Heyo, I'm Turtle Bob(Not Really...), and today, we are looking at a new Darius Playstyle called, "The Real LumberJack"(Or the Hemor-rage... but it'd be cool to see a Lumber Jack skin on our big boy).

Darius is one of my favorite champs, although I haven't mained him too long, I play him just about every chance I get. I think this all started back in Season 4 when his kit made sense.....No Delays, Heals, Losing 2v1's, Losing 3v1's, Losing 4v1's, Losing 5v1's.....None of this existed back then. In fact, it was absolutely impossible to lose a fight, which was great!!!! It made you feel kinda superior? I mean....you can feel like a god if you manage to pull off a solo fight against 3 enemies since Darius is kind of Slower now in the fighting game.

ANYWAY, so yea, back to the topic at hand: This is a build to dunking the boys in the Jungle. This ain't the Jungle Book Bayy Beeee!!!!!

Pros

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Basically, Darius can be built two ways, Godzilla or King Kong which makes him perfect for a Situational Team Presence.

Regardless of which build path you choose, you will always end up Tanky.

You have Sustain, a Strong Passive, and a True Damage Execution.

You have a Pull.

Cons

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I find Darius kind of Slower now, not really mobility-wise but Offensively; Having to kite in & out of your own combos to maximize damage output, making it harder to make selfish, Darius-styled decisions in Team Fights.

Almost everything you have relies on your Hemorrhage.

You have a delay in each of your animations making timing important.

Although you have a Pull, it can be easily dodged if they have a good gap closer or Flash.

Crowd Control, Gap Closers, & Mobility; About every Champion has something in this category & it is a problem in the Early game.

Will give more detail on the runes soon. Finding a place holder.

These don't exist anymore... :(

So, I've tried 3 different starting abilities to see which comes out on top. At first I though Darius's Crippling Strike would be the ideal start since it's practically an enhanced auto attack but does less damage than his Decimate. Unfortunately like I put in the Cons above, he has delays. His Crippling Strike has about the same Delay Recovery after hitting as His Decimate Delay it takes to swing his Axe. Even though your Q takes a bit to swing, it does more damage in the long run than having your W.
Anyway, You want to max your Apprehend second for the Armor Penetration, Don't believe me? Check out dem stats. Whether you max your Crippling Strike second or not doesn't really matter since the CD is low anyway....
Go Q>W>Q>E if you plan on Jungling longer.

Go Q>W>E If you plan on Ganking Early.

Alright, so the Jungle Path I found most appealing was Starting Blue>Red Scuttle>Red Buff>Gank Bottom Lane

Or if you prefer the passive route, Blue Buff >>> Gromp >>> Wolves >>> Blue Scuttle >>> Red Buff >>> Gank Bot >>> Krugs/Raptors

If you prefer Red, just follow the above 2 paths oppositely.


REMEMBER NOT TO SMITE THE FIRST CAMP!!!

Smite - You are going to need this to Jungle, dude.....

Flash - You almost always want to have this ability on you.

Ignite - Not a bad choice if you want to pull a Shaclone level 2 kill.

Heal - Tested replacement for Flash, it works really well if you are looking to sustain in the Jungle longer.

Barrier - Eh, it's ok, but I don't think you'll need this.

Ghost - Another Replacement for Flash, not a bad choice if you are chasing targets with higher mobility.

Teleport - Again, can replace Flash, better Presence for both the Jungle and Lane. EDIT: Teleport got nerfed to a 360 Second CD. It's not worth taking into the Jungle anymore, let alone Top Lane.

Clarity - No.

Now, this is a new thing I wanna try doing - Adding a Counter Section to your own champion...Y'know, just to be like "Oh hey I know how to fight that guy cause I already know his skill set and how he works, now I can build the correct items and tell when or when not to engage!"

Actually, it's fairly easy to counter Darius. We already know some of his cons - Weak to CC, Mana Heavy, Relies mostly on his passive, Has alot of delays, etc etc. I have already pointed out his greatest flaw - His Delays. Yes, he has a delay in his Decimate, his Apprehend, and his Dunk animation in Noxian Guillotine. Also, his auto attack cooldown timer RESETS when you use Crippling Strike so it's basically the same delay as the rest of his animations. You know how irritating it is to be killed mid Dunk or Mid Spin...it sucks.

So how do we use this knowledge against him? We know Armor is strong against AD champions, we also know that his autos are one of his strong points to getting that fifth stack. Items like Frozen Heart or Randuin's Omen are extremely well fit against a Darius. They slow down his Auto attacks and create ANOTHER delay in Darius's kit. Painful honestly.

Now, solving the "It doesn't matter cause Darius can just ability spam anyway". Hey man, you can dodge his Decimate and Apprehend if you are fast enough right? So maybe Boots of Swiftness wouldn't be such a bad option with some items that boost movement speed like Trinity Force or Lich Bane <--*If you are AP top* Darius isn't that mobile a Champion and he can be out-kited easily by someone like Viktor or Caitlyn, etc etc.

Sometimes you gotta take someone light on their feet like Ezreal than someone who is a flat out tank like Dr. Mundo. I mean think about it... Darius is going to do True Damage to you regardless if you are squishy or beefy. Frozen Mallet is a good item to use against Darius as well since it will provide some extra defensive bonuses plus the offensive damage. A slow, extra health, and a bit of damage, Or for AP Users, the new Hextech Rocketbelt and etc - Providing you with an Extra Escape, some AP, Health, or Offensively, a nice little poke. Choosing a Champion with extra Mobility can also counter a Darius.

Not only items matter, the Champion you choose counts here as well! For example: Lee Sin has 3 eligible engage/disengaging abilities which is why most people play him. With his Sonic Wave / Resonating Strike he can choose to use it to jump to you or jump away to an enemy/neutral minion/monster. His Safeguard / Ironwill allows him to hop to a friendly Champion/Minion/Ward. And Lastly, His Dragon's Rage - He can either kick you away to run or Kick you to unleash his Combo.

Conclusively, anyone with Mobile Offensive/Defensive traits/characteristics has the ability to counter our beloved Lord Darius. So have no fret when you face the Dunkmaster himself - Remember that you have knowledge, and knowledge is power. Good luck my fellow Summoners!

Some Honorable Mentions to the Items that Apply Grevious Wounds: Morellonomicon & Mortal Reminder!!!!
Both are pretty useful if you find that the enemy Darius is massively healing during big fights.

I've been making poor quality builds over a long period of time that I personally enjoy and still use today. Thus being that even a single view lightens up my day since I check daily anyway xD I really do appreciate everyone and am grateful to have alot of professional Build Masters and Coders that creep around the MobaFire 80% of the day to bring out the best of content for other champions I love to play, so kudos!!!!!

Patch 8.18: Again, I thank you guys so much for giving the guide at least a view. All of my guides that I've made have just been from what I usually win with the most & what I found to be the most fun, which League has really been lacking for older players.(The fun, I mean.) I'm well aware that these builds wouldn't cut it in High ELO matches, but it's definitely something that a few buddies & I have enjoyed playing around with, & others who have mentioned it in private/on League. So I hope you guys find the same joy that I have from these goofy guides & I wish y'all good luck!