Alistar Build Guide by Dimitrexx

Introduction

Hey,what's up guys and girls,I am Dimitrexx and this is my second guide here on Mobafire ;D.In this guide,I will show you 3 different ways of playing Alistar,our favorite cow.I am brazilian,so this guide will probably contain some grammar mistakes,you know.Anyways,I'm not a pro player,but i want to share my knowledge of Alistar.For anyone wanting to add me in the Brazilian server,my name is ZeroAbsoluto.
Without further ado,let's start the guide.I hope you enjoy it ^^.

Pros/cons

Pros

• Powerful crowd control
• Extremely tanky
• Awesome ganks
• Has some sustain with Triumphant Roar.
• Nothing can hold him back.

Cons

• Needs some practice to be effective.
• Needs a good amount of mobility.
• Mana hungry.
• Banned a lot in ranked games.
• Damage output is kinda low.

Builds included

Support:This is the way Alistar is played the most,since he provides good sustain to his teammate with Triumphant Roar and he can easily set up kills with his crowd control.Transitions into a tank late game.
Jungle:Jungle Alistar is very powerful due to his extremely good ganks.He has good sustain in the jungle,especially as Triumphant Roar's cooldown reduce when monsters die.Tanky build with some damage and utility.
AP:This build is one of those "4fun" builds,which you should never use in ranked games.High burst damage,but somewhat squishy without Unbreakable Will.Also includes some utility.You can go solo-top and even MID if you're confident.This build will have its own section on the guide.Its currently a WIP.

Summoner spells

Top picks

:This is great when going support due to the fact that it adds another CC to your arsenal.With Summoner's Wrath ,it also makes the target easier to kill.

:This is a must on any Alistar build because it allows better positioning,is an escape mechanism,but most importantly you can use Flash to set up a "surprise" Pulverize into a Headbutt.This can lead you to a kill.

: Smite is necessary for jungling.Without it, Alistar basically can't clear the jungle.It is also essential for securing buffs,as well as Dragon and Baron Nashor .

:Take this in the AP build to give you some more killing potential.

Good picks

:This is good for the support build,but only take this if you plan on buying Eleisa's Miracle.Also good if jungling with a low level account.

:Read Heal(ignore the jungling part).

:This is good for the Ap build,bad otherwise.

:This is also good for the mobility,but Flash is 10 times better for Alistar.

Bad spells

:This spell isn't worth wasting a slot for.Plus,if you're mana hungry,buy a philosopher's stone and stop spamming.

:Are they wasting their CC on you?That's great,because your team can wreak havoc.Plus,you have Unbreakable Will.

:This is only good for ADCs or the Proving Grounds .

I believe i don't really need to explain why you shouldn't take the other spells.

Runes

Support runes

Marks

• Greater Mark of Armor:I take these marks for some extra tankiness early on.
• Greater Mark of Magic Penetration:These are also good choices if you want to increase your damage output or if you don't have armor marks.

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Seals

• Greater Seal of Armor:These are probably the best seals in the game.They greatly improve your early tankiness.

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Glyphs

• Greater Glyph of Magic Resist:Great glyphs because the early magic resist will help tanking some damage from the supports,such as Sona's annoying Hymn of Valor,or even magic damage from carries( Rocket Jump, Phosphorus Bomb, Essence Flux,etc).
• Greater Glyph of Scaling Magic Resist:Also good choices if you want to be more tanky mid-late game instead of early on.
• Greater Glyph of Cooldown Reduction:These are also good choices since Alistar's cooldowns are quite lenghty.

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Quintessences

• Greater Quintessence of Movement Speed:These are the best Quints for Alistar,simply because movement speed is essential on him.The bonus speed might be enough for landing that clutch Pulverize and other sorts of things.
• Greater Quintessence of Gold:Also good for support due to the fact that you won't be farming(unless your carry is recalling,dead,etc).However,I personally prefer the Greater Quintessence of Movement Speed.

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Jungle runes

Marks

• Greater Mark of Magic Penetration:These runes will improve your clearing speed,since all your AOE is magic damage.Additionaly,it offers extra damage on all stages of the game.
• Greater Mark of Armor:Also good if you don't want the extra damage and want more tankiness.

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Seals

• Greater Mark of Armor:Obvious choice,since monsters deal physical damage.Also offers extra tankiness when ganking,etc.

