1~ Introduction
2~ Good/Bad stuff (pros/cons)
3~ How to do it (ability combos/trading and dueling in lane)
4~ Conclusion

Hi everyone, this is Fysikk or Creeper575 from EUW. This is a rough guide about my old favourite champion, Olaf.

Olaf has had his ups and downs. You may think now that nobody ever plays him - and you are right, no one ever does. This is due to a nerf he took that made him pretty useless at a few things. Before that nerf, he was a regular pick and pretty damn good in top lane and in jungle. This patch, I hope to see more people coming back to play Olaf as he has had a couple of changes that I think work quite nicely. His new Vicious Strikes no longer gives him spell vamp, but instead gives him attack speed along with the life steal. His new undertow has a reduced mana cost, a bigger slow which no longer decays over time but lasts shorter (1-2 seconds depending on distance traveled). His reckless swing (the true damage nuke) has a longer cooldown but now scales with AD (0.4) and his basic attacks reduce the cooldown by 1 second and it now refunds the health cost if it kills the unit. This change in my opinion makes him a lot better, and is the reason I decided to make this guide, so here it is!

Also, some Questions/Answers:

Q: Is Olaf a good pick for ranked?
A: Not particularly, as he is easily kited but can do well if you know his limits.

Q: Where does Olaf fit best/ what team comps does he fit best?
A: Olaf is a top lane/jungler bruiser, and he fits well into teams with lots of CC and kill potential.

PROS

Very effective farmer
Good sustain with vicious strikes
Good poke
CC Break/can't be crowd controlled with Ultimate
Passive bonus armour/magic resist from level 6

CONS

!High mana costs!
Surprisingly easy to kite
Can be made useless by champions with lots of CC before lvl 6

Olaf is a good champion, but can be made useless in certain situations like being denied farm or being underlevelled because of ganks.

TRADING
Winning trades in lane is key to succeeding in the mid to late game for everyone, so here is how you should do things as Olaf.

To initiate a trade, use your Undertow to deal some decent damage straight off and slow them for you to get in range of your other abilities and autoattacks. Use your Vicious Strikes to get some attack speed and sustain during the trade, and attack the enemy. Whenever you can, use reckless swing to deal heavy true damage to the target. Repeat this until the enemy dies! You should do the same when getting a gank from your ally jungler. Resist the urge to tower dive before level 6 as Olaf even though it is incredibly tempting, as you can get easily caught out or die to the tower. At level 6 tower dives are a lot easier because you can't get stunned or snared under tower (unless Jarvan jumps on your face).

Farming as Olaf is generally very easy due to his ability set. Rank up your Undertow to quickly take out caster minions. As Undertow can be picked up when it lands, make sure it will be easy to reach as throwing it too far away can put you in danger of ganks or getting caught out.

Olaf is a decent bruiser who has high farm and kill potential if played correctly. When playing this champion, remember your limits and try not to get kited like bronze players chasing singed. He is a fun pick, although not the best champion in competitive play or ranked. You will have a great time smashing people in the face with your abilities/attacks, and remember,

"leave nothing behind!" -Olaf

p.s. hope you like it, this is my first guide :D