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Choose Champion Build:
Spells:
Ghost
Ignite
Ability Order
Berserker Rage (PASSIVE)
Olaf Passive Ability
Who am I? Who is Olaf?

Welcome to my guide. I previously owned several guides before, including an


Specifically, I play a lot of FPS games and excel at a competitive level. I played DotA on a team, and in S1 I got to Plat for League. I can truthfully say that I am qualified as a top laner with lots of experience. I can fully say that this guide is geared for competitive play (tourneys, solo queue, and normals).
I felt that my original guide, as it was my first guide on this site, got rusty and essentially almost outdated. I improved as a player, and the information in my old guide would have to be largely refurnished as well as the aesthetic aspect of it. Instead, I decided to restart the guide as a whole, while having some of the aspects that my guides in general have.
What does this guide provide? Details, builds, and information that is suitable for all ranges of ELO. This guide is NOT low-level material.
I have to say one thing - a bit of toadyism on my part, but I called the '


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![]() Infamous for being able to deal a lot of true damage in a short period of time, he lives up to the name by being one of the best top laners in the current meta and game. He not only has his own strong slow, but also has sustain and an immunity to disables and enemy slows - a key part in making ![]() Late game, he plays a critical and crucial role as the team's AD Bruiser, and it is likely that the enemy will have to back off or consequently suffer the aftermath. He has one of the best late games in terms of bruisers. He can peel for the team effectively. |
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Reader Note
Due to an extensive schedule, I have very little time in finishing my match ups for 1v1 lane, however. I WILL complete it. Trust me on that.
I will archive my original

Also, this guide has a lot of indepth, bulky information. You can skim it, or read through all of it. I tried to make it as least dull as possible.

My experience with


Since then, as a top lane main, an indepth theory crafter, and someone who puts things to the test, I've grown as an

The power lies in the fact that he has such a strong skill set, that is great against multiple types of enemies.
You will never be completely outpicked in any game; even if you do get a bad match up, say against a persistent


Your advantage in the lane lies in the fact that you have such a great trading potential, almost no one can trade with you fairly, and I'm sure that no one can trade with you over a period of time. The true damage is one of the best skills in the game - low CD, costless true damage that deals half of

With your axe to slow and deal a lot of repetitive damage, as well as your W to sustain yourself, especially after your E-nuke, you aren't someone that many players like to face.
If you keep yourself constantly farming, while being able to harrass, you should take the lane with efficiency and ease.

You get your items, runes, and masteries based off an ideal offtank, but with some aspects being largely specific, unique, or case-dependent.
You CAN become the initiator, the follow-up, the sweeper, the carry-nuker, as well as your carry's own private guard.
However, your full potential is unlocked after another tank on your team initiates. You turn on your ultimate then by all means, slaughter their targeted carry. By slaughter, I mean SLAUGHTER. Go in there, peel at them, then get out if you are low, or stay for the sweep.
You must learn to make calls and achieve big plays when needed, likewise you should know how to protect your carries when they are under a lot of pressure and focus.
You have the tools in your toolbox, it is the matter of learning how to use them properly.
The only way you can improve is learn yourself. My guide is not something that anyone should follow EXACTLY. Even I don't use the same exact builds over and over. With me especially, I theorycraft and test out a new thing nearly every game I played with

Learn from my guide. Appreciate and understand what my intended goal is. To adapt and variate as a player is a sign of improvement. To put such understanding into actual action successfully is the key to significant mastery as a gamer.
There are many aspects to every lane and role in the game, and top lane is no exception. On contrary to the old myth of top lane being a farm lane (although it can be), it is quite unique and fits many playstyles. Action is usually limited - in most games it might just be you and your laning opponent (and likely some jungler action here and there).
There are, in general, three types of top lane playstyles.
- Being aggressive. You aim to hurt the enemy and zone them, sometimes sacrificing your own farm in order to deny the enemy farm, experience, and roaming opportunities. It can easily backfire though, and if you die, you lose out on all snowball opportunities.
- Being farm heavy. Your goal is to farm up for Mid-Game and Late-Game. Especially with champions that scale better as the game goes on, farm can help you snowball. You lose the opportunity to roam and often put yourself in a position to get towerdived.
- Pushing the tower. Part of the Asian metagame that was so dominating was the fact that they abused the NA teams' passive 'farm play' by pushing the towers and going into roaming, team fights, dragons, map control. Essentially, rushing the mid game.
You have three things to be aware of.
Awareness of where the enemy jungler is, how your farm is doing, and how you plan to itemize your champion. These three general aspects will make or break your gameplay.
Always keep ahead of your farm - don't miss last hits.
Itemize according to your play style,
Be aware of where the enemy jungler is, and try to predict his movements based off the minimap, their top laner's gameplay, and just well-developed experience.
Winning your lane does not equal winning the game, just be aware. However, you should always win your lane, and try your very best to because it gives your team an advantage.

