WE GOT NERFED HARD LOL. This playstyle got hit very hard, notably with clear speed. I have switched my secondary runes to conditioning/overgrowth + double scaling health to help keep up with the current meta. Additionally, with Udyr's 1v5 potential nerfed, I am building malignance/zhonas secondary instead of raw damage.

This playstyle still works - but for sure is weaker and slower than when I was pushing top of the server with it. I am keeping the original build in this guide as I think it still serves as the best "blueprint" for success, but don't be afraid to experiment this season!

What's up everyone! My name is WillieP, and I'm a challenger Udyr one trick on NA. I peaked at Challenger 861 LP in Season 13, and am currently hovering (d1/grandmasters). Additionally, I have a YouTube video for my Ultimate Guide to Udyr:
Play Video
I also have a Twitch where I'll be grinding daily. Hopefully you'll get a grip on the best champion in league by reading this guide- I'll try to cover everything about Udyr, but considering I have over 11,000 games of Udyr and 8,000,000 mastery points I won't be able to cover everything. I'm not going to talk too much about pathing, as this will vary on a game to game / patch basis. Instead, I want to focus on the mindset you have when playing Udyr, and how to take over the early game.

Flash is essential, never run Ghost unless you're trolling on damage Udyr. Arguably, Udyr's biggest weakness is that he is kiteable- Flash allows you to gain a gap closer every 5 minutes. But Willie, wouldn't Ghost help more with the kiting? More movement speed wont help you at all, if they have a team that is well equipped for you. Always take Flash boys

DARK HARVEST AND GATHERING STORM. Why? We're scaling to the moon with this build. You really don't come "online" as AP Udyr until 3 items, so powerfarming and scaling is key. With DH, eyeball collection, ultimate hunter, and celerity/gathering storm you are essentially Kassadin in terms of scaling.

Small note on Ultimate Haste - it applies towards your passive, not your R. With Ultimate Hunter, you can spit out more awakenings to keep yourself alive- alongside reducing your most important cooldown, awaken R.

If you guys get nothing else out of this guide, make sure to pay very close attention to this section. By far, the most important part of Udyr (this version of Udyr at least) is the mindset you have when you go into a game.

You are no longer a jungler, nor a member of your team. You are a selfish player looking to SCALE. You can truly 1v5 with this build, OR you get a good team and win by default. By choosing a scaling playstyle, you hedge your bets and can push 90% winrates.

To transform into the Godyr, you HAVE to get ahead, otherwise you are going to be useless late game. I always joke on my stream about Udyr being a "ticking time-bomb"- if you don't have a kill by fifteen minutes, you most likely are going to lose the game. This can be stressful at times, but once you learn Udyr's playstyle you'll soon find out how easy it is to generate an early lead with him.

Below platinum, NO ONE wards, so you can just abuse over extended lanes to get ahead. Once you start reaching somewhat high elo (although tbh I don't think high elo starts until ~300 Lp Masters), the easiest way to generate a lead is by powerfarming the entire map. At level 4, Udyr can duel anyone, with a few exceptions. DO NOT BE AFRAID TO INVADE. In fact, you should almost always invade the enemy jungler to at least find out which camps they have/have not done. If you're stuck in Diamond, focus on tracking the enemy jungler and constantly being on the side of the map that he's on- counterganks are the easiest way to snowball a game.

In summary, **** the enemies and **** your teammates; you are here to generate gold (at any expense) to build your expensive core items.

Early game is by far the most important part of playing Udyr, so if you're losing games on him I strongly recommend going back into your replays and figuring out where you made your first mistake. I am usually doing full clears, with either wolves or raptors starts. If you need help clearing your jg, here is an advanced clearing guide:
Play Video
After the full clear, I am looking for either dragon or Rift Grubs depending on comp and side of the map I'm on. I usually just go for the "easier" ogbjective as once again, I'm trying to scale and avoid crazy fights early game.

Once you get Liandries + Sorc Boots, you can start diving very easily. An Awaken R on a botlane will do ~1200 damage at RANGE, which is insane. Use this to your advantage.

Beyond diving, try to get your darkseal stacked + upgraded ASAP. Don't be afraid to upgrade at 6 stacks+, mejais can snowball you out of control. Second item is usually shadowflame for me, it has tremendous value when combined with liandries burn. You also get another +15 flat magic pen, which is like lethality but for magic damage.

Up until baron, KEEP FARMING FULL CLEARS. Show up to the easy ganks/fights, but you really need to be pushing a 2nd item by 19 minutes or so. SMall note - flat magic pen increases your clear speed, so use this to your advantage!

LATE GAME IS SO FUN. Just awaken R with full damage items. I don't really need to say more here - it is braindead easy. Try to avoid getting engaged on, let the teammates die etc- one Awaken R will win the teamfight, much less 2 or three - and it's on a 13 seconds cooldown at level 16+. Have fun and just hard carry this hase of the game

Obviously, there's a lot of stuff about Udyr I didn't cover- I could type my college thesis on Udyr if I had to. If you ever have any questions, hop over to my Twitch and feel free to ask me there. Basically, farm early ---> get kills on laner ----> solo objectives ----> get a midgame snowball going ----> end game. This season is incredibly snowbally, which is a perfect environment for Udyr to thrive in. Best of luck climbing!