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Glyphs

• Greater Mark of Scaling Magic Resist:For jungling,i prefer to take scaling magic resist since early on you will be mostly on the jungle taking physical damage.So,you will mostly take magical damage in teamfights mid-late game,so Greater Glyph of Scaling Magic Resist> Greater Glyph of Magic Resist for jungling.

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Quintessences

• Greater Quintessence of Movement Speed:Obvious choice,since as I said above,movement speed is essential to Alistar.The movement speed helps a lot when ganking and in teamfights also.

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So,my Alistar runes are focusing on improving tankiness while also having some utility.

Masteries

Support masteries

Offensive tree

• Summoner's Wrath :I use this mastery to improve Exhaust,so the target becomes easier to kill.

Defensive tree

• Durability :I take this mastery because free health is kinda good for Alistar.

Utility tree

• Summoner's Insight :I take this mastery to reduce Flash's cooldown,since we will need it a lot of times.
• Wanderer :This mastery is amazing because you can get back to lane faster,but most importantly,roam,which is a pretty efective tactic if you want to rack some assists.
• Meditation :I take this mastery to solve Alistar's early mana problems.Synergises well with Faerie Charm.
• Mastermind :Again,reducing Flash's cooldown is extremely important for Alistar.It also helps reducing Exhaust's CD,which is kinda lenghty also.
• Artificer :I take this mastery because having the cooldown of our items reduced is pretty good,especially if teamfights are happening a lot and you need shurelya's reverie and shard of true ice available.
• Greed :This mastery is amazing for supports since as you won't be taking farm from your carry,this mastery really helps with your gold income.
• Wealth :I simply love this mastery because the extra gold gives us an extra ward at the beggining.
• Biscuiteer :The biscuit is extremely important since you won't be taking any potions at the start if you follow the standard build.This gives you some sustain,but remember to only use it if needed.
• Explorer :I take this simply because the 60 seconds ward is pretty effective to protect your jungle at the start.
• Pickpocket :This mastery is kinda good if you have the opportunity to land some autoattacks to the enemy and increase your gold income.
• Intelligence :Kinda obvious mastery for Alistar since his cooldowns are lenghty.
• Nimble :3% movespeed for free is amazing for a champion like Alistar.If you don't know how much 3% movespeed is,i will say,it is equivalent to 2 Greater Quintessence of Movement Speed.

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I invest a lot of points into the utility tree because most of its masteries benefit Alistar.

Jungle masteries

Defensive tree

• Summoner's Resolve :I take this to improve Smite because 10 extra gold each use is extremely useful.
• Durability :This is really good because extra health per level helps a lot for some more tankiness.
• Tough Skin :Extremely awesome mastery because we can tank monsters more easily.
• Hardiness :Armor helps a lot in the jungle since monsters deal physical damage.The armor also helps when ganking if you take minion aggro,if the enemy turns to fight you etc.
• Resistance :Some extra magic resist for extra tankiness.
• Bladed Armor :Upgraded from Tough Skin ,this mastery helps a lot because it kinda increases your clearing speed due to the damage reflection.
• Veteran's Scars :Upgraded from Durability ,this mastery gives some extra health at the start,increasing our early tankiness.Kinda awesome.
• Tenacious :Tenacity is always good,especially since most of the times we won't be buying Mercury's Treads.
• Juggernaut :I love this mastery because it increases our health by a decent amount.
• Defender :This helps a lot since most of the times you should be in the middle of the enemy team.
• Honor Guard :Amazing mastery for overall tankiness.

Utility tree

• Summoner's Insight :As said above,reducing flash's cooldown is essential for Alistar,so this mastery is mandatory.
• Wanderer :This mastery improves our ganking potential,especially when combined with Boots of Mobility.This also helps traveling between camps.
• Improved Recall :This mastery isn't that great for Alistar,but we take it since we need that 1 point to get Runic Affinity .
• Mastermind :Read Summoner's Insight .
• Runic Affinity :Great mastery since we want the first Blue Buff to last as much as possible.Also helps with the Red Buff so we can gank more often.

Abilities and Ability sequence

:Whenever Alistar uses an ability, Trample is activated.During Trample, Alistar deals magic damage each second to nearby enemies and towers,and ignores unit collision.

