Darius Build Guide by bsurma
This build has been archived and is for historical display only.
PLEASE NOTE: This build has been archived by the author. They are no longer supporting nor updating this build and it may have become outdated. As such, voting and commenting have been disabled and it no longer appears in regular search results.
| Health | 3410 |
| Health Regen | 25.35 |
| Mana | 1075 |
| Mana Regen | 12.3 |
| Armor | 215.69 |
| Magic Resist | 167.8 |
| Dodge | 0 |
| Tenacity | 35 |
| Movement Speed | 425.76 |
| Gold Bonus | 5 |
| Attack Damage | 323.3 |
| Attack Speed | 30.979 |
| Crit Chance | 10%S |
| Crit Damage | 0% |
| Ability Power | 30 |
| Life Steal | 12% |
| Spell Vamp | 0 |
| Armor Penetration | 0 |
| Magic Penetration | 0 |
| Cooldown Reduction | 0% |
Recommended Runes
Ability Sequence





Mastery Tree Is Outdated
WARNING: These masteries are still using the old tree and have not been updated to the new tree by the guide author. As such, they will be different than the masteries you see in-game.
Masteries
Intro!

Hi, I'm bsurma (Da Bee S on EUNE server) and you're reading my first guide, featuring one of the newest additions to the game -
Darius, the Hand of Noxus.

The purpose of this guide will teach you how to dunk like a true MVP and get respect (or hate messages on /all chat) from the players on the enemy team. Hope you learn something from it and improve your
Changelog
04/09/2012 - Guide version 1.0, match-ups yet to be done. zzz
12/09/2012 - Match-ups finally added to the guide. Jungling and more good stuff coming soon.
16/09/2012 - Jungling section added.
23/09/2012 - Match-ups section largely updated (
Jax,
Nautilus,
Gangplank added and also some other changes)
29/09/2012 - Big update #1! New match-ups, new jungle section, and a lot of bonus goodies!
10/10/2012 - Big update #2. Cheat sheets largely updated and some other minor things changed.
THIS GUIDE WILL RECEIVE NO UPDATES UNTIL THE OFFICIAL SEASON 3 CHANGES TO AVOID ANY MISLEADING INFORMATION. A huge guide overhaul is in the works.
Pros / Cons and When / Why Darius?
Let's jump straight to the pros and cons of
Darius.

Pros:
- Duelist - the sheer damage output of Darius allows him to outtrade many, many champions on toplane and possibly zone them out of CS. Also, ult for lots of laughs!
- Peeler - Darius can catch many champions off guard and draw them in to exact ultimate punishment. His E synergizes well with AoE ults too! (
Amumu,
Galio,
Nunu) - Snowballer - if fed, Darius is a large threat to the enemy team. Probably the reason why everybody is yelling "OP" at him all the time.

Cons:
(yes, he has them, haters)- No Escapes - he doesn't have anything to escape from a gank. Put your wards up, kids! Darius ain't indestructible.
- Kitable As All Hell - Any Crowd Control leaves Darius crying for help. He has to get in close to do damage, and if he can't get in, he can't do anything.

WHEN IS DARIUS MOST EFFECTIVE?
You should consider the other possibilities, too. If the enemy team is full of CC, picking Darius is not the best option. In this case, you're better off getting even safer picks, like
Also, a balanced team composition is as important! If your team is full of AD/autoattacking champions, you risk getting heavily countered by AD-specific items, like
Of course, if you feel comfortable about picking
Runes
RECOMMENDED RUNE SET-UP
For me, the best choices are:
Greater Mark of Strength (x9)
Greater Seal of Resilience (x9)
Greater Glyph of Shielding (x9)
Greater Quintessence of Swiftness (x3)This rune set-up gives Darius flat armor which is probably the most useful in the early stages of the game when it comes to Seals, a lot of magic resist for late-game and a decent amount of AD to give his

