Hecarim Build Guide by 3Rain

[I] Introduction

Hello, and welcome to my guide to Hecarim - The Shadow of War.
space

SPACESPA

___

___

___

___

___

spacespace
Since his first sighting on the northwestern shores of Valoran, the towering, armored specter known as Hecarim struck a chilling fear into the hearts of all who laid eyes upon him. No one had ever seen anything like his titanic, ethereal form before, and the mystery of his sudden arrival was deeply unnerving. When Hecarim began to march eastwards, leaving a trail of desolate, lifeless ground behind him, the villagers of the plains fled their homes for the safety of nearby Demacia. In the city's now-overcrowded taverns, rumors about this inhuman phantom spread in hushed whispers. Some claimed that he was the vengeful shade of an ancient warrior, intent on destroying all living beings; one man insisted that they had seen him leading an entire legion of spectral cavalrymen; others still believed him to be the creation of some hateful necromancer. One Demacian commander, seeking to dispel the terror that had gripped the city, assembled a few of his finest soldiers and rode out to turn back or destroy Hecarim.

The commander led his soldiers to stand in Hecarim's path and braced for his assault. As the apparition bore down on them, an overwhelming sensation of dread gripped the warriors. The men, frozen in fear, could only scream as the ghostly titan ran them down, tearing them apart and trampling them beneath his iron hooves. Hecarim turned to the crippled, cowering commander and uttered a chilling statement: "This is merely the beginning. No mortal army can withstand the might of the Shadow Isles." With that, Hecarim departed, resuming his grim march. Driven to insanity by his nightmarish experience, the commander stumbled back to Demacia, where his dire warnings were dismissed as the ravings of a madman. While Hecarim's origin and intent were still a mystery, his destination became clear when he reached the Institute of War and, in a voice both ominous and commanding, demanded entry into the League of Legends.

"You don't understand... the shadows will consume us all..."
Former Demacian Commander
spacespace
Now that the history lesson is out of the way, allow me to introduce myself. My name is 3Rain, or TriRain in-game, and I promised myself after my Fiora guide to never again make a build for a new champion. Yet here I am. I, like many others, am an aspiring new Hecarim player with too much time for games. I am also a level 30 player on the NA East server, and a veteran writer for many websites. But that is enough about me, let us move on to some facts about our favorite horsey.

So, how do I build Hecarim, you ask?

"I play Hecarim as a jungling champion." - Phreak

Every once in a while, Phreak jungles a champion that is actually best played as a jungler. Hecarim has incredible ganking potential and the movepool to clear the jungle quickly. I will get into more detail on that, later.

As for my build style, I build Hecarim as a bruiser. This really is the only way to build him, as he is fairly squishy and tends to be burst down in a team fight. I did list a build at the top of the page, but Hecarim is one of those champions that I like to call "free verse champs." This basically means that you build up bruiser items, depending on how the enemy is building. Because of this every game is different and a blast to participate in.
spacespace
I do not like to do this, but my Fiora guide was trolled very hard, so I will post this here.

Please do not

a) downvote because you have a Hecarim guide of your own
b) downvote because of a small grammatical mistake (they happen)
c) rogue downvote. It helps no one
d) downvote if you have not tested the build. Why?

Please do

a) Leave a comment. I will be happy to +Rep anyone who leaves a useful comment
b) Vote up the guide. I need all the support I can get

Seriously, guys, I never drop downvotes and am always happy to provide an upvote for someone who gives me one. If your Hecarim guide is not in the top 10 already, it is likely that knocking out the other Hecarim guides will not help your case.
spacespace
Here are the last four games I have played as Hecarim. The picture is edited because I simply could not always play as him in ranked.
space

space
That is about it for the introduction. If you have any questions about anything, simply leave a comment and I am sure to respond.

[II] Pros / Cons

sp

Pros +Incredible ganking potential with Devastating Charge +Solid jungle clear time with Rampage and Spirit of Dread +Able to pump out damage to all enemies in a team fight +Very good crowd control ability in Onslaught of Shadows +He is a pony

space

space

Cons -Extremely mana hungry early -Focused in team fights -Extremely item dependent -Easy to counter jungle early -Most cooldowns are lengthy

[III] Runes

Q U I N T S

SPACE

Greater Quintessence of Movement Speed: This rune has good synergy with Hecarim, because it boosts his attack bonus from Warpath, but also grants a faster jungle clear and all-around mobility. Optional Runes: Greater Quintessence of Armor Greater Quintessence of Desolation

SPACE

Q U I N T S

SPACE

G L Y P H S

SPACE

Greater Glyph of Scaling Magic Resist: Magic resist per level Glyphs are taken because, by the time you actually need the resist in a team fight, your level will be high enough that your resist will be on par with flat magic resist runes.

