Ok, Well, hi.
This is my first guide for Mobafire and I hope it doesn't suck too much. Let me start by saying that Rammus is by far my favourite champ and that I've had plenty of experience with him, (although I used to rank powerball first XD). But I really do like this champ, and I hope this guide will inspire at least one new Rammus player. I understand that there are so many other guide out there, probably some which are better than mine, but I just wanted to share my view on my favourite armordillo.

Ok, Well if other guides do this, then I suppose I should do so aswell. Just to make things clear, I play Rammus as a jungler, although I actually used to play him as a bot support, so doing so can be ok. But on with this bit:

Pros:
- Has decent jungle speed
- Is a sustained jungler
- Brilliant ganks
- One of the best tanks in the game, especially for stacking armour
- A surprisingly effective backdoorer
- High mobility
- excellent tank in dbc
- puncturing taunt Dat taunt

Cons:
- Not much cc besides the taunt puncturing taunt
- Can be outclassed in terms of jungle speed and capability to be constantly ganking
- powerball gets stopped by minions, so be careful
- no means of harassment in lane
- Weaker than other tanks outside of dbc

Ok, Well, for runes, armor seals are a must have, especially on an armored tank like Rammus. Also, magic resist per level glyphs will help you to get through the game with as much money for armor as possible. The reason that I run flat armor seals and scaling magic resist runes is because the armor is really needed in terms of protection in the jungle, especially after the season 3 change. Magic resist however, isn't going to be the biggest problem in the early game, and since I will gain far more magic resist by using the scaling runes, its far more advantageous to use those. Now, quints and marks are just my preference, If you want to go for something like armor quints over health quints thats fine, its what I used to do. Until recently, I ran armor marks for the reason that Rammus and armor are like brothers. However, it has come to my attention that this only provides me with 8.6 more armor, whereas attack speed marks are a jungler's best friend (especially since you get true damage from machete for each attack you make). This means that I'm now running these when I jungle Rammus, but running armor marks isn't the end of the world. Also, keep running these if you choose to play Rammus in the bot lane. For masteries, its pretty standard. It's just a case of getting all of the most defensive options, including bladed armor since you are mostly jungling. Overall, masteries can vary massively, just as long as you make sure to get all of the necessary defensive points in masteries such as legendary armor and veteran's scars, and improving your summoner spells, they shouldn't make that great a difference, (unless you go 30/0/0, in which case you're just trolling yourself :D). If there was one mastery which I would say is a must have, it would probably be runic affinity, since the increased buff durations are very much noticeable and can very much help in terms of clearing camps, since you can spam spells without needeing to recall. This has definitely been made more important by season 3, since the jungle creeps have been made more worthwhile to kill.

Ok, well, I decided to completely re-write this chapter due to the season 3 Item changes. This part will simply explain the build which I have posted above and I'll explain the other options in "Alternate items", (Seemed logical at the time). Anyway, here we go:

x5 I was debating on whether using this or a cloth armor start, but I decided for this in the end (and I would advise to go for this with every jungler, since machete seems to have become necessary for junglers). The main reason for this is because the machete builds into spirit stone, which is pretty good to help Rammus clear. Also, since the jungle has been made to give more benefits for farming more and ganking less, I feel that machete has been made a much stronger option. Also, cloth armor got nerfed from 18-15 armor, so Rammus don't like dat no more!



I'll be honest here, I prefer the tabis. The first reason is that they are cheaper, so its just a quick form of getting quick (geddit?). Secondly, the early armor will simply allow you to deal more damage while also taking less from jungle creeps in return. However, the main reason that I build ninja tabi over mercury treads is because the main reason that I would buy mercury treads is for the tenacity. In my mind, tanks are ideally going to scale in order to become as beefy as possible, so wasting money in ways like this will simply make you inferior to other tanks, hence I would choose ninja tabi.

Remember when I said tanks need to scale to not be inferior dillos? (Did I say that last bit or not...) But seriously, this item is great. I previously made a chapter on whether to build shurelya's as you could get away with starting regrowth pendent and building an early philosopher's stone philo stone. Well, that's now dead, so what do we do? Simple. Sure, heart of gold is gone and sure, we can't start regrowth pendent, but we can hit two birds with one stone. Just start with an early philosopher's stone philo stone, which fortunately enough, builds into eleisa's miracle. This is so brilliant, because after 3 levels, it dissapears! So, if we build this before level 16, then we effectively get free health and mana regeneration, (plus the gold from philosopher's stone philo stone is a bonus). Although shurelya's is important, the support will hopefully build this ,because as a tank, the bonus from eleisa's could really help. But if the worst comes to the worst, building shurelya's isn't the end of the world.

