Hello and welcome to my build. Please excuse any grammar errors as I will correct them over time for those of you in the policing division. This is also the first build I've ever written up so I really hope you guys enjoy it.

If you aren't into the whole write up of how to play Renekton, just skip down to the item descriptions. I love to type so I don't want to bore those who aren't interested :)

Before getting into the details, let me explain that this is just a general build for Renekton. Every game is different and the items you buy should also vary. The items listed however, are just a general list that work good with Renekton. I've found he deals decent (okay maybe excellent) damage with a good amount of survivability. If you are stumped on what to get for Renekton, feel free to use this build as a general guide. Also keep in mind this guide works best for good damage output and protection against physical champions. These items aren't the best options in a game facing magical nukers.

I will try my best throughout the guide to use full language rather than fill it with acronyms. It looks sloppy and not everyone knows them. It's best to just spell things out. It's not like I'm in a quick game chat. This is a guide after all.

Without further ado ladies and gents, meet Renekton! You will grow to love him ;)

Renekton really lives up to his reputation as a crocodile. If someone gets too close to your territory, you will jump at them in a second. And once you have them in your jaws, you aren't letting go. To understand just how crocodile like he is, read on and find out just how deadly he is!

Let's go over some of the advantages and disadvantages of Renekton.

Advantages:

* No mana, no energy, no reserved power of some sort hindering your use of abilities. Just cool downs. Just Fury. This means your staying power in a lane will be amazing. While dealing decent damage without it, it's best to build up fury when you are getting ready to pull off a champion kill.
* Has the ability Cull the Meek which offers you a form of healing. Still continues your strength at holding a lane.
* Excellent Harasser. Slice and Dice allows Renekton to either:
A.) Jump in and out of combat.
B.) Jump that itsy bitsy gap that is separating you from a kill in a chase.
*Has Ruthless Predator which is a nice stun that greater adds to his ability to harass and chase.
* Deals better damage when you save up fury. He is a beast when using his fury reserve.
* His ultimate is a great escape tool and area of effect tool. Great to initiate during team fights to offer added damage to a surrounding area. Also gives you a big boost in your health.

Disadvantages:
* Pretty squishy early game. This build helps make him into a pretty decent mix of damage and tank late game. This forces you to play a smart and tactful early game.
* Easy to over commit. He has the ability to jump into combat and sometimes it really isn't the best to do so. Much like Kennen can over commit with his lightning ball, Renekton can over commit with his slice n' dice. Use it wisely.
* Renekton is focused like a piece of candy to a toddler with a sweet tooth. For some reason, everyone has it imprinted in their mind that Renekton MUST be stopped on all levels. In a sense, they are right. If you leave Renekton alone, he will be unstoppable late game. Just be ready to face your fair share of ganks.

I'm not going to go into GREAT detail on how to play Renekton as you will gain the ability and skill to play him effectively through experience. When I first started out with him, guides explained what to do and I found myself trying to mimic them but failing over and over to execute a good Renekton. I'll give you insight on ways I play and you can take it as you'd like. Once you become good with him, you'll be able to develop your own effective play style.

Renekton firstly, is a champion who deals damage. He has the ability to grab someone squishy and make their day the worst they've ever had....Yup. They will be weeping all the while you chase them.

Secondly, he has the ability to be a good support tank. I wouldn't really classify him as a pure tank but he can definitely hold his own if you use your abilities right.

The beginning of your game is all about farming and picking up kills when you can. Grabbing the Madred's Razors will make your gold intake much greater as you'll be last hitting minions much more effectively. Not only that, it's a cheap item that has good PvP purposes.

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~~**Ability Strategies**~~

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Cull the Meek:
Early game you will probably take some heat and sometimes it's best to stay in your lane instead of returning to base. Lucky for you, Renekton has a built in lifesteal ability. Cull the Meek is your farming tool and your healing tool. Hit one minion and it doesn't do much. Line it up so you hit 5 minions (maximum number to heal from) and you'll be getting a significantly greater heal. This ability is used early game as a last hitting tool. No mana makes for an awesome way of spamming your abilities for gold.

Another tip. If you are caught up in a gank and you are being followed closely, use Cull the Meek to give yourself an even more significant heal. It doesn't stop you from escaping and in turn offers you a generous amount of health. Try to remember using it when running from a chase. It has given me that slight boost in health that saves you in a pinch.

