As with all my guides I ask that you please read through the whole thing. Without understanding the idea behind the build, the build is useless. Build one is the goal and the primary focus of this guide. I added a hybrid and full support page that seems to work on Blitzcrank 's strengths as well since Blitz is only really viable as support in ranked right now.

Boromir tells it like it is

Perfect music for playing Blitz

This is designed to be affordable as well as devastating when used properly.

This will be as full of a guide as I have time for.

I am developing both dominion and jungling guides, they will go up as soon as I am happy with a setup.

Please keep in mind that the stats the website shows aren't right, it doesn't factor in everything. Your hit points, attack damage, and mana pool are going add up to a truly devestating combination. While you won't be nuking anyone down, start to finish, people are going to cry when they see your huge Mana Barrier come up.

My goal when playing Blitzcrank is control.

Map control
Team fight control
Chase and Escape control

At this Blitzcrank is a master.

Pros
+ Everyone is terrified of a Blitzcrank with a good hook
+ No one expects Blitzcrank to bring the pain like this build will
+ You will be inescapable and unreachable with all the move speed in this setup
+ You hand out beatings while still being pretty tanky
+ If you are doing your job you should have tons of Assists
+ The focus on cool downs will have you handing out CC till they rage quit
+ If you can use him properly Blitzcrank is a boat load of fun



Cons
- If the enemy team figures out you are changing team fights they are going to focus you
- You won't be nuking anyone down
- 1 on 1 fights aren't always going to go your way
- You have to have good team work for
- You are an off tank so you still have to be smart about fights.
- If you waste your mana too much you're going to die, you need to keep enough for Mana Barrier.
- It takes good teamwork for Blitzcrank to be usefull

One of the major focus points of this build is mana. I tried to include as many mana boosting items, runes, and masteries as I could in the build. I have tried to design a build that has lots of synergy with itself and so far it's worked pretty well.

An example of how this works is a game where I was only level 16 and didn't have that good of a start. I still had 3k mana at level 15 even though I was still building my Trinity Force.

A main focus of this build is the Mana Barrier, in the above mentioned game I had their entire team try to focus me down only to hit my 1.5k worth of hit points (troll face) from mana barrier. Once the barrier was up they kept going while my team wiped them out and I slipped away with about 100 health and the satisfaction of them wasting 2 ultimate's and an ignite on me (troll face).

The best part about this is that after I slipped away I didn't need to run for long before I could turn around with Mana Barrier ready to go again and 1/3 of my hit points back due to Strength of Spirit .

Remember that taking 3 points in Strength of Spirit basically gives you your max mana minus two decimal points in health regeneration.

700 mana = 7 health regeneration (starting mana with my setup)
2000 mana = 20 health regeneration (you'll be here in no time with this build)
4000 mana = 40 health regeneration (free Warmog's Armor health regeneration anyone?)

One of the idea's behind this build is to trick your enemies into thinking you are squishier then you really are. You will still have plenty of health but your life bar will make you look kill-able. Once your mana shield comes up they will **** their pants and you should win the engagement. Not a having a ton of hit points means your Strength of Spirit will regenerate your HP above 20% health faster so your Mana Barrier can reactivate.

This is going to be a work in progress so suggestions are welcome.

I Added a second build option which basically adds the Philosopher's stone to the beginning of the build. These plus the Greater Quintessence of Gold should more then make up for the lack of early game funding. Once the laning phase starts to break it is then up to you to pick up kills, or preferably assists, to keep the build going.

Remember that gold generators pay for themselves after about 15 minutes, it's your job to figure out if it's going to be worth it to pick up the Heart of Gold. It's also up to you when you want to throw Manamune in since it will help your damage and mana pool. The reason we hold off at all is because your carry partner should be doing all the last hitting.

This build drops almost all DPS in favor of being an epic support/tank. We are focusing on our CDR just like always but we are also seeking to be super durable. If you and your team are playing right you should be in the middle of the fight CC'ing everyone forever. If they get past your over 3.3k health your Mana Barrier will still be over 1000 hp if you managed your mana well. By this time your team should have cleaned them up.

If a team fight starts and they don't attack you, make them pay for it. Move around and yank them out of position with your Rocket Grab. Run around and Power Fist whoever it will disrupt the most. Your job is pissing them off till they can't ignore you anymore. Make sure you are ruining ultimate's, that'll get em to attack you again.

I'd also like to note Soul Shroud is alternative to Shurelya's Revere it will be up to you which you want to build.

