Cho'Gath Build Guide by 4ssaultBattery

Introduction

This guide is still underconstruction!

However because the basic concept is here, I've chosen to publish it

Please do not rate it unless you have read it, or used it.

Cho'Gath can be one of the meanest additions to your team if he is played correctly. Too often someone wants to play Cho'Gath and builds him with only tank class items. While this sounds like a wonderful idea, I believe that in the end game it will really hurt you and your team.

While Cho'Gath definitely needs the defense, he needs to build onto his AP also. The main reason we need a tank or off-tank is to sponge up that damage. What is the point in getting all of that defense if that Caitlyn keeps drilling your Kog'Maw and completely ignores you?
Our massive Void-dweller (with some well placed AP) can push lanes faster than any carry and make money like he just landed on Boardwalk the past 3 rolls, dish out one-hit-wonder damage like no one's business, and scare the opposition into a retreat with one well placed Rupture.

Pros / Cons

Pros +Wonderful AP Scaling +True Damage Ultimate +CC from Rupture and Feral Scream +CS from Rupture and Vorpal Spikes +Quick cooldowns +Can play Middle, Jungle, or Lane efficiently +Passively heals from any kill +Can stack up to 900 health from Feast!

Cons -Somewhat Squishy without items -Delay during Rupture -Lose half of your stacks on Feast upon death -Gets focused a lot -No real escape (mind Rupture) -Ugly

Runes

I would like to note that I prefer the flat damage in most all cases, because 15 ap early game is worth more than 23 is late game! Trying to sustain your lane and get ahead early can snowball your character ahead of the opposition.

Marks

This little guy here is going to make you a ton of money, especially early on which is really important so you don't fall behind. In combination with your Vorpal Spikes and Carnivore, this will help you get the early CS you need for gold as well as sustain your health and mana.

Alternatively

Greater Mark of Magic Penetration The only other mark I would use instead of the Greater Mark of Attack Speed. The extra magic penetration will help you do the extra bruising late game and will still help you get through the creeps quickly. The decision between these two is purely user preference.

---

Seals

greater seal of replenishment
Cho'Gath is a hungry hungry hippo when it comes to mana early game. His Rupture has a short cool down, a large demand of usage and a massive mana cost at 90 mana out of your starting 245. As long as you don't get too "trigger happy" with your Q, you should be able to use Rupture as often as you need it as well as a poke.

Alternatively

Greater Seal of Armor for early game survival.
Greater Seal of Ability Power for some really heavy hitting early game that will keep even the most tanky characters on their toes.[/list]

---

Glyphs

Let's get to doing some damage. Cho'Gath's skills scale very close to his AP and can hit really hard early game with just a small amount of AP attached to them. You will notice a huge difference when your Q is smacking that Volibear for 1/3 of his health. Especially when you've got your ult before he's reached level 5!

Alternatively

Greater Glyph of Magic Resist is the only other glyph I would recommend. In fact, I would suggest either of these strongly.

---

Quintessences

This is where the damage come from. A little AP on Cho'gath is going to boast some hard hits from him early game.

Alternatively

I honestly wouldn't suggest using any other Quintessences unless you want to go pure tank. In which case, I suggest finding another guide.

Masteries

I have chosen these Masteries because we want to do damage and we want to do it consistently.

Defense will come with the items. Our offense is what we need to focus on to draw the fire. Like I've said before, what's the point in trying to go tanky if you aren't going to get their attention?

Items

The items provided above are a general guideline assuming the other team has a very well balanced team. Your team should also know that you are not going to be the designated tank.

Also note that the second build will require much more consistency in keeping your stacks on Feast however will provide more AP and Armor.

Build Concepts

Beefy Bruiser

Still Beefy Bruiser

AP Sustain

Jungle

Vital to Build!!!

These are necessary to you for your farm capability and the obvious magic penetration.


Once this jagged canine has been added to your build (assuming you have the sorcerer's shoes and runes I suggested) your Rupture will demolish whole waves of minions in one pop as well as heal you for the value of Carnivore for each minion slain. Massive amounts of gold and XP will be thrown at you and the opposition will be much less likely to push your turret without any creeps taking the hits.

