Hello all. I love playing Darius and i hope that yall find him as enjoyable as i do. With the way i build him he is extremely resistant to damage while still dealing his fair share of damage. Feel free to leave me a comment and tell me how you feel about my guide and how it plays.

Pros:
Very strong early game
Snow balls very easily
Very strong late game if played well early
Multi use ultimate.
very strong passive
gap closing pull

Cons:
No built in escapes
Players will say you "KS" (I think that's Bull. Either way, to me KS= Kill Secured.)

Marks: I use the Attack Damage marks for one reason: They make Darius hit extremely hard early on.

Seals: I use the Armor seals. Most players use these Seals on all of their champions and i really like them for Darius since we are trying to build him as an off tank.

Glyphs: I use the Magic Resist glyphs for the same reason that i use the Armor seals.

Quints: I use the Attack damage Quints. Combined with the marks 16.75 AD really does make a difference in the early game.
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I use the 9/21/0 Mastery.

In the offensive tree:

4/4 sorcery: It gives you 4% Cooldown reduction. Darius depends a lot on his abilities to do damage so anything that resets them faster is a plus for me.
4/4 Deadliness: +12 AD at lvl 18: More Attack damage is always a plus
1/1 Weapon Expertise : you ignore 8 percent of the targets armor. Stacks with the passive of your

In the Defensive tree:

4/4 Durability 108 health at lvl 18. More health is always a plusand i cant tell you how many times i have come within that much of dieing.
3/3 Hardiness +5 armor. Every little bit helps.
1/3 Resistance +2 Magic Resist. Same as Hardiness
2/2 Unyielding Reduces damage taken from champions by 2. This may not seem like a lot but it might help you survive
2/2 Relentless reduces the effectiveness of slows by 15%. Stacks with Merc treads and will absolutely save your life if your getting ganked.
1/1 Veteran's Scars +30 health. Always take more health
1/1 Safeguard reduces damage taken from turrets by 5%. This will allow you a little leeway when tower diving for a kill.
3/3 juggernaut increases maximum health by 4%. Again its like a broken record but you cant beat more health
1/1 Block reduces damage taken from champion basic attacks by 3. Again it may not seem like much but every little bit helps keep you alive and getting kills.
1/1 Defender grants 1 armor and 1 magic resist for every nearby enemy champion. This is a useful ability because if you're paying attention it can alert you whether a gank is coming.
1/1 Reinforced armor reduces damage taken from critical strikes by 10%. This can make all the difference in the world when going up against ADCs
1/1 Honor Guard reduces damage taken by 3%. Doesnt seem like much but when an adc is criting for 1k that 30 dmg might just save your life.

Flash and ignite are fantastic for Darius.

Flash: I use flash for many different things. You can use flash to set up your pull if your enemy is getting away. You can also flash through some walls (that will really annoy the enemy champions your fighting). A lot of the time i try to save it for when the ganks come. and they will come. The rest of their team will get tired of you picking on their poor defenseless top laner. When that happens just flash out to your turret and let them tower dive.

Ignite: I love ignite. It does true damage based on your level. Against some top laners it is an absolute must (Tryndamer and Volibear) Against Volibear it will cancel out his passive and allow you to kill him much easier. Against Tryndamere if you cast it at the end of his undying rage it will kill him as he spins away ( be patient and do not cast it too early). Ignite will allow you to secure a kill you otherwise wouldn't be able too.

These are the only two summoner spells that i find viable on Darius.

Passive: Hemorrhage


Explanation:
Darius' basic attacks and damaging abilities cause enemies to bleed for 12 / 15 / 18 / 21 / 24 / 27 / 30 / 33 / 36 (+ 30% Bonus AD) magic damage over 5 seconds. This stacks up to 5 times for a maximum of 60 / 75 / 90 / 105 / 120 / 135 / 150 / 165 / 180 (+ 150% Bonus AD) magic damage over the duration.
Darius gains 5% movement speed for each bleeding enemy champion.

Darius' Passive. Causes his target to bleed. Stacks up to 5 times. Very important to get as many stacks on your opponent as the more you have the more damage your ULT does. Your Q and W apply this as well as your basic attacks.


Q: Decimate
Explanation:

ACTIVE: Darius swings his axe, dealing physical damage to all nearby enemies in a circle around him.
RADIUS OF SHAFT: 270
SHAFT PHYSICAL DAMAGE: 70 / 105 / 140 / 175 / 210 (+ 70% Bonus AD)
Champions in the outer half of the ability are struck by the blade, taking 50% additional damage.
RADIUS OF BLADE: 270-425
BLADE PHYSICAL DAMAGE: 105 / 157.5 / 210 / 262.5 / 315 (+ 105% Bonus AD)

This should always be the first skill you take and the first one that you max. You swing your ax in a circle doing damage to all in range. The enemies that are further out take more damage than the ones that would get hit by the handle of the ax. This also applies Hemorrhage to all enemies hit.

You want to try to angle this so that the enemy champions are at ax range. When i pull someone i attack with W and basic attacks until they try to run then use my Q.


