Top-Lane Warwick; Optimum Item Build Paths?

[quote=ZeUnit]So, as many know, Warwick has become indirectly strong recently via a combination of nerfs to different items and abilities from other champs. He has always been viable in the top lane, and the build path is generally the same with jungle; you build tanky-utility and win teamfights and make plays with your ult (except with the addition of [[feral flare]] you get some scaling damage). However, itemization in the jungle is fairly easy due to the huge gold pool junglers now gain, coupled with the fact Warwick is fairly item independent; you rush your [[feral flare]], and then just build tanky items with your surplus gold depending on whether AD or AP hurts more from the enemy team. However, in the top-lane you don't have access to such a flowing river of gold, and so correct itemization is fairly important, especially at high level play. With this in mind, I was wondering what people find is the most optimal Warwick top-lane build path, and what works well for them. As a rule of thumb here the mains items that are built on him (not just by me, aka a pro did it so must be good right?): [[sunfire cape]] Provides him with sustained damage in teamfights and lends to the tank-utility path, and works tremendously well with a certain item... [[wit's end]] His ult procs on hit effects 5 times. [[wit's end]] stacks 5 times. His passive deals magic damage. [[wit's end]] shreds MR. 2good2betrue. Also works well in tandom with [[sunfire cape]] and makes tanky-utility a legit build path. Also AS is good on wolf-man. [[frozen heart]] Warwick is a mana reliant champ, and I feel he lies somewhere between a caster and an AA champ. With this in mind, extra mana helps him a lot, and armour fits in with the tank build, and CDR. CDR is a stat that is usually considered a nice add-on, but nobody really builds it specifically. However CDR is actually a viable stat on Warwick, pretty much purely to get his ult cooldown as low as possible, since it's insanely powerful at all stages of the game. The passive and armour element help with the typical top-lane matchups. [[spirit visage]] Warwick is known for his sustain, with his passive, [[hungering strike]], and bonus lifesteal when he ults. With this in mind, MR + health aid to the tank path, and the bonus healing passive provides him with some ludicrous healing; almost a 50% heal when ulting. Also, CDR. [[blade of the ruined king]] I'm never sure what to think about BotRK. I feel it's kinda core on Warwick. The on-hit proc is amazing with his ult, and lifesteal and AS are good stats as I've previously stated, and bonus AD is good since he is sort of an AA champ. However this item strays from the tanky-utility path I've been preaching about. Some people swear by BotRK, some people (me included) find it's too slow to build BotRK and say rushing full tank is better. Opinions on this would be good. Also the passive plus [[wit's end]] is a big yes. [[randuin's omen]] The late game armour item. If you don't get a [[sunfire cape]] you get this. If you do get a [[sunfire cape]] you can replace it with this. Passive is cold. [[banshee's veil]] Seen as the "other" MR item. Good against MR heavy comps, but [[spirit visage]] first always. [[Athene's Unholy Grail]] I've seen people get an early [[chalice of harmony]] and build into this. Not sure hwo I feel about it though :/ AP is "alright" but it's a bit wasted when building tanky-utility. MR is good, mana regen is good since Warwick has mana problems, and CDR is good. Again, opinions on this would be good. Situational to say the least; maybe good against an aggressive AP top. [b]Build Order:[/b] Even starting items are confusing for Warwick... [[doran's shield]] against heavy poke/bully champs is a given, but in an even matchup or better it's up for debate; [[doran's ring]] vs [[doran's blade]]. I've tried both and I'm not sure how I feel about it. Would be interested to see what people prefer. I may check the win-rates with these items to see which is better. FYI, most pro players I see go [[doran's ring]] first. The first item I try to rush is [[sunfire cape]], since early [[sunfire cape]] is the best [[sunfire cape]]; I try to go back with enough for a [[giant's belt]]. However, I feel that the 950g for buying a [[glacial shroud]] is really amazing value for the stats and CDR, and is almost a must against AD top lanes. I am conflicted with getting a full [[sunfire cape]] first and then [[glacial shroud]], or [[giant's belt]] then [[glacial shroud]] then complete the [[sunfire cape]], would like to know what people do here if they rush the [[sunfire cape]]. Also throw a [[boots of speed]] somewhere in the mix, and maybe another [[doran's ring]] or [[doran's blade]] if lane is going well. A [[sunfire cape]] demands a [[wit's end]] next, and with [[mercury's treads]] I have a good amount of MR, coupled with the two armour items I already have means I am set in terms of a standard core. From here I'm not sure what fits. Finishing off the [[frozen heart]] seems obvious, but I also want to get my [[blade of the ruined king]] in sooner rather than later. In general the timing of the BotRK is what screws with my build path the most, since it's very expensive and demands a lot of resources put towards in order to get it (time, maybe even lane kills). From here you can see how the game is going and buy items accordingly; extra MR, extra armour, god forbid a {[guardian angel]] or even some support items. I feel this general build path provides a solid start most of the time. I would really like to hear what other people build and what people find most optimal, especially in timing of the [[blade of the ruined king]] since I feel it's core on Warwick but fitting it into a build path is awkward when trying to make it optimal and efficient. All comments welcome![/quote]