Why so many builds?
Essentially, the point I am making is that there are many ways to build
Olaf, some ways are preference based, some are to counter the enemy, some are when you snowball, some are when you are losing. Each of these builds are viable, used, tested, and all have their niche pick - apart from the core build of course, which is always great. Do not get confused by the number of builds I have - instead, read the title of the builds below, and read on.
I have these builds as a general guideline AND example when you face certain match ups, you want see some build variation and idea brainstorming, or if for some reason - a certain champ gets fed or tough to handle.
Each build will differentiate from one another, even just slightly, in runes, masteries, items, or a combination. None of these are set in stone, they are a rough guideline of what is great in an ideal case.
Following a build without thinking about it can make a build less effective than it actually could be. Always keep an open mind, figure out who is the main damage source and your situation.
Build #1 - "The Ideal Build"
My usual preference of a core build. These items, runes, and masteries are set to both bring the best, advantageous characteristics of a top lane




Build #2 - "Anti-AD and Slows"
This build consists of focusing more on a cheaper build as well as more crowd control, invariably meaning slows. The build also gives you a LOT of armor. The use of



Best of all, it isn't a costly build, so if you aren't racking up money constantly, this build can be effective.
When should I use it? - When money is a stickler, or the enemy has multiple AD champions that pose a threat. The slow and general CC can also be effective if your team doesn't have the necessary slow.
Build #3 - "Carry Me Please"
This build is as the title states - when behind, or feeding, sometimes you lose your game presence as an offtank. To counter act that, you must build accordingly. Therefore, you start to build a bit more of a supportive role, as well as

The choice of


When should I use it? - You lost your lane, and you are doing bad. Your team however is doing decent, and you won't catch up any time soon, if at all. If no one has an


Build #4 - "Against AP"
When facing a hard lane against AP champions, this build is fantastic to nullify any advantage they have over you. You not only get sustain, but a lot of MR and CDR.
It involves the usage of





When should I use it? - Against a



Build #5 - "Bilgewater Pirate"
Don't get me wrong - this isn't a



You sell it later on in the game, but the advantages it brings is quite lucid. It is essentially a better version of

When should I use it? - If you are ahead, or in a lane where you have the advantage, this can help you snowball your lane and totally dominate. In a farm lane, this can give you the necessary sustain and needed damage + slow to beat them in a 1v1 predicament.
Build #6 - "Max CDR"
CDR is fantastic on

You can swap



When should I use it? - This build can be a preferrence itself - although it is not my favorite way to build him, it is certainly viable and you will say many players build


Positive
- Exceptional Laning
- Deadly 1v1
- True Damage
- Spell and Life Steal - Sustain
- Gets better as game prolongs
- Ultimate gives you invulnerability to CC
- Strong initiation skills
- Take down squishies fast
- Brolaf skin is true terror
- Able to Snowball and carry
- Can come back around from bad early game
- Easy to farm with
- Skill set is all useful all game
Negative
- Ultimate can be baited
- Top lane is commonly picked
- Can be countered to some extent
- True Damage is self inflicted
Undertow takes time to master
- Susceptible to bursting
- Item dependent build
- Pre-6, hard to escape ganks
Ugly
- Throwing axe wrong can mess up a kill
- Without ultimate, it makes you vulnerable to kiting

