Hello viewer. My name is jjoxuu and I main bot lane in diamond level. I enjoy playing ADC the most, but I also enjoy playing the roles of support and top lane. I used to play a lot of Kog'Maw during season 2 but the meta shifted away from hyper carries a bit and Kog'Maw hadn't received any buffs. Things have changed since then and Koggie has made it's comeback. I feel comfortable enough to say that Kog'Maw is propably my second best ADC at the moment. I don't think Koggie is the best pick for soloQ however due having no escape and you can't simply rely on your team but in teamranked or even premade bottom Koggie can be godlike.


This guide will be for AD Kog'Maw as you can see from the items. The build, masteries and runes are the most efficient ones in my opinion and I will try to explain why these picks are the most viable ones in my opinion. I will also try to cover as much information as I simply can while making this guide so that it can benefit both unexperienced and hopefully experienced players too. Hopefully you will enjoy the read.


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>Range >Late game >Steroids >Can kite >Ultimate

Explanation >> Kog'Maw is a late-game beast. By far the best steroids from abilities and has the highest damage output of all bottom lane carries. Kog'Maw has really good range when Bio-Arcane Barrage s activated. A total of whopping 710 range. In comparison: That's 60 longer than Caitlyn's and even longer of late game Tristana so with W activated, Kog'Maw has the longest range in the game. His ultimate has also really long range which is big advantage in bot lane. I do mention kiting as pro due Void Ooze can be really effective if used properly. Like Xin Zhao for example has no follow up after using Audacious Charge so Void Ooze can help kiting him.

Explanation >> Kog'Maw is somewhat squishy as every ADC but he has even lower health than the rest. Phage does help a little tho. The biggest con and the reason Kog'Maw was not picked earlier was due the meta favored carries with escape. Lack of escape is a huge disadvantage in team fights. This leads us to positioning. Positioning and taking advantage of the 710 range to the fullest is really important. This leads (again :P) to being team reliant. I think I can say that in most situations own team's AD carry is forgotten and everyone jumps into fight leaving their own adc without protection = dead adc. Koggie's early game is rather poor before 6 which is no news to anyone I believe.

>Squishy >No escape >Positioning >Team reliant >Early game

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Attack dmg marks I take 9x of these marks to simply increase the damage of Kog'Maw. He benefits from AD like the rest of the AD carries. I prefer having full 9 AD marks so it's easier to last hit under tower but some mix in some attack speed marks too.

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Magic resist glyphs I take 9x of these glyphs to gain defense against magic damage abilities and attacks. Some supports build AP heavy items and we could include enemy jungler there and there is always the mid laner too so really basic value glyphs to take.

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Armor + hp seals I take 5x health seals and 4x armor seals. This combination gives you the most benefit overall against the enemy bot lane. Armor seals are really basic seals but now health seals made their appearance in S4 rune changes.

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Attack speed quints I take 3x of these quints to be able to simply do more damage. Having AD quints makes last hitting easier but I'm pretty used to the attack speed quints and they increase the damage more because of the % damage.

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>> Fury is obvious pick for some attack speed as you don't need the cool down trait as you don't rely on abilities that much. Butcher is to help last hitting. >> Then go for Brute Force . Small amount of AD for late game. It's like an extra Long Sword, which is worth 400 gold. Honestly it is kinda meh, but it is necessary to get to the next tier along with picking Feast for the extra sustain. >> Martial Mastery is useful to help with farming, especially under tower. It gives you some extra damage for poking also. Then Executioner for the bonus % damage for the late game. Spell Weaving increases the ability spam damage. >> Here I DON'T go for Warlord because the build doesn't have enough AD to take usage of it. In stead I just go for Blade Weaving which increases the auto attack damage. Dangerous Game is pretty nice as it can save you dieng from Ignite for example. >> Here we access the most cost worthy mastery: Devastating Strikes . Kog'Maw benefits from both the penetrations up to 12% total usage due having so much magic damage along with auto attacks. Finally Frenzy which gives some attack speed when landing a critical strike >> Finally the last point for Havoc . Not a "wow" bonus, but 3% extra damage for 1 point is OK I guess. Its not really that much if you start to count how much the percentage is.

