Update for Season 4 in progress

Welcome to the AP OffTank Rammus Dominion Guide by RockJockey!

How does one play AP OffTank Rammus? First and foremost, AP Rammus is still a Tank, this build makes him an AP Offtank. As such, AP Rammus needs Magic Penetration to make his abilities deal damage, not tons of AP. On top of that, Rammus is melee, so he needs Health and Resistances in order to survive long enough to deal the massive amounts of damage buried in his kit.

Rammus has an awkward kit and building him for damage is a hard feat. Most Summoners don't bother to even try to maximize Rammus' damage at all, and they build him as a meatshield. That doesn't work on Dominion because if you cannot effectively kill an opponent or offer some other vital abilities that help the team, you are useless. If you want to play a meatsheild, go play Alistar (No offense, I like Alistar too).

With this build, one should be able to both Tank and deal generous amounts of Damage at the same time. Also, your Enemies will not expect it, nor know how to defend against it, thus giving you the element of surprise.

For the sake of this guide, I'm assuming that you are using AP Rammus on Toplane in Dominion, especially since he has an ensured gold income. On Summoner's Rift as a Jungler, this build may be a little more expensive than what a Jungler's income allows.

I hope you all can find out just how powerful AP Rammus is.

Soviet Swain Approves AP Rammus!
-RockJockey

Consider these points when in Champion Select.

Pros:
-Pick Rammus when you need a Tank who can Pooter.
-He can fit into most teams without problem.
-Can tank and initiate well enough.
-High Mobility (Q: Powerball is what makes Rammus so fitting for Dominion, it allows him to travel from Toplane to Botlane in 2-4 seconds flat. This speed boost will allow Rammus to make incredible plays and to always be one step ahead of his opponents.)
-Escapes easily.
-Rammus can hold a point by himself against multiple opponents starting around Midgame.
-Rammus works best against squishies such as ADCs and Mages.
-Midgame and Lategame is where Rammus shines the best.

Cons:
-Early Game is weak
-Does best with a Buddy Champion that can output damage.
-Always take a Buddy: In the Early Game, Rammus has trouble solo initiating unto Captured Points being actively defended by an Enemy Champion.
-Besides his Q knockback and E taunt, Rammus can have trouble protecting his Ally Squishies from multiple Enemies. Counter this by buying an early -Locket of the Iron Solari.
-Toplane is where Rammus belongs. He doesn't have enough pushing power or sustain to be able to hold Botlane.

Stats that AP Rammus needs in order of importance:
-MR Pen, Health, Resistances, Tenacity, CDR, AP, Spellvamp
Runes:
greater mark of hybrid penetration Reds: Magic Penetration (or Attack Speed or Attack Damage on Summoner's Rift)
Yellows: Flat Armor- to deal with the numerous AD Bruisers. (Passive: Spiked Shell: for every 20 AR = 5 AD.)
Blues: Magic Penetration or Scaling Magic Resist or CDR
Quints: Armor or Movementspeed are most preferrable, other acceptable Quints: AD, AS, SV, or MR Penetration


Masteries: Several varying choices depending on the map.

9/21/0 - 8% MR Pen and Tankiness - Dominion

Core Items:
Sunfire Cape Health plus Armor plus Magic Damage, Rammus likes.
Thornmail The synergy this item has with your W: Ball Curl is incredible.
Liandry's Torment Penetration so your abilities deal damage

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Starting Items:
The first few minutes are the toughest part of playing Rammus on Dominion. You don't have any real Health or Damage. Pick your Starting Items according to what the Enemy looks like. I generally always start Cloth Armor and Chain Vest so I can complete Thornmail as soon as possible in order to deal damage.

Versus Heavy AD: start with Boots of Speed + Cloth Armor and Chain Vest because you need to Alternatively, you can build Sunfire Cape instead of Thornmail for the Health. After completing your first item, the rest of the game is much easier.

