So. Hecarim. Shiny new champion you just ponied up some serious RP or IP for. Problem is, you want to use him as a jungler, and nobody on Mobafire has posted anything decent for Hecarim outside the realm of solotop. Well, I got sick of that, so now I'm writing this guide so you can jungle Hecarim and not look like a nublet and not get killed by a solo lane tryndamere whenever you attempt to gank top.

Pros:

• AoE Spell Vamp makes jungling a cinch
• Becomes a teamfight powerhouse late game
• Can get all the way across the map in about 15 seconds to help counter ganks
• Decent jungle clear speed
• Can solo blue buff at level 1 if needed (leash is preferred though)

Cons:

• Pretty squishy until you get Warmog's Armor
• Doesn't become a teamfight powerhouse until about 30 minutes

Warpath - This is possibly my favorite passive in the game. This is one half of the reason that Hecarim is viable in the jungle. His incentive to build movespeed allows for very good ganks if you set up Devastating Charge correctly.

Rampage - This is why hecarim clears jungle camps fairly quickly. It is also very effective in teamfights.

Spirit of Dread - This ability is very nice. It's like an AoE Bountiful Harvest. It's very helpful in teamfights and in the jungle.

Devastating Charge - This is the other half of Hecarim's ganks. The knockback is the only CC you have, so you HAVE to be careful to push enemies towards your team and not back to the safety of their turret.

Onslaught of Shadows - This is both an escape ability and an initiation ability. Remember that even if you barely move, the riders will still keep going, so you can deal most of the damage of the ability without endangering yourself.

Smite and Ghost are just about the only summoner spells you would ever want on jungle Hecarim. As a jungler, you need Smite. Without it, you're not jungling, you're roaming. Ghost fits Warpath perfectly. The only other spell I would consider would be Exhaust, and that only because Hecarim's CC is limited.

greater mark of desolation Armor penetration will massively boost your damage output. On almost any AD champ, ArPen runes and AD items work best, because having ArPen early is very useful, and because there are a lot of AD items, and only Last Whisper gives ArPen.

greater seal of vitality With these and your Warmog's Armor, you will be hitting 4000 health at level 18. Fun stuff.

Greater Glyph of Mana Hecarim has mana issues throughout the game. These will allow you to have more sustain and not have to worry about getting caught in a 2v1, manaless and with Ghost on cooldown.

greater QUINTESSENCE of desolation EXPLANATION

Because I focus on building tankiness first and damage later, AD masteries are crucial to be able to have a decent amount of damage output before 35 minutes or so.

I don't get Executioner because it is generally next to useless. I'd much rather have 10gp every time I Smite then have a damage boost to those below 40%. Take it on Warwick, not on Hecarim. I think all the other masteries are fairly self explanatory.

Trinity Force, because the Sheen effect, the movespeed, and the chance to slow are all great for Hecarim.
Warmog's Armor, because you can't be a tanky bruiser without the tank.
Phantom Dancer, because you need more movespeed.

or
Mercury's Treads vs a heavy CC team or a heavy AP team, Boots of Swiftness vs a team without a lot of CC.

The Bloodthirsater and infinty edge both work very well on Hecarim.
Personally, I would get Infinity Edge unless you NEED the lifesteal.

Buy Cloth Armor and 5 health pots.

Start at blue. Get a leash if you can, but it's not necessary. One thing that I see a lot of junglers do is using Smite before Smite can kill the buff. DON'T DO THIS. LAST HIT WITH Smite. Otherwise that Shyvana with simte on the other team will last hit smite and steal your buff. And then you'll have to either give up jungling for that game or have top come down and help kill her, and we don't want that.

Next, go to Wolves. Use Spirit of Dread, then spam Rampage.

Go to Wraiths. Use the same sequence as for Wolves.

Go to red buff. Same sequence, smite it when it's low enough.

Now go gank.

4/23/2012