This is just a fun WIP guide for people who either feel hardstuck/are new to hecarim as personally the recommended build is what suits me most.
If you're new to Hecarim or generally League of Legends please try the eclipse Black Clear build, you can find it on huncho's Guide (the goat)

Also lmk how this feels in comments, im curious what other people think

Link to Huncho's Guide: [its really the perfect in-depth guide compared to what's presented here]
https://www.mobafire.com/league-of-legends/build/25-s1-8-challenger-hecarim-build-guide-by-huncho1v9-636454

This guide is built around Phase Rush Hecarim, focusing on tempo, damage, and mobility, avoiding tank items while maximizing your ability to dive, sustain, and reset fights.

Runes: Phase Rush + Precision Secondary Core Build Path
Primary (Sorcery):

1.Standard Build (Most Games)
Phase Rush – Essential for sticking to targets and disengaging.

Nimbus Cloak – Provides a burst of speed after using Ghost or Smite, perfect
for chase potential.

Celerity – Enhances all movement speed bonuses, making your build even stronger.

Waterwalking – Gives extra speed and AP/AD in the river, boosting early scuttle fights and mobility.
Secondary (Precision):

Legend: Haste – Provides extra needed Ability Haste.
Triumph – Offers sustain on takedowns, ensuring you can keep fighting.

Mercury's treads - Heavy cc and decent ap (usually build t1 boots + item before going for merc's)
Ionian boots - Usual go to if lacking AH in build
Boots of Swiftness (swifties) - Its good if you need anti-slow, t3 passive is good with heca (gain 5% of ms equal to adaptive force) as it works like heca's passive.

Itemization Details: Post-Serylda’s/Black Cleaver

Core Build (Default, Most Games)


Ionian Boots – Lowers ability cooldowns and helps with fight tempo (becomes huge if winning fights).

Hubris – The most powerful synergy with Hecarim right now. It gives damage, sustain, and movement speed after ult, allowing for aggressive plays.

Spear of Shojin – Grants ability haste, allowing faster Q spam while providing bonus movement speed after using abilities.

Serylda’s Grudge or Black Cleaver (Situational, see below)

Death’s Dance – A defensive item that provides healing and converts burst damage into a bleed effect, allowing you to sustain in fights.

Maw of Malmortius – Strong against AP threats; provides a lifeline shield and omnivamp.

Once you’ve built Hubris, Shojin, and Serylda’s Grudge (or Black Cleaver), your last two slots should focus on damage-oriented items that enhance survivability without going full tank. Here are the best options:

Damage-Oriented Options:


Opportunity – Grants movement speed and lethality after damaging an enemy. Great for chasing down squishy targets.

Edge of Night – Provides a spell shield, protecting against CC that could hinder your engages.

Youmuu’s Ghostblade – Boosts movement speed, ideal for split-pushing and roaming.



Survivability Items:


Sterak’s Gage – Provides AD and a shield against burst damage, keeping you alive in skirmishes.

Death’s Dance – Adds sustain and anti-burst with the bleed effect, allowing Maw/Sterak to stack on top.

Maw of Malmortius – Provides an omnivamp passive upon activation, including magic resist and extra AD.

Shojin Grudge (Recommended; Best Default unless building Hubris)

Spear of Shojin + Serylda’s Grudge (Best Default Core)
Serylda’s Grudge: Provides armor penetration for burst damage and slows enemies on ability hits, making it easier to stick to targets.
Shojin Black Cleaver (If Facing More Tanky Enemies)

Spear of Shojin + Black Cleaver
Black Cleaver: Provides armor shred over time, making it better against bruisers
or tanks than Serylda’s burst penetration. It also grants extra movement speed
when damaging enemies, which synergizes well with Hecarim’s kit.
Axiom Bruiser (More Tankiness and Sustain in Fights)

Axiom + Black Cleaver + Shojin + Death’s Dance + Maw
This build is more forgiving, focusing on sustain while still dealing damage. Ideal when you need durability in team fights and when the game is scaling late.



Serylda’s Grudge vs. Black Cleaver:

Serylda’s Grudge → Best against squishy teams or enemies with low to moderate armor. The slow also helps stick to targets.
Black Cleaver → Better against tanky compositions, as it shreds armor over time and grants extra movement speed when attacking.

