A Horror Has Arrived On the Fields of Summoner's Rift

Fear the Shadow isles, for it has brought you your worst nightmare. Hecarim is not a champion to be trifled with, and he will cause devastation among enemy ranks. He is the Terror of the Shadow Isles, and he now resides within the thick jungle of Summoner's Rift. Summoners beware, Hecarim is not a kind soul, and to any who dare cross his path, be prepared to meet his true nature. He shows no mercy, a true nightmare within the realm of Valoran.

Welcome to my guide for Hecarim, Terror of the Shadow Isles! Since you are reading my guide, you are undoubtedly interested in playing this wonderful champion. Well, I am here to tell you that you have made a great decision. Hecarim combines elements of a Bruiser, Assassin, and Pure Tank all into one powerful bundle. He has two wonderful initiating abilities, wonderful movement, a passive that works with said movement, and natural resilience to remain in battle for long periods of time. He deals large amounts of AoE damage with two of his abilities, and he has the tankyness to keep him in extended fights. He is a great addition to any team and if played correctly a true nightmare to your opponents, specifically ADCs and Solo Mids.

Keep in mind that no one build is perfect, as a result one needs to keep an open mind when considering his items. This requires a player to have a watchful eye over his enemies, and have the ability and common sense to counter them accordingly. I can guarantee that you will never take the same items every single match, which is why I am here to explain which items work depending on the situation. Anyways, I hope you enjoy reading my guide, as I have enjoyed making it.

I realize that this guide feels like a wall of text. I am inexperienced at making guides here on Mobafire and as a result would love feedback on how I could make the guide more colorful. Pictures of masteries, skills, runes, etc would all be things I would like to add to this guide in the near future.

Powerful Pros!

-Amazing AoE damage output
-Incredible CC abilities
-Large initiating potential
-Can take a huge beating
-Snowballs extremely fast


Unfortunate Cons

-Initiating abilities easily countered through CC
-Large body frame (easily targeted)
-Often focused for some strange reason (shrugs)
-Mediocre clear times compared to other junglers
-Teemo is your worst enemy

Quintessences

Greater Quintessence of Movement Speed: This is my preferred choice as a quintessence for Hecarim. The movement makes ganking, roaming, and initiating easier. It also helps for navigating the jungle. It synergizes with Hecarims passive ability War Path which I will explain in more depth later.

Greater Quintessence of Attack Speed/ Greater Quintessence of Attack Damage: Both of these runes are generally taken for the same reason, hence why I put them together within this guide. These runes aid in faster clear times which is quite useful as a jungle character. The early damage could also be useful for ganks. These are both strong choices for a jungling Hecarim.

Greater Quintessence of Armor Penetration: This rune is most effectively used as a top lane Hecarim due to the extra damage it helps you deal. It is also useful for early game ganks and continues to be useful throughout the match. This is a strong choice as a top lane Hecarim, however, there are better choices when jungling.


Marks

Greater Mark of Attack Speed/ Greater Mark of Attack Damage: The benefits of these marks mirror those of their quintessence cousins. These are great choices for jungling due to how they aid with jungle clearing times. The damage is also useful for ganking. Overall a solid choice.

Greater Mark of Armor Penetration: The go to choice for a top lane Hecarim. Also useful for ganking when playing in the jungle due to the extra damage you are able to deal. Overall a wonderful top lane choice, however, there are better jungling choices.


Seals

Greater Seal of Armor: I honestly believe this is the best choice for Hecarim, period. The added resilience that this rune gives you is invaluable in both jungle and top lane as it allows you to take a larger beating in both roles. As a tanky champion this is truly a must have. However, like I stated earlier, this is not the only choice, simply what I believe to be the best.


Glyphs

Greater Glyph of Magic Resist: A good choice under any circumstance. Magic resist is truly your best friend and its difficult to gain a sufficient amount of it simply through items. This ruin gives you that resistance and is invaluable as a tank based character. Great choice if you plan on ganking mid often or if there is am AP based top opponent.... or both.

My Preferred mastery build focuses on Hecarims strengths. It makes use of the defensive tree mainly and has 21 points in this section. It also utilizes 9 points from the Offensive tree for the final build. Depending on the situation only slight changes need to be made to this build, otherwise it is generally suited to any Hecarim player.

9/21/0


Offensive Tree

Fury : Fury should almost always be taken as an AD bruiser. The attack speed from this mastery aids in regards to jungling, due to its faster clear times. A simple choice for an AD based jungling character, or an AD bruiser top.

Deadliness : Also a fairly self explanatory choice. Damage aids in both clear times and ganking. It does the same job as your damage based ruins. As stated earlier, necessary for an AD based champion.

