Warwick, The Blood Hunter

This is an in-depth guide for those who wish to learn how to jungle with Warwick effectively, and keep him effective all game. Jungling is a very viable strategy. It allows two of your teammates to lane solo. It also is a great ganking tool, as your oppenents usually do not know where you are. Finally, it is a great money maker.




Backround:

Once a man, Warwick was trained by the Alchemists of Zaun and later hired as a mercenary by the Noxian Army for their war against Ionia. An alchemical genius, he became known to the Ionians as the Deathmaker for the terror and destruction his creations sowed. Sequestered in his labs, he felt no responsibility for the death tolls these creations wrought. Eventually Soraka, an Ionian with the power of gods in her blood, had seen enough of the alchemist's predations. Something in her snapped, and she sacrificed her divinity to curse Warwick. She wanted him to feel revulsion at what he was, for him to dip his fingers in the blood he so often shed. Soraka cursed him to be a werewolf, a wild murderous beast.

What Soraka did not anticipate was that Warwick would revel in his newfound lycanthropy. Turning his back on his human past, Warwick now revels in his physical prowess and bloodlust as a mercenary fighting on the Fields of Justice. As a werewolf, a form he now rarely leaves, Warwick is an unnatural predator. His enormous claws carve enemies to bits, temporarily quenching his eternal thirst to drain their lives, healing his wounds. Worse is when he leaps onto a foe like an animal, knocking the sense out of his prey under a flurry of slashing talons. The vestiges of a pack animal reside within him, he can also let loose a piercing howl, which echoes across the battlefield to both bolster and coordinate those who fight with him. Few can hide from the werewolf, especially once he catches the scent of blood and his hunger overtakes him.

Though Warwick has been physically transformed, his nature has not; he is still a predator.


Stats:


Health: 428 (+98 / per level)

Mana: 170 (+30 / per level)

M/S: 320

Armor: 16 (+3.5 / per level)

S-Block: 30 (+1.25 / per level)

Critical: 2.6 (+0.4 / per level)

H-Regen: 1.41 (+0.16 / per level)

M-Regen: 0.77 (+0.05 / per level)

Range: 100




Pros:

- Great Jungler
- Great Ganking Ability
- Global IAS Buff
- Can Late-game Carry
- Easy to Farm up Items
- Early Dragon Killer
- Very Dangerous 1v1
- Great Staying Power from Lifesteal

Cons:

- Early Jungling Can be Very Dangerous
- No Escape Mechanic
- Can Have a Hard Time Chasing
- Not very Team Oriented in the End-game
- Stuns/Slows Shut him Down


Abilities:

Eternal Thirst [Passive]

Each of Warwick's attacks will heal him for 5/10/15 health. Each successive attack against the same target will restore increasing amounts of health to Warwick.

Analysis:
Decent passive ability. Adds to your early game survivability when jungling and ganks.


Hungering Strike

Strikes an enemy for the greater value between 75 / 125 / 175 / 225 / 275 (+1 per ability power) and 8 / 11 / 14 / 17 / 20% of the target's maximum health (can only do flat damage to monsters), and heals Warwick for 100% of the damage dealt.

Cooldown: 12 seconds
Cost: 100 Mana
Range: 400

Analysis:
Very effect early game jungling tool to keep your health up. Becomes less important as the game goes on. Has a high mana cost so use it sparingly early on.



Hunter's Call

Increases Warwick's attack speed by 50% and all friendly champions' attack speed by 25% for 6 / 9 / 12 / 15 / 18 seconds.

Cooldown: 32 seconds
Cost : 35 Mana
Range: 20


Analysis:
One of his best abilities, as it is a global IAS buff. Great for ganks, tower pushing, and early jungling to keep your health up. Has a very low mana cost, use it whenever you can.



Blood Scent

Warwick passively senses weakened enemy champions around him. The scent of blood sends him into a fury causing him to move at incredible speeds. Warwick senses enemy champions under 50% life within 1,500 / 2,300 / 3,100 / 3,900 / 4,700 distance of him;

Upon sensing an enemy at low life he will gain 20 / 25 / 30 / 35 / 40% Movement Speed.

