Build Guide by Jebus McAzn

Preface

Renekton is a champion with many different playstyles. He can be built as a pure tank, as an offtank, as tanky DPS, or just a full-on DPS champion. Personally, I choose to build tanky DPS with him, as it offers a good mix of survivability with his natural disruption ability and high damage output. In that sense, he's like an Olaf with buffed mobility, staying power, and the obvious advantage of being manaless. This guide will focus on a strong game in all phases, with a slightly aggressive early game, transitioning into a strong mid and late game as an offtank/DPS.

Abbreviated Terms
AA = Auto-attack (Basic Attacks)
AD = Attack Damage
AP = Ability Power
AS = Attack Speed
AoE = Area of Effect
CC = Crowd Control (Stun, fear, slow, snare, etc)
CDR = Cooldown Reduction
DoT = Damage over Time
ELO = Elo rating (Rating system designed by Arpad Elo that is now used in gaming communities worldwide)
FB = First Blood
HP = Health
LS = Life Steal
MD = Magic Damage
MP = Mana
MR = Magic Resistance
MS = Movement Speed
OOM = Out of Mana
SV = Spell Vamp
DPS = Damage Per Second; also: Strong Auto-attacker
MDPS = Magical Damage Per Second; also:Strong spells; casters
MP5 = Mana Regeneration per 5 seconds
HP5 = Health Regeneration per 5 seconds
ArPen = Armor Penetration
MPen = Magic Penetration

Introduction

The central idea of this build is to be able to survive while pumping out as much damage as possible with your Furious abilities and disrupting enemy carries with Ruthless Predator. With the health and survivability from Cull the Meek and Dominus combined with the tankiness that your items give you, you remain a potent force in battle during any point of the second half of the game, while still having a strong laning presence in early-game.

Pros:
-Manaless. He therefore has a lot of staying power early game because he never has to port back for mana
-Strong CC with Reckless Predator
-Excellent chasing/fleeing/harassing ability in Slice and Dice
-Potent tanky DPS in mid and late game
-Becomes deadlier once reaching low levels of health, much like Olaf or Tryndamere

Cons:
-Relying on the Fury system forces you to be aggressive early game
-Renekton is often overextended in a solo lane, meaning ganks are much more dangerous
-This particular build does not let him be the main tank - make sure that you're supporting the dedicated tank on your team

Skill Explanations

Reign of Anger is Renekton's passive. It explains the new Fury system, where each of your attacks or abilities that hit enemies will generate Fury. All of Renekton's abilities are free, but they gain additional damage and effects when activated while Furious (above 50 Fury) (aside from his Ultimate). Reign of Anger grants you extra Fury generation when under 40% health, making him much deadlier at lower levels of health. Ideally, however, team fights should be decided when you're stomping around in Dominus form, and you shouldn't need the extra Fury generation that much in most scenarios.

Cull the Meek is his Q. This is an ability that causes AoE damage around you and heals you for a portion of the damage done - it also generates Fury. Both the fury and heal amounts are capped. In early game, this, along with your W, will be your primary source of damage and harass. However, because of its poor scaling, Cull the Meek is brought only to rank 2 early game in order to keep your health up. Furious Cull the Meeks can sustain your life for quite a while against laning opponents. In terms of raw damage, however, your main skill will be:

Ruthless Predator, his W. On your next hit, you strike twice, stunning the enemy for a short duration. A Furious Ruthless Predator will strike three times and will stun the enemy longer. The burst damage you can get with this skill along with the extra burst that Sheen, and later Trinity Force will provide, is absolutely insane. This is the skill that makes Renekton such a great laner and such a good burst harass champion.

Slice and Dice is your E, and it gives you incredible mobility both in the lane and in the jungle. You can use this to dash over walls to chase or to run away, while you can also use it for the same purposes in lane. Rarely will you use this skill for damage, at least not until the late game, so you max this last. However, the mobility provided by this skill is superb, which is why we get this right after getting Ruthless Predator, to make our combos much stronger.