SPACE

G L Y P H S

SPACE

S E A L S

SPACE

Greater Seal of Armor: You need armor to survive the jungle early, and with more health you can gank more often with a better success rate. A good early game gank could really make the difference in a game.

SPACE

S E A L S

SPACE

M A R K S

SPACE

Greater Mark of Desolation: Armor penetration, while not as useful early game as damage runes, will begin to show up later in the game when your opponents are starting to get tanky. Optional Marks: Greater Mark of Attack Damage

SPACE

M A R K S

[IV] Masteries

space
Offensive Mastery Tree:

Tier 1:

Summoner's Wrath - With this, you get a small boost to your Ghost spell. On top of getting bonus movement speed, you will also get more attack damage, thanks to Warpath.

Brute Force - This mastery does not seem incredibly useful, which would make sense because it is Tier 1, but the extra 3 attack damage increases basic attack damage and Rampage damage early on, which leads to faster jungle kills.

Tier 2:

Alacrity - There is not much to say about this mastery. The attack speed is nice, sure, but we really need it just to get to Tier 3.

Tier 3:

Weapon Expertise - This is a great mastery for any AD character. Basically, if your opponent builds a Frozen Heart, it will only provide 90 (as opposed to 99) armor against your attacks. Very key for taking down tanks.

Defensive Mastery Tree:

Tier 1:

Summoner's Resolve - Every time you use Smite, you get 10 bonus gold. You can use Smite every 70 seconds, so that is an extra .14 gold per second. Not bad for a Tier 1 mastery.

Resistance - A bit of extra magic resist never hurts during an early gank on the middle lane.

Hardiness - 6 extra armor goes a long way during your time in the jungle. Definitely an underestimated mastery.

Tough Skin - Cutting off 2 damage every time a neutral creep attacks you seems pretty unimportant, but you can really get some mileage out of this at the wraith and wolf camps.

Tier 2:

Durability - You get 6 health per level with 4 points, which becomes 108 health at level 18. It is not a wonderful mastery, but useful nonetheless.

Tier 3:

Veteran's Scars - 30 health goes quite a long way during the early game, especially when combined with the Durability mastery.

Bladed Armor - Every time any creep (neutral or enemy) attacks you, it takes 6 damage. This helps your early clear speed more than anything, but unfortunately it scales terribly into the late game.

Tier 4:

Initiator - This mastery synergizes well with Hecarim. The bonus movement speed is not huge, but it helps you to move more quickly through the jungle and to keep your Rampage stacks. Not to mention you get a small attack damage bonus.

Enlightenment - For once, we get a mastery that scales well into the late game. At level 18, you get an 8.1% cooldown reduction, which makes your Rampage even more spammy and allows for more uses of Spirit of Dread and Onslaught of Shadows. Great mastery.

Tier 6:

Juggernaut - This mastery provides everything a bruiser needs: health and tenacity. You will most likely be seeing a lot of disables; now each of those lasts a bit shorter, and you have a larger health buffer.

[V] Summoner Spells

[Flash]: I have mixed feelings about Flash on Hecarim. The escape potential is nice, and he does already have Devastating Charge for move speed. But, it does not synergize with Warpath like Ghost does. Pick whichever you are more comfortable with.

space

[Smite]: Every jungler should have Smite. You need it to secure kills against the dragon, Baron Nashor, and the red and blue buff monsters. There really is no reason to not take Smite as a jungler.

space

[Ghost]: This spell synergizes extremely well with Warpath, as it boosts your movement speed (provided you have Summoner's Wrath ) by 35%. So, if you have 375 movement speed, you will get a bonus 131 movement speed, as well as 32 attack damage from Warpath. Great for chasing and escaping.

[VI] Skill Sequence

SPACE
SPACESPACE

Warpath: Hecarim ignores unit collision and gains attack damage equal to 10 / 12.5 / 15 / 17.5 / 20 / 22.5 / 25% of his bonus movement speed.

