Kog'Maw Build Guide by ABlackSack

Introduction

Hey im ABlackSack (Na), and welcome to my Kog'maw guide. Kog'Maw is my favorite ad and i have been maining him for as long as i can remember. He has the most late game damage of any ad and can single handedly burn down tanks and squishies in a matter of seconds. However he has a lacklustre early game and has a high skillcap in terms of positioning and laning phase but if you can master him you'll easily be able to carry games.

Pros

-Best late game AD
-Can burn bruisers and squishies
-High Skillcap
-Nice Skill Kit
-Deals ad/ap damage/amount of health

Cons

-Weak Early Game
-Squishy
-High Skill Cap
-No escapes
-Little CC


I also dedicate this guide to this video.It taught me perserverence and that you should never give up.

Runes

I go with the standard runes for ad carries. This is flat attack damages marks, flat armor yellows, either flat magic resist or magic resist per level (depending on matchup) and flat attack damage quintessences.

Greater Mark of Attack Damage - These runes are standard.

Greater Seal of Armor- Standard

Greater Glyph of Magic Resist/ Greater Glyph of Scaling Magic Resist- These runes can be interchanged, if you are facing a kill lane or an aggresive lane take the flat magic resist, however if you expect a passive lane go with the magic resist per level as they are more beneficial in the long run.

Greater Quintessence of Attack Damage- Standard

There is some debate as to whether you take armor penetration marks or quintessences. However armor penetration is only most useful when you're going for an aggresive lane bot such as leona/graves, ali/trist and you want to burst someone quickly. However Kog'Maw doesnt have the best kill potential early game and you should be focusing on farming and playing passively which is why I run flat attack damage marks and quints. Another factor in taking attack damage is that Kog has one of the lowest initial ad of anyone (49 I believe) and you really need it to last hit as effectively as you can.

Masteries

The standard masteries for an ad carry, with 21 points in offense and the 9 in defense for additional tankiness. Another option is to go with 9 points in utility for the additional mana but often the 9 in defense comes in handy a lot more often.

Summoners Spells

/ - My most preffered summoner combination on kog'maw, it gives you extra survivability in lane and an escape tool. The main reason is that to make the most of kog you need to play passively early on and survive until he gets his great kill potential which is why i choose Heal over Ignite. Another reason is that unlike carries such as Corki, Ezreal (that take ignite) you dont have a great skill to get away in team fights or bad situations like they do and you need something to fall back on.

- A potential substitution to heal, this summoner is most effective when playing against a character like Ashe or a team with a high cc duration to eliminate the stun duration and allow you to survive.

- In the event you do have a kill lane are looking to be aggressive this is the best summoner to be had at the moment.

Skill Sequence

- Your passive, and not a passive to be underestimated as it can turn what looked like a dire situation to a good one. The passive itself deals true damage ( damage that cannot be reduced) and can help finish off kills that you weren't able to pick up initially. Never intentionally die to use the passive, always try to keep yourself alive and kill them that way but if there is a situation you cant escape and you feel you can pick up a kill with a passive then try to get the enemy low enough that you're able to finish them off.

- The actually active part of this skill isnt that useful for ad kog maw but it does lower the armor and magic resist of a target which is nice but not something you should be focusing on in team fights as its a waste of mana and has a short range. However the passive part of this is nice but is only worth leveling it up late game. By the time you start leveling it you should have a pd so the added attack speed bonus would be greater than if you initially leveled it up.

- This is the ability that seperates Kog'Maw from other ad carries, it gives kog's auto attacks increased range and deals damage of the enemies maximum health. This is what lets you attack the beef and tear them to shreds. At highest rank it does 6% of the enemies max health per attack, so if you have a attack speed of 2.0 you'll be dealing 12% of the enemies health per second + your additional normal attack damage. The 6% at highest rank also equates to 1 and a half of Madred's Bloodrazor passive minus the stats which is a reason why you should never get this item on Kog'Maw.

- Your skillshot catchup/escape tool, it's your best friend for kiting and trying to pick off kills and escape sticky situations. The skillshot itself isnt hard to land but knowing how and when to use it is the tricky part. When using think of it as Wall of Pain so use it to gain kill opportunities by cutting off the enemies escape options and use it as barrier for when you are escaping so that they have to walk through it if they want to get to you.

- Your ultimate, its main function for ad kog'maw is to harass enemies, finish off enemies,kill creeps, contribute to your team's burst and using it as a constant Clairvoyance to gain additional map control and suss out potential ganks or traps set by the enemy team. The trick with it is to use it sparingly and accurately when you most need it as it costs a lot of mana if you use multiple in quick secession.

Items

Starting Items

Boots of Speed + 3x Health Potion - The most standard way to start and gives the early mobility and sustain.

Alternatives

Doran's Blade- Only go Doran's if you have a high sustain lane eg a Soraka, and are just going to go for creeps against a passive lane.

Cloth Armor + 5x Health Potion- If you are up against a highly aggresive lane and you need the extra tankiness and sustain to survive.

First Trip Back

The items you get on your first trip back depend on how well you do in the initial laning phase. You should be aiming for at least 1k gold + but optimally you should be looking at 1650+ to get an B. F. Sword and some Health Potion's.

Options

B. F. Sword + Health Potion's. - Probably the most optimital items to get first trip back as they give good damage and make last hitting a breeze.

Wriggle's Lantern- A great item to come back with, it gives decent ad/armor and great lifesteal when you don't have a sustain support eg Nunu, also lets you last hit a lot easier and gives your team a lot more dragon and baron control thanks to the ward and clear speed due to procs.

Doran's Blade+ Doran's Blade + Health Potion's.- Gives additional good tankiness and lifesteal when coming back without doing the best in lane and help last hitting and winning trades.

Zeal+ Health Potion's. - To pump out extra damage on the Bio-Arcane Barrage and if you are confident at last hitting.

Berserker's Greaves+ Doran's Blade + Health Potion's. - Again for when not doing the best in lane to give mobility and durability.

If you arent going to go for an early Wriggle's Lantern you should be also looking at also getting a Vampiric Scepter on your first or second trip back to give yourself sustain in lane.

First Core Item and Second Core Item

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OR



- These two items are your absolutely core first two items no questions asked. They give the best attack damage synergy and increase Kog's attack and movement speed to help with your damage as percentage health and survivability by blowing everyone quickly.

What First?

This is the biggest choice you'll make and really depends on the situation/team comp you're in and how well you are doing in the actual game. You'll tend to find most professional players opt to go with the Phantom Dancer first because in high level play there are few kills and Phantom Dancer has the best synergy with Bio-Arcane Barrage in terms of cost effiency. This is all situational however, I find that when im doing OK it is the most beneficial to go Phantom Dancer but in those situations where you are fed or have a Nunu support it is best to rush Infinity Edge as it will be easier for you to gain the components and you'll be able to dish the most damage from it then if you get a Phantom Dancer.


Your Build So Far

/ / /

Your build so far should look something like this, with a couple of variations with perhaps an added Vampiric Scepter or Wriggle's Lantern might be in there aswell.

Next Items

You've obviously gotten a lot of farm and possibly a few kills here and there and you have your core damage setup, now you have a choice in what items you want to get next. This is the period of the game you want to aim for a defensive item or something that substantially increases your damage output.

The Options

/ / / /


- A second life, along with banshee's and qss is the best defensive item for ad carries at the moment. I highly recommend this item against a team with high initial burst eg Kennen/ Cassiopeia so that if you do get caught in it you still have a decent chance to redeem yourself.

Proof