19/11/0 Unique Masteries
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This is an unique mastery tree based off of both calculations, and many games. You gain 4 damage off every minion attack, which when added, turns out to be a lot. As a top laner, you'll trade attacks, freeze lanes, and unarguably receive a lot of damage from minions. Hence, this is quite useful. You also get more attack damage, some % armor penetration, and
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9/21/0 Bruiser Masteries
This is a typical Bruiser mastery tree. 9/21/0 - you get extra defense in the lane which helps your early game quite a bit. You get a bit more tenacity and best of all, 8% CDR at level 18, which is quite a bit for just 1 mastery skill. You also get some attack damage, and 10% ArPen. However, you lose out on damage, and I believe
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Q: Why do you get


A: Yes, they are great for several junglers, including

When you freeze a lane, you need to take minion hits in order to prevent the tower from getting the minions as well as keeping the lane in your favor so the enemy champ puts himself at risk of getting ganked.
When you trade hits with the enemy, minion damage during the laning phase may even surpass the damage you deal. Just a few seconds of full on minion damage can get you down 25%+ in your health early on!
Q: Why do you use such an 'orthodox' mastery tree? I thought 9/21 or 21/9 was the best choice?
A: I'll keep this one simpler. Merely because you don't need



Preferred Rune Page

M A R K S |
SPA |
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SPA |
M A R K S |
S E A L S |
SPA |
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SPA |
S E A L S |
G L Y P H S |
SPA |
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G L Y P H S |
Q U I N T S |
SPA |
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Q U I N T S |

Recommended Spells

It is too valuable in conjunction with a powerful ultimate.


Other Viable Spells









Summoner Spell Combos

Your passive makes you a fantastic dueler as you only become more deadly when you get low. This doesn't mean you have to be low all the time, but is fantastic when you are in a 1v1 with someone like



This skill is

Apart from its obvious farming benefits, it can be used in various ways
- Used to slow enemy champs down
- To harass/poke the enemy to force them to recall or be susceptible to a kill/gank
- Check the bush(gives vision of where the axe is, and can be used to check instead of facechecking)
- Steal buffs/minion camps/leash
Note:
In the case that you are terribly zoned, getting 2-3 points in your



This skill is a One-Point wonder. Just one point in it is great, but the scaling of later ranks falls off. Therefore, you level it last. It is amazing to last hit with as well as trade hits with the enemy champ. You can use it after you use




Just be careful because it does damage to you and make end up making you liable to dying(especially to

Max it first and you'll be dominating in no time. Plus, with a bit of CDR(easy to get with items and buffs), you'll have it on a very short CD and you can spam to your heart's desire.

You want your ultimate whenever you can, at levels 6, 11, and 16.

It defines Olaf and his strong initiating gameplay. It can be used during 1v1 duels to be more durable, when you are escaping (combined with

- Used to escape
- Used to initiate
- Used for durability during a duel
- Can be used when you are CC'd or slowed (for example,
Veigar's
Event Horizon)
Q: Why do you get


A: You are correct! And you are wrong as well! The slow is a great aspect of your axe, and it only increase every level you rank it up. Even better is the fact that your


Likewise, your





Starting Items






An unique creation - it involves beating your enemy through trades and sustain, with your potion as an early game 'Heal'. You can also get a Sight Ward in exchange for two

The Right Boots









Laning Phase




Philosopher's Stone I consider this core. This item is so powerful in sustain, extra gold, and just general domination within the laning phase. Best of all, it will build into your















OR
-



Core Items





Trinity Force or Frozen Mallet?
As a bruiser, one of these offtank items are fantastic on you, but getting both would be a waste of money as the passives of the



Clearly, both items have their advantages. It is ultimately up to you to decide what is best fitting. If you need health, control control, and sturdiness then Mallet is your choice. If you need damage and snowball potential, than Trinity is your choice. In most games,





Giant's Belt
Originally, I had





This choice is certainly popular, and I used to be a fan of it. Although I hate Warmogs on champions due to it just giving health,



