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Choose Champion Build:
Spells:
Exhaust
Flash
Ability Order
Perseverance (PASSIVE)
Garen Passive Ability
Introduction
Garen has been one of my favorite champions since I started playing the game, but none of the guides I've found for him so far really appealed to my playstyle, so instead, I decided to make my own build(s) and refine them as I go.
First off, a little disclaimer: all of this is very much work-in-progress. I myself am a fairly new player, I don't play ranked games (yet) and I play mainly in a premade group with friends, so your mileage may vary with any of these builds.
There are four different builds I use with Garen:
- Build 1 is my standard build, Balance Garen. This build's focus is CDR and it balances between damage and survivability, making it a great all-round choice.
- Build 2 is Anti-Tank Garen, if my team is lacking tank killing power, this is what I'll play.
- Build 3 is Tank Hybrid Garen, this build focuses on Survivability and only ramps up it's damage toward the mid-late game. A great choice as an off-tank.
- Build 4 is Chaser Garen, if my team doesn't have an AD Carry, I can use this to turn Garen into a pseudo-carry and a scary chaser.
If you like the builds or the guide, please feel free to comment and / or vote.
Pros:
- Great survivability
- Consistently high damage
- Very adaptible, with many possible playstyles
- Strong in both single target and AoE
- No mana
Cons:
- Prone to being kited
- Very item dependant
- Depending on build, can be almost entirely dependant on cooldowns for damage
With my builds I try to eliminate as many of the cons as possible while playing to Garen's strengths. My builds tend to focus on CDR while increasing overall damage output and survivability.
- Garen has no mana, the only thing stopping him spamming his abilities, are the cooldowns.
- Garen is not designed as an auto-attack AD Carry like


- At 40% CDR,

- Lowering the cooldown on

Granted, you may not be able to hit 40% CDR every single game. Sometimes, items like




The Masteries are very deliberatly chosen to play up to certain major strengths with Garen: Movement and Cooldown Reduction.
Sinking 19 points into Utility allows me to grab an extra 6% CDR and 3% Movement Speed bonus right away at level 1, with the items I build, that 6% CDR provides the final boost needed to get me to 40%. For a champion like Garen, who is so dependant on cooldowns, that's a huge boost right away. The movement speed bonus lets me be mobile from the very start and also reduces the need to rush tier 2 boots, which allows me time to check my enemies and their item choices before selecting my boots, in some cases that can be a major advantage to have.
If you want, you could move the 4 points from



But why not 9/0/21? Personally, I don't feel the last couple of points in Utility would give me any huge advantages, while moving them to Offense lets me max out the all-important Sunder for additional ArP. This is purely personal preference though.
And of course, you can easily play Garen with other builds such as 21/0/9; 21/9/0; 9/21/0 or even 0/21/9. Just understand that each mastery tree will give you different strengths and weaknesses, and choose or adapt your build accordingly.
As an example, any of the above builds can be played as 21/0/9 or 21/9/0, and the third and fourth builds - Hybrid Garen and Chaser Garen - gain stronger early game dominance with 21 points in the Defense tree.
Masteries are very flexible and largely up to personal taste. Utility is the one that works best for me most of the time, but I'm not afraid to change them around if I have to. After all, Riot lets us save 10 different Mastery pages at a time!
You'll note I take 9 Greater Mark of Desolation in every build, this is simply because in my honest opinion there is no other choice here for Garen. All of his spammable abilities deal physical damage, and increasing that damage or crit chance does nothing if you can't get past their armor. This also ensures that at lv 1 you're probably already tearing through most if not all of your enemy's armor, unless they start with a defensive item.
I choose Greater Seal of Vigor for a couple of reasons: Firstly, it gives me a great early game and allows me to lane very effectively all the way up to level 6 or 7 without needing to blue pill every few seconds. Secondly, it has fantastic synergy with Garen's passive, granting massive health regeneration from a very early stage. I don't feel that this choice sets me back too far defensively as Garen's passive ability

Other solid choices here are




For glyphs I prefer to stick with


The Quints are probably the most flexible, almost any type of Quint is great for Garen. Here are some possibilities:

Greater Quintessence of Desolation - as with the ArP Marks, these provide a huge increase to Garen's damage output






Main Choices


I'll almost always use these two on Garen. Exhaust lets me push out easy kills on enemies that might otherwise get away while Flash allows me to tower dive and be aggressive and then Flash away to safety, or to avoid skill shots, or to escape ganks... Flash is just so versatile, I fell in love with it as soon as I unlocked it.
Other Choices





These are a bit more situational.
If you're using something like the Chaser Garen build above,












Similarly,



Avoid






All of these spells are good and have their uses - just not for Garen.