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>> Block and Recovery . The Block mastery is really good. It seems very little, but it is much more useful than you may think. LoLmath has video of it in youtube I believe, go watch it, if you want to see the math behind this mastery. Health regen gives some extra sustain. >> I take Unyielding to boost the effect of Block even further, making it a total of 3 less damage per auto-attack and some reduction against spells. Next take Veteran Scars for some extra tankiness, so you don't seem quite as squishy. >> Juggernaut is worth because it takes only 1 point for 3%. Not that much if you compare my example for 3% extra damage from 1000, but this point is a fair ~+20 health in lane early-game. >> Continuing this path is not worth due the build is focusing more around damage and therefore benefits more from the offensive tree. I do not recommend any points at utility or any less points in defense. You could go situationally for movement speed traits in utility and spend rest of the points in defense but tier 2 in defense tree includes too many good traits to skip.

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Flash is the most important spell in the game and is also the most used. It's especially good on Kog'Maw due having no escape. Do not take anything over it! It can save you from tricky situations where you normally wouldn't survive. It is also a last hitting/finishing a champion tool if the enemy is running away from you.

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Barrier is still a decent pick. It gives now more defense than Heal due it got nerfed but I and many others value the movement speed bonus and the fact you can save your support with it much more than the extra ~30-50 shield.

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Heal is the ideal defensive summoner spell due it being able to heal support too. I see guys taking Barrier over Heal but it's not worth imo. You get movement speed + someone else also receives the heal from it. Barrier is a little bit stronger for solo lane maybe but you would still lack the movement speed boost.

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Cleanse is still a decent pick. It's mostly for the mid and late game team fights. Taking Cleanse gives away much laning pressure and defense that it should only be taken when enemy team really has insane amounts of CC.

S T A R T

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W I T H

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>> Very basic starting items for a long time. Every doran's item is strong starter but Doran's Blade is the best option here with Health Potion because of the mixed sustain they give.

C O R E

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>> The very core items of Kog'Maw. Both give massive spike in damage and mobility. Blade of the Ruined King certainly bests other items as it gives you escape against all in attacks, mobility and great buff to AA + Bio-Arcane Barrage combo. Trinity Force is what makes laning so much easier and you can start pressuring the lane at this point. It certainly beats Infinity Edge which your lane opponent most likely has or is about to have at this point. The boots are pretty mandatory and needless to explain.

F O L L O W

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>> Usually Last Whisper is taken at this point but Kog'Maw doesn't need it quite yet due having great deal of magic damage as you have already learned. Therefore Last Whisper can be delayed as even 5th or 6th item. Some skip the item completly. Infinity Edge gives the most damage at this point as the items so far have not given lot's of AD yet. Last Whisper can be taken after to penetrate the armor enemy has built.

L A S T

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>> Banshee's Veil is the most built defensive item as it stops surprise "ambush CC" if you're caught off guard. I prefer it over Mercurial Scimitar as it takes more time to finish and as Kog'Maw, you're often far behind in the lanes so no hard CC should land on you. Merc can be better against Zed's ultimate tho. Guardian Angel is really the all-around defensive item fit in pretty much any time. It's better against champions that gain resets when killing someone or against assassins.

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>> One of these items replaces either Last Whisper or Infinity Edge based on yor judgement which one you don't need. Generally if they don't have lot's of armor, it replaces Last Whisper. Phantom Dancer gives bigger impact for late game but Statikk Shiv gives better wave clear and is cheaper.

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This ability sequence is focusing on damage and utility. Full damage sequence would be R>W>Q>E. Ultimate is maxed first which is no surprise. It's the very core ability that gives you an edge in bot lane. Great for scouting bushes or poking enemy. Also great for last hitting. Bio-Arcane Barrage is maxed second because of the % damage but especially for the increased range it gives. Void Ooze is taken as third because I like the slow it gives. Also helps to clear minion waves faster which is why I take it lvl 1. Finally Caustic Spittle as it was nerfed a little and is quite hard to land. It's base value is good enough at level 1 too.

