Click to open network menu
Join or Log In
Mobafire logo

Join the leading League of Legends community. Create and share Champion Guides and Builds.

Create an MFN Account






Or

MOBAFire's first Mini Guide Contest of Season 14 is here! Create or update guides for the 30 featured champions and compete for up to $200 in prizes! 🏆
Not Updated For Current Season

This guide has not yet been updated for the current season. Please keep this in mind while reading. You can see the most recently updated guides on the browse guides page

x
Gangplank Build Guide by Kyle Campbell

Gangplank Comprehensive 6.17 - *Updated 25 August, 2016*

Gangplank Comprehensive 6.17 - *Updated 25 August, 2016*

Updated on June 30, 2015
8.3
55
Votes
7
Vote Vote
League of Legends Build Guide Author Kyle Campbell Build Guide By Kyle Campbell 55 7 627,272 Views 21 Comments
55 7 627,272 Views 21 Comments League of Legends Build Guide Author Kyle Campbell Gangplank Build Guide By Kyle Campbell Updated on June 30, 2015
x
Did this guide help you? If so please give them a vote or leave a comment. You can even win prizes by doing so!
Vote
Comment

You must be logged in to comment. Please login or register.

I liked this Guide
I didn't like this Guide
Commenting is required to vote!
Would you like to add a comment to your vote?

Your votes and comments encourage our guide authors to continue
creating helpful guides for the League of Legends community.

Choose Champion Build:

  • LoL Champion: Gangplank
    Overview and Balance Example
  • LoL Champion: Gangplank
    Tank
  • LoL Champion: Gangplank
    CDR
  • LoL Champion: Gangplank
    Critplank
  • LoL Champion: Gangplank
    Solo Top
  • LoL Champion: Gangplank
    ARAM
  • LoL Champion: Gangplank
    Twisted Treeline
  • LoL Champion: Gangplank
    Dominion
  • LoL Champion: Gangplank
    AP
  • LoL Champion: Gangplank
    Jungle

Spells:

LoL Summoner Spell: Exhaust

Exhaust

LoL Summoner Spell: Flash

Flash

Threats & Synergies

Threats Synergies
Extreme Major Even Minor Tiny
Show All
None Low Ok Strong Ideal
Extreme Threats
Ideal Synergies
Synergies
Ideal Strong Ok Low None

Introduction

This is a comprehensive guide to GP, its not the 1st guide I've made but it will be the 1st one that I publish. If you find it more useful than the others then feel free to thumbs it up.

That said, lets get down to business. The point behind this guide is to take all of the various ways people build GP and put them under 1 all encompassing guide. Ive heard some people mention a support build, but I have not seen 1, and frankly without the ability to shield or heal teammates, I don't really think its fair to assign that title. However, if you know of a good support build guide, or have one of your own let me know and I'll try it out, and if it goes well then I'll try to work it in.
Back to Top

Why so many Builds?

Simply put, he is every bit as deadly with high crit as he is high dmg, or armor penn, or CDR, or jungling, or AP, or even as an off-tank. Frankly this was as condensed as I could make it considering the options available.

So from left to right as you see it on your screen the order is:



Balance - best overall design in my opinion, hearty, high crit, high dmg, and enough mana and cdr to keep pelting your enemy.

Tank - It's a tank build, do I really need to explain this to you? If so then go Warmog's Armor, Righteous Fury, or Frozen Mallet with Thornmail, Randuin's Omen, or Frozen Heart.

CDR - High mana, and CDR, this works great because at 40% CDR, Manamune has the same cooldown as Parrrley. The dmg passive on top of the rest will leave you at just shy of 300 ad. This is a fun build if you're good with your Ult, and staying in every team fight.

Crit - This is a commonly played version, simply because it makes Parrrley ridiculously powerful. You normally see that most of your trolls and noobies like this build, but can not play well with him. I can attest that this build is phenomenal in the right hands, it's just that unskilled players tend to give it a bad reputation.

Solo Top - This one is designed both for sustainability, and recovery. A small sacrifice in defensive mastery for some utility and the use of Teleport allow you to recall without risk, and re-secure top very easily if you're taken down. Aside from the Mastery it builds a lot like balance, but the order focuses more evenly on offense and defense at the same time. Throw in a Manamune], and use a Guardian Angel over Banshee's Veil, and there should be no reason top should ever fall.