Alternatives?
When you're paired against AP champions, it's probably better to get
Masteries
RECOMMENDED MASTERY SET-UP
9/21/0 - very good against tough match-ups or 1v2s. I'm slowly starting to appreciate the benefits of the Defense tree. Probably the best set-up for any bruiser, even the AP ones.
More resistances and purely defensive masteries for more safety. I really recommend getting this against champions who trade as well as you / even stronger. Spending 70% of your points on the defensive mastery tree really help when against junglers who like to set up a tent on top-lane or simply match-ups you can't win without being that extra bit more tanky.
When you're paired against AP champions, it's better to spend points on

Alternatives?
This is how the big boys roll. You get maximum offense for the price of reduced offense. Really fun for stomping things, but in other situations you should really go 9/21/0.
Items
When it comes to items, Darius is very flexible. He can still do damage even if equipped with 2 or 3 defensive items.

STARTERS
A very good, balanced start. To get the fourth potion, you need to stay in base a little bit more after the minions spawn.
A perfect choice when your lane is so tough you need to get manly as quickly as possible. Helps in trades and provides you a safe 750 HP cushion.
Also, your go-to start for jungle.
I'm not a fan of starting with this item on any AD toplaner, but if you're sure you can get the advantage, then go ahead.

OFFENSIVE ITEMS
TRINITY FORCEProbably the best item for Darius. Gives everything he desperately needs and more, not to mention the unique proc which makes his burst a lot bigger.
FROZEN MALLETAn alternative to
WIT'S ENDA cheaper alternative to
MAW OF MALMORTIUSYour go-to item if being heavily stomped by AP champions. If against an AP champion on toplane,
Armor and damage, best of both worlds plus the much needed sustain.
If you feel like the enemy champions are starting to get much harder to kill, you should get this item quickly. You have true damage that comes with your
Your late-game item and your replacement for
A cheaper
After the nerfs, this item has seen much less play. I don't think that it's worth the slot anymore, but you can still give it a shot. If you build this, I strongly recommend getting
Doran's stacking is always good when you want to get further ahead.

DEFENSIVE ITEMS
RANDUIN'S OMENOne of the best choices for Darius. Gives armor, health, a good passive and an extraordinary active. With this item, you can slow down many champions at once and minimize their killing potential at the same time.
GUARDIAN ANGELThis should be one of your core defensive items. Gives you a lot of defensive stats and you can get back in action after going down the first time! It's like bonus 750 health.
A nice item to build if your support hasn't decided to build it yet. Gives you and your team a lot of tankiness.
If no one is building this in your team, it's also a viable option.
Viable, but still
If you desperately need to get tanky, and by that, I mean reaaally tanky, then this one's for you. Adds a lot of HP and HP regen and synergizes quite well with
Now you can bash their faces in while having 1k more HP. Cool, huh?
Ahh, the GP5 items, viable on almost any champion. Very useful if you're against a tough/farm lane and you can't do much against the enemy's sustain and/or harass.

BOOTS
MERCURY'S TREADSProbably the best option for any tanky DPS. Gives CC reduction and magic resist.
NINJA TABIWhen in a lane against tough ADs which pack a punch, these boots are really good. They also shut-down AA-reliant champs almost completely (
A bad habit which players often do when playing Darius is getting

omgomgomg What should I build for early?
Here's the answer to your problem.
This kit gives you: approximately 400 HP, appromixately 40 AD and boots +
Basically THE kit for lane dominance. After finishing these items, go for tier 2 boots depending on the enemy's damage.
If against heavy AD threat:
This kit gives you: 100 Armor, 25 AD and 15% Life steal, and bonus defense against auto-attacks.
The ultimate defensive kit against AD. Add some Doran's here and there if you want. They're so cost-effective it's not even funny.
If against AP threat:
This kit gives you: 25 AD and 50 MR.
These are the two items you want to get when against AP guys. Add in some

AN EXAMPLE OF A BALANCED BUILD - #1
| Item Sequence | |||||||||||||||
Mercury's Treads 1200 |
Trinity Force 3843 |
Randuin's Omen 3100 |
Maw of Malmortius 3200 |
Guardian Angel 2600 |
The Bloodthirster 3200 |
||||||||||
There you have it - my recommended set for Darius.
Apart from