Ruthless Predator:
This ability is where your kills are generated. It may not be dealing the final blow but it certainly gets you to the point of your final blow. It stuns your targets and allows you to get Cull the Meek and an auto attack off. You don't realize how much damage you can do when using that combo until you catch a squishy off guard. It does incredible damage while stunning the enemy for a few seconds. My favorite ability of his by far.

Slice and Dice:
If you haven't noticed, Renekton's abilities seem to have a tasty trend. They seem to accommodate every single awesome ability you would ever need. He's got a damage dealing heal ability. He's got a stunning ability. Wouldn't it be perfect if he had a chasing/escaping tool as well? Oh wait, Slice n' Dice is just that! This ability has so many uses. You can jump to targets..You can jump AWAY from targets..You can use it twice if passing through an enemy..You can even jump through thin walls while running away from someone. Learn to land your Slice n' Dice on a minion or champion so that you can use it a second time without waiting for cooldown.

Dominus:
Not much to say here other than this can turn you into a beast when you need to be. Whether you are running away or initiating a fight, it's going to help in one way or another. Often time you will find yourself low in health and Cull the Meek just won't cut it. It's time to whip out Dominus. It boosts your health and adds an Area of Effect spell. It's the only ability that actually has magical properties. It also makes you slightly bigger which means your players reach for his abilities is slightly increased. When using it in team fights, try to initiate without it first and then flip it on when it seems most appropriate. Again, you will learn how to use all of his abilities effectively on your own.

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~~**Skill Sequences**~~

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Generally you want to use Slice n' Dice as your initiation tool. Early game, you want to hit a minion first on your way to an enemy champion. Since you don't have much health stability, you need an escape tool. Hitting a minion first allows you to flash in and out of the situation. The second thing you do when flashing in is use your stun which stops them running away from the initial shock. Get in their face and use Ruthless Predator. Follow that up with Cull the Meek and you took a good chunk of their health. Don't stop there as you now need to pop out like the good harasser you are. Use Slice n' Dice a second time to get out.
This is what early game is like. You want to spend your time farming minions but harassing an unsuspecting champion when they get too close to you.

To recap, your key input would look like:
E -<>- W -<>- Q -<>- E

This is his general play style. Other than these tips, the rest you learn on your own. Everyone plays differently and there is not one way to play him. It's trial and error and don't let teammates talk you down when you learn. He is a tough champion to get used to and you will most likely have bad games. Just keep plugging in practice and you'll get the hang of him.

I've never been huge in buying runes but they are better to have than not to have at all (well duh!). I like to pull early game advantage vs. scaling runes. This means I will usually buy a rune with a flat bonus instead of one that gives you .04 every level up to 18. Having an early game advantage allows me to build faster and pull off confident kills in the beginning stage of the game. I determine my late game by the items I buy, not the runes I have.

As far as what runes you should get him, I really don't want to tell people how to buy runes as it is up to the individual. Just keep in mind that Renekton is a physical/somewhat tanky champion when buying your runes. Try to accommodate his most effective play style with your runes. I will tell you however, not to buy AP runes. All his abilities use physical damage so all AP will be doing is slightly helping his ultimate. The runes listed in the build above are self explanatory.

Every person prefers different masteries. I personally run a 21/6/3 mastery set. Because of Renekton's good damage output, the offensive masteries felt most effective to me.

Instead of throwing mastery points into dodge chance in the defensive section, I put points into health regeneration.

Cloth Armor:
I buy this first along with some Health Potion's. The cloth armor provides some added protection and will soon build into your Madreds Razors. As far as the health potions, feel free to buy as many as you need to start out with. If you want to save money to build into the Razors quicker, buy fewer health potions.


Madred's Razors:
I've grown to love these. The first thing about them is they are dirt cheap. You can have them around level 4. The added bonus of good armor and decent damage is great for Renekton as well. My favorite thing about these however, is their ability to farm minions. You have a 15% chance to deal an added 500 damage to minions. Couple that with Renekton's farming abilities and you'll be racking up gold in no time.


Ionian Boots of Lucidity:
Renekton is a great harasser and farmer. The cool down advantages of them are too great to pass up.


Heart of Gold:
Excellent health and armor plus you are now banking even more money than you were with your Madred's. I'm telling you, buying items is a breeze when you build him this way. This will be held on and later built into a Randuin's Shield.


Phage:
By now, you have decent survivability. It's time to start focusing items with attack damage so that you can start wiping squishy butt. The phage offers damage and keeps on with the trend of survivability with its added health. This item will later be built into a Frozen Mallet.


