Click to open network menu
Join or Log In
Mobafire logo

Join the leading League of Legends community. Create and share Champion Guides and Builds.

Create an MFN Account






Or

This build has been archived and is for historical display only

This build has been archived by the author. They are no longer supporting nor updating this build and it may have become outdated. As such, voting and commenting have been disabled and it no longer appears in regular search results.

We recommend you take a look at this author's other builds.


x
Not Updated For Current Season

This guide has not yet been updated for the current season. Please keep this in mind while reading. You can see the most recently updated guides on the browse guides page

x
Hecarim Build Guide by The Real Fake

Top Top/Jungle [11.22] - In-Depth Hecarim Guide (+ Sonic Dark Te

Top Top/Jungle [11.22] - In-Depth Hecarim Guide (+ Sonic Dark Te

Updated on November 9, 2021
9.2
118
Votes
6
Vote Vote
emerald
League of Legends Build Guide Author The Real Fake Build Guide By The Real Fake 118 6 393,604 Views 12 Comments
118 6 393,604 Views 12 Comments League of Legends Build Guide Author The Real Fake Hecarim Build Guide By The Real Fake Updated on November 9, 2021
x
Did this guide help you? If so please give them a vote or leave a comment. You can even win prizes by doing so!
Vote
Comment

You must be logged in to comment. Please login or register.

I liked this Guide
I didn't like this Guide
Commenting is required to vote!
Would you like to add a comment to your vote?

Your votes and comments encourage our guide authors to continue
creating helpful guides for the League of Legends community.

Choose Champion Build:

  • LoL Champion: Hecarim
    Top Lane
  • LoL Champion: Hecarim
    Jungle

Runes: Conqueror (Classic)

1 2 3
Precision
Conqueror
Triumph
Legend: Tenacity
Last Stand

Inspiration
Biscuit Delivery
Time Warp Tonic
Bonus:

+10% Attack Speed
+9 Adaptive (5.4 AD or 9 AP)
+6 Armor

Spells:

1 2
Ignite/TP
LoL Summoner Spell: Ignite

Ignite

LoL Summoner Spell: Teleport

Teleport

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

Champion Build Guide

Top/Jungle [11.22] - In-Depth Hecarim Guide (+ Sonic Dark Te

By The Real Fake
Who is Hecarim? Why should I pick him?
Hecarim is a spectral centaur champion who revolves around mobility and speed. He is the BIG FAST. He snowballs hard, and likes to trample upon all opposition. The reason why he snowballs hard is that he power spikes hard early/mid game after one/two items. His mobility allows him to take the map by storm, spreading his lead across the map. He can gank/roam to other lanes, slay enemies, quickly help push waves and destroy towers. After asserting dominance in the lanes, a sense a of fear is established. Now your advantage is not only from raw items, but psychological. Due his ability to traverse ground quickly, he is amazing at punishing and picking off poorly positioned enemies. The terror of Hecarim’s map presence causes any sensible enemy not to over extend. This often leads to you helping your lanes gain priority which can result in easier rotations for objectives. Hecarim is a champion for those who want to overtake their completely and gain absolute control of the map early to mid game.

Pros & Cons
PROS
+ Extremely mobile (Great map presence)
+ Snowballs very hard (Takes a lead and runs with it)
+ Fantastic at cleaning up fights
+ Easy, healthy and fast jungle clears
+ Versatile in team role (Beefy diver/mobile splitpusher/assassin)

CONS
- Weak very early (Weak to counter jungling)
- Painfully hard to catch up when behind (Expensive core items & Item reliant)
- Teams with a lot of slows/peel/disruption is your worst nightmare


Predator Dark Tech Hecarim Infomation/Q&A
HECARIM SONIC HACK? 英雄联盟 TRIPLE ACTIVE MOVESPEED BREAK SOUND BARRIER? 英雄联盟 L9 SPEEDRUN BOOST STRAT? 英雄联盟 40 KILLS 20 MINS[PATCH 11.18] 英雄联盟 99.9% LOOPHOLE!!WTF!! 英雄联盟 ILLEGAL TURBOBOOST RICE KRISPIES HACK??

10/3/21 Update - Might unironically become meta with the Conqueror nerfs and Ingenious Hunter buffs?

Predator Dark Tech Hecarim?? Wtf is that?

Dark Tech Hecarim is a Hecarim build + playstyle that is arguably unorthodox, but revolves around constantly applying pressure onto the enemy team. It utilizes 3 key tools to run the opposing team out of their lane as well as snowball your team. These 3 tools are Youmuu's Ghostblade , Turbo Chemtank , and Predator . (Can go Divine Sunderer too )





?? This sounds like an 4fun movespeed Hecarim build. How did you come up with this/was this stolen from a YouTube video? Is there even thought behind this strategy? UNNESSCESSARY READ IF YOU AREN'T INTERESTED IN THE BUILD'S DEVELOPMENT + WHY IT (theoretically) WORKS

Yes, this does seem like a 4fun troll Hecarim build, and that's how it started when I was "developing it." If I had to pinpoint the most important aspect of this idea/strategy, it would be the Youmuu's Ghostblade rush (and like predator tbh).

Initially I was testing lethality Hecarim on patch 11.17, and I was planning to rush Prowler's Claw as my mythic item, as there was a fun mechanic I was informed of, where if you E -> right click -> Prowler's a target, you actually dash through them and immediately knock them towards your team right after.

