About Me

Hi, I'm Joey, and I've been playing League for a while now, starting in the beginning of summer when a friend budged me to play it. I never expected to get so far into the game as when I was introduced to it, and I don't regret a second of it (Except maybe sometimes, you know...). But that doesn't matter- this is about Poppy!

Why Poppy?

So, most people play Poppy as a tank, which of course is not bad at all. She has hard cc and good use for spellblade effects. The reason you never see a full AD Poppy is because it is not exactly as reliable. It is very strong, of course, but often only if:

1) The enemy team has no tanks or at least any very tough ones, or...

2) You have another tank champ on the team who has reliable engage, such as Malphite, Volibear, etc.

If your game meets one (or both) of the suggestions above, AD Poppy can work great! Just remember though, it can be easy to get carried away and end up killing yourself just to kill their adc or midlaner, which can be bad if you end up as the carry.

Believe me, it has happened a lot.

But really, why play Poppy when you can play other champs designed to be assassins? For me, I think it is just one of the most fun things to do in normal games. I say normal, because you shouldn't do it in ranked. When you see the chat flood with messages of their adc, jungler, mid laner, anybody concerned on that damage, it is just hilarious to me.

And of course, there is the champ herself, Poppy. Poppy has been my main for some time, and she is just so unique compared to any other champion in the League, and will always be my favorite. The rework from a while back was for the best, because in all honesty, she was pretty ugly. If there is anything I can say that is wrong with her, it is the fact that so many people hate her, simply because she is Poppy. If you bring her jungle, you might get flamed. If you say you main her, you get insulted. Even if you just bring her top as full tank, you get flamed for the supposed fact that she is a "bad champ." It makes me sad.

... At least, that's what I said in the beginning of S7. She's pretty legit now, as I have always thought she was. She'll win a lot of matchups up top, but her glory comes in her tp ganks. Just be wise about using that.

Pros

- Very strong burst (Oh mah lawd even better with season 8 now)
- Good at scaring people away (no joke)
- Shield throwing one shots squishies with a little over half health
- Pigtails!
- The best skins in the game, dood

Cons

- Doesn't work in every match
- Lots and lots of flaming
- If you feed, you will die of insults in chat
- Not the best jokes

Take Electrocute. Don't take anything else if you don't want the best.

... But for alternative choices, you could take any of the three domination keystones. They all give more damage and helpful effects, but electrocute is the most ideal with this build from what I have played.

Dark Harvest can work. It's like a minigame when you play with this keystone, running around the map to get the stacks and then going in on that one isolated enemy, and then blowing them up. Not bad :D

Predator, that's in between. It gives movement speed and adaptive damage for your next attack, but it doesn't seem to put out amazingly. I suppose since Poppy has an innate speed boost in her kit it synergizes acceptably, but, again, just get Electrocute to destroy them in a single blow anyway, right?

Extra Input from more games: Bruh, just take Electrocute whether or not you are building tank. You will hurt so damn much.

For the secondaries of the Domination keystones, I prefer Sudden Impact, Eyeball Collection, and Ravenous Hunter: You have a click dash that will give you that lethality and mr shred, both of which will assist you for your Iron Ambassador, Statikk Shiv and basic attack damage; you would be killing a lot of champions, why not get more stronger?; and healing off of abilities? Why not?!

For the secondary tree, I prefer Precision, and within that, Triumph and Coup de Grace. More money and more damage, self explanatory.

I suggest mastery seven c;

When laning top, this is a must. Your goal of the game is to destroy towers to get to their base, not only to kill the enemy team. I don't think there is anything else worth taking besides this.


I can't imagine not a reason to take this. Helps with ganks, fights, etc. Just take it.


If you are jungling, you start with Hunter's Talisman, but don't upgrade it. The mana regen is enough for a while, then build your items and sell it if you need to. The Enchantment: Warrior or the Enchantment: Cinderhulk isn't of any use for this build (But of course, if you are going tank like a sane League player, Cinderhulk is great).

I think jungling is the best position for Poppy with this build imo, because you can roam around the whole map for your kills basically at just level two. One kill would really boost you up for the game >:D

I don't think I should have to explain the skill sequence. If you play Poppy enough, you should understand her damage comes from her Hammer Shock and Heroic Charge mostly, and that her w is a one point wonder. I suppose there could be some cases where it would be best to max w before e, such as if you were playing against a very mobile team because of dashes, but in most cases this skill sequence is what will be done most.