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Icathian surprise: "HA, I won 1v1 with 100 hp :D" *BOOOOOOM* That was a small demonstration of the ability. It's pretty much only used to deal damage or go even in a trade after you've died. Sometimes clearing a minion wave from bad position is better than dealing damage if you can't force something with it. Caustic spittle: Ability that scales well into late game. Gives small attack speed steroid and reduces enemy resistances. It's quite clonky to use and the stats are better for late game so it's taken as last. It can be used for small bonus damage and to proc Sheen. Bio-arcane barrage: The best basic ability Kog'Maw has. Extra 210 range alone is really good but throw in the 6% of enemies max hp as magic damage (especially because it's magic damage) is really good. Use carefully in lane! Good usages are when you want to last hit a minion or to poke opposing lane. Void ooze: Great ability to kite the enemy around a little or to stop a escape route. I usually shoot it behind me when I want to kite a melee champion so I can just follow the trail. It's good for wave clearing also. I value the slow percentage over the Q for mid game fights so I take this ability as second. Living artillery: Really strong ability in several ways. You will outrange pretty much every poke ability in the bot lane with this. At max level it deals around 250dmg but you can just spam it and get Sheen procs along the way. There is almost no escape from this ability as it has 1800 range. It can also be used to last hit.

Do note: There is no really easy lane for Kog'Maw. Easy lane for Kog'Maw pretty much means a quite safe lane to farm at and you are pretty even during the laning phase. Easy lane does not mean it's free win during laning phase and you can take it easy.

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>> Ashe should be the easiest match-up there is for Kog'Maw. Ashe doesn't have the pressure with just auto attacks and W spam that is easily avoidable. You simply win the lane by using the range of Bio-Arcane Barrage to zone or poke Ashe when she goes for minions. Things get easier at lvl 6 due Ashe's ulti is one hit wonder stun that is avoidable.

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>> Vayne is the same as Ashe. She doesn't have the range to put up a fight and Void Ooze is quite effective counter measure if she tries to do something. Level 6 is dangerouse if you don't land Living Artillery to give vision of her while she is ultimating. That's the only danger spot you have during the lane.

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>> Twitch is pretty even lane. I considered easy-mid difficulty but I think it's quite evenly matched match-up. You win and are OK in the lane as long as you don't get ambushed by stealth or do 1 for 1 auto attacks against Contaminate. You should be able to get free auto attacks when farming. Level 6 is dangerous if you get in too close range. Long range Twitch ultimate is countered by Void Ooze + Living Artillery poke.

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>> Quinn is the same as Ashe yet again. You outrange but the difference is that Quinn has gap closers that counter the ranged advantage you have. Level 6 tag team is dangerous if you get in range of the gap closer. You can't 1v1 her if she is full hp and has ultimate available.

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>> Sivir has really short range which gives you the advantage when approaching farm. Bio-Arcane Barrage AA poke is quite effective and gives you easy time farming but the danger is Sivir's Q and W poke. They can chunk you down pretty fast and lvl 6 movement speed + attack speed is quite terrifying combination when going in close range where Kog'Maw should never be.

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>> I could maybe argue Miss Fortune to be a little easier but I'll give respect to her ultimate + Q poke. AA + Q gives her the trade wins and you have no escape from ultimate. You can predict when Miss Fortune is going for auto attack ad use Void Ooze to stop her passive and then go for few barrage shots is the key in this lane. I wouldn't try to go for all-in fight anytime soon.

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>> Ezreal is semi hard. Really close to a hard match-up due the Mystic Shot poke. Ez can pretty much win every trade and ignore your skillshots with Arcane Shift. He also has some burst if you combine all the abilities with ultimate. Overall quite annoying lane opponent. You can deffinately fight after TriForce tho if you don't get poked before that.

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>> Graves has kinda short range so you should win auto attack pokes but he does have the gap closing ability E which also gives attack speed. That's the danger in this lane. I'd say try to keep up with poke and lane pressure until lvl 6 since after that Graves has too strong all-in potential that I wouldn't recommend fighting without lowering his health bar first.

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>> Caitlyn has the highest basic auto attack range which makes her lane bully. You can't trade or go for minions safely without Bio-Arcane Barrage. It's instant loss in trade if you don't have barrage on. Try to farm and not get poked too much when going for minions. You can pressure lane after items.

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>> Tristana is interesting lane opponent. You win in auto attack range at every point of the game but Tristana trades really well with Explosive Shot and has somewhat good burst. The lane is matter of who gets items first. Most likely going to be simple farm lane.. well I guess Tristana should be more bloodthirsty as she should win 1v1 all-in.

