Hello hello.

So my name is silverkaged, or David if you prefer. I'm not all that experienced with League, having played just over a year, with probably around 1,000 games under my belt and never having been above g3. However, I am very big on research, and very big on specific champion mastery. Season 5 was the season of Renekton for me, so I played probably 150+ ranked matches with him, 80+ Customs, and probably 200+ normals. I don't claim to be the most experienced or the best decision making player around, but I research the hell out of the best builds, and practice the hell out of the hardest match ups. I hope you enjoy all of the below. I apologize in advance for the obnoxious description depth. I really wanted to get down into the nitty gritty for those that like details. There are a lot of little hidden gems in the expandable notes.

If you're going against someone that heals a ton in lane, take ignite.
Olaf? Ignite.
Nasus? Ignite.
Voli? Ignite.

If you're going against someone that you HAVE to kill a lot early or they outscale you, take ignite.

See prior list. lol.

Otherwise take TP.

TP allows you to be there for your team. Makes sure you're the highest level fool on the field, and allows you to split push and then be in the middle of a team fight. In low elo solo Q, run ignite whenever you like and bash peoples faces in. I went from S5 to G5 in two weeks (and I have a full time job and wife... so probably 80 games) with Renekton+Ignite. He's a bit of a low elo stomping champ. Once you get into gold+ people know how to handle him. (That isn't to say that he can't do well at high elo also, it's just really easy low elo).

Renekton runes are pretty standard across the board.
-Armor yellows are the most efficient yellows.
-Attack damage or armor pen reds are the most efficient reds.
-Flat magic resist are best if there is an AP jungler or mid you think you'll see before level 7, otherwise run scaling magic resist blues. (They provide more MR after level 7 than flats)
-Attack damage quints, to give that extra punch. If you anticipate a very difficult lane you can switch to armor or life steal quints.

Some people like AD 21/9.
I prefer AD 9/21.

The logic behind that is that I like my masteries to work in the opposite direction of my first build items. On Champions that I'm going to immediately build tank, I like to have runes and masteries with damage, so that CS'ing is easier. On champions that I'm going to immediately build damage, I like to have runes and masteries that are defensive, so that I'm not a total glass cannon. I've also found that late game, when Renekton becomes a stunning DOT aura meat shield, the extra defensive masteries add up.

Pros
One of the strongest early games in League.
Super Lane Bully.
Able to draw enemy jungle attention and abuse enemy jungler.
Super easy to CS with.

Cons
Relatively weak Mid/Late game. (Not nearly as bad as it used to be with the new Cleaver)
Easily kited by anyone with a knock-back, a hop, jump or role.

Don't jungle him. You can be the most amazing Renekton alive, it will still only work situationally.

Creeping? If you miss CS with Renekton you're a scrub.

Beginner Skill Notes:

(Q) -- Q is a great ability for poking. He spins his blade in a circle that equates to about 225 attack range. Meaning that melee attackers that are CS'ing can be hit from enough distance that they cannot trade in return. This ability does not do as much damage early as W or E, but has a passive that heals, and is on a short cool down, which makes it perfect for poking, sustaining in lane, and wearing enemy laners down, which is why it should be maxed first.

(W) -- W is, in my humble opinion, the bread and butter of Renekton. This ability not only dishes a boatload of damage early, but stuns for .75 seconds under normal conditions, and 1.5 seconds when empowered. It is this ability that allows Renekton to dash in, smash off a ton of damage with his combo (E in, auto, W, auto, Q, auto, E out), and take virtually no damage in return.

(E) -- E is Renektons sole source of mobility. It is a short dash, slightly shorter than a Tryndamere spin or Yi Q, but if landed on an enemy or an enemy minion/jungle camp, gives a second proc. When used properly, this ability will make you virtually un-gankable, because you can dodge not one, but two skill shots/snares/stuns if employed well.

More Advanced Skill notes:

If you've ever watched a Renekton video online, or you've ever seen anyone play him on Twitch, you know that you "must max E second!!!". So while E is definitely a valuable part of Renektons kit, everything is situational, and after extensive experience testing I have found that with the build as suggested here, maxing W second brings considerably more damage. Here are some fun number stats and runs:

At level 3 with a runes and masteries as displayed in this build, and a long sword:
Basic attacks do 95 Damage (Assuming no armor)
Cull the Meek (Q) does 85.6 damage. (128.4 if empowered.)
Ruthless Predator (W) does 152.5 damage. (228.75 if empowered.)
Slice and Dice (E) does 68.4 on each pass, for a total of 132.8. (Total of 158.2 if Dice is empowered).

So when deciding which ability to use your rage on:
Q) 128.4
W) 228.75
E) 132.8

It should almost always be W. Not only are you dishing roughly twice the damage, but you’re getting double the stun.

