Wukong Build Guide by DarkInvadersLoL

The Dark Invaders --- Who is that?

The "Dark Invaders" is a rising ranked team from Germany with the Clantag [DINVS]. We are not high-elo players since it is almost impossible to escape the so-called "Elo-hell". Our record is 2-0 right now and we are looking for more active players at lvl 30 that might want to join us.
Furthermore you have to:
-have Skype or TS3,
-be able to speak fluent English (German is even better),
-be able to fill out EVERY role properly.
-Play on EU West Servers

If you are interested, write an E-Mail to DarkInvadersLoL@gmx.de and we will see if you have what it takes to be part of this project!

Introduction

Hi, my name is Philso and I am here to bring you a guide for competitive ranked play for Wukong. Please note that I will only give you two possibilities for solo top. I really appreciate any type of constructive criticism to help me improve my build. I will spend a lot of time on this build and try to give you as many hints as I can.
Please read the explanation for the item paths, before you judge the whole build.
More about me:
My in-Game name is PhilsoGame so you can add me and write to me if you wish. My Elo is at 1139 right now, due to some experimental stuff(I try lots of different champs and builds in ranked games as well). Now I am stuck between 1130 and 1200 having pretty much a balance between winning and losing. Wukong is my main in solo top and I currently have a 3-1 record with him. I am the creator and head of the ranked team, which consists of some good players that are also stuck in the "Elo hell".

Well now we come to the build, so you don't have to read so much unimportant information ;)

Story of Wukong and Basic information

During the chaos of the Rune Wars, an enormous runestone was lost deep within the Plague Jungles. It remained there, untouched for centuries, emanating a potent magic which infused nearby wildlife with sentience and vitality. A group of monkeys who were particularly empowered by it came to worship the stone, and their leader - a wise sage - became convinced that he could harness its power to make the monkeys immortal. He performed an elaborate ritual, but things didn't go as he expected. The runestone was destroyed, and instead of granting immortality, it produced Kong, a monkey who carried in his heart the strength and power it had contained. Kong was driven by an unquenchable desire for greatness. He sought out every beast and monster the Plague Jungles could offer, eager to find a worthy opponent, but none offered the challenge he craved. He asked the sage for advice, and learned about a legend of hairless monkeys to the north who, with wits and might, had bent the world to their will.

Wukong left, journeying north, determined to discover if the legend was true. He crossed the Southern Wastes and then the Great Barrier. On his way, he happened upon Master Yi, who was deep in meditation. Kong asked him who the strongest warrior in the north was, and Yi told him about the League of Legends. The tale intoxicated Kong, a place where he could battle the strongest fighters in the world was, to him, paradise. Kong asked Yi to introduce him to this League, and to teach him the ways of humans, so that he could be a fitting champion. In return, he would honor Yi by using Yi's Wuju style to become the greatest warrior Runeterra had ever seen. Admiring his passion, Yi agreed, but under the condition that Kong would one day teach the lessons of Wuju to a pupil of his own. In the spirit of this agreement, he renamed Kong ''Wukong,'' and gave him a weapon suited to his unusual nature - an enchanted staff that the young Doran had crafted. The weapon was an unrivalled masterpiece. Guided by Yi, Wukong joined the League of Legends to prove himself as the best, and to show the world the true power of Wuju.

''Only in combat do you learn who you truly are.''
- Wukong

Attributes: Fighter, Melee, Stealth
Cost: 975 RP or 6300 IP

Health:Average
Attack:Strong
Spells:Weak
Difficulty:Easy

Pros/Cons

Pros
+Superior Burst Damage (Harrassement ability)
+Great escape and juking skill in Decoy
+One of the most annoying solo top champs to play against
+Little mana usage
+Easy to master
+Good initiator

Cons
-Squishy at start (Offensive build)
-Can be a focus in team fights (Offensive)
-Relys on items
-Lose your lane -> Lose the game

Runes

In the following I will explain my runes for the offensive and the defensive way to Wukong.

