Hey gang my name is VanHendrix. I'm currently a Platinum solo queue player and this is my first guide, so please bare with me. I've been falling in love with Ekko as ive used him to climb out of gold and its been easy, fun, and great for climbing the ladder. Ekko is an EXTREMELY awesome jungler because he has TONS of base damage so you can afford to build him pretty tanky and it works out because the longer you stay alive the longer you have to destroy their team! I currently have about 200 games on Ekko between ranked and normal and my ranked win rate is just under 75% with a 5.0 KDA. This build was just something I threw together one game and it has done wonders for me in the past few weeks to climb a LOT in the ladder.
Anywho I hope you enjoy this guide and I hope it helps you Shatter everyone's time.

During the early game Ekko isn't super potent. Don't get me wrong he is still kind of powerful but he doesn't have the survivability to really make a big impact in extended skirmishes, and unless he can sit on someone for 5-6 auto attacks, he won't be doing much in the way of getting kills. The simple solution to this is to FARM!!! Farming on Ekko is incredibly easy and quick. His amount of AoE from his Timewinder (Q), and his Ranger's Trailblazer, Along with his Passive (Z Drive Resonance) makes for very quick clear time. My start every game regardless of spawn side is 1. Gromp 2. Blue 3. Murk Wolves 4. Red (base) after you buy jungle item from this first base kill the Raptors near red and look for a gank on an exposed lane. If you cant find an opening then try to extend into the enemy jungle and see if you cant steal some stuffs! If all else fails then full clear your jungle. After you hit level 6 you become astronomically stronger! The fact that you can completely negate dying with your ult is VERY strong. Just be sure to use it at the right time because you cant Chronobreak (R) while you are snared, stunned, or silenced. Once again always be on the look out for a lane that is over extended without wards and try to invade the enemy jungler from time to time. ALWAYS REMEMBER!!!!!!! This Ekko build is an item dependant build as you get very little DAMAGE OUTPUT from your runes and masteries. SO THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF YOUR EARLY AND EARLY-MID GAME IS FARM!!!!!

After you get through the initial "hard" part of Ekko (first 6) levels you are ready to start doing a lot more. Once you finish up cinderhulk your next item -and I stress this needs to be your second item so you can actually have some potent damage in your ganks and teamfights- is Iceborn Gauntlet. This item is awesome as it gives you an Auto Attack steroid and slow, bonus armor so you can dive turrets and ADCs more effectively, mana (which Ekko struggles with early), as well as CDR. This item -along with abyssal scepter- will be your "Excaliber" and with them you shall cleans the entire realm of the filth that is CARRIES. Seriously though these two items are perfect for "tank" Ekko because he doesn't need much AP to shred people. Usually once I finish up these two items (Cinderhulk and Iceborn Gauntlet) I make a judgment call. This is the time you decide who is the STRONGEST on their team. If their ADC is gonna three hit your team you need to get Deadman's Plate. If their mid laner is Legendary; your probably should get Locket of the Iron Solari. The reason I don't get Abyssal Scepter third item is because, yes well it does give me damage, is because at this stage of the game you need the bonus stats from stacking HP with your Cinderhulk and BOTH Deadman's Plate and Locket are awesome for just that. PLUS both items are extremely useful in a TEAM sense.

Now during this time you are controlling dragon and pressuring baron with your team. It is very important that you get at least ONE dragon before 20-25 minutes. Your team will thank you and it should prevent 5 dragon from the enemy team, unless you have an hour long match. Once you finish your "core" items (Cinderhulk + Iceborn Gauntlet) you are a gank MACHINE. Your power just multiplies from this point in the game. You become freakin Voltron!!! Your powers are MUCH stronger when combined!!!!!! The damage you do from this point (since you most likely will be around level 9) is very devastating, since most carries only have one maybe two items at this stage. This combined with your mobility AND life-saving ult. You can pretty much go where you please at this stage of the game. MAKE SURE YOU UPGRADE YOUR WARDING TRINKET!!!! This is extremely important! Helping your support ward for objective control is the most important thing in the game. THIS CANNOT BE OVERSTATED!!! Wards......... Win............ Games.............. Flat out. I cannot tell you the number of games I've won because you pick off an unsuspecting ADC at the enemy red buff and you push two towers off of it then you ward baron base and end the game 8 minutes later. All because you decided to spend that extra 250 on a trinket upgrade for your team. REMEMBER!!! You ARE tank Ekko your job is to initiate fights and skirmishes and to dive the enemy carries. If things get too hairy ult out and reassess the fight. If you cant win, ping your team off and try to save as much face as possible. If you see a good opening and a good opportunity to turn the tides phase DIVE BACK IN THERE!!!

This is where Ekko is at his strongest. His "One shot" potential is just gnarly when looking to get an enemy carry. Your TWO GOALS at this stage in the game is to: 1. ALWAYS make sure YOU are killing dragons and that if you go for baron you make ABSOLUTELY sure you smite baron. I am very proud to say I have only had about 10% of my dragons/barons stolen during my stint as a jungler. It is a very easy thing to time as long as you pay attention to your stacks of Z Drive Resonance. If you proc your passive on the dragon/baron its gonna take a sizeable chunk so just be prepared to smite as soon as you hit that third auto attack. 2.DIVE DIVE DIVE!!!! Those squishies look sooooooo tasty and you are SUPER HUNGRY!!!! In teamfights and skirmishes at this point you can 1v1 and in most cases 2v1 the enemy carries. The 2v1 option is a little harder obviously, but its not a stretch especially with your ult. If you make sure you can get the carries out of the fight and your team peels for yours you will ALWAYS win. Ekko turns a comp into a triple threat if you build him this way and he has the survivability to keep pumping out "TONS OF DAMAGE" for Nye a Millenium.

This guide has been a blast to write, its given me a nice break from staring at the four walls while im at work. If you take away three things from this guide let them be this. 1.This build is a VERY strong mix of damage and survivability, BUT you ARE NOT INVINCIBLE!! You can die if they can CC you long enough to not allow you to Ult. Keep this in mind but 9 times out of 10 you should be able to get into a fight kill your target and get back out unscathed.
2. Your early game is FAR LESS EFFECTIVE than your late game. FARM IS IMPORTANT!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ekko thrives off of items, so give the skinny dude some money so he can go buy some stuff to get fed with. I mean seriously Ekko is next to useless without items. Only way you get kills early is if they don't have flash or your laner lands good CC and has good damage output themselves.
3. YOUR JOB IS TO PLAY FOR YOUR TEAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A Jungler no matter what champion you are playing is THE MOST TEAM ORIENTED ROLE IN THE GAME!!! Some people are gonna argue support is more. I main both and trust me jungle is more team based. Yes a support wards and sacrifices his life for the good of his team, but a jungler is the one who sets the tempo for his entire team to move around the map. If he isn't near dragon you cant pressure it. If they don't know where the enemy jungler is because they and the support haven't warded yet you guys cant push baron safely. Your JOB as a jungler is to WARD, SMITE PROPERLY, and (as Ekko at least) kill the carries. Other junglers your job is to peel for your carries. Just take the time to help your team, and you'll be surprised how high in the ladder you'll go! I was Bronze 2 out of placements this season im about 5 games out of Platinum as of Today.

Hope this guide helps you, and that you enjoy the best tank jungler in the meta!
Please give thumbs up and leave feedback in the comments because im always looking to improve!