There are two exceptions to this rule. 1) If you are struggling with health, and are being poked down, you should be using an empowered Q because you get double the health return. 2) Once you hit level 7, you will have Q notched up to level 4, meaning it is dealing 263.4 damage (still with just a long sword to keep things simple). Which means a regular W empowered Q combo will deal 415.9 damage, while an empowered W regular Q combo will deal 404.35. So at this point it probably makes sense to use the empowered Q as it is doing slightly more damage and returning a ton of health through the empowered heal passive. Now if you are expecting a gank, you still want to use the W for its empowered, because another second of stunned opponent means your jungler can't miss skill shots, and gets to dish extra damage as well.

Fast forward now to level 10. In most videos by this point Q will be maxed, W will have 1 point, and E will have 3 points. Also by level 10, if following this guide, you should either have, or be very close to a Hydra (It's probably 13 minutes or so in, and you should have over 100 CS)

Lets compare combo’s with 3 points in E, vs 3 points in W, with level 10 and a Hydra. For the sake of simplicity, we will first use all of the fury with Q.

3 Points in E: E engage (211.2) + Auto (183) + W (284.5) + Hydra (183) + Auto (183) + Q^2 (391.2) + Auto (183) + E (211.2)

That is a total of: 1,647.1 Damage. Please bear in mind that no one is running around with 0 armor, and this is not true damage. You’ll be lucky to actually get half that in a real engagement.

3 Points in W: E engage (151.2) + Auto (183) + W (324.5) + Hydra (183) + Auto (183) + Q^2 (391.2) + E (151.2)

That is a total of: 1,567.1 Damage. So wait!? These streamers are right! We should be maxing E second!

Wrong, and here is why. The only time you are going to empower Q is if you need health, which when you’re roaming or when you’re bullying in lane, isn’t really an issue… and you get health anyway off of a regular Q. The only time you are going to empower E is when you’re dealing with a Malphite or Rammus where you REALLY need to shred that armor. 90% of your time, you should be using an empowered W. Why? Because an extra second of stun is an eternity in a 1 v 1, because of the extra auto you get, the extra minion damage enemies can take, the extra turret shots enemies can take, and the extra time you spend with them not being able to use an ability on you. The extra second of stun is even more important during a gank or a roam, because an extra second with 2+ people attacking is even more crucial. But here is the kicker, Empowered W gets 225% of his AD as bonus damage. Meaning that if you’re building damage (Hydra rush), it is easily the most bang for your buck. Take a look at the following combo, which takes into consideration the extra auto attack that is allowed because of the stun:

3 points in W: Empowered W: E engage (151.2) + Auto (183) + W^2 (486.75) +Hydra (183) + Auto (183) + Q (260.8) + Auto (183) + E (151.2)

Which is a total of 1781.95 Damage, and extra stun duration for teammates to utilize.

Now I know that was a long drawn out explanation for less than a 10% damage increase. Also, don’t get me wrong, as soon as you start building armor instead of attack damage, or as soon as you start to struggle in lane, it makes sense to max E. But in lanes where you really have to beat your opponent down early, or they are going to wreck you post level 8. (Jax, Nasus, Irelia etc). That extra point or two in W early can be the difference between 1/0 and now losing lane at level 10, and 4/0 double the cs, lets roam mid and snowball this game at level 10.

Another quick note. Oftentimes you’ll see people rushing Black Cleaver. This is a viable strategy, especially against someone like Shen, Malphite, Nasus etc, who you know is going to immediately rush pure armor. In lanes against weak early game champs though, it still may be advisable to grab the early pickaxe instead before building into Cleaver, because you have twice the kill potential vs waiting for double the gold to come back with phage, and then spending all that time and gold working through a kindlegem. Also, to put it into perspective, the same level 10 empowered W combo I worked out above, looks like this with a cleaver instead:

Cleaver: Empowered W: E engage (109.2) + Auto (148) + W^2 (408) + Auto (148) + Q (232.8) + Auto (148) + E (109.2)

Which is a total of 1302.4 Damage. If they have a ton of armor, it can make all the difference, because more of that damage will go through. You also get to do the combo 20% more often because of cool downs. If not though, you just gave up almost 500 damage per trade, and a ton of life steal.

Alright, items. Here we go.

There are a few different paths that one can take in lane, and the path chosen is going to largely depend on a few different factors: 1) How Squishy/Tanky is your opponent. 2) What type of jungler are you dealing with. 3) What kind of mid are you dealing with.

So lets say, for example, that you are facing a riven top, with a lee sin jungle, and a zed mid. Now typically against a riven top, you take a longsword, you take 3 potions, and you go pound that poor little girls face in. While she can probably beat you at level 1. By level 3 you're ready to really lay a hurting on her. Just bait her shield before you W, let her try to come in on you in some minions, stun her, gg. BUT... you're looking at an AD top, an AD jungle, and an AD commonly roaming mid. Building damage may not be your best bet. You know that Lee Sin clears pretty quickly early. One way or another he's going to be in your lane with a red buff at level 3. You do not want to have 0 armor, and low health from trading against a Riven and a Lee. In this situation, it might make perfectly good sense to start cloth 5 and grab yourself an early Chain Mail. That way when Lee inevitably comes top, you can 2 v 1 with your lifsteal, because they hardly touch you. Also, when zed decides to take a roam, he'll either notice your armor and say Nah, or he'll come top anyway and waste his time, because he'll catch a W to the face, and you'll E right to safety( Make sure you don't E pre ult).

