Hello all.

Recently I made an absolute fool of myself by down voting my competitors guide without just reason. His guide, although I've never personally tried it, is much better than mine. You should use it.

This is it: SwagSurfin ur way to Success pt.2

Good bye, and good luck!

Hello! This is my first guide, and I decided to make it because a)The previous top ranking pure AP guide for Kog'Maw has now expired, and b)I LOVE Kog'Maw and get quite offended when people laugh at the idea of AP Kog, or I see someone building him quite horribly. Please read the whole thing before voting, and post your comments below!

Note: Because of the "lower mana" than other builds, it is highly recommended that you have at least SOME ability with skillshots. Otherwise, you may find yourself running out of mana from to many missed ults :/

Pros:

• Great AP burst damage.
• Just about the best harass IN THE GAME!
• Can still take down tanks with Bio-Arcane Barrage.

Cons:

• Squishy.
• Very Slow.
• Often Focused.
• Weak to gap-closers like Akali, Jax, Riven, etc.

Flash because it's a great spell for just about anyone, and Teleport. Teleport is often under rated, but I love it on Kog'Maw. I use it to get back to my lane quickly, defend towers, and even get within range to ult a fleeing enemy.

Other Options:

• Ghost helps you catch up with fleeing enemies, or run away.
• Clairvoyance if you aren't too good at landing your ult blindly. I'd rather let the
  support get this though.
• Surge It gives you some good AS, making your w actually useful. It also gives a fair amount of AP, from what I've heard...
• Clarity Yea, not the most optimum choice, but if you burn your mana really hard early game, it could help you secure a kill. I almost never go with this choice anymore.
• Exhaust Wonderful spell that lets you say, "What AD?". It basically lets you completely shut down any AD coming to kill you and also helps you get away.
  

Don't Get:

• Ignite. You shouldn't ever really be within range of anyone to use it... Your ult also helps you secure the kill without tower diving.
• Cleanse. I don't care if you could spam it every 5 seconds, Kog'Maw is so slow it wouldn't make a difference.
• Revive. No.
• Smite. *Facepalm*
• Heal. Useless for Kog'Maw, if you are any good.
• Promote Err...

With the new mastery pages, I decided to update my guide.

I basically changed my mastery set-up a lot. Instead of having most of my masteries set in defensive and utility, I put 21 into offensive because the new things in there will really up the damage.

I got everything that boosts AP in the offensive tree for maximum AP, and with 3 points in Havoc , just as a filler. I also get Executioner because that extra damage will make or break a kill. Just that extra 6% is enough to get a kill a whole ult cast sooner. Think of it as a Bio-Arcane Barrage for ALL your damage, AND it does it in either AD or AP, depending on if you are auto-attacking or not.

I put 9 into utility, with 1 point in Summoner's Insight because it gives a pretty good boost to both of the summoner spells I suggest. I also got 3 in Expanded Mind and Meditation because the extra mana and regen will help with your spamming. Not to mention, the mana gained from Expanded Mind helps with damage because of Archangel's Staff.

For runes, I like to take 9 Greater Mark of Magic Penetration, 9 Greater Seal of Scaling Mana Regeneration, 9 Greater Glyph of Scaling Ability Power, and 3 Greater Quintessence of Ability Power.

The marks, glyphs and quints all give extra damage, and the seals give some very much needed mana regen.

Start with a Doran's Ring (or a Sapphire Crystal if you want the early start on .) The next time you need to go back, you should start building your Tear of the Goddess. Teleport back to your lane and keep farming until you have enough for your Sorcerer's Shoes. But, why rush boots? For one, Kog'Maw is very slow, and the speed helps you keep enemies within range of your ult. Also, the magic penetration it gives definitely helps with your damage.

Next, get your Rabadon's Deathcap.

Here is where you have a choice of what to get next:

Blowing away mana? Want more damage? Finish your Archangel's Staff.

Can't keep up with fleeing enemies? Taking to much damage? Nab a Rylai's Crystal Scepter.

