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Hecarim General Guide by

Rainbowdash, the 20% Cooler Way to Play Hecarim (Top)

Updated on

5.9

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Build Guide By 6 5

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6 5

33,941 Views

24 Comments

Hecarim Build Guide By Updated on

Guide Discussion (24) More Hecarim Guides

Choose Champion Build:

Rainbow Sprinkles On Top Lane
All the Alternatives

Spells:

Teleport

Ghost

Items

Easy Start

Med. Start

Hard Start

Substitute (AD)

Substitute (AP?)

Early Backs

Pick Red

Choose Your Boots

Pick Yellow

Pick Green

Pick Blue

Pick Purple

Example Build

Ability Order

Hecarim Passive Ability

More Hecarim Counters

Introduction to Top Lane Rainbowdash Hecarim

Hello! Welcome to my Rainbowdash Guide!
(Or click here to skip this chapter)

▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄

A very kind friend of mine who was at PAX gave me a code for Arcade and Riot . I looked at the skin for , and saw how sweet it looked. Intrigued, I watched the ability details on . He seemed pretty easy/fun, so I tried a game with him.

I noticed 's passive, . Upon seeing this, I immediately thought, " and ", so I built them. However, my damage output was lacking, as fun as his kit was, so I decided I'd need to farm more and get something that synergized with , an AoE based spell for heals, so I took a into lane and began dominating. I then wondered to myself, "Gee, I wonder what a would do on this guy, hehe", and sure enough, I built one. Feeling awesome and fast, I continued this thought with a , but before I could further experiment, the game was lost.

After the game, I noticed a trend in all the items, in the sense that they weren't of the same colors at all. I also noticed that I had the best score on a feeding team, including myself at first (being a first time), and decided to play again to experiment, except on The Twisted Treeline. This failed, so I had to get back in another Normal PvP 5v5.

The enemies tasted the rainbow as I obliterated them with , , with , (15 stacks), , and . Here's a better look at that build:

Intrigued even further, I began testing, and soon confirmed that although the guide does not work as well on The Twisted Treeline, it sure can dominate Summoner's Rift.

The spoiler contains an in-depth look at why it works.

Spoiler: Click to view

TL;DR: Try the "Items" Section if you're having trouble with the cheatsheet, I really just did this chapter to justify this guide.

When to Use This Guide

Here are a few situations that call for Rainbowdash:

Your team has a tank (such as Dr. Mundo jungle)
You were planning on Jungling as Hecarim, but someone else locked a jungler
Your team has no real initiator
Your team doesn't have the best late game
You love Rainbows
You have Arcade Hecarim
You love Rainbowdash

Runes and Substitutes

Although the Marks are subject to change, I feel as though the rest are not. Here's a little more of an in-depth explanation as to why these runes are the best, and when to substitute:
(Or click here to skip this chapter)

Greater Quintessence of Armor PenetrationQuints of Movement Speed / Armor PenGreater Quintessence of Armor Penetration

Movement Speed is good with Warpath, chases, escapes, kiting, positioning, and other generally good plays.
Greater Quintessence of Armor PenetrationArmor Penetration is good, just not as good as Movement Speed, due to Warpath, especially until "late game", which may not always occur.

Substituting the is not advised.

Seals of Armor

Flat armor Seals are really your best options for top lane, especially since most top laners are AD.

Substituting the is not advised.

Glyphs of Magic Resist

/ The bonus Magic Resist you get early game from the Greater Glyph of Magic Resist will help you early game, whereas the Greater Glyph of Scaling Magic Resist will keep it relevant mid-late game.

A different balance of Magic Resist Glyphs is okay, just not advised.

Greater Mark of Armor PenetrationMarks of Armor Penetration / Attack DamageGreater Mark of Armor Penetration

Greater Mark of Armor PenetrationArmor Penetration will really boost your damage the entire game, and really adds a utility that can't easily be replace. I strongly recommend these.
Although Armor Penetration Marks are better, these Marks can definitely be a decent replacement.

Replacing Greater Mark of Armor Penetration with is OK

TL;DR: Just copy the Rune Page and you're set!

Masteries, In-Depth

Here's a little more explanation of why I chose these masteries:
(Or click here to skip this chapter)

Offensive Tree:

Summoner's Wrath : Mainly for Ghost, also Ignite for those who take it
Fury : Good for Hecarim's overall DPS output
Alternative: Sorcery
]
Deadliness : Still good damage!
Weapon Expertise : More damage!

Defensive Tree:

Durability : Good for that extra survivability defense Hecarim occasionally lacks
Hardiness : Defense against AD
Resistance : Defense against AP
Relentless : Keep your movement speed up for more damage!
Veteran's Scars : Even more HP!
Tenacious : The quicker, the better.
Juggernaut : The little extra health it provides will surely help you.
Reinforced Armor : 1v1 their ADC with this equipped to win the exchange! Remember to initiate with Devastating Charge and finish them off with a fury of autoattacks and an Onslaught of Shadows!
Honor Guard : This is the bread and butter of your defense. This is the reason you didn't put as many points into the Offensive tree.