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>> Corki has all around abilities that are more or less hard to dodge. He will win trades early on thanks to his Q + AA. He has a gap closer, high damage from E and poke from ultimate. That sounds and is pretty tough to face against. He should get a cs advantage if played properly and gets Trinity Force faster. You can't really fight triforce Corki. I'd say you can't even 1v1 after you have Trinity Force too in all-in fight. Look towards later in the game.

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>> Draven is a lane bully. That said, it's quite obvious that it's going to be a hard lane. The spinning axe auto attack deals so much damage and he has speed boost from W to catch up really fast. I propably wouldn't fight even with Trinity Force if Draven has Infinity Edge built in laning phase. Attempting to poke and farm is the best option.

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>> Lucian has shorter range but replaces that with mobility and gap close from Relentless Pursuit. Lucian trades and bursts much better and the range of The Culling is about the same as Living Artillery. You will just end up being lane bullied really fast so trying to farm until Trinity Force is recommended.

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>> Jinx is like mini Caitlyn with Kog'Maw installed inside of her. Kog'Maw has everything that Jinx has but that's in mid game. Jinx has about the exact same range qith rocket launcher but it's AoE and the attack speed from machine gun passive is still active. The execute from Jinx ultimate is also good vs sustained fight Kog'Maw.

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Thresh - The chain warden Tank, Fighter, Support Synergy: High Jungler ganking potential: High Specialty: Huge CC, AA poke, Shield Explanation: Thresh is a great laning partner for Kog'Maw, because Thresh gives you escape ability and enough CC to initiate or disengage. Also allows jungler to put up easy ganks.

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face of the mountain

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Lulu - The Fae Sorceress Ranged, Mage, Support Synergy: High Jungler ganking potential: High Specialty: Poke, mobility, knockup Explanation: Lulu synergies well with Kog'Maw due she offers great deal of mobility which Kog'Maw lacks, shield to keep farming and counter to all in initiations with ultimate.

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Nami - The Tidecaller Ranged, support Synergy: High Jungler ganking potential: High Specialty: Utility, CC, Sustain Explanation: Nami synergies well with Kog'Maw due she gives him mobility, slow for auto attacks, sustain and great amounts of CC.

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Morgana - The Fallen Angel Tank, support Synergy: High Jungler ganking potential: High Specialty: Deny CC, High CC, Ranged Explanation: Morgana synergies well with Kog'Maw due she gives him a lockdown and safe zone for Kog to do auto-attack damage. Black Shield also sort of gives Kog escape.

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It is time to explain some gameplay. I put this section in 3 different sections: early, mid and late game. Let's start with early game. Kog'Maw is really weak in early game just as I've explained several times. The main objective here is really just try to farm as much as you can. Try not to give any kills but don't let yourself get zoned out too much either. Cs disadvantage is expected in many match-ups. Try to keep up until level 6 because that's the power spike.

After level 6 you can start looking for kills. It's really good if you're ahead in cs or you've gotten kill or stayed even in lane. You should have maybe a Phage or Sheen which combined with Living Artillery and Bio-Arcane Barrage give great deal of damage. Go for auto attack pokes within reason of course. You don't want to trade minions for small amount of damage. Support landing CC is all-in situation or great amount of damage and lane pressure for you.

Later on in the game you will start having team fights. Let's assume this is around 20ish minutes and you have left laning phase already. Trinity Force is absolute must at this point and you should have items working towards botrk unless you already have it. You're still pretty vulnerable to bruisers and getting caught in CC is pretty much a lost team fight. Position yourself at the back line of your team and poke a little with Living Artillery. Once a fight breaks, wait for a opening to go all-in and generally just find opening to shoot free auto attacks.

In late game you should be pretty hype. You deal so much damage that it should be a priority to keep you alive in stead of everyone commiting to enemy ADC leaving you to fight alone. You should win every 1v1 against bruisers unless it's full damage Riven or Xin Zhao for example which means if they get close you're dead. Keep aware of the abilities used and go in when you have the window of not getting CC'd. You will build experience within time. Like you will get to know when you can just fully commit into 1v1 and what to be aware of. For example: You can just 1v1 Kassadin straight up even if you get caught.




Thank you for reading dear viewer. I hope you have learned the ropes or at least thing or two about Kog'Maw. If you have any questions or thoughts please feel free to say so in the comment section. At this point I would like to credit GrandmasterD who made the table of contents. That's it for this guide.