This will also really beef up your Vorpal Spikes and give you 25% Cooldown reduction for your Feast, bringing it down to nearly 45 seconds!

Now that we have our fists, it's time to bring on the health. You'll be stacking this armor incredibly fast since you are just blazing through the minions. Assuming you are using feast as often as possible, you should be stacking health like crazy also.


We all know what this little guy can do for you. It's essential in virtually any high AP build. While our AP isn't going to be going much higher than 300, it's still going to really beef up our abilities and we shouldn't bypass this item.

+Other Suggested items

This is strongly suggested because of it's armor value and sheerly because it's so cheap! However, if the opposition doesn't have much AD or they just aren't that threatening in that sense then I suggest moving on or replacing this item with something else.

Never underestimate the ability to withdraw. One of the greatest things you can do for yourself is survive and maintain your Feast stacks. This is much easier to do when you can eliminate virtually all CC.

These are a great alternative to the Sorcerer's Shoes, and the extra cooldown reduction will really help you blast your Rupture all over the place.

This wand here is going to help you survive some of their strongest casters as well as allowing your abilities to sear right through more of their defenses by reducing their Magic Resist by 20. If they don't have many casters, there are definitely better options.

Wow, I cannot even begin to say how awesome this works in this build if you don't have to go super tanky. If you find a way to go pure AP then I strongly suggest this. Your Rupture should be getting popped every 6 seconds late game, dealing upwards of 800-1000 damage if you build pure AP, as well as stunning and slowing them allowing for the utmost use of this item.

The amount of AP this offers along with the decent armor is nice. The active could potentially save you if used in a team fight, giving you a chance to survive long enough for your team to clear up your threat.

Everything we need in one item. If you opt for this I suggest getting it as early as possible due to the 10 minute stack it takes to max out the stats. Getting it near the end wont do much for you.

If you feel you want some more Magic Resist this is always a good option. The extra movement speed will help you pull off a few more feasts also. If their whole team is AP I suggest getting this instead of a Thornmail.

Alternative to a thornmail. It's also a wonderful item and will definitely help you with mana and survival. The only downside is it's more costly.

I don't strongly suggest this item, but early on it can help due to the removal of magic resistance, the attack speed, the AP, and the extra damage it does per hit help with your CS, but once you have a [[Nashor's Tooth] it won't really matter much.

In combination with Sorcerer's Shoes and an Abyssal Scepter you should be bypassing all but the highest Magic Resistance and be knocking their tanks on their butts.


I really like this item. The possibilities are amazing in combination with a will of the ancients and Carnivore. It's just really expensive. I suggest avoiding this item unless the game is just dragging on and you are looking to replace Abyssal Scepter for some spell vamp.


The last notable mention I would like to suggest. With this on, you should be healing by massive amounts using your Rupture ability on minion waves as well as just from participating in team fights.

-Items to avoid

Obviously, this is not what we want. Not only is it expensive, but none of our abilities scale with AD.

In fact, let's stay away from lifesteal altogether. The only one even viable would be the Hextech Gunblade. However do to the incredibly high cost of it, that should be avoided unless you are already well built.

This is a cool item, and it will pack on some extra Magic Resist. It's not a constant effect though, and doesn't increase your AP in any way. If you want to go the route of higher attack speed then I would suggest a Malady.

The passive on this is nice, but not enough to opt for it. We don't need the AD.

TOOOOOOO expensive and we don't need the passive.

Summoner Spells

Here are a few that I use and why.

I cannot stress enough how much I love using this on Cho'Gath. It will replenish his mana by a lot, even late game. Early on this will help you sustain your lane longer and avoid backing until you feel like you have enough gold, or that your lane is safe for the time you are gone.

Late game it's helpful in the team fight phase because it will also replenish your team, and you'll hear a lot less "OOM" as you'll notice.

