Welcome, to the Headless Horseman Hecarim Guide. Why do you ask, that this is called the headless horseman? Well you see, when I think headless horseman, fear, curls down my spine. A chilling shiver and the realization that, I am in trouble... The Headless Horseman is fearsome, and is unstoppable.

I have to apologize in advanced though. I am not too good at BB codes or making guides, for that matter, so please bare with me. I am fairly new to this.

First off, the runes. The reason why I have chosen to go mostly armor penetration?Greater mark of desolation

This is pretty self explanatory. More armor means taking less damage from the jungle, not to mention from those pesky AD carries.

I go with cooldown reduction so I can cast my Rampage much faster.

Greater quintessence of desolation And again, more armor penetration.

The thing I like about having 25 armor penetration, is being ablue to dish out insane damage early game. Hecarim can spam his Q quite fast when played properly, not only are you dishing out heavy damage, but you are setting yourself up to sustain that damage late game.

As you know, this is a jungle guide, so we start off with cloth armor and 5 health potions. I Finish Madred's Razors first, then purchase my Boots, and after, build into Wriggle's Lantern. Boots of Swiftness, followed by The Brutalizer, Giant's Belt and Trinity Force. Then I go Sunfire Aegis, Maw of Malmortius and then late game I sell My brutalizer for a Last Whisper.

Why get ? It's a great cost effective damage item, plus the cooldown is very nice.. It lets me build a bit tanky, after and still manage to dish out some great damage.

VS.
The reason I go with sunfire, is for that extra bit of armor. I want to be able to take more damage, not to mention its passive, which goes great with Spirit of Dread.
If I were to build an Then I would most likely go with Warmogs.

This is perfect with Hecarim. You are able to spam your Q quite fast, and adding that extra bit of attack damage with your regular attacks, really boosts up your damage. This item is a must.

This item is what gives us our magic resist. It's not a whole lot, but it helps, along with that nice 400 magic shield you get. Not to mention the nice attack Damage.

I sell my brutalizer to gain this item as my last. It's got my armor penetration and damage. It helps late game when your enemy team builds up some armor, you'll just soak right through it.

Why do I get these? Instead of Ionians, or mobility? Or even Merc Treads!? I'll tell you. With the flat 3 move speed, it allows me to be extremely fast, especially early game. Helps me gank, and helps me stay close enough to my enemies so I can spam my Rampage. Not to mention the nice attack damage you gain with it, through his passive.

If the team is heavy CC, I will however, end up building . I have had to do this in some cases, and by all means does not affect your ganking powers at all. In fact, a lot of people would suggest this, because the Tenacity helps you shrug off any slows or stuns on you. Not to mention the built in Magic resist, which is always nice.

His passive is amazing. He walks through minions and gains attack damage based on his bonus movement speed? This is just too great.. This enables him to be an even stronger ganker, and gives him an advantage while running as well.

I see a lot of people use the term, "Bread and butter" skill. And quite frankly, this is Hecarim's. It does great damage, especially with our armor penetration, and when used properly, can be spammed. This spell is awesome because the more you use it, the faster you can activate it again, to a cap.

This spell is ok.. It's not over powered, but it does help.. It helps with the jungle, as well as getting that last bit of damage you may to to kill a champ.

This ability is absolutely amazing. It's what makes his ganks so strong. Try coming in behind the champs, and smashing them towards your ally's. This move also works great with his ultimate, in trying to catch up to an enemy.

This ultimate is absolutely incredible. The range, the damage, the utility is unmatched! Try landing this just a tad behind your enemy, so you can push them towards your ally's or away from their tower.

Hecarim was reletively easy for me to pick up. Rampage is going to be your main damage out put. If you are laning as him, try not to over use this skill. You will run out of mana quickly. Instead, last hit minions, and save up on mana. When you want to harass him, start to charge up your rampage's passive, that way, when you engage, you will be able to get this skill off more. Charge in, the hit him a few times with your Rampage, and try to keep his HP about half.. Once you hit level 6, your damage is insane. At this point, your enemy should have low enough health, get your rampage ready, then ult in, slightly behind your enemy, and push them away from their tower, or the direction their tower is in. You can activate you Rampage during your ult, as well as during Devastating Charge. Always remember to use this when attacking an enemy. I know it can be annoying, or you may forget, but don't! This is your bread and butter. Always remember to use Spirit of Dread when engaging, it will help you get a bit of HP back, as well as damage the enemy.