W: Crippling Strike


Explanation:
ACTIVE: Darius' next basic attack deals additional damage and slows the target's movement and attack speed for 2 seconds. Crippling Strike's base cooldown is reduced by 1 second for each stack of Hemorrhage on the target.

TOTAL PHYSICAL DAMAGE: 120% / 140% / 160% / 180% / 200% AD
SLOW: 20% / 25% / 30% / 35% / 40%

If the enemy is a melee champion take this ability second if Ranged take third. Always max this second

This ability can make or break a solo fight. Try to use it after a pull or when an opponent starts to run away.

E: Apprehend

Explanation:

PASSIVE: Darius gains armor penetration.
ARMOR PENETRATION: 5% / 10% / 15% / 20% / 25%
ACTIVE: Darius pulls in all enemies in front of him

If Enemy Champion is Ranged take this second, if Melee take this third. Max last

This ability makes Darius a nightmare to deal with. The armor penetration makes a world of difference and the pull while it has limited range pulls all enemies in range to him. Flashing and pulling is a great way to keep enemies from escaping.

R: Noxian Guillotine

Explanation:
ACTIVE: Darius leaps to target enemy champion and strikes a lethal blow, dealing true damage.
TRUE DAMAGE: 160 / 250 / 340 (+ 75% Bonus AD)
For each stack of Hemorrhage on the target, Noxian Guillotine deals an additional 20% damage.
When Noxian Guillotine kills the target, it can be recast within the next 12 seconds. This can occur multiple times in succession.
MAXIMUM TRUE DAMAGE: 320 / 500 / 680 (+ 150% Bonus AD)

This ability is what makes Darius so much fun. If used to kill a champion it can be recast again within 12 seconds and resets on every champion kill. This lets Darius just smash though team fights. It also makes him a target which is why i build him tanky.

Max this as soon as possible and always take a point in this when you get the chance ( levels: 6, 11, 16)

I start out with the 2 Rejuvenation Bead and 3 health pots. This will keep you in lane longer than your opponent and you dont have to sell them later since they build into Warmog's Armor. Your probably asking why not Boots. Well as darius you shouldnt be running away from a fight and once your level 3 your pull + flash can lead to early kills anyway. I prefer the sustain from the Beads.

Black Cleaver is an absolute must with Darius. The Armor Pen stacks with the passive from his E.

Warmog's Armor makes Darius extremely tanky early game. The health Regen can save your life

Mercury's Treads Are the best boots in the Game and the Reduction of CC is very important for Darius

Randuin's Omen Provides a good amount of health and armor as well as a passive slow for every attack you recieve. It also provides a useful active slow.

Maw of Malmortius This item gives Darius everything he could want: Magic resist, flat attack damage, attack damage for missing health, and a shield that has saved my life multiple times.

Atma's Impaler I love this item. It is what really brings this build together. The armor and Crit chance are nice and the Attack damage bonus will be 60+.

When at full build you will have over 4k health, 200+ armor, 115+ magic resist, 325+ attack damage.

You want to play aggressively with Darius. Use your Q to keep the enemy champion away from your creeps. Dont use your Q to last hit minions. That will push the lane to their tower. Which means you cant get to his minions and are more susceptible to ganks.

This is pretty simple. On your first time back buy wards. They will save your life. You dont have the escape to get yourself out of a gank. A Darius that is alive >>>>>>>>>>> 75 G.
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Your going to want to help your team out as much as possible. Specifically the Mid lane. Oce players reach lvl 10 they tend to gravitate towards trying to push mid. If you see that the other team is pushing mid dont continue to farm. Go and help your team. Remember Towers>>> minions. If you can push a tower without getting ganked do it.

You will want to stay together with your team. Being alone will get you picked off and will put your team at a distinct advantage. Never go after Baron unless your sure the enemy team cant get to you in time. Push when they do and do your best to defend the squishies on your team. The less damage your ADC and APCs take during team fights the better chance you have of an ACE.

This is where Darius is really fun. He can single-handedly change a team fight with his ult. his Q will do a high amount of damage and the way we build him will make him hell to deal with. Start with their ADC or their APC, whichever is more fed and will hurt your team the most. Work your way down from there. Always kill the support and Tank last. I will explain the use of your ULT in the team fight in the next chapter.

Darius ult is one of the most effective in the game. It can be used more than once if used properly.

REMEMBER THIS: The more stacks of Hemorrhage (your passive) that you have on an enemy champion the more damage your ULT will do.

In a single enemy fight you can use your ULT as soon as you get 5 stacks drop ignite and walk away= easy kill.

In a team fight you have to pay more attention to when you use it. You only want to use it on champions that you are absolutely sure of a killing blow. This will reset the use of it for 11 seconds.

IMPORTANT: If you have already used your ULT and achieved a killing blow but are about to die Use your ult on the champion that does the most damage. It does you and your team no good to leave it unused. It could be the difference in an ACE for your team.

These are my last 3 games i will add more later.

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17 kills 9 deaths 16 assists CS: 186


23 kills 3 deaths 12 assists CS: 217


24 kills 8 deaths 15 assists CS: 138

I hope you enjoyed my Guide and if you have any comments or questions feel free to ask. Thanks for reading.