As a general rule, if the tank has mana, this is the top MR item for them. This item is fantastic for mitigating the damage you take from mages and unless they have practically no source of magic damage whatsoever, banshee's is a staple item for Rammus. Health, mana, MR and a spell shield, all sounds good to me.

Ok, I used to have spirit here, but since the change, I reckon locket is more necessary, as it is better t just get a spirit stone and sell it later, while getting this item instead. Kindlegem is a good item in itself, while the health and armor that locket gives is a pretty good replacement for the old spirit used to give. The shield is also a great ***es to a team, giving not just damage reduction, but a good way to counter damage over time effets that would just finish off a teammate, like ignite.

In my mind, this item got a lot better since season 3. The fact that it always procs it's passive means that it is even more of an anti-carry item than before. Plus, no-one can forget the active (besides me sometimes if I'm tired). But really, besides the fact that this doesn't build from heart of gold anymore, Randuin's has arguably become the best tank item in game, especially for Rammus.

Psssst, I think some-one told riot how good this was in season 2, so they kinda nerfed it. However, frozen heart is still good to go! Sure it got hit, but with this item, you won't be getting hit much with that 20% attack speed reduction!
Its not as much as a staple item as last season, but its still in the running as a top class tank item.

This is just a great item to round off any tank build, or even any other build, guardian angel simply provides some much needed and balanced durability, as well as a sweet passive. Because you already have enough health from locket, randuin's and banshee's, its a good way to finish off a nice, balanced build.

Now, you may have noticed that this goes at the end of my build at the top. Ignore that. Homeguard is basically bought whenever you have the gold spare. Also buy this if something is going on, (like your inhibitor being attacked), which needs you there asap, in which case homeguard is needed.

Ok, they said season 3 would bring diversity in builds and this is certainly true. Tank builds have varied greatly from season 2, meaning that tanks not having 1 build is more important than ever. Some of the changes, I don't like, but some of the new items are brilliant. This is basically what I think are the other options for my favourite tanking dillo. Lets have a look:

I'll be honest, there is nothing wrong with this item. The only reason that I don't display it in my main build is because locket is convenient to build as it builds up from kindlegem, which is a pretty nice early item for the health and CDR and randuin's has an amazing active. But seriously, this gives health and armor, exactly what you want on Rammus. This is more to do with personal preferance and I see nothing wrong with building this item on Rammus, especially if both health and armor are giving you problems.

This is basically an alternative to sunfire cape, howeverthis is onyl to be chosen if you are winning. This is because, the only time you can use the active properly is if you are towerdiving and so building this over sunfire cape is a good idea if you are winning and are pushing, but otherwise, take sunfire cape.

This is a great tank item and I would honestly build it on any other tank who didn't rely on resistances as much as Rammus. However, as fortune has come to tell, this is a Rammus guide, hence this item isn't as necessary. Build this if true damage is the problem, Like Olaf's reckless swing.

This is the meaning of armor, basically the most extreme armor item in the game This is to be built if you're problem is a fed AD carry/ Master Yi.

Although this has already been mentioned, the active on shurelya's is too good to be ignored. Once again,build this if the support doesn't, because shurelya's is a great asset for a team to have.

Just like the previous item, runic bulwark should be built if the support doesn't, because if one team has a 30 MR buff and the other doesn't, doesn't take a genius to work out who will win. As well as this, I don't think anyone would turn down the bonus health and health regeneration which this truly amazing item gives. Can't stress how important this item is, just don't make them stack (as that would look a bit silly).

Although Rammus has no means of healing that the likes of Dr. Mundo have, this item can still be used effectively. Giving both health and MR definitely gives this item worth and given how you should usually build at least 2 items that give health regen, the passive isn't put to complete waste. Of course, build this item if you are taking too much magic damage.

