I would enjoy your input, and will modify where needed if you can convince me.
I want this guide to be as useful as possible, so input from better players would be very helpful!

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This is my first guide, and I'm kind of new at League, so sorry if the information is not spot on, but I'm pretty decent at Hecarim at my low level, and I would like to help people who don't know how to play him.

Most of the information in this guide was from studying other builds, and from in-game experience. Some of my strategies won't work 100% of the time, and if they aren't working, you should try adding your own spin to them! And if your strategy works, comment what you did, and I'll try it, and if it works for me too, I'll add it to the guide!

Pros:
- Engages well
- Tanky, but still deals lots of damage.
- Good at ganking.
- Fast enough to chase almost anyone down.
- AoE is really helpful in teamfights.
- Great at escaping ganks.
- Really tough mid and late game.
- Has decent CC
- Versatile.
- Can steal Baron.
- Can snowball really well.

Cons:
- Uses a lot of mana, especially at the beginning.
- Weak early game, so he's easy to shut down.
- A lot of expensive items.
- Can be counterjungled easily.
- Slows take down his damage (Don't build straight MS, especially if they have massive slows, like Karthus)
- Can trick you into thinking you can take more damage than you can.

Hecarim's passive makes it seem like you should build full MS on him, but in reality, you shouldn't, because of the MS caps, and the fact that a good slow (Like one from Karthus) would completely nullify your whole build. It's not bad to build a little speed, but you'll need more than speed to win a match.

Spirit Visage: One of THE best items on Hecarim. The passive really works well on your W.

Sunfire Aegis: This is another great item for Hecarim. The AoE helps with killing, and it works with your W, for bonus heal.

Iceborn Gauntlet: Works well with Sunfire Aegis and Spirit of Dread, by keeping them in your AoE longer.

Trinity Force: A good offensive item. It gives you the AP for your W and R, and it gives you good AD. It is a little expensive though.

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I'll work more on this later. I'm running out of time.

Routes:

Because I won't be able to work on this all that well, I just want to post some general routes.

Remember to watch your map, and help your team when you can. Awareness is key to jungling.

When jungling, it's important to stay at or above average level, so you can pull off ganks. If you go under, you can't do much to get back up, unless you can convince a teammate to help you (e.g. clearing dragon, or baron.) It's hard to catch up if you fall behind, and if you do, you become a real disadvantage to your team. If you do fall behind, and have no chance of catching up, help the weakest lane (the lane with the most turrets destroyed/least enemy turrets destroyed if all of your lanes have the same number of turrets.

-My Usual Route:
(Starts with Hunter's Machete and 5 Health Potion)
Blue (smiteless leash) > Wolves (with leash, if they decided to stay) > Wraiths > Red or Golems, depending on whether you have enough health > At this point you can start ganking!

-Slower Route (if you get counterjungled/are unable to gank)
Golems > Wraiths > Wolves > Blue > Wraiths > Golems > Red > Wolves > Repeat until ready.
If you fall behind on this route, it'll basically be like you were afk the whole game.

Buff-to-Buff:
YOU WILL NEED A COMMITTED LEASH TO HELP YOU.
(Starts with Boots and 3 Health Potion)
This is a risky move. If done right, you get both buffs, and can start ganking earlier than before. If you fail, however (leash gets buff, you die, you get countered and lose a buff) you will fall behind, and have little chance of catching up.)
Blue (smiteless) > Red > Gank

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-Ganking:
(This topic isn't my best, sorry.)
Ganking with Hecarim is intimidating at first, especially when attempting it at a low level, but if you can manage it, you are one of the most terrifying champions your enemies have ever faced.

When ganking with Hecarim, the general strategy uses Devastating Charge to push the enemies into the wall, pinning them, and then uses Spirit of Dread and Rampage to finish the kill.

If there is more than one enemy in the lane, it's a good idea to ult behind them, to fear them towards your team/turret, and kill from behind. A lot of Hecarim's strategy is pushing enemies toward your allies, so they can help or finish off kills you can't.

working on it

Skills:
I actually usually max my Spirit of Dread first, usually! The AoE helps secure a lot of kills, and keep you in the fight longer. After that I start building Rampage.
I actually start with two points in Spirit of Dread and one in Rampage. After that I throw a point into Devastating Charge, and throw points into it occasionally. It's actually a really good skill for saving team members who are low on hp and being pursued by enemies (more on this later).

Rampage: This is your primary attacking tool, and because you can use it while moving, is a great way to finish off runners, especially is you can slip it in while Devastating Charge is in effect.

Spirit of Dread: This is less active of a skill than Rampage, because of its longer cooldown, but the heal is great to exploit in teamfights.

Devastating Charge: This is a great initiator, and a great way to pick off runners, because of the speed boost. It also has a knockback, which can help you save teammates who are in trouble.

Onslaught of Shadows: The fear effect on this skill makes it great making enemies back off of your turrets, or fearing them back to your team if they try to run. It's best not to overuse it though, because of the extremely long cooldown.

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Teamfights:

-General Teamfights:
Having so much health and damage makes you really great in teamfights. If you can wedge yourself as close to the enemies as possible, and use your Spirit of Dread and spam your Rampage to do as much damage as you can. Use your Devastating Charge to catch up to runners, and use your Onslaught of Shadows to fear the enemies. As stated above, it's best to overshoot them if they're running, because the fear effect will push them back towards your team, who can secure the kill if you haven't already.


-Post-teamfight:
Hecarim is great at saving team members post teamfight, or picking off the remaining enemies.

-Saving team members (teamfight was lost):
Saving a teammate is actually a lot like ganking in many ways, and a lot of times the enemies don't expect it, because they think you're running.
If your team loses a teamfight, the enemies usually chase down the team member with the lowest health. If they do so, your Devastating Charge or Onslaught of Shadows are great for pushing them off of your team member. Devastating Charge is good for knocking enemies into walls, which can keep them trapped long enough for your teammate to escape, and if you have enough health, you can use your w and q to even secure a kill. Onslaught of Shadows should only be used if there are two or more enemies on your teammate. Use it to charge to your teammate, and the fear effect will make all of the enemies run away, allowing for you and your teammate to escape. Adding on Ghost, Devastating Charge, or any other movement speed boosting item beforehand could even help you kill off some enemies.

-Picking off survivors (teamfight was won):
If your team wins the teamfight, and the enemies start running, Hecarim is great for taking them out. If you're going after a single team member, just turn on your Devastating Charge, and any movement speed boosts (if needed), and use Rampage before you hit them, and the boost should end up taking them out. If a group is running, Onslaught of Shadows in front of them to push them back toward your team, and add damage from behind, using your Rampage and Spirit of Dread.

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Any other needed topics for ARAM will be added later.