Dominus is your ultimate. It essentially turns you into a giant rapist for the next several seconds. You deal increased AoE damage, have a larger range with your attacks, and generate Fury passively while Dominus is up. This is most useful in a 1v2 lane or in a team fight, since it literally turns you into a monster in battle. Always save this for when you are sure a team fight is underway - the chaos you will wreak is substantial.

Summoner Spell Explanations

I choose Ghost and Exhaust because you are a tanky DPS. Since you will be slightly offtanking, Exhaust lets you shut down their primary physical carry while you pound on them with your full combo. Ghost lets you have that extra mobility early game that you can use to get First Blood better or to escape from a gank. I consider Ghost to be an absolute necessity, as it's useful in so many situations, while Exhaust was the second best choice to me.

Other easily considerable spells instead of Exhaust are:

Ignite - If you really want to push for that first blood in lane, or if you happen to see power-healers on the opposing team (especially Dr. Mundo), you may want to consider this spell.

Cleanse - You could take this if you're concerned about CC. I would, however, just recommend buying Mercury's Treads once in-game instead of Ionian Boots of Lucidity. The trade-off is always worth it if their CCs are that crippling.

Flash - Honestly, I don't see a reason why you would ever need it. Slice and Dice already gives you tons of mobility in the first place, along with that wall-jumping ability that's ever so useful. If you're one of those die-hard champions that swears by Flash, then by all means, go ahead.

Rune and Mastery Explanations

For runes, I get armor penetration Marks and Quintessences. This greatly boosts your damage in all phases of the game. These runes shouldn't be passed up unless playing full-on Tank Renekton. For Seals, I pick magic resist, because I plan on buying the Ionian Boots of Lucidity later on. The Seals are meant to compensate for the loss of Magic Resist from not purchasing Mercury's Treads. If you are in a game where you know you'll be getting Mercury's Treads anyway, I recommend Greater Seal of Evasion instead, as the Nimbleness bonus will be nice. Finally, for Glyphs, I go flat cooldown reduction, since CDR is ever so useful on a manaless champion. You could also go scaling magic resist on blues, but I don't find this necessary unless playing full tank.

For masteries, I run a 1/21/8 spread, grabbing improved Exhaust and Ghost for obvious reasons. In "tanky DPS", I emphasize "tanky" more than "DPS", so the 21 down Defense is needed. Get improved experience gain in utility in order to keep up with whatever lane you're in. You'll often find yourself soloing a lane, and the extra experience can be a tide-turner in some cases.

Standard Skill Combo Explanations

Slice and Dice in--> Cull the Meek--> Ruthless Predator-->Autoattack--> Slice and Dice out

After you hit level 3, this is the combo you want to be pulling ALL THE TIME. Start off at around 30 Fury. Slice in and use Cull the Meek to build your Fury up past 50 - MAKE SURE THAT YOU HIT MINIONS WITH YOUR Q. Otherwise, you won't reach that 50 Fury mark. Strike the enemy with a Furious Ruthless Predator, stunning him and dealing great damage. You can get off one more autoattack before the stun wears off, so do so, then Dice out.

If you already have 50 Fury before starting this combo, then wait to use Cull the Meek until after your autoattack. So it'll look more like E-->W-->Autoattack-->Q-->E. You get more Fury that way and heal for more. Generally, however, you don't want to start at that high of a Fury mark since enemies will know you have a combo up your sleeve.

A riskier way to do this is to put an additional autoattack after you Slice in. This triggers your Sheen passive and potentially lets you get another proc off before you Dice out. This is dangerous as you sometimes cannot get them in the range of your Ruthless Predator once they see you Slice in.


Slice and Dice in--> Dominus--> Cull the Meek--> Ruthless Predator-->Autoattack--> Slice and Dice-->Autoattack--> Cull the Meek

This is your "chasing" combo. The best part about playing Renekton is your unpredictability. People don't know if you're going to Dice out or if you're going to Dice after them - catch them off guard and punish them for any assumptions they make. This combo capitalizes on the Fury gain from Dominus and makes you a very potent chaser.