One situation I'm not sure about, though, is if it is better to max Heroic Charge with this build. It's the bread and butter as it gives you a stun, and as you max it it does not increase mana cost but will effectively add a lot of damage each point provided that you stun your target. Your Hammer Shock does quite a bit of damage as well, though. It's for you to find out while I look into it more :)

This build is about physical damage, so two items here should not have to be explained for: Trinity Force and Black Cleaver. I guess I gotta anyway.

Trinity Force is a very common item on Poppy, although it is often traded for Iceborn Gauntlet instead, which is still a great item. Poppy's auto after stunning with Heroic Charge and damaging the area with Hammer Shock can do strong damage with her passive and a critical strike. Black Cleaver is a must for any full AD build on any champion. Its health, attack damage and cooldown reduction are great base stats, but its passive of reducing the target's armor by percentage will add more potential for your burst once you activate all your attacks.

Infinity Edge and Statikk Shiv were made for each other. The damage from Infinity Edge adds scaling to your abilities while also adding damage to your auto attacks. When its passive of 50% critical strike damage increase and the total critical strike of it with [Statikk Shiv]], it packs in so much damage into one auto attack. Here's a list of all the procs you receive after beginning your combo:

- Trinity Force spellblade proc.
- Iron Ambassador for up to 180 bonus magic damage. This damage cannot crit.
- Statikk Shiv's passive proc.
- And if the 50% critical chance is successful, your auto and Statikk Shiv damage is increased by 250%, not including the bonus damage from Trinity Force or Iron Ambassador.

Boots of Swiftness are great for its slow resist and high movement speed bonus. This combined with the movement speed bonus from Trinity Force and Statikk Shiv, you can be pretty speedy, even without Steadfast Presence active. If you run Stormraider's Surge and get a kill or assist, holy, you will be running so fast with the Phage passive kicking in for that.

As for the last item, it's your choice. It is best to choose this based on the game, like if your team was toxic for you not being a tank so you need to get Dead Man's Plate, or if it is a close game you need to get Guardian Angel. My usual preferences are Zz'Rot Portal or Frozen Mallet. Zz'Rot Portal is great when lane pushing or pressure is needed, and just getting one lane's worth of towers out of the wall can change the entire game. Frozen Mallet is one of my favorite items. It gives a lot of health, and a pretty nice amount of attack damage when you think about it giving just 10 less attack damage than Black Cleaver. Its passive helps with catching people out after a stun, and is overall an item I pick even as tank Poppy.

In terms of what to build first, in jungle, Statikk Shiv is a great first pick up, but before that building Sheen really speeds up your clear and early game. After that, finish Trinity Force and your choice for either Rapid Firecannon or Infinity Edge.

Iron Ambassador

With a 16-10 second cooldown, Poppy will periodically throw her buckler at her target for 10-180 bonus magic damage, gaining range. This makes a great harass tool, especially if you have high ad items early on. After hitting the target, it will fall onto the ground, most often near walls. If the target is killed from the hit, it will automatically return to Poppy. Upon being retrieved, it shields Poppy for 3 seconds for 15-20% of her health.

This my most favorite passive in the game, and not because it is Poppy's. The harass you can get off is great, the shielding helps with trades in lane, and it is overall just a fun and great sustain tool (Although it just shields, not heals). One thing I love about it is that it lands near walls. If your laner is determined to step on it, it makes an easy stun with Heroic Charge, making it a perfect bait tool. Not only that, sometimes they believe it is more important than the cs they miss for wasting time to step on it. If you can win trades against the laner, it is a great passive altogether.

The passive is also what builds into full AD Poppy. Being able to stack the shield's bonus magic damage with all the other damaging stacks makes it just wonderful, especially when you can pick it up to run away from a fight. Also, it can often secure kills for those running away with an auto attack or two's worth of health remaining.

Hammer Shock

With a cooldown of 9-5 seconds for 35-55 mana, Poppy slams the ground with her hammer to damage the area, dealing physical damage of 35-115, with 80% bonus and 8% of the targets maximum health. The damaged area becomes unstable and slows enemies from 20-40%, and then erupts to deal the initial damage again.

This damage can be massive, especially with Electrocute. In early long laning phases with few recalls, the slow can be very strong when the enemy has no movement items yet. Because the ability has a low cooldown, getting a Sheen early for the CDR makes it ready so quickly, making trades very efficient, provided that the enemy does not have high sustain or such. At just level one, it is very strong, simply because two triggers will deal up to 14% of the target's health and then the scaling and starting damage itself. Paired with a shield throw, it will hurt enemies bad.