I'M GETTING OWNED - PATH #2
| Item Sequence | |||||||||||||||
Mercury's Treads 1200 |
Frozen Mallet 3300 |
Aegis of the Legion 2150 |
Wit's End 2200 |
Randuin's Omen 3100 |
Guardian Angel 2600 |
||||||||||
This is a good path for
Also, if you're in dire need of armor, buy a

iCARRY - path #3
| Item Sequence | |||||||||||||||
Mercury's Treads 1200 |
The Bloodthirster 3200 |
Trinity Force 3843 |
Wit's End 2200 |
Randuin's Omen 3100 |
Guardian Angel 2600 |
||||||||||
You get this if you want to inflict serious pain and be bad-*** while doing so.
A lot of damage on all of your skills,
Maybe the whole idea of carry
If you're getting fed hard, consider rushing
/end game
Remember, ALWAYS build according to your team composition/enemy team composition!
Skill Overview / Skill Sequence
Knowing your champion is half the won battle, and the other one is knowing the champions you are most likely to face. For now, we're going to focus on Darius' skills. In-depth.
HEMORRHAGE
HEMORRHAGE DETAILSThis passive gives Darius a lot of power when it comes to small fights. When they start to take a little longer, Darius gains advantage - with every hit taken by your opponent! If you get 5 stacks of this, it will hurt him badly.
DECIMATE
DECIMATE DETAILSThis is your main harassing tool, your bread-and-butter, your... everything. Before level 6, that is. Maybe you can't spin like

As you can see, Darius can hit the target with the blade or the shaft. Enemies struck by the former will take additional 50% damage, making
CRIPPLING STRIKE
CRIPPLING STRIKE DETAILSTip:
APPREHEND
APPREHEND DETAILSThis skill is much more scarier than it looks. It pulls EVERYBODY in

It can't be dodged like
Tip: You can use
Remember:
NOXIAN GUILLOTINE
NOXIAN GUILLOTINE DETAILSThis is why many hate Darius. When you see him, you instantly think:
Tip: It's quite obvious, but try to get as much stacks of
Tip 2: Look out for

SKILL SEQUENCE
If you insist on getting your advantage early, I suggest getting
R > Q > W > E
Summoner Spells
RECOMMENDED SUMMONER SPELLS
Anyways, you know the drift. Basically the best summoner spell in-game.

Alternatives?
You might want to pick
Also, if you get this, you gain a lot of advantage simply by teleporting back to your lane after a successful fight over an objective. You can focus more on helping your team when they need it and then safely port to top-lane.
Laning Phase
The lane is where Darius truly shines. In teamfights he can prove to be of some use, but lane bullying and zoning is what Darius is really good at.

LANING PHASE TIPS
- Punish your enemies for their mistakes.
Apprehend them when you see an opening. - Don't be afraid of fights. Force your opponent to trade. The longer you fight, the better.
- Escaping a gank? No, thanks.
Darius has a lot of burst going on and if you see a clear shot at a kill and you're sure you're not going to escape from a gank (happens most of the time as
Darius can't escape anything without
Flash), then you should do it. Spawning back in your base with a kill is always better than spawning without one, right? - Efficiency is key to victory. If the range between you and the opponent is very short, open up with
Crippling Strike to ensure you will get more hits. Remember that it also gives an AS debuff. - Cool Qs!
Decimate allows you to farm while harassing quite safely. Keep in mind, however, that after you burn that skill your opponent will most likely jump on you. - Focus on killing your opponent after level 6 if you have the chance.
Noxian Guillotine and
Ignite combined with 5
Hemorrhage stacks is TONS OF DAMAGE.(tm) - Control the battlefield. If you're winning, stand right next to your minions to deny your opponent of possible gold income or experience. This is called zoning the opponent. Darius is so dangerous upclose that your adversary will be scared to get his farm. Instilling fear is easy with a champion that has a true damage nuke.
DrinkPush responsibly.Only push if you are going to recall back to base or you're clearly dominating your opponent and can force a kill even with the enemy jungler coming. Try to last-hit minions with auto-attacks as much as possible.- Go for gold! Also, remember to farm as much as you can. Not only kills give you gold, so keep an eye on your CS. Your minimum should be >= 100 CS by the 20th minute mark.
- Build items to your needs! If find yourself starved for mana because you have to trade a lot, get a
Mana Potion or a
Philosopher's Stone, etc.
If you abide by the general rules that apply to the laning phase and be more aggressive than usual (remember, Darius is powerful!) you won't have problems with winning your lane. Be wary, though. If the enemy top is in trouble, he will most likely call for quick ganks. And that's where

WARDING TIPS

A very good ward placement over-all.