Support usage:For supporting, Trample isn't thaat useful,however it helps dealing some damage during skirmishes.Additionaly,the unit collision ignore is very nice since after you Pulverize,you can walk straight through enemies to Headbutt them.It also helps if minions are blocking you,you can use Trample to completely ignore them.Also helps when pushing.This is also amazing to push towers as it deals damage to them.

Jungle usage:This is mainly used to improve your clearing speed due to the AOE,and as since you can spam your heal in the jungle,you will easily clear small and big camps alike.Again,the unit collision ignore is very good for better positioning during ganks,etc.Be sure to space out your abilities,since Trample does not stack.

Teamfight usage:Kinda obvious,but try to use this in the middle of the enemy team to do the most damage as possible.


: Alistar smashes the ground,dealing magic damage to opponents nearby him and knocking them up.Once they hit the ground,they are briefly stunned.

Support usage:This is an amazing ability since the entire CC lasts 1,5 seconds.This is enough for your ADC to hit the enemy at least 2 times.Additionaly,its enough time for you to use Headbutt for another CC.You can also use this to push the lane if the ADc is dead/recalling.Some advanced strategies involve using Flash into Pulverize to maybe guarantee a kill.

Jungle usage:This improves your clearing speed since its AOE,but we mainly use it to gank of course,since 1,5 seconds is a pretty long time to beat up the enemy.

Teamfight usage:Try to hit as much enemies as possible with Pulverize to give your team the upper advantage.

: Alistar charges at target enemy,dealing damage and knocking it back.


Support usage:This is mainly used in your simple Pulverize+ Headbutt combo in order to keep the enemy crowd controlled.A good strategy is to headbutt an opponent into a thick wall in order to "stun" it,as the fly time is converted into stun time.This strategy allows for a free Pulverize ,maybe setting up a kill.


Jungle usage: Headbutt has no actual use in the jungle since you will only waste mana.It is mainly used for ganking to knock back the target into your teammate.Never use this on the Ancient Golem or the Elder Lizard ,since you may end up knocking them over the wall and reset their health,which is kinda annoying.

Teamfight usage:This is mainly used to knock back a squishy target(Mainly carries) onto your team so they can be quickly annihilated.You can also use it to peel of bruisers from your carries to protect the latter.

: Alistar heals himself and nearby allies.Additionaly,whenever enemies die nearby Alistar, Triumphant Roar's cooldown is reduced.The heal amount is halved for allies.

Support usage:This is mainly used to sustain yourself and your partner.It's kinda spammable since minions will die a lot around you.However,be careful and manage your mana.This can also be used during skirmishes to proc Trample and give you the upper hand.

Jungle usage:This is mainly used to sustain yourself and proc Trample to increase your clearing speed.Its cooldown will be pretty low since as monsters die it keeps reducing,so it's kinda nice.

Teamfight usage:In teamfights the heal won't be really effective,but it helps recovering from enemy pokes pre-teamfight.Try to use it as much as possible during the actual fight to proc Trample and continue healing your team.

: Alistar instantly removes all CC from himself.During the next few seconds,he gains AD and takes reduced physical and magical damage.

Support usage:This should be used during fights to improve your tankiness and damage.It can also be used as an "escape" mechanism due to the CC removal component and the damage reduction which may help you survive.


Jungle usage:When jungling,this is mainly used for tower diving,since it does this job pretty well.
It can be used when fighting the enemy jungler due to the AD and damage reduction.

Teamfight usage:Amazing ultimate from teamfights.Once they start CC'ing you,pop Unbreakable Will to remove them and wreak havoc with the amazing boosts provided by this ultimate.

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As you can see, Alistar's kit is made to disrupt the enemy team and soak lots of damage while providing support to his team.

Skill sequence

Support sequence

• Triumphant Roar is maxed first to improve the sustain to yourself and your partner.
• Pulverize is maxed second to improve damage and reduce the cooldown.
• Headbutt is maxed last becase our other skills are more important.
• Unbreakable Will,as your ultimate,should be taken whenever possible.

Jungle sequence

• Pulverize is maxed first to improve damage(and consequently,clearing speed) and reduce its cooldown.
• Triumphant Roar is maxed second to improve sustain in the jungle.
• Headbutt should be taken at level 2 to gank,but max it last.
• Unbreakable Will obviously should be taken whenever possible.