Jungle - It's a jungle build, need I say more. Stalker's Blade - Juggernaut or Skirmisher's Sabre - Warrior, Utility Mastery, and Murder and Mayhem abound.

AP - Obviously a fun troll build, still VERY viable surprisingly. Just don't forget your heal, your ult, or Deathfire Grasp's Active, they will make or break a fight using this build.

Dominion - Obviously this is made with CDR in mind. Everything happens faster on the Crystal Scar, be sure you can keep up with the flow of the fight. I find that Garrison is a great summoner spell in conjunction with Cannon Barrage. It makes for a GREAT defensive line for towers that are just out of reach. I used scaling Armor Greater Seal of Scaling Armor on Dominion only because you get to 18 so fast that you shouldn't be punished too hard for the slightly reduced armor, and you will have more Armor than you would with flat runes at lvl 10.

Twisted Treeline - This build is made for maximizing damage output for the remake using the new Twisted Treeline gear, and the newly available Barrier Spell that has been so popular in proving grounds, and the classic approach to effective gangplank play. Like always you want to harass early game with Parrrley and then support teammates by keeping the enemies bogged down with Grog Soaked Blade and Cannon Barrage while speeding your team along using Raise Morale. Naturally, crit and high dmg are your friend.

ARAM - This build is made for early level survival, instead of stacking 2 points in Parrrley and 1 in Raise Morale. Put 1 point in each skill so that you have a full suite of skills for the first few minutes of gameplay. You may miss out on one of those last hits, but you'll thank me when an OP Reckoning or Death Sentence put you in for a serious hurting. Aside from that simple fix, as always, playing smart is much more likely to save you than my guide will.
Back to Top

Pros / Cons

Pros


+ Has VERY diverse build options from the same base.
+ One of the hardest hitting level 1 spells.
+ His Parrrley adds melee on-hit effects.
+ Remove Scurvy Removes all movement debuffs.
+ Cannon Barrage is also a Cross Map/LARGE AOE slow Ultimate.
+ Did I mention hes a freakin PIRATE!!!

Cons


- Balancing between crit with everything else lol.
- Tends to get focused in team fights.
- Remove Scurvy has a pretty long Cooldown.
- Short range on Parrrley .
Back to Top

Runes, Masteries & Skills - Quick Guide

The Basics


The basic rundown per build, I wrote this in for those of you who already know how to play gangplank, and just want the build info without all the reading.


Balance

Runes

Precision
Fleet Footwork
Phase Rush


Ability Sequence
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Invisible text!
Invisible text!Invisible text!

Tank

Runes

Precision
Fleet Footwork
Phase Rush


Ability Sequence
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Invisible text!
Invisible text!Invisible text!

CDR

Runes

Precision
Fleet Footwork
Phase Rush


Ability Sequence
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Invisible text!
Invisible text!Invisible text!

Crit

Runes

Precision
Fleet Footwork
Phase Rush


Ability Sequence
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Invisible text!
Invisible text!Invisible text!

Solo Top

Runes

Precision
Fleet Footwork
Phase Rush


Ability Sequence
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Invisible text!
Invisible text!Invisible text!

ARAM

Runes

Precision
Fleet Footwork
Phase Rush


Ability Sequence
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Invisible text!
Invisible text!Invisible text!

Twisted Treeline

Runes

Precision
Fleet Footwork
Phase Rush


Ability Sequence
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Invisible text!
Invisible text!Invisible text!

Dominion

Runes

Precision
Fleet Footwork
Phase Rush


Ability Sequence
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Invisible text!
Invisible text!Invisible text!

AP

Runes

Sorcery
Phase Rush


Ability Sequence
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Invisible text!
Invisible text!Invisible text!

Jungle

Runes

Precision
Fleet Footwork
Phase Rush


Ability Sequence
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Back to Top

Runes

Balance

Runes

Precision
Fleet Footwork
Phase Rush

Greater Mark of Attack Damage will give you a good head start early game, while 3 Greater Quintessence of Critical Damage are a great way to stack a little more dmg onto Parrrley and your auto attack. The stand defence seals and glyphs will add a great deal of sustain for the early game.

Tank

Runes

Precision
Fleet Footwork
Phase Rush

Adding greater mark of armor penetration is a great way to piss off the competition late game, and the Greater Quintessence of Health will help you to stay alive a little longer early game while you build into your tankier items. With this build its not a bad idea to go with a gold per 5 item or 2 for greater sustain. If you do, I would recommend Avarice Blade simply because it can be built into a higher tier item that works great with Gangplank.