What's this? An AD item in a tank build! This is blasphemy! This is madness! Madness... This... is... PANTHEON!
Not really. This item is basically if you are getting so chain crowd controlled that you can't perform your duty as a tank. Plus, the magic resist may help in many circumstances.

Ok, this is pretty simple. Smite is the obvious choice here, since you are a jungler. If not jungling, I generally take teleport instead, although exhaust or heal can be taken if you feel the need for them for engagements. Just bear in mind that if you do, you can't be as mobile for the team as if you took teleport, which a tank needs to do. This is to get around and support the team, since you are the tank. Then your other one is flash. Sorry ghost fans, but it aint an option here, as you need it to initiate with powerball. Flash is also just a brilliant escape/chase tool. Another thing about flash is that it can be used to hop over minion waves, so that some-one being chased can't just hide behind creeps, making flash better than ghost in my opinion. For more on flash initiation and minion hopping, I learnt how to do it from whatsdat93 on youtube, so all credit goes to him for that. In terms of other spells, barrier, ignite and cleanse are all summoners which your carry should really be taking. CV isn't necessarily terrible, but it isn't as good as it used to be. You won't be spammng your spells to the extent that you need clarity if you are playing right, especially if you buy an early philosopher's stone philo stone. If this is the case, try to conserve your mana more in comparison to running clarity. And of course, revive is off limits. No-one runs it, it isn't as useful as any other spell and the main solution is to simply die less and be more careful, (that explanation was for those who are relatively new to the game).

Ok, so for the skils, you'll need that defensive ball curl first, as this will protect, damage creeps and boots up your damage, so its the best option. Then powerball is needed for the extra damage and jungle speed. I used to take another point ion my W, but after advice from syther blade, I checked and it doesn't leave Rammus without health in the jungle. It also does help with ganks a lot, so thanks for suggesting that scyther. After that, its a case of maxing that E first, W second and powerball, taking the ultimate at levels 6,11 and 16 of course. The reason for this is because:
- powerball only needs one rank, it don't go any faster
- ball curl is good, but dat taunt needs the maxing first for locking down thos primary targets (AD carry/master yi)
- The ultimate is more damage, is good for hitting down turrets, and is fun ^^

Oh, and another thing, if in the jungle and you are sure that getting the taunt will get a kill, do it. All the better for your team, but only if you are certain, especially since you will be without powerball at this point.

Ok, when in lane, the aim is simply to protect your carry and try to zone out the other peeps (take powerball at lvl 1). As usual, farm is for the carry. In the jungle, obviously secure your buffs, then head to gank. Remember, go in from behind so that powerball knocks them away from the turret, and try to initiate powerball so that it will hit them practically at the end of its duration. Then its taunt FTW. You should aim to get philosopher's stone philo stone as soon as possible, simply because the sooner you do, the more money you get. You may also want to get some tier 1 boots, just so you can move about faster. In some cases, buying wards could be useful in the early game, for example, if you needed coverage for doing the first dragon.

Ok, in the mid game, the taunt is needed most, especially for small skirmishes ans early team fights.This, if used properly, is a free kill in itself, so you are a real part of your team, if not the main part at this stage. Also, you NEED dragon. It gives 975 gold, which in reality, is greater than 3 decent kills and will considerably boost your chances of winning, especially is you get it early on and if you get it several times. Mid game is also when you need to be starting to assess the enemy team. Say, if you are about to start to build banshee's veil, but you notice that their zyra is 0/7 and their vayne is 10/0, then you kinda need to start that Randuin's omen. As a tank, its your duty to protect those squishies on your team from the common damage threat, so basically, its often best to stay next to your damage dealers if you know know an enemy assasin is moving in to kill them.