However, I had heard/seen numerous high elo assassin players, specifically Zed and Qiyana rush Youmuu's first without even getting a mythic. Youmuu's was buffed on this patch (11.17) and now the item provides just as much AD (55) as a mythic, almost as much Ability Haste (15 v. 20), the same amount of lethality (18) and an item effect (passive + active movement speed) all for 2900 gold, which is 300 less than most mythic items. Obviously Hecarim pairs very well with movement speed so I realized how strong of a potential rush item Youmuu's may be for Hecarim.

Predator + Lethality Hecarim is not anything new as I believe in Season 9, a Hecarim player got Rank 1 at some point playing Lethality Hecarim (BeNice2EachOther). However, I still mainly saw it as a gimmick as it is a very feast or famine playstyle. Also, I believe lethality Hecarim is incredibly hard to pull off consistently, because you are not a true assassin so you don't have invisibility and/or blinks to help you avoid being focus and bursted.

As I was testing this Predator + Youmuu's rush setup, I realized how similar the playstyle was to the Turbo Chemtank Hecarim meta that dominated the middle of the season. I then had the epiphany that I could possibly revive the Turbo Chemtank Hecarim by basically integrating Youmuu's Ghostblade to the start of the build.

The Turbo Chemtank Hecarim playstyle/build was killed off when Hecarim got his base damage + stacking % damage on his Q reduced, his W heal % reduced, and his E base damage and movement speed reduced. They also made Hecarim's Q % damage stacking and his W % healing scale with AD. These all nerfs happened on patches 11.6, 11.7, and 11.9.

Hecarim basically had all 4 of his kneecaps broken as he instantly fell out of meta, before Riot slowly introduced some compensation buffs in the upcoming patches. On patches 11.11 and 11.12, Hecarim gained buffs that increased his Q and E AD ratios. If you haven't realized by now, buying Youmuu's effectively negates ALL these nerfs by utilizing the compensation buffs + movement speed from Youmuu's .





If Youmuu's is so "meta-changing" and so good, why didn't it get adopted after his nerfs + compensation buffs?

Well frankly, Youmuu's was a terrible item until it got buffed on patch 11.17. Ability Haste is a stat that if very good, if not necessary on Hecarim. Pre-buff Youmuu's did not offer AH. The item also had a worse build path as it required a Pickaxe instead of Caulfield's Warhammer . It's much easier to stack Long Swords for Caulfield's Warhammer than save 875g for a Pickaxe . Also Youmuu's cost reduction made it a more desirable early powerspike.





Alright, I guess you thought this through at least. How come you can go no Sheen item though?

The Chemtank variant build is basically the spiritual successor of Turbo Chemtank Hecarim, which also didn't build a Sheen item. Hecarim still did bruiser levels of damage even without Sheen , while simultaneously being a tank. Even thought Hecarim's base damage has been nerfed, Youmuu's makes up for that damage. Argubly more damage because of the extra lethality and extra AD from movespeed.

This doesn't mean you cant go a Sheen item though, as shown with the Essence Reaver possibility. Also if the Chemtank build isn't down your alley, you can still play with Divine Sunderer .





If it's the spiritual successor of Chemtank Hecarim, why are you not going Phase Rush ?

Well actually I recently came across a Diamond Hecarim player in NA that goes Phase Rush , but he still goes Turbo Chemtank first and Youmuu's second (https://na.op.gg/summoner/userName=nitianyizhongge). I think if you can acquire both items, Phase Rush is still good. The Phase Rush and
Turbo Chemtank combination is good as you can Q , W , and touch them with the damage from Bami's/Chemtank to proc Phase Rush and run behind them with E .

The issue I have with going Phase Rush to rush Turbo Chemtank , is that it's the very thing that got nerfed. You have no early damage/power to snowball yourself. You rely on your laners having the damage to make the ganks work. I think there is a possibility of rushing Youmuu's and going Phase Rush working, but you can't integrate the Phase Rush proc into your E burst unless you have Chilling Smite up. I personally have not tested Phase Rush yet with the Youmuu's rush. (Will likely test in future)

I prefer Predator as the burst is more reliable with my combo and also the upfront movement speed is really what helps Hecarim snowball. It also allows me to access the Ingenious Hunter rune to increase the uptime of the many item cooldowns.





Would you say this build/playstyle is basically the same as the Chemtank Phase Rush Hecarim that dominated the meta? Or would you say it's better/worse?

I would actually argue, impact-wise, it is actually better. Since you have access to more mobility tools (like Youmuu's and Predator . You are able to look for plays more often. Also before you would want to farm for/prioritize Chemtank as soon as possible, you didn't look to take over the map as early. With this setup, you can start taking over the game the moment you get boots .

I would also argue that you are spiking much harder and earlier as you have access to more damage and movement speed in comparison to before. Youmuu's is an item built to snowball it's buyer. I also believe the meta has shifted to enable this super high tempo, aggressive play, as we transitioned from a farming jungle meta to a more skirmish-heavy meta. Therefore you don't lose out as much from not power farming. There have also been gradual nerfs to mobility from items and runes (phase rush ), so it only further accentuates Hecarim's niche fearsome mobility.

The one weakness/downside I would say that comes with Youmuu's rush + Predator Hecarim, is obviously it isn't as safe as Phase Rush + Chemtank Hecarim. As you are not as durable, nor do you have the utility from Phase Rush . However, I don't think reaching that level is possible, as Hecarim was broken for a reason. Hecarim has always been vulnerable in isolation early game, even with his bruiser-class builds + rune setups.





