Build Guide by Oddnoxious

Introduction

Hello, and welcome to my build for Cho'Gath. Cho'Gath, in my experience, is usually played as a tank. While Tank Cho'Gath has over 4000 health and can tank like nothing else, this is not the best way to build him. Instead, you should go pure (well, mostly) AP on him. The best part about AP Cho'Gath is that even if you go all AP items, with Rod of Ages, Rylai's Crystal Scepter and Feast, you will actually have about 4000 health, while still dealing massive amounts of damage (I've seen Rupture deal close to a fourth of Soraka's health late game. And I don't think I even had a full item build.). This is why I say that this is an "AP Off-Tank" build. So, if you're looking for a new, and in my opinion, better way to play good ol' Cho, then read on!

Skills

Whenever Cho'Gath kills a unit, he recovers 34 - 68 (+2.5 each level) health and 7 - 15.5 (+0.5 each level) mana.

This is why Cho'Gath must last hit. Using your passive to the maximum potential, meaning last hitting a lot, allows you to stay in lane in the all-important early game phase for a longer period of time, which means more experience.

Ruptures the ground at target location. After a short delay, enemies are launched into the air for 1 second, dealt 80 / 135 / 190 / 245 / 305 (+100% of ability power) magic damage, and have their movement speed slowed by 60% for 3 seconds.

Rupture is Cho'Gath's main skill, and the one you should max first. However, Rupture, if spammed, will deplete your mana pool extremely fast, so use it wisely. It is an AoE stun and slow, and scales 1:1 with AP, so it deals tons of damage. It takes skill to hit with it, so practice is necessary in order to hit with it most of the time.

Cho'Gath screams in a cone in front of him, silencing enemies for 2 / 2.5 / 3 / 3.5 / 4 seconds and causing 80 / 130 / 180 / 240 / 300 (+70% of ability power) magic damage.

Feral Scream is an AoE silence, and should be maxed second. This should be used right after you hit a champion with Rupture, then Feast, for your standard damage combo.

Toggle: Cho'Gath's physical attacks launch spikes which deal 20 / 30 / 40 / 50 / 60 (+20% of ability power) magic damage to a line in front of him.

Vorpal Spikes is Cho'Gath's least useful spell, and is maxed last. Only when you start getting lots of AP do you see Vorpal Spikes dealing out quite a bit of damage.

Deals 300 / 550 / 800 (+50% of ability power) true damage (ignores resists) to target champion, or 1000 damage to target minion.

If the target is killed by Feast, Cho'Gath grows, gaining 90 / 120 / 150 maximum health (maximum 6 stacks). Cho'Gath loses half his stacks (rounded up) upon death.

Ahh, Feast. Feast defines Cho'Gath. You should usually use it at first against minions, but be careful when using it against champions.

Items

These items should not be changed if you are following this build. They are vital to the build, and if you change any of them, then you aren't following the build. Which is fine, if you really want to. I'm just warning you.



Sorcerer's Shoes is a great item for Cho'Gath. The Magic Penetration is great for doing more damage. Although Boots of Swiftness might be better in some situations, AP Cho'Gath does not need it as much, and if you need to chase or escape, you have Ghost.

Rod of Ages is an amazing item for any squishy AP caster. At max stacks, it gives 810 health, 925 mana, and 100 AP. There really isn't anything else to say, except that you should get it early, in order to get max stacks on it quickly.

Since Cho'Gath is mana-hungry, Archangel's Staff is very helpful for him. Unfortunately, I can't think of anything else to fill the space here, so I'm just going to go to the next item.

Wow, that was ironic.

If you need me to explain why this is good on AP Cho'Gath, then you're an idiot. Seriously -_-.

Suggested Items

These items, although beneficial, are not necessary for the build. Feel free to replace these if you want to.

OR OR

Some experienced League of Legends might see this and say, "Dude! Cho'Gath doesn't need Rylai's! Rupture already slows! >:(". Yes, I know Cho'Gath doesn't need the slow. But I didn't choose it for the slow. I chose it because it gives health and AP. And the slow is actually extremely beneficial. With it, Feral Scream silences and slows, and Vorpal Spikes, meaning your normal attack, slows.

Morello's is a great item in my opinion. It gives a good amount of AP, mana regen, and CDR, at a cheap price. I usually get Morello's as my sixth if I'm doing pretty well K/D ratio-wise and I'm not having problems killing anyone.

Get Void Staff instead of Morello's Evil Tome if the enemy is stacking magic resist.

Although Zhonya's Hourglass gives more AP than Morello's Evil Tome, it doesn't give mana regen or cooldown reduction. So, only get this instead of Morello's if you are getting focused a lot, or if just want more ability power and don't care about the mana regen or the CDR.

Alternatively, if you don't want any of the above items, then you might want to get one of these two items instead. Force of Nature for the health regen and movement speed, and Warmog's Armor for the health.

Runes

Again, these runes are only suggestions. You may change them, but don't do something stupid. Like Greater Glyph of Critical Chance. Then I would get really pissed off.



Since I'm dealing magic damage, Magic Penetration Marks help to deal more damage.

Mana regen / lvl Seals help Cho'Gath curb his mana hunger. Alternatively, you could replace this with Greater Seal of Health or Greater Seal of Vitality.

I go with flat CDR so I can use my spells when I need them. Alternatively, you could replace this with Greater Glyph of Scaling Cooldown Reduction.

Flat HP Quints are so useful. Cho'Gath is no exception. Alternatively, you could replace this with Greater Quintessence of Vitality or Greater Quintessence of Movement Speed.

Summoner Spells

This is my first summoner spell on Cho'Gath. Although this can be switched out with others spells, I feel that Cho'Gath needs both Ghost and Flash to escape a gank.

This is amazingly useful on Cho'Gath. Not only can it be used as an escape mechanism, it can also be used to get close to someone and Feast them. I would prefer not to switch this out.

Alternative Spells

Ignite is useful for more damage output. And for Dr. Mundo.

Clarity is useful because Cho'Gath is mana-hungry.

Exhaust is a good offensive spell and defensive spell.

Everything else, don't. Unless you have a really good reason for it.