GUIDE TO PIRATE FOR LEAGUE OF LEGENDS

Hello everyone, and I would like to welcome you to my coherent guide on Gangplank. As you can plainly see this is my first ever guide, but I have played hundreds of games both Ranked AND Normal, so I have plenty of experience tucked under my drawers.

Gangplank is a very effective hero if played correctly, and with the current meta he is truly a force to be reckoned with. To start off, let me guide you through the basics...

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As you can see I stocked up on flat health runes and quintessences. This is to provide me with survivability in lane, especially with the power of flash and boots + 3 at my disposal. Then, if I'm tower-dived and the tower hasn't killed them after a couple of seconds, I can simply pop my grapefruit and ignite them for a quick kill. What a bait!

To go hand in hand with my runes I have chosen 24 points in the defensive tree, to further bolster my presence in lane. You will see my reasoning behind such high HP soon. Don't forget to pick up the improved summoner spells because you'll have nowhere else to put those points, and just in case you ever wanted to swap flash or ignite out for a clairvoyance or a smite, then this will serve as an all-purpose page. Much like...

Our starting items are something very often seen in the world of League of Legends. You slip on your boots and take three health potions to, you got it, sustain yourself in lane. If you're worried about what to build after this, snatch a Wriggles. Why? Lifesteal. You can Q the minions in your lane (I hope you're solo top and not bottom!) and absorb their health. Would work best if Gangplank had an epic Bloodlord skin, but you can use that for any other champion you own. Did I mention it gives you armor? Buy wards, as well. You'll need a lot of vision after that Wriggles purchase. Finally, purchase Trinity Force as your last item. Extra movespeed, a chance to slow, AND 150% of your base damage as extra oomph after a skill is worth your very hard earned gold. Speaking of gold, don't forget your Philosopher's Stones, and any gp5 you can get your hands on. You'll be needing it for your Trinity Force.

Maximize your Q as fast as possible, then followed by your E for its passive. After all, who WOULDN'T want extra movespeed to escape that gank you set yourself up for?

Pick up your ult at 6, 11, and 16. Phreak mentions it a lot in his excellent commentary on the Champion Spotlights, and it's a smash hit with Gangplank. Use it on enemy lanes to get extra farm, aiding the rush for your Wriggles or Trinity Force, or perhaps to scout a brush. You might not have Flash up to escape if you facecheck, and Wriggles is only for farming and sustainability, so make sure you have your ult!

So, now that you've gotten the gist of how to set yourself up in preparation for a match, which lane do you go to? Some say he could solo mid, but that's not a good idea; melee heroes do poorly in mid lane, and AP heroes always go mid. Watch a stream if you don't believe me. For this and many other reasons, you should go solo top if you have a jungler, which is a given. In this lane you can assert your dominance, as you'll be beefy enough to stand toe to toe with any lane composition. You will also have your grapefruit which will be excellent to avoid dying from jungle/mid ganks, and whatever ignorance you might be displaying. If that doesn't work then you can alw

Now, you might be wondering... "Why can't I just solo bottom?" or "Why can't I go with a duo lane?" It's been proven time and time again that due to the nature of Baron being closer to top that setting up a Baron bait or a baron kill is most effective when there is a powerful and farmed beefy melee solo top lane main willing to strike. With the snowballing nature of the meta today Baron fights can be engaged very quickly, and as you will surely be lurking around top for longer than fifteen minutes farming for Wriggles, you'll be a short walk away. Furthermore, the camera is easier to position top lane, which will provide you with an advantage if you need to Flash away from that nasty 1.5 second Sion stun or single auto attack from Jarvan.

Other benefits include...



Extra farm, because it's a solo top lane and you're Gangplank.

Extra vision around their blue, an important spot for their jungler.

Easier to navigate lane. Great for positioning Flashes.

More blades of grass to navigate in and out of so you can exploit Adobe Air.

Complying to the meta game.

q gives you extra gold if you last hit with it you will get more gold and harrassing doesnt do **** early game so stop that **** holy **** i want to ****ing kill you you ****ing piece of **** can you not ****ing read a ******** tool tip you insufferable ****faced ****wracked wad of shComplying to the Tribunal

As Gangplank, your Q will give you gold with each last hit. This is extremely important as you can rack up 1/4th of a Trinity Force by the time their Ezreal has it. Spam it as much as possible, and be sure to get your gp5 in the form of Phil Stones. Get Heart of Gold as well, it's important for sustaining yourself in lane with even more HP. Always remember to auto attack and let your dot get last hits if your Q fails to secure a kill because every passive in the game runs off of auto attacking and pushing the lane. By 60 minutes and 40 minutes past your inevitable 5/0 surrender you will be able to finally buy your Trinity Force to go with that Wriggles.

mmm 10k gold surplus after 30 minutes - ganplank the pirate

This guide is an excellent little piece to bring with you for reference, as it conforms to the meta game as of June 2012. I hope to see some new Pirates storming the scene with my help, and I wish you best of luck to 1100!