Offensive

Greater Mark of Desolationx9 x9 x9 Greater Quintessence of Desolationx3

The marks and Quintessences give me a lot of early harassement ability and really help me to dominate the lane and the farm battle early(Closer look on that in the early game part for the offensive Wukong). The Seals and Glyphs are very important as you are a tanky damage dealer and want to be able to stay on your lane longer and later in the game initiate team fights without dying right away(Also a more detailed look on that later).

Defensive

Greater Mark of Desolationx9 x9 x9 x3


For the defensive Wukong, I stay with Armor Penetration marks because you want to have some damage anyway and it is a significant decrease of damage, if you go with other marks. For Glyphs you can also go with flat Magic Resist Glyphs. It depends on what you are more comfortable with. Of course, the per lvl MR Glyphs are better in late, but if you have the solo lane against Vladimir or Galio it is better to go with flat Glyphs so you are not poked away all the time(See the Defensive guideline for more detailed information).

Masteries

Now I will shortly explain my masteries, even though they should be very clear.

Offensive

I think it is pretty clear why I put 21 points in Offense in the offensive build. The only thing to add is that I take a point in Summoner's Wrath so my ignite gives me bonus attack damage while it is on cooldown.
There is one alternative to the 21/8/1 build you can see above: Go 21/9/0 and take a point away from Summoner's Insight and add it to Vigor if you want to replace your Flash with Ghost for example.

Defensive

Of course I will pick 21 points in Defense as this is the defensive type of Wukong. I go 0/21/9 and take a point in Summoner's Insight to improve my flash and teleport skill. The defense tree is there to give you more survivability and a longer time to stay on lane.

In the section "Summoner Spells" I will give you an overview of other possible summoner spells. It is up to you, to change your masteries correctly according to your summoner spells.

Summoner Spells

I will explain my choices for summoner spells and will name possible alternatives as well.

Offensive

Recommended

I like this combination most as you can pick up first blood with the ignite and you are able to shut down champs like Volibear and Dr. Mundo easily. Flash is a very important escape skill and I would always pick it.

Possible alternatives

Some people say that they would pick Ghost over Flash because Wukong is able to escape easily without Flash. I can understand that but I still consider Flash as the better summoner spell to make sure you really escape. Also, as Wukong is a great turret diver, it is way easier to just flash out of tower range. Ghost is also a great summoner spell for Wukong, for sure.

Teleport helps you to return to the lane quickly. I actually see no point in taking it but it is up to you =).

Against an AD solo top this is not a bad choice actually. If he underestimates you, you can quickly turn the 1v1 around.

Defensive

Recommended

I like to play the defensive Wukong with teleport because you will play passive and the enemy solo top will push towards your tower. In case you need to go back to base you do not want to risk a loss of a turret and the lane. Also you can teleport to other lanes that need a lot of protection.

For the other spells you can just look in the offensive section but I think the combination above is the best for the defensive Wukong.

Items

Now I will analyze and explain my recommended items and will suggest some alternatve item builds as well.

Offensive

Recommended Build

I recommend to start with

and .
This will give you some early sustainability on the lane and will probably make your opponent underestimate you. I have made very good experiences with this start and had several first blood engages.

After the first time back, buy

and . The Phage will give you more health and damage plus a slow which is very good against more aggressive players. The Boots are very important to be able to run away from incoming ganks. You should definitely try to stay on lane until you have enough gold to purchase both items.

The next time back

, and
You want to have the Mercs, because that will help you early and late to initiate team fights and give you a little more tankiness. The Sheen is the next part for your Trinity Force and synergizes very well with Crushing Blow. Also you want to pick up the vampiric scepter to give you some life steal and more sustainability in team fights.

Mid Game items

and
Now that you started to gank lanes and pick up one or the other kill, you should go back and complete your Trinity Force. This item is key for Kong as it gives him lots of advantages: Slow, Movement Speed, extra damage and extra stats all around. Also make sure to pick up B. F. Sword to enlarge your damage output by a lot!