Support items

Start

+ +sight wardx2:This is my preffered start.It offer some sustain with the Faerie Charm and Rejuvenation Bead.These 2 items are pretty good at the start so I can rush my philosopher's stone.The wards of course are needed for the support role.

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Early game

philosopher's stone:I can't stress enough how good this item is for Alistar.The sustain it offers is amazing,but most importantly it gives GP10 to help with our gold income since we won't be taking farm from our carry.

:This item is amazing,not only because it gives us some health for tankiness,but it offers a powerful supply of wards.Must-buy for any support.

kage's lucky pick:Another good item.The AP improves a bit of our damage and heals,but it gives us GP10 also,which is kinda nice.

:We only get it now because base speed has been buffed on season 3,so we can feel free to get the "support core" earlier.

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Boots

:This are my prefferred par of boots for Alistar.The extra mobility helps getting to lane faster,as well as roaming and placing wards.

:These are also good choices if you're having a lot of trouble with Alistar's lenghty cooldowns.

:These boots also gives great mobility,and they are better than Boots of Mobility for teamfights since their mobility aren't lost in teamfights.

:Also good choices if the enemy is CC heavy,but i don't like to take it.

:If the enemy ADC is giving you trouble.

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Mid game

:This item is kinda nice since it offers every stat a tank needs.The aura also greatly helps in early teamfights.

:It offers a decent amount of health and an even better ward supply than Sightstone.

shard of true ice:This item is amazing since it offers a decent amount of AP,a cool mana regen aura,but most importantly its active,which improves even more our initiation.The best part about it is that it retains the gp10 from kage's lucky pick,so we will still be generating gold through the game.

shurelya's reverie:I love this item.It offers some good amount of health and CDR,but most importantly the active that also improves initiation due to the massive boost of speed.

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Late Game

:This item is kinda nice since it offers a handful amount of mana(which is kinda helpful since Alistar's abilities cost a lot of mana),decent amount of armor,some AP and CDR,and a great active that besides improving our damage output,adds another CC to our arsenal(an AOE slow).

:Your big buy.Amazing stats(mainly magic resist) and an aura that helps immensely your team.

:The extra speed is simply amazing for Alistar.The best enchantment for him.

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Jungle items

Start

+ x5:This is the best start for junglers.It increases your clearing speeds and the Health Potions offer some sustain.

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Early game

:This is a great item.It provides you decent sustain but most importantly the extra damage against monsters.

:Boots,of course,are necessary for ganking.

philosopher's stone:Some more sustain and gp10 to help with your gold income.Will build into shurelya's reverie later.

emblem of valor:The armor will make you tankier,and the health regen will also offer some more sustain.Kinda nice to have.

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Boots

:These boots will greatly improve your ganking potential.Essential for jungle Alistar.

For other boot choices,read the support items section.

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Mid game

:Amazing stats for a tank like you,and also a nice aura to help in early teamfights.

:This item is pretty good for Alistar.The extra Ap adds for some more damage and improved heals,and the mana is very useful.The passive will improve your burst damage and overall pushing potential.

shurelya's reverie:Some cdr and health,as well as an amazing active to help you initiate with the great speed boost.

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Late game

:This item helps a lot,offering a decent amount of health,extra damage against monsters,some armor and tenacity,which is kinda helpful.

:This item is amazing for Alistar since it provides decent amount of CDR and armor,but most importantly its passive,which is pretty efective since you will be in the middle of the enemy team.

:Tons of damage.A few Alistars build this,but its quite amazing since every one of its stats benefit Alistar.Great for some offtank presence.

:Amazing stats and a great aura because it benefits your team insanely.

:The extra speed is simply amazing for Alistar.The best enchantment for him.

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Alternative items

This section is dedicated to show some alternative items that you can buy for Alistar.

Agressive options

:This offers a decent amount of AP,some magic resist and Movement Speed,which is great for Alistar.

:Weird choice,but it is good if you're having mana problems since Triumphant Roar can easily stack it.Its upgrade, Seraph's Embrace improves survivability,which is pretty nice.

:This item is kinda good if you want to be OP in towerdives or if you need to backdoor.

:This item offers some AP and a nice aura,but most importantly its active which improves pushing.

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Defensive Options

:Quite a selfish item,but its kinda good since it offers some CDR,health,magic resist,and it improves Triumphant Roar's self heal.

