To me it seems as if Hecarim is always destined to be either tank or tanky DPS. His scaling in his abilities doesn't make buying heavy hittting items like bloodthirster or black cleaver worth it. Instead, Hecarim works best as an initiator, due to his extreme mobility. This is why he must be built sturdy. Making him an assasin might work, but his abilities are NOT suited for burst damage. In ganks, Hecarim should lead in from behind the target with his E. He should do as much damage as he can, but if possible, Hecarim should let his teams AP and AD carries to get the kills. Hecarim is NOT suited for carrying either. At level 6, you will be very likely to get a kill if you use your ult. It should be saved for enemy flash, or blink abilities though. Try not to lead in with his Ult in laning phase. In team fights, initiating with his ult and jumping behind the enemy team allows your carries to wreck their team. You yourself should target the squishy enemies and spam Q and have W on all the times in team fights. Hecarim, as told before, works best as an initiator.

With these runes, the ultimate goal is to be unkillable at the start of the game and to make you look more threatening. Additionally they give you great sustain and make you more of a threat for the opposing team.

As marks, you can also take into consideration flat ad runes, but armor penetration will not lose its potential at any phase of the game.
As seals, health, health regen or armor per level works fine, but flat armor will make you bulky at the very start of the game, helping you in jungle and in invasion fights.
What is to be in glyphs, should not be changed. The magic resistance really makes you a lot more durable in fights and covers mid and late game well. As for early game, there isn't so much of a threat from mages early, since they do not have the items to be very strong from start.
Quintessence's can be changed. Movement speed, Armor penetration, or anyways increased durability fits. I like to play with these though, since they really make you such a menace at invasions and early fights. The bulkyness achieved from these is incredible. Additionally you have already covered MR and Armor so there is no need for an increase in those.

There are more possibilities like getting health seals and armor quints but for me this is the perfect arrangement.

The goal with these masteries is the same with the runes. To make you DURABLE. That is what Hecarim's role requires. To be in the front and get pounded all the time. You might want to go with a 21/9/0 page, but that leaves you a bit too vulnerable. 9/12/9 as jungling masteries work. But the I think getting even more increased bulk is worth it.

Items. This build is meant for staying alive whilst being able to wreck the whole enemy team at the same time. Starting with boots gives you about 5 extra AD. This makes clearing slightly more efficient and helps A LOT in early ganks. Also works great with invasion fights. But if you really want to play it safe, you should get Cloth Armor and five health pots. As Hecarim is extremely well fitted to drop the health of the whole enemy team and at the same time durable enough to withstand the blows of the enemies, are these items fitted for the job. Trinity force is a must get item. It provides some cc which Hecarim desperately lacks, movement speed and mobility, which is especially good on Hecarim and a very well fitting passive for Hecarim. Since Hecarim isn't the fastest jungler nor the best ganker, but something in between, somekind of a money source is a must. Philosopher's stone is also valid. It brings better sustain than Heart of gold and Shurelya's Reverie's passive is great on Hecarim. I can also imagine Youmuu's Ghostblade (Avarice Blade first) on Heca, due to its amazing passive, but it is somewhat out of place in this build. Warmog's and Atma's. That combination is AMAZING. It brings incredible durability and high damage. You could swap Warmog's with Frozen mallet for better crowd control, but you lose a big chunk of sustain with it. Force of Nature or Banshee's Veil for better Magic Resistance. Either one is fine, I just like FoN more for its great sustain. But Banshee's buffs AD with Atma's too and also has a great passive, but either one is fine.

As other additions, you could swap some durability for more damage like Last Whisper or Infinity Edge. Both work fine.

Now, Hecarim's skill sequence is very debatable. The reason why I level up his W second is:
- At mid game, Hecarim might not have the items to be Extremely durable yet due to Trinity Force. Leveling his W gives him Magnificent sustain in team fights, and makes him almost impossible to kill fast. Additionally, this lets him stay on the battle field for longer.
- E is more of a mobility spell. The damage it gives by leveling doesn't grow too much, and one point covers the skill well in my opinion.

His Q is almost a must to level up first in the jungle and gives crazy and fast damage. That's why you max it first. Taking a point early in E makes his ganks great, but if all of your teams lanes are pushed, you can take the point in it at level 4, taking a second point to Q at level 3. This allows faster clearing. And of course, his ult is leveled every time you can.

Another option is heading straight for a level 2 gank taking a point in E straight after Blue/Red buff. This is a possibility, but since you lose a lot of sustain in the jungle with it you should try it only if a nearby lane is being pushed heavily by the enemy.

Flash will get you over walls, or right next to someone very low on health to land the finishing blow. That is the reason I use Flash.

On Hecarim, many like to use ghost rather than flash. They say it gives him increased AD, which is true. But the truth is, the amount is rather pathetic. Also, ghost is used to chase and escape. The small AD buff doesn't really help in either of those. And it is a waste to use ghost at the start of fights to get higher damage. Additionally, Hecarim's passive ignores already unit collision, which again goes to waste in Ghost. This is why I prefer Flash.

Exhaust is an incredible ganking tool and helps if you end up in duels with the opposing teams jungler. Exhaust is valid in Flash's place.

Other summoners don't really do well with Hecarim. Ignite is always a good choice, providing extra damage, but exhaust usually secures the kill better. Cleanse does remove cc and make you very tenacious, but again, usually stuff like stuns and slows aren't used on the tanks.

And of course in the jungle Smite is your best friend.

So, as I have discussed Hecarim, we have learned that he is an average jungler, he is not a carry, he should be played as tank or tanky DPS and he should initiate in team fights. I hope you have enjoyed this guide. Rate what you think. Was it good? Or was it bad? I hope this has helped you out with Hecarim. Thank You for viewing this!