This is a recent idea so it's going to be another work in progress, hope you guys like the new build. I await your comments and suggestions on this one.

greater mark of desolation Make the best use of their category for this build. They provide that extra punch to make your Power Fist and Overdrive really hurt.

greater seal of replenishment What good is Mana Barrier without mana? Having that stronger regen and being a little less aggressive with your abilities can bring in kills just because they won't realize how much shield you have till it's too late. Greater Seal of Armor Can provide the extra early game armor I feel you sometimes can't live without (you see what I did there?).

Before you start throwing rotten vegetables at me lets think about this. This adds 100 mana, to put it in perspective that is: 50hp for Mana Barrier, 4 Power Fist's, 1 Overdrive for your great escape or finishing blow, or the extra bit-o-honey you needed to cast your Rocket Grab

People say it's blitzcranks hook that makes or breaks him, I say the whole machine must be used properly (I did that thing again). The Overdrive skill and powerfist are just as game changing when used properly. Combing Overdrive with these runes and the items I have listed will make the other team cry as you escape their final blow with Mana Barrier or chase down their fastest characters for a Rocket Grab to their demise.

This is another option, remember we are trying to build a very strong early game. Between your Seal of Armor and all the extra mana (about 214 with these and the Greater Glyph of Mana) these make enough of a difference to justify their use. Remember that you can never have too much mana with Blitzcrank since he can burn through it at all levels and it acts as extra hit points with Mana Barrier.

The idea behind this setup is to try and keep your mana up and give you a lovely 9% cool down from the gate. Change the mastery tree to meet your needs but I recommend keeping things as they are if you can stand it. Sorcery, Swiftness , Expanded Mind , Intelligence , and Strength of Spirit will make a world of difference for you.

Strength of Spirit will regeneration around 7 health from the gate if you go for the full mana setup and by the end of this build should be providing you almost 40 health regeneration.

Sorcery and Intelligence are going to shave almost 2 seconds off your Rocket Grab and almost 5 seconds off your Static Field

Expanded Mind will be a noticeable boost from start to finish and will benefit your Strength of Spirit

Repeat after me, the sooner I get my Tear of the Goddess and then Manamune the better. I know the build looks a little odd for Blitzcrank but we are trying to keep cost down, durability up, and cool downs maxed. Getting The Brutalizer and Glacial Shroud put our cool downs at 35%. That's a 10 second cool down reduction for your static discharge and up to 7 seconds for your Rocket Grab, it's a big deal.

As I said we are trying to keep cost down, all these items are very powerful on Blitzcrank and your core build only costs 12782 gold. Most builds are 15k or sometimes 18k, having a build that finishes your primary items at 12782 makes you a threat very quickly. Keep in mind that in either of these builds if you can pick up the Avarice Blade do it. If you can get it early enough it will pretty much pay for Youmuu's Ghostblade.

Lets talk about our core

for Blitzcrank there is no better purchase, the item is constantly building your mana pool from your spells and attacks. When you add in that extra 2% damage based on mana pool it make this item numero uno for mister Blitz

It is one of the best items in the game and it's incredible on Blitz. It gives you a great move speed boost, attack boost, attack speed boost, ability power boost, health, mana, slowing passive chance, 150% damage bonus passive, critical chance, well basically you get a little bit of everything good for a DPS.

is amazing on Blitzcrank due to the incredible 425 mana and 15% cool down reduction, and it tops all that off with a nice armor bonus and builds into Frozen Heart which is again, amazing on Blitzcrank.

again we have another mana pool booster and remember mana pool = more casting and more hp on Blitzcrank. Add to that the spell negator and the health and MR and it's just fantastic for blitz.

While this item isn't very popular it works well with the idea of this build. The fact that you take the brutilizer early on makes a huge difference in how much whooping you can hand out due to it's 10% CDR and armor pen. The 15% crit chance stacks with our Trinity Force to give us a 30% chance to critical so 1 out of 3 hits is likely to be a critical. Try to save the unique active untill you are ready to whoop something since it lasts longer when you are attacking. Just don't forget that Ghost + Overdrive + Youmuu's Ghostblade = you deciding the rules of escape (Trollololol!).

With all the resistances and mana you are going to be almost as good as a tank. You are going to hand out some considerable damage, but the primary focus is how often you'll be able to hand out CC and pain.

Rocket Grab around 10 second cool down
Overdrive 9 second cool down (in other words you'll only spend 1 out of 9 seconds without it)
Power Fist 3 second cool down (spam this, SPAM THIS!)
Static Field 18 second cool down, that's right 18 seconds to launch a silencing damaging, free assist on everybody in the area spell.

Obviously you need to build Blitzy to meet the needs of each game.