Okay you convinced me, how do I play this? Does it differ from normal brusier Hecarim?

Well, I would generally describe bruiser Hecarim as someone who wants to farm either for level 6 , or farm for his mythic item . Once he hits one of these power spikes, he starts to look for ganks and skirmishes much more frequently. However, before these power breakthroughs, he prefers to farm over ganking unless the ganks are really free.

With this Hecarim strategy, you have much more power spikes, which allows you to look for plays much more frequently and earlier in comparison to standard Hecarim. These power spikes include acquiring boots (+ Predator ), acquiring Serrated Dirk , completing Youmuu's , and etc.
(literally every item completion is a power spike)

As Predator Hecarim, you should be using you actives off cooldown to make plays and pressure the map. Ganked a lane a burned enemy flash with Predator ? Regank in 20 seconds with Youmuu's (if possible). The opposing team should always feel fear when stepping up for minions, and feel suffocated out of resources. An added bonus is absolutely obliterating enemy morale with the pressure, they will tilt off the face of the Earth from the constant ganks as well as the enemy jungler not being able to match your insane map presence.

Prioritize establishing control of the tempo of the game, farming is somewhat of an afterthought. Clear 1-2 camps -> gank, 1-2 camps -> gank. Smart jungle pathing still matters as you don't want the enemy jungler to feed off of your camps. You melt through camps with your early Youmuu's , and navigate the map just as fast, so this shouldn't be too difficult. Make sure to check lane states as you are clearing BEFORE you attempt a gank, so you do not waste valuable time setting up for a gank that won't happen. Be smart and efficient, and do not give the enemy team any breathing room.





After all this talk and theorycrafting, have you even HAD success with the Hecarim playstyle?

Yes. It was because the success I had was so surprising, that I spent so much effort into breaking it down(Although sample size is relatively small/in normal). Honestly, I still likely need more data in this build/playstyle, so I would appreciate if you guys tried out this strategy yourselves and gave me feedback either in comments or discord dms. The Real Fake#3504



Summoner Spells (Top)
Teleport: A great pickup on Hecarim as his ganks are very good. Teleport can allow you to make cross map plays but it can also allow you to return to lane after you roam. It is also one of the best summoner spells late game as it allows you to split-push and regroup with your team for objectives/team fights. It also acts as a safety net for early game, if you do mess up in lane and need to back, teleport makes sure you don't miss crucial xp and gold.

Ignite: A very powerful kill tool for lane, it gives you a true damage burn and reduces healing - which is underrated. The healing reduction can assist in killing certain match that heal a lot in combat like Dr. Mundo , Singed , Darius . It also helps reduce healing from conqueror .

Ghost: If you want, you can replace one of the previously mentioned summoner spells with Ghost. This is because Ghost has very good synergy with Hecarim due to his passive . It allows him to burst/fight better by having basically a 10 sec AD boost. It also allows him to stick onto targets better. He is not reliant on flash as his ult can function as an escape tool, and his mobility from E and ghost also allows him to dodge easier and escape.
Summoner Spells (Jungle)
For the both the Sorcery/Precision and the Sorcery/Domination rune pages, I usually take Challenging Smite + Ghost . This setup is personally my favorite as you still have some dueling power, but you don't lose out on much mobility. Other times you may want Ignite due to a poor early game matchup, but with Phase Rush you can ultimately avoid early game confrontations if you choose to do so.

For the Precision/Sorcery rune page, I usually take Challenging Smite + Ignite . This setup works well because the mobility lost from not going Chilling Smite is somewhat replaced by Nimbus Cloak .

For the Precision/Inspiration and Precision/Domination rune page I tend to go Chilling or Challenging Smite + Ghost .

Smite: Quite obvious, as a jungler it helps with clears and objective control.
Ghost: Has very good synergy with Hecarim due to his passive . It allows him to burst/fight better by having basically a 10 sec AD boost. It also allows him to stick onto targets better. He is not reliant on flash as his ult can function as an escape tool, and his mobility from E and Ghost also allows him to dodge easier and escape.

Ignite: Ignite is a very interesting substitute for Ghost that originated from some high elo Hecarim's take. The thought process behind this is that Hecarim is already quite fast without Ghost , by taking Ignite , Hecarim is stronger in early game duels/fights before he ramps up. Ignite is a great summoner to help you snowball faster/better early, as well as mitigating one of your MOST exploitable weaknesses (early game). If you choose to do so, be more wary of you usage of E , as you have less mobility with Ignite.

Skill Order (Conditional Tweaks)
What i have shown on the guide is the general skill order for both Hecarim top and Jungle. However some situations may allow you to tweak the order slightly.

At level 3 usually you want E as it unlocks an another ability as well as your only real escape pre-6. However, you can put an additional point in Q in the following situations:


Jungle: If you believe you won't be invaded and plan to do a full clear first, you can get a 2nd point in Q to greatly increase your clear speed as once you clear your whole jungle (excluding scuttle) you will achieve level 4.



Top lane: You may get an additional point in Q if you believe you won't get ganked and plan to cheese a kill/force an early back. Many people don't expect the sudden jump in from your Q damage as it goes up a whopping 40 damage per rank.

Also, instead of maxing E immediately 2nd, you may want to choose to put an additional 1 or 2 points into W to raise the healing cap off minions. The time when you may want to do this is if you don't plan on roaming as much, the increased healing cap off minions helps greatly in fights in lane as well as general sustain.