Always grab the other option directly after you get whichever you chose. They are core items on AP Kog'maw.

Now you have another choice. If you STILL have problems keeping up or just plain can't run away, you can get a Lich Bane. Or you can get a Void Staff or an Abyssal Mask for more MR incase of heavy AP nukers. You can also get a Zhonya's Hourglass if you're against a Karthus, or the other team is AD heavy. All of these are interchangeable, just get whatever best suits your situation. EDIT: You should almost always get Void staff. Otherwise, you will always have 2 of the above mentioned items, not just one of them.

With a complete build, you should have roughly 700 AP.

Alternately, you can switch out the Lich Bane with another Archangel's Staff, if you want more AP and ult damage.

Whenever I look at a guide, I go to the "Skill Sequence" part hoping to see what order I should use my spells in combat, but I usually just see what order to get the abilities. I'll provide you with BOTH of these!

Order to get:

First get your e because that is your primary damaging/farming spell. Afterwards, get one point in your q , another point in at level 3, Bio-Arcane Barrage at 4, and then max out Void Ooze and Caustic Spittle, Void Ooze first. Of course you get Living Artillery whenever you can.

Order to use:

1v1:
Start with a Caustic Spittle for the MR reduction. With enough AP this will do roughly 600 damage late game. Immediately afterwards, throw Void Ooze in their face (another 600 damage) and then bombard them with your ult (which does around 500 late game). You shouldn't really need to use Bio-Arcane Barrage at all, unless its a tank which you shouldn't be soloing anyways. Melee enemies will have to run towards you through your slow, and it helps keep any ranged in place for your ult. Against squishier champions, just the q,e,r combo will kill them. Tankier guys might take an extra ult or two. Of course, early/mid game you will have to chase them down with your ult.

Team Fights:
Before EVERY team fight, you need to rain your ult down on the opposing team. It gives you sight of whoever you hit, allowing you to potentially see their whole team setup, AND it gives your team the advantage in the upcoming team fight because everyone should have a chunk of hp missing. When the fight starts, use the typical 1v1 combo on whoever poses the biggest threat and try to land land your e on as many people as possible. Then, back up and snipe off everyone else with your ult.

I will go into further detail of how to properly handle yourself in team fights later, but for now this should be sufficient.

Kog'Maw is an excellent mid because of his ult. The only time you don't want mid is when... well never. (Even that occasional Akali can't easily handle well-placed Kog ults.)

Now I know that there are some very... stubborn players out there, and if one of them refuses to let you go mid, Kog'maw does pretty well bot with a good support or someone with decent CC like Alistar.

Focus on farming as best as you can. The sooner you get your Tear of the Goddess, the better. Try to get multiple last hits with your e, and maybe hit the enemy. I don't suggest using your e on just the enemy, or really even to often because it eats your mana. If they get to close to you, throw your q at them, and maybe an e if you can get a good shot. At level 4, you can use the bonus range from Bio-Arcane Barrage to farm easier or harass.

I don't suggest ganking until level 6 because a) You don't have enough early game damage, and b) Kog'Maw is too slow.

If you are solo mid, start shooting the enemy with your ult once every 6 seconds (so the mana cost doesn't stack) in order to get them at roughly half HP. You can then go into the 1v1 combo mentioned above, but make sure to actually use Bio-Arcane Barrage to help get them lower in between ult shots.

At the end of early game, you should have your Tear of the Goddess and maybe your Sorcerer's Shoes if you farmed well enough.

EDIT: Probably the easiest way to land an ult in lane is hitting them just as they go up for a last hit. It really keeps them from farming well, making you win mid over time.

By now you should be around level 10. Finish your Sorcerer's Shoes if they aren't done, and then build your Rabadon's Deathcap. Then start building your next item. By now, your team should have pushed at least one turret, and you can go around ganking. Just make sure to keep an eye on your lane, and teleport to it if the turret is in trouble. You should also be getting into team fight about now, so I will devote this next part into how to properly play an AP Kog in team fights.