Cooldown: 45 seconds
Cost: Passive
Range: 20

Analysis:
Comes in handy when you need that last hit on runners. Can also save your butt if you become the runner. Only invest one point early game as it really isnt needed much.



Infinite Duress

Warwick lunges at an enemy Champion, stunning them for 2 seconds. While they are stunned, Warwick quickly strikes the target 6 times for 33% of his attack damage plus 30 / 50 / 70.

Cooldown: 100 seconds
Cost: 150 Mana
Range: 700

Analysis:
Has been known to "bug out" occasionaly. Great for ganks. Can almost guarentee a kill everytime its up if you find somone out of posistion. Dropping a Rally increases its damage. Procs item passives.


Rune Builds:


I have tested many diffrent rune page building with Warwick and have found staking Attack Speed to be the best. A full page of AS runes nets you around 20% attack speed bonus, which is important in Warwicks early jungling potential. AS and Crit Chance rune builds help keep you alive early game against creeps and stay viable throughout the game. Other viable rune builds are HP/second runes and +Health runes.


1.Attack Speed
2.Dodge
3. Reduced CD




Masteries:

I havent quite decided on which mastery build to go for, so I just went with what I felt could contribute as a whole and I go primarily in Offense, very little in Defense, and none in Utility.

As of right now, I use a Offense 21, Defense 6, and 3 Utility build. Make sure to get Improved Rally.



Suggestions here would be helpful as I have not found one that really outdoes the other.


Summoner Abilities:

There are a few summoner abilities that can be viable on Warwick. If you are just starting out, I suggest taking Smite and Rally to help with early game jungling. As you get better at jungling, drop Smite, as it is not needed and has zero potential late game.
Rally is a must as it not only is a AoE group buff, but also a heal and a physical damage modifier by +30% which goes hand in hand with your lifesteal passive.. Some early jungling require the use of Rally to survive. Not only is it essential to your jungling, it can also be dropped when you use your ulti on an unlucky poor soul, making your damage on Infinite Duress do ~30% more.




Hungering Strike is taken first to assist with your first jungling camp. Next Hunter's Call is taken as it is a very effective spell for jungling and is also a global team buff. Only one level of Blood Scent is taken as it is really only needed for chasing. Other builds do not level it at all until it has to be taken, but I prefer 1 point in it just in case I need the extra movement speed for ganks or escapes. Infinite Duress is obviously taken whenever it is availible, as it is your bread and butter ganking skill early - mid game.


Item Builds:


The first item you will always get is Cloth Armour. You will later upgrade this to a Madred's Razor, which is an essential jungling item. In my usualy build, I take 2 or 3 Health Pots, as I do not take Smite, so I need that little extra to take down my first Golem and Lizard Camps. Not taking them is taking a big chance of getting embarresed by the creeps.


On my next trip back to camp , I usually go for Berserker Boots and Vampiric staff, which will later be built into our next item, The Bloodthirster. Your next item built is circumstantial, I usually go for Frozen Mallet for some health and ganking potential. Upgrading your Maded's Razor into Bloodrazor is also highly recommended. With the patch, the passive now take out 2.5% max health, which means ~15% more damage from an Infinite Duress, as it activates every hit of your ulti. Next, if you are facing alot of mages, look for magic resist items like Force of Nature, Banshee Veil or Wits End. If you are going agianst a lot of Melee DPS, get some more armour items like Warden's Mail or Thornmail. Guardian Angel is a mix of the two and also has a nice passive, as well as Atma's Impaler.





