’s. Of her two Limited skins, Snowdrift Imani makes the honorable mentions of our rarest skins list.
Two weapons on one button. In ice stance, throw a Frost Bolt every half-second for 440 damage and a 15% slow that refreshes with every hit — but it only reaches 300 units. In fire stance, charge a Pyre Ball for up to 1.2 seconds: 1000 damage at full charge out to 500 units, with a hitbox that grows as it charges. Patch 6.3 raised Frost Bolt from 420 to 440.
Ice: lob a slow bomb that deals up to 800 damage within 35 units — more the longer it flies — and roots everyone it hits for 1 second; press again to detonate it early. No other champion can root without a talent, but until the bomb bursts your other abilities are locked. Fire: channel a piercing 120-unit column of flame for 3 seconds, 100 damage every 0.09s, while you keep moving — immune to knockback since patch 7.2. Each has its own 13-second cooldown, so a root in ice sets up the cannon in fire.
Switch between ice and fire in a quarter of a second. Patch 6.3 (May 2023) cut the cooldown from 6 seconds to 1, with the developers admitting she had always had “a high skill ceiling and floor”. Four of her cards trigger on a swap — cooldown cuts, damage reduction and a heal.
Ride the elements through the air for 4 seconds, immune to knockback. Turning costs momentum — side-to-side turns slow you more than up and down — and you can cancel it early or break into another ability after half a second. It is her only escape. Patch 7.2 (March 2024) built 20% more speed into it.
After a 1.5-second channel, take control of a 6000-health Draconic Avatar for 20 seconds; its FrostFire breath deals 170 damage every 0.1s, fully effective to 105 units. Your body stays behind, rooted and immune to crowd control — and if it dies, the dragon dies with it. The avatar cannot be healed, and while it flies you cannot capture or contest the objective.
Every Pyre Ball explodes in a 20-unit radius when it hits and builds more Mana. Since patch 8.1 (January 2025) it costs nothing: the cut to 800 damage it had carried since late 2020 is gone, so a full charge hits for 1000 in an area. It was her lowest-winning talent in all four archived snapshots before 8.1 (45.2–47.8%) and the highest after it — 53.1% on 59% of picks in April 2025.
PaladinsGuru does not tie loadouts to talents, but in April 2025 three Imani players in five ran Pyromania — and this was the best-winning loadout of the top five in both snapshots from that month, 55.1% and 55.2%. It won 52.7% in August 2024 too: about 1,400 matches at 53.4%. Draconic Will and Discipline turn Elemental Shift into a cooldown engine. The game’s own Pyromania preset, the most-played Imani loadout in every snapshot, won just 42.7–47.6%.
- Charge Pyre Balls into groups: a full charge now hits for 1000 in a 20-unit blast, so a target standing next to a teammate is two targets.
- Shift at least once every 3 seconds — that is the internal cooldown on Draconic Will and Discipline, and each swap takes 3 seconds off Frost Bomb, Inferno Cannon and your glide.
- Root, then burn: Frost Bomb holds its targets for a second, so shift to fire and put the Inferno Cannon or a full Pyre Ball on whoever it caught.
- Cast Dragon’s Call from cover: your body stays behind, rooted, and if the enemy kills it, the dragon goes with it.
Every Frost Bolt that hits chains to a second enemy within 30 units for 225 damage; the bounce neither slows nor builds Mana. From 2023 to 2024 two Imani players in three picked it, and it won 46.3–49.4%. After 8.1 its pick rate nearly halved, to 36%, and at 47.3% it became her lowest-winning talent.
The best-winning loadout of the top five in August 2024, when two Imani players in three ran Splitting Ice: 55.9% over 879 matches. It is the Pyromania tab’s build with Ancient Duty in place of Mystic Fire — every winning Imani loadout since mid-2024 shares the Draconic Will 5, Discipline 5 and Swift Sear 3 core. The game’s Splitting Ice preset never reached the top five.
- Play ice closer than fire: Frost Bolt stops at 300 units, and Splitting Ice needs two enemies within 30 units of each other — fight where they group, on the point or around their tank.
- Every hit slows 15% and refreshes the slow — keep a diving flank in it, then root them with Frost Bomb.
- Shift to fire when the fight stretches: past 300 units your bolts fall short, and a Pyre Ball reaches 500.
- Glide out rather than walk out — Ice in her Veins heals 50 every second in the air, and every swap brings the next glide 3 seconds closer.