I like to take




As far as






And

In general, the priority list will look like this:
>
>
>
Always start with



The exact order will depend on your situation:
- If your opponent is melee consider grabbing

- When laning against a caster, prioritize



- If you're being fed and in little danger, maximize your damaging abilities before focusing on






-

- If you're being fed and just dominating your opponent, or if they're playing a champ with high mobility, consider grabbing

- If the enemy team has mainly AD Champions, get yourself a

- If they have little to no CC or their CCs are slows, and you need additional damage, grab


You'll want to grab an





Pros:
- Consistently high damage throughout the match
- Good survivability
- Great laner
- Easy to adapt the item build to the situation
Cons:
- Not as much survivability as a tankier build
- Slowest Atk Speed
- Cooldown dependant, CDR items are a must
Early Game
Start with a


This is mostly personal preference, I usually make my choice based on who I think I'll be laning against or where I'm laning: in mid I prefer the Blade so I can be more aggressive, while in Top or Bottom I prefer the Shield to give me staying power.
If all goes well and you're holding your lane, you should be able to stay out until level 6 or 7, at level 6 you should try and push a kill with

If you have to return to base early, pick up

Once you BP back, prioritize



Head back into lane and continue to push your opponent. If you're in mid, pay attention in case your team needs help, otherwise, just keep laning.
If you were unable to buy all the items at once last time, blue pill back once you have enugh gold for your next item.
Finish early game with your

Mid-Game
Get a


With the Ghostblade up, start looking for ganking opportunities and co-ordinate with your team for fights and tower pushes.
Wrap up your mid-game with

Late Game
Depending on how good you and your opponents are, or how aggressively you tower push, you may not even reach this point.
Regardless, get


For very long games, you can also sell whatever Doran's item you picked to grab one last item. See the list of situational items below for possibilities.

Pros:
- Crushes other champions in the mid-late game
- Great ganker and initiator
Cons:
- Weaker early game than the basic build
- Very item dependant, less flexible item build
- Expensive items, can be difficult to build up if you're being pushed hard
Early Game
Start out with


Once your health pots are exhausted, BP back and get


As before, continue to lane until around level 6-7, then return for


Finish your early game with

Mid-Game
Rush


At this point, you should be looking almost exclusively for opportunites to kill Champions. Grab wards if needed and co-ordinate with your team for ganks.
Wrap up your mid-game with a

Late Game
This should be more or less a continuation of your mid-game. Continue to gank, initiate teamfights if there's no tank doing it and keep building into your final two items.





This time, I choose Greater Seal of Vitality and Greater Quintessence of Vitality to support

Pros:
- Massive Health pool
- High late game damage
- Great initiator
Cons:
- Can be easy to counter
- Vulnerable to Anti-Tank builds
- Weakest damage in the early-mid game
Early Game
Take note of your opponent's Champions and which could potentially be tank killers. Their item choices will influence yours.
Start out with a

If you have to return early, prioritize

Grab




Finish early game with



Mid-Game
First, take a moment to try and get a look at any dangerous Champions you had noted earlier. Are any of them building particular anti-tank gear? If one of them is building







If everything's fine, continue with the build as listed.
Keep laning with your partner, or solo if they left to gank. Build into


Get your

Late Game
By now you'll have either pushed your lane up, or you'll be fighting exclusively with the rest of your team. Save up for an


If you had to avoid Warmog's Armor due to anti-tank shenanigans, consider getting

Pros:
- Scary damage
- Fastest run speed
- Amazing ganker, very mobile
Cons:
- Squishiest build
Thornmail will wreck you
Early Game
Try to lane with someone reliable. If you must go solo, try to get mid and play carefully, for now farming is more important than kills.
Start with



Grab



Mid-Game
Gank, gank, gank!
Use your superior speed to stay mobile, switching lanes and dropping wards as needed.
Aim to be killing someone every single time



End your mid-game with

Late Game
Finish up with


Utilize Brush and Fog Of War when joining team fights, wait for your tank to initiate then rush straight for the main target. Be aware of heavy damage Ultimates like


Damage Items

If you find yourself struggling to gain early game control, or you didn't take



If enemy mages are giving you grief early on, this is an easy and cost efficient solution. Solid stats and a decent passive that can turn the tables and net you a kill if they open up heavily on you right away.

When you're getting fed a lot,


Although it has mana regen,


This is the best item to pick up if you need CC reduction but don't want to sacrifice the CDR from


This item is a great choice for Anti-Tank Garen, increasing survivability while adding an


If you're being heavily harrassed and having trouble farming, consider building one instead of




Again, if you were unable to take


Remember what I said about Garen's lack of an ability that makes Atk Speed better? This item provides that, and goes great with the Anti-Tank or Chaser builds.

If you're trying to be aggressive but mages are annoying you, this is the one to take. Great when laning against the likes of


Defensive Items
Here's a list of the items to aim for in the above Tanking build if you can't go into Warmog's:









Choose items from this list to replace the Warmog's and Atma's portions of the above build based on your situation. If they only have a single Champion that deals high damage to targets with lots of health, then grab

Other good defensive items are:

Let's you disintegrate minion waves. Great if your job is to push a lane up.

Adds survivability as well as CDR, an all-round solid item.

