Pros:

• Sustain
• Has a skill that adds 20% more bonus Armor and MR
• Good ult for getting rid of tanks instantly
• Has a slow remover with a silence
• Can kill squishies with one combo

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  Cons:
  
• Kited easily
• Slightly longer cooldowns
• No real escape skill

Recommended

Ignite
as at will help you if you failed your ult

Flash
for gap closing and smooth escapes.

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Viable

Exhaust
can lower damage for strong fighters and chasing. Can be replaced with ignite as long as you're sure you will not fail your ult.

Ghost
can be replaced with flash if you would like to cover a long distance over time. Flash is better as it has more of a surprise to it, and can also cross walls.

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Not recommended

Clarity
Garen doesn't use mana.

Revive
You shouldn't be aiming to die.

Clairvoyance
You are not a support, you already have trinkets, and this wastes a spell slot as there are other spells that are 2X more useful.

Max E because it is your main damage source.
Then max Q , for the damage, speed, and the OP silence duration.
Get 1 point of W early (before level 10), then max it off when you are forced to.
And obviously, get your ult leveled up whenever you can

9-21-0 for some damage, CDR and heavy defenses.

For glyphs, I chose the Greater Glyph of Scaling Cooldown Reduction because cooldowns are the only thing that stops you from spamming your skills. These can be replaced with Greater Glyph of Magic Resist if you're against an AP top. Also be careful about going over the CDR limit which is 40% with items and these runes.

For seals, I chose the Greater Seal of Armor because its a typical seal for everybody and you need armor for everything. Besides, top lane is usually AD.

For marks, I chose the Greater Mark of Armor Penetration because it'll get you more damage instead of just the Greater Mark of Attack Damage because you will deal more damage by percentage.

For quintessences, I chose Greater Quintessence of Armor Penetration for the same reason above. I also chose 1 Greater Quintessence of Health because you could use the extra health for sustain in lane. On top of that, 26 HEALTH early game could save your life.

Garen removes all slows on him and gains 35% movement speed for 1.5 / 2.25 / 3 / 3.75 / 4.5 seconds. His next melee attack within 4.5 seconds will deal 30 / 55 / 80 / 105 / 130 (+1.4 per attack damage) physical damage and silence his target for 2.5 seconds. This attack can critically strike.

Main poke skill.
Do not use this right away when running away (from a gank). Save it for after they have used their slowing spell. Timing this right can save your life easily. Same thing for chasing. This skill rests your autoattack so to maximize damage, use this right after an autoattack. :D

(Passive): Garen's Armor and Magic Resistance are permanently increased by 20% of bonus Armor and Magic Resistance.

(Active): Garen places a defensive shield on himself, decreasing all damage taken by 30% and reducing the duration of crowd control by 30% for 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 seconds.

It is good to get one skill point of this early for the passive 20% increase of bonus defenses. It is not necessary to level this up afterwards as it only increases the duration of the active. Use this when you know you'll take lots of damage.

Garen rapidly spins his sword around his body for 3 seconds dealing 20 / 45 / 70 / 95 / 120 (+0.7 / 0.8 / 0.9 / 1.0/ 1.1 total Attack Damage) physical damage to nearby enemies every half second. Garen can deactivate Judgment early by activating the ability again after 0.5 seconds. Garen cannot use Decisive Strike or Demacian Justice while Judgment is in effect. Damage to minions is reduced by 25%. Garen ignores unit collision while spinning, but takes a 20% movement speed penalty when passing through minions.

This is your main damage. Be careful as you pass through minions as it will slow you down. Also, try not to use this to poke as it may push your lane. Unless you intended to push it...

Garen brings down Demacian Justice on his opponent, dealing 175 / 350 / 525 magic damage plus 1 additional damage per 3.5 / 3 / 2.5 health his opponent is missing.

Never use this on full HP enemies. This is super effective on people with lots of max HP. Make sure you calculate the damage before you use it to execute your enemy. For example, level 6 should take out most people at 300 health. Using ignite will help make sure your enemy doesn't escape with 1 HP. Note that if they flash away after you have casted it, the skill will still take effect.

Use your basic attacks and Q to last hit. Using your E to farm will push your lane. if you see your opponent going to last hit, you can poke him with an autoattack and immediately a Q to maximize the damage. If you get low, stay back and avoid hits from enemy champions, carefully last hit, and your health will go quickly because of your passive. Do this until level 6, then when you think you've poked your enemy and he is low enough, you can go in with Q , Ignite, E for the full duration, and an ultimate. If you are turret diving, be sure to pop your W for a 20% reduced damage from it.

Garen is meant to be tanky, and even though you think you need more than 1 offensive item, you already have good damage built in and an ult that can take down 1000+ HP late game. He may fall off late game a bit, and that's why you should go tanky, because your carries should be fed; they'll need another tank to soak in the enemies' attacks.


Thanks for reading my first guide and vote upwards for me ! :D

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