5/29/12: Added more depth to the text, colors and revised items a bit. Added a new build, more coming, these are just possible item choices.

Darius is a high-damage, tanky champion with an instantly refreshing TRUE DAMAGE ultimate on execution. He also has a slow, bleed over time passive, and a pretty nice pull as well.

Used properly, Darius can carry a game himself WHILE tanking nearly all of the enemy team's damage.

The items shown above are an example of a typical game I would play with Darius. Obviously, depending on the game and match-up, you will want to deviate from the build to be optimal against the enemy team.

THIS GUIDE IS STILL A WORK-IN-PROGRESS, IT WILL BE UPDATED FREQUENTLY, THANK YOU!

Pretty standard, I take one Swiftness Quint for a little boost in speed, ARMOR yellows and MR blues. Reds have 3 ARMOR PEN and 6 PHYSICAL DAMAGE along with 2 PHYSICAL damage Quint for maximized early-mid game damage. Built with sustain, these have proven very strong for Darius. I would not suggest taking mana regen anything, because Darius is not as mana dependent as other top solo champions.

6 Greater Mark of Attack Damage
3 Greater Mark of Desolation
9 Greater Seal of Armor
9 Greater Glyph of Magic Resist
2 Greater Quintessence of Attack Damage
1 Greater Quintessence of Movement Speed

21-9-0. 9 in Defense for the extra HP and armor/MR for lane sustainability. 21 in Offense for more damage and a little bit of life-steal.

Decimate level 1 for the damage and harass, followed by Crippling Strike at 2 and Apprehend at 4 and Noxian Guillotine at 6.

Max order: (R when you can) Q > W > E.

Flash for escape and/or gap-closing, Ignite for damage-over-time that stacks with his passive bleed. Ghost can be substituted if you like, as well as Exhaust or Teleport if you really want to farm.

PROS:

[*] Strong damage throughout the entire game

[*] Insane ultimate which deals true damage and stacks with passive (20% per stack of bleed)

[*] With sustain, pushes most tops out of lane with ease

[*] Great for team-fights and disruption

CONS:

[*] No sustain until Wriggle's Lantern

[*] No hard CC

[*] Must position to use Q effectively

[*] Need stacks of passive to use ult to full potential

[*] Not the tankiest solo top

List of Effective Items:

Wriggle's Lantern
Mercury's Treads / Ninja Tabi
Bloodthirster
Frozen Mallet / Warmog's Armor
Atma's Impaler
Guardian Angel
Trinity Force in certain situations
Randuin's Omen
Force of Nature
Executioner's Calling

Last-hit minions, ward river and tri-bush if needed. Try not to over-extend and get ganked. Always keep your CS higher than your opponent's if possible. Push lane to their tower before Blue Pill.