Last, I must tell you how awesome it feels when someone is chasing you, thinking they have the upper hand and you use your Rupture to knock them up (assuming they don't have a ton of health either) and replenish your mana for a quick Feast. This will quickly save you from a ton of scary situations as well as earn you a few tricky kills.


Sneak in those last hits summoners! Also, slow down the healing on some of those annoying champs that just won't crack under the pressure you are applying.


Since Cho'Gath doesn't really have a dedicated escape it is always suggested to use flash. I can't think of any experienced players that would ever ridicule you for choosing this spell on almost any champion.


Because of your ability to literally mow over minions, you're highly capable of making valuable turret saves if one of your teammates needs a hand. I don't know if Cho'Gath has any hands but he definitely has more than enough appendages to help out. :)


If you plan on playing a jungle, this is always necessary. In conjunction with your Feast which will do 1000 true damage to minions, you'll basically have two of them on hand!


Need to get away? If you can pull off a well timed Rupture this spell could get you out of a hairy situation or lure an unsuspecting victim into a nastier one.


If you are the kind of person that fears CC, then I'd stick with this and a Flash or Ghost. They'll keep you out of unwanted trouble and focus.

Skill Sequence

What They Are and When to Level

Passive: Whenever Cho'Gath kills a unit, he recovers 32 + (2 x level) health and 3.25 + (0.25 x level) mana. Max: 68 HP and 7.75 Mana per kill.

This ability doesn't really help too much later on until you are one hitting whole waves of minions. If you can use your Rupture and take out 12 minions, you're recovering 816 HP and 93 Mana. This is why I prefer clarity over heal. A Will of the Ancients will massively boost the HP recovery also.



Cho'Gath stomps the ground, causing the target area to quake with the animation being visible to both teams. After 0.65 seconds, spikes emerge at the location. Enemy units in the area immediately take magic damage and are knocked up for 1 second, and when they land are slowed.

I cannot stress how important this ability is to your Champion. If you play Cho'Gath correctly this will do just as much damage as Feast mind the true damage as well as having a much faster cooldown, being an AOE, a short stun and a slow.

Beware of the delay, it's somewhere around one second between targeting and hitting target. It won't take much practice and you should be hitting most of these. However even the most seasoned Cho'Gath players will miss this from time to time as it gives the enemy a full second to react to the red AOE circle and dodge it. Smarter players will even try and trick you into popping it and changing direction at the last second.

It has a wonderful AP scale of 1.0!!! So every bit of AP you pump into Cho'Gath, he will spew back out at his opponents in the form of a massive CC ability.

Another great aspect of this spell is that as you level it, the damage goes up but the mana cost remains at 90! So while it's expensive early game it's relatively easy to spam consistently late game.

If you are being chased, it can be a good idea to place the AOE between yourself and your pursuer in chances that they will turn around to avoid it, or get caught up in it. Keep in mind that there will be a split second where Cho'Gath will have to pause to cast the spell before he can continue fleeing.

Useful in team fights, cast it constantly to help teammates flee, or cast it in the middle of the melee to stun as many enemies as you can hit as well as doing the damage we've already outlined.

Being able to use it through walls is another great thing about this ability. With some decent AP and good timing/map awareness you can steal that Dragon or buff from an opposing team and by the time they know any better, you would have fled back to a turret.

If the turret you are currently defending is being attacked, it's never a bad idea to use Rupture on an enemy within range of the turret to keep them within it's attacks.

One last note about this ability is that you can use it just outside of it's perimeter. If you click outside of the circle that is designated within range (not very far outside of it) you can pull it off without even moving.

USE IT OFTEN

Cho'Gath screams in a cone in front of him, dealing magic damage to all enemies in the cone, and silencing them for a few seconds.

This ability is more useful in the silence. It will last longer as you level it up to 3 seconds of silence. Which is an incredibly long time if you are a victimized caster.

Personally, I use it more to prevent people from escaping if I catch them by surprise. Also it's useful during your Rupture's cooldown to dish out an extra hit before you pop them up again and keep them in range.

Another wonderful combo is what I call the "pop-silence-nom." Kidding, I don't call it that. It does exist though.

