Darius is a very strong top laner who can be very scary to fight if the Darius is good, He has a very good lane prescense and can deal alot of physical damage. Darius is an all in champion to say the least, People concider him as a KILL OR BE KILLED type of champion, Darius also does damage over time which can be useful for doing even more maximum damage or even finishing off low health enemies for you. Darius has a slow which will give you a slight movement speed increase which will make them bleed which combos well with Q and E and a overpowered ultimate which will do up to 1000 true damage if fully maxed. One unique thing about Darius is that he can go full tank and still deal tons of damage speaking that he has the highest base armor in the game. Even tho Darius can deal tons of damage, He is still very easy to counter. Darius is weak against champions who can constantly poke him down. (Example: Jayce, Nidalee, Teemo,etc. Darius is very vulnable to ganks, So if you do not have a ward then you are in a deep sitution because Darius has no escapes and it is very difficult to escape a decent gank. Overall, Darius is a very strong champion that will be seen in alot of competetive games. Also, A fed Darius can be very annoying so try not to feed him xD.

[Greater Mark of Armor Penetration] - It's a good choice on Darius since he can tear through the enemy's base armor which puts your base damage into effect.
[Greater Mark of Attack Damage] Still a great choice, Gives you a early game aggression and make your list hitting alot easier but it doesn't really help a whole lot late game.
[Greater Seal of Armor] Basic Armor Choice.
[Greater Seal of Health] It could work but I prefer Armor.
[Greater Glyph of Scaling Magic Resist] I prefer PER LEVEL because you'll most likely be fighting an AD TOP rather then AP.
[Greater Glyph of Magic Resist] Get flat if you're fighting a AP TOP.
[Greater Quintessence of Attack Damage] Good choice, Especially if you have FLAT ATTACK DAMAGE marks which gives a total of 15 early game damage
[Greater Quintessence of Armor Penetration] It's good, Especially if you run Flat Armor Pen since you can tear through their armor and deal more base damage to them.

I usually like to run 9-21 which is a more safer way to play [Darius], Since he has one of the highest base armor and can be played as a tank and still deal alot of damage. However, You can run 21-9 on [Darius] Which will trade defensive stats for more offensive stats but it can be a situational pick if you are against a counter but 21-9 is deffently a goood pick if you rather be really aggressive rather then safe.

[Rejuventation Bead] This is a really safe starting item on most top laners these days since it will offer some sustain along with your pots that will offer up to 150 health regen (5 pots combined with it= up to 500 health regen). Plus it will help you build into your tiamat which is what we will discuss later.
[Cloth Armor] This item is really good against AD TOPS that will give you a hard time.
[Tiamat] The reasoning to rushing this item is because the cleave works so well with darius' auto attacks and gives him some health regen.
[Vampiric Sceptor] Rushing this item before boots is probably a better choice because it's gonna give you even more sustain along with the tiamat.
[Ravenous Hydra] This item is probably one of the best on [Darius] since his cleave works so well with his auto attack damage, So it's basicly like, HIT,CLEAVE,HIT,CLEAVE which is really good for farming and early aggression.
[Phage] This will give you some health and damage along with a good passive, This combined with Ravenous Hydra will offer decent auto attack damage along with giving [Darius] more health.
[Giants Belt] Will give [Darius] a pretty good health boost. It does help you out a bit but it just helps you build into your frozen mallet.
[Frozen Mallet] This combined with [Ravenous Hydra] is just going to make Darius really strong because when targets are in range of him, He's going to be able to keep cleaving you while slowing you per hit making it pretty difficult to escape which will allow you to put some decent damage on them.
[The Bloodthirster] You could probably skip this item in most cases, But I think this item will help Darius in duels since he will have even more lifesteal combined with [Ravenous Hydra] which just keeps you alive in a 1v1 fight in most cases and just giving [Darius] more sustain.
[Maw of Malmortius] This item helps against the enemy APC since it will give you a shiled if you are below 30% health, But thats not the main reason, It's passive is really good since you gain attack damage per health missing which helps.
[Randuins Omen] Probably a must on Darius since he will get even MORE health and he will gain about 70 armor more which will help because Darius has the highest base armor in the game so you'll be tanky and the active slow is VERY useful because if you grab a enemy and activate the slow, You're Cleaves+Mallet will make the victim difficult to escape you and they are going to either have to fight you or take a lot of damage.
[Last Whisper] This item can be a good choice if the enemy has alot of armor and need to tear through it however, If you are running full armor pen then it's probably not needed and you could just probably get [Black Cleaver] instead for more health+damage.
[The Black Cleaver] This item is easily prefered over Last Whisper on BRUISERS atleast since you get more health,attack damage, and cdr and this item is better on bruisers specificlly because dealing physical damage reduces their armor by 4% and can stack up to 5 times.
[Warmog's Armor] This item will make Darius really tanky and increase his health pool which can allow him to be in the fights, Speaking people say ''HEALTH IS THE META''.
[Trinity Force] People might think this item is silly on Darius but it's actually really good on him since it will give [Darius] attack damage,AP<Doesn't matter,Mana,Movement Speed,etc. However, I would only pick this up if you are getting really fed.
[Blade of the Ruined King] This item can be great, But I personally would only get it if an enemy has alot of health.
[Atma's Impaler] This item can be great on him, But I only recommend getting it if you are going on the tanky route.
[Zephyr] This item could be great but i would only get it until you finish your build. Once you finish your build then it's deffently worth replacing boots for.
[Infinity Edge] I seen people get this on alot of bruisers and I find it very silly since most bruisers don't crit often. Only get it on carries.
[Youmuu's Ghostblade] This item can be ok if you are jungling him since you can get a movement speed increase which will help you for ganks, As well as some attack speed.
[Mercurial Scimitar] Get this if the team has alot of AP and you need some magic resist as well as some damage.
[Executioners Calling] This item is very situational, Only get this if you need to reduce enemy healing, Other then that, DON'T BUY IT.
[Thornmail] This item can help if you are taking alot of damage and you need to return 35% of the damage.
[Sunfire Cape] This item will help if the team has alot of AD.
[Guardian Angle] If the team has alot of burst and you are taking alot of damage, This item can help you come back to life in team fights and kill the enemy.
[Frozen Heart] Get this if you are losing really hard to an AD and need to reduce some of their attack speed.
[Runic Bulwark] If the team needs the global armor.
[Banshee's veil] This item can be gotten if the enemy has alot of AP but I prefer MAW OF MALMORTIUS.

