Thanks... you captured the point of my build nicely and put it into words better than I can :)

hello all, im no great player or even high elo, but i do like to check out builds up here to try and improve my gameplay with champs im interested in and try to get into higher elo.. i tried this GP build today in a couple matches and i found it really effective. yes you don't have the "up front power" most champs do but against: jayce, fizz, renekton, darius and jax i won 4/1 games and "carried" every match i won. i lost against fizz but his passive counters the heal from W so i expected that. this build, if you play the way its intended you get stronger because you farm and get so much gold from Q and staying in lane. by my second back i had finished an item and was a lvl ahead in almost every match up. and in a solo lane having lvls over someone and being able to farm is really important. i almost never lost my tower and i got to ult other lanes from time to time and pick up a couple kills/assist. by late game i was so tanky/strong/utility based that just being with my team for fights even if they had fed my presence helped them overcome the deficit they may have dug themselves into in lane. you just give so many aura's (MS, AD, MR) and debuffs to the enemy team (slows, poke, passive) that even though you dont feel strong, you just become unkillable unless they fully focus you. and if they do so, your W heal and locket shield are strong tanky enough that your team SHOULD be able to turn the tide. i think most people who view this build need to keep in mind that this kind of build forces your team to carry even if they are bad. most times ppl just think they can get super fed and take on a whole team. thats not the way LoL is intended to be played and why i think this build is so unique and strong. also keep in mind that after the 3 core items (gauntlet, locket, zeke's) you can build whatever is necessary to win the fight. you can make yourself critplank, tanky, bruiser, etc... i think the main purpose of a build like this is to win your lane which goes a lot farther then people think in lane. if you can win your lane, not lose your tower and farm all day your jungler doesnt have to come top, which means the rest of your team should instantly have an advantage until team fights start breaking out. i like this build and i found it very helpful, thank you to the person who made this

In terms of doran's vs flask, the only stat doran's gives that flask doesn't is the 15ap, otherwise Crystalline Flask will provide more health after just 1 heal from it. That and you can also buy another pot with it since its cheaper.

Speaking of zeke's herald, I never said you had too build a carry item as a replacement, especially since that would be less efficient due to the runes and masteries used for this build. Chances are Id replace it with something like an earlier Randuin's Omen since the MS and AS slow give it decent utility, and it provides better tank stats than zeke's herald.

Yes, everyone has different mana requirements. Ruby would be the more economic start but it gets you pushed out of lane earlier as your opponents win the sustain game if you have no mana left. Flask gives only sustain, no real stats, so if you can do dorans, you should prefer it.

I win lanes with a Doran's Ring. That's why I take it.

It's hard to impossible to carry as gangplank alone, 5v1. That's why I focus on team stats. Make suggestions to what really works better in that regard, I'm listening.

K, so I think the whole Utility-plank idea is cool, but there's a couple of minor quibble's I have with this build.

Zeke's herald is good, but pretty situational given the unnecessary stats and the little benefit gained from its constructing components.

Since you're already running utility masteries, starting a Doran's Ring seems like a bit of overkill for sustain. Would consider Ruby Crystal + pots since it builds into a couple of core items + situational defenses. If you're set on max sustain, you could also try a Crystalline Flask start, as that'll provide even more health/mana and will be more useful than doran's in the mid game.

I love gangplank. I think he is one of the most fun champions in league of legends for me. Unfortunately he sucks, but that doesn't stop me from having fun. I have carried my far share of games with gangplank but haven't found a build that can consistently win in ranked, solo-que or even normals (the fact that I don't exactly main gangplank probably doesn't help). I have tried out a lot of different builds some found here and some weird original ones ranging from, Crit, AP, Bruiser, AP bruiser, Tankplank, Support Carry, Jungle, ADC, but this is a build that interests me. It looks to me that this is kind of a 'utility support plank out of the top lane' which is unique to gangplank because most of the time you don't really see 'utility support' top laners, the only solo laner that is utility support is zilean as far as I can think of right now.

I love that people are trying to find viable ways to play this fun champion (that is again, not viable), and I look forward to seeing more updates and I really am impressed with dedicating a whole account to gangplank XD. As for your build, I definitely haven't tried this kind of build for gangplank, but I have some questions for you.

I get that Zeke's herald and Locket of the Iron Solari are really good items in terms of cost efficiency, but I feel like this isn't the way to go for top lane? These items are great for supports and well, are support items but supports don't belong in the top lane. If this were gangplank support, I'd gladly take those items. But the tank lane is generally full of tanks, or bruisers. I get that gangplank already has many bad match-ups, but making him a utility support won't solve those problems, which is why carry gangplank is more common than this. It gives him more of a chance to duel and it is generally better for carrying in solo-que and fits the role of top lane a bit more. I'm all for uniqueness and playing off meta but, building support items (that are pretty good IMO) in a solo lane early will hurt you more.

IMO Gankplank should be played like farm-simulator and just out scale to the late game because he gets so much extra gold from Q farming and is a bad duelist aside form maybe level 1. On top of that, his power spike is late game anyways when in crit plank, he can get those awesome 1000+ DMG crits :D (well in my personal crit plank build). Yes building him support does encourage a more play safe and farm lane but not building damage or full tank (bad for gangplank IMO) or even bruiser kind of is a waste for a solo lane right? Turning yourself into a buff (kind of what you described) is useful and all but you are sacrificing a possible tank or bruiser turning yourself into a kind of tanky buff that doesn't really do damage. Of course you have Iceborn gauntlet for slows but you are essentially turning team fights into a 4v5 with the team of 4 having a baron buff. That's why I think Critplank may be a bit better for top lane because of the high damage he puts out (not that critplank is viable for rnaked or anything).

That's why I think that building Zeke's herald and Locket of the Iron Solari may be better suited to a support plank. In fact, any support can build these except other supports can better help out your ADC in lane phase which is why I like support carry plank. Because utility supports generally are only for utility and 0 damage late game, carry support plank can Iceborn Gauntlet slow and Ult CCs and such while dealing quite a few damages. But making him pure utility will make him similar to pure utility supports except before he gets a item like Iceborn Gauntlet he is only good for poke. Which is useful but other supports can do this better in lane phase.

From what I can see from this build, there is quite a bit of utility but you definitely won't be doing much damage, and at the same time you aren't tanky enough to absorb damage. Which is why I question the choice of top lane utility Gangplank. Of course I haven't tried this out yet and this is all speculation, but these are my concerns, and I would appreciate a reply because I am interested in making gangplank viable although how unviable and unlikely that will be. I truly appreciate the work you put in :)

I can see this build working, but I can see more use out of other top laners, or rather, what makes me want to play this more than other top laners or other types of gangplanks? Again this is all speculation and I haven't tried this build out yet. I assume you have had better win rates and such with this type of build? I really hope Gangplank gets a buff, the update to his ultimate making it less RNG dependent is HUGE IMO. But it makes him far from viable. I have a lot to say about gangplank but I'm sure you don't want to read it all.