CDR

Runes

Precision
Fleet Footwork
Phase Rush

This build is made for constant harass, Greater Glyph of Scaling Cooldown Reduction is a great way to churn out Parrrley quickly and repeatedly. This build is best served on bot with a either a tank or a support that can keep you up and in the fight for as long as possilbe. It is great for keeping the enemies pushed to their turret, forcing them to starve for minion farm. This is also probably your best 2nd choice for soloing top because it allows you to constantly poke any would be tower divers, and the Greater Seal of Attack Speed will let you get at least 1-2 more hits on them and slow them to a crawl, at which point the tower will do all the work for you. If you feel the need to take your CDR to the full 40% then you would do well to trade in Manamune for a Youmuu's Ghostblade.


Crit

Runes

Precision
Fleet Footwork
Phase Rush

This build is hands down, one of the most brutal early game builds out there. With Greater Mark of Critical Chance and a Brawler's Gloves you get 16% crit right out of the gate. At 10 minutes you should have close to 2000 gold (even if you haven't killed any champs yet), and by that time you should have spent it on an Avarice Blade (800) and Zeal (1000). These items in combination with the runes will give you 36% crit by the 10 minute mark, and it only gets easier from there. This build sacrifices your Greater Seal of Armor so be careful on how far you extend for a cheap poke, they might poke back.


Solo Top

Runes

Precision
Fleet Footwork
Phase Rush

This build is a lot of fun. You get your run of the mill defensive runes Greater Seal of Armor and Greater Glyph of Scaling Magic Resist. The armor penetration is good for putting some early game hurt on your enemy, but honestly Greater Mark of Attack Damage is just as good because of the way Parrrley works. If the enemy team has a jungle/counter jungle, be sure to ward the river and keep an eye on the mini-map and chat for mias.


Jungle

Runes

Precision
Fleet Footwork
Phase Rush

Just like every other AD Carry your going with greater mark of armor penetration, Greater Seal of Armor, Greater Glyph of Scaling Magic Resist, and greater quintessence of armor penetration. This is the basic needs of any AD jungler. Of coarse run with Stalker's blade - juggernaut and smite, with all the right jungle masteries. Beyond that you're ability to gank is based on your skill and timing. I recommend the traditional blue route, it helps with mana regen and lets you get to a higher level before finally getting back to the solo top to either relieve or gank.


AP

Runes

Precision
Fleet Footwork
Phase Rush

Let's be honest, it's not as good as others, but it is fun as hell. Grab Greater Mark of Magic Penetration and Greater Quintessence of Magic Penetration for late game damage from your ultimate. These can also be traded in for ( Greater Mark of Scaling Ability Power and Greater Quintessence of Scaling Ability Power) or ( Greater Mark of Ability Power and Greater Quintessence of Ability Power) for a direct damage increase. It doesnt hurt to grab a couple ad offensive items early game, simply for the damage of Parrrley early game before you get to Cannon Barrage You will also need Greater Seal of Scaling Mana Regeneration and Greater Glyph of Scaling Cooldown Reduction for the mana and CDR because you WILL be using Remove Scurvy a little more often with this build, so keep that in mind when pushing, because you do not have any defensive runes here.


Dominion

Runes

Precision
Fleet Footwork
Phase Rush

The runes for this build are normal AD carry. greater mark of armor penetration, Greater Seal of Scaling Armor, Greater Glyph of Scaling Magic Resist, and greater quintessence of armor penetration it wouldn't be a bad idea to trade the desolation quints in for Greater Quintessence of Critical Damage for the damage bonus, but I don't think it will make too much of a difference in such a short game. I recommend Greater Seal of Scaling Armor over Greater Seal of Armor because you start at lvl 3 and get to lvl 10 within the first 5-7 minutes of the fight, after which the armor per lvl pays off more. CDR is very important in Dominion, but not at the cost of defense. Starting at level 3 with 1300 gold is a great way to skip past all the early game niceties and go straight for the throat, your enemy knows this too, so shielding is an absolute necessity.



