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Gnar Build Guide by

Gnar - The Little Monster - In Depth Guide Patch 7.10

Updated on

9.5

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Build Guide By 62 8

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48 Comments

62 8

2,451,299 Views

48 Comments

Gnar Build Guide By Updated on

Guide Discussion (48) More Gnar Guides

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(2) |

Hey nice guide, found a load of good tips. I will definitely play gnar in the future when he is available. :)

Hey, The match up versus Jayce is missing? Yea, he got still played.

Hi! Excellent guide! I just have a question: can u add Riven to the possible matchups? TY

(2) |

Can you put a lane matchup against Vayne? I just had that matchup and it was awful. She had ignite plus rushed BOTRK and it was a hell of a matchup. She has longer AA range so it's hard to poke with my WW, and she was able to dodge my Q's pretty easily. She even would dive me under turret going all in but I managed to escape...Hecarim stole my kill the turret was going to give me on her -.- He was ksing everyone...Anyhow, it would be really useful if you could put that in. Thanks!

Where's the match up versus Trundle? He's mostly played in low elos nowadays.

(8) |

Whoops! How did I forget that one. I'll definitely try and add it in Tomorrow when I get some free time!

Well since i main Gnar i think you should use in masteries thunderlord decree and from items 1.Black cleavel 2.Frozen Mallet 3.Maw 4.Steraks Gage 5.Omens or BOTRK depends if you want more damage and 6.Boots of swiftness the reason i take thunderlord is the amazing synergy with Gnar's W ability,3 AA equals W's damage+thunderlord just scares enemy's...

(8) |

Thanks for the input! I actually have a video highlighting the thunderlord route in the masteries section. I think it is a viable route based off of your playstyle. I made the guide with builds and masteries that work in both good and bad matchups, so that new players can learn Gnar easier before trying riskier playstyles. I still prefer grasp route because I can trade and heal up in lane and it scales with health. The main problem with thunderlord is you win harder, but also lose harder. Grasp let's you also win more when ahead, but helps you stay alive when you are behind.

Why not go black clever into a maw if you going against an ap top laner i mean you don't get the ap resistance like spirit visage but you get the extra attack damage to still be able to out trade your full tank opponent. For example I just played an ekko who i was heavily beating after an early countergank. finished black cleaver and went right into maw and still was able to punish him. It could of been just a lucky matchup or better skill but I was just wondering if you think it would be viable in the future?

(8) |

Generally you want to build to survive/out-trade your lane opponent when deciding what to build. If they are going full tank, building a full-tank resist item isn't as necessary. If you want damage, you can go hexdrinker first, then go cleaver. Hexdrinker gives you dueling against AP champions; you get attack damage and resist with a shield passive. In the case of a full tank, they tend to rush resists, so instead of finishing MAW, you can go for cleaver to cut through that, and then finish maw after. If you are winning lane it is generally advisable to keep building hybrid/bruiser instead of tank to keep your lead. So items that give damage/health or damage/resists are best in your scenario. Cleaver, Maw, Frozen Mallet are all good items to build when ahead.

Great guide!

I have a question: If you are vs an AP top laner with an AD mid, what would the optimal build path be? According to your "AP langer" build, you would want to build Hex and Cowl early, but do you finish them and then build armor/Black Cleaver? Aren't you very low on damage and armor for a very long time?

Would love to hear your thoughts on this.

(8) |

It very highly depends on how the game is going. If the top laner is magic damage it depends on if they are a tank, mage, or assassin. Is your win condition team fighting or skirmishes? you have a variety of choices. If their team is better at teamfighting, continue to build for your lane by either finishing Hexdrinker into a MAW for more damage, or Cowl into Visage/Banshees for tankiness. This changes if their AD mid laner starts popping off and getting fed. IF their mid is fed, you will want to build for him.

The General rule for building is this. Surviving Lane>Strongest enemy champion>Team win condition>Winning Lane

Can you survive the lane? If so, you don't need to be tankier for the lane. Is the enemy AD/Jungle/Mid fed? If so build tankier if you expect them in your lane/fighting to happen sooner than expected. Will my team win teamfights? If so build for overall team composition. If not, build for a split push/2v2 scenario so you can win skirmishes. Then build to beat your lane opponent if it comes down to 1v1 only.

Awesome guide! I've been playing Gnar for a few months and I still like him!
What do you think of adding a sneaky 1% crit chance to runes?

(8) |

That is completely personal preference and is up to the player! I don't have that in the guide simply because it is targeted towards players who haven't much experience with Gnar. Once you have experience with Gnar and have a feel for his damage, trying out different runes is definitely what I recommend to fit your playstyle! I don't do crit runes because I like to have consistent damage and performance, but if you like a higher risk-reward playstyle then a crit rune will do just fine!

Hey! I typically run with both actually. The only reason I take Spirit Visage over the Warmogs is both a mixture of personal preference and the healing from Darius' Q. Going back to with the "you will definitely not have both Black Cleaver and Mallet finished", I only meant to take one of the two. The Mallet I typically take when facing a more heave AD team and need to tank more than do damage, while the Cleaver is more for early damage in lane. I hope I understood you and answered that right lol.

(8) |

wrote:

hiya i really like the guide but don't quite understand why you consider spirit visage over warmogs.
normally after building frozen mallet and cleaver warmogs passive can be active.

Warmog's is very situational and best when you can use the passive. Typically you will build Spirit Visage against AP threats, it gives you more CDR for more ultimates, more stuns, and more overall on a champion that isn't mana gated.

Outside of the passive, warmogs doesn't give much and is better suited if you are going full tank. Spirit visage gives you better protection against an AP burst threat, more offense with CDR, costs less, gives you more healing in mega form, and 70MR gives you 70% more effective health against Magic Damage (For every 1000 health you have, they have to deal 700 more magic damage to you to deal the same amount)

Overall it gives you more without requiring you to first purchase other items, making it viable to build first into an AP lane or double/triple AP team. These teams are mid game heavy and you will definitely not have both Black Cleaver and Mallet finished by the time you need the resists.

Warmogs is still good though against low DPS teams late in the game. But you usually have to sacrifice any Magic resist to build it, and low DPS teams all usually deal magic damage. If you are going to replace an item for resist against burst damage, replace Maw with Warmogs. Combined with Spirit visage you get tons of extra healing from both passives and be unkillable against low dps teams.

(8) |

wrote:

best gnar guide
you gived me so many good information not just as playing gnar but as a top laner
it's a really nice guide to new players
i just have a question, do you think thunderlord is good on gnar?

It can be good, but you can't take it into blind match ups like grasp. You typically take Thunderlords in a match up where you can bully hard. If you fall behind with Thunderlords it is much more punishing to play with, and if you are learning Gnar it is better to take grasp first until you know your limits.

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