A really popular pick, undoubtedly one of the most popular items on



I really didn't notice this item's viability on top bruisers until watching WingsofDeath and playing with a high ELO top laner that dominated me with this item. I realized that against AD Bruisers, this item gives health and armor, as well as a passive that lets you farm very easy with your Undertow. Whenever I go this route, I tend to get my Undertow to level 3+ early on for the ease of farming. This item makes you much more tanky than you think, and is very viable, despite the criticism it receives in terms of 'viability'.
All three items are great items, moreso in their respectively strengths. I usually get 1-2 of these items, sometimes even all three. They scale well with

Final Items
Damage Items
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SPACE |
A tanky item that gives 100% slow, it is useful for more health and the guaranteed slow. However, buying this means that buying a ![]() |
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SPACE |
It used to be core on many bruisers, with ![]() ![]() |
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Attack speed, crit chance, and movement speed. Ideally, this sounds great. And on paper, it is. However, it gives you no defense, and your passive makaes up for attack speed. Great if you pair it with ![]() ![]() |
Zeke's Herald | SPACE |
I put this item as offensive because I feel that you'd buy it for more offensive purposes than not. I personally dislike this item. I feel that it gives very little, and its better if the support can get it. You can get better options than this. However, I've seen some ![]() |
Defensive Items
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SPACE |
Definitely one of my favorite defensive items, I tend to get it on ![]() |
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Are their AD players fed? That ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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Fantastic item, it was once my core. However, some people disagree and don't wish to get it. On ![]() |
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The only reason you'd get this is if a ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Keep in mind these factors when buying your final items :
- Armor
- Magic Resistance
- Both Team Compositions
- Offensive capabilities
- Health
- Fed Champions
- Utility/Team Contribution


- He can last hit extremely well, utilizing his
Undertow and
Reckless Swing to aid him in getting the highest amount of creep score you can possibly get. Even his steroid,
Tough It Out raises his attack damage.
- His Q and E makes it so that you will usually win trades, therefore you want to zone the enemy by hanging out near their side of the creeps to prevent last hitting and even getting experience.
- You can escape with your ultimate if you get ganked, or use it to turn the tide to your favor if the jungler and the opposing top is weak.
- Sustain with
Tough It Out
- Can easily hold off a pushed lane, as well as push a lane back.
- You can assist in ganks from your team with your slow and massive damage.
Exhaust their carries/runners.
- Burst down people with True Damage.
- Tanky enough to initiate, strong enough to deal heavy damage.
- True Damage, really strong against all, including tanks.
- Hard to counter against
- Easy to counter enemy threats with item variation
- Strong ALL game, insane scaling later on as the game goes.
During level 1-2, there are a few things to watch for.
Always try to get a 4th pot, if not help your team with invading or protecting your jungler. A useful tip is to help your jungler on his buff/guard his buff. It can go a long way, especially in solo queue. You want to just farm up as much as you can. The key here is to use




Note:
Throwing your axe and mastering it is key. You should know when to throw it at your feet (ie pointblank damage) so you can pick it up fast, or throw it at the direction they run, so you can pick it up along the way. Make sure to practice a lot, as new players will undethrow or overthrow often. If you are farming, try to pick it up as much as possible. You can use your axe to check bushes, especially the top bushes in the case you aren't sure if the enemy has recalled, or is camping. You can use the axe to slow the enemy if they are chasing too.Keep higher CS than enemy
Watch for ganks
Try to freeze lane
Conserve mana if you can
Ward up if you can
Use potions healthily
When you are level 3-5, you should start to pick up the powerful early game




After a few combos like that, they will be too scared or low to come near to last hit. Watch for junglers ganking.
If you find a passage to recall back to base, do it. Especially if the lane is pushed and they are tower-hugging, go back, get your boots/wards/pots, then return. However, if the lane is at the middle/their favor, yet they are too scared to lasthit due to your fearful damage, then continue to farm and last hit ONLY.
Keep higher CS than enemy
Map Awareness - watch for ganks
Stay on top of trades
Get your items, counter enemy
Ward up!
Continue using pots
Call MIA
Use your E when you can on them
At level 6-9, you'll start to build a bit of damage and bulkiness, the enemy should be worried, and at the worst, you should be equal in creep score. Hopefully you haven't died yet, but in the case you have,