Rune Breakdown (Top) - Conqueror
These are the most commonly taken runes for Hecarim top. Although some runes may be interchangable based off of preference.

1ST TREE - PRECISION:

Conqueror: This greatly increases Hecarim's dueling potential. You ramp this up fast, and once you have it fully stacked you dish out absurd amounts of damage. The additional AD per stack help him out, but once Hecarim has conqueror and his Q ramped up he becomes a monster. Additional AD per stack and healing 9% of the damage you deal, this is all applied to your Q which stacks up to 2 times. Each stack of Q grants Hecarim 5% more damage on Q and 1 second of reduced CD on the spell.



Triumph: The best rune for Hecarim of the three. Bonus 20 gold is small but helps Hecarim snowball, the restoration of health allows Hecarim to clean fights up fast with a breeze. Very useful for the hectic environment of solo queue.



Legend - Tenacity: Tenacity is a very good stat on Hecarim as he always wants to be able to dish out damage constantly rampaging through enemies. Helps him survive getting locked down, and reduces slow duration, which is Hecarim's biggest weakness. You use your mobility to dance around deadly abilities in combat, escape unfavorable fights, and press on in favorable fights. Another factor you should bear in mind is that since you are playing top lane, thus you often are the engage/diver/frontline for the team and thus usually take the brunt of CC abilities. Also bear in mind that top lane are often filled with matchups that have constant CC and/or slows, making Tenacity crucial for trades. Another upside about taking Legend: Tenacity is that it allows you to more freely buy Ninja Tabi, where before you may have needed to get Mercury Treads for tenacity. Right now the most popular and meta top laners are AD bruisers which are quite auto attack defendant, thus being able to go Ninja Tabi without missing out on needed tenacity helps out a lot in trades.

Alacrity is quite good as it allows you to stack Conqueror faster and auto more with a stacked Conqueror for more damage. Go this rune when enemy top lane or team just lacks CC or if you are planning to go Mercury´s Treads .

Bloodline is alright, but you already have healing from Conqueror , your W drain, and Biscuits /Corrupting paired with Time Warp Tonic . Besides the healing from runes and abilities, you may even opt for a Deaths Dance to heal from both autos and abilities. Therefore it often isn't worth taking bloodline, due to the sheer amount of healing you already have. Also grievous wound debuffs are quite prevalent now, making healing less valuable than before. Morellonomicon is a common item on mid lane mages, Ignite is taken by Top, Mid, and Support. You are better off with either tenacity or alacrity as allows you to be more free to dish out damage.



Last Stand: This is the only rune really interchangeable. Last stand is good as Hecarim gets stronger as he ramps up his Q and conqueror , and by that time you may have lost a fair amount of health. Once you have lost some health and everything has had time to ramp up, your damage increases significantly. Last Stand is better into tankier teams. Most team compositions right now have usually a bruiser/tank top, bruiser jungle, and sometimes tank support so Last stand is usually better.

Coup de Grace is also quite good on Hecarim because he has a fair amount of burst from his E + Sheen (sometimes ghost and yoummus). Once you chunk them for a good amount Coup de Grace helps you finish people off. My recommendation is to go Coup de Grace into relatively all squishy teams.

Cut down is a terrible in comparison to the other 2 in general, and even worse on Hecarim as he often stacks quite a lot of health.



2ND TREE - Sorcery:

Nimbus Cloak: Nimbus cloak is very strong on Hecarim with his all-ins as not only does he get movement speed, he also gets more damage as his passive turns additional move speed into damage .

Manaflow Band is also a strong choice as Hecarim has a fair amount of mana issues so this rune does help.

Nullifying Orb can also be picked into AP matchups if you want. However, I feel like the rune is very underwhelming and the other two are far better in comparison.



Celerity: Amplifies the movement speed from things like your E , Ghost , and Nimbus Cloak . You move faster thus more damage.



2ND TREE - Inspiration:

Biscuit Delivery: Basically free sustain in lane, it helps null bad trades. Also restores % missing mana which is great on Hecarim. One of the things that gated Hecarim from being viable top was his mana costs as he spams Q.

Some people may swap this rune for Magical Footwear to save gold and get more ms from boots. Personally I don't prefer it due to it negating your ability to buy boots which is a very strong buy on Hecarim early. Also it gives away a lot of the free sustain, more specifically the mana sustain from biscuits.



Time Warp Tonic: When paired with biscuits and your usual corrupting start, you get the ability to have sneaky instant heals. By granting 50% of the effect of consumables you can pop both Corrupting and Biscuits during trades in lane to get a sudden chunk of your health back. Also gives you movespeed when consuming these items which also gives Hecarim a small bit of AD due to his passive.

For the bonus stat runes, always go 1 attack speed, 1 adaptive force and choose between an armor or magic resist rune depending on matchup.
Rune Breakdown (Top) - Phase Rush
This is the secondary page sometimes taken for Hecarim top. This page is not recommended. It can and is usually taken against some matchups such as Vladimir or champs that have good disengage. Rule of thumb is Phase Rush into ranged/squishy matchups top, while Conqueror is usually into matchups that will go for longer trades.


1ST TREE - SORCERY:

Phase Rush: This rune can be triggered very easily with an auto/E > Q > auto, auto/E > Q > W , or even Ignite > Q > W (if you are trying to wrap behind enemy for E knockback). What makes this an effective rune on Hecarim is that it gives you a sudden burst of movement speed which is then converted into damage. It also reduces the effectiveness of slows for 3 seconds. This allows you to stick to your target easier.