:If you're being a game-changing force in teamfights and need that "second chance",this is a good choice.

:Great item for Alistar since it greatly improves tankiness and has a nice passive and active.

:Welcome to the Warmog's meta.The health it offers is extremely good since armor and magic resist were "nerfed".

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Utility items

zeke's herald:This item is good because it improves the potential of AD champions on your team.

:If the carry is being hardly focused,this item can save him and overall a game changing item.

:Good stats but most importanyly its active which can change the tides of a teamfight.

: Alistar kinda benefits from the spell vamp himself,but the aura is also nice.Only take this if your teammates benefit from it.

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Gameplay

Support

Early game

• Focus on healing your teammate early on and let him farm.
• Once you feel confident,run up to the enemy carry, Pulverize him and knock him back to your carry with Headbutt.Use Exhaust if needed to secure the kill.
• The above strategy can be done with Flash for a "surprise" technique.
• Ward as much as possible.The best places to ward with your 2 starting sight wards are the bot lane bush closest to the enemy tower(to keep control of it) and the river bush to prevent ganks.
• As you go back to base and buy more wards,try to ward the dragon,the tribush and the entrance to the purple team Ancient Golem .
• If attempting for a tower dive,remember to always use Unbreakable Will.

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Mid game

• Try to ward the map as much as possible and protect your carry.
• Keep control of dragon and take it whenever you have the opportunity to provide global gold to your team.
• You can try to roam if your carry feels secure.This way,you can rack up some assists.
• Now the first teamfights should be occuring.Your goal is to walk through the enemy team(or Flash on it), Pulverize the enemy carry, Headbutt him to your team. Exhaust him if needed.If not,save Exhaust for another disruptive enemy.Use shard of true ice if you have it to improve this initiation.After you've done your job,pop Unbreakable Will and wreak havoc.

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Late game

• For now,try to ward key objectives such as Dragon or Baron Nashor .
• Stay close to your team,especially the carry to prevent him from being assassinated.
• Whenever teamfights occur,do the same thing as said above.Except now you should have shurelya's reverie to make the initiation better.
• Do baron whenever possible.
• Win the game.

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Jungling

• Start at the Ancient Golem .Ask for a leash.Use Pulverize once he starts attacking you.Once he's almost dead,use Smite on him.
• Grab Headbutt and look for a gank.Use your basic combo( Pulverize+ Headbutt) and try to get a kill or an assist.If not,the enemy probably wasted Flash.
• You can either go back to the jungle or go base.If you're back to the jungle,kill Wolves ,then Wraiths ,then Elder Lizard and finally Double Golems .Remember that in the middle of this route you will obviously reach lv 3,which is where you should get Triumphant Roar.Spam it as much as possible in the jungle as long as you have Blue Buff .
• Once you've got philosopher's stone,give the Blue Buff to your mid laner.If he does'nt use mana,take it yourself.

Ganking

Top Lane

• River gank:This is the gank where you come from the river and gank the enemy from behind.Use the same Pulverize+ Headbutt as stated above.Only possible if the lane is possible.
• Tribush gank:This is the gank where you go through the purple team jungle and go behind the enemy.Use the same combo.Only possible if on the blue team.
• Tower dive gank:This gank is only possible if you're on the purple team.Go through the enemy jungle into the tribush.Wait for your minions to hit the enemy tower and go behind it to kill the enemy.Remember to use Unbreakable Will.
• Lane gank:Ask your laner to push so you can go through the top lane bushes unnoticed and eventually surprise the enemy.

Mid lane

• Bush gank:This is the gank where you come from the side bushes and the most popular gank for the mid lane.Only do this if the enemy is pushing hard.
• Loop gank:This is the gank where you loop behind the wall besides the bush and get behind the enemy.Only do this if the lane is frozen.

Bot lane

• River gank:Read the top lane section.Be sure that the bush is not warded or else you've just wasted time.
• Tribush gank:Read top lane section.However,instead of being on the blue team,you should be on the purple one.
• Tower dive gank:Read top lane section.
• Lane gank:Read top lane section.Again.

Conclusion

Well,this is the end of my guide.As you can see,this guide is not yet finished of course.I will constantly update it,and I will include some other sections later on.I will just publish it now to give a preview of what it looks like.I hope you've enjoyed.