Abuse your skills and advantage (in most cases) of being able to trade hits and come out on top. Scare the living hell out of them and get them weak enough. You can start diving if the enemy is low if you have a teammate nearby. You can just ult out of it.
You should have wards at this point. Push every lane to the tower, attack the enemy with your E and Q if they come to last hit, and continue. Don't be afraid, as you have


Depending on what side you are on, either clear or steal the mini Golems, or clear or steal the wolves (a bit farther then the Golems). If you have a

Dragon and teamfights will start to occur, as well as roaming (especially if the laning phase ended early, you lost a tower/they lost a tower) so be careful. Sometimes missing a wave or two to help a team fight or run down for dragon is better then losing dragon and 2 of your members because you weren't there to ace.
Note:
Careful of

Keep higher CS than enemy
Watch for teamfights
Abuse bushes to dodge and juke
Watch for counter-jungling
Counter jungle yourself safely
Ward up!
Watch for early teamfights
Watch for DRAGON! Get it if you can
Call MIA
When you are level 10+, a lot of teamfights and battle over objectives will occur. If you haven't started to roam, you might want to keep your eye on the minimap. Likely, you, your enemy, or both will of started to roam more. Don't throw your lane completely as many do, keep an eye on it and don't lose your tower as that counters the gold you get from a dragon (Don't sacrifice your tower for dragon, you technically lose more due to map vision) If your team has CC, you can easily pull off your combo for heavy damage during fights and ganks.
Clear the jungle if your AD carry/mid/jungler isn't nearby. You want as much exp and CS as possible to get your items. Ward if possible, especially if you have inventory space and 75+ gold. It is detrimental to ward the map.
WARDS WIN GAMES
Don't yell at your support for not warding, instead ask your team to ward as well.You will initiate or come in second during team fights. Your goal is to attack their weakest targets and carries, OR protect your team's carries. Remember, you can initiate, take all their CC and skills, then run out so your team can clean up. You can run back in with your passive and wreck face, while keeping alive with your

Remember to ward baron as people are starting to become level 14+. It is possible to baron before 14+, but generally that is a good baseline to keep and a good habit to form.
You should either stick to your carries and protect them, go in as a damage soaker, or stick to their carries and destroy them. Half the time, the enemy will have to focus you to keep their carry alive, or to kill your carry. Use your ultimate and W to keep yourself alive as long as possible. Don't forget to use your actives such as

Late Game Reference
Counter jungle as much as possible, steal the dragon, get their buffs, clear lanes, get towers, win fights, ward the map, get baron, protect your carry, focus the inhibitors, win the game.



Red Dots: Wards to prevent ganks, ideal ward places. They double as a ward to prevent counter jungling.
Teal Dots: These are wards that you can put to see where junglers are at a certain time, counter jungle, or show vision to so you can go and clear the jungle safely. These aren't too important but to a solo top hero, they will be of some use.
The reason I put a map like this is so you know where to put wards as a Solo top hero. To learn about wards later on in the game, check out Panglot's Guide on Wards and Warding. Not to mention a majority of the warding is done by the support/jungler. This doesn't mean you shouldn't ward at all, but not worry about warding as much as say, a


Do ask away. I'd be glad to answer. Truthfully put, I'm somewhat stubborn, but I am also clear minded. If I see something that is clearly wrong or I believe you are wholly right, I will change it.
I will archive my old

This guide is all from a lot of experience, and not just a new player. If you're new to the game, don't be afraid to ask questions or leave a comment. I take pride in my guide, and I'm always susceptible to change and updates.
Build Variation is key to being a better player. Don't be a metasheep or afraid to try out new items, new runes, new masteries, new gamestyles. The point of my guide is to prove just that - there isn't just one way to play a champion that is written in stone. Everyone has their taste , their playstyle, their pleasure, their builds. I'd ask any reader to appreciate that just as much as I do.
Hopefully, I've encouraged at least one person to play

Best of luck, happy 'CAN'T BE DISABLED'!
-KSP
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