The All-In-One Pirate
Gangplank

Ever since the recent buffs on Gangplank, I can't get enough of him. I went through the ways of building him by combining a bunch of items that will give make his Parrrley, the hardest hitting skill in the game. He's got a Heal, a Cleanse, Speed Boost, AoE Slow, and a Single-Target Slow, Critical Strike, and just damage from regular Attack Items. He's my example of a perfect champion, for the Melee category that is.

Let's get started.

As of Runes;

Greater Mark of Desolation :
This is just the casual Armor Penetration, everything good on a Melee Champion.


Greater Seal of Scaling Mana Regeneration :
This is just more Mana Regen as you level up, it really helps with the lane game considering how mana hungry you will be. I like to keep my Q on cooldown as much as possible, considering that it has low mana cost and a low cooldown. You always want to last hit minions as much as possible early game, I always end a 30-40 minute game with 200-300 minion kills, it just helps early game cause, you have Mana Regen, might as well farm while you can.. Right? Yes, that's why I can get the Cloak of Agility so fast.

Greater Glyph of Cooldown Reduction :
Cooldown Reduction Glyphs, just because well, you want to use that AoE slow in teamfights or starting a fight in your lane. This just lets you get into the action faster, it also helps your team if they want to start a fight, an assist won't kill you with these runes.

Greater Quintessence of Desolation :
Same reason as Mark, it just helps, for alternatives, you can always go Pure AD Quints, they are also useful but, for the time being, I use Armor Penetration Quints.

Gangplank's Set of Skills

[Q] Parrrley
This is Gangplank's "Bread and Butter", although late game, his basic attack is good enough to kill anything or anyone. Early game, once you get around 40-50% Crit Chance, this is everything.
Since the recent patches, you might have heard that Grog Soaked Blade is now applicable with Parrley, it is. It's slow, crit, and damage, oh how I love this.

You want to max this first, well, I don't want to explain but I will, this is where all the damage from this Pirate is coming from, well, early game, hehe.

[W] Remove Scurvy
This is his Cleanse and this is his Heal. It doesn't do much, but I can't tell you how many times I piss people off when they Exhaust and I just Remove Scurvy away. This doesn't really help you survive that much, until late game where it heals more than 1 bar.

You want to max this last, because, Raise Morale is the next ideal choice when it comes to what skills to max out and what order.

[E] Raise Morale
The passive on this is great, although you don't get to put a lot of points into it early, it still helps early. It gives you attack speed and attack damage, this is what makes him a good pusher. His items are a lot DPS-y, so this will only help you when your pushing turrets and what not.

You max this right after Parrrley because, well, you can use this to push turrets if you are back-dooring or just getting rid of turrets that should be down by now.

[R] Cannon Barrage
His ultimate's not the best but it's not the worst. An AoE Slow is never marked underpowered in my book. I am one of those who thinks it's an expanded version of Miss Fortune's - Make it Rain, but I'm not complaining. It's a good fight starter and or a good last hitter early game. I've used this to last hit many Champions, or my team mates just ask me to initiate for them as they dive. It's useful, and that's all that matters to me.

I thought it would be useful to put a little side guide on this to talk about how important farming is for Gangplank. You just want to keep your Parrrley on cooldown, last hitting those minions gets you those items faster than just waiting for them or waiting for fights to happen. You get a gold boost from every time you kill a minion so, KILL A MINION. You want to do this when your team is idle or everyone's in their own lane or the other target isn't available. I don't focus Parrrley on champions until a teamfight actually happens or just harass game.

How to do the Gangplank

Avarice Blade x2
This early game, helps you a lot. You don't build it into Youmuu's though. On Gangplank, I find Youmuu's Ghostblade useful, just not the ideal choice for him. You later sell these when you feel your Crit Strike's are consistent enough to get some other items.

