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Gangplank Build Guide by Vaneio

Middle 8.7 - Vaneio's In-Depth Mid Gangplank Guide - AMA

Middle 8.7 - Vaneio's In-Depth Mid Gangplank Guide - AMA

Updated on April 9, 2018
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League of Legends Build Guide Author Vaneio Build Guide By Vaneio 48 6 1,164,058 Views 22 Comments
48 6 1,164,058 Views 22 Comments League of Legends Build Guide Author Vaneio Gangplank Build Guide By Vaneio Updated on April 9, 2018
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Runes:

Sorcery
Summon Aery
The Ultimate Hat
Transcendence
Scorch

Inspiration
Biscuit Delivery
Cosmic Insight

Spells:

LoL Summoner Spell: Flash

Flash

LoL Summoner Spell: Exhaust

Exhaust

Threats & Synergies

Threats Synergies
Extreme Major Even Minor Tiny
Show All
None Low Ok Strong Ideal
Extreme Threats
Ideal Synergies
Synergies
Ideal Strong Ok Low None

OLD RUNE PAGE BEFORE KLEPTO NERF!

In case you still want to run Kelptomancy on Gangplank, here's a picture and description of the old runes before Patch 8.2. (Klepto nerf)
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Introduction

GUIDE IS STILL A WORK IN PROGRESS.


Last updated on: April 9 2018. Next update:

Guide Goal


This guide is meant to help those aspiring Gangplank mid mains to become the manly pirates they were destined to be. This is my first guide as well, but I'll do what I can to help you succeed. I'll be making a super in-depth guide for you to learn the ways of Gangplank mid and how it should be played. Of course, you can play it your own my, but this will be my way of teaching you how I've played my Gangplank mid and hopefully help you out where you're struggling.

Who is Vaneio?


http://na.op.gg/summoner/userName=Vaneio
I'm Vaneio!(Van-Knee-Oh). I'm a mid laner who has taken GP to mid lane and suffers a living hell when I get him top lane. I'm currently in mid plat ELO, battling between Plat 3 and Plat 4. (Fell from Plat 2, feelsbadman.) I'm here to post my Mid Lane Gangplank guide as he is my new mid laner, and actually my OTP champion. I used to play more champs but I played GP once in a normal in mid not knowing what was going on and now I play him non-stop. I'm trying to Gangplank my way to Masters as my end season goal. I was somewhat stuck in plat 5 at the start of Season 7 and as I picked up GP, I went from Plat 5 to Plat 2 in about 4 days. (then demoted due to playing while depressed from IRL situations. Don't play when your mind isn't on point. Trust me. I went from Plat 2 41LP to Plat 3 - 4 LP in a day due to that.) You can also catch me streaming at https://www.twitch.tv/vaneio. I stream every day for about 8+ hours.
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Laning with Gangplank in Mid

Now we all know that Gangplank's laning phase is pretty bad. Well it's even worse in mid lane since most of the time you'll have to farm with Q. NEVER use your barrels for poke pre-Sheen unless you're setting up a gank. Always keep a barrel by your tower though for an escape route, or for an easier gank setup. Using barrels before a Sheen will screw over your lane and will push towards them, and even if they still manage to push you back, your tower isn't going to be getting those mage minions down to Q-able health anytime soon. They'll most likely end up killing them. The only time I'd use barrels before Sheen is for getting the slow for ganks or when you actually need to back for your Sheen.

Once you get sheen, life will be a little easier for you. You can last hit the mage minions under tower 10x better, and finally use those juicy barrels for poking. When you get triforce, you will ALWAYS kill the mage minions with a Q, even when they're at full health. TriForce is how you can counter push lane matchups like Ahri, Ekko, etc...

Most Gangplank players would tell you to use that bandit mastery for your advantage and steal that 10G. I WOULD NOT recommend this until Sheen due to the fact that resetting minion aggro is a lot hard than top lane, since in top you can just Q and run in a bush to reset minion aggro. Mid lane you'll always take a few hits from the minions if you're trying to use bandit. USE IT AFTER YOU GET SHEEN and you'll be okay.

Your lane becomes a lot easier when you hit level 7 because of the barrel tick speed. You'll probably have Sheen by then too so your lane shoving should be better. When you hit 6, make sure you're looking at the map and allies because those kills and/or assists will help you get back all the CS you missed under tower when being shoved in. The only time I would roam on GP is to counter roam or when your jungler is getting invaded and needs help. Yes, farming on GP is the most important thing, but a kill or assist will 100% make up for the CS you miss if you roam. But you have to make sure to get the kill or assist. Never waste flash for an assist. A 5 minute CD on a survivability summoner just for an assist will cost you dearly.

YOUR GOAL IN LANE.


Don't feed, and farm up till out of laning phase. Once you hit level 13, they should fear you if you have at least 2 core items.
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Pros and Cons to Gangplank Mid

Pros
+ Insane burst damage
+ Can shred even the tankiest of tanks.
+ Flexible Builds. (Even tankplank which a guide to that will also be made in due time)
+ Amazingly strong late game/level 13 power spike
+ Always one shots minion backline with TriForce
+ Can cleanse CC and heal with his Oranges. (W)
+ Sheen = Very good early power spike and strong Q sheen-proc poke.
Neutrals
~ Generally needs only 2 full items for power spike. (Can be good and bad depending on how ahead or behind you are)
~ 2 Spikes. Level 7 and 13.
Cons
- Lack of escapes early. (Can abuse barrel escapes at level 7+)
- POOR laning phase
- Generally squishy
- No hard CC abilities
- Hard to give ganks to early. (Will go into detail further on)
- Cooldown reliant
- Lane freezes will mess you up
- Using barrels pre-sheen will cause your lane to generally push.
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My Personal Build.