IX. In-Game Strategy:

Now for the juicy stuff. It is very, very important to have a good early game, as it sets the tone for the rest of the game, not only for you, but for your teamates as well. Start off by purchasing your Cloth Armour and Health Pots. Head straight for the Golem camp on your side and type /dance when you get there to pass the time until he pops. Once he pops, take him out. Don't worry about wasteing all your mana on him, just get him killed. Try not to waste your Rally on him, as you will need it for the lizard. He gives you a mana regen buff that will help you jungle faster and more efficiently. A lot of junglers go for Lizard camp first, but it is more time effective to drop the Golem first. Once you defeat him, head to either the lesser camp under/over him if you did not level, or striaght for the lizard camp if you leveld off of the Golem. Again, don't be afraid to use your abilities, as you will gain mana back very fast. Once you are level 2, go to for the Lizard camp. Auto Attack him first, then drop your Rally, and then Hunter's Call. This will ensure a decent Lifesteal % and is important for your survival. Once you have defeated the Lizard camp, congratulations, you have overcome your first obstacle. Now clear all the other lesser camps on your side and once you have 700 gold, pill back to camp and grab Madred's Razor. Note that you might end up with a little less, just Blue Pill back and you should have enough by the time you get back.

Here is the order in which you should kill the camps for your first 700.



Now, listen up, I have taken the Dragon out at level 4 with no buffs from the camps. It is a very close fight and I would advise agianst it unless you have gotten really good and understand what needs to be done. If you want to play a little bit safer, head on over to your opponents camps and take them out, once they are all dead, you shoudl be level 6. Call out a gank. Your ulti is very effective in combination with your teamates and almost guarentees a kill early game. Afterwards, head to the Dragon and take him out. At this point he is pretty easy and Rally should be back up, making it even easier. If you think your opponents might be smart and they might try and gank you when you are killing him, ask a teammate to guard you while you kill it. Each teammate will recieve a chunk of experience and +165 gold, so your guard will not mind if he knows whats going on.

Once the dragon is dead, pill back to base and start getting your items. You will probably have enough gold for your Berserker's Greaves and a Vampiric Scepter. Return to jungling, making mad bills, and calling out ganks whenever your ulti is up. Remember, the Dragon spawns every 5 minutes after his last death, so keep an eye on the clock and kill him whenever he is up. Also, the Golem and Lizard buffs help with ganks.

Late game, I have found that Warwick is an insane tower pusher. Hunter's Call along with the items you should have up to this point make towers drop very fast, especially with a teammate. Warwick can also push out lanes very quickly due to his high attack damage and attack speed. You don't have many abilities that are good in team battles, so what I like to do is lurk back until somone has been targeted, then ulti in to stun them as your team brings them down. Also remeber to Hunter's Call in team battles as it is a global buff.


Im sure im forgetting somthing so ill add it later when I remember.


X. Tips and Tricks:


Jungling:

If need be, use wards to gain more map awarness and control. It is importnat to know where your teamates/enemies are. Can be used at the start of the game to watch the river if ganks are coming for you. Jungling in your opponents jungle is also a viable strategy as it can lead to easier ganks, just be very weary of where your opponents are. If you are being chased early game by a ganker, either try and juke and hide in bushes or run into a lane to get help forom your team.


Infinite Duress:

Remeber, your ulti activates any passives your items have, use it to your advantage. Also remeber to drop a Rally when you are in your ulti, as it increase the damage of each strike.

Some people like to open up with Infinite Duress, but I have found it more effective to try and save it until they start to run away, as you can get some attacks in before they take off, even if its one, its somtimes worth it.

Pay attention to your opponents summoner spells at the start of the battle. Cleanse stops the ulti and we stay stunned. Not fun!


Pushing:

Use Hunter's Call to quickly kill creep waves and easily drop towers. Just be careful going solo, as your enemy will more then likely try and gank you as you do not have a reliabe escape mechanic.


Ganks:

Hiding in the High Grass between your oppenents first two towers can be effective to grab runners who are retreating back from your teammates.


Ty for watching my Warwick Jungle guide
Hope you enjoyed

Warwick, The Blood Hunter
Once a man, Warwick was trained by the Alchemists of Zaun and later hired as a mercenary by the Noxian Army for their war against Ionia. An alchemical genius, he became known to the Ionians as the Deathmaker for the terror and destruction his creations sowed. Sequestered in his labs, he felt no responsibility for the death tolls these creations wrought. Eventually Soraka, an Ionian with the power of gods in her blood, had seen enough of the alchemist's predations. Something in her snapped, and she sacrificed her divinity to curse Warwick. She wanted him to feel revulsion at what he was, for him to dip his fingers in the blood he so often shed. Soraka cursed him to be a werewolf, a wild murderous beast.