Ionian Boots of Lucidity
Cooldown Reduction boots, boy, do I love cooldown reduction huh, this is just an overall good item on Gangplank, get your damage out there and over it, and out again in a few seconds. I don't find Mercury Treads ideal simply because of the Cloak and Dagger later on.

Infinity Edge
This item, is the best thing on his menu. Crit Chance/Strike and Damage, I couldn't ask for more. It's such a good boost for him and if you don't get this next to boots, I should Parrrley you in the face.

Phantom Dancer
Movement speed, attack speed, and Crit Chance/Strike, just another boost to his Parrrley, you want this next because, you won't have a lot of health yes, but you will have a lot of damage and movement speed if you want to escape.

Trinity Force
The All-In-One Item, it's got a little Ability Power boost for your Remove Scurvy, Crit Chance/Strike, I've been over that a lot already, and a slow/heal next to Grog Soaked Blade for your Parrrley. It's good for GP, trust me.

Cloak and Dagger
It's got the remaining Crit Chance/Strike you need to make it sure you will Crit the next thing you Parrrley, with a boost of Tenacity for those CC hoes. You can build this before Trinity Force if you'd like, it's good before and after with a moderate cost.

Banshee's Veil
An extra CC remover with a nice Health and Mana boost. Overall good item, from what I've known, there has always been an AP Heavy user on their team so, the Magic Resist will help slightly.

How to play the Gangplank

Alright, the fun part.

Early Game
You first start out with your Brawler Gloves and 2 Health Potions. Early game I don't really focus on getting kills because, you just don't do enough damage without your items. So, get your last hits with your Parrrley. After you have about 1050 - 1350, go back and get yourself 2, Avarice Blades, and Boots if you are a good farmer. Now, you can involve yourself into some fights, get yourself a kill or two and go back and get Cloak of Agility. Your Crit Chance with 2 Avarice Blades will help a lot, you want that. I don't know what to tell you, you've got Exhaust, Parrrley, and Cannon Barrage, the least you could do is pick up a kill, your Gangplank for goodness sake's. Continue farming and what not, you need the money, not the tower dives. He's a pirate, he looks for money, not blood, only til' tempted to.

Mid Game
By now, you should have yourself, 2 Avarice Blades, Infinity Edge, and Ionian Boots of Lucidity. These are your tools to disaster for the enemy team. Infinity Edge packs a powerful punch of Damage and Crit Chance. You can now consider yourself a part of the team and get involved in fights, but never stay idle by a lane, make your way to other lanes and keep farming, you don't want to leave Parrrley on cooldown, NEVER. I tell myself this because, you can get money easily, why not take the opportunity and kill some minions or jungle creeps to pass time.

Late Game
There's not much to say here except, you've got Infinity Edge, Ionian Boots, Phantom Dancer, Cloak and Dagger, Trinity Force, and Banshee's Veil. All the tools you need to survive, put out damage, slow, save, whatever.

Just remember, you never go in first, you don't want to be the first one in line to get targeted, you want to be the last, getting out those Parrrleys' and what not. You'll know when it is safe to put yourself into the middle of the fight.

Cannon Barrage

I'm naming this section Cannon Barrage simply because, it's useful in a teamfight like any other AoE Crowd Control. There are many uses to his ultimate.

Last Hitting
It won't always happen but it's very likely to, you might just last hit a dying champ trying to head back to their base. Just remind your team, you have your ultimate available and when they ask for it, just put it out there, you might get the kill or an assist. Better than nothing.

Initiating
You yourself, don't walk in and initiate, your ultimate does. You see a group of the enemy team together, anxious to start the fight, throw out your ultimate and let your team get themselves into the action, most likely the enemy team is running out of the area, but they are slowed. You can pick em' apart while they are trying to escape. This doesn't always work but it helps.

Saving a Turret
Huge minion wave pushing a tower? Save it for a little while by using it. As your team gets over their to clear it, it will slow down the attack on your turret.

Just use your ultimate to the best of your ability, there are many ways to help your team out just from your ultimate.