Dominus--> Cull the Meek--> Ruthless Predator the carry-->Autoattack--> Slice and Dice to chase-->Autoattack--> Slice and Dice to chase more or to retreat

Standard team fight protocol. Pop in, turn into a giant crocodile, and start raping. Cull the Meek starts generating your Fury for you. Make sure to use a Furious Ruthless Predator on their carry to disable them and to deal huge burst damage. Continue to take down their squishies - if any flee, use Slice and Dice to chase after them, making sure to actually hit them with the skill.

Core Item Build Sequence

The best starting item for you out the gate is, by far, Doran's Shield. The health, armor, and health regeneration are all perfect for a champion meant to be aggressive and take hits. While buying a Doran's Blade may seem fine, you lose out on a lot of survivability early game. No survivability will completely punish your tendency to be an aggressive champion - hence the reason for the Shield.

On your first trip back, get your Boots and a Sheen. The mana definitely seems like a waste of money, but your burst damage is drastically improved, especially with your standard combo involving Ruthless Predator.

Build Ionian Boots of Lucidity for the CDR. If you feel like there's too much CC on their team, build Mercury's Treads instead. Try to grab a Brutalizer at this point as well. The armor penetration and damage will improve your combos greatly.

Finish Phage, then Trinity Force. The burst damage on your W skill has now skyrocketed. Also remember that your Ruthless Predator hits 2 to 3 times, and that each hit procs on-hit effects. So rather than a 25% chance to slow with Triforce, you instead have around a 56% chance.

As the last core item in your build, turn The Brutalizer into Youmuu's Ghostblade. The active makes you a godly chaser and lets you take down carries EXTREMELY quickly, while the extra attack speed lets you generate Fury faster. Always remember to use the Youmuu's active in teamfights!

Situational Items

Offensive Items

Madred's Bloodrazor - This is up there as one of the top offensive items simply because Ruthless Predator procs on-hit effects. One simple Furious Ruthless Predator does an additional 12% of the enemy's health in base magic damage. The attack speed grants you extra Fury generation and damage in fights, while the armor makes you tankier. This is a fantastic choice overall if you want to continue with your DPS build.

Frozen Mallet - If you aren't slowing reliably enough with Trinity Force or if you just want that extra tankiness, Mallet is a great choice overall. You could consider this as well if you decide to not build a Trinity Force and instead decide to keep Sheen throughout the game, turning Phage into something else.

The Bloodthirster - Lifesteal, damage, and an all-around kickass offensive item. It keeps you alive longer, it deals more damage - what more could you want? Well, you could want armor and magic resist, but no item is perfect, right?

Infinity Edge - Youmuu's brings you to a decent critical chance, but Infinity Edge will multiply your damage. This is another great option when considering Renekton, although a full critical strike build is not recommended.



Defensive Items

Randuin's Omen - My top choice regarding defense because of the AoE slow and just how well it does in team fights. Health, armor, and more cooldown reduction - this item is absolutely sublime on Renekton.

Force of Nature - Health regen and the most magic resist in the game while not offering unnecessary stats make Renekton a happy crocodile. The extra movement speed also fits the theme of "tanky DPS" very well. With Force of Nature and Trinity Force, you move incredibly quickly, chasing down basically everyone.

Guardian Angel - Live to disrupt their team again. Armor and magic resist, along with a rebirth effect. Great finishing item for Renek.

Sunfire Cape - Improve your AoE magic damage? Why not? Well, the item is a little less efficient than Randuin's, but if you've already got that and you need more health/armor, why not build a Sunfire?

Aegis of the Legion - Great DPS choice, providing very solid all-around stats as well. Consider this when on a team with a lot of physical DPS.

Closing

I firmly hope that this build has helped you improve your play style with Renekton. DPS/tank seems to be the way to go on him, at least from my taste, but the best thing about this build is that it is very flexible. It's just as easy to go full DPS or straight-up tank. This guide offers an intermediate.

Thanks for reading! Happy gaming, and remember - don't go in the river. There are crocodiles everywhere.