Completing your item build into late game and end equip

, , and .
There is a lot of alternatives which I will explain in a second.
Why Warmog's? Well we need sth. that synergizes well with the Atma's Impaler which is actually a must-have for offtanks. Also Warmog's is a great item to build up health and health regeneration in a hurry. The Bloodthirster is another great stackable item to give you life steal and a lot more attack damage, which is essential for the offensive Wukong. The Guardian Angel is an item which is really useful especially against better players that focus a fed Wukong. When you go down your team will have the opportunity to catch the opponents off-guard, but most of the time they will let you die and flame you all the way. Well.... just in elo hell and normal games I guess =).

Alternative items for your end equip

The alternative items can basically be found in the defensive section but I'll give you some offensive items that you can check out if you want:


Aaaah the Maw. I have really become friends with this new item. It can play life saver with the magical shield and gives you more power in dangerous situations. Even though I prefer The Bloodthirster over the Maw because Life Steal is very important throughout the game.


An item that becomes more and more forgotten. I would recommend it if the opponent go straight Armor and/or health. This item is a giant killer.


This item can be very useful against a Karthus ult for example and gives you some more magic resist.


If you seriously want to build the mallet, you have to swap it with the Warmog's Armor and replace the Trinity Force with something else as well. Also you would lose the additional damage from Sheen and this would not be an offensive item build anymore. There are ways to replace the Sheen extra damage with some more Attack damage items but this would just completely go away from the current build!

Actually I don't have any other proper alternatives for the offensive build. I could suggest The Black Cleaver or Infinity Edge and other crazy AD items, but I do not consider any of these items to synergize well with Wukong. If you have suggestions, just tell me ^^

Defensive

Recommended Build

I recommend to start with

and
On the defensive build it makes even more sense to start with a regrowth pendant because you will soon lead it into a Philosopher's Stone.

After the first time back, buy

, and
That might seem a bit odd but let me explain: As you play defensive you will play passive and not too active trying to take every minion available. Gold per 10 items like the Philo-Stone and the Heart of Gold (which will be transformed into Randuin's Omen later) are very important to get a gold advantage. It is pretty much the same as with other tanky top laners like Jarvan IV.

The next time back, buy

and
Mercs again are very important and necessary in the defensive version of Wukong. The tenacity is just great and you need the bonus magic resist in mid game. The Giants belt is the first part of your Warmog's Armor and gives you a great health boost next to the Heart of Gold.

Mid Game items

and
This is your core again. Even though you build kind of a full tank, you still want to have a little attack damage of your Impaler so you can actually be more than just a monkey shield in front of your team mates.

Completing your item build into late game and end equip

, ,
Having Randuins with you is a great advantage in team fights, to chase opponents and to escape from opponents easier. It is overall a great item for tanks. The Force of Nature grants a significant bonus in magic resist and is also a superior tank item. Instead of building Guardian Angel as a last item, I recommend to go with the Sunfire Cape. It synergizes with Atma's Impaler as well and gives you some damage output towards attacking opponents.

Alternative items for your end equip

You can find my thoughts on Guardian Angel in the offensive section. But I think it is not necessary with this build, as you are pretty much immortal anyway =).


Thornmail is a good item against annyoing carries like Tryndamere, Vayne and pretty much every AD carry. If the opposing team mainly consists of AD characters, swap the Force of Nature with the Thornmail.


See in the Offensive section above.


You would replace the Warmog's Armor with it and it would grant you some more attack damage... Think about it and find a way, not to lose your tankiness.


A great supporter item that grants your team great bonuses in team fights. But I would not really consider buying it.


The Frozen Heart has a good side effect that weakens nearby enemies and reduces Wukongs cooldowns. Not a bad item and it is worth trying.

At the moment I have no other defensive items that I would suggest for the tanky Wukong.

Skills Explanation and Skill sequence

In the following passage I will explain his skills and how they work best.


Increases Wukong's armor and magic resistance by 4/6/8 for each nearby enemy champion.
This is Wukongs passive and is very useful on enemy ganks and of course in team fights as it grants you a lot of tankiness in big battles.

