GamingLeague of Legends

Ultimate Hecarim guide: Best League of Legends builds, runes, tips & tricks

Lawrence Scotti
Hecarim GuideRiot Games

Hecarim is one of League of Legends‘ most daunting champions, as the fighter-tank has been a favorite for many since his release years ago. If you’re a seasoned veteran, or just playing him for the first time, we have the ultimate guide to mastering the Shadow of War.

Released in 2012, Hecarim is coming up on his ten-year anniversary on Summoner’s Rift. Throughout that time, Hecarim’s identity has mostly remained the same.

Regardless if you’re Mastery level 7, or have never played him at all, we’ve got the guide so you can know everything there is to know about Hecarim, including best builds and runes.

Contents

hecarimRiot Games
Hecarim is known as the Shadow of War.

Who is Hecarim?

Hecarim is a spectral fusion of man and beast, hailing from the Shadow Isles. Once the human leader of the Iron Order, Hecarim was fused with his horse from a blast wave of magical force after betraying Kalista, turning him into a spectral abomination.

Whenever the Black Mist reaches across Runeterra, Hecarim and his Iron Order patrol the land and slaughter all living in his sight. Hecarim is enslaved by the Black Mist, and also, is completely one with it.

On Summoner’s Rift, Hecarim is a jungle fighter-tank, diving into enemy backlines able to deal and soak up massive damage.

Hecarim abilities & gameplay

Hecarim’s kit is full of mobility and damage, allowing him to make plays at the blink of an eye. He is able to displace enemies while building health items to soak up damage.

The jungler is a dive champion in its purest form. With his E, Devastating Charge, he’s able to move around the map quickly and knock back enemies. His Q, Rampage, slices his glaive in the air and accounts for most of his damage output.

His ultimate, Onslaught of Shadows, can turn the tides of any team fight as he’s unstoppable while casting it and fears any opponents in the landing area.

The Shadow of War’s ganking ability is nearly unrivaled with a beastly combo of damage and crowd control.

  • Passive: Warpath — Hecarim gains Attack Damage equal to a percentage of his bonus Movement Speed.
  • Q: Rampage — Hecarim cleaves nearby enemies dealing physical damage. If Hecarim damages at least one enemy, he increases the damage and lowers the cooldown of subsequent Rampages.
  • W: Spirit of Dread –– Hecarim deals magic damage to nearby enemies for a short duration. Hecarim gains Health equal to a percentage of any damage those enemies suffer.
  • E: Devastating Charge — Hecarim gains increasing Move Speed and can move through units for a short duration. His next attack knocks the target back and deals additional physical damage based on the distance he has traveled since activating the ability.
  • R: Onslaught of Shadows — Hecarim summons spectral riders and charges forward, dealing magic damage in a line. Hecarim creates a shockwave when he finishes his charge, causing nearby enemies to flee in terror.

Best build for Hecarim

Hecarim is best built with a mix of damage and tank items. The jungler has two clear-cut best Mythic items, Trinity Force and Turbo Chemtank.

While Chemtank was the best item for the horse for quite some time, Trinity has emerged as a more solid option as it provides the damage and stats Hecarim needs, as well as gives him access to Spellblade which always feels good.

Beyond Mythics, Death’s Dance is a good pick-up as the stats are solid and the passive allows Hecarim to score a takedown, heal back up, and get a second rotation of spells in during team fights.

Frozen Heart is extremely good into AD teams with multiple auto-attack-reliant champions. Also, at a cheap 2,500 gold, it’s easy to curve into the item mid and late game.

Top meta Hecarim items in Season 12

  • Mythic: Trinity Force / Turbo Chemtank
  • Boots: Ionian Boots of Lucidity / Plated Steelcaps
  • Death’s Dance
  • Manamune (only if you build Chemtank)
  • Frozen Heart
  • Force of Nature or Maw of Malmortius (into heavy AP teams)
  • Dead Man’s Plate (into heavy AD teams)
hecarimRiot Games
Hecarim’s build should help him deal damage, while soaking up some along the way.

Best runes for Hecarim

Hecarim’s runes are designed to increase his movement speed as much as possible in order to dive into enemy backlines, one-shot a target, and successfully escape. The best rune to accomplish this is Phase Rush.

While Conqueror can occasionally be a solid option, Hecarim no longer builds sustain damage items to justify the rune over the power that Phase Rush brings.

Secondary runes can be switched up. Often it’s best to go into the Domination tree for Eyeball Collection and Ingenious Hunter, but the Precision tree is also a good option for Triumph and Legend: Tenacity.

Top meta Hecarim runes in Season 12

  • Phase Rush
  • Nimbus Cloak
  • Celerity
  • Waterwalking
  • Eyeball Collection
  • Ingenious Hunter

hecarim runes league of legends

Hecarim skins in League of Legends

Hecarim is a great champion for those who want to learn the jungle role and ultimately does have a high skill ceiling for those willing to put in the time to master him.

The Shadow of War is a terrifying champion to face when in the hands of a seasoned player, and this guide should give you all the tips needed to master the Shadow of War.

Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates on Esports, Gaming and more.