MY ORDER (take it or leave it)
BOOTS +3 MANA
-BLASTING WAND (building for RoA)
-CHAIN MAIL (building for GA)
-CATALYST OF THE PROTECTOR (building for RoA)
-NULL-MAGIC MANTLE (building for GA)
-ROD OF AGES
-AMPLIFYING TOME (building for SEEKER'S ARMGUARD)
-SEEKER'S ARMGUARD
-AMPLIFYING TOME (building for HAUNTING GUISE)
-HAUNTING GUISE (building for LIANDRY'S)
-NEEDLESSLY LARGE ROD (building for ZHONYA'S)
-ZHONYA'S HOURGLASS
-AMPLIFYING TOME (building for LIANDRY'S)
-LIANDRY' TORMENT

HERE YOUR BUILD IS DONE.... kinda. Now you choose an item that you think you need. I like WARMOG's, DEATHCAP, LICH BANE, RANDUINS..... the list goes on, it is pretty circumstantial.


Gragas is a survivor, there isn't much he can't handle if properly outfitted and that is why I build him as an AP Tank.

I have been playing Gragas for a while now and i notice that i build him a little different than the others and happen to have EXTREMELY good results. This is why I wanted to write this guide. I always get compliments when i play him even if my team looses. Rarely am I not the hardiest character on the team.

I classify him as an AP TANK because really, he is an AP destroyer and a TANK, hardly and OFF/TANK. the kills you get and the deaths you prevent will prove this. Someone who knows meta strategy or other champs better than I will probably want to make me eat my words, but hey, its my guide and this is just my opinion...

I will not be getting into huge detail because I don't know what to say and, from my experience, when I look at guides I don't read much other than the item notes.



I hope you enjoy what i DO say though and that it helps you destroy with GRAGAS!!!!!!

PROS
-survivor
-damage dealer
-seldom played so enemies might not know how to counter
-rescuer
-opposite of squishy
-LONG range with barrel roll
-underestimated
-leader of team fights and charges
-pretty decent at ganking

CONS
-big avatar
-focused on
-COOLDOWNS
-long channeling on drunken rage
-long animation on barrel roll
-skills take skill to use effectively (this isn't a con for me, it makes it fun but it does it difficult to learn gragas)

You are a great mid

You are a great partner for either top or bottom

You can solo top or bottom if necessary

You should not jungle

Your barrel is great for holding enemies away, chasing them, poking them, and farming. Get good with it and they will fear it well. P.S. It can pass through walls/environment

Drunken Rage - keep it on! It is free to use! Early game this is the reason you do not need health pots, you can stay in your lane for many levels before having to go back (for mana lol). Late game this is mainly used for the damage reduction but helps a lot when you need to pop'em across the mouth to finish em or help your ignite to finish them.

Body Slam - Great for getting into, and out of sticky situations. This will be used when you are chasing and you are being chased. The impact does plenty of damage too so it is a great tool.

Explosive Cask - Ah, your ult... Incredible ult....
-Split the entire team into different directions so your team can focus on one or run.
-Pull one or multiple enemies behind your turret and force them to turret dive.
-Pull one or multiple enemies into the heart of your teams charge.
-Save yourself or any teammate trying to escape. (I sometimes use captain enchantment on boots because this happens quite a bit)
-Finish off multiple enemies that are fleeing together.... this is fun.
-Basically a devastating attack that can pause giving your team the option to run or re-engage. You can turn an entire game in one team fight with this.

I am open to suggestions here of course.

Your damage is primarily based on ability power so you want your marks stacked up to give you as much penetration as possible.

I used the seals to grant more power and hence more damage.

The glyphs fill in the small gaps of Cooldown reduction with helps a ton with your drunken rage. Ideally you want your Drunken Rage to cooldown faster than it expires and you want to be able to throw as many barrels as often as possible.

The quints, although I am just learning, I feel are alright. You are a melee character who kinda plays ranged until the fights break out, then you run in and start absorbing and dealing damage. For this reason I feel the extra movement speed helps until you are ready to get in there or if you need to chase/flee.

Ignite and Flash, what do I need to say about these?

Gragas is great at defending the nexus against both minions and champs, it is really fun to take out 15/18 minions in one shot with your barrel. Around mid game you can stack easy gold from farming.

I rarely go negative with this build even if my team looses. I have been able to collect a team from a large defecit and save games just because my gragas was able to deal damage, take damage, and single out opponents with my ult.

Please give feedback (good or bad). This is my first guide but I do feel strongly that I built an intense gragas that can scare a team and make them second guess a charge.

I hope this guide helps. Maybe i will add to it a little more.

THANKS TO ALL THAT READ!!