This is my first guide so go easy on me, please. As I'm sure most of you are aware, Gangplank is a heavy dps champion that some people consider to have been nerfed hard by his recent rework. Although I agree his ultimate is a less viable source of kills than it used to be, the new guaranteed slow effect is still a great choice for saving allied champs from across the map or attempting to get an assist (and maybe even steal a kill; sorry team!). If you're looking for a melee dps carry with the early game fun of a ranged single-target nuke, Gangplank is the champion for you.

This guide particularly is centered around creating an extremely powerful, extremely mobile Gangplank. Gangplank is already a great champion and I feel that it is important that he can be pretty much anywhere on the map whenever he's needed.

DISCLAIMER: You may get your *** handed to you early game but, provided your team isn't one of those teams, late game you will shine in more than one way (Taking down squishies in two to three hits, soloing Baron, etc.)

Pros

• Dishes out a lot of physical damage. Late game you will easily hit near 1.5k with Parrrley and your melee crits will be around 1k
• Decent support with your ultimate, though not as viable as it once was
• Excellent in 1v1
• Has a skill that works like cleanse but heals some HP ( Remove Scurvy)
• Has a damage buff that now rivals that of Taric's ultimate ( Raise Morale)
• He's a pirate

Cons

• Extremely squishy champion (Though your ridiculous lifesteal and attack speed can allow you to take on champions like Xin Zhao or Master Yi late game)
• Goes down pretty quickly in team fights
• Often focused; especially late game when the other team realizes you have a great dps output
• Not really a con but, he can no longer deny thus making him a less viable mid champion.
• If you like Pantheon, be prepared to develop an extreme hate for his guts as his Aegis is perhaps the most annoying thing you will encounter as a laning phase Gangplank.

Runes are an extremely important part of building a fun Gangplank. I was a little hesitant to spent around 10k IP on critical damage runes but it's extremely worth it.

Greater Mark of Critical Damage is perhaps the best mark you can buy for Gangplank. Despite this, if you're strapped for IP Greater Mark of Desolation can work but I'd definitely recommend saving up for the former. Nine Greater Mark of Critical Damage add up to 20% additional critical damage. That is to say they stack with your Infinity Edge.

Greater Seal of Attack Speed is where you want to be with your seals. These, along with your Glyphs are generally your more flexible runes. You can choose to use Greater Seal of Armor. They're both effective and lacking a little extra Attack Speed won't be too noticeable once you have your second Phantom Dancer. An alternative choice would be to inch closer to the coveted 100% critical chance and go with Greater Seal of Critical Chance.

Greater Glyph of Attack Speed is the recommended but, as stated with the seals, you can choose to swap these out for whichever runes you feel you need most.

Greater Quintessence of Critical Damage. Ah, here we go. These bad boys are going to raise your pre- Infinity Edge Parrrley crits sky-high. The incredible amount of critical damage they provide, combined with your marks, raises your critical damage by 34%.

Gangplank, like several other champs in League of Legends, is an extremely item dependent champion. The items make the pirate. Though Gangplank is one of the greatest gold farmers in the game, I still choose to take the Avarice Blade route. In the event you haven't heard of the Avarice Blade route, allow me to explain the Item Sequence for this particular build in thorough:

EARLY GAME
Start off buying Brawler's Gloves. The early game critical chance can work wonders, especially if you own some Greater Mark of Critical Damage. At either 750 gold or 1100 gold, recall and pick up your first Avarice Blade and a second Brawler's Glove (if you have 1100). You can choose to wait a bit longer, especially if your laning partner is having a bit of trouble. You're going to want your Mobility Boots by the end of the laning phase. If you get a kill, or even an assist with your ultimate, this should not be a problem.

MID GAME
Once you have either pushed down the enemy river tower in your lane, or perhaps sooner if the other team doesn't completely suck, begin to work on your Infinity Edge. It's recommended that you work for your B.F. Sword first. However, if you find yourself really needing some extra critical chance, buy your Cloak of Agility component first. It will make farming with your Parrrley noticeably more efficient. After your Infinity Edge, begin to craft your first Phantom Dancer. The gold for this should not be as hard to come by as it was for your Infinity Edge. With your Infinity Edge, getting kills (or in the very least, assists) should no longer be a problem. You're not quite ready to take on other melee carries but you have the ability to deal extreme damage with your Parrrley.

LATE GAME
This is where your item sequence can diverge depending on which champions you're against. By this point, you should have 2 Avarice Blade, Mobility Boots, Infinity Edge, and a Phantom Dancer. If you find yourself in immediate need of lifesteal, go ahead and buy your Vampiric Scepter now. That will keep that ******* Tryndamere from completely dominating you. If you're against a lot of beefy champions such as Xin Zhao or Vladimir, you may find it worth your while to focus on building your second Phantom Dancer before attempting to construct your first Bloodthirster. Really, the choice is yours. If you're not finding the means to farm (your team is getting slaughtered), the jungle is a viable choice to rake in some currency. By end-game, you should be selling your remaining Avarice Blade for your second Bloodthirster.

In essence:

Brawler's Gloves> Avarice Blade> Mobility Boots> Infinity Edge> Phantom Dancer> Phantom Dancer> Bloodthirster> Bloodthirster

The most straightforward part of this guide.

I choose to take Exhaust and Ghost.


Exhaust is probably the most useful summoner skill for Gangplank. It has many functions that may benefit him including slowing an enemy carry to allow you to slaughter them with your basic attacks. It also proves useful in weakening other heavy physical damage dealers (Damn it, Tryndamere!) giving Gangplank some survivability in 1v1 fights before you reach your end-game item build.

Ghost isn't necessary but I take it because I find it extremely fun. Gangplank isn't fun to play when he doesn't have mobility. Using a combination of Ghost, Raise Morale, and your Mobility Boots, there is no place on the map you won't be within a few seconds. Ghost is also one of the best escape mechanisms for squishy champions like Gangplank.

If you choose to swap out one of the two for a personal favorite of yours, I'd recommend losing Ghost.

Other completely viable choices:

Ignite works well. This is really personal preference. If you feel ignite would land you a kill, by all means bring it. The only reason I don't is because I feel that while I could be dealing a little damage over time with ignite, Ghost provides the ability to chase after, and run faster than your enemies in order to land that finishing Parrrley

Clairvoyance can be useful to provide vision of particular areas (Baron), or to make sure you'd hit that recalling champion directly with your ultimate without taking any chances.

Flash can be alright as well. It lands successful ganks often enough and can prove useful in getting that finishing Parrrley.

Teleport is a great mobility spell and because this guide is centered around a hard hitting, extremely mobile Gangplank, this may or may not be the perfect spell for you.

Not-so-viable choices:

Fortify You have your ultimate to defend towers, should you not be around.

Smite You'll be doing far more damage than this skill will do late game. Not useful.

Clarity Some people like this skill. It can be useful if you find yourself mana stripped. I haven't found this to be a problem since Gangplank's revamp though. You're not spamming Raise Morale to deny anymore so there really isn't a mana costly method of playing Gangplank if you use Parrrley conservatively for last hits early game.

Heal You have this skill in the form of your Remove Scurvy.

Cleanse Again, you have this skill in the form of your Remove Scurvy.

Revive No.

Let me know if there are any errors in this guide and I'll be sure to fix them. Thanks for giving this a read. Please comment and vote (Either positively or negatively, all criticism is welcome!).