Weapon Expertise : This is the main purpose for putting points into the offensive mastery tree. Armor penetration is invaluable to any AD based champion, especially to a solo top, or a jungler who ganks often. This also works extremely well with a build based off of Black Cleaver, which I will explain in more depth later.


Defensive Tree

Durability / Veteran's Scars / Juggernaut : All of these masteries serve the same general purpose, hence why they have been grouped together within this guide. More health means that you are a more difficult opponent to kill. This is something that you want as an AD offtank character. You are initiating, often focused, and are often the longest to remain in the fight. You need extra HP to accomplish these tasks.

Tough Skin / Bladed Armor : These are your jungle specific masteries and should never be taken unless you are the jungling character on your team. These masteries aid in your survivability against jungle monsters, and even deals a small amount of damage back to them in return. These are quite necessary with Season 3's jungle, seeing as monsters are much stronger compared to last season.

Hardiness : Armor is a wonderful thing, so why not have more of it. Great for countering AD based champions, and pesky jungle monsters.

Resistance : Magic Resist is also a wonderful thing, however, I dont always take this mastery. This is the mastery that I take as a solo top instead of Tough Skin and Bladed armor. It is exactly 3 points, making it the perfect substitute. I would also consider taking this if you know your opponents are predominantly AP based.

Unyielding / Block / Honor Guard : These all serve the same general purpose, and have been grouped together for that purpose. As a tank you want to tank as little damage as possible, these masteries help to achieve that goal by curbing a large bulk of damage that you will undoubtedly take as an off-tank for your team.


Utility Tree

Wanderer : I decided to make a small note regarding this mastery since it can be useful. It synergizes well with Hecarims passive by providing movement and as a result of his passive, damage. However, I believe this is better achieved through your quintessences and in game items. This is a choice to consider, but not my personal favorite.

Hecarim has a plethora of items that simply work for him. As a result, this allows you to build your champion in order to counter your opponents. This is invaluable to any team, and you will become a contributing factor to any victory if you can properly counter your opponents. In this section I will list a number of items that work well with Hecarim, and when they should be used.

Red Items = Offensive
Blue Items = Defensive
Yellow Items = Cores/Must Haves

Trinity Force: I was honestly considering making an entire chapter dedicated to this item. It is your bread and butter as Hecarim. You will take this item first in almost every imaginable situation. It simply synergizes with Hecarim in almost every single way. It provides both health and mana, attack damage and ability power. It even provides movement which works well with Hecarims passive, War Path. Sheens passive ability is simply overpowered when used with Rampage, dealing damage every single time sheen procs. Considering you will often be chasing champions as well, Phages slow is invaluable to you. It even has a small amount of Crit chance for any build that revolves around Infinity Edge or Atma's Impaler. All around a must have for almost any Hecarim Build.

Sunfire Aegis: I personally feel that this is a must have for any Hecarim build. As an AD based bruiser who deals mainly AoE damage, why not deal more AoE Damage? The passive magic damage that this item provides works extremely well with Spirit of Dread, and allows very easy jungling and farming. It also provides a large output of damage in extended team fights, which is what Hecarim generally specializes in. Add on to all this the fact that this item also provides both health and armor (and a good deal of both) makes this item perfectly suited to Hecarims AoE damaging, tanky play style.

Black Cleaver: Ever since the season three item patch, Black Cleaver has become a very powerful item for any AD bruiser. This item can stuck up to a ***ping total of 45 armor penetration, making it a powerful choice for any AD caster to have. It also provides a fair amount of damage and health. All around an effective choice for any bruiser. truly a powerful item nowadays.

Youmuu's Ghostblade: Considering you build into an avarice blade during early game, Youmuu's Ghostblade is an effective offensive choice for an item. When paired with Black Cleaver you can potentially have a grand total of 65 armor penetration, a frightening number to any champion. It also provides damage, crit chance, CDR, and a useful passive which allows you to chase your opponents more effectively. Overall a great choice for an offensive Hecarim build.

Infinity Edge: This item is useful if you plan on going on a completely aggressive route. Keep in mind that you will be losing much of your resilience that is gained through other possible items by going into this. Take this item if you plan on basing your build almost entirely on critical strikes. It works well with Weapon Mastery, Youmuu's Ghostblade, and Trinity Force. Also consider a Black Cleaver when going on this route.

Bloodthirster: It is very rare that I will ever take this item. I will only ever take it when I find that we are completely dominating the enemy team. This item allows you to snowball at an incredible rate due to its mass amounts of attack damage and life steal. I would honestly never take this item, but it is a possible option for a strictly offensive build.

Randuin's Omen: I take this item almost every single game. It is a powerful item for any tank based champion. It provides large amounts of armor and health and even provides both a passive and an active that slows enemy champions, truly useful for any tanky champion.