Versus Heavy AP: start Boots of Speed + Ruby Health Crystal and Null-Magic Mantle. These can build into Aegis of the Legion or Merc Treads and a Health Item like a Haunting Guise.

Alternate Starting Items:
- Boots of Mobility + Cloth Armor + 2 Health Potions: Use this start for the Super Speedy, Super Sneaky Rammus Capture Strategy.
- Boots of Speed + Kindlegem: 200 Health plus 10% CDR: This can build into a handful of useful items such as hextech sweeperHextech Sweeper or Shurelya's Reverie or Spirit Visage or Spirit of the Ancient Golem.
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Choose the Boots that fit the Situation:
Boots of Mobility
-High Mobility: very good on Dominion for moving around the Map.
Mercury Treads:
-MR + Tenacity - if CC is not a problem, use Sorcerer's Shoes instead
Sorcerer's Shoes
-MR Penetration
Ninja Tabi
-Armor = 6 More AD
-Reduces Enemy Auto Attacks by 10%.

Sunfire Cape:
-45 AoE Magic Damage per Second around Rammus. This combos with M-Pen and with Rammus' AoE Ultimate Tremors.
-45 Armor: Necessary for surviving against AD enemies. Also gives Rammus 11.25 AD.
-450 Health: Big Buffer against Burst

Thornmail:
-Returns 30% of damage before any reductions as Magic Damage. This combos with M-Pen and Rammus' W Defensive Curl.
-100 Armor: Reduces physical Damage. Also give Rammus 25 AD

Liandry's Torment
-15 Flat M-Pen:
-"Unique Passive: Dealing spell damage applies a damage-over-time effect that deals bonus magic damage equal to 2% of the target's current Health per second for 3 seconds. This bonus damage is doubled against movement-impaired units." - this combos well with his AoE skills.
-300 Health = more Buffer
-50 AP es bueno.

Abyssal Scepter:
-Aura Reduces Enemy MR by 20. This combos well with his AoE skills.
-45 MR is important during the mid game to survive burst from Enemy Mages.
-70 AP es bueno

Rylai's Crystal Scepter: Synergizes with R: Tremors
-Slows: Dealing spell damage slows the target's movement speed by 35% for 1.5 seconds (15% for multi-target and damage-over-time spells). This combo's well with W and R.
-500 Health
-80 AP es bueno

Optional Items:
-Rod of Ages - Health + Mana + AP
Hextech Sweeper-Hextech Sweeper - 300 Health + 50 AP + 10% CDR + 10% Movement Speed + Active: stealth-detecting mist for 10 seconds, granting vision of units which pass through it for 6 seconds. 60 second cooldown. (Good Overall Item for Rammus)
-Randuin's Omen - Health + Armor + AS Slow
-Frozen Heart - AS Slow + Armor + 20% CDR + 400 Mana
-Zhonya's Hourglass - 50 AR + 120 AP + Invulnerability (Good to use while ulting)
-Iceborn Gauntlet - AoE Slow + Sheen + 70 AR + 10% CDR + 30 AP + 500 Mana
-Locket of the Iron Solari - Health + AR + MR + CDR + Shield Active (This is a Really Good Item, AoE Shields are OP)
-Wit's End - AS + MR + MR Shred (Overall inferior compared with Abyssal Scepter)
-Shurelya's Reverie - Speed Boost a.k.a. SUPER FAST RAMMUS.
-Rabadon's Deathcap - Lots of AP ( Wooglet's Witchcap is the Dominion version)
-Spirit of the Ancient Golem - Tenacity + Health + CDR + Jungling Item
-Spirit of the Spectral Wraith - SpellVamp + 10% CDR + AP + Jungling Item
-Will of the Ancient - Aura Spellvamp
-Morellonomicon - Applies Grievious Wounds + 20% CDR + AP

Rammus has a Total Ratio of 3.4 AP.
-Q has 1:1 AP Ratio. Q has good scaling, but a very long cooldown.
-R has 2.4:1 Ratio. R has a good Ratio and it has a short cooldown relative to other Ultimates , very spammable.
-W does not scale with AP, instead it scales with 10% of Rammus' Bonus Armor.
=Conclusion: Though 2 of Rammus' abilities have somewhat good scaling, the way the abilities work as far as mechanics and the long cooldowns do not promote stacking AP in order to deal damage. Rammus benefits the most from Magic Penetration.