Twisted Treeline

Runes

Sorcery
Phase Rush

A pretty common build, a ton of dmg, and the means to dish it out quickly. Everything you need for a game on the Twisted Treeline. Greater Mark of Attack Speed will allow you to stack up Grog Soaked Blade a hair faster and help to pin down some of the faster moving champions.
Back to Top

Masteries

BalanceTankCDRCritSolo TopJungleAPDominionTwisted Treeline
Back to Top

Skill Sequence

With virtually every Gangplank build you're going to max Parrrley 1st, then Raise Morale and finally Remove Scurvy. Getting you're ults at their proper levels of coarse. Even if you're doing an AP build, you bread and butter remains to be Parrrley. That in mind, max it, then max the others according to what best suits you're needs. If you're up against a CC heavy team, it's not necessarily a bad idea to max Remove Scurvy 2nd. After all staying alive, in lane, and farming can make a huge difference late game.

Balance
Ability Sequence
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
For balance I max Parrrley 1st, then Raise Morale, picking up 1 point in [[remove scurvy at lvl 4, and then maxing it at 14.

Tank
Ability Sequence
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Runs the same as balance, if the enemy notices you're trying to build him as an off-tank, they may start giving you priority in ganks, if this is the case, a couple points in Remove Scurvy early game, may be needed.

CDR
Ability Sequence
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Runs the same as balance, again if they start focusing you down put a couple more in Remove Scurvy and call it a day.

Crit
Ability Sequence
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Runs the same as balance, if they start focusing you down on crit plank, I actually wouldn't recommend switching points to Remove Scurvy, instead focus on your build, play it safe, and if possible, try to end laning phase early for some early game kills. This is a snow ball build, so the sooner you can start, the better.

Solo Top
Ability Sequence
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Runs the same as balance, here I would definitely recommend extra points in Remove Scurvy if you're suffering too much dmg up top, especially if the enemy team doesn't have a jungler. If you end up trapped against the tower and losing creep farm as a result, then grab a gold/5 item instead of worrying about trying to farm with Raise Morale.

Jungle
Ability Sequence
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Here you're going to switch your lvl 1 & 2 spells, and switch your lvl 3 & 4 spells, then build just like balance. You want raise moral for that 1st fight against blue, Parrrley simply wont do enough damage at lvl 1 to finish the golems. However if you have someone willing to give you one helluva leash, you could get away with just sticking to the balance build order.

AP
Ability Sequence
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
He're your actually putting a few more points in Remove Scurvy early game than you will anything else. The reason for this is the fact that Parrrley will simply not put out enough damage. It is extremely important that you survive to mid game for an AP build, because without some decent farm, you're not going to be doing enough damage to help the team at all.

Dominion
Ability Sequence
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Again, just like balance. You'll start the game at lvl 3 anyway, so you'll have Raise Morale if you go top with the team, or Parrrley if you go bot.
Twisted Treeline
Ability Sequence
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Surprise surprise, it's just like balance. Focus on a single enemy at a time in early game, and try to get 1st blood, it will help if you plan to faceroll the other team.
Back to Top

Items

For the Best AD, Gangplank can be Anything and Everything.



Early Game


- This and a couple of Health Potion can help you stay in lane a little longer early game.

- This is a great item because it can build into 1 of 3 AMAZING early game items.

One of these 5, depending on who you will be up against.



These are great for the simple fact that they all work with Parrrley, Sheen and Avarice Blade come with a damage bonus, and Phage with it's updated Rage passive allows you to close ground quickly. A few other options would be Hexdrinker, or The Brutalizer for some situational uses.


For Damage



There are a few ways to do this:

The Tanky Way



This is an obvious build for any ad carry that has to get in close to do their damage.


The Straight AD way



A little more damage, a little less survivability.

The Critplank Way



Here you're buying pretty much anything with crit. This is more useful for poking with Parrrley

Utility and Sustained Dmg



The first part is obviously a breakdown of trinity force into each of the better counterparts. Phantom Dancer (for single target damage) and Statikk Shiv (for multi-target damage), both items also give great passives as well as bonus crit to Parrrley. Adding a frozen mallet will obviously benefit the tankplank build, lending to Parrrley's bonuses, especially after the changes made to Phage. Also you will get a nice bump in Armor and CDR from Iceborn Gauntlet. The con to this of coarse is the fact that it only leaves you with room for 3 more items, and 1 of them will need to be boots. If you don't care about the dmg bonus from Sheen, then you can always trade it in for the Maw of Malmortius, which is a much better Sustain Item in my opinion.