The ability is also great for kiting, particularly against champs who can trade very well through autos: Jax, Olaf, Fiora, Tryndamere, etc. They will often chase you and be in easy range of Hammer Shock, allowing you to get free damage. Often they will keep chasing, ignoring the damage until the ground erupts, then they back away. If your passive is up, this will also give a free auto. After very much playing, I have found that this will happen a lot.

Steadfast Presence

Passively, Poppy gains armor and magic resistance based on the total values of those stats, increasing them by 15%. This passive doubles when Poppy is below 40% health.

When activated for 50 mana at all ranks, Poppy gains 32-40% bonus movement speed for 2.5 seconds, and is surrounded by a barrier that blocks nearby enemy dashes, dealing 70-230 magic damage plus 70% AP. Each enemy can only be blocked by a dash once, so keep that in mind. This is on a 24-16 second cooldown.

The passive of this ability is very helpful with all-in's in lane, even if you do not realize it. When you and the enemy are low, and your passive doubles, it can make all the world's difference for that skirmish. When building full tank, it helps a lot. If their entire team is AD or so much AP that there is no need for armor, it can make you extremely tanky when stacking the magic resist or armor stats. Without such items, though, it still provides some resistance no matter what, because bonus stats are bonus stats anyway.

The active of this ability is what makes many people think that Poppy counters certain enemies very easily. This is not the case. Simply because an enemy has a dash does not mean that Poppy can fight them easily, although a well timed Steadfast Presence can be very turning in a fight. Enemies such as Wukong can still easily fight Poppy, most often because Wukong can stealth and then dash out of nowhere, although this is an obvious trick in lane.

A mistake players make is that just because they block an enemy's dash, they are vulnerable. I see people charge at them after they are halted just because they can. A halt is not always a reason to engage. Another mistake I see is when a Poppy is against a Riven. Once Riven begins her Broken Wings combo towards Poppy, Poppy immediately activates Steadfast Presence, blocking Riven's second activation of Broken Wings. Once this happens, the Riven will simply dash forward with Valor, stun with Ki Blast and set the third Broken Wings trigger, because blocking a Broken Wings dash does not stop the entire combo. Many Poppy players die against Riven because they don't understand her trading. You should only activate Steadfast Presence for Riven's third press of Broken Wings, because that is the only dash that has hard cc against enemies.

Besides that, this active is amazing for teamfights. Being able to halt abilities of champions that are needed to engage can make all the difference for the fight, and can even save your teammates, such as when a Vicharges at the low adc, or when Yasuo dashes in to set you all airborne. Just keep in mind that it does not stop all dashes, including Shyvana's Dragon Descent, Malphite's Unstoppable Force, Hecarim's Onslaught of Shadows, Vi's Cease and Desist, and, of course, Sion's Unstoppable Onslaught.

Note: If against a full dash team, go full AP :^)

Heroic Charge

On a cooldown of 14-10 seconds for 70 mana at all ranks, Poppy tackles an enemy with a hard cc target dash, dealing 50-130 physical damage, plus 50% of bonus AD. If Poppy tackles them into terrain, they are stunned 1.6 to 2 seconds and take the initial damage.

You know Vayne's Condemn? That's the wimpy version of this, because she stands back and shoots her little toy crossbow. But Poppy enters combat and makes the enemy sit while she smashes them in the face! This is a signature move for Poppy, but even so it is often ignored by laners, which ends with easy stuns if they take the bait for the shield by the wall. This ability does have a high mana cost, though, being 70 mana, so early game it is best to savor this for stuns and not random trades (unless you can stun them, of course). I believe this ability and the need for using Hammer Shock for trades is the reason Poppy must take Corrupting Potion, along with the mana cost of Steadfast Presence.

When outside of lane and in the jungle instead, this ability is a pure godsend. The jungle is full of walls! This makes Poppy an amazing invader if the enemy jungler is fairly squishy, but you better be ready to chase and auto once or twice. If the enemy jungler has a dash, such as Vayne or Vi, often they will try to dash once the stun is over. If you have Steadfast Presence up, this just adds further damage and helps you chase them faster. Just be ready for them to talk in /all chat for the "broken mechanics".

Outside of Summoner Rift, this ability is awesome in Crystal Scar for Ascension or Dominion. It has the most packed in pathways, and when building full AD Poppy, you will just hurt people and earn a beautiful KDA.

