Gangplank took big hit during the Bilgewater Event. He lost his arm, his ship, and his town. But with Preseason 6 changes, Gangplank is ready to reclaim his throne as King of Bilgewater and Ruler of the Rift. As his nickname suggests, Ganplank's build focuses on achieving high levels of critical strike damage because his main poke ability Parrrley applies critical strikes. A few item changes and the new masteries also provide new interactions with critical strike, making it more favorable than ever to build as a primary stat.

Flash is the go to summoner spell for any champion. For Gangplank, there aren't too many offensive uses. When dashing toward an enemy, you can auto attack and then use Parrrley, but only do this against a low health enemy who you can easily kill with just those two hits. Due to Powder Keg's arm time, it isn't too effectve for a flash burst. However, you could Flash, then place a keg where they're going. They may try to juke the keg, but place another keg where' they're going now, basic attack the first, and the explosion will trigger the second and hit them. However, this is extremely risky, so I would not recommend Flashing in order to attempt it. I would rather use Flash as your Get Out of Jail Free card. Ganplank is very vulnerable to champions with dash/blink abilities and high burst damage, so Flash will help him a little in these situations.

Teleport is another common Summoner Spell for top lane. It has been nerfed to have a longer cooldown, so be careful about your timing. Also, try to determine whether or not it is best to use cannon barrage before or after you teleport. Using it before can help your allies hold out until you get there, but it could cause the enemy to back off before you actually reach the action. Using your ultimate after you teleport will provide double the pressure upon your arrival. And remember that when you teleport away, you loose cs from top lane, and the enemy has an opportunity to take the Rift Harold or Baron.

Ignite is another useful alternative if you intend to poke down the enemy champion during early game. Having ignite means that even enemies at half health will be in danger of dying from one combo. They will be forced to either back off and miss cs or be careless and open the opportunity for you to obtain a kill. If you take this Summoner Spell, do not get Enchantment: Distortion. Enchantment: Homeguard would be a good alternative.

The Ferocity tree is our primary tree because it has some of the best damage dealing masteries. Cunning is our secondary tree because it has some addition damage dealing effects. I do not put points into Resolve because, other than some minor sustain, masteries in this tree are only significant if you build tanky, and Remove Scurvy provides us with decent sustain.

Take Double Edged Sword only if you feel confident in playing as Gangplank. Otherwise, Feast may be the safer option. Be looking out for escaping champions with only a sliver of health remaining. Killing them not only provides the usually benefits, but thanks to Bounty Hunter , you gain 1% damage for each unique target you kill. Warlord's Bloodlust heals you and provides attack speed when you critically strike (2 second cooldown). This will have greater impact during late game, but with our runes, we have about 10% crit change, so you will occasionally get the heals for a small amount of lane sustain.

Savagery is great for last hitting cs during early game. Secret Stash provides you early game sustain, especially if you start Sapphire Crystal, meaning that you can buy 3 potions at the beginning of the game. Don't be afraid to buy more potions when you recall, as they will help you stay in lane for longer. I split my points between Merciless and Meditation Meditation is useful for spamming Parrrley during early game, while Merciless helps you pick off low health enemies, especially with Cannon Barrage.
Bandit may seem unusual because you wont get much gold from nearby allies killing minions; however, you gain 10 gold each time you attack your lane opponent (5 second cooldown). While you'll loose out on silver serpents by poking with Parrrley instead of using it to farm, you'll gain more gold by doing so. This will lead to your reaching the build's core items sooner, and then you can poke and farm with parrrley and all your abilities indefinitely.

You've got some options for starting items. Take Cull in anticipation of less early game harass. Doran's Blade is for an average match up, and Doran's Shield is a more defensive option. Sapphire Crystal builds into one of your first items and gives the mana to spam Parrrley. If you've got gold leftover, take one or two Health Potions, and don't forget your Stealth Ward.

Sheen is all you should need for early game minion farming: A stronger Parrrley, mana, and 10% CDR. Use Parrrley to start raking in those Silver Serpents. Also, buy a vision ward to help prevent ganks, and buy replacements when it is destroyed.

Your first complete item is Essence Reaver It provides CDR, crit chance, and AD to further empower your parleys. But the best part is the new passive effect: "Critical strikes restore 3% of your maximum mana." And your Parrrleys can critically strike, so with this item, it is possible for you to gain back mana from using the ability! I have tested this, and it does work. You really do get mana back




Feel free to spam Parrrley whenever it is off cooldown and can kill a minion. Combine with Powder Keg to farm multiple minions at once. And with only 800 gold, you can buy Cloak of Agility, which will provide an additional 20% critical strike chance and tops off your CDR at 40% thanks to Essence Reaver's other passive effect "Gains up to +20% additional cooldown reduction equal to your critical strike chance from other sources" (prepare for this to be nerfed in the future; it's way too OP). Again, I have tested this, and you really do get 30% CDR from that item.

Add Infinity Edge, Phantom Dancer, and Trinity Force into the mix to have near 100% critical strike chance and tons of damage. If things aren't going your way, you'll need to go tanky too. Dead Man's Plate provides even more damage to your first Parrrley, so it's a natural fit. Spirit Visage allows you to Eat Oranges and be extra K. And Sterak's Gage will help you avoid burst and stay in the fight longer.

Gangplank used to have trouble building core items with CDR, forcing him to buy Ionian Boots of Lucidity. Now, we reach 40% CDR with ease, so GP is allowed to freely choose his footwear. As for enchantments, Enchantment: Distortion lowers the cooldown of his Summoners buy 20%, meaning that they are available more often to make plays.

I'll be adding chapters about masteries, runes, and abilities soon. I have to admit, while I have played Gangplank several times, I definitely didn't main him before Preseason 6. This means that I've still got a ways to go before I'm super skilled with his kit. However, this build was too good to pass up, and I wanted to share it with you, too. Post a comment if you have any tips for this build or playing as Gangplank in general.

Have fun Ruling the Rift as Captain Critplank!

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