Balanced Opponent Team



A good balance of offense and defense.
Warmog's Armor - A great tip to stay alive, have more health than your enemy at the end of a fight.
Trinity Force - Solid offensive item, built from the ground up in small increments, a great way to keep the enemy back, and a hodgepodge of great passives.
Infinity Edge - Because a ridiculous amount of damage simply wasn't enough, it needed to be padded with even more from the unique crit dmg bonus.
Guardian Angel - Great damage mitigation for both types, and a passive that's to die for, after all you only live once...or twice. Okay enough puns.

AD Heavy Opponent Team



This is pretty straight forward.
Thornmail returns a good chunk of their damage back to them. This is great for putting a dent in their carry, even if you're being focused down.
Frozen Heart is a great way to get fantastic CDR and add to your mana pool, and what most people dont seem to realize is that it ties with the highest armor item in the game, Thornmail.
Randuin's Omen is a great counter to any auto-attacking team, however it seems to be far more effective against melee than it does against ranged, and of coarse there's the active that slows everyone within range.
Iceborn Gauntlet Is a fantastic way to add a little bonus damage and slow to you pool. If you're going tanky, this item may even trump Frozen Mallet, I will be experimenting with this greatly in the weeks to come.

AP Heavy Opponent Team



Honestly I think these are probably the only one's worth considering.
Spirit Visage - A great benefit to any champion with a healing spell, even it it's self healing. Great magic resist, and 10% CDR make this my top pick.
Banshee's Veil - Great magic resist, and adds a nice touch of hp and mana to assist in both taking dmg, and letting you deal it a little more. The passive is a great life saver, especially if their team is weak on initiators.
Maw of Malmortius - The base component Hexdrinker comes with the Magic Shield passive already, making it one of the better "component" passives out there. An AP soaking shield, and a dmg increase bonus. This is one of the best counters to someone who gets focused down in team fights. To be clear though, this only stops magic damage, it does NOT stop CC like Morgana's Black Shield.
Mercurial Scimitar - Not the best at magic resist, but mix that with the fact that you can now get out of any disable TWICE, and you have a recipe for pissing your opponents off something fierce. It also has recently been buffed to 80 damage, up from 60. As of the 4.2 patch.
Mercury's Treads - Hand's down life-saver. A little bit of magic resist is great, but the best part is the tenacity.

CC Heavy Team



Mercury's Treads - Easily the best and most viable option. It gives you a little magic resist, and tenacity. You'll see this one more often than any other, and for good reason. The reason being that all the other items are simply too low tier to be viable late game, but boots never go out of style.
Mercurial Scimitar - This S3 gem is a beauty, I absolutely love this compared to the old quicksilver sash. A great way to piss off the competition. This item is a bit less useful for GP because his W can do what this items active can. However if you are up against a well coordinated team that saves a few CC's for after you hit Remove Scurvy then this item is a great slap in the face against all of them. Something extra as of 4.2 is the 20 ad buff it got, taking it from 60 to 80 damage. With the damage reduction to Bloodthirster this item now matches the highest AD items in game.


Harassment & Split Push Teams



An obvious counter play item build focused on forcing the enemy to stand and fight when all the want to do is run. This setup lets you get around quickly and force the enemy team to engage when they don't really want to. Just try to make sure shockwave lands on an opponent.

Jungling

With the preseason 5 changes we're given an entirely new line of jungle items, with enhancements not dissimilar to the boot enhancements of preseason 4. Of those to choose from I opted for those that I thought would make GP a force to be reckoned with.

Stalker's Blade - Juggernaut [icon= Skirmisher's Sabre - Warrior size=32 icon=Righteous Glory size=32

Stalker's Blade - Juggernaut - The slow from Stalker's Blade gets upgraded to the overly epic Stalker's Blade - Juggernaut to make him a power house of off-tanky sustainability, with a great chase potential. I will be testing this in about 5 minutes to see if Parrrley triggers the slow......

Skirmisher's Sabre - Warrior - This is a great counter play pick, if you're up against one of Gangplanks top counter's. Skyvanna, Nunu & Willump, Jax then this item just might be the tipping scale for you. Ramp up your damage and keep eyes on them while simultaneously reducing their damage to you...what's not to love?