Nimbus Cloak: Nimbus cloak is very strong on Hecarim with his all-ins as not only does he get movement speed, he also gets more damage as his passive turns additional move speed into damage .

Manaflow Band is also a strong choice as Hecarim has a fair amount of mana issues so this rune does help.

Nullifying Orb can also be picked into AP matchups if you want. However, I feel like the rune is very underwhelming and the other two are far better in comparison.



Celerity: Amplifies the movement speed from things like your E , Ghost , and Nimbus Cloak . You move faster thus more damage.



Scorch: Makes you do a little more damage in lane. As Hecarim you want to snowball so every bit of damage helps.

Waterwalking is unnecessary as you are not the jungler, also there is no guarantees you will have good opportunities to roam.

Gathering Storm is viable and a good safety for late game, however as Hecarim you are playing for early to mid so chances are if the game does drag out too long you will get outscaled anyways.



2ND TREE - Inspiration:

Biscuit Delivery: Basically free sustain in lane, it helps null bad trades. Also restores % missing mana which is great on Hecarim. One of the things that gated Hecarim from being viable top was his mana costs as he spams Q.

Some people may swap this rune for Magical Footwear to save gold and get more ms from boots. Personally I don't prefer it due to it negating your ability to buy boots which is a very strong buy on Hecarim early. Also it gives away a lot of the free sustain, more specifically the mana sustain from biscuits.



Time Warp Tonic: When paired with biscuits and your usual corrupting start, you get the ability to have sneaky instant heals. By granting 50% of the effect of consumables you can pop both Corrupting and Biscuits during trades in lane to get a sudden chunk of your health back. Also gives you movespeed when consuming these items which also gives Hecarim a small bit of AD due to his passive.

For the bonus stat runes, always go 1 attack speed, 1 adaptive force and choose between an armor or magic resist rune depending on matchup.
Rune Breakdown (Jungle) - Predator Dark Tech Hecarim
1ST TREE - DOMINATION:

Predator: Gives you an active on your boots that give you a large burst of movement speed towards enemies. It’s so good because the additional speed adds to your burst in ganks, but also allows you to gank from difficult angles such as lane ganks and even through vision (since ur so fast). Also since it’s on such a short cooldown, you can pressure lanes whenever it is up since it enables you so well.



Sudden Impact: Gives you some nice extra lethality when going in with E or Ult. Helps bursting enemies which is nice when looking for picks and trying to snowball early.



Eyeball Collection: Takedowns become more damage. Damage means harder snowball. Good rune.



Ingenious Hunter: Crucial for the Predator Dark Tech Hecarim as you have 3 active items (Youmuu’s , Turbo Chemtank , and Predator ). By cutting down the cooldown of your speed tools, you gain more opportunities to make plays. Predator Hecarim revolves around pressuring and putting the enemy team out of the game. It also reduces your trinket cooldown, so you can ward more often and sweep more often to establish better vision control in the jungle. Which is very useful when executing this build/strategy. This rune also reduces the cooldown of passive items, so even items like Sterak's , Sheen , and Divine Sunderer benefit with getting their cooldowns reduced.

You dont go Relentless Hunter because with Youmuu’s and Dead Man's Plate you easily overcap on movement speed, receiving diminishing returns and not getting the best bang for your buck.

You also tend not to want to opt into Ravenous Hunter as you don't stay in drawn out fights as long as bruiser Hecarim to drain tank. Also the constant nerfs to the rune is making it weaker and weaker, when it was already relatively weak on Hecarim due to his AOE damage and AOE damage not being as effective with the rune.



2ND TREE - Precision:

Triumph: The best rune for Hecarim of the three. Bonus 20 gold is small but helps Hecarim snowball, the restoration of health allows Hecarim to clean fights up fast with a breeze. Very useful for the hectic environment of solo queue. Can come in clutch a lot.



Legend - Tenacity: Tenacity is a very good stat on Hecarim as he always wants to be able to dish out damage constantly rampaging through enemies. Helps him survive getting locked down, and reduces slow duration, which is Hecarim's biggest weakness. You use your mobility to dance around deadly abilities in combat, escape unfavorable fights, and press on in favorable fights. Another upside about taking Legend: Tenacity is that it allows you to more freely buy Plated Steelcaps , where before you may have needed to get Mercury's Treads for tenacity.

For the bonus stat runes, always go attack speed, adaptive force and choose between an armor or magic resist rune depending on matchup.
Rune Breakdown (Jungle) - Phase Rush
1ST TREE - SORCERY:

Phase Rush: This rune can be triggered very easily with an auto/E > Q > auto, auto/E > Q > W , or even Smite > Q > W (if you are trying to wrap behind enemy for E knockback). So it is basically instantly triggered upon a gank. What makes this an effective rune on Hecarim is that it gives you a sudden burst of movement speed which is then converted into damage. It also reduces the effectiveness of slows for 3 seconds. This allows you to stick to your target easier. This rune is also fantastic in the jungle as if you run into someone you cannot beat early, like Olaf, you can proc your Phase Rush and run away. It will be hard for them to chase you down even if they have Chilling Smite or slows (like Olaf axes ).



Nimbus Cloak: Nimbus cloak is very strong on Hecarim with his all-ins as not only does he get movement speed, he also gets more damage as his passive turns additional move speed into damage .



Celerity: Amplifies the movement speed from things like your E , Ghost , and Nimbus Cloak . You move faster thus more damage.



