Talk:Swain/@comment-188.2.96.124-20121211195726/@comment-93.95.239.82-20121212120458

You get either E (early harass) or W (lvl 1 fight / defend jungle) lvl 1. After that, always max E, get Q at lvl 3 or 4. E gives you 40 damage + 3 percent bonus damage on all spells and abilities per rank, while Q gives you 45 damage per rank, and the mana cost increase is lower on E. ALWAYS ALWAYS max E, no exceptions.

Whether you max W (for CD and AoE damage in teamfights) or Q (more single target burst damage and slow) as second spell is up to you, depends on the situation, I usually prefer W.

1 level in Q usually is enough to land W easily, unless the target has an escape skill.