What Soraka did not anticipate was that Warwick would revel in his newfound lycanthropy. Turning his back on his human past, Warwick now revels in his physical prowess and bloodlust as a mercenary fighting on the Fields of Justice. As a werewolf, a form he now rarely leaves, Warwick is an unnatural predator. His enormous claws carve enemies to bits, temporarily quenching his eternal thirst to drain their lives, healing his wounds. Worse is when he leaps onto a foe like an animal, knocking the sense out of his prey under a flurry of slashing talons. The vestiges of a pack animal reside within him, he can also let loose a piercing howl, which echoes across the battlefield to both bolster and coordinate those who fight with him. Few can hide from the werewolf, especially once he catches the scent of blood and his hunger overtakes him.

Though Warwick has been physically transformed, his nature has not; he is still a predator.

Introduction
Welcome to my first ever champion guide. From the first time I loaded up a game of LoL, I was drawn to Warwick. I don't know why, I just loved the whole werewolf kind of theme and the experience that goes with it. As I looked around at guides and the Riot suggestions for Warwick, all people ever talked about was jungling. Granted, Warwick is a great jungler and that strategy can work with the right team. However, a majority of the time teams can't manage two solo lanes and the person jungling ends up staying in the lane anyway with a build that doesn't fit.

So, striving to be the black sheep, I decided to just give up jungling and go with a straight laning build. I had to start from scratch, because apparently no one ever thought to forgo the suggestions of jungling and actually try building a laning Warwick from the ground up, and those that did apparently sucked it up because the word isn't out yet about the potential he has to be a laner.

With this guide, Warwick becomes very DPS-ish and even gets tanky when you hit level 17-18. The ability to dps, tank, and stun/gank people makes you very valuable in team fights, and you'll often use Hungering Strike to scare the enemy away (I mean, who wants to lose 20% of their health in one swoop?). To those who think this guide is blaspheme to the very foundation of Warwick, that's fine with me. You stick with your jungle and follow everyone and their grandmas with their jungle builds and I'll be out taking 2 of your teammates on at once, winning, and coming out over 70% health. Even against tanks. Nomnomnomnomnomnom.
Abilities
Eternal Thirst
This is an amazing passive, and it will keep you alive and kicking during the early laning phase. Remember that as you continue to hit the same target, you gain more and more health. If you are starting to run low on health, aim for the cannon minions because they take the most hits, allowing you to heal up.


Hungering Strike
This is your harassment tool. Level it first, max it first, use it often. A very deadly combo with Infinite Duress, but more on that later.


Hunters Call
This is your tower pushing skill. Level it up only after you get your ult because we'll be pushing like crazy mid-game.


Blood Scent
This is the compliment to your Hungering Strike harassment. Any time people see the icon over their head and hear the wolf howl, they freak out. You're moving much faster now and if anyone is around 30% of their health, you can eat them quickly and they know it. If they don't, they'll figure it out.


Infinite Duress
This is one of my favorite moves in the whole entire game. Stun, free attacks, enhanced lifesteal, damages even if you get stunned in the middle of doing it... there's not a lot to dislike here. Try not to initiate with it, as it is a much more useful tool against people you can chase with Blood Scent.


Items
The success of every character lies solely with the items purchased to expand their strengths and cover up their weaknesses. This is very true with Warwick, as he is very item dependent. The item build for this guide is as follows:

Beginning:
Boots of Speed
Health Potion x2
Mana Potion

A mana potion? Yes, Hungering Strike is very mana consuming in the beginning, and you'll save a trip back to base just by buying that one potion.

Next up, finish the boots in the form of Mercury's Treads.