Waterwalking: As a jungler this rune is very useful as it gives you more movement speed in the river, where you often will be when looking for ganks. It also grants adaptive force in the river which helps you fight for scuttle crabs better. As Hecarim myou gain even more damage as the movement speed gained is also converted into damage by your passive.



2ND TREE - Precision:

Triumph: The best rune for Hecarim of the three. Bonus 20 gold is small but helps Hecarim snowball, the restoration of health allows Hecarim to clean fights up fast with a breeze. Very useful for the hectic environment of solo queue.



Legend - Tenacity: Tenacity is a very good stat on Hecarim as he always wants to be able to dish out damage constantly rampaging through enemies. Helps him survive getting locked down, and reduces slow duration, which is Hecarim's biggest weakness. You use your mobility to dance around deadly abilities in combat, escape unfavorable fights, and press on in favorable fights. Another upside about taking Legend: Tenacity is that it allows you to more freely buy Plated Steelcaps , where before you may have needed to get Mercury's Treads for tenacity.

Alacrity is quite good as it allows you to clear faster and auto attack more in fights. Go this rune when enemy team just lacks CC or if you are planning to go Mercury´s Treads . (Personally if I do not need tenacity I tend to opt into Domination as my 2nd tree.)



2ND TREE - Domination:

Sudden Impact: Gives you some nice extra lethality when going in with E or Ult. Helps bursting squishies which is nice when looking for picks and trying to snowball early.



Ravenous Hunter: Since the meta on Hecarim is now taking Phase Rush over Conqueror , you miss out on a lot of healing in fights. Ravenous Hunter makes up for the lack of healing. It is also very useful for sustain in the jungle and just overall feels very nice on Hecarim.


For the bonus stat runes, always go attack speed, adaptive force and choose between an armor or magic resist rune depending on matchup jungle/overall enemy team damage type.
Rune Breakdown (Jungle) - Conqueror
1ST TREE - PRECISION:

Conqueror: This greatly increases Hecarim's dueling potential. You ramp this up fast, and once you have it fully stacked you dish out absurd amounts of damage. The additional AD per stack help him out, but once Hecarim has conqueror and his Q ramped up he becomes a monster. Additional AD per stack and healing 9% of the damage you deal, this is all applied to your Q which stacks up to 2 times. Each stack of Q grants Hecarim 5% more damage on Q and 1 second of reduced CD on the spell.



Triumph: The best rune for Hecarim of the three. Bonus 20 gold is small but helps Hecarim snowball, the restoration of health allows Hecarim to clean fights up fast with a breeze. Very useful for the hectic environment of solo queue.



Legend - Tenacity: Tenacity is a very good stat on Hecarim as he always wants to be able to dish out damage constantly rampaging through enemies. Helps him survive getting locked down, and reduces slow duration, which is Hecarim's biggest weakness. You use your mobility to dance around deadly abilities in combat, escape unfavorable fights, and press on in favorable fights. Another upside about taking Legend: Tenacity is that it allows you to more freely buy Plated Steelcaps , where before you may have needed to get Mercury's Treads for tenacity.

Alacrity is quite decent as it allows you to clear faster and auto attack more in fights. Go this rune when enemy team just lacks CC or if you are planning to go Mercury´s Treads . (Personally I do not think going Legend - Alacrity: is ever worth it over Legend - Tenacity: because first off, at max stacks, Legend - Alacrity: only provides 18% attackspeed. This is equivalent to like 1.5 Daggers . Legend - Tenacity: on the other hand gives 30% tenacity at full stacks, which is the tenacity offered by a completed Mercury’s Treads . Tenacity is also a very difficult stat to buy as it really only comes from 2-3 items. Going Tenacity also allows you to more freely purchase Plated Steelcaps and Ionian Boots of Lucidity , which are both strong items in their own right.)




Last Stand: This is the only rune really interchangeable. Last stand is good as Hecarim gets stronger as he ramps up his Q and conqueror , and by that time you may have lost a fair amount of health. Once you have lost some health and everything has had time to ramp up, your damage increases significantly. Last Stand is very good for Bruisers/Juggernauts in general due to them preferring long drawn-out fights, thus likely getting low. Fits very well with Hecarim’s skirmishing and fighting playstyle.

Coup de Grace is also quite good on Hecarim because he has a fair amount of burst from his E + Sheen (sometimes ghost and yoummus). Once you chunk them for a good amount Coup de Grace helps you finish people off. My recommendation is to go Coup de Grace if you think you will be ganking a lot and snowballing lanes.

Cut down is a terrible in comparison to the other 2 in general, and even worse on Hecarim as he often stacks quite a lot of health.




2ND TREE - Domination:

Sudden Impact: Gives you some nice extra lethality when going in with E or Ult. Helps bursting squishies which is nice when looking for picks and trying to snowball early.



Ravenous Hunter: Since Conqueror and Death's Dance got reworked to either give less healing/no healing at all, Ravenous hunter gives Hecarim the vamp he so desperately wants and needs.



2ND TREE - Inspiration:

Magical Footwear: Give you free boots after a certain amount of time has passed. Ultimately saves you 300 gold, also boots gained from this rune have slightly increased movement speed. Useful if you plan to power farm or gank a lot. Ghost can kind of make up for the mobility you lose early on. (Personally this is the very reason I do not like running Inpiration as my 2nd tree as I enjoy my early boots. However, in the end it is always personal preference that matters most.)



Cosmic Insight: Some extras cooldown reduction on Summoner Spells and Items. Always feels nice, as your lower CD on summoner spells are very important on Hecarim.