This is a better place to put a ward in if you're pushing on your opponent really hard and wanna dunk soon.
Remember to ward important objectives like Baron or Dragon if you have the chance, too. Wards on these two points on the map are probably the most valuable to have. This way, you can respond quickly if the enemy team is planning to get one.
Match-ups
HARD MATCH-UPS
If you can, don't pick Darius vs. these guys. The laning phase against the champions listed here is bad for you (at least). Only recommended if you are a REALLY experienced Darius player.
DIFFICULTY: Hard
Overview: He likes to farm, CC-lock his enemy when he's put under pressure and be a rude monster. If he gets you in the
Tips: Playing against
RECOMMENDED ITEMS:
DIFFICULTY: Very Hard
Overview: This guy just screams out "I'm Darius' counter". He's ranged/melee like
Tips: You got to be really careful if you want to keep up with
RECOMMENDED ITEMS:
DIFFICULTY: Hard
Overview:
Tips: This match-up is really tough, although
RECOMMENDED ITEMS:
DIFFICULTY: Hell
Overview: After watching some streams and dueling it out with my friends to test some match-ups, I've realized that
Tips: The situation is almost the same as when facing
RECOMMENDED ITEMS:
If it's blind pick (or you're blind) and you're against
DIFFICULTY: Hard
Overview: Prepare to rage, 'cause this is one of the most annoying champs you will ever face on top lane. Almost completely uncatchable (he uses E when you grab), pokes extremely hard and stuns you all day long. Compared to
Tips:Get items you would normally get against AP champs,
RECOMMENDED ITEMS:
You can get
DIFFICULTY: Very Hard
Overview: This champion has excellent bush control, can escape from almost everything after 6 and pokes you hard with her ranged attacks. That is basically all of the things
Tips: If you want to do anything against her, anticipation and proper positioning is needed. After 6, it will be nearly impossible to kill
RECOMMENDED ITEMS:
DIFFICULTY: Hard
Overview: He's your typical lane-bully (just like
Tips: Two things about Renekton you need to know is he will try to kill you AND he has the stuff to do it. He can hack at you with ease if he gets his stun up on you and also heals a lot from
RECOMMENDED ITEMS:
DIFFICULTY: Hard
Overview: This champion has seen a lot of changes, but after the hotfix he gained a lot of popularity - even in the >2k ELO scene. His damage with double
Tips: Proceed with even more caution than you would with
RECOMMENDED ITEMS:
DIFFICULTY: Hard
Overview: One of the most popular casters (ranked) on top. For a reason. Great damage with
Tips: You don't want to get by
RECOMMENDED ITEMS:
DIFFICULTY: Hard
Overview: One of the most popular counters to
Tips: Catch him as many times as you possibly can and stomp him. Teemo is squishy as hell and has no way to escape your damage. Your damage output increases by a lot after 6, so dunking Teemo should be easy if you know what you're doing. Watch out for the bushes.
RECOMMENDED ITEMS:
DIFFICULTY: Very Hard
Overview: A good
Tips: Well, there's not much you can do against this guy except hugging the tower. He has more damage when you, he can catch up to you, he laughs in your face when you pull him in AND he has godlike sustain. Ask your jungler for help if you want to -
RECOMMENDED ITEMS:
Get
DIFFICULTY: Very Hard
Overview: He's a better laner over-all and his spam beats your spam/combo everytime. He can kite you or escape from you whenever he pleases and his ultimate,
Tips: Trying to stay alive is the best you can do in this situation.
RECOMMENDED ITEMS:
I'd suggest getting
DIFFICULTY: Hard
Overview: After the significant buffs, he's a lot more viable now. He has a lot of CC going on and is a great peeler.
Tips: The thing with
RECOMMENDED ITEMS:
Get
MEDIUM MATCH-UPS
These match-ups can turn into your favor if you'll manage your skills efficiently.
DIFFICULTY: Variable
Overview: What can I say - it's a skill match-up. The
Tips: What matters the most in facing other
RECOMMENDED ITEMS:
DIFFICULTY: Challenging
Overview: A newest addition to the "pure AA champs" roster. She has two dashes, a parry, AD and AS steroids and an ult which makes her untargetable for a few seconds. Contrary to the actual lore, though, you're a better duelist than she is. :)
Tips: Encountering her really early in the game is a deathwish. Her damage is too damn high and she will probably try to force a fight as quickly as possible. When she jumps at you,
Be really careful here, though. She can beat out your ultimate with her ultimate and if that happens, you will lose the trade AND your life.
RECOMMENDED ITEMS:
Get
DIFFICULTY: Challenging
Overview: This guy is a pain for any champion dependant on abilities. His
Tips: Play as safely as possible. It's even harder to trade with him than with
RECOMMENDED ITEMS:
DIFFICULTY: Challenging
Overview:
Tips:
RECOMMENDED ITEMS:
DIFFICULTY: Medium/Challenging
Overview: A
Tips: Well, it's a harder version of