Manamune is always a must have and I feel you should really try for at least the Glacial Shroud for the extra armor and the boost to your Mana Barrier.

I wouldn't go for an AP Blitzcrank but that's only because the only sure way to hit with AP is your Static Field that you have to be pretty close for.

If CC and or AP damage becomes a problem Quicksilver Sash is a pretty effective solution.

Obviously boots can make a big difference Boots of Swiftness are a nice little speed boost. Of course you can also go for Mobility Boots which in my opinion is a very under appreciated item.

Buy elixirs when appropriate but especially before finishing your build with Frozen Heart. Remember that our cool downs will be capped before we get to the Frozen Heart so you are only buying it for the extra 54 armor and 20% reduced enemy attack speed.

Many people max out Rocket Grab first, but it isn't going to catch people often (unless they are terrible) and the mana cost is insane.

Another popular option is to go for Overdrive and Power Fist equally and shoot for Rocket Grab last.

It didn't take me long after trying a few other builds to realize I liked having my Power Fist constantly available. You can use it to reset your attack, stop a fleeing enemy, save your ally, or constantly hand out really frustrating harassment (ok I keep doing it, but troll face). Power Fist can not be cleansed, K'ed (fricken Gangplank), or really stopped in any way and it's only 25 mana, max it first whenever possible.

Ever seen a good Flash grab?

Ghost + Overdrive = no escaping or no chasing Blitzcrank

Other options

Exhaust not great but an option, at least one person on the team should have it for the enemy AD carry.

Cleanse If you are planning on taking Boots of Swiftness or Mobility Boots you might want to pick this up.

Ignite goodbye Swain No but really this can come in handy for any champ.

Clairvoyance I see you, Rocket Grab

Probably not going to help much

Garrison are we playing dominion? if not please don't take this.

Heal We hate long cool downs on this build, but's it's not the worst spell to take.

Revive oh look, it's that worst spell I was talking about! Isn't lovely how they changed it and still no one wants it?

Smite Are you going to jungle? If you aren't and you were considering taking this you may want to smack yourself.

Surge Are you Kayle? No? Moving on.

Teleport You are Blitzy, you can almost walk there faster

Clarity Ok it isn't totally useless, just mostly.

Promote You better have some stellar strategy for taking it.

Really though it's in your hands, this whole guide is just my opinion.

I can't stress how important good team work is to a successful Blitzy. If your team isn't going to work with you there isn't much hope for a win. This applies to a lot of champions but especially poor old Blitzcrank.

As with all champs I enjoy the most comes a lot of responsibility. As Blitzcrank your main job is map awareness, you can get places faster then anyone else so you need to make sure your towers aren't being over taken by minions or enemies. You need to hurry up and go tank the dragon if you can, same for Baron or counter jungle or whatever needs done that needs a champ quick on his feet (or wheels depending on what skin you are using).

Now lets talk about how to play as Blitzy, how do you make the best use of his skills. What is your role in the team fights? How do you handle things when Mana Barrier pops up?

Like all of Blitzcrank's abilities there are tons of uses for this skill shot.

• You can save an ally on the run from an enemy
• Pull an enemy into your tower for a kill
• Make epic grabs from the other side of a wall.
• Yank fleeing enemies (almost always an easy grab)
• Create a short stun on high damage enemies giving your team a strong edge

These kind of hooks will leave the enemy team terrified of getting even slightly out of position giving you map control. Your best hooks are always going to be the ones they never saw coming. In team fights you should be trying to grab a squishy, and have your Power Fist ready and they should never even have a chance to react.

Oh and if you are trying to initiate a team fight with the hooks please try not to pull a tank like Amumu or Alistar since you'll be doing the enemy team a favor if they have Curse of the Sad Mummy or Pulverize ready.


For me this is Blitzcrank's bread and butter. The things you can do with this skill are very cruel. This is your primary map control skill, no lane goes undefended, no gank unassisted. There's not much hope for escaping a Blitz on Overdrive with his Rocket Grab ready. This is also your rage creating escape skill combined with Mana Barrier

It's important to keep in mind that eventually this is also your punishment spell with your item build. With this setup you are a pretty tanky dps Blitzy, when you are done with the enemy they'll be wishing they were dealing with Garen instead.

This ability equals control, as simple as that. In a team fight spamming this spell on the right champ will change the fight. It stops fleeing enemies when Rocket Grab isn't available and it is a heavy hit for damage as well.

9 times out of 10 this will be a save for a fleeing ally. Keep in mind when you need to escape a bad situation that popping Power Fist then hitting Overdrive is almost always a sure fire way to escape.