(Passive)- [Hemorage]- Darius' basic attacks cause his target to bleed that can stack up to 5 times. This is basicly why [Darius] has such a high auto attack damage, Especially with the items I mentioned.
(Q)- [Decimate]- [Darius] spins in a circle dealing damage and applyin [Hemorage] on them. This is basicilly [Darius'] main damageing and harrassing tool.

(W)- [Crippling Strike] [Darius] slows their moment and attack speed and increase [Darius] movement speed. This is basicly a slow that will help deal more damage with [Decimate] and will also be great with [Frozen Mallet].

(E)- [Apprehend] - [Darius] grabs a enemy with his axe. This is basicilly [Darius] combo starter, It allows Darius to grab his enemy and W+Q and attack along with his items.

(R)- [Noxian Guilliotine] - [Darius jumps up and executes his enemy, Dealing true damage. If he does the killing blow, The Cooldown is refreshed until 12 seconds is over. This is basiclly what makes [Darius] awsome, People concider him as a NBA dunk because thats what he's doing, JUMPING UP, DUNKED. It's better to get 5 stacks of [Hemorage] before executing.
Max Q first since it offers the most damage then W for the 50% slow then Ult then E.

[Ignite] The basic spell that everyone uses but I'll say it's a must on him because it helps you with his ult, You can basiclly ult to lower their health so you can ensure a automatic kill with his ultimate.
[Flash] The basic spell that everyone uses, This item can be great for escaping sticky situations or even ganks.
[Ghost] A good choice on Darius, Allows you to catch up to yout enemy and put off some massive damage on your target or even to get a ult off.
[Teleport] Not recommended unless you know you are going to be roaming to different lanes.
[Barrier] This spell is pretty good, It can help you win a trade in a 1v1 situation.
[Clense] Only good on carries.
[Heal] I don't recommend this.
[Exaust] A good spell if you want to slow your enemy so you can put off more attacks, Would work well with [Frozen Mallet].
[Revive] No.
[Smite] If you are jungling him.
[Clairvoyance] NO......
[Clarity] NOPE....
[Garrison] I guess if you are doing Dominion.

Darius is a very popular pick due to his high damage and his natural tankyness due to him having the highest base armor in the game, He is deffently a champion that can carry you a few divisions if played correctly, However.... Some champions can shut him down completly. Few examples of that is Champions that can sit back and farm safetly while being able to poke down darius because Darius relies on getting close to deal damage so picking a champ like Jayce or Nidalee will shut him down completly.

PROS= High Damage Cons= No Sustain
Easy to Play No escsapes
Tanky/Highest Base Armor Relies on Q/R at 6-18.
Can be a pain to enemies Needs to be in range.
Good harrass with Q Easily Poked.
Difficlt to kill w/o ganks Focused.
Can get fed easily.