Skill Max Order: R,E,W,Q

AP Rammus's combo is:
-Q: Powerball into an Enemy.
puncturing taunt-E: Taunt Enemy
-Activate W and R, then watch as the Enemy commits suicide on your spiny shell. Tremors will eat their health.
-If the Enemy is still alive, activate Q: Powerball to hit and slow them long enough for you to finish them off with Auto Attacks or to get another puncturing tauntE + W combo.
-Watch the chat for stuff like, "OMG Rammus' Taunt is so annoying." or "How do you deal that much damage?" or "Rammus too stronk."

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Passive: Spiked Shell: 25% of Rammus' Bonus Armor is converted into AD. 20 AR = 5 AD
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Q: Powerball Cooldown: 10 Cost: 70 / 80 / 90 / 100 / 110 mana
Rammus enters a rolling ball state for up to 7 seconds, constantly accelerating from an initial bonus 3% move speed up to a bonus 165% move speed.
Upon impacting with an enemy unit, Rammus will knock back all nearby enemies, dealing magic damage. Additionally, enemies affected by the impact will be slowed for 3 seconds.
Magic Damage: 100 / 150 / 200 / 250 / 300 (+ 100% AP)
Slow: 20 / 25 / 30 / 35 / 40%

Rammus' Q is mainly used for mobility. Even AP Rammus does not max this skill first or second because it drives up the mana cost. Also, it's Cooldown stays constant and it has the 1:1 AP Ratio at level 1. No need to max this (Unless you go for Glacial Shroud early). Rammus' Q is also a knockback, so it can be used to interrupt channels such as Nunu's Ultimate. The slow it provides keeps enemies close for your ultimate and/or Autoattacks.
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W: Defensive Ball Curl Cooldown: 14 Cost: 40 mana
Active: Rammus enters a defensive stance for 6 seconds, significantly increasing his armor and magic resistance and returning magic damage to enemies whenever they use a basic attack against him.
Bonus Armor / Magic Resist: 40 / 60 / 80 / 100 / 120
Magic Damage Returned: 15 / 25 / 35 / 45 / 55 (+ 10% armor)

Rammus' W is maxed second after E. Defensive Ball Curl deals the most damage besides his Ultimate. It combo's very well with Thornmail. If Rammus can taunt an Enemy and then turns on W, most Enemies will kill themselves very quickly. Even if that Enemy has LifeSteal, they will still be losing much more Health than they gain.
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puncturing tauntE: Puncturing Taunt: Cooldown: 12 Cost: 50 / 60 / 70 / 80 / 90 mana
Active: Rammus taunts an enemy champion or monster, reducing their armor and forcing them to attack Rammus for a few seconds.
Armor Reduction: 10 / 15 / 20 / 25 / 30 Duration: 1 / 1.5 / 2 / 2.5 / 3

Rammus' E: Puncturing Taunt is maxed first because as a Initiator/Jungler, CC is King. If Rammus can Taunt an Enemy, they are his plaything. They attack his spiky shell and kill themselves. Knowing when to use this ability is the key between a good Rammus and a Great Rammus. Whenever your Squishy is being targeted by an Enemy, using your Taunt at the key moment will frustrate your Enemies to no end because they will never be able to kill your 1/4th-Health Squishies.
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R: Tremors Cooldown: 60 Cost: 120 mana
Active: Rammus creates tremors beneath him for 8 seconds dealing magic damage to units and structures within 300 range each second. Rammus can move, attack and use other abilities while Tremors is in effect.
Magic Damage Per Second: 65 / 130 / 195 (+ 30% AP)
Maximum Magic Damage: 520 / 1040 / 1560 (+ 240% AP)

Rammus' R: Tremors is a low cooldown Mega Damage Ultimate. Powerball into the middle of the enemy team and hit Tremors. Everything just dies around Rammus. Don't feel hesitant to use it since it has such a short Cooldown. Use it against Enemies, Towers, or even to farm minions.