Hecarim's passive, Warpath, is a pretty good one but not something you can base a build around (unless you build Boots of Swiftness, 4 Phantom Dancers, and an Infinity Edge). For every bit of bonus movement speed you have, you get a percentage of that given to you in attack damage. The other part of the passive does not get quite as much attention, but is helpful nevertheless. Hecarim ignores unit collision, so when ganking you can charge right through a group of creeps to slay your foe. All around good passive.

SPACESPACE

Rampage: Hecarim cleaves nearby enemies dealing 50 / 85 / 120 / 155 / 190 (+0.6 per bonus attack damage) physical damage. This ability deals 50% damage to minions and monsters.

If Hecarim damages at least one enemy unit with this attack, he gains a stack of Rampage, reducing the base cooldown of this skill by 1 second for a short duration. This effect can stack up to 2 times.

You're going to want to max out Rampage first, because it is your primary source of damage and is needed to clear the jungle quickly.

• The mana cost on this ability is extremely low at all levels, so do not be afraid to spam it. You will easily press the Q key hundreds of times just in the first jungling segment.
• When moving from blue buff to the wolf camp, and from the wraith camp to the red camp, it is absolutely crucial that you last hit the final minion with Rampage. This way, you will have enough time to run to the next camp, use Rampage again, and keep the cooldown bonus.
• You lose no movement when activating Rampage, so when chasing or when being chased, spam Rampage for maximum damage.

SPACESPACE

Spirit of Dread: Hecarim deals 20 / 31.25 / 42.5 / 53.75 / 65 (+20% of ability power) magic damage to nearby enemies every second for 4 seconds, up to a maximum of 80 / 125 / 170 / 215 / 260 (+80% of ability power) magic damage. Hecarim gains health equal to 10 / 15 / 20 / 25 / 30 % of any damage those enemies suffer. Healing from damage dealt to minions is capped to 60 / 90 / 120 / 150 / 180 health.

You're going to want to max out Spirit of Dread by level 13, because it provides sustenance in a team fight and faster jungle camp clears. This ability is still useful, even though this build does not take any ability power aside from what comes with Trinity Force.

• Spam this ability everywhere. It is not expensive, gives a deceptively high amount of health back, and helps you rack up assists in a team fight.
• Take the time to learn the range of this ability, to make sure you optimize each cast. Sure it sounds obvious, but it really might make a difference.

SPACESPACE

Devastating Charge: Hecarim gains 75% movement speed for over the course of 3 seconds. His next attack knocks the target back and deals a minimum of 40 / 75 / 110 / 145 / 180 (+0.5 per bonus attack damage) and a maximum of 80 / 150 / 220 / 290 / 360 (+1.0 per bonus attack damage) additional physical damage based on the distance he has travelled since activating the ability.

You're going to want to max out Devastating Charge at level 18, because it is primarily used for utility.

• When used correctly, ganks with Devastating Charge become deadly. Middle lane is especially good to gank, since you can come out from either side of the enemy jungle and push the enemy toward your ally.
• You want to strike the enemy with as close to the end of the duration as possible. This means more damage and better knockback. If you hit an enemy right at the end of 3 seconds, the damage will scale off of 100% of your attack damage.
• Escaping is very easy with this ability. Pop it, combined with Ghost, and you have nearly 1,000 movement speed for 3 seconds. Awesome stuff.

SPACESPACE

Onslaught of Shadows: Hecarim summons spectral riders and charges forward, dealing 100 / 200 / 300 (+80% of ability power) magic damage in a line. Hecarim creates a shockwave when he finishes his charge, dealing 50 / 125 / 200 (+40% of ability power) additional magic damage to nearby enemies and causing them to flee in terror away from Hecarim for 1 second.

You're going to want to max out Onslaught of Shadows at level 16, taking points also at 6 and 11.

• Early in the game, you can finish off ambush kills with this ability. If the enemy is running for the turret, you can use Onslaught of Shadows, pop Rampage and Spirit of Dread, then use Ghost or Devastating Charge to escape. Tower dives made easy.
• The only enemies that become fearful are the ones in the circle at the end of the cast. Hecarim is one of the few champions that I do not recommend smart casting on, as Onslaught of Shadows can be difficult to aim.
• Drop this in a teamfight and watch your opponents lose a valuable second of casting. Just make sure to maximize the number of enemies hit.