Turbo Chemtank - So why Righteous glory, and why here, well very much so like the Stalker's Blade this item helps to fill a gap in Gangplanks strengths. His greatest weakness is his lack of closing power. With this (plus a stalker's blade) he and who he's ganking for will have the means to really push a player down before they can get back under their turret. This will be replacing Warmog's Armor for now, and I will revisit this upon testing if it needs to be reverted back.

Bloodthirster - I know it seems like an odd place to put it, but it's passive is simply too good to not use. It adds a bonus shield when you over-heal with life steal, up to 450 bonus life at lvl 18.
Back to Top

Summoner Spells



You'll notice that I have Ghost in almost all of my builds, honestly those are mainly there to show his diversity. I like them because it enhances you're ability to run someone down and start wearing them down with your passive. Flash is effective as well, as is your ult, but I personally just enjoy running after them and grinding them to a halt. I would not recommend this approach in a team fight of coarse, that would be suicide. However, it's very disruptive to the enemy team if your chasing someone out of position down, it may even encourage them to break off an attack, and try to come after you. Obviously if that happens, it's time to run, but it is a great way to cause confusion, which can save a team mate, save a tower, or if you're fed enough bring another poor sap to meet his demise.

I have added Barrier to the list now that it has made its way from the proving grounds to classic matches.

Other viable options include:



These should be pretty obvious 2nd choices. Exhaust stacks with your passive, always a great way to focus someone down. Teleport is VERY handy if your soloing top, or just feel like saving the day when someone's getting chased in lane. Heal is great because it lets you save Remove Scurvy for when you're being CC'd down, instead of for when you're low on hp. Clarity, because most builds will only give you mana from a Trinity Force which doesn't get you very far if you use you're spells a lot. And of coarse Smite, for the jungling Gangplank

Some less viable (but still handy) situational spells include:



Just like heal, Cleanse is there to allow you to use it BEFORE using Remove Scurvy. In this case, its in case they are trying to CC you down, but haven't done enough damage yet to put you in the ground. Garrison is more for dominion than anything else, it has both an offensive, and defensive application, and is great for soloing bot on the Crystal Scar. Barrier is a fantastic counter to ignite, although if they are right on top of you and your low on health, you should still run. Barrier can save your life, but it will not sustain it.
Back to Top

Laning Phase

The Basics
During the Laning Phase you will be maxing out Parrrley, there are 2 reasons to do this, more important than any other. 1. Doing more damage as early as possible. 2. Having that damage potential at the end of laning phase so that you can rip people apart in team fights.

Soloing Top
If your soloing top or off-tanking use Parrrley to poke/harass as much as possible. It wouldn't be a bad idea to rush an Avarice Blade for the gold/5 if your soloing a 2v1 lane. This will help you catch up on the farm you are losing to the turret. Once you have Raise Morale be sure to call for a gank, and wait for the right timing to move in. Initiate with Parrrley for the slow passive and start moving in, as soon as your teammate is in range pop Raise Morale to aid in running them down. If you're past lvl 6 look for the opportunity to use Cannon Barrage (see the Cannon Barrage section for tips on placement and timing) to block their best escape route, if they try to run through it, then they will be slowed, if they try to run around it they will be trapped. In either case, keep after them until they are dead, and do NOT let them get back to their tower/team mates.

Ganking and Waiting for a Gank
If you need a gank, then do the smart thing and ping for it. After that WAIT, I can't tell you how many times I've ducked into the river bush at top, and my team mate just starts charging in headlong. To any skilled player, that act of bravery is a dead giveaway that help is nearby. This can completely ruin an initiate, and possibly cost you the kill. The best thing to do is to coordinate the effort, If they can close the gap, and either slow, exhaust, knock up/back (whatever their skills may be), then it gives you more time to poke with Parrrley, making the kill almost guaranteed.

If your past lvl 6, don't forget to close off their most obvious path of retreat with Cannon Barrage, if they're low enough that they can't pass through it and survive, then predict that they might try to go around, and cut them off.

Everything Else
To play GP successfully you need to time your shots, and play a proper cat and mouse game. Don't let them get on top of you unless it's under the turret, and don't get on top of them ever, you're more dangerous late game, but during laning phase, you're just too squishy to do that. Let your lane partner/jungler get right on top of them, you just sit back and support with Parrrley slows, and a Raise Morale buff.
Back to Top

After Laning Phase

Mid Game
In team fights you want to poke with Parrrley and keep at a safe distance, as I just explained you're maxing damage 1st, not survivability, so right after Laning Phase, you will be somewhat squishy still. Putting points in Raise Morale will help out a lot if the enemy gets low enough and you and your team can safely finish them; and if you get too low, you can use it to get away.

