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A balanced Rumble - how you do it!

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A balanced Rumble (Revised)

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Build Guide By Updated on

Guide Discussion (1) More Guides

Choose Champion Build:

Spells:

Teleport

Ghost

Ability Order

Rumble Passive Ability

More Rumble Counters

Introduction

Why hello again users of Mobafire! As you would know my name is MisterChris, writer of "How to build a balanced Rumble". I understand some of you may want to know why I chose to re-release the build, and I would be happy to answer. I wrote the original guide with the goal of educating players on how to play Rumble from my personal experience and I believe I achieved this. However, as time went on I felt I wasn't serving the community as well as I could be, the guide was a bit choppy and wasn't concise with its information. After looking at other guides I decided to recreate the build incorporating new elements that I felt NEEDED to be reported on.

I stripped the build, removing unnecessary information, reformatting sections and providing two distinct separate builds so players could experience two different ways of playing Rumble. I am happy with these builds and hope you are too. Please feel free to leave a comment about your results (I read all comments).

I would now like to begin with my original quote: Minds are like parachutes. They only function when they are open - the wise words of James Dewar.

Thanks goes to Searz for use of his guide format

The Mechanized Menace

Despite what some people may say, Rumble is a very interesting and unique champion in comparison to some of the current heroes. His passive introduces a new resource system that is heat, this opens endless possibly and problems if not timed correctly.

Heat and its mechanics will be discussed later in the guide.

It is important to know that Rumble is, what some people may consider a true tanky DPS. You cannot go all out MR, armour or health regen as you are giving up on a sh*t load of damage. In contrast, if you decided to go all-out damage you will go down in only a few hits.

So how do you balance this? You need to choose your items and fights accordingly. NEVER enter a team fight first, this is the tanks job NOT YOURS, you will merely be a feed to the jaws of heroes like or .

Escaping? While Rumble does have his it isnt as effective as some other escaping abilities like or . It could be compared to , an escaping move in its own right, just not a very good one.

So what can Rumble do? He is a great chaser, especially through the jungle with he aid of . Additionally, Rumbles ganking potential is impressive, your ultimate is great for leading enemies, slowing enemies as they run and huge damage all for a very short CD.

What makes Rumble so unique is his resource system. However with a new mechanic comes new challenges and as a Rumble player you need to adapt to this. As stated in the pros and cons, heat can be a double edged sword, providing you with a decent buff however the constant threat of a silence.

Junkyard Titan

Each ability generates 20 heat (excluding , you have three abilities = 60 heat in one rotation. This is a level you will want to maintain during a match, so how do you do it? For creeps you want to accelerate towards them using then pop your (you should currently have 40 heat) and finally use once you reach the minions. By using this rotation your will deal its maximum damage to creeps and decrease farming time significantly. Against champions it is essentially the same process however you want to open with to ensure maximum damage. It is important to note that should only be used on champions.

Once you are in the Danger Zone it is relatively easy to maintain, either use or to bump it up or simply keep using . Both methods are effective so it comes down to personal preference, I would however only use ONE of these tactics. You will find if you are spamming three skills constantly you will be frequently overheating.

Pros and Cons

Balanced in both offensive and defensive items
In can be an off-tank

One of the best farmers in the current game
Sustained damage

Lessens the effects of ranged DPS
Short movement speed buff

A possible two separate slows
Great for checking brush for enemies.

High initial and sustained damage
Ideal for ganks and team fights

Cannot go full AP due to low defences (a jack-of-all-trades)

Can cause you to overheat very quickly

Not the greatest escaping ability

Heavy hitting casters like will cause some pain

CANNOT carry teams

Heavy MR teams will significantly lower you effectiveness

Runes

Nine Greater Marks of Insight will give you a total of (0.95 magic pen per rune) 8.55 magic penetration. You need this rune, this is not even debatable. Rumbles abilities are AP based, you would need to be pretty ballsy to choose another option like armour pen.

Greater seals of resilience are Your standard armour rune, in total you receive 12.69 armour. A few builds select health runes but this isn't optimal as armour offers you so much more in terms of defence. There is a constant debate whether to choose per/lv runes over flat stats. Quite simply there is no right answer and comes down to personal choice. I prefer per/lv runes as the end results is greater.

With an additional 24.3 MR by level 18, casters won't be hurting quite so much when you have Greater glyph of Shielding . These runes are very important as Runmble sometimes struggles against casters like and due to their silences and CC abilities. Once again, per level runes or flat runes are your choice however per level will give you greater defence at level 18.

An extra 78 health will give you great survivability to your already dominating early game. Greater Quintessence of Fortitude will allow you to do head-to-head with enemies and come out with very little damage. While saving up for these runes Greater Quintessence of Potency are a great substitute.

Masteries

Rumbles masteries are typical for an AP hero. Points are taken in offense are to increase his overall magic damage output while defence masteries are about increasing his survivability (as stated, it can be pretty low).

Summoner Spells

Teleport
This gives you greater map coverage which is very important for an off-tank/pusher. This ability allows you to remain at the head of most fights and can assist in setting up ganks.

Exhaust
Similarly to it is a standard summoner spell, it works well with Rumble's slows and is always a safe bet.

Ghost
A standard ability for a majority of champions. You require at least ONE escaping spell as your isn't up to much.

Ignite
Additional damage and another safe bet for new Rumble players, this is a great spell for early game kills however it losses its bite late game.