RECOMMENDED ITEMS:
DIFFICULTY: Medium
Overview:
Tips:
RECOMMENDED ITEMS:
DIFFICULTY: Medium/Challenging
Overview: The epitome of an anti-carry. Has extraordinary single-target damage and he can instagib any carry he wants.
Tips: You most likely know why Morde top is not a popular pick anymore, but I'll tell you anyway. He pushes EXTREMELY hard and this doesn't really make a difference for top-laners who can farm a lot more efficiently than mids most of the time. Misery loves company (sic!) - he doesn't have any escapes, either, so that makes him an even riskier pick. You thought this was the end of his problems? Nope, one more thing. His early-game is ridunkulously bad. Just grab him when he has cooldowns and/or his shield down and do with him what you want (though you'll probably want to kill him). The only thing you'd want to be wary of is how well Morde progresses into the later stages of the game if he's in good condition. If you put zero pressure on him, he will be much harder to kill later and will be a problem for your team. #1 tip: stay away from your minion wave.
RECOMMENDED ITEMS:
DIFFICULTY: Challenging
Overview:
Tips:
RECOMMENDED ITEMS:
DIFFICULTY: Medium
Overview: The early-game baller. Unbelievably spammable poke, stun, defense against attacks from his passive... This guy has everything to kill early. But not everything to kill in late-game, luckily. Also, gets countered hard by armor-heavy teams.
Tips: You shouldn't be really scared of him, because he wastes mana quicker than you do, although you should play it safe until you can easily kill him with ult or something. Also, a good
RECOMMENDED ITEMS:
DIFFICULTY: Medium
Overview: This girl has a lot of mobility. 3 short dashes (courtesy of
Tips: You want to stay near
RECOMMENDED ITEMS:
DIFFICULTY: Challenging/Even
Overview: Open any site with LoL statistics, watch forums, watch videos... Shen is everywhere. Either banned or picked. His kit is just great over-all. Nice poke with Q, nice shield with W, nice initiation with E, nice passive, and a GAME-CHANGING
Tips: His
RECOMMENDED ITEMS:
DIFFICULTY: OK/Medium
Overview: One of the best farmers in-game.
Tips: A bad Singed is a moving target (and starts with
RECOMMENDED ITEMS:
DIFFICULTY: Medium/Challenging
Overview: A very similar champion to the Brazilian above. The thing is he's a lot more efficient at what he does. Massive healing,
Tips: It basically comes to who has more experience in playing his champion. Vlad wants to keep you out, while you want him in. The side which succeeds in doing his job will most likely come out on top. He will try to zone you out with his AAs and
RECOMMENDED ITEMS:
Get
DIFFICULTY: Medium
Overview: The king of early skirmishes. He's an armored bear. He stacks HP a lot to utilize his
Tips:
RECOMMENDED ITEMS:
Get
OK/EASY MATCH-UPS
These lane match-ups aren't stressful enough to be considered medium or they're just plain easy.
DIFFICULTY: Easy/Medium
Overview: An assassin-type champion. Packs a lot of mixed burst if fed and has heaps of mobility. She can also hide herself in her
Tips:... although
RECOMMENDED ITEMS:
DIFFICULTY: Easy
Overview: Ahh, the good ol' pirate. Quite safe harass with
Tips: Too bad
RECOMMENDED ITEMS:
DIFFICULTY: OK
Overview: A bruiser on a level comparable with
Tips: A
RECOMMENDED ITEMS:
DIFFICULTY: Easy
Overview: This dog likes to farm. A lot. And he's really good late-game if farmed. Too bad there are many better alternatives :< (
Tips: Just kill him. Nothing really special about this guy. When he tries to
RECOMMENDED ITEMS:
DIFFICULTY: Easy
Overview: A rare sight on top-lane. This guy packs a ton of CC and can prove to be a threat to the enemy team if farmed. No one likes eating enhanced auto-attacks from
Tips: Look at the overview of the champion again. See the part "farmed"? You are here to stomp him and prevent him from doing so. His shield on early levels has an atrociously long cooldown. Apart from CC, he isn't that much of a threat if you break his shield down. Constantly be in his face.
RECOMMENDED ITEMS:
DIFFICULTY: OK
Overview: Poppy is quite a gimmicky champion and is really fun to play mainly because of her ultimate,
Tips: That is where
One more fun fact -
RECOMMENDED ITEMS:
DIFFICULTY: Easy
Overview: An AD caster with a quite high burst level. Has a slow, silence and built-in stealth in his ultimate,
Tips: ... but he may find it hard to kill Darius out-right. :> Just make sure you start with
RECOMMENDED ITEMS:
DIFFICULTY: Easy
Overview: A tricky top-laner that likes to screw with your head. He can use his
Tips:
RECOMMENDED ITEMS:
That is all for match-ups on top-lane! This chapter will be updated as soon as possible if a new champion viable on top comes out.
Teamfights
Late-game with Darius depends mostly on your skill. If you don't get into any serious trouble and you stay with your team, you might be able to peel off some carries and kill them. Here's some tips on how to teamfight with Darius.