Trinity Force

This is literally the item you will ALWAYS get on Gangplank. I don't think I'd have to explain why you get this but I will anyways, in a swift matter. Enhances Q damage, gives needed stats especially CDR (20%), and enhances every stat that Gangplank would need. HP, AD, MANA, CDR, Movement Speed, etc etc.

Boots of Mobility

Lately I've been testing out rushing boots of mobility on Gangplank right after I get my SHEEN and try to roam/gank for my lanes. From experience, I've noticed I've gotten enough money for my Sheen AND Boots of Mobility at level 7, which is the level that Gangplank can roam and not be laughed at when he puts down an E. This strat will take practice, map awareness and map knowledge as you need to know which lane to go to or you'll waste precious exp Gangplank so desperately needs. I personally hate taking TELEPORT on Gangplank as well so the Boots of Mobility will help me get back to lane quicker once I recall.

Infinity Edge

I like to go Crit Plank, so I take IE on him, and rush it after my Trinity Force. Most people would go Youmuu's Ghostblade right after Trinity Force but this build is a 100% crit plank build, so I don't go Youmuu's every time. That being saidm Youmuu's is still the go to choice after Trinity Force unless you have your own build or going this one.

Stattik Shiv

I get Shiv next to increase my Crit Rate to 50%, and I personally take this over Phantom Dancer first due to the fact that you can pop Shiv's passive with Gangplanks Q, and it can also crit. It also does magic damage, so it works well against people who get more armor than magic resist.

Phantom Dancer

Getting Phantom Dancer next will grant you 80% Crit and also more movement speed and much more movement speed chasing champions. This also grants more dueling stats as you take reduced damage from the first champion you Q or Auto attack. I'd get this before Shiv only if you're gonna be dueling a lot more than poking with Q. Example: Facing a Yasuo

Essence Reaver

Last but not least, I buy Essence Reaver. This is a more expensive build and really shines when you're late game or full build(or even at least 80% crit tbh.) as this will give you consistent damage, instead of having to gamble 80% crit rate. You'll have 100% Crit rate AND this is where you'll also get a bonus 30% CDR from the ER Passive, but you'll only be using 20% of it as Trinity Force will be giving you 20% already. But this also saves you from having to get the +10% CDR mastery at level 10 since you'll get 40-45% CDR when you buy this item. I mainly get this for the CDR and the consistency of damage.

You're probably wonder what happens when you're up against hyper tanks like Cho and Sej, and Urgot. Well you can also sell you dirt cheap Boots of Mobility for...

Lord Dominik's Regards
If you're against Hyper Late Game Tanks such as Cho'Gath, Sej, Urgot, Etc... LDR is the item to go to maximize damage against them. Tbh Gangplanks barrel's/E already ignores 40% of the enemy's armor. So I'd only get this if you aren't already doing enough damage to tanks, and I'd also only get this as my sixth item. Sell the boots for it and you're good. You'll still have movement speed from Shiv, Phantom Dancer and Trinity.
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Core Itemization

Trinity Force
This is the core item for all Gangplanks out there. This is one of Gangplanks best power spikes as it gives him 20% CDR which he needs, a greater sheen proc and immense wave clear. This item makes Gangplank deal TONS. OF. DAMAGE.


Youmuu's Ghostblade
There's a lot of debate between getting Youmuu's after TriFroce or Infinity Edge after TriForce. WELL VANEIO IS HERE TO SETTLE THAT DEBATE. Youmuu's. 100%. Youmuu's damage is more consistent than IE's because you already know that you'll be doing a fixed amount of damage rather than having to place your luck on that 20%. Sure it has 15 less AD than IE but the Lethality on Youmuu's will show that the base damage and scaling will end up dealing more than IE would. I'd rather but my money on consistency than gamble early.


Infinity Edge
A juicy item right here and one heck of a damage spike. I'd get this after you get your Youmuu's to even further increase your power spike. It's always so satisfying to see those crit barrels blow up champions. But really, this item is crazy for Gangplank. It'll give you even more burst than you already have, and is a MUST for Gangplank mid, considering the fact Mid Lane Gangplank goes full Glass Cannon mode.
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Runes

A MORE DETAILED CHAPTER WILL BE ADDED SOON!

In the meantime here's what you can pick over other runes:

NULLIFYING ORB for harder AP match-ups and early survivability - Replaces ULTIMATE HAT

BISCUIT DELIVERY for better sustain in lane. Restores % HP/Mana and also gives 40 permanent mana - Replaces PERFECT TIMING

MAGICAL FOOTWEAR for when you don't want to worry about boots. Also makes boots cheaper - Replaces FUTURE MARKET

again, a more detailed breakdown of Runes will be added soon!
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Other Items and Why/When to Build Them.

Will be added when I have free time. Just started a full time job, so I haven't had much time to work on this guide or even stream.

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League of Legends Champions:

Teamfight Tactics Guide