Q

Rupture

W

Feral Scream

R

Feast
on someone as soon as they step into a bush with you. Late game this will do somewhere between 800-1800 damage depending on how exactly you've built Cho'Gath all while keeping them stunned, silenced, and slowed for a few seconds.

Feral Scream is also one of your best friends if you decide to play Middle Lane. However since the range on it is relatively short as it's a cone, it's much harder to silence certain Champions such as LeBlanc, Kassadin or Lux.

Use it often in team fights, if you are in close to keep the other team from using their more powerful abilities on your allies and to prevent enemies from fleeing or healing.



Toggle: Whenever Cho'gath performs a basic attack, he will launch spikes which deal magic damage to all enemies in a line in front of him.

This ability is awesome. For the longest time I would choose this as my first ability over Rupture because Rupture was so costly especially at level one. However I changed my mind due to the fact that rupture really is so useful.

Back to Vorpal Spikes. It's wonderful for your creep score. It's free to cast, so the toggle should never be turned off unless you are hitting a turret and an enemy champion is within range of the spikes. You don't want to strike through the turret to hit them and receive the agro of the turret! I can't tell you how many times I made this mistake when I was newer to the game and Champion.

The spikes do decent damage and you will notice how much better your auto-attacks are the moment you gain the ability. It scales with a small 0.3 AP however because you should have bought the Nashor's Tooth you'll be using it quite a bit and will mow through minions with it.

(Active): Devours a target nearby enemy unit dealing true damage. Feast always deals 1000 true damage to minions and monsters. If the target is killed, Cho'Gath grows and gains extra health. This effect stacks up to 6 times and Cho'Gath loses half his stacks rounded up upon death.

This ability has an awesome AP scale of 0.7, which means eventually if you build high AP your Rupture will be doing more damage. However, because this does true damage and has such a short cooldown it should not be forgotten. You will see many "WTF Cho?!" messages coming your way when you eat a Dr. Mundo at LvL 6.

You also gain Maximum HP for each stack of Feast you receive upon killing any enemy using this ability. Each stack will grant you up to 150 HP at a maximum of 6 stacks, equal to a whopping 900 HP! Make sure you use this often and once again, with the power of Nashor's Tooth you'll have a 25% cooldown reduction taking this awesome Ultimate down to 45 seconds!

If you need to go back and buy an item or heal up, I suggest using Feast on a minion (if you don't have a full stack of 6) before you back. Only if this is reasonable, obviously you don't want to step out and get yourself killed. With the short cooldown there is little reason not to use this ability before you back. Once you have full stacks you should only use it when it's necessary in combat.

Upon death you will lose half of your stacks (rounded up, sadly) on Feast so if you have a full stack your maximum health will drop by 450 HP! Do not let these deaths snowball or else you will obviously get weaker and weaker by a large amount.

This will also help to ensure baron nashor , dragon or other buff kills because it does 1000 true damage to minions!

A side note, the stacks make you massive and it's really awesome if Lulu uses her buffs on you to make you even bigger!

Team Work, Laning, and Jungling

Laning

It's nice if you can stick with someone that has a ranged auto-attack, so you don't have to worry so much during the laning phase about someone coming right up to you and smacking you up a bit. Don't worry about the ranged AD getting most of the CS either, you'll be getting plenty with your Rupture and Vorpal Spikes. I suggest Clarity and Ignite for laning with a teammate.

Try to stand back and poke them with your Rupture as often as you can without leaving yourself completely drained. You'll need that mana to save your teammate or yourself in a sticky situation. Clarity will help here.

If a Jungle happens to creep in on you, the first thing you should do is Rupture directly under the allied champion that will be receiving the agro. That way the unsuspecting Jungle will get stunned and slowed giving you and your teammate time to escape. It is acceptable to place the Rupture elsewhere depending on the situation.

PUSH PUSH PUSH. You should be wiping out most of the creeps faster than the opposing laners. This means, should you not have to worry about ganks or other risks, that your lane should be one of the first to destroy an enemy turret. Once you get that turret out of the way, start pushing the other lanes while still ensuring yours will not be taken. This is a good time to have a Teleport spell handy.