TEAMFIGHTING TIPS
- Target appropriately. Your main target should be the biggest threat in their team (usually an AD/AP carry). Why? You will still be able to kill them if they aren't massively fed - your tankiness and true damage helps you make it out alive. Just make sure to open up with some attacks to get more damage with
Noxian Guillotine. - Don't get too greedy. Just like mentioned in the Pros/Cons chapter, Darius has absolutely NO escapes. Zero. If you chase after an enemy for too long, the chances of their team ambushing you are far too big to make such a risk.
- Manage skills efficiently. Don't waste your E on enemies who can quickly escape from it. Example:
Ezreal and
Kassadin. They can safely disengage from any place on the map. - Don't initiate if possible. Remember that you aren't the one to start a fight. If you do, you will most likely get smashed by the enemy team and do nothing. Let your tank or other initiator do the job for you.
- Be responsible. Getting pentakills is fun, but you have to take into account the fact that you have to carry the game for your teammates if you get most of the kills. If you don't, you will look like an ordinary kill-stealing Darius, and we don't want that to happen.
- Protect your carries! Your tank is not the only one that should protect the carries! Instagib anybody that tries to get to your carry! MURDER!
- Avoid dying at all costs. Particular items like
Guardian Angel help with that.
If you don't do any stupid things (including engaging by yourself, trying to get multikills when not fed enough, not being with the team when needed), you might actually end up having decent stats and not making stupid excuses after the match! Yay!
Now go aHEAD (see what i did there? hahaha) and decapitate some fools!
General Jungling
This guide was specifically made for Darius top, but I decided that having a Jungling section would be nice for those people wanting more. Enjoy!
Darius jungle is an alternate and fun to play version of
Your role is to make the enemy fear you. Gank a lot, invade and get kills if possible, and lead your team to certain victory.
Basic rules to teamfights also apply to this guide, so be sure to read them.