Frozen Mallet: If you find that you are having a difficult time surviving, consider taking this item. However, if you take this item, be sure not to take trinity force since the passive slow does not stalk and therefore becomes a useless addition to your build. Provides a fair amount of attack damage, a very large amount of HP, and a useful slow for chasing your opponents. Useful if you find that your trinity force is not providing sufficient survivability.

Warmog's Armor: I don't take this item often, however, it does have its uses. It provides a staggering amount of HP which is good for any tanky champion. However, I feel like the health regeneration is somewhat lost on Hecarim. It can be useful when used with both Sprit of Dread and Spirit Visage, However, I simply dont recommend this option on Hecarim. Despite me saying all this, still a viable option.

Spirit Visage: Only take this if you plan on taking lots of items with regeneration. It is a wonderful item, but it does not do an incredible amount for Hecarim when paired against other items. It does synergize well with Spirit of Dread and Warmog's Armor, however, I feel there are stronger choices when you look at other items.

Maw of Malmortius: A wonderful item to counter AP based champions. If you find that you are having a difficult time dealing with the enemy AP carry, the consider buying this item. It provides a strong amount of Magic Resist while also providing attack damage. It also has two powerful passives, one that gives you extra damage based on the amount of HP you have left, and another that provides you with a shield when you take magic damage that would otherwise kill you. Consider buying if enemy team is predominantly AP based, or the enemy AP carry is fed.

Atma's Impaler: If you find that you have many items that provide large amounts of HP, then consider building your Avarice Blade into this item. It provides a large amount of armor and a small amount of critical strike chance. It also provides you with 1.5% of your maximum HP in attack damage. Very strong item to consider if you plan on becoming a heavily HP based bruiser.

Frozen Heart: This item is amazing on so many levels, and it is also a wonderful counter to any champion that relies on attacking fast. It provides you with 90 armor (a very large amount!), 20 CDR (extremely useful when you consider Hecarims ability Rampage), and an annoying passive to enemies which reduces nearby enemies attack speed by 20%! Take this is you find that the enemy ADC is quite fed, or if you are simply aiming to become a truly tanky hecarim.

Thornmail: I rarely take this item, but it can be extremely useful if you find that the enemy ADC is getting too fed. It deals damage back to your attacker and provides you with a very large amount of armor. This will often deter your opponent from attacking you, or simply aid you in killing him since he will be hurting himself while trying to kill you. Good when used with Frozen Heart to completely shut down enemy ADCs.

Guardian Angel: This item is extremely useful for a total tanky Hecarim. It allows you to dive into enemy champions without having to fear being focused or killed, since you will revive with 30% of your HP if you are killed. It also makes you harder to kill since it provides you with both magic resist and armor. Be warned, you are meant to be the tank of your team and buying this item will often deter opponents from attacking you. You want your opponents to target you so your allies can kill them.

Viable Options

Mercury's Treads: Take this almost every game. You cant get enough magic resist and this item provides you with a fair amount. It also gives you tenacity to help curb you CC problems, it also works extremely well with the mastery Tenacious since they stack.

Ninja Tabi: These boots are very easy to make early game since you are most likely taking cloth armor as your starting item. It aids in jungling since you take less damage. It is also a good way to counter AD based enemy champions since it blocks a large amount of damage taken from basic attacks. However, always take Mercury Treads if you find that the enemy team has a large amount of CC, AP champions, or both.

Mobility Boots: Hecarims passive is not strong enough to truly benefit from massing movement speed, however, these boots do synergize with War Path quite well, at lease for his initial burst. They are also good if you wish to play more towards Hecarims insane ability to initiate and assassinate any lane within early game. I wouldn't suggest these, but they are technically viable.

Boots of Swiftness: Take these for the same reasons as Boots of Mobility. Honestly though, extra tenacity or armor is simply better than a slight bit of movement which wont really raise your damage that much in the grand scheme of things. These are viable, but there are better options.

Berserker's Greaves: Also a viable choice. Faster clear times, more damage in extended team fights. Otherwise though, there are still better options. I would always take Ninja Tabi or Mercury Treads.

Enchantments

Enchantment: Alacrity: Alacrity is simply the best choice for Hecarim on all boots. The extra movement allows you to take Ninja Tabi or Mercury Treads and still make use of your passive, War Path. Its useful for initiating, ganking, roaming, and escaping. All around a wonderful choice for Hecarim.

It is very late, and I need to sleep. I will be working on this guide extensively over the holidays. It is not complete, but it is still useful as a guide in the meantime. Please provide productive feedback and I will be sure to edit my guide accordingly. Thank you!