Keeper's Verdict

With a cooldown of 140-100 seconds for 100 mana at all ranks, Poppy channels her hammer up to four seconds, applying a self slow by 15%. Upon the second cast, she smashes the ground to deal 200-400 physical damage plus 90% of bonus AD. The targets are knocked airborne and are untargetable, flying towards their Summoner Platform based on how long Keeper's Verdict was charged. If no second cast is activated, the cooldown is set to 30 seconds instead, but it does not refund the mana cost. If snapcasted, the ability will do 100/150/300 plus 45% of bonus AD.

If this ability is double tapped fast, it can be used to send the enemy straight up into the air. While it has high base damage, it is not always best for duels at early levels, because 200 physical damage is not much early on for an ult. It's utility comes from its cc more than its damage, but if it can be used to damage an enemy, do it for the kill or to stop them from running away. Don't do it if they will just escape afterwards with a flash or just that you can't keep up with them.

In laning phase, it is crucial to make sure you have this ready if you are extending to farm. You can use it to escape a gank or to keep your fight a 1v1 if someone gets nosy and looks at your funny. If being chased, especially in lane, it works best to enter brush and wait for the jungler and laner to come close together. This allows you to knock them both away. If you charge your ult long enough, you can really waste their time.

At later levels with higher ad counts and ranks, this ult is great for finishing a kill, even though it won't always be necessary. Because of this, remember to use it for utility later on, and not damage. If you can make a fight a 4v5 or even a 3v5 or even less, take the chance. It was not created for pure damage, and that should be understood.

On topic about this ult, I found it funny that Rito needed to nerf its snapchat damage. It's dumb, in my opinion, but I suppose it is best for laning. Usually it's just best for evasion or stopping those running.

As I had said in prior chapters, it is easy to get carried away with your damage. Remember, you're still a fighter and a tank, but can play as an assassin because of your build. Play smart in teamfights with your ult Keeper's Verdict. Sometimes you cannot charge your ult fully, so if that is the case, release it immediately for a knock up.

A very dangerous mistake that even I make comes from the untargetable trait of the ult. It can be very easy to knock the enemies out of a Lux ult, Malphite ult, etc. I believe the reason they made knocked up enemies untargetable was because of Yasuo's ult, although Malphite has an ult that knocks enemies airborne anyway, and he can't be stopped while doing it. Another possible reason is because if Poppy's Heroic Charge was off cooldown after she ulted, it would be too easy to just stun them again if they were stunned before (Although the timing and positioning for that would also take possibly full CDR).

When fighting, you need to remember that your autos on their own still a lot of continuous damage. You have Infinity Edge and two attack speed items- you should keep fighting if and stay pinned on an enemy! This is why I love taking Frozen Mallet for my last item: the passive keeps the enemy from escaping, and it makes you considerably hefty and tanky, thanks to the buff they gave it a while back with the bonus health.

During the midlane skirmishes, engaging before your team does can end up with a victory, even if you die. Often the enemy team will all burn their abilities on you, giving your team the chance to engage. Your autos will burn down at least one of them, granting an easy kill, and you can always ult beforehand for the advantage of a 4v5 or such.

Remember, if you do not one shot your enemy, that's ok. You can easily auto them to death while chasing them. For example, if you stun a Yasuo and do your hammer work, you can easily kill him before he can ever proc his third q. Not only that, sometimes he will dash for his airborne activation, and you can simply block him with your, you guessed it, Steadfast Presence.

Don't be afraid, but also, don't be silly and engage to get your whole team killed. Even if you are fed and do so much damage, your team will often look for a reason to flame you. I often lose games because my team is too afraid to engage even though we can easily win the fight, and it ends up that they let the enemy team slowly pick at them and then jump them. If both teams are acting silly and aren't giving you funny looks, go to another lane and push hard. Sometimes its better that they become distracted, because once they come to your lane, you will be long gone.

That concludes my guide for AD Poppy. I hope it was useful to you and you enjoyed it. I will update it as time goes on with updates.

In that case, leave your comments and reviews! This is my first guide, so thank you for reading!

Created: 1/1/17
Major Edit: 1/1/17
Edit: 1/23/17- Updated for Poppy nerf
Edit: 8/14/17- Now follows the increased Hammer Shock damage from v.7.13.
Edit: 11/12/17- S8 Update :o
Edit: 12/2/17- A bit more info -.-