Other possible options:
Try experimenting with a Mastery tree of 21/9/0

Tl;DR: Copy the Mastery chart at your discretion for a fun time!

Skill Sequence

Here's an explanation of s' ability sequence.
(Or click here to skip this chapter)

Hecarim gets a lot of easy farm from his Rampage at low cost. The damage output is pretty consistant, the cooldown is low, and the mana cost is decent. Getting this first is a good way to start a game.
Spirit of Dread is an interesting ability that heals Hecarim for a percentage amount based on how much damage is dealt to nearby foes when active. This ability also deals a small amount of damage as well, and gives Hecarim high sustain in teamfights, especially with Ravenous Hydra, Rampage, and Onslaught of Shadows. This is a decent ability, but has low priority early to mid game.
Devastating Charge is a really good ability to max early, and is therefore taken second, as it offers high damage, good mobility, and melee kiting potential, because after you charge / hit someone, they're stunned, giving you a moment to kite them. Movement speed is important in this play.
Onslaught of Shadows can jump many walls on Summoner's Rift, and is a fantastic gap closer. This ability also provides a means for more distance to synergize with Devastating Charge, and also really helps in teamfights because it provides a short Area of Effect Fear, as well as doing more damage, which adds to his Spirit of Dread.

TL;DR: Start with Q, then R > E > Q > W, with a spare point in Q early.

Summoner Spells

Ghost is good in general on , what with his and .

Teleport is AMAZING on if you grab with . If you hit anyone right after you teleport, whether you use or not, they're likely to die quickly, due to your extreme mobility. REMEMBER: Should the teleport scene quickly become dangerous, you CAN stop casting it mid-teleport by casting it again!

Ignite is a decent replacement for .

TL;DR (wtf): for speed, with , can replace .

Items and When to Use Them

Here's a quick run-through of when to buy what items.
(Or click here to skip this chapter)
Warning: this section may be slightly incorrect with the cheat sheet. Please PM me if so, I'm still trying to edit the other sections.

Red:

Orange:

Yellow:

Green:

Blue:

Purple:

(with ): First Item, enchantment makes it red
: Third Item, good if you go for
: Third Item, awesome damage/lifesteal

: Second Item always, amazing farming/pushing/sustain

(with ): First Item, good with
: Third Item, synergizes well with
: Third Item, if you have tons of gold and want to have fun
: Third Item, if you have tons of gold and want huge damage

(with }: First Item, a nice boost in speed
: Fourth Item, cheap and high risk. Only buy if you're 98% sure.
: Fourth Item, safe damage and Synergizes with
: Fourth Item, anti-CC/AP, good with big damage items

: Fifth Item, Deals true damage with abilities
: Fifth Item, good with big damage items
: Fifth Item, good health and chasing abilities

: Final Item, amazing active and balanced stats
: Final Item, provides big damage and Magic Resist
: Final Item, big damage stats with lifesteal

And finally, here's what a final build could look like:

Item Sequence

Tl;DR: Just follow the cheat-sheet and make them taste the Painbow.

Team Work and Strategy

Here's some examples of Team fights and Strategy

Q.) The enemy team is near yours and trying to initiate a 5v5 teamfight. If your ultimate is up, do you engage?

Spoiler: Click to view

Q.) They're in our base, and about to take our turret! If any of my team goes in, they'll die, making the fight a (2v3/3v4/4v5)! We don't have the upper hand, should I still initiate???

Spoiler: Click to view

Q.) An enemy is low! Do I pick them off or let someone else do it??

Spoiler: Click to view

I see them at the Baron, and my is up! What do I do???

Spoiler: Click to view

Conclusion

Thank you for reading my guide to Rainbowdash ! I hope you enjoyed the guide! Feedback for improvements would be greatly appreciated!

Disclaimer: This guide has been tested on Summoner's Rift for Normal 5v5's. This guide is not recommended for Dominion, ARAM, 3v3, or Ranked play. Using it for such may have a higher chance of failure. This guide is not perfect and changes will be noted in the Changelog.

Changelog

09/02/2013
11:47 AM-
Published Guide
12:03 PM-
Added Picture
01:35 PM-
Added "Teamwork and Strategy", "When to Use This Guide", and Tweaked title names and other misc. typos
01:41 PM-
Edited starters, added a substitute in masteries section
02:02 PM-
Added alternative items to cheat-sheet and temporary disclaimer in Items chapter
02:13 PM-
Edited Title
04:00 PM-
Fixed Cheatsheet error
07:05 PM-
Slight item edit
09:45 PM-
Masteries edit in alternatives cheat-sheet
10:10 PM-
Added Personal Request
09/03/2013
04:42 PM-
Edited in Item info
09:59 PM-
Fixed a large column/spoiler issue

A Personal Request

For those of you who viewed my match history, or wondered how I achieved Silver III, I'll tell you this about myself. I am a decent player. I make good calls and usually good plays. However, my positioning is a little bit off, and my early game decision-making is horrible at times. I'm asking that, if you're reading this and think you can help, please PM me. I am looking to improve so I can make at least Gold V for the Season, and I know at this rate I won't. Thank you for reading this.