AP Kog'Maw is very squishy. Therefore, it is vital to sit behind your tanks and melee carries. Before the fight starts, rain your ult on the enemy to get as many people as low on HP as you can. When the fight starts, run in, shoot your q at someone, preferably the enemy carry, throw your e in, and back up to start ulting on fleeing/remaining enemies.

If you get focused when you run in, either flash away or run back into your team. You can try to go in again, or just sit back and snipe with your ult.

It's quite an easy routine, and if done correctly can often result in a triple kill, or maybe even better.

By now your build should be almost complete, or finished entirely if you are doing very well. Your ult will hit around 500, and that is a BIG chunk squishies.

Your team may want to get Baron. It's a great buff for Kog, giving him a large amount of bonus AP. Throw your q and e at him, and then pop your Bio-Arcane Barrage and auto attack him. It will do massive damage.

You can also steal Baron quite effectively! Throw your ult in to get sight and see how much HP he has left. If you time it just right, you can easily steal it with your e right over the back wall! With a max level Bio-arcane barrge you get the range to auto attack baron from over the back wall, so you can also do it that way. I get so much <3 from my team when I pull this off.

Otherwise, you should be team fighting and pushing. If your team is pushing an enemy tower, continually snipe the enemy from far back. This will get them so low they will have to run back, or get dove by your team! This is EXTREMELY effective when your team is trying to push an inhibitor, because they can't keep defending while you destroy them with your ult.

In the unfortunate event that the enemy pushes up to your nexus turrets, you can sit on the bottom of your shop stairs and eternally shoot your ult down just on the other side of the turrets.

Kog'Maw's ult is your biggest damage source on AP Kog, and you MUST know how to properly use it.

Since I'm away at school and can't play LoL to get screen shots, I will refer you to Right Click and Win by Mowen. Check out his "How to Use Your Ult Like a Pro" section. The guide is also an excellent AD build for Kog'Maw, and if you wish to build him AD I highly suggest this guide.

If you don't want to open another page, or are just to lazy :), I'll give a simple explanation now. Otherwise, skip to the video!

Basically, landing your ult is much the same as any other circular AoE spell. You shoot it just behind them when they are going up for a last hit, forcing them to either run into you, or back up into your free 100 damage spit cannon (at lvl 6-7 of course). If the person is running away form you, lead them like you would with any other spell as it has a short cast time. The rest will come with practice.

A Demonstration of AP Kog Ulting:

Play Video This is NOT me playing, nor is it with my build. It is a full AP build, however, and it shows how to hang in the back and bombard with your ult. Notice how much damage his e and q do and how effective his ult was in the fight. Also notice his mana regen in the beginning with just a Tear of the Goddess and most likely some Greater Seal of Scaling Mana Regeneration.

Overall, Kog'Maw does incredible damage and can harass like no other. I loved playing him so much I made him my main and often go 20+ kills and completely carry my team. I've gotten approx. 16 triple kills and 3 quadra klls with him over the 3 week period in which I played him. Imo, Kog'Maw beats every other mid champ because of his ult. I have laned against every hero that can mid and I almost always make them switch with someone else. I hope this build works wonders for you, and wish you good luck!

Hey guys,

I've changed a few things, particularly masteries, because of the new patch.

I'm not done yet, so there are still some out-dated stuff that I will fix.

Sorry for the wait!

[12/29/2011] I fixed up a lot of things, added some nice color, fixed some typos and errors, and overall just improved the general quality of the build. Please let me know if there are still any errors you see, or anything important I left out. Thanks!

[1/27/2012] Added comment in the Intro, basically recommending the guide for more experienced players. I also had a change of heart for Surge and Exhaust. Check it out!

[2/20/2012] Revised some item choices, and modified rune picks.

[2/25/2012] Realized I forgot to put Archangel's staff back in the item build (Oops!) Fixed now.

[3/7/2012] Changed a single point in the masteries and added a new item choice. Keep the comments coming!