B. F. Sword:
Still adding to your attack damage phase, you are adding a flat 50 bonus damage. It's expensive but don't think you are dumping gold. Any extra damage you can add in this phase is great and besides, this will later build into The Black Cleaver.


Frozen Mallet:
This item right here is where your aggressiveness steps up a notch. Crazy amounts of health add to your survivability. On top of that health, you are now slowing your targets as you auto attack them. If you thought you could harass before, imagine it now.


Black Cleaver:
A VERY good item for Renekton. This is one of his core items as it gives him all the bonuses he needs. Attack speed. Check. Attack damage. Check. An on attack de-buff on enemy armor? AWESOME! Check. Couple this with Ruthless Predator and you've taken a good chunk of their protection.


Madred's Bloodrazor, Randuin's Omen, and Bloodthirster:
This is where you as a player need to make your own decision. The build above put them into some sort of order but the last three items you get can be switched around whichever way most benefits you. I'd still suggest finishing the Randuin's Omen as it is your last item towards unbelievable survivability.

I like the Madred's Bloodrazor as it offers plenty of bonuses with the most beneficial quality being its ability to tear tanks apart. If you aren't running into hard tanks, you may just want to sell the Razors from earlier and put the money towards a Bloodthirster. It offers crazy amounts of damage, some lifesteal, and stacks further damage and lifesteal for every kill you get up until you die. An overall awesome item especially when facing squishers.

You can get all three items if you are well off with money but sometimes it isn't the most reasonable decision. Decide for yourself what you need the most. Read the descriptions of the items to determine how well they will help you against the current enemy team.

Every game is different and sooner or later, you are going to have to throw out items from this build and buy something more beneficial. I'll offer some good items to counter some situations that aren't covered well with the general build. I'll offer you scenarios where these items could be used appropriately. If you need to pick up one of these optional items, decide for yourself what item from the core build you should remove. In other words, ask yourself "what item isn't beneficial this round?"


Mercury's Treads:
As mentioned before, Renekton is focused a lot. I am yet to play a game where Renekton is left alone. The enemy team will, a lot of times, go out of their way to make your life difficult! Grab these instead of the Ionian Boots of Lucidity if you are finding yourself caught in all types of snares, stuns, and anything else hindering you. It also provides some magic resistance which, admittedly, this guide lacks.


Guardian Angel:
If you are having troubles with taking a mix of physical and magical damage, pick this item up. It offers good armor against physical champions. It also offers pretty decent magic resist. On top of all that, you are given a second breath of life if you fall in combat. Again, if you don't feel you have enough overall protection, pick this item up.


Thornmail:
When facing an overwhelming amount of damage from physical champions, Thornmail is a nice choice. An added 100 armor plus it returns 30% of all damage to anyone attacking you. Turn your ultimate on with this item and you'll be dealing some serious damage without any thought.


Force of Nature:
If you have serious magic champions draining your health, pick up this item. It offers you the most protection in ONE item against magic plus it's a good health regeneration item.


Hexdrinker:
A great item if you want to have some magic resistance while still maintaining some attack damage. The nice thing about this is if you are going to be hit by a spell which will place you below 30% of health (such as Karthus' ultimate) you will gain a shield protecting you for 300 of that abilities damage. Great against heavy nuking champions.


Last Whisper:
If you are still looking for an item that can deal damage and penetrate armor, grab a Last Whisper. Sometimes you are going to get that team which insists on only tanking. This item has excellent armor penetration and you will find yourself doing much more damage than without it against tanks.

I really do hope you guys enjoyed my build. I did my best at play testing several items and I've had the greatest success with the current ones listed. It's not a build for everyone and I encourage you guys to find your own. We all prefer different things and maybe this build isn't for you. I really don't care about ratings but rather want to provide an effective build for those who are unsure of what items work.

I would also like to note that I did not copy anyones build. I've looked at plenty on here and have loved most of them. Each build has a unique twist or quality that makes them work for different purposes. I'm just adding my input and thought into Renekton because I love him. He's a great champion to play and want everyone to enjoy him like I do. I look at this build as just another way of playing him.

In closing, I would just like you guys to give me a critique. I'm new to writing builds and had fun with this one. I'm excited to write another some day for a champion that I love as much as Renekton. So I'm going to leave ratings connected to comments. If you want to rate it, leave me a comment and offer what you felt worked and what didn't. I'm always open to what you guys have to suggest. Just because I created this build doesn't mean I know everything there is to know.

Thanks,
The Master of Buttons.