Now for standard start, take your longsword 3 pots, and go get yourself a first blood. The only champs in the game that can handle Renekton through level 5 are Lee Sin (In the hands of a diamond+ player that doesn't miss/waste Q's), Pantheon, and some ranged attackers. Which means your goal is to go out there, get first blood. Shove a wave under their turret. Back and buy yourself a pickaxe. So a special note here: Yes you are buying a pickaxe. In the beginning I would go for a vamp scepter because I love life steal. The 75 difference in gold, for more than double the attack damage (25 vs 10) means that buying a vamp scepter is a huge mistake. You'll quite literally heal more from the extra AD using your Q, than you'll heal from the vamp. (Shoutout to Jovlin.)

Now once you go back with that pickaxe, you're ready to get your second kill. Don't hesitate to buy a few pots on your first back, and WARDS WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE. If you're playing Renekton correctly, you are constantly extended, and constantly bashing peoples faces in. Now here is the trick. You WANT the enemy jungler to come top. Why? Because they are 2 levels behind you at this point, and they are a free kill. If I had a dollar for every time I 2 v 1'nd a half health laner and a half health jungler because they were dumb enough to try to gank me... well I'd have a lot of dollars. The catch to that though is that you have to know they are coming. If the jungler manages to sneak up on you, there is a good chance you will have just wasted some spells carelessly, and you'll end up dying. The other reason you want the jungle to live top, is that when you ward correctly, you can waste their time all day, while your jungler feeds your adc or counter ganks. Even if you dont smash your lane in. If you get ganked 6 times pre level 8 and give the jungler/your lane nothing for it, you have won. Because in that time, your mid and bot will have been getting lots of jungle love.

Use that pickaxe, don't you dare miss any cs (there is no excuse with Renekton), and kill as many people as you can, and push the turret as hard as you can, then go back and get that Hydra.

Now the reason you want to rush Hydra is that you want your roams to be effective. If you're playing a tough lane, say against a Pantheon or a Darius, and you build a sunfire camp first item... when you roll mid to try to gank, you are going to do 0 damage and accomplish nothing. On the other hand, if you roll mid at level 10 with a hydra, there is a very good chance you are going to secure a kill. See details in Skill Sequence.

Once you have your Hydra locked down, now its time to self evaluate. Are you 5/0/0 and they are an all AD team? Screw it... build ninja's and a Sunfire/thornmail. Are you 5/0/0 and they have an Elise jungle and a Malz mid? You should already have Merc treads, why not start a spirit visage. Are you 0/1/1 and getting your face camped off? Buy more wards and build hybrid resistances (Spectral Cowel and Wardens Mail) Renekton farms under turret like it is his job. You just need to CS well enough that you can sit next to the carry and peel hard.

In the end:
- You always want a Hydra. The life steal, the damage. The Animation cancel for W. Its essential.
- You always want a black cleaver. The life is great, but the cooldown reduction is awesome, and the movement speed off of physical damage gives crucial mobility.
- You always need a spirit visage. It gives you extra life steal and a ton of Health+MR. You can do a banshees instead if you keep eating Morg Q's or the enemy Sejuani is locking down your whole team, otherwise, get a visage.
- You always need armor. If you're fighting a Melee champ that likes to stand next to you and duel you (Riven, Darius, Malphite) then sure get a sunfire. Otherwise Randuins is great for its active slow, Dead Mans Plate is great for its slow and its movement speed.
- If they have a ton of AD, Thornmail will keep you alive, and will dish a ton of damage once you stack it on top of another defense item. I went against a Riven, Lee, Zed, Jinx, Leona one time, and built Hydra, Cleaver, Tabi's, Randuins, Sunfire, Thornmail, and had more fun than you can count with 100 sticks.
- I almost always prefer Frozen Mallet to Warmogs. It gives almost the same amount of health, 700 vs 800. But you also get 30 AD, and a HUGE slow. You ever tried chasing down a Vayne without a slow? Trust me, its no fun. The only time I'll build Warmogs is if they have 3-4 AP champs on the team, and I just need the regeneration.

If you're super ahead and tanky, you e into their front line, e right to their back line, and proceed to one shot AD and AP carries, while simultaneously eating every ult they have. Your team proceeds to chase down the now scattered enemy team, and before you come close to dying, your skills are back up and you either jump on someone else or E to safety.

If you are on par or behind, you stick to the carry. Your empowered W gives them almost 2 seconds to get to where they need to go if an assassin dives in, and your dmg is big enough that people would rather attack you than spend the extra few seconds running over to the carry.

I hope you enjoyed the guide. Hopefully when Rito fixes this juggernaut patch in the near future I'll be updating this to change the individual champion matchups.

I also plan to put more details into those as the opportunity presents itself.