I have used Gangplank as my main champion for some time now and have tried many different builds including several found here. I finally found a sweet spot for my play style, but have been unable to find a guide that uses this build. I am not the best player out there by any stretch of the imagination, but I hope that others who share a similar playstyle will find some use from this guide. Please try my build before voting and please give me feedback if you vote (either positive or negative). Thank you for reading and I wish you many successful games with Gangplank.

P.S. This is my first guide so please go easy with the flames. Constructive criticism is always welcome, however.

Pros:
Gangplank has great supporting abilities that can help your team get the early advantage
You are a melee with a ranged nuke
Your ultimate will ensure lots of assists and is just fun
By endgame you will be a powerful carry

Cons:
You are squishy and will die
You will be focused in team fights
Your ult loses its killing power later in the game
Your chest hair is out of control

I believe that runes are personal preference so please feel free to use your current melee build if you want. To explain my choices, I like Greater Seal of Replenishment to help with my early game. is great on Gangplank in so many ways. I prefer to Greater Mark of Desolation with this build personally, but they are both good choices. is great with this playstyle and is good to have on hand for many champion builds.

One other option for Gangplank is to build his runes defensively. Not to sound redundant, but runes are designed to compliment your playstyle so please take my build with a grain of salt.

The masteries are fairly cookie cutter. You may notice that I have opted for Good Hands over Perseverance. Despite your opinion that good players should not be dying, you will die almost every game and I find the tiny amount of regen close to useless. As with the runes, they is a little room for play. I personally don't think archaic knowledge is worth it on Gangplank, but try it if you want.

Edit 12/13/11: I just updated my masteries build for the new mastery system. I currently use a 28/0/2 build with summoner's insight and improved recall in utility. Make sure to skip summoner's wrath if you use flash instead of ghost. I may play around with a few different builds and update later if I find one I like more.

Recommended:
This is my favorite chasing/running spell. You can't go wrong with it.
Great for map control and mobility both of which lead to wins.
A good alternative to Ghost. Use this if you prefer.
This spell has both offensive and defensive uses. I tend to prefer the mobility of the other spells, but exhaust can be a powerful tool if you learn how to use it.

Not Recommended:
This spell is situational and limited in usefulness. Eat some citrus instead.
There are worse spells, but again your fruit should cover this one.
Let the tank take this spell.
No value endgame. Not necessary.

Just No:
Way not worth a summoner spell slot.
Jungleplank? Didn't think so.
Ghost and gat to the face is better than this any day. Chasing is your specialty.
Is this still in the game?
Just get some wards and keep your useful spells.

This is again pretty much the standard. I like second if there is any harassing going on (and there usually is if I have anything to say about it). I then wait to max it out till last. is a great support talent that can be taken second if you do not need the burst of citrus flavor early on.

There is some flexibility in my item build since every game is different and every champion match up requires different tools. The four key items to this build will rarely change, however. x2, , and .

90% of the time I start with and x3. This lets me play more aggressively, either netting me a first blood (only if the enemy is cocky) or letting me get away from an over-extension (you can sometimes bait to your tower and get kills that way).

On my first trip back I buy and as much of a that I can afford. After the Zeal is complete I buy a and start saving to rush .

In most games I go for the after I finish IE. This gives more survivability and more chasing power. I then finish off my first and start building a second one.

The final stage of my build is to turn your Scepter into a and sell your boots for your final item. If people are stacking armor get . If the tank has stacked health to the point of insanity then I sometimes get Mandred's Bloodrazor. If you are just owning everything in sight and do not need either of these for the tank then grab another Bloodthirster or .

I realize that this build does not get sheen/trinity until late game if at all. Please try the build before you flame about how good it is on Gangplank. It is a great item, but it is expensive and not needed in this build. By endgame you will have morphed from a support with a ranged nuke to primarily a melee carry (still with a ranged nuke of course). With two Phantom Dancers you will be unkillable 1v1 and insane during team fights.

You can begin harassing with early on depending on who you are up against. If I am laning against someone who can out harass me I will simply focus on last hitting creeps with . Play it somewhat safe to begin with while still assisting your lanemate, and get good at last hitting. Most of your kills will come mid/late game.

Mid game you will be looking for opportune moments to pop your ult to ensure kills. Keep farming and watch for ganks. Use Teleport to be present at tower pushes for . This and your Ultimate make you a great offensive support mid game. You will often have far more assists than kills by the end of the mid game.

Late game you should have at least one Phantom Dancer. You are now a melee carry and are crazy good at clearing creep waves in seconds. Use your Ult to defend towers and participate in team battles that are far away. This allows you to farm/push while helping your team own a team battle. Obviously if your presence is needed then prioritize teamwork over farming your gear. Target enemies who are alone as you can solo most champs at this point. No one should be able to escape you with two Phantom Dancers, Raise Morale, and Frozen Mallet (not to mention the new grog-soaked blade). If your game has gone well and you have farmed all your gear you will be an incredible carry.

Thank you for reading my guide and I hope you enjoy!