Dominion has its own strategy and meta, though similar to Summoner's Rift, it is very different. I would refer you to DDFeedski's Twitch Channel if you wanted to watch good Dominion games. There are other guides that can help out better with the dynamics of Dominion such as Sauron's Mega Guide. I will offer tips on playing Rammus in Dominion.
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Each Dominion game starts with each Team on opposite sides of the map inside of a Barrier that you cannot pass. When the Barrier lowers, 1 Ally goes Botlane and 4 race to the Top Capture Point.

Both Teams head to the Top Point. The Top Capture Point is where the first major stand-off happens between the two teams. Be careful about initiating because you don't want to get poked down. But if you can taunt an enemy, especially a squishy like a ADC or a Mage, go ahead. If you do happen to die early in the first teamfight and you think that it would help your Team capture the point, then use your Revive and Ghost and Q: Powerball to quickly get back to the Toplane.

If you cannot capture Top Point:
-Constantly Backdoor Mid and Bot Point.
-Or call in your allies for a group assault on one point.
-Or Gank Bottom

If the Top Point is controlled by the Enemy, ganking bottom is usually the best option.
-Check if your Botlaner is there and if the Enemy Botlaner is there. Ping that you are coming, perhaps even type it out. (If the Enemy Botlaner is not there, take his Point, otherwise do as explained)
-Pass over a Speed Shrine and Q: Powerball while in the Fog. Wait for your Powerball to reach a higher speed before coming out of the Fog. Try to always come from behind the Enemy Botlaner Champion.
-Use the puncturing tauntE: Taunt, R: Tremors, and W: Defensive Ball Curl combo to hold the Enemy Botlaner in place while your skills plus your Ally Botlaner rip the Enemy apart.

Midgame is where Rammus shines. By now you will have bought a Thornmail and a Sunfire Cape. A full combo of your abilities will be enough to kill most Enemies. You will be speeding around from point to point, capturing behind Enemy lines, keeping them constantly offbalanced.

Playing Rammus is like doing the Hokey Pokey, you throw yourself into the fight and use all your spells, then you retreat and wait for something to come off cooldown so you can jump back into the fight. Tag team using Rammus' puncturing tauntE: Puncturing Taunt to draw enemies away from your Squishies so your Squishies can get their spell rotations off. Every second the enemy is AAing you is another second your Squishies are able to deal damage.

Tip: Remember that this is a team game, so work with your allies to accomplish team objectives. Dying one by one to the Enemy Team never helps.
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Super Speedy, Super Sneaky Rammus Capture: One strategy that Rammus players sometimes use at the beginning of the game is to quickly run up to the Top Capture Point before anyone else can get there to begin the capture process. Let your Team know what you are doing before doing this. Also ask them for any speedboosts if they have any.
-Buy Boots of Mobility, wait for the walls to open and then immediately use the Summoner Spell Ghost and Q: Powerball to quickly travel up to the Top Capture Point. Rammus will gain nearly 1000 Movementspeed with this combo. Begin capturing as soon as you arrive.
-Hint: Do not use this strategy if you think the Enemy Team will also ghost or if the Enemy Team has a Rammus or Hecarim or other Champion who has a similar longterm speed up ability such as Hecarim with his E: Devastating Charge.
-Hint: Try to stay hidden and use the Speed Shrine so that no one realizes what you are doing until it is too late.
-Tip: I like to move to topside of the Top Capture Point before initiating the capture process because if the enemy team has a long skillshot, they will break your capturer earlier.

AP Rammus... powerballing into a Rift near you soon.

P.S. Magic Penetration is your Friend.