Paquito Buff Made Him Stronger Than Before

Key takeaways

• Elgin frames Paquito as resurgent post-buff and claims he is currently #4 most-picked in Mythical Glory+ (single-source creator stat, unverified).
• Primary role EXP lane (jungle is a secondary option); identity is early-game bully with fast wave clear and strong 1v1 trades.
• Two combos given: BURST = 2-2-1-3-2 (delete squishies, needs full passive/Champ Stance pre-stacked); CROWD-CONTROL = 3-3-2-1-3 (enhanced ult knocks airborne for teamfight setups).
• Core items: Hunter Strike, War Axe, Queen's Wings. Optional: Malefic Roar (vs high phys def), Dominance Ice (vs heavy enemy healing). Boots: Tough Boots (vs CC/magic) or Brute Force Brassplate.
• Emblem: Fighter — Trill (adaptive attack) + Festival of Blood (spell vamp) + Temporal Reign main talent (rewards his skill-cycling / passive-stacking playstyle).
• Counters: Esmeralda (absorbs his S1 shield, drags him into long fights), Phoveus (his dash-heavy combo feeds Phoveus's ult), and the item Dominance Ice / Dominant's Scythe to cut his sustain.
• Synergies: lockdown tanks (Tigreal, Atlas, Minotaur, Khufra), CC mages (Yve, Vexana, Valentina), and pocket supports (Angela, Floryn) who help him survive after diving.
• Tip: enhanced S2 can collide with enemies behind you and stop your dash early — use ult first to create distance, then S2, for a safe escape.

Hero changes

• 
  Paquito↑Buff

  Post-buff read (the 2.1.61-branch hotfix already tracked in the 2026-05-17 official-adjustment digest): enhanced skills now deal extra damage to minions (faster wave clear) and casting an enhanced skill grants a short damage-reduction window. Net per Elgin: better lane clear, better trades, more survivability entering fights. Elgin also claims Paquito is currently #4 most-picked in Mythical Glory+ (single-source creator stat, unverified).