If you are on the same side as the golem it's also going to be relatively easy for you to go back and grab golem for your Feast stacks. You can also use Feast to finish the dragon off quickly if you are bottom.

Middle Lane

This can be quite tough, but if done correctly can lead to middle turret being destroyed quickly. If you don't have a jungle, be very very careful not to go much past river unless all enemy Champions are accounted for. Rupture is a nice escape plan but if you miss, chances are you're going to be destroyed quickly. I suggest Clarity and Flash to lane in Middle.

Feral Scream is going to be very useful here and you should consider leveling it up quicker than the skill sequence provides (at least up to level 3). You'll want to keep the opposition quiet. A good strategy to do this, provided you have the mana and mana regen to support it, is to use Rupture on the enemy to get closer and sneak in a silence. They should feel a bit of hurt and intimidation from the combo and be a little more defensive, giving you room to farm. This is very useful on Champions that have a lot of range.

Watch for the ganks. You're going to be making a lot of money so you should be buying the wards you need to cover the brush on both sides. If you can keep an open eye out and keep your opponent pressed against their turret you shouldn't have much of a problem.

I suggest not getting in and doing damage to their turret unless you know all opposing Champions are currently preoccupied and are well out of range. You should wait until you have a teammate with you in mid to really get in and do damage to those nasty statues. Remember, your job is to make sure your turret isn't taken. Your team's job is to make sure their turrets are.

Solo Top

This is a lot like working the middle lane with strategy. You won't have to worry about ganks as much because they will usually only come from river. A common situation you will have the most trouble with would be that their team has no Jungle. In which case you should be very careful not to push past river, regardless of any worry about ganking. I suggest Clarity and Flash for a Solo Top.

Remember that you need only defend your turret, you do not need to push until you know you are secure to do so. I suggest bringing Clarity and Flash if you are going to solo top. If you are on Red Buff Side remember to grab golem for your Feast stack as often as you get a chance, and always remember to feast before you back. Every bit of health is going to help against the opposition.

In a worst case scenario, being 2v1 up top, you'll have to hug your turret hard. This isn't a bad thing though, as you'll still be capable of poking minions with your Rupture ability. If you have Clarity you'll also have much less trouble with the enemies trying to dive you simply because the damage you'll be doing to them at range. If an enemy does dive you after level 6, use the mentioned QWR, or Pop-Silence-Nom to do major damage to them under your turret while giving them a brief stun/silence/slow. The turret should be able to handle the rest.

Build a good balance between AP and Defense while playing Solo Top. Don't just rush your Nashor's Tooth and hope for the best, you'll need to make sure you have some defense to back you up, as well as offense to keep them from wanting to get too close.

Jungle

This is by far the hardest way to play Cho'Gath. With the runes I have selected, you will almost always need a hard leash. Your leash should always be blue. Once you get through, with your preference in Wolves-Blue or Blue-Wolves, you should move to Wraiths-Golems-Red-Gank. I suggestyou carry Smite and Flash to jungle.

When ganking, you should always ping or inform your teammate to be ready. Your best ganking tool is going to be Rupture and the ability to use it from out of sight. Engage by launching the enemy up with Rupture from the brush, another side of a nearby wall or from the fog of war. Run in and silence them directly afterwards. If done correctly (and the Champion is pushed out far enough) you should have slowed them and disabled their escapes.

If you have your ultimate, you should almost always (unless you have a full stack of Feast) save it to get the killing blow. Still remember to use it to get your stacks while moving through the jungle. You'll get them much faster this way.

You should be able to clear the monsters relatively quickly when you have gotten your Fiendish Codex as well as maintain your mana much more efficiently. Always engage the monsters with your Rupture first as it will stun them and promote a self provided leash.

What You Counter and What Counters You

As with all Champions you are going to run into some brick walls that you will just not agree with. It's best to plan around these and to understand why they will give you problems. The best offense is a great defense, so they say.