I tend to initiate every fight as hecarim. His is great at it. Ult in and target a squishy. Be a ranged Carry or an ap nuke. Try and fear them towards your ally's and make quick work of them. Don't be afraid to initiate either. you'll have plenty of armor, and health. Not to mention the shield from Maw of Malmortius.

Start at wolves. Ask an ally to help damage them a bit, then head right over to blue buff. You will need it because he does tend to run out of mana fast, when spamming is Rampage. Then head over to the wraiths, and golem brothers. By this time you should have a few health pots, and smite back up. Go take red, then see if there is a viable ganking opportunity. Hecarim's early ganking is very good, and he dishes out some nice damage. Dragon is somewhat difficult for Hecarim, so I advise getting help if you choose to take him. Again, rinse and repeat, invade the enemy jungle when you can, and gank. He is a very fast jungle. One of the fastest in my opinion. My only issue is is sustain.

Pros
Fast Jungler
Insane damage
Strong ganks
Great survivability
Tanky DPS
Bad *** Half horse

Cons
Runs out of mana fast
Somewhat hard sustain in jungle
Lacks a lot of CC
Skins look the same.

The Reason why I go 21 offense instead of defense, is to do that damage. My build already enables me to survive pretty well, so I need to do everything I can to max out my damage output. You are not technically a tank, you dish out tons of damage as well.. So you may get focused quite a bit. But with these masteries you should be able to easily survive, and take out enemies faster than they can kill you.

Considering this is a Jungle Guide, smite is pretty mandatory. Although there are some champions who do not need smite, Hecarim, definitly does.

Ghost is an excellent choice. It lets you gank, and keep up with your enemies, and allowing you to maintain hitting them with your Q.

Other Viable Summoners.

Flash is good too, allowing you to escape if you need to, or just surprising the enemy by flashing in right behind them, or letting you get away from a tower shot, if you dive someone.

Ignite is ok too. It can help you get in that last bit of damage needed to kill the enemy. But getting smite will reduce your fleeing tactics.

If you decide to solo top as Hecarim, this is not a bad choice in summoner spells. You'll be able to stay in lane longer, as well as travel fast across the map to help gank and secure kills. I do not recommend this, if you are jungling though.

If you are a confident Hecarim player, this could be an excellent choice. If you feel like you don't need flash or ghost to get away from ganks, then exhaust can help immensely.


NON VIABLE SPELLS

Why in earth would you need this spell? Let your support take it XD

I know Hecarim has some mana issues, but you still do NOT need this spell. There are much better choices. And with blue buff floating around, I am sure you will not have too many issues. Plus, with all the damage you do, you won't need to spam your Q quite as much, thus, using less mana and prohibiting the need for this spell.

If you are really having problems with CC, feel free to trade up your Boots of Swiftness for some mercury treads. There is no need to waste a spell on cleanse.

If you have yet to notice, Hecarim is very powerful. When played properly He decimates entire teams. His ganks are unmatched. And his looks, are quite fearsome. I am sure a lot of you have seen a Hecarim, in every game. But this build by far, is the best I have seen. I know I am obligated to say that, but it is TRUE. Remember to try and keep your Rampage up. It's a great skill and probably one of the best out there.

I have played 7 games with him, and have used this build EVERY time. To the wire. I have yet to lose a game. I wish I knew how to post a custom picture, because I would, and show you guys!

As you are well aware I have not made a ton of guides. I know this could have been a bit better, but I am honest, I have spent a lot of time on this! I am just not quite as creative, or talented as others, but still felt the need to get my build out there for people, so others can feel powerful.

And helpful, and kind criticism is always welcome. If this build becomes popular, I am willing to put in the extra extra effort to make this guide even better! But I need help, so let me know what I can improve on!

There are no updates as of yet, but I am making this section just in case. I want you all to know what I have improved with this guide, and what item changes I have made.