Wukong's next attack deals 30/60/90/120/150 (+ ) physical damage and reduces the enemy's Armor by 30% for 3 seconds.
This skill is just a great burst damage dealer. Use it right after leading in with Nimbus Strike and an auto-attack as it resets the attack timer to deal maximum damage. It also procs on-hit-effects like Sheen or Trinity Force and of course Life Steal.

Wukong becomes stealthed for 1.5 seconds. An uncontrollable decoy is left behind that will deal 70/115/160/205/250 (+0.6) magic damage to enemies near it after 1.5 seconds.
This might be the most interesting skill that Wukong has. You can perform great jukes with it and you can experiment very much (To see what juking is look in the "Questions/Answers" section)

Wukong dashes toward a target enemy and sends out images to attack up to 2 additional enemies near his target, dealing 60/105/150/195/240 (+ ) physical damage to each enemy struck. Upon hitting his target, Wukong gains 30/35/40/45/50% Attack Speed for 4 seconds.
It damages up to 3 enemies and it is mostly used as a gap closer to be able to perform Crushing Blow right after to have a great damage output. It is also an initiation skill for a team fight if you lead in with it and continue with Cyclone.

Wukong's staff grows outward and he spins it around, dealing 20/110/200 (+ ) physical damage per second and knocking up enemies he encounters. Wukong gains speed over the duration of the spell. Lasts 4 seconds.
Superior damage output and a great damage output for tower dives or team fights or just a turnaround skill in a 1v1.

Sequence

Cyclone> Crushing Blow> Nimbus Strike> Decoy

This should be pretty clear. Ultimate over everything. The Crushing Blow is a great skill for harrassement and Nimbus Strike is the gap-closer. I take a point in Decoy on level 3 and max it last, as it is just meant for juking enemies and escaping.

Why, when and how Offensive? [incl. guidelines for early, mid and late game

Why Offensive?

That's easy: He has great burst damage and still a lot of survivability due to Stone Skin and offtank items like Atma's Impaler.

When Offensive?

Almost always. You can overcome almost every solo top char. If you want to know, which chars I would not recommend to play offensive against, read the chapter below and scan, when to play defensively.

How Offensive?

Now I will tell you how to lane and how to dominate the solo top as offensive Wukong. Keep in mind to play defensively against the chars that I would not recommend to play offensively against.

Early Game

The early game is key to success on the lane. Make sure to constantly poke your opponent. To do the best harrassement, level up to lvl 3, lead in with Nimbus Strike, continue with an auto-attack leading into Crushing Blow and Decoy out to minimize the damage you receive. Keep in mind that this combination eats a lot of mana. It is very efficient but still you should not perform it too often. Keep on poking and harrassing but make sure that you do not push too far to the enemy turret unless you have placed wards to see incoming ganks. If you push too far you will soon be ganked and will lose an advantage that you might have gained.
A little hint how not to push: Just last-hit the minions. Do not attack minions with full health as they will eliminate each other. If you see minions with low health, auto-attack them, take the gold and hold the lane in the middle. If your opponent pushes, you just signal your jungler to gank him and get a big advantage.

Mid Game

In the mid game you will go around to the other lanes and try to pick up as many kills as possible. Try to open up the lanes by destroying enemy turrets. That will make it easier for you to move around the map. If the jungler does not mind, take the Blue buff or the red buff as they are both great boosts to Wukongs mid and late game. Also there will be a lot of encounters and team fights going on. as you are not yet tanky enough, make someone else initiate the team fight, then close the gap with Nimbus Strike and activate Cyclone to knock up as many opponents as possible. But be careful for AoE ultimates that can take you down in a hurry, like Idol of Durand, Petrifying Gaze and others. If you did well in early and the enemy team is not too bad, they will try to focus you and take you down first. Make sure to get good positioning and timing. This is something where I can not help you. You have to acquire it yourself =).
Also try to pick up a dragon which gives your team some gold advantage, when the enemy team is sleeping or dead.

Late Game

It is kind of like the same story like in mid game. You will now finish your build with the missing components. If it is a very long game make sure to grab Elixir of Agility, Elixir of Brilliance and Elixir of Fortitude. Now you should also be tanky enough to initiate yourself. As you have the Guardian Angel it should not be a problem to take out the enemy team, unless your team is a bunch of potatoes.
Also make sure to keep map control. As you have tons of gold left, you will take the supporters job and grant map awareness. When the time is right, start to do the Baron buff with your team and bring the victory home safely =).