RECOMMENDED ROUTE
This route is a good, sustained path that is recommended for most of the mana-based junglers in the game.

- Start at your wolves. Ask your teammates for help, if possible.
- After wolves, get your blue. It is recommended for you to get a leash. This will help you stay healthy throughout the camps on the other side.
- Move on to the wraiths.
- When you finished wraiths, start double golems. By the time you finished them, your
Smite should be up.
- Finally, do your red buff. After that, you can go gank somewhere or farm a little bit more and buy some items afterwards.

Alternatives?
If you feel really manly and you want to wreck face right from the start, the red buff route is also an option.

- Start on wraiths. Ask your teammates for help, if you want.
- After finishing wraiths, start red (preferably with a leash). At this moment, you decide if you want to do a quick level 2 gank or gank with double buff on.
- If there's no opportunities for ganks, simply clear all your remaining camps. You can give blue to your mid if you feel like it, but I recommend getting your first blue. This way, you won't have to go back to base every gank.
You should start with your blue most of the times, Darius is really mana-reliant.

STARTING ITEMS FOR JUNGLE DARIUS
This is a risky option, more suitable for safer junglers who really need the MS like
This option gives the most sustainability in jungling. Recommended for beginners and experienced junglers alike. You should start with these items most of the time.

RECOMMENDED SET-UP FOR JUNGLE DARIUS
This is the best early-game set-up you could wish for. A lot of tankiness, sustain, and a
Regarding the full build, I feel