For example: if you are playing against a Warwick that seems to be using Infinite Duress for some major ganking, a Quicksilver Sash will completely surprise him when he tries to suppress you and is thrown into the air with a Rupture.

Counters

Beware the long ranged mages.

This class of character isn't going to be impossible for you to beat, however they are going to put more pressure on you than a cat in a dog show. Be careful when playing these characters, and I strongly suggest getting your Magic Resist and a Quicksilver Sash as soon as you possibly can. As an example I have chosen Kassadin to explain some of the problems you will run across with this kind of opponent.

This Champion has it all. It's obvious after laning against him your first time why he is usually banned in draft pick. Not only is his Null Sphere a long range targeting silence, it does a lot of damage. His Nether Blade will constantly replenish his mana if you can't zone him well.

As scary as he sounds, we've yet to discuss the two things that will really keep you under pressure. His Force Pulse will lay on the hurt while slowing you. Combined with Null Sphere he will virtually eliminate any escape plan you may have planned. Don't forget Riftwalk. Once Kassadin reaches level 6, he's going to be all over the place. You will almost never land a rupture on him and if he has you within low health he will certainly pull of a quick hit to take you out.

Many of the Range Mage Champs you'll be up against will have abilities like these, being a form of powerful and damaging CC, a quick escape and a way to replenish themselves.

Be aware of what these Champions do. Since most of them are rather squishy, you can assume if they really start to push hard that they have reinforcements very near.

Never, ever chase them through their own jungle either. Especially Kassadin as he will be using Riftwalk to virtually Flash through most barriers and back onto you for massive damage.

Avoid the AD Carry[/3]

This breed of warrior is here to lend you a horrid headache. Most of them will have abilities or items to keep you within range and far from retreat. All the while hitting you quickly and healing themselves along the way.

A Frozen Heart and Warmog's Armor are your two best friends, with a close third going to Thornmail. You should do your best to stay out of range of these characters while poking them as often as you can, maintain some mana for retreat and do not push against them alone.

Also look out for the Ranged AD Carry. These ones usually are a bit squishier but will keep you zoned early game. Let the minions come to you and use your Rupture out of the opponents range to focus the minions while poking the Champion once and again. I've chosen Tryndamere as an example.

This guy boasts a heal, high damage, a slow, and of course his infamous invincibility. blood lust is going to keep him coming at you punch for punch so you won't be getting too far in your pushes, especially after he hits level 6. Make sure to use your Rupture to zone him and keep him from sustaining his rage while using your Vorpal Spikes and Carnivore to sustain your own mana.

When he is coming at you full force, your first instinct is going to be turning to run. The worst thing you can do is just that. Stay in place, since he is melee, and use your Rupture at your own feet to throw him into the air and slow him. This way he cannot use Mocking Shout on you until he is already slowed by your ability, and well out of your range after the launch you have exposed him to. If at all possible, directly after placing your Rupture and before it pops, use Feral Scream to silence Tryndamere and prevent him from using Spinning Slash to chase you.

Last, he is very likely to chase you under your turret. This isn't always a bad thing. If you can use Feral Scream to silence him and prevent him from using Undying Rage to survive the dive, you can use Rupture to launch him and slow him within the turrets vicinity for a nice amount of... discouragement, or a Feast under the cozy warmth of an allied statue. Rupture is also a nice way to hit him after the Undying Rage has faded and get that last hit he knows you want without getting near him.

A lot of these melee Champions will have abilities that will keep you within their range, as well as allow them to poke you under your turret. You mustn't let their minions come too close to the turret unless you have a plethora of mana at your disposal.

Summary

I hope that you've found this guide to be helpful. I feel like it was somewhat rushed, and I will be back to update it provided I can think of anything that I missed.

Cho'Gath can be one of the greatest assets to your team, and I believe he is very underestimated mainly due to most people playing him pure tank.

He may not always get the most kills, if played correctly he will always be one of the main reasons your team pushed through the defenses.

Good luck, have fun, and OM NOM NOM NOMG!