Late Game
As you approach Late Game you will need to be mobile, hopefully you have a few kills already, and maxed Parrrley and Raise Morale. If not, that's okay, just steal a few from team-mates with Cannon Barrage (but don't tell them I told you to do it), and you'll be caught right up. If you're team is under in kills, it will be your job to assist in catching them up, use Parrrley to focus their carry, most carries have very little in the way of defense. Most just use life-steal to balance out their hp loss, your Parrrley crits will help keep them down. Use Raise Morale as an AOE buff for the team to help secure kills, or at the very least, help your team get out of trouble faster. Use Cannon Barrage as an AOE debuff to slow enemies, this can be used offensively and defensively. Remember that saving a team mate's life is just as valuable as taking an enemies.

Gangplank is a phenomenal asset to the team, be there for them. Use your spells to help secure kills for everyone, and to help protect your team from loss.
Back to Top

All About Cannon Barrage

**Pics will be posted as examples as I make them.**
Barrage in Lane
Cannon Barrage is a great way to control the battlefield. One thing to remember about Cannon Barrage is that it ALMOST occupies an entire lane. Most people simply place it in the center of the lane a few steps ahead of the enemy, or even worse with the enemy in the center. Please don't be that guy. There are far too many ways to duck into the jungle off the side, a side that is not being hit by Cannon Barrage if you place it in the center.

The best way to do this is to time your shot until they are in-between jungle entrances. At that time place it so that the edge of barrage is right on top of the enemy, and so that their current direction of travel is towards the center of the barrage. This works extremely well for 2 reasons. 1, if they travel through it, it buys your team time to catch up. 2, if you place it so that they are right on the edge, they have to make a full 90 degree turn to go around without being hit by slow, and can only gradually turn back as they move around the circle.

Something to be careful about when doing this is to make sure their Flash is down. If not, then wait for them to move a little closer to the outer wall, so that they can't just Flash into the jungle.

Barrage in River
River barrage is a great way to get kills. More often than not, if an enemy is in the river, then allies are typically cutting through the jungle to get to them. Use this to your advantage, save your Cannon Barrage to herd the enemy into the approaching allies (by either cutting off an exit ramp, or blocking the mid/top/bot lane entrances), or until after they have been headed off by at least one ally, and then place it ahead of them forcing a 2v1 fight in your teams favor.

Barrage in Jungle
Hands down the trickiest to master, the trick is to place it in a place where they can go in, and not come back out, there a few places like this in the jungle, which makes herding a much better option. The easiest way to do this is wait for them to get into one of the long and and narrow paths in jungle and barrage as they approach the end of it, slowing them no matter what direction they choose. The best Cannon Barrage points are tri-bush, the outer wrap around bush by blue buff, between red buff and wraiths, and between red buff and golems (making sure to get the side exit as well).
Back to Top

Jungling

As GP you will do the traditional Blue Route, it's simple, easy to do, and everyone who's read a guide before already knows this. I will post a pic as soon as I get my hands on one.

As far as ganking goes, there's a little more to it. One of gangplanks best features is the damage of Parrrley, however one of his weaknesses in ganking is the range of Parrrley. With this in mind you have to do more than just kick back in the river bush, you have to be coordinating with your team mate. They need to be pretty over-extended for you to be able to get to them before they can get to a the lane bush or turret. Don't waste your Raise Morale to close the gap, instead use [righteous glory] and try to work it at a 90 degree angle from their path of retreat, hit em with Parrrley and glory's shockwave, and wait until your team mate has caught up to you before popping Raise Morale. This way you both have a speed/dmg bonus, helping to secure a kill. If you have it, use Cannon Barrage either in the river ramp, or the enemies top bush (depending on which direction they are running) to turn them back towards you, or at the very least, slow them down so that you can get to them.
Back to Top

