I just picked up Poppy a few days ago and I love playing her.
She can be, if played right, devastating to the enemy team by taking down their carrys in the blink of an eye and keep picking off the enemy team one by one with her huge hammer.

This is my very first guide so it may not seem as well done and detailed as the other guides you can find here, but I'll do my best!

November 23, 2011

- Changed my description on Devastating Blow because it didn't apply to this build. Now it does.

- Changed motivation for Phantom Dancer, Black Cleaver and Infinity Edge.

- Renewed the item purchase order.

Pros

One of the best passives in the game
Very good at taking down enemies at turrets
Massive burst with Heroic Charge and Devastating Blow
Her speed allows her to always be where needed
Her Diplomatic Immunity can be gamechanging
She loves eating those squishy champions
SHE GOT A FRICKIN' HAMMER!

Cons

Weak early game
No farming abilities
Have no real answer to ranged harass in lanephase

Since it reduces all damage 10% above her current health and not maximum by 50%, this becomes Poppy's greatest strength and allows you to take on quite the spank before giving in. But you'll still have to watch out for turrets, though. Since their damage is not reduced.



This is the spell we will be focusing on getting to lvl 5 first. With the 4 second cooldown at level 4 (may be less, depending on which runes and masteries you choose to play with) and only 2 seconds cooldown on Trinity Force makes this essential for your damage output.



Also a great skill. The passive will give you up to 35 extra armor and damage.
The extra 35 armor and damage is great in teamfights and its active really helps you chase down any fleeing enemies.


Your one and only stun. But you can also separate one from the herd, letting you take down the support or a very squishy carry before the fight even begins.
Your positioning for this spell is very important as you will rush straight forward, so be sure to have a wall by the enemy's side before using to deal extra damage and stun your target.



You find the real use for this spell in the teamfights, where it really shines.
Be sure to use it on the one player that you think won't die nor kill you in 8 seconds, because when you activate this you become immune to all CC and damage from everything else.
Which means you can pick off the enemy team with ease.

You should take masteries so that they fit your playstyle, you can spend the points in many different ways.
Spend as you like. Not much more to add.

greater mark of desolation
Armor pen marks is what I think the best choice for Poppy, as it is for many other carrys in LoL. I recommend the armor pen, as they are great when you have the Trinity Force due to the 150% bonus attack damage.

Greater Mark of Magic Penetration works too but not as good with this guide.



I chose armor seals because they will help you a lot during the game.
But most of all, they will get you more lane sustainability as you are pretty vulnerable early game.

If you don't like armor seals or maybe you don't own any, you can as well pick Greater Seal of Health or Greater Seal of Scaling Magic Resist. Even though I think armor is the best choice.



With CDR glyphs you can hit them with your Devastating Blow more often, which means you can abuse it and use it to it's full potential.

If you don't have any CDR glyphs, you can use Greater Glyph of Magic Resist or Greater Glyph of Scaling Mana Regeneration.


greater quintessence of desolation
I picked armor pen quints for the same reason as the marks
If you don't have them, pick Greater Quintessence of Health, or Greater Quintessence of Magic Penetration.

Recommended

Exhaust is a great summoner spell for any AD-carry. It allows you to shut down an enemy caster, let you get the upper hand in an 1 on 1 situation or you can use it just to slow down a fleeing foe.

VS

Ghost and flash almost serves the same purpose. I say almost because flash is more of an escape mechanism, while ghost can be used for both escaping and catching up on enemies.
I usually pick flash over ghost just to be able to be quick in and out, but also because you can flash over walls. Which I occasionally find very handy.
You should always pick one of these, don't swap these for any other spell!

Situational

If you find yourself in a team with already one or two exhaust but no ignite, you should pick it. It's always useful to have an ignite in the team even though you won't need it to get your kills, you can use it to reduce their healing effects during the time.



If you're up against a high CC team, this could be your savior, the spark of light in the most darkest of moments if you will. Won't work against knock-ups, though.

Well..

If you really think this will have any positive impact on the game, then be my guest.
But beware, you are not a good farmer. In fact, you're one of the worst.
Seems pretty wasted if you can't use it to farm and defend towers properly and when it comes to getting to your team faster, just press W.



This spells seems rather interesting. With the bonus attack speed and ability power gained there can be moments you'll benefit from it.

Don't, just don't.

Core

This is your core build. Most of the games will end by now or in some cases even before getting this. The Trinity Force is very important to increase your damage output early game, with the 150% bonus attack damage after using a spell. It will also give you attack speed and crit chance, which will let you farm easier.

I chose Mercury's Treads because the 35 tenacity is very useful when ganked without any teamates nearby. I can assure you these boots will save your life at least once every game.
If you don't like the Mercury's Treads for some reason, the Berserker's Greaves is a very good choice as it gives you the ability to hammer down your foes even quicker.
Also Ionian Boots of Lucidity is an option. They come with a rather high CDR and makes you Devastating Blow even more devastating!

Only choose Berserker's Greaves or Ionian Boots of Lucidity if you aren't afraid of enemy CC.

Situational

I think this should be you next item, right after Trinity Force. If they don't have more than 1 tank or is not stacking armor. If they are, then just take Black Cleaver and get this right after.


The black cleaver is a great item if the enemy team have a lot of tanks or is stacking armor to stop you. When you have bought your b.f sword and are going back to choose either this or the Infinity Edge, be sure to check if they are stacking armor to avoid surprises.


If you go get Infinity Edge before Black Cleaver, then this is the item you are looking for. The attack speed and increased critchance is just great with infinity edge.
However, if the enemy team is going for armor and you chose the black cleaver as a third item, you should maybe get the Infinity Edge before this one to max out the damage.


You feel like your are always kept at a distance by stuns and slows or being bullied by some mean mages, well there's an answer for that! With this brilliant item you stop being sad and start killing again.


It can be nice to have something to rely on catching you when you fall. Even though that rarely happens you may still want to buy one in the beginning of late game, when dying can mean the end of the game.


I personally don't think this is a very good item for Poppy. I've seen it a lot of other guide and I can get you might want some lifesteal and the damage is great, but Poppy is hard to farm with and you will fin yourself killing champions much more often than on a lane killing creeps. It's still a viable item, but you should have won before getting anything useful out of it.

With this guide my goal was to very briefly show my way of playing and how I think while playing Poppy.
I may add how to play during different phases and how to act in the teamfights later.
I hope you guys enjoy my guide and that you got at least something useful out of it.
If there is something you want me to add, feel free to comment.
Please give any constructive criticism you have, as I said, this is my first guide.
Be sure to vote!

Peace out!

Metal Rabbit