Skill Sequence

This is your key farming ability and you should put a point into this at level 1. While this will decimate creeps in the lane, it will make last-hitting a more difficult task due to the constant damage. For a majority of the game you will have this ability active. It si always important to be constantly monitoring your heat gauge as this is the skills that will cause you to overheat 95% of the time. .

I hear people calling this an escaping ability, while it is, it isn't the best. With only an one second activation, escapes are going to be a tricky task, this ability should be used in conjunction with or .
While laning you will be constantly harassed by ranged champions, with this ability you can take a few hits and get out of the danger zone (pun intended) without risking giving a kill to the enemy team.

Your primary CC spell, and it is a good one, you have the ability to slow two targets or slow a single enemy for a extened period of time. Then why would I prioritize this after my shield while soloing? As mentioned rumble has some trouble staying alive in some situations and survivability ALWAYS takes priority over damage. I have tested maxing this ability first to assist in last hitting creeps but it was not worth the 10 second cool down early game.

A less than 60 second cool down on a slow that causes ridiculous amounts of damage if landed correctly (breathes) and then covers an area causing even more damage... OMFGBBQFTW? I love this ultimate, the CC ability, the slow and the damage it can create. In saying this, it can be tricky to land due to the targeting system and the thin line that it covers.
Tips: For ganks position the ultimate so that fleeing enemies will be slowed or even finished off. When you are initiating lead the enemy with , it will act like a barrier, restricting movement and essentially herding them towards you.

Items

Mercurys treads
Similarly with other mages, Rumble is shut down by CCs and Mercs lowers this threat as well as increasing your defences to mages. Some players suggest however this isnt recommended.

Rylais Crystal Sceptre
The extra Ap and health is a great boost for Rumble. The slow to enemies (which procs on EACH of his abilities including ) is great for chasing and works great with with a total 70% slow.

Force of Nature
Once again the MR will give you amazing defences against those mages and increase your overall survivability. Some players avoid this item however it is crucial to the build of Rumble.

Rabadons Deathcap
This is what you want on ANY caster, the additional 150 AP (and extra 30%) should get your count to above 300AP. This is very important as Rumbles damage can significantly drop at late game.

Solo build

Quicksilver sash
When you are playing alone this item is great, the ability to remove CC effects like will save your life a number of times. This is a very reliable item with only a 1min 40 cooldown, great throughout the entire game.

Zhonya's Hourglass
Another item great for solo play, the extra armour and AP will significantly increase your defences and the stasis will protect you from the effects of spells like .

Arranged build

Abyssal sceptre
An amazing item in team fights (which Rumble is pretty Bad-*** at) and a great counter to casters and tanks. You could replace this with if the team is heavier on tanks.

Guardian Angel
With a well communicated team this item is great, once again it gives you crucial magic resistance and armour while give you a second life! I would only use this item in arranged teams as you require that communication to make it effective, otherwise you just die twice.

Laning phase

Early Game
For early game, you should buy either and three if you are taking a solo lane or and one if you are with a partner. At this stage of the game you want to play aggressively against most players, with casters your main concern should be harassment and zoning, dont attempt kills unless you are 100% certain you are going to achieve this. You should be constantly maintaining your as you are not going to overheat from using it. Once you reach level two you place a point in , at this stage you should be considering going for a kill. Your first should be when you have 1200 gold, I would also recommend buying a magic ward to avoid being ganked by junglers or other players. You should continue to utilise your early game dominance by playing aggressively and zoning your enemies out as much as possible.

Mid Game
By mid game you should have helped or assisted in some team kills and started to build your , once this has been purchased begin off-tanking some fights and take more risks around towers and diving. Your main priority is to farm as much as possible and will be your best friend, just be sure not to over-extend as you will begin to become the focus of most ganks.

Mid Game
Late game is where you should already know the direction you are taking with the build. Your damage should be reaching its peak (with ) and squishy champions should go down within a rotation or two. At this stage you should be able to tank two enemy champions while your allies DPS them down. Caution has to be taken late game towards casters, as mentioned they are your biggest challenge and you need to be aware of this. If a situation becomes dire, pop your to absorb the damage.

Laning partners and opponents

Due to his incredible CC Rumble is a great laning partner that can flex his early game dominance very easily. The BEST partners are ones with CC abilities, why? The combined effects of your two slows and the power behind your should ensure a First Blood for your team.

Ideal partners

As you can see a majority of these champions are categorised as "tank" or "bruiser". It is important to be with a more defensive partner as they need to be able to assist you in fights, and in some cases take a majority of the damage.
From personal experience champions like and are one of the best partners thanks to their CC ability (another notable mention is ).

Additional note: Rumble is devastating with a well organised team, if you are laning with a friend I advise that you have some form of verbal communication. A lot of people over-look this aspect of game play and it is disappointing as ganks and team fights can be a lot more complicated and planned.

"Thorn in your side"

As stated previously, casters will be a challenge to lane against during the entire game, most notable are the nukers. Champions like and will force you to play more defensively and you should until a gank can be organised. Other champions like and will be a problem primary during early game.

Additional note: and will be your biggest threat late game, focus them first.

Wall of Scores

COMING TOMORROW

Final words

Rumble is a great champion that is currently, the most enjoyable champion in the league (in my eyes). His abilities, animations and even walk are all full of enjoyment. He is not a tank, however if built right can be an off-tank in certain situations. For new players it is tempting to go full AP, but doing this you are missing out on the survivability Rumble requires.

Thank you for reading my revised guide for Rumble, if you have any questions or concerns please feel free to voice them in the comment section below. I read all the comments and appreciate any suggestions to improve the build.

Have a nice day!