2ND TREE - Sorcery:

Nimbus Cloak: Nimbus cloak is very strong on Hecarim with his all-ins as not only does he get movement speed, he also gets more damage as his passive turns additional move speed into damage .



Celerity: Amplifies the movement speed from things like your E , Ghost , and Nimbus Cloak . You move faster thus more damage.


For the bonus stat runes, always go attack speed, adaptive force and choose between an armor or magic resist rune depending on matchup.

Choosing Core Items (Trinity or Divine Sunderer?)
Ever since the major item rework of season 11, many Hecarim players began to debate over the superiority of Trinity Force, or Divine Sunderer. Well I am here to tell you both are good on Hecarim, and at the end of the day it comes down to your playstyle and how you like each item. Let us start by analyzing the stats of each item and what it means.

Trinity Force:

+ 20 ability haste
+ 35 attack damage
+ 30% attack speed
+ 200 health
+ UNIQUE – THREEFOLD STRIKE: Basic attacks grant 20 bonus movement speed for 3 seconds. If the target is a champion also increases base attack damage by 6% for the same duration, stacking up to 5 times for a 30% increase.
+ UNIQUE – SPELLBLADE: After using an ability, your next basic attack within 10 seconds deals 200% base AD bonus physical damage on-hit (1.5 second cooldown, begins after using the empowered attack).
+ MYTHIC PASSIVE: Empowers each of your other Legendary items with 3 bonus attack damage, 3 ability haste, and 3 bonus movement speed.



Divine Sunderer:

+ 20 ability haste
+ 35 attack damage
+ 400 health
+ UNIQUE – SPELLBLADE: After using an ability, your next basic attack within 10 seconds deals 12% of target's maximum health bonus physical damage on-hit, with a minimum damage equal to 150% of base AD and a maximum damage against monsters equal to 250% base AD. If the target is a champion, Heal for (Melee 7.8% / Ranged 4.8%) of the target's maximum health, with a minimum heal equal to (Melee 75% / Ranged 45%) base AD (1.5 (begins after using the empowered attack) second cooldown).
+ MYTHIC PASSIVE: Empowers each of your other Legendary items with 5% armor penetration and 5% magic penetration.




Comparison:

+ Comparing item stats - 30% Attack Speed is traded for 200 HP . While attack speed is always a nice stat to have (to stack conqueror etc.), most Hecarim players value health more since it helps him survive more as a Diver-Class champion.

+ Comparing Mythic Passive - 3 AD, 3 AH, 3 MS per every Legendary item, 12 AD/AH/MS at full build . 5% armor and magic pen per Legendary item, 20% at full build . Both of these items provide good stats that Hecarim utilizes well, however, I think the argument here is "how much value/how impactful" are these stats. The stats Trinity Force offers are nice, but they feel more like a "quality of life" bonus. You already get a good mix of these stats usually in your build. Meanwhile, the hybrid penetration offered by Divine Sunderer is very welcome as you rarely build pen in your builds as Hecarim.

+ Comparing item passives - this is where things can get tricky especially regarding the spellable passives. There are plenty of mathematical breakdowns out there already comparing the spellblades, so I'm not going to dive into the mathematics (also because the differences/value depends on too many variables). A lot of people argue the healing you get from Divine Sunderer is very useful because it gives him more dueling power/survivability. A bonus thing to note is that the stacking AD you get from Trinity Force is BASE AD, which only gets applied to your auto damage and Sheen damage. It doesn't make your abilities stronger since they scale with BONUS AD.

+ Summary - While both items are good in their own right, generally most Hecarim players will agree Divine Sunderer is the better option. This is not because Trinity Force is bad. The best explanation I can give is that Triforce gives you more of what you "want" (more "damage", ability haste, move speed), Divine gives more of what you "need" (health, pen, healing). Divine is generally better 90% of the time. There are obviously niches where Trinity Force may be straight-up better, but I think it is unrealistic to be able to recognize every moment you are able to min/max your build as it would also mean adjusting to different power curves. This level of precise build optimization isn't practical unless you are a Hecarim one-trick/invest a lot of time into Hecarim.


Choosing Smite Type
As of now there is only 2 Smite types - Challenging Smite & Chilling Smite .

Challenging Smite can be cast on enemy champions to mark them for 4 seconds, reducing their damage against you by 20%, and empowering your basic attacks to deal 48 − 125 (based on level) true damage to them over 2.5 seconds.

Chilling Smite can be cast on enemy champions, dealing 28 − 166 (based on level) true damage and stealing 20% of their movement speed for 2 seconds.





USES OF EACH SMITE

Challenging Smite is best picked when you are against a enemy jungler with stronger dueling than you early, thus by picking this you can match their early power and not let your weaker early game get abused. Best picked into brusier/dueling junglers/enemy team comps.

Chilling Smite is best picked when the enemy jungler is not as strong early, therefore you do not need the dueling power. You would then pick Chilling Smite as a provides a bit of extra burst damage as well as utility. The movement speed steal can be used to help catch up to targets or run away, as it slows them and increases your movement speed. Best picked into squishy and/or slow/disengage team comps.





Author Notes/Preferences:

For the Precision/Sorcery rune page, I usually take Challenging Smite + Ignite . This setup works well because the mobility lost from not going Chilling Smite is somewhat replaced by Nimbus Cloak .