Why, when and how Defensive? [incl. guidelines for early, mid and late game

Why Defensive?

Even though Wukong has some great damage output he is also shining in initiating team fights and taking a lot of damage. Building him as a tank can be a pain in the butt for the enemy team.

When Defensive?

On the one hand you can decide it as you look at your team. If your team is extremely squishy and likely to be taken out very quickly defensive Wukong is a good choice.
As you could have some really uncomfortable top opponents you should go the defensive way as well. Here is a list of champs that you want to play defensive against:
.
Most of them are ruled as counter picks for Wukong. On every other top laner, I prefer the Offensive version of Wukong.

How Defensive?

In the following, I will explain how to behave on the top lane as a defensive Wukong against one of the listed solo top champs. They are pretty much all the same but I will pick the most annoying out of them: Yorick this char is totally broken and I hate to go solo lane against him. Now I will tell you in the "Early Game" section, how to lane against Yorick as an example for every other top laner you face off with the defensive Wukong.

Early Game

The early game is tough and you really have to be careful not to go a step too far out. As you will come too close, Yorick will put all his ghouls out and you will drop to two thirds of your health. He will try to do this constantly so here is what you do: Stay just out of his range but make sure to still get experience from the dying enemy minions. Yorick will eventually push and you will be able to grab some last hits at the tower. You can also try to request a gank. You might ask now: "How do I stop him from farming?" Here is where you have to prove your skill: Do the harrassement combo from the offensive section, when he comes to pick up "easy" last hits. You have to Decoy out immediately to avoid incoming heavy damage. If that can not stop him, request your jungler to babysit your lane a bit and always show up, when he tries to farm. And if that does not stop him you have to request a gank with all five of your teammates. Do it a few times and he might be extremely annoied and leave the game or something :D. No seriously, you have to find a way to stop him anyway! And by the way, now you have the reason for the gold per 10 items ^^.

Mid Game

The mid game is where you start to show your true power. You are the initiator for team fights. Try to take a lot of enemy aggro and do everything to protect your carries. If necessary, tank turrets and push them down. Do the dragon buff and basically follow the offensive guideline here.

Late Game

You will initiate everything. You are now a crazy tank and you will absorb almost every damage. Follow the guidelines from the offensive Wukong and the mid game from the defensive Wukong and go home with the victory =).

Changelog

8th April 2012 --- Published the guide
9th April 2012 --- Answered another users questions, started to work on the colouring of the texts.

Questions and Answers

Q: What is juking and how do I perform a juke?

Juking means to kind of fool the enemy team and lead them into a silly mistake. For example you run into the brush and the enemy expects you to go straight through it, but you time perfectly and go the other way. If they keep chasing you, you can easily set up a trap with your team. Juking with Wukong is extremely efficient as his Decoy does the same thing like when you press "S" on the keyboard. You have lots of room to experiment with that.

so how do you play against singed solotop?

As you can see, you should play him defensively. He will try to fling you back into his Poison Trail and you have to make sure that you do not chase him. He is extremely tough, even with low health. When you play defensively, you will have more health regeneration to heal up against his poison and stay on the lane. If he gets too aggressive, just call for a Gank.

Credits/Sources

http://euw.leagueoflegends.com/champions/62/wukong_the_monkey_king
http://championselect.net/index.php?r=champions/view&id=90
http://www.mobafire.com/league-of-legends/build/wukong-dont-touch-the-bananas-solo-top-guide-176976

And of course: Personal gaming experience =)

Final Information

Thank you for looking at my guide. I would really appreciate a vote and a comment so I can improve the work on this build. Remember that there are way more ways to play him and that I just wanted to share my two favourite builds with which I have gained very good experiences.
Please ignore every grammar mistakes you find or write in the comments, so I can correct them.
Have a nice day and happy easter!

I am open to every constructive criticism!