[quote=TheKut]I don't claim to know [[Warwick]] that well since I just recently started playing him, but I typically go for at least a [[Bilgewater Cutlass]] first, if not the entire [[Blade of the Ruined King]] and then follow up with [[Sunfire Cape]], [[Spirit Visage]], [[Wit's End]] and then [[Randuin's Omen]] or [[Frozen Heart]], but it all depends on the other team and top laner. I practically always have a Botrk, Wit's and SV at the end of the game though.[/quote]

[quote=NicknameMy]I would still say with proper last hitting top laners gain more gold than junglers. [[doran's ring]] vs [[doran's blade]] is all about the strategy you want to go with WW in the lane. If you can AA often and want to do that, go for [[doran's blade]]+[[greater mark of attack speed]]+[[greater quintessence of life steal]]. If it is rather a hard lane where you can't AA constantly and you have to rely on your spells, go for [[doran's ring]] + [[greater mark of attack damage]] + [[greater quintessence of attack damage]]. Getting 2 Doran's on WW is pretty common because it helps his early weak laning phase. Now, if you started [[doran's blade]] and you have 2, go for [[blade of the ruined king]] first, it has great synergy with this strategy. This turns you into an unkillable trading machine, especially during ult. If you go [[doran's ring]] you should either get [[sunfire cape]] or [[wit's end]] first, depending on your lane opponent. After that, build against your enemy and the enemy team. Or, you can build like an AP Bruiser, but that is a totally different thing.[/quote]

[quote=Mooninites][quote] So, as many know, Warwick has become indirectly strong recently [/quote] I did not know [quote] He has always been viable in the top lane [/quote] I did not know this either [quote] top-lane you don't have access to such a flowing river of gold [/quote] I was also unaware that jungle had rivers of gold[/quote]

[quote=TheKut]Mooninites just shat on your entire post.[/quote]

[quote=J-Wizz]Warwick has one of the worst clear speeds which i assume is why you value Sunfire so highly. I usually run a sustain/aggressive Warwick and for 1st core item I utilize tear > Manamune with Ghost and Ignite as Summoner's spells. With all this mana Warwick can use Q for harass as well having huge sustain, don't knock it to you at least try it, it's just a suggestion. To add i think Warwick is one of the most exciting champs itemization wise and i believe he can always build according to what laner/team comp he's up against.[/quote]