For the Precision/Inspiration rune page I tend to go Chilling or Challenging Smite + Ghost . The logic behind second setup is by going Magical Footwear , you lose the speed you get from boots early. Therefore by bringing Ghost you can somewhat make up for it.

Personally I have no preference, I believe both Chilling Smite and Challenging Smite are very good. Both have their pros and cons and you should pick one off personal preference and/or game situation. However, I believe Chilling Smite is much easier to utilize effectively. Challenging Smite has potential to be stronger but can be underutilized, meanwhile Chilling Smite is never bad/useless.

Jungle Start Routes
Conqueror/Phase Rush Page Start:
Hecarim has many various routes you can take that still result in efficient clears. This is a basic clear on Hecarim can be modified multiple ways. Some Hecarim's may prefer to rush to their level six powerspike and not even gank early/in their first clear.

The Basic Clear
  • Start at a buff (Blue /Red ) -> Gromp /Krugs (Smite ) this camp) -> Wolves /Raptors . (Start Botside for a better leash, start Topside if you fear getting invaded - since most people start bot. However, if you know for sure you want to level 3 gank, starting Red Buff is usually the smartest choice as the slows that it applies to your autos greatly increase the chance of the gank working out).

  • Check if mid is gankable.
  • If yes, do a transition gank mid. Then proceed to next Buff -> Scuttle Crab -> Gromp /Krugs -> Wolves /Raptors -> Look for gank/Recall.

  • If no, head straight to Wolves /Raptors -> Buff -> Gromp /Krugs -> Scuttle Crab -> Look for gank/Recall.

Predator Page Start:
The first clear you want for Predator Hecarim is always the same because this allows you to do a crazy strong first gank. (The routes from the Conqueror Routes can also be used, but the reason you go predator is for early ganks/pressure. So if you can do this path, it is preferred.).
  • Always go Red Buff -> Raptors -> Krugs (You clear Raptors -> Krugs over Krugs -> Raptors so your camps respawn nicely when you path back top, also allows possible sidelane gank after Krugs ).
Now you can:
  • Gank sideline/punish them if they are over extended (only go for if its free, your blue quadrant vulnerable). Recall immediately after and head towards your Blue side jungle .

  • Recall (Purchase boots + Control Ward ) -> Head towards Blue side jungle . (By purchasing boots, you can now utilize your Predator rune).

Once you head to your Blue side jungle , you can:
  • Go Blue Buff -> Scuttle Crab -> Look for gank -> Gromp -> Wolves . (You can usually cheese a gank with Predator , Scuttle's Speed Shrine , and your E .

  • Gank mid/sidelane immediately. (This gank window works very well as it is around 2:50/3:00 minute mark so it is quite unexpected. Since it’s later than when a level 3 rush jungler would gank, but still early for the crab contest). After this gank, whether you kill or burn enemy summoner, you have one lane of priority to secure you crab. You can then go and clear your Blue Buff -> Scuttle Crab -> Look for gank (mid/sidelane) -> Gromp -> Wolves ..

    Also, if you really can´t see an opportunity to gank during these times, DO NOT FORCE IT.

  • After this your Raptors should respawn soon, followed by your Krugs . Therefore you should head to that side of the jungle to clear it. If possible, make a transition gank through mid. If not, just head straight straight to Raptors .

  • After this basic first clear you should really be adapting to the game state (ganking overextended lanes, securing objectives, or farming/counterjungling). This step/plan can also be implemented after your first clear of Blue side .

    Additional Notes:
    • If you are wondering why it has to be a Red Brambleback start, it is due to the Red Buff granting you a slow on autos. This then makes your first gank more likely to be successful.

    • This is a given for jungling in general, but it is super crucial with this Predator playstyle/setup especially. CHECK YOUR LANE STATES BEFORE YOU GANK, as in while you are still clearing/walking towards the side of the map. If you get in position for a gank and then realise it is ungankable, you are wasting valuable time, which is extremely important for the high tempo/pressure play of Predator Hecarim .

Tips & Tricks (Things to keep in mind)
  • You can cancel your auto attack animation if you Q right after the auto damage goes through, however if you Q too early/before auto damage goes off your Q will cancel your auto attack.

  • Right before impact of your E , you can Q for slightly more damage due to the movement speed buff from E .

  • When using your Ultimate (duration of ultimate animation) your E duration is "frozen" where it will not tick down. You can use your ult to buy more time to re-position yourself for a good E . You can ult behind an enemy and use your E to kick them into your team for a pseudo-Insec.

  • Your E knockback distance increases based off of distance traveled during the E duration. If you utilize this well you can knockback an enemy into your team while following them, consequentially singling out a target and also bringing yourself to safety.

  • You are tanky via your W drain, therefore you have to do damage to heal/absorb damage. Make sure to dodge vital cc and buy tenacity (or take in runes). Also damages your allies do, also heals you, so make sure you communicate that to your team.

  • During your Ultimate animation, you can still cast spells such as Q , W , Smite , or Ignite . You don´t need to wait for full animation to be over to use abilities

Guide Changelist
If you have any questions about my guide/concerns, feel free to reach out to me on discord. The Real Fake#3504

From now on I'm going to document all updates/changes to this guide here, with dates added.
    9/14/2021 - Updated for 11.18, introduced Dark Tech Hecarim and updated rest of guide.
    10/13/2021 - Updated for 11.20, added to Dark Tech Hecarim section, as well as hard advocating for Ingenious Hunter.
Download the Porofessor App for Windows

League of Legends Champions:

Teamfight Tactics Guide