This is an in-depth comparison between the League of Legends champions Ekko and Jinx. We will look at their lore, abilities, item builds, playstyles, counters, and more to determine which champion generally performs better. There are a few key questions we will aim to answer:
- What are Ekko’s and Jinx’s backgrounds and playstyles?
- How do their abilities compare?
- What are their common item builds?
- Which champion is better in the early, mid, and late game?
- Who counters who?
- Overall, who is the stronger pick and why?
By the end, you should have a good sense of Ekko and Jinx’s strengths and weaknesses. This will help inform which champion you may want to select for your team composition and matchups. While individual skill always plays a big role, understanding champion kits and powerspikes is key. Now let’s get into the details.
Lore and Playstyles
Ekko and Jinx have very different backgrounds that inform their playstyles. Ekko is from the city of Zaun and uses his wit and technology to survive the streets. He relies on his cunning and invention of the Z-Drive to manipulate time to his advantage. Ekko takes risks as a means to get by, not caring for recognition or politics. He is extremely intelligent and calculating in battle.
In contrast, Jinx is a volatile criminal from Zaun who wreaks havoc with no care for consequences. She treats violence like a game and is completely unrestrained, with no regard for safety protocols. Jinx loves creating chaos and destruction through the use of her arsenal of deadly weapons. She is mentally unstable and extremely unpredictable in fights.
As a result of their lore, Ekko plays like an opportunistic assassin, looking to single out key targets. He plays best when able to methodically control skirmishes via his area of effect (AOE) abilities and crowd control. Jinx is an encapsulation of chaos. She depends on heavy AOE damage and random procs to overwhelm enemies through sheer force. Overall, Ekko values precision, while Jinx relies on mayhem.
Abilities Comparison
Now let’s do a direct comparison of Ekko’s and Jinx’s abilities:
Passives
Ekko: Z-Drive Resonance – Ekko gains a stack on his basic attacks or abilities, at max stacks his next basic attack deals bonus damage. He also gains movement speed when moving towards enemies. This encourages Ekko to carefully chain his abilities together then follow up with forceful attacks.
Jinx: Get Excited! – Scoring a kill or assist grants Jinx a burst of movement speed and attack speed that decays over a few seconds. This rewards Jinx greatly for drawing blood in teamfights, allowing her to get in position to cleanup fights.
Q Abilities
Ekko: Timewinder – Ekko throws a device that slows and damages enemies. Hitting the device on its return also triggers a parallel version that echoes more damage and slow. This is Ekko’s spamable farming and poke tool.
Jinx: Switcheroo! – Jinx swaps between her personal gatling gun “Pow-Pow” and deadly rocket launcher “Fishbones”. Pow-Pow increases her attack speed for faster DPS while Fishbones has bonus range and area damage. This allows Jinx to toggle between two styles.
W Abilities
Ekko: Phase Dive – Ekko dashes a short distance while gaining a shield. Can be targeted onto enemies to deal damage and stun. This provides Ekko his main gap closer and lockdown.
Jinx: Zap! – Jinx fires a skillshot that damages the first enemy hit and reveals and slows surrounding targets. This is Jinx’s utility poke and scout tool.
E Abilities
Ekko: Parallel Convergence – After a delay, Ekko calls forth a temporal anomaly that slows enemies caught inside. If Ekko enters the anomaly, it detonates for heavy damage. This zone control tool is crucial for Ekko’s combos and ganks.
Jinx: Flame Chompers! – Jinx tosses out devices that arm after a moment. If triggered by enemies, the traps explode, damaging and rooting them. This ability gives Jinx area denial power.
R Abilities
Ekko: Chronobreak – Ekko rewinds time, teleporting back to his location from a few seconds ago. He heals and deals AOE damage on arrival to his previous location. This is Ekko’s signature utility and nuke ultimate.
Jinx: Super Mega Death Rocket! – Jinx fires a huge global range rocket that damages all enemies in a line. It deals more damage the lower health the first target hit is. This execute ultimate can secure kills from immense distances.
Item Builds
Ekko and Jinx generally opt for item builds that accentuate their kits. Here are common items built:
Ekko:
- Hextech Rocketbelt – Gap closer and magic penetration
- Lich Bane – Spellblade damage
- Nashor’s Tooth – On-hit effects
- Zhonya’s Hourglass – Armor and stasis active
- Rabadon’s Deathcap – Raw AP damage
Jinx:
- Kraken Slayer – True damage procs
- Runaan’s Hurricane – Multi-target attacks
- Infinity Edge – Critical strike boosts
- Phantom Dancer – DPS and evasion
- Guardian Angel – Armor and revive passive
As assassins, Ekko purchases burst potential through AP, magic pen, spell effects, and survivability tools. As a hypercarry, Jinx opts for sustained auto-attack DPS via crit, attack speed, and damage multipliers.
Powerspikes By Game Time
Based on their kits and items, Ekko and Jinx have different power curves during games:
Early Game (Pre-15 minutes)
Ekko – His base damage is decent for trading kills. Level 6 ultimate provides all-in power.
Jinx – Very weak early on. Low damage and no AOE rockets yet. Vulnerable to being snowballed on.
Mid Game (15-25 minutes)
Ekko – Starts to come online once he completes 1-2 core damage items like Lich Bane. Can reliably assassinate squishies.
Jinx – Unlocks her powerful Fishbones rocket launcher. Still reliant on supports for protection.
Late Game (25+ minutes)
Ekko – His damage hits critical thresholds to delete enemies. But becomes risky as carries gain defensive tools.
Jinx – Her crit build peaks with 3+ items. Can wipe teams quickly with AOE rockets. Hypercarries best here.
So in summary, Ekko is stronger early, Jinx outscales massively late. The mid game could go either way depending on item spikes.
Counters
Ekko and Jinx have champion counters that give them trouble:
Ekko is countered by:
– Fizz – Can dodge Ekko’s abilities with Playful Trickster
– LeBlanc – Faster burst combo than Ekko’s full rotation
– Kassadin – Forces extended trades with frequent spells
– Diana – Cancels Ekko’s mobility with Moonlight
– Galio – Tanky enough to survive Ekko’s burst
Jinx is countered by:
– Caitlyn – Outranges with high poke to bully Jinx
– Tristana – Can reset bombs on Jinx and escape all-ins
– Ezreal – Spammable blink to dodge Jinx skillshots
– Draven – Snowballs harder than Jinx early game
– Miss Fortune – Ult deletes clumped teams Jinx excels against
By understanding these counterpicks, players can better position themselves for success in champ select.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Ekko and Jinx excel in different situations:
Ekko wins when:
– The game time is early to mid
– His team needs an assassin
– Strong isolated targets to delete
Jinx wins when:
– The game goes long
– Her team lacks hypercarry damage
– Teamfights are chaotic
Overall, in a direct 1v1 duel, Ekko will generally beat Jinx especially pre-25 minutes based on his stronger early game. However, Jinx brings more raw teamfight power at full build. Their kits, item builds, and powerspikes lend themselves to different situations. Understanding these nuances helps balance team compositions and win more matches. Use this analysis to make informed decisions when piloting Ekko, Jinx, or playing against them!