Spaceglider Quinn Build
MarshmalIow#NA1 here, back with another theorycraft build for Quinn for the folks who prefer her duelist playstyle over the assassin one. The TLDR is that kraken into phantom dancer is a highly affordable, consistent, and satisfying 2 item powerspike for a duelist Quinn build that I highly recommend you checking out.
Kraken provides a balanced mix of damage and attack speed, as well as 4% MS. Its build path is also very consistent, unlike Stormrazor or Yuntal, whose components don't give AD spikes unless you have 1300 gold for BF sword. PD as the second item here brings the spaceglide build to life, offering 65% attack speed, the ghosting passive, and a whopping 10% MS, all for the low price of 2650 gold. After PD, I'll finish tier 2 boots (usually swifties, unless enemy is full ad or extremely cc heavy).
These core items combined with PTA, alacrity, cut down, and celerity give you both high consistent DPS and mobility for chasing and kiting. I have also been really liking exhaust as an all-round utility dueling summoner spell. It can be used offensively, for surviving early all-ins, and outplaying/shutting down high damage threats on the enemy team. Otherwise ghost and ignite are solid options too, if you need to match enemy ghost or need early heal cut.
The rest of the build is standard crit items based on what you need in the game - typically 3rd item will be LDR or mortal. Then you can go damage (IE, hexoptics, BT, etc.), utility (immortal, GA, randuins, maw, kaenic, etc.), or a mix of both.
I'll also take this time to follow-up on my initial on-hit Hail of Blades theorycraft post, as I've now had a chance to properly test things out. Long story short, the new HOB is unfortunately eclipsed by other keystones once you pass around level 3, with the difference in power being especially felt at higher levels. I saw that other masters+ players have been trying to make HOB work for attack speed Quinn, but my read is that HOB doesn't give as consistent of results compared to PTA or lethal. Quinn just doesn't have a built-in on-hit like vayne/varus/kaisa, who can take advantage of the HOB autos better. The only time I'd consider running HOB now is into matchups with volatile lvls 1-3 such as Irelia.
I also tested out Stormrazor and Voltaic and have come to the sense that they are bait items for an attack speed build. They simply offer less consistent damage and MS than Kraken PD - and the lethality build just bursts better 9 times outta 10. At first glance, stormrazor seems like it would work with an attack speed duelist build. But storm razor in a 2 item spike doesn't offer enough attack speed to glide during the MS steroid - so you end up sacrificing either dps or the MS and resorting to an un-ideal poke/hit-and-run/burst playstyle. The passive offers high utility but lower overall DPS and dueling potential. And again, unless you can consistently survive until 5 minutes to back with 1300 gold for BF, the other components of Stormrazor are just so bad, and feel even worse if you have both of them instead of BF. Voltaic is even more of a burst item and provides no attack speed, so it is out of the question as a first or second item here. Crit / utility items are just way more valuable late game, so it isn't as good to pick up voltaic late.
If you'd like to see the build/playstyle in action, I saved one of my vods (apologies in advance for low quality). Otherwise feel free to give it a shot and lmk what you guys think. Any questions or comments are welcomed. Happy gliding everyone 🙏