Alternative Item Options
Lethality Path (For Snowball Games)

Hubris + Spear of Shojin + Opportunity + Ghostblade + Edge of Night
If you’re extremely ahead and the enemy team is squishy, going full lethality can allow you to one-shot carries.
-Opportunity enhances your movement speed after damaging enemies, while Ghostblade allows for quicker roams.
-Edge of Night provides a spell shield to avoid crucial CC.
Serpent's Fang: Boosts damage against squishy targets with lethality and extra damage to shielded champions. This item enhances Hecarim's burst potential, making you a lethal backline diver.

Bruiser-Like Build Approach (If You’re Being Focused by Hard AP/AD)
Hubris + Black Cleaver + Maw + Spirit Visage + Shojin
-This build keeps you alive while still dealing damage if you need to survive burst damage.
-Maw provides a magic shield, while Spirit Visage enhances healing from your kit and items.

Hubris + Shojin + Black Cleaver + Death’s Dance + Sterak’s
-If you need to survive AD burst, this build functions similarly to the hard AP one but against AD threats.
-Death’s Dance adds survivability while Sterak’s grants health, tenacity, and additional AD upon passive activation.

Start: Gustwalker Smite
First Back: Lucidity Boots + Long Sword (or Pickaxe if rich and going for Shojin or if you want to go meta which would be Eclipse)
Mid-Game Focus: Hubris rush into Shojin/Serylda or Shojin/Cleaver

Summary & Playstyle Focus
Mid to Late Game: You are a backline diver; aim for squishy targets. Focus on diving the backline, using Phase Rush to engage and disengage effectively.
Use Ult Wisely: Either engage with Onslaught of Shadows (Hecarim's ultimate) or hold it to counter-burst damage.
Pick the Right Core When Needed: Adapt your items based on your situation; build Serylda’s for burst or Cleaver for extended fights.
Adapt Items Based on Enemy Composition: If facing CC-heavy teams, build Tenacity and Maw; if against squishies, go for lethality. Use Cleaver for longer team fights.
Always Keep Tempo: Hecarim thrives on momentum—stay ahead by farming, invading, and forcing fights when you have an item lead.

Sundered Sky/Axiom Arc Core

High Burst Damage Potential: Sundered Sky and Axiom Arc allow Hecarim to deal significant burst damage, especially to squishy targets. This increases your ability to eliminate enemy carries quickly, changing the outcome of fights.
Synergy with Playstyle: These items enhance Hecarim's mobility, enabling quick dives into the enemy backline. The cooldown reduction helps you engage and disengage effectively.

Adaptation to Enemy Composition: If the opposing team lacks tanks or crowd control, a burst build can be more effective. Prioritizing damage can outshine the utility of Hubris in such scenarios.

Rotational Power and Snowballing: When ahead, focusing on lethality allows you to snowball your lead. You can maintain pressure and take down vulnerable targets with ease.

Countering Specific Threats: If the enemy team is particularly squishy, Sundered Sky can help you exploit their weaknesses. Capitalizing on this can lead to a quicker victory than a balanced build might offer.

Youmuu's Blade Core + Situational Itemization
Youmuu's Ghostblade, Sundered Sky, Opportunity, and Serylda's Grudge. This setup boosts your damage/burst and mobility, bringing that s13 heca assasin vibes.
Items depending on the situation + explanation:

Core Items:
Youmuu's Ghostblade: Increases movement speed and lethality for effective roaming and burst damage.
Sundered Sky: Delivers high burst damage, perfect for taking down squishy targets quickly.
Opportunity: Grants lethality + passive lethality totaling at 26 whilst takedown's grants 200 decaying movementspeed.
Serylda’s Grudge: Provides armor penetration and slows enemies, allowing you to stick to your targets.

Situational Item Options:

Profane Hydra: Great for that extra burst, lethality and ability haste if you feel like you lack all that.

Edge of Night: Ideal against heavy crowd control; the spell shield helps you survive CC and engage safely.

Guardian Angel: A lifesaver if you’re being focused; it gives you a second chance in team fights.

Serpent's Fang: Effective against shield-heavy teams, boosting your damage while cutting through their defenses.


Youmuu's Ghostblade, Sundered Sky, Opportunity, and Serylda's Grudge creates a powerful burst core. Your last item based on the enemy composition to maximize your impact in fights. Adaptability is key