Gangplank Build Guide by Shockinq

His Story

Gangplank was born the son of the dread pirate captain Vincent the Shadow - one of the most wealthy and feared pirates in all of Blue Flame Island. One might think this would have spoiled the boy with a cushioned life of privilege, but the truth is quite the opposite. Growing up in the city of Bilgewater isn't easy; pirates are not known for their compassion, and that most certainly extends to their families. Vincent wanted his son to grow up tough and strong, so he was extremely hard on the young Gangplank. Even as a child, Gangplank was as mean as a snake and is said to have slept with his eyes open. As he grew, the young man rapidly became the most ruthless and feared pirate in all of Bilgewater, and his daddy was never more proud than on the day of his son's eighteenth birthday - when Gangplank stabbed his old man in the back and claimed the famed pirate ship, the Dead Pool, for his own.

The continent of Valoran, however, is a dangerous place for pirates; Gangplank could read the writing on the wall. The den of pirates known as Bilgewater would soon be pulled down by the undertow of Valoranian politics and the Institute of War. It was time for Bilgewater to have their own champion to represent them in the League of Legends, and who better than the fiercest pirate of them all? It is said that Gangplank has enough power and favor to claim the title of the Pirate King back home, but that he is simply biding his time and building his reputation as a champion before he returns to a life of piracy.


"Yo ho, blow the man down. Or at least shoot him when his back is turned and steal all his booty."

Ohaai dere (:

Hello, My name's Shockinq and this will be my first guide on Mobafire. I main Gangplank and majority of my games played, are with him. Gangplank is a squishy, melee, dps character. I build Gangplank as an offtank dps. With this build you are able to take down people in a matter of 3 hits. Trust me, it's happened and STILL surprises me. Note: I have not tried this in ranked as I am not ready for the competition and pressure of having bad team mates and getting stuck in 'elo hell'. Also I duo queue normal games meaning ganks are more 'co-ordinated'. If you ask yourself, why should you listen to someone like me? I'll tell you I'm a DotA player and know my stuff around these Moba games.

Patches And Change Log

Patches
v1.0.0.127
Raise Morale
■ Active movement speed reduced to 8/11/14/17/20% from 10/14/18/22/26%.
■ Active attack damage reduced to 12/19/26/33/40 from 14/22/30/38/46.


v1.0.0.123
Grog Soaked Blade
■ Maximum number of stacks has been reduced to 3 from 4.
Cannon Barrage
■ Fixed a bug where it would not grant gold on minion kills.
■ Fixed a bug where its slow was not always applying consistently.


v1.0.0.122
Parrrley
■ Gold bonus reduced to 4/5/6/7/8 from 4/6/8/10/12.
Raise Morale
■ Active attack damage bonus reduced to 14/22/30/38/46 from 20/28/36/44/52.
■ Active movement speed bonus reduced to 10/14/18/22/26% from 14/18/22/26/30%.


v1.0.0.121
Grog Soaked Blade
■ Max stacks reduced to 4 from 5.

Change Log
21-01-12: Will add videos of gameplay style

22-01-12: Adding scores of some good Gangplank games
Will insert Trinity Force, tank, jungle and dominion build as soon as possible

Pro's and Con's

Pro’s

• Good at farming with Parrrley
• Free Red buff AND Quicksilver Sash
• Able to help the team anywhere with Cannon Barrage
• Tanky build with Atmog's
• Able to survive most ganks Remove Scurvy
• He eats oranges <3

Con's

• Squishy early game
• Melee
• Pretty much no escape mechanism
• He's affected by scurvy
• Everyone wants dem oranges

Masteries

I take 26 in offense as it provides enough damage output and 6 points into defence which is enough armour and magic resist to counter his squishiness early game. I don’t take a point into Summoner's Insight because I don’t think 15 seconds off flash is good enough, but if you prefer that you may take one off Resistance .

Runes

greater mark of desolation Obvious choice for an AD damage dealer.

Greater Seal of Armor I get 6 of these to counter Gangplank's squishiness . I find that 6 runes are enough.

Greater Seal of Scaling Mana Regeneration I get 3 of these for more Parrrley spamming which equals more gold which means more items. Who doesn’t want that ?

Greater Glyph of Scaling Magic Resist I don't take flat magic resist because usually no one with strong enough magic damage will lane top. Mainly late game runes.

greater quintessence of desolation Obvious choice again. Less armour for them equals more damage for you (:

Explanation of Skills

Grog Soaked Blade is like a free red buff. 21% slow with 3 stacks and a DoT. I use this skill for positioning and catching up to enemies. Parrley > Auto Attack > Parrley when they get away. Usually this combo should be able to get them low . Added with a gank this combo is almost an assured kill or successful gank.

Parrrley is our main harrass + farm skill. Applies on-hit effects, like Frozen Mallet, Grog Soaked Blade, Sheen etc. Also Parrley is able to crit and give extra gold bonus when it is the killing blow. This makes it a GREAT farming skill. Try not to spam it too much as you need mana, to eat some oranges and get out of trouble.

Remove Scurvy is a free quicksilver sash *calling all asians*. Removes ALL crowd control effects and gives a bonus heal. This skill is a lifesaver. I can't remember all the times i saved myself when some Warwick, Malzahar or Skarner surpressed me. Dem Rammus taunts too. Try not to spam this skill too much as the cooldown is quite lengthy. If the enemy team is chasing you, remember to Remove Scurvy then Flash as this will mean you are left with no crowd control after flashing.