I know it's in the list above, but it deserves special mention in regards to the Anti-Tank and Chaser builds as it lets you drop a free ward every few minutes. Keep this in mind if your team is having trouble with warding.
Buffs
The only creature buff you should really be concerned with on Garen is the Lizard buff. Grabbing it early provides you with a much-needed slow, allowing you to harass much more effectively. Try and get it between levels 8 and 10 while working towards

You CAN take the blue buff from the Ancient Golem if somehow literally no-one else on your team needs it, but all it does for you is cooldown reduction. Keep it in mind if you want to deny the enemy team from getting it.
Consumables
Grab



During the early-mid game, if you find yourself being pushed back a lot, stock up on


Wards
It's generally a good idea to always carry at least 1-2 wards at all times when you have an item slot free.
While laning, use them to ward your own lane to prevent ganks and while ganking use them to keep an eye on the lane while you're away from it.
If playing the Chaser build and your team has no jungler, you should be the one warding the river and neutral buffs since your superior run speed will make it fairly easy for you to do while looking for ganks.

Perseverance is a strong passive that allows Garen to lane very effectively, and also helps top you up if you're switching between lanes to set up ganks. It has great synergy with any other forms of health regen you can get since just a few seconds out of combat will allow Garen to regen most or all of his health back. Playing aggressively to force your lane opponent back will allow you to sit back and regen health without ever having to blue pill.

Decisive Strike can be a game changing ability, in both 1v1 situations and teamfights, however using it effectively requires a little forethought. Even with the speed boost, you shouldn't just pop it to dash up to enemy casters like


One of my favorite abilities and the main reason to play Garen aggressively. Try to last hit things as much as possible to build up stacks on this, if you're laning with someone ask them to let you get last hits in until its fully stacked. Courage's active should be used often in order to lower incoming damage, particularly when fighting someone in or around their minion line; or if you're the one initiating team fights. It can also be used for Tower Diving, just make sure you have a Flash or something else ready to get you back out again. You can even use it when you know a gank is coming, if you think you can turn the tables or just to stay alive long enough to run away.

Hands-down my favorite ability on Garen, and definitely the thing you should be grabbing at lv 1 every time. Judgment has so many uses:
-
- Punch a few minions to get their health down then Judgment the whole lot for multiple last hits at low levels.
- Harass your lane opponent with its high damage output or punish them for overcomitting: a full judgment hit even at lv 1 can outright kill some champions.
- Use it to cut through the first row of minions then position yourself between the melee minions and the ranged minions to farm both at the same time
- If you find yourself chasing someone and you can speed ahead of them, try using Judgment just in front of them: if they keep running forwards they're almost certainly going to die, and even if they try to run back or to the sides, you can still move with them.
- You can even use Judgment to initiate on champions and minion waves if your job is to act as a tank for one of your carrys, setting up easy kills for them.

Garen's Ultimate, and one of the most devastating single-target Ultimates in the game. You should use this ability often, practically on cooldown, but there are some ground rules you should be aware of:
-
- NEVER initiate with Demacian Justice. Should be pretty obvious, but you'd be surprised how many people make this mistake, especially new players or those new to Garen.
- Try to use it when you're at range of an opponent - such as when they're running away. Garen is a melee champion and this is his only real ranged attack, if someone's nearly dead and still in melee range of you, why waste Demacian Justice on them?
- As a follow-up to the above, pay attention when the match is loading to what Summoner Spells your opponents have. If you're fighting someone with Flash it's better to drop your Ultimate for a guaranteed kill than have them Flash away.
- Pay attention to shields and be aware of any healers on the enemy team - don't waste Demacian Justice if it's going to get eaten up by a shield or heal.
- In teamfights, choose your targets carefully. Demacian Justice should be used to murder any Carrys or Supporters that are low on health, don't waste it on Tanks unless everything else is already dead or gone and you're just mopping up.
- DON'T use it just to killsteal from your teammates! Unless you're playing with a bunch of friends or have a valid need for kills and your teammates are aware of this (i.e. if you've been getting spanked by your lane opponent - an underfed and itemless Garen is a joke). That being said, if it looks like the opponent might escape, it's better to drop a Demacian Justice on them and risk being called a killstealer than let them get away - kind of a 'damned if you do, damned if you don't' situation.
Updates:
24th July 2011 - Updated some of the info and clarified a few things.
Things to add
- Screenshots! The EU server split just happened and at the moment it's almost impossible to launch practice games to get some informative screenshots. Once I get some i'll get them added.
- Guide for Warding as Garen. I consider this important, as many people STILL don't ward even their own lanes in the games I play. Again, once I can launch some practice games to get the screen caps, they'll be added.
- Gameplay videos. This one's actually cos of my PC, i'm hoping to upgrade it soon and then I should be able to get some nice vids from my games.
- Match results / ranked play section. As I said, I'm a fairly new player, so if anyone wants to leave their match results from normal or ranked play for me to post, go ahead!
- Overall tidying up. This is my first Mobafire guide so I'm still learning how to make them look better. I'll keep improving the look and flow of the guide whenever I can.
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