Hello everyone, this is Din333. This is my first guide ever so let me know what you think of it. This is a guide for solo top Hecarim. If you want a guide for jungle Hecarim try the guide called Hecarim - Behold the Might of the Shadow Isles. I say this because I don't play Hecarim as a jungler, however I know that a lot of people like to use him as one.

Pros


+ Great Damage Output
+ Tanky (Over 3000 Hp)
+ High Mobility
+ Has a Scythe (Reaper Skin)



Cons


- Low Damage Output Early Game
- Squishy Early Game
- Focused
- Ult Requires Team Cooperation to be Useful

Havoc. I did this because I believe that Hecarim has enough life steal with Spirit of Dread and a Bloodthirster.

I skip over Defense and go to the Utility tree, which I have not seen in most guides. I do this because early game Hecarim needs mana and Expanded Mind helps with that. But more than that I chose the Utility tree because of Swiftness. Thanks to Hecarim's passive you get attack damage equal to a percentage of your movement speed. This mastery screams Hecarim. I see no need for more health when this build already makes you fairly tanky without the masteries in the defense tree.

The runes I use for Hecarim are what I use for most attack damage champions. I am not overly familiar as to which runes you should take over others, but I will explain why I chose the ones I did.

greater mark of desolationI chose armor penetration marks. This is simple, it is because Hecarim does attack damage and he needs these runes to help him get past armor.

greater seal of vitalityI use health per level seals. I use this because this is what helps Hecarim get over 3000 health without losing the Swiftness mastery and getting items that make us more of a tank than off-tank. If you wish to use other seals then I would recommend flat armor seals.

I used cooldown per level glyphs. I use this not for Rampage which already has a low cooldown, but for Devastating Charge. At max rank Devastating Charge has a 16 second cooldown. I don't like this since it is half of my damage output. With cooldown per level glyphs Devastating Charge has a 14 second cooldown at level 18. If you think that's bull, then I would recommend magic resist per level glyphs.

I use movement speed quintessence. This is also simple. This is because of Hecarim's Passive. It helps build your attack damage and also your movement speed.

Passive - Warpath

This is an amazing passive. It allows Hecarim to ignore unit collision, almost like a second ghost. It also gives him bonus attack damage based off of a percentage of his movement speed.


Rampage

This is half of your damage output, I max it first over Devastating Charge because Rampage will help you farm. Use this ability as much as possible. Remember you can use this during your ultimate and Devastating Charge, which makes for an insane nuke.

Spirit of Dread

This move creates an area of effect (aoe) circle around Hecarim that deals magic damage and heals Hecarim for a percentage of the damage done. The health Hecarim gets from minions is capped. I get a rank of this at level 3 and max it last. I do this because Hecarim is an attack damage champion and this move deals magic damage which you get from ability power. It's not that this move isn't useful, it's that Hecarim deals more damage with Rampage and Devastating Charge.


Devastating Charge

This move is the other half of your damage output. I take a rank at level 2 and max it second. I max this move second because rampage is better at farming than Devastating Charge. Remember that damage increases over distance traveled, so if you find yourself with little maneuverability then just move back and forth before you charge in.


Onslaught of Shadows

If the enemy thought you were a pain before then they had better kill themselves now. This move is an area of effect (aoe) fear that lasts for 1 second. This move is part of what allows Hecarim to solo top. This move is also a tide-turner in a team fight. With the right focus and an initiate with this move will send any team back to the summoners platform. Remember that the path is which direction Hecarim's ult will go, and the circle is where Hecarim himself will land. Try to aim the circle for the squishies in back of the team fight, this will allow you to get most of the team with the fear, but do most of the damage to the squishy in back. I get a rank of this at level 6 and rank it whenever I can.

The final item build I have for Hecarim is:




Mercury's Treads, Trinity Force, Bloodthirster, Sunfire Cape, Atma's Impaler, and Maw of Malmortius.

Mercury's Treads

These add movement speed which is key for Hecarim, they also give tenacity. This helps Hecarim since he tends to be focused a lot.


Trinity Force

All I really need to say is that this item is godly on Hecarim. It adds movement speed, attack damage, ability power for Spirit of Dread and your ult, critical chance, and adds health and mana. No Hecarim should be without this.


Bloodthirster

This adds more attack damage which is needed to make Hecarim perform lots of damage, but more than that it gives 20% lifesteal. The lifesteal from this combined with Spirit of Dread will help keep Hecarim alive. If you find your damage is fine and you need more survivability after Trinity Force then get Sunfire Cape first then this.


Sunfire Cape

I get this over other health items because it does area of effect (aoe) magic damage. This helps Spirit of Dread do a lot more damage, and since Hecarim will be fighting close quarters it will help with team fights. Get this item after Bloodthirster if you want to do more damage early on. If you think your damage is fine and want more survivability then get this item before Bloodthirster.


Atma's Impaler

This item is cheap and really awesome. It gives you armor, critical chance, and gives you attack damage based off of 1.5% of your max health. This will be a good amount since your health will be over 3000. Also combined with Trinity Force you will now have a critical chance of 33%.


Maw of Malmortius

This item is a must for Hecarim. When I say this some of you might be thinking, "well why get this item last?". Well the answer is that this item helps champions who have a lot of health and Hecarim doesn't get a huge amount of health until after Sunfire Cape. "If that's the case then why get Atma's Impaler before it?". I say to get this after Atma's Impaler because I want the crit and extra attack damage while I'm at full health, rather than getting it while I have lower health. If you want to get this item before Atma's Impaler then do so, but I recommend getting it last.


Alternatives

There are several alternatives for the items above that I will name below and which items that you should switch with.

Boots of Swiftness - If you are feeling lucky or are facing a team with no cc then, switch these with the Mercury's Treads.

Infinity Edge - I think these are more for auto-attack champions like Tryndamere, but if you want them then switch this with Bloodthirster.

Warmog's Armor - I personally prefer Sunfire Cape, but this item is also good on Hecarim and works well with Atma's Impaler. Switch this with Sunfire Cape.

Youmuu's Ghostblade - It is hard to choose between Atma's Impaler and this. Atma's Impaler gives you attack damage based off of your health, but Youmuu's Ghostblade gives you similar crit and additional movement speed. As you know movement speed gives you attack damage as well, so they are pretty similar. Switch this with Atma's Impaler.


Items I Do Not Get

I made this section on items I have seen in other Hecarim guides and I will explain why I don't think they work well with Hecarim. This is my first guide and I can very well be wrong about these items, but I don't think the items below work well with Hecarim.

Phantom Dancer - I see this more of an item I would see on an auto-attacker like Tryndamere. I do not see Hecarim as an auto-attack. The only stat that I feel this item would bring to Hecarim is the movement speed. It's not a bad item, it's just not one that I would see on Hecarim who relies more on his abilities than his auto-attacks.

Last Whisper - This item is good but the only item I can see replacing it with would be Bloodthirster. However the damage is greater on Bloodthirster than Last Whisper, and losing the lifesteal without gaining greater attack damage just isn't worth it in my eyes.

I would like to thank you for reading my guide, it is my first one ever. I would like to thank Watermerron for pointing me in the right direction on how to make my guide beautiful. I would also like to thank jhoijhoi for creating the guide that helped me make my guide look beautiful. Please leave any helpful comments below, and please remember I am a newb at making guides so try to be easy on me, lol.