SPACESPACE

So, to put it all together:

> > >

When Harassing:

Rampage >> Spirit of Dread >> Rampage

When Ganking:

Devastating Charge >> Rampage >> Spirit of Dread >> Rampage >> Onslaught of Shadows

[VII] Items

Although I am still far away from being able to do regular updates, I decided to go ahead and begin work on this section.

Hecarim, as I already mentioned, is not a champion that can run a pre-made build effectively. Therefore, this item section will be written much differently than some you may have seen in the past. Basically, I will hold a question and answer section here that will help you decide which items to take.

Offensive Items:


Defensive Items:

Question & Answer:

Are you jungling?
Yes: You have come to the right place. Start with Cloth Armor and 5 Health Potions. Take Boots of Speed on your first return trip from the jungle, then finish with Wriggle's Lantern.
No: Go find a guide that builds Hecarim as a top laner.

Are you roaming a lot early, and are not getting a lot of creep score?
Yes: Build a Heart of Gold. Later on, instead of building a Frozen Heart, you will want to upgrade this into a Randuin's Omen.
No: Continue as normal.

Is the enemy AP carry getting fed fast?
Yes: Upgrade your Boots of Speed into Mercury's Treads, then build a Hexdrinker for a nice balance of damage and resist. Afterward, go ahead and start building up a Trinity Force.
No: You might want to build the Boots of Speed into Mercury's Treads anyway for the tenacity, but change that to Ninja Tabi if the opposing team is AD heavy. Follow that with a Sheen and Phage before building up to Trinity Force.

It is late in the game, and team fights have started. Are you getting burst down quickly?
Yes: If you do not have Hexdrinker already, build it now and get a Maw of Malmortius. If the AP carry is really out of control consider a Force of Nature as well. If AD carries are a problem as well, get a Frozen Heart. Guardian Angel is a good choice as well.
No: Build The Bloodthirster, Maw of Malmortius, and whatever other items that you feel you need. If you are not dying that means you did well and got fed, so now you can complete your stomping of the other team.

Individual Item Overview (Offense):

space

Wriggle's Lantern is the jungling character's bread and butter. You get attack damage and armor - two stats which Hecarim desperately needs - on top of a free Smite and lifesteal. I cannot say enough good things about this item. It is a gift that keeps on giving throughout the game.

space

space

space

You must build Trinity Force every game, with no exceptions. Hecarim's skill set is basically begging you to take this item. Unlike a lot of characters, Hecarim can use every stat that Trinity Force has to offer. You do not believe me? Take a look at the next column.

space

space

space

This pretty new item is a blessing to all AD characters. You get solid stats in the attack and resist departments, but get two good passives as well. For every 2.5% of health you lose, you get a bonus attack point. On top of this, you get a spell shield which absorbs 400 magic damage at low health. I build this in most every game, unless the other team has no AP whatsoever.

space

SPACE

space

A luxury item, for sure. In most games, you will not need any items past Trinity Force, and even then your next few items will be defensive. Only consider The Bloodthirster if you are fed late in a game.

space

SPACE

space

This item synergizes very well with Hecarim, but sadly this is a bruiser build, and building this item could leave you weak in the defense department. Like The Bloodthirster, this item is extremely situational and not ideal for a bruiser build. It is a fun item, for sure, but I am not sure that I would build it regularly in ranked matches.

space

SPACE

space

I do not typically build this item on Hecarim, since his Frozen Mallet potential is not great. If you are in an extremely long game, and already have a Warmog's Armor built, go ahead and take this item. Have fun with your hour long match.

space

SPACE

Individual Item Overview (Defense):

space

As Hecarim, you have two options for boots: Ninja Tabi and Mercury's Treads. I build Ninja Tabi when the other team is predominantly AD, but in some cases I might take them if the enemy AD is fed and the AP is doing badly. No two games are the same; evaluate your own situation and take the boots that would do the best.

space

SPACE

space

As already stated, Ninja Tabi are situational boots. You should build Mercury's Treads in every game, unless there are lots of AD characters. The tenacity is a great help, since you will be seeing a lot of crowd control in team fights. The magic resist is also helpful, since you lack it in the early game before Hexdrinker.