[Darius] can be a good jungler but he's not that good as top-tier junglers and has no ganking abilties. Here is a Jungle Build if you want to try it. [Wriggles Lantern] + [Boots of Mobility] + [Ghostblade] + [Frozen Mallet] + [Zephyr] + [The Bloodthirster]. Explanation: Wriggles Lantern is a basic jungle item that will help you kill the creeps faster. Boots of Mobility will help you roam across the map faster to gank. Ghostblade going to let you set up easy ganks with it's passive. Frozen Mallet will help you keep the enemies in place. Zephyr will increase your movement speed and attack speed. BloodThirster will give you some sustain in the jungle. What to max? It's kind of a toss off, I personlly like to max W on him for JUNGLING because the 50% slow will gank when you gank but maxing Q is fine too.

Play safe and don't over extend, Early game you should be focusing on farming and trying to get your items. Darius can be killed easily if you over extend too far out and try not to spam or waste Q due to darius being very vulnable without it since it's once of his main damaging abilties however, His W may cause them to bleed, But it's more of a utility slow rather then a straight up damaging ability. But your auto attacks make up for most of his damage so W can be very useful since they are allowed and allows you to hit them. Also, If you find yourself being poked down really hard, You want to find great moments to hit your enemies, For Example: If you are facing a Jayce, You want to try and dodge all of his poking abilties at all costs which Boots would come in handy to start with. Other then that, You should be very strong in your lane.

At mid game, You should be trying to roam the map for kills, You can be very useful at that time and it's very easy to get kills if you come across enemies at low health. However it can be very risky if the enemy has wards so try to be caution as you pick out your targets. Late Game your team is probably going to want you to fill in as a tank role due to darius having the highest base armor and for the fact that he can deal high physical damage with very little items so getting items like Randuins Omen or Warmogs or Sunfire Cape can help you achieve your goals cause Darius is one of those champions that can be EXTREMLY useful in team fights and your team will be expecting alot from you.

Late Game your team is probably going to want you to fill in as a tank role due to darius having the highest base armor and for the fact that he can deal high physical damage with very little items so getting items like Randuins Omen or Warmogs or Sunfire Cape can help you achieve your goals cause Darius is one of those champions that can be EXTREMLY useful in team fights and your team will be expecting alot from you.

By now, You should have alot of damage and be tanky enough to well in team fights. When team fighting, You shouldn't over extend without your team, Speaking you will have a very difficult time escaping and just giving enemies free kills which is going to make it worse on your team, Try and stay with your team and try to grab your enemies as much as possible while following up a W to keep them in place within your team, Once grabbed+W, Follow up some auto attacks to keep them slowed and even provide the slow from Randuins if you have it so you can be useful as possible.

Here are a few counters to [Darius]

[Jayce]- Difficulty= HARD
[Jayce] is able to sit back and poke you down relentlessly and farm without getting in range of [Darius] and he relies on getting close to his enemies which [Jayce] counters completly.

[Elise]- Difficulty= Hard
Similar to Jayce, [Elise] is able to sit back and farm and poke you down easily, But the thing is, She can also stun you which allows her to switch to melee form and do alot of damage to you.

[Teemo]- Difficulty= Medium
[Teemo] isn't that hard to fight with Darius as people think but it's still tricky. [Teemo] is able to sit back and poke you with poison which is a DOT (Damage Over Time) without getting too close to Darius, And if Darius gets close to him, Teemo can either Blind You or W away without a problem or even W and try to bait you to one of his shrooms which will hurt alot, They both rely on bushes so he's not too difficult to manage.
Kayle- Difficulty= Extremely Hard
[Kayle] is probably the top counter to Darius and can shut him down very hard, She can sit back and poke with her E and farm safetly, If [Darius] tries to get close, She can Q him which applies her passive which also reduces armor and magic resist, and she can also use her W on her to catch up to [Darius] to deal alot of damage to him, As well as heal herself, She also shutsdown his ultimate with hers, Because before [Darius] tries to use it, She can use her ult on herself and make him waste it and once he wasts it, He is in danger because he relies on his ultimate. Those are the main counters, There are many more counters but I listed the main ones.

I hope you try out my Darius build and see if you like it, Leave sugguestions i'll appreciate it. Also, Early game, Eye your mana once in awhile then your fine. Darius is very useless without mana. Also, With just Tiamat and Greaves, You can do alot of damage and get kills easily so it should help you get the rest of the items. Make sure you ward your lane ASAP, If you get ganked, It can be very bad for you because you have no escapes. I hope you enjoy my build, If you like it, Please give it a like, If theres something i need to improve, Leave a comment and I'll try and edit with your sugguestions if i aggre with it. Enjoy -MOSH88892