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Choose Champion Build:
- Top Lane
- Jungle
Recommended Items
Runes: Conqueror (Classic)
+10% Attack Speed
+9 Adaptive (5.4 AD or 9 AP)
+6 Armor
Spells:
Ignite
Teleport
Items
Ability Order Skill Order
Warpath (PASSIVE)
Hecarim Passive Ability
Threats & Synergies
Darius
Darius completely denies Hecarim's laning power. His slows for E & W denies the damage boost from your passive, also prevents you from kiting him out. As you ramp up your Conqueror and Q, he just gets stacks his passive on you. Once everything is stacked up/ready (Q + Conq + Last Stand), Darius also has his passive ramped up with bonus AD and a max damage R ready to execute you. Darius is stronger than you throughout the whole game.
Zilean
Can give you a movement speed boost up to 99% which converts to huge damage and helps you pick off a target. Also he can place a bomb on you to deliver to the enemy team. Zilean R is also fantastic on Hecarim as you often dive into the enemy team and onto the backline.
Zilean
Can give you a movement speed boost up to 99% which converts to huge damage and helps you pick off a target. Also he can place a bomb on you to deliver to the enemy team. Zilean R is also fantastic on Hecarim as you often dive into the enemy team and onto the backline.
Champion Build Guide
10/3/21 Update - Might unironically become meta with the Conqueror nerfs and Ingenious Hunter buffs?
Predator Dark Tech Hecarim?? Wtf is that?
?? 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
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?
Alright, I guess you thought this through at least. How come you can go no Sheen item though?
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 ?
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 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?
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?
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. |
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:
1ST TREE - PRECISION:
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. |
2ND TREE - Inspiration:
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.
1ST 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. |
Scorch: Makes you do a little more damage in lane. As Hecarim you want to snowball so every bit of damage helps. |
2ND TREE - Inspiration:
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.
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. |
2ND TREE - Precision:
For the bonus stat runes, always go attack speed, adaptive force and choose between an armor or magic resist rune depending on matchup.
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. |
2ND TREE - Precision:
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. |
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.
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:
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.
Trinity Force:
Divine Sunderer:
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.
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.
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.
Predator Page Start:
- 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 ).
- 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 .
- 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.
- 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
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.
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