GENERAL JUNGLE (DARIUS) TIPS
- When killing buffs, be sure to use your
Crippling Strike when you have
Hemorrhage stacks. This way, it will be on a shorter cooldown.
- Practice your
Apprehend and get used to its range. When ganking lanes or counter-jungling, good use of this skill makes or breaks a kill on the enemy.
- Don't camp on one spot too much. If the opponent has wards and you just can't get them, then don't stay there. Do something more useful! Farm your camps more, do ganks on another lane or put wards for your teammates.
- If the opponent has successfully escaped a gank, DON'T STEAL your teammate's CS when making your way out of the lane! You automatically push a lane and make everyone else frustrated this way. You are only meant to do it if you have the opportunity to put down a tower and you want to push it quickly.
- Know your enemy. If you're against an
Amumu, he'll probably want to start at blue, and clear his camps all the way down to red, where you can surprise him with your pull. Knowing where the enemy jungler starts is vital to effective counter-jungling.
- Remember, stealing camps is easy with your grab.
You vs Other Junglers - what to be aware of?
Darius is really competent at invading. His
Apprehend and great damage help him dominate both of the jungles. It's quite risky, though - if you get caught by 2 or 3 champions somewhere in the opponent's jungle, chances are you're dead or you're gonna be dead soon.
Here's the list of the champions you want to invade/mess with:
Amumu - starts at blue. Can't 1v1 you for anything and has way less CC than
Nautilus or
Maokai. Make this guy cry or he'll make you cry.
Maokai - starts at blue. His base damage is pretty high, but you should be able to steal something from him. Be wary of his CC.
Nautilus - starts at blue. he has ****loads of CC, but he's really weak at 1v1s. His only damage is his auto-attacks combined with
Titan's Wrath and that's not too much. Screw his jungle up.
Jarvan IV - usually starts at blue. You come up on top in 1v1s. He can escape from most bad situations, apart from you. Don't be too greedy or you're gonna regret it.
Diana - starts at blue. she's not that big of a threat before 6. You will win duels especially that being underfarmed hurts her more.
Xin Zhao - can start blue/red. He's really slow, though. You should try to screw with him when he starts doing wraiths/red. Without red or levels, he loses quite a lot of ganking power.
Hecarim - starts at blue because of his extreme mana reliance. He's slow and bad at 1v1s. If he's level 3 or 4, he probably will escape from you, but you can steal his stuff with relative ease. If you let him snowball, you're in for a world of suffering.
Malphite - starts at blue. If he gets a decent amount of farm and he succeeds at ganks, it's gonna be tough to break him at that point. Try to interrupt his jungle as much as possible. Don't 1v1 him, he's hard to put down.
Malphite doesn't have a lot of presence when he's behind, just like any tanky disruptive junglers.
Guys you don't want to invade / guys you want to be wary of:
Shyvana - usually starts at red, but can start at blue. Well, she clears fast as hell and YOUR jungle is her main priority. Usually, she just wants to find you, kill you, take your stuff and make your life hell. Ward your entrances a lot and don't get stomped. Good ganks will decrease the gap, but you got to be reaally careful when facing her.
Olaf - usually starts at blue to have a faster clear. He's fast, dangerous, will invade and even if you catch him somewhere at his jungle, he will either kill you or kite you with his axes. Not recommended to counter-jungle against him.
Nocturne - usually starts at blue, but can start at red. I know he's less dangerous than shy'vana and his clear is slower, but the probability of you beating him is quite low. He'd have to be lower than you and he still has his Q and E to escape from you or kill you.
Lee Sin - can start anywhere, usually ganks with red at level 2. his kit is made to counter-jungle those who aren't careful or those who are simply weaker than him in duels. He has sustain, can slow you and has so much mobility it's ridiculous. Not recommended to get in his jungle unless you want to troll your game badly.
Nunu - starts at blue. he can screw with any jungler. He's quite slow over-all because of his lack of AoE, but his single target damage to mobs is insane. A
Smite +
Consume combo takes buffs in seconds and thus,
Nunu can be a great annoyance. Ward your jungle.
Udyr - can start anywhere, but he prefers blue. he clears almost as fast as
Shyvana, has innate tankiness and a lot of AoE damage. If you meet him, you'll be most likely dead or you won't be able to jungle anymore because of low health. He has mediocre ganks, though, so try to beat him in that category.
Dr. Mundo - can start anywhere, but prefers red. His clear is just godlike and he does crazy damage with his
Burning Agony and
Masochism. If you somehow manage to catch him at low health, he will kite you with his cleaver forever until you've had enough. If given the chance, he can totally eff you up. Don't let him make you sick.
Always examine the map and try to guess where the enemy jungler could be. Use it to your advantage.
Darius Gameplay/Stats!
I thought it would be nice to add some
Darius gameplay to give you a good example of how he works over-all. If you want to learn a thing or two, it is recommended for you to see this.
This is a typical >2k ELO game. The
Darius player is known as Dyrus - former toplaner of Epik Gamer and now a part of Team SoloMid (fun fact - with Dyrus in the team, TSM didn't lose any single major tournament apart from MLG Summer Arena!). Also known as one of the biggest trolls of solo queue. It fits him well, because his favorite champion is
Singed.
In this particular match, he's matched up against
Shen.
A perfect example of dominating your lane with
Darius. Dyrus denies his enemy of most gold income while harassing him constantly with
Decimate. He also builds two
Doran's Blades, boots and a
Phage to ensure the trades go in his favor. Coincidence? :>
From 10-12 minutes in, his snowballing (snowdunking?) gets out of control and they eventually win the game with Dyrus being one of the most fed members of his team.
Here will be posted my records with Darius! Also, you can post yours in the comments if you wish.
Summary

Big, big, big, big thanks for checking out my guide! :D
I'll try to read all of the comments posted in here and I'd surely take some advice on how to improve this guide and how to improve myself as a writer. :) I'll take any idea into consideration, excluding the really stupid ones.

SPECIAL THANKS
Thanks to JhoiJhoi for her amazing guide. It really helped me in... pretty much everything and it also gave me some cool ideas. Check it out here. JhoiJhoi's Guide on How to Write a Guide
Thanks to my cousin (he's a LoL addict, too haha) for cheering and support. I probably would let this guide wither away if not for him.
Thanks for some of the fellow members of MOBAFire for responding to my spam of review requests. :)
Stay tuned for more guides, as I'm planning to write some!
Coming up:
- Mid
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bsurma 2012
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