***Updates***

30 June 2015 - 5.12 Saw no changes to GP or items, however somehow I managed to go an entire season without catching the fact that Wriggle's Lantern was still in my Balance Build as a Lifesteal option. This has been rectified.
11 Apr 2015 - 5.5 & 5.6 Saw no changes to GP or items.
25 Feb 2015 - 5.4 No changes to GP or GP items, a Jungle's Warrior enchantment loses 5 AD but its not enough to change up his build.
23 Feb 2015 - 5.3 No changes to GP or any of his items, added a threat meter to the main build though.
28 Jan 2015 - 5.2 again saw no changes to Gangplank, I removed Deathfire Grasp and Spirit Visage from the AP build and replaced them with ZZ'rot's Portal and Guardian Angel. These 2 items combined give 100 Armor and 100 MR to gangplank.
15 Jan 2015 - Patch 5.1 saw no changes to Gangplank, however I did adjust the long guide, where it was relevant, to account for the phantom dancer changes.
20 Nov 2014 - Adjusting to patch 4.2 and ALL of the massive item overhauls and jungle changes that came with with the Preseason 5 patch.
11 Sept 2014 - Finished revamping the other 5 item builds. They should all have a consistent flow now. Also introduced Lord Van Damm to the TT and CS builds. Finally, I removed Feral Flare from the jungle guide and replaced it with Spirit of Elder Lizard. After testing Feral Flare, I was wholly unimpressed with how little it did. In order to get the stacks needed you would have to give up a lot of ganks, which completely negates the point of jungling in the 1st place.
19 July 2014 - Replaced Maw of Malmortius with Mercurial Scimitar in the core balance build now that it's damage has been buffed to 80 attack damage. Also removed Spirit of the Ancient Golem from the Heacy CC counter items as it no longer gives tenacity.
21 June 2014 - Well this update has been a long time coming. Cleaned out the cobwebs of older items in the long guide, and updated for item changes from 4.1 and 4.2. Also did some work on the actual item guide beyond the balance build. Will finish the rest in due time.
8 December 2013 - Updated Masteries in Quick Guide, will continue to work on full guide.
3 December 2013 - Updated quick guide masteries after preseason patch, masteries section will be done at a later date.
21 October 2013 - Polished up the bbc links.
11 Sept 2013 - Spot checked the info for Phage. Should now point out the proper passive, and removed from builds where phage build into frozen mallet instead of trinity force.
6 August 2013 - Removed Runic Bulwark from Items Chapter, and shed a tear for the loss of one of the best rounded defensive items LoL has ever made...that thing was like a support's Trinity Force, it will be sorely missed. Touched up some aesthetics and fixed some coding errors.
8 July 2013 - Minor Tweeks to summoner spells, less emphasis on ghost, and changed certain spells to make a little more sense per role (exhaust for jungle, flash for Solo Top, Ignite for Crit etc. these changes are based on what I think would make him most effective in a regular game, however ranked is as always situational based on enemy team build)
14 June 2013 - Runes masteries and Items added for ARAM, not added to the long guide yet, I want to do a bit more testing before making this final.
31 May 2013 - Added a new Runes, Masteries & Skills - Quick Guide chapter, a shortcut to all the info needed without all the reading. ARAM Guide is in the works guys.
25 May 2013 - Updated to include new season 3 items, fixed error in Twisted Treeline info, and utilized the new mobafire item system.
5 Dec 2012 - Updated to include new season 3 mastery changes, and pre-season items.
7 Nov 2012 - This guide has been updated to include a new Twisted Treeline build with items, rune and mastery info. Comprehensive info in following update.
30 Jule 2012 - Finished some of the more comprehensive information on the use of Cannon Barrage as well as some touch-ups to make the comprehensive info a little more readable.
2 May 2012 - Finally got back to finishing up the info on GP's rune/mastery chapters.
5 Apr 2012 - Added additional comprehensive info on summoner spells, and item picks.
1 Mar 2012 - Added chapters for in-depth gameplay ideas/tips.
22 Feb 2012 - Created GP Comprehensive
Back to Top

Summary

In scope of the whole thing, pretty much here's a fun way to do whatever you want with gangplank. I've had an absolute blast playing him so far, and the more I play him, the less I suck. So expect to see adjustments, additions, subtractions, and total overhauls the more I play him.

If anyone actually got this far, and can assure you, I'm just as tired of typing as you are of reading...god am I tired of typing.

END

Back to Top

Special Thanks

    Jhoijhoi for the awesome graphics bars, as well as the guide on how to make a guide that actually looks awesome and flows well...you're awesome man!
Download the Porofessor App for Windows

League of Legends Champions:

Teamfight Tactics Guide