space

SPACE

space

This is an interesting item, because it is pretty situational and changes your build later in the game. I take Heart of Gold in games where I am doing a lot of roaming for ganks, and am not getting the gold I need from monster camps. The health is nice, and later on it can be built into a Randuin's Omen, instead of building Frozen Heart.

space

SPACE

space

This item is similar to Randuin's Omen in a lot of ways, but has its differences as well. If you did not take an early game Heart of Gold, you can take a Frozen Heart to screw over the AD carries in a team fight. The mana is wonderful as well, since Hecarim's natural mana pool is very small.

space

SPACE

space

This item is an alternative to Frozen Heart if you built a Heart of Gold early. You have a great active ability (that I am forever forgetting to use), and tanky stats to keep you alive. Frozen Heart is better against teams with several powerful AD characters, while Randuin's Omen is arguably the better overall item.

space

SPACE

space

This item is wonderful against AP heavy teams. On top of giving a huge boost to your resist pool, you get a super regeneration effect, as well as a movement speed boost to compliment Warpath. This item was made for bruiser Hecarim.

space

SPACE

space

I am not a fan of Warmog's + Atma's on Hecarim, but I figured I would list it anyway. I could give you plenty of reasons why I do not build Atmog's, but the main reason is this: this build uses Trinity Force, rather than Frozen Mallet. Trinity Force is extremely expensive, but is far and away Hecarim's best item. It would be late in the game before you could even build Atmog's, and you would not have the health from Frozen Mallet to compliment it. For my build, Atmog's is not ideal. Do not let that stop you from trying it out, though.

space

Hecarim Builds:

space This build is the one listed at the top of the page. This build is not made to counter any one type of damage or character, it is simply an all-around build that you might run in a game where no one is getting fed, or you just need a wide array of defenses.
space space Is the other team running an AD solo top, jungler, and bot laner? Consider a build like this one. However, if they have an AP mid that is doing reasonably well you might want to consider a Force of Nature, Quicksilver Sash (for crowd control heavy teams), or Maw of Malmortius.
space space This build is designed to take on teams chocked full of AP. If an AD character emerges as a damage dealer, build a Guardian Angel or Frozen Heart.

[VIII] Jungle Route

space
Hecarim's jungle route is very simple, and flows into a free form jungle game a few minutes in. Normally, I would make up an elaborate route with pretty pictures, but there is not a whole lot to say.

Example:

• 1) [Monster Name] - [Spawns:At] - [Respawns Every] - [Priority] - Step description.

Route:

• 1) [Ancient Golem] - [1:55] - [Every 5 Minutes] - [Medium] - Call your middle laner to the blue buff camp, and ask for a leash. Once it spawns, use basic attacks and Rampage to knock it down to 400 health. Use Smite to finish it off. Make sure that Rampage deals the final blow on the last two minions.
• 2) [Wolves] - [1:40] - [Every 1 Minute] - [Low] - Move as quickly as you can to the wolf camp, and use Rampage as quickly as possible to keep your reduced cooldown. Activate Spirit of Dread and a Health Potion if you have not already.
• 3) [Wraiths] - [1:40] - [Every 50 Seconds] - [Low] - Use Rampage and Spirit of Dread. The large wraith should die first, and as always make sure Rampage deals the final blow on the camp.
• 4) [Lizard Elder] - [1:55] - [Every 5 Minutes] - [Medium] - Make sure that you Rampage as soon as possible to keep your cooldown reduction, before using Spirit of Dread and a Health Potion. Use Smite once it has dropped to low health.
• 5) [Golems] - [1:40] - [Every 1 Minute] - [Low] - Use Rampage and Spirit of Dread to clean out the camp before returning to the base. Buy Boots of Speed and several Health Potions.
• 6) Gank a pushed lane. You have Devastating Charge, so ping a pushed opponent and gank them. Provided your teammates help out, you should get a kill. At this point, there is no written route. Clear monster camps as you come across them, and continue to gank and build up your items. After a successful gank on the bottom lane, signal your bottom lane allies to help with the Dragon (you will need Wriggle's Lantern first).

That is it for the jungle route. If you have any questions, simply leave a comment.

[IX] Conclusion

Thank you for reading this guide. It is nearing a complete form now, please leave a comment, vote up, and all those other nice things.

Thanks for reading!

-3Rain