Stand still for 1 second and a 30-unit Mana Rift forms around you, filling roughly a fifth of your Mana bar every second until you step out — which destroys it. At full Mana your next shot is instant, so a rift keeps full-charge Pyre Balls coming without the wind-up. The niche pick: 5–14% of Imani players in every snapshot, at 47.7–49.7%.
Skip the game’s Mana Rift preset: it is the second most-played Imani loadout in every snapshot and the lowest-winning of the top five every time, 40.4–43.7%. This build reached the top five only after 8.1 raised Arcane Ice from 15% to 25% per point, and won 52.3% and 53.7% in April 2025, about 250 matches each. It puts its points into Mana and into Frost Bomb — the root that keeps divers off your rift.
- Pick your spot before the fight: behind cover, with a line on the point and room to glide out. The rift forms after a second of standing still and dies the moment you leave it.
- Spend Mana as fast as it fills: at a full bar your next Pyre Ball fires instantly at full charge, and the rift alone refills the bar in about five seconds.
- Heat Sink makes every Pyre Ball hit worth 4 seconds of Frost Bomb cooldown — poke, and keep the bomb for whoever dives you.
- Dragon’s Call roots you where you stand anyway — cast it from your rift spot, behind the cover you chose for it.
Imani has 2200 health, one escape on a 12-second cooldown and a kit full of commitments: a 1.2-second Pyre Ball charge, a Frost Bomb that locks her other abilities until it bursts, a 3-second Inferno Cannon. Dive her during any of them. And when the dragon arrives, go for Imani instead: Dragon’s Call leaves her body rooted where she cast it for all 20 seconds — immune to crowd control, not to damage — and killing her kills the 6000-health dragon too. See where Imani sits in our tier list →
// COMMUNITY RESOURCES
Is Imani good in 2026?
S-tier, score 0.84 in our community-consensus tier list — the strongest damage champion and fifth overall. Three of the four ranked-player lists grade her SS; the fourth and the editorial list still say A. Yet she is only 15th in our pick-rate proxy: the three most-played damage champions — Tyra, Viktor and Lian — are all rated lower. She is not a beginner pick: two stances, a charge-up weapon and cooldowns that reward swapping are a lot to learn.
The final patch made her better, and the data shows it. Before 8.1 her overall winrate in the archived snapshots sat at 46–49%; in April 2025 it was 50.9%, on the back of Pyromania at 53.1%. The loadouts that win share one idea — Draconic Will 5 and Discipline 5, which turn every Elemental Shift into 3 seconds off Frost Bomb, Inferno Cannon and Frostfire Glide.
How do you counter Imani?
Dive her while she is committed. Imani has 2200 health and one escape, a glide on a 12-second cooldown, and most of her damage comes with a commitment: a 1.2-second Pyre Ball charge, a Frost Bomb that locks her other abilities until it bursts, a 3-second Inferno Cannon. That is why Skye tops her counters by community vote (+28): Hidden brings her in unseen. Androxus (+24) sends a full Pyre Ball back through Reversal, and Lian (+20) shoots her out of the glide with a hitscan rifle.
When the dragon comes, go for Imani. Dragon’s Call leaves her body rooted where she cast it for all 20 seconds — immune to crowd control, not to damage — and killing her ends the ultimate, 6000-health dragon and all. Leave the avatar to your tank and find the Warder.
FAQ
What is the best Imani talent?
Pyromania — since patch 8.1 (January 2025). Every Pyre Ball explodes in a 20-unit radius and, with the old damage cut removed, a full charge hits for 1000. In April 2025 it was picked by 59% of Imani players and won 53.1%; Splitting Ice fell to 47.3% and Mana Rift sat at 49.7%. Before 8.1 Pyromania had been her lowest-winning talent in every archived snapshot.
What is the best Imani loadout?
Draconic Will 5, Discipline 5, Swift Sear 3, Ice in her Veins 1 and Mystic Fire 1 — the best of the top five in both April 2025 snapshots (55.1–55.2%) and about 53.4% across 1,400 matches. Avoid the in-game presets: the Pyromania preset won 42.7–47.6% and the Mana Rift preset 40.4–43.7%, the lowest of the top five in every snapshot.
Can you kill Imani while she is a dragon?
Yes, and that is the counter. During Dragon’s Call her body stays rooted where she cast it, immune to crowd control but not to damage, and killing her ends the ultimate at once. The 6000-health dragon cannot be healed, but shooting it is the slow way to stop it.
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