[quote=Vapora Dark]Haven't really played top lane WW in a while, but I still know a fair bit about the theory as I have a ton of experience with him. Start Doran's Ring, and maybe build another one on your next B depending on how much gold you have when you go back. If you expect to win lane, build Cutlass, and upgrade it to botrk straight away if you're ahead. If not, build Randuin's, then upgrade it. If you don't expect to win lane, rush Sunfire Cape after your Dorans, then build Wit's End. The difference between the two build paths is that if you're expecting to win lane and get ahead, you can afford to go for a damage item first, then build a tanky item. If you're expecting to lose land and be slightly behind, you rush a cheap tank item that does magic damage, then build a cheap damage item which synergizes with the tanky item's magic damage. Build #1 is tankier with more utility and pretty high damage, build #2 has more damage but is less tanky and less utility. Overall build path #1 is more effective, but is also considerably more expensive. Hence switching builds from game to game depending on how you're expecting early to mid game to go for you. Full build #1: [[blade of the ruined king]], [[ninja tabi]]/[[mercury's treads]]/[[sorcerer's shoes]], [[randuin's omen]], [[spirit visage]], [[frozen heart]], [[wit's end]]. Can switch those last 2 around depending on how well you're doing. Full build #2: [[sunfire cape]], [[ninja tabi]]/[[mercury's treads]], [[wit's end]], [[spirit visage]], [[frozen heart]], [[blade of the ruined king]]. Again, you can switch the last 2 around. And when you have enough gold I'd sell your Sunfire Cape for Randuin's. For runes go x9 AD, x9 armor/lvl, x9 MR/lvl, x3 armor, in AD matchups. For melee AP matchups, x9 split pen, x9 armor/lvl, x9 MR, x3 AD. For ranged AP matchups, x9 AD, x9 armor/lvl, x9 MR, x3 HP regen. If you just want a general rune page, a standard AD rune page is fine too. If you're willing to make 1 unique rune page for WW, you could also use the melee AP matchups rune page but with x9 armor instead of x9 armor/lvl. These are my masteries: [img]http://i.imgur.com/wtvbHpT.png[/img] Also, WW has always been average in the past, and I guess he might be strong'ish as a top laner with the TP meta, at least in solo queue. His late-game is really strong.[/quote]

[quote=Vorcia]I actually played quite a bit of [[Warwick]] in the past. I strongly advise NOT building a [[blade of the ruined king]]. [[Warwick]] gets more than enough attack speed from [[hunters call]] and [[wit's end]]. He doesn't need to build lifesteal either, while the healing is nice, he already has tons of innate sustain and doesn't build much AD to make lifesteal worth it. 40% Attack Speed is core on WW, I usually reach it with [[frozen heart]], [[spirit visage]] and one other CDR item, such as [[locket of the iron solari]] or very rarely, [[iceborn gauntlet]]. You need to for all your skills, and most importantly, to keep up [[hunters call]]. The only real core items on warwick are [[Wit's end]] and [[sunfire cape]] combo. Combined together, they'll do a lot of damage, during your [[infinite duress]]. For boots, I go [[ninja tabi]] every game, its just the best set of boots for a tank, especially WW who doesn't really care about getting CC'd since any hard CC will cancel his ult anyways. [[thornmail]] and [[guardian angel]] give you a lot more effective HP, and [[Frozen Mallet]] gives you sticking power without your [[blood scent]] being triggered. [[randuin's omen]] is good too since you'll be ulting in the middle of their team, you can get a massive slow off, especially if you choose to build a [[frozen heart]] (you really should be building it just about every game though). [[abyssal scepter]] gives you a lot more damage with some extra MR if you need it. That's about all I could think of for good items to build on WW. Of course, [[blade of the ruined king]] if you're really fed, but I really dislike building this item.[/quote]

[quote=NicknameMy]So, you wanna go tanky MPen WW? Then go this route: [[sunfire cape]], [[sorcerer's shoes]], [[wit'S end]], [[thornmail]], [[spirit visage]], [[liandry's torment]], [[abyssal scepter]]. You really don't need to get more CDR on WW, he is good enough without it. And look at the magic damage that this build does.[/quote]

[quote=Mooninites]You can't build 7 items nicknamemy[/quote]