Afterwards, you'll start building Malady, and if you buy it in pieces I recommend starting with the Vampiric Scepter. When Malady is finished, you will be much more aggressive in the lane and you'll be able to stay for long periods of time without having to return to base (unless your partner sucks and you're getting double teamed).

EDIT: I just played two games with Stark's Fervor instead of Malady, and it works well too. If you have the extra cash, pick up the Fervor instead of Malady. However, I've successfully build Merc Treads and Malady around level 7, whereas with Starks Fervor it generally took till 8 1/2 to 9 just because farming with Warwick sucks against anything but tanks. So, your choice. Starks is the better item, but if it takes too long just stick with Malady.

The next item took me forever to decide on. I used to just head straight to Frozen Mallet, but I found that I just wasn't ready to farm enough to get that expensive of an item any time soon. So, I played around with items until I found Sword of the Divine. It's relatively cheap, great for adding some extra dps (which works very well since you have Malady to suck up some life with) and every 4th attack gives you an extra 100 damage. Nothing to hate there.

After you get the Sword of the Divine, you'll be even more of a nuisance to the enemy, and they'll realize just how squishy you can be since Warwick has little to no resistance or armor. To counter this, and to add more awesomeness to your attacks, you'll be building a Frozen Mallet. This gives you life, attack damage, and freezing to pretty much make you impossible to escape if you are chasing an enemy. If you build it in pieces, start with Phage, then the belt, then the Mallet.

The game is usually over by now, but the next piece of the puzzle is dependent on the enemies you are facing. If there is an abundance of squishies, pick up a Wit's End. If there are some tanks and other high-armor annoyances, pick up Last Whisper. Both are great, will make you even more menacing to come across, and at this point you'll be with your team the whole time anyway so ganks just... happen. You won't even have to try. Q > R > Q puts most enemies below 35-40% of their health, the rest goes away with a short chase.

Last but not least, you want to increase your lethality beyond pure nuisance to "omg WW is op" comments. Pick up a B. F. Sword and turn it into a Black Cleaver. If you get this far in the game, you aren't harassing enough or your team has been slacking off. You can solo towers, you can kill pretty much anything 1v1 (including Baron, but you might hold off on him unless you are level 17-18).
Skilling Order
Hungering Strike is first to be maxed.
Pick up Blood Scent second, and max it second.
Get Hunters Call third, and max it last.
Infinite Duress is obviously the highest priority.

If you are having mana shortage issues, go pick on the golem for his aura. If you are about to go gank someone, get the lizard aura.
Summoner Abilities
Exhaust and Ghost, hands down. Exhaust for chasing and getaways, same can be said for Ghost. I also toyed around with Exhaust and Ignite for a while, but had no real way of escaping the ganks and thus died very often. If you think you can play it safe enough without being useless, go ahead and try it. Ignite works well, when used properly, to get enemies under that 50% mark for Blood Scent.
Pros / Cons
Pros:
-great laner
-good survivability mid-to-late game
-can beat nearly anyone 1v1, can take some 2v1 (be smart, not cocky)
-around mid-game, you'll be able to farm real well for the rest of the build

Cons:
-Warwick is squishy in the early game, so don't die needlessly and screw your team early on
-you will be targeted harshly and frequently if the enemy team knows what they are doing, so I hope you saved that Ghost for a rainy day
-people are going to blame you for everything if the team loses because you're not jungling. While testing for this build, I heard a lot of "if ww jungled like he was supposed to we wouldn't have lost" and stuff. Seriously, it sounds stupid, but a majority of people are just sore losers.
Working in the team
Your job in the team is to run circles around your tank hurting whoever you can, and the first person you see less than 50% is your target to Q/R/Q them for the kill. Hungering Strike is an amazing tool for chasing because it's 20% of their health gone (they likely have that or less if they are running) and it has a good range so you can end the chase sooner.
Summary
I hope you like this guide and achieve great success with it. It took me a lot of wins and losses to work out the bugs, but I have full faith in it.

Hope you enjoyed
Rate and comment why u voted down/up :)