.5 seconds of silence is golden people. Team fight breaks out, looks like it's gonna be close or that your team might even lose, Overdrive in hit R and start hitting Q and E like there'es no tomorrow. Half a second is more then enough time for a team fight to completely change.

The surprise of the silence is what's going to make the kills. Don't be afraid to Flash right into the middle of an enemy team for your R, silencing the whole team and hitting everyone with that much damage is going to help a lot.

In my opinion, hands down the best passive in the game. This build has a strong focus on this passive since there a number of reasons it's game changing. Let's cover a few ways to take advantage of this incredible passive.

• Early game keeping your mana up will make you almost unkillable due to Mana Barrier, which will help keep harassment down. Not to mention you are going to give a lot of early game tower divers a nasty surprise if they try it.
  
• Enemies constantly forget you have it, you are going to get a lot of other players with low health trying to finish you off only to find out you have the barrier. Though they may try to run after they realize their mistake there isn't much hope for getting away from Rocket Grab, Power Fist, Static Field.
  
• If you start making a difference in fights the other team is going to focus you, the second Mana Barrier comes up you now have two options, stay and finish the remaining weak enemies or if they are all still pretty healthy overdrive to safety making all those abilities and damage they did wasted. Many times they will try to chase you but between Mana Barrier and Overdrive all they are going to do is get pounded in the back side by your team for ignoring them. The second they give up the chase (provided you still have some health) you turn around for another Rocket Grab and Power Fist for one more kill and yet more game changing Uber troll face play. This is a successful strategy almost 100% of the time.

This section is going to be a work in progress but our first order of business is Tryndamere and his god mode ultimate.

Undying Rage makes Tryndamere impossible to kill as it won't let him drop below 1 hit point. This is where troll face Blitzcrank comes in. I have shut down Tryndaskirt and his ultimate countless times, it's a simple process.

• Convince him to duel it out with you and waste a second or two if you can ( Mana Barrier allows you to take his damage provided you haven't drained yourself)
• Activate Power Fist, 9 times out of 10 he is going to run now because Undying Rage is going to end
• If he spins out Rocket Grab him back in and give him another Power Fist (you'll probably have to overdrive to get the last Power Fist in since it will usually be on CD for a second or two more if you used it at the start)
• by this time you should be able to activate Static Field for the kill

Blitzcrank is an amazing counter to Undying Rage since you can CC enough to waste it's duration. This will result in saved teammates or better yet, you'll scare old Tryndy into blowing his ult and running without trying to take advantage of his ungodly critical boost.

More then anything Blitzcrank is just a fun champ to play. Nothing beats predicting someones movement on the other side of their home base wall and landing a Rocket Grab for the kill. Don't be afraid to try and get those lucky blind grabs, they will hit a lot more then you would think.

Please let me know if you catch any errors in the guide and make suggestions rather then down vote if you be so kind.

I have been considering brainstorming a jungle version of Blitzy. I am discovering more and more that my most devastating Blitz play is when I roam, gank, and rescue. With enough spare time and requests I'll probably add a Jungle guide for Blitz.

Most recent first

3/23/2012 - Made a mental not not to forget about this section agian
Various dates - Made changes through out guide, changed build titles, redesigned build 2, added build 3, updated build three
Date Unknown - Forgot about the updates/changes section
3/20/2012 - Did a major overhaul on the support build
2/14/2012 - Swapped main seals, adapted runes section to match
2/13/2012 - Decided to date my work X-D, rewrote mastery section to match new mastery setup. Added "The Power Behind the Build" section and the "Blitzcrank = Troll Face" section. I also added a build for supporting an AD carry. Did some general overhaul on entire guide and added more information.

Reorganized masteries to increase the strength of the build.

Added greater seal of replenishment as another rune option

Added Greater Quintessence of Mana as a rune option

Made some slight changes in skill trees to grab Strength of Spirit

BBerger for carrying me through my first days as blitz with his guide.
UsernameSayWha for keeping on my case and inspiring me to create my tank support build that worked out real nice for me.
Neo Daedalus for making a couple of really good points that helped me strengthen this build.
RealmriderX1 for providing some insight with his very excellent build.
nineteenjimmys for inspiring me to build a blitz of hurt.
Mikuroo for finding a huge flaw in my guide which got me to write the "Wonder That is Blitzcrank" section.
SpiritMouse for suggesting a better use for a skill point.
Lnewlf11 for helping me with all my proof reading and helping me test all of my builds.
Everyone else who voted, commented, or had a suggestion.