Raise Morale these babies are like free steroids. I max this first as I find that I push towers , ALOT and this really helps out the team with the attack damage buff. It has a range of about Ace in the Hole I also use this when our jungler is ganking my victim for the movement speed buff.

Cannon Barrage is a global ultimate. That slows everyone inside by 25% and lasts for 1.5 seconds, duration is refreshed if one stays in the area. If you had Rylai's Crystal Scepter for some reason each cannonball would apply a 15% slow. I use this when an enemy champion is pushing my tower. Usually the ult should kill all the creeps which leaves the turret attacking the enemy champ. This tactic is great early game and I should have a vid about that tactic up soon. Also use this if a team fight has started without you, as it is great help for the team.

Skill Sequence

At lvl 1, I take a point in Parrley for farming. I tend to use it on creeps that are too far for me to last hit, usually caster minions. At lvl 2 I take a point in Remove Scurvy. This allows me to take a bit more damage and not worry about ganks. At lvl 3 I either take Raise Morale or Remove Scurvy. This all depends on how much the enemy is harrassing me. Put a point into Cannon Barrage whenever possible.

Summoner Spells

Best of the Best
Exhaust is a good spell to use when trying to out dps another character or shutting someone down for those crucial 2.5 seconds. With Summoner's Wrath they have reduced to Armor and Magic Resist as well
Flash. I use this spell to get out of sticky situations. I use this to flash over walls, I KNOW, will save me unless they flash as well. removing scurvy will assure you have about no crowd control on you when you flash.
Ghost, I dont prefer using ghost as I think flash will be able to save you more. Activating Raise morale is about 2/3 of ghost plus it's an added bonus to running teammates too. Take this if you like/prefer it more then Flash
Viable
Clarity Viable, but I dont have mana issues. Lackluster late game
Heal Sorta already got one, but trust me. Double heal OHPEE
Smite Great for jungling, but I don't like jungle
Please No.. Just No ..
Cleanse You've got one already, why need another ?
Promote Just dont think you need it in Summoner's Rift
Revive You won't be dying much with this build. Trust me (;

Some Explaining Thats Surely Needed

Ok, I KNOW that pretty much all of you will be wondering why Sheen/ Trinity Force is not in my guide. Well first off, I agree wholeheartedly that both items are great on Gangplank. But that isn'y my playstyle boys. I'm the auto-attacking beast. I dont rely on Parrrley other then for harrassment, farming and dealing the killing blow on escaping enemies. In the future I will try building a Trinity Force over Phantom Dancer and possibly make another build. Also expect to find a jungle guide as well.

Item Explanation

Gameplay

Ok, if you've made it this far without skipping a whole bunch. Applause to you *applaud*. What i focus on doing is farming. Whether it's farming creeps, on wolves or wraiths (blue or red after the jungler's consent) or simply on other champions. My tactic for solo top is to farm and play defensive. Throw a Parrrley at a creep you can't kill with a melee attack, usually caster creep. Harrass anyone that is stupid enough to get in range of your auto attack. Defend your tower at all costs, as it is essential to your farming and the team. When the enemy champ is close to half health, ask the jungler for a gank. Remember to Raise Morale when they are about to gank your victim.

Early Game

Start with a Vampiric Scepter. This should allow you to stay in lane HEAPS longer as Parrrley procs lifesteal as well. What you do in lane, is farm, farm, and more farm. Try not to play TOO agressive as it may leave you sussceptible to ganks which are never fun or good to be in. Even with Remove Scurvy you might have to blow a spell to get away. Some games I am able to score a kill before I get Cannon Barrage but the enemy would have to be really agressive for me to do it. Try to get a kill. After your first recall you should be able to buy a Wriggle's Lantern. If you've been farming better get your Boots of Speed. You should be able to have Ionian Boots of Lucidity after your 2nd recall.

Mid Game

Next item to aim for is Warmog's Armor. Try your best to farm and defend. If teamfights pop up ult and hope for assists or kills. You should be able to tank damage even if you havent buillt your Warmog's Armor. Next up you should build Atma's Impaler. Check to see if you have around 250 added bonus health on Warmog's Armor as that is generally where I am up to in this stage of the game. Keep farming up for a b.f. sword and trust me 1v1 will be a breeze against squishy targets and even semi-tanky people. If you have been playing your best, or your team is absolutely smashing, you should have tonnes of kills or assists.

Late Game

This is when things get tough, and real champions shine. Literally. Build Infinity Edge and Phantom Dancer. After you have all 6 item slots filled sell your Wriggle's Lantern for a The Bloodthirster. If the game is still going on then buy all of them potions that make you *cough SHINee Elixir of Agility, Elixir of Fortitude and Elixir of Brilliance. People will be like, 'why you so shiny' bro. If the game was a long one, and the enemy team put up a good fight I usually end up with around 250 minion kills. If you haven't got as many creep kills try to farm more.

Some Nice Music

I bet you this could take up 10 hrs of your life

Conclusion

Hopefully this guide helped you build a better Off-tank Gangplank. Sorry if this guide was not entertaining in any way. A thanks, upvote, +rep or a comment would be fine if you appreciate my work. If you have any issues with anything , please comment and I will answer any of your questions as soon as possible.

Credits

Special Thanks to :

d3v1lslay3r: For feeding me 7 kills in a custom ..
For giving me a base item build for Gangplank
Darkdepths: Help with the item section
Thanks to JhoiJhoi's guide on how to make guides