Ok, at this point, you should be a fully equipped dillo, ready for the common damage. Once again, those taunts are gonna secure vital kills, while you should be engaging most while in your W, since it makes you superior to other tanks, (but bear in mind that you are kinda inferior to other while out of it). As the tank, it is your duty to lock down those targets, and as Rammus, this is more imperative than with any other tank, since he is the best tank in the game at locking down single targets. In my opinion, it is the tanks who are most important to who wins the game, because if they don't do thei job, the team's synergy will fall apart and you'll see an ace above your head very shortly, don't forget that. Another thing is to make sure that your team's damage is behind you. If not, either move yourself, or tell them to, but whatever you do, DO NOT FLAME AT ANYONE. This has not one single benefit but it upsets others, reduces morale, reduces the chance of help from them and other negative aspects, so doing this is one of the worst things possible. If you do ... then you are a bad dillo! Also, dragon is still very much worth it. Also, baron nashor is often a game winner. doing baron can bring you a game, but my advice is:
- Do not make it too obvious, if an entire team suddenly turns toward baron nashor when they are seiging your tower, it doesn't take an idiot to guess that they are going for baron.
- If there is a cait/nida trap there, make sure that you don't stand on it, if you do, you'd better run.
- Don't go for it until you have vision wards there, this will ensure safety.
- It is your job to tank baron and to smite it exactly, so that you're team comes out unscathed and so that it doesn't get stolen
- If you are caught at baron, and you are the only one attacking baron, STOP, it is pointless.. The team needs its tank, and you can't kill it alone

Anyhow, one last thing for lategame, Rammus can actually backdoor if needed, due to uncreased damage from dbc and tremors.

Ok, I'll be honest, invading has never been my favourite thing. I would say that you should only invade if you are extremely confident with it. The odds are, their jungler is guarded, so their is no point most of the time. Just make sure that you have the team guarding you and you should be fine. Also have the other members keep at little watch over your red, as they may go for that if they guess that you are at blue. Also, if they have a Shaco, make sure that some-one stand in the wraith bush for a little bt at the start of the game, just so that he can't first blood you with that box stratergy . But in terms of counter-jungling, I'm ok with that. Especially for blue buff, you may want to try counter jungling if you feel confident. If not, just try to protect your own jungle by getting buffs asap, checking on your camps and using wards. I don't try to pretend that Rammus is stronger in jungle fights early on, but there are ways to get around this particular weakness. From my personal experience, you should watch out for these champs:
This guys poofs over your wall and gets away rather easily. He is also very deceptive, and can possibly kill you if you find him, but this is more down to the skill of each player. He is definately a one to be careful with. Warding and regular buff checks are most needed.

Well, this guy can jump over the wall with Q and is very fast at killing the creeps. Also, he will win if you engage against him, unless you have team support. He is arguably the best counter jungler in the game. Playing defensive in this case is necessary, and certainly no counter jungling, you're just asking for trouble against Lee sin. Often, Lee sin will get his blue, then nick off with your red buff, so be ready for that.

Shyvana is just an extremely fast jungler, making it very quick for her to take your buffs. Be constantly checking on your buffs, as shyvana doesn't like being caught pre lvl 6. This doesn't mean that you can necessarily take her, however, since she is a fairly strong duelist, only engage if you are much higher on health or if you have team support.

This guy has two smites and a move that speeds himself up. It is possible that you can take him on if you find him, but not always, especially if he has a good chunk of health, but he will most likely use ice blast, then just run off, so once again, team support is vital. He will most often try to steal blue buff, so a ward there will do no harm.

Ah, Udyr, my second favourite jungler. Unfortunately, he is also a potent counter to rammus. This is because he has a faster clear time, is a better counter jungler and will kill Rammus whether he is in his jungle or his opponents. Now you may ask yourself, why the hell would I play Rammus if this guy is so much better. This is because Rammus us a better tank, has better single target crowd control, is probably a better ganker, is an armordillo e.t.c. But if I were you, against udyr, you need your team on standby and jungle protection is more important than ever, as he udyr is the best counter jungler in my mind. When I play as udyr, enemy wards screw me up, so they're pretty effective if you have money to spare.

Ok, so thats the end of my first guide, I hope you haven't died yet (joking). But really, please try to comment, as it takes a long time to make these guides and ecpecially if it is for a champ that you really love, its nice to have some comments on how you did. Obviously don't just write in saying "this guide smells" or something like that, or vote it down without giving criticism, as there isn't really much point. Well, I love Rammus and I hope that at least one other person will love him too because of this, if that happens, its has all been worth it. Another thing to note score isn't everything. If you team sees that you are in negatives, and have a flame at you, there is nothing to be ashamed about. Rammus provides an excellent cc for the team, so as long as you're tanking, and as long as you're taunting their damage threat, you're doing an ok job. Well, on a last note, try putting Rammus with thornmail against an AD master yi, you won't be dissapointed ^^