Hi guys, I'm best rammus OK. I play a lot of Rammus and am currently D2 trash (alternating based on how much I feel like playing). I've played with players such as Aphromoo, Hashinshin, Wingsofdeathx, and the pie himself. The reason I'm writing this guide is that I don't see any actual high elo Rammus guides with high views here. Hopefully after reading this guide you'll have a good understanding of who Rammus is and what he does.

I was once rated by lolskill as the best Rammus in the world.



If you wanna see some cool Rammus plays check out my montage!

Pros:

-Good early pressure

-Good in most mid/lategame fights

-Enemies will underestimate you because nobody even knows Rammus exists

-Doesn't require mechanical skill

-Your enemies will kill themselves for you- see https://gfycat.com/SmallFreshChick

-Good meme potential

-Good at 1v1ing lategame

Cons:

-Easy to itemize against ( )

-Gets punished by bully junglers like

-Can't make cool mechanical outplays

-Worse against better-coordinated teams

-No %HP damage

Flash Smite

Flash Smite is mandatory on Rammus. Smite is mandatory on all junglers due to not being able to buy a jungle item without it, which significantly decreases the experience received. Flash is extremely good on Rammus due to the plays he can make with it, and honestly, nobody gives flash Rammus the respect he deserves. Even in high diamond I've gotten kills just by flashing into unsuspecting people. It gives way more kill potential than Exhaust or Ignite could ever hope to achieve. Flash is honestly just an overloaded summoner spell in general.

P.S. every time you take Ghost a kitten dies. There are NO scenarios in which taking ghost, or any summoner spells other than flash smite, is correct. Don't try to come up with a niche scenario where you say "hmm ghost actually seems good this game, I bet best rammus OK just wasn't thinking of this scenario", because when I say NO scenario, I mean it.

Aftershock is the standard tank keystone right now, and Rammus is no exception from this. It's just a large amount of stats that Rammus makes good use of, followed by a slow that helps him stick to people after the taunt.

Font of Life synergizes well with your taunt and ultimate. I don't really love unflinching, as most of the time, cc won't really matter against you after you flash in anyway, as all of your cc will have been done already. I don't think demolish is very good on junglers.

Conditioning is a lot better than the other two options, especially since Rammus has no healing other than refillable potion.

Revitalize does next to nothing on Rammus, and overgrowth isn't great for junglers.


Domination tree:
I think that these two masteries are the best for Rammus. Cheap shot is good as it's non-scaling true damage which is good for tanks, and Rammus can prob it very easily with his ulti, q, and e. Zombie ward also is very good in the vision game.

Start W because it's a one point wonder.

Get Q level 2 because the AoE damage makes it more efficient than the attack speed.

Max Q first because of the cooldown reduction- more duration on taunt isn't irrelevant, but going from 16 seconds on Q to 6 seconds is huge. What I have found is that for midlane, a 1.25 second taunt is usually lethal if it lands anyway, and for toplane, Q max gives you a second taunt altogether.

Max e second because w maxing doesn't give much.

Starting items:

Talisman is a lot better than machete on Rammus due to the constant damage monsters take from your W. Refillable potion is better than regular potions due to Rammus being able to clear the new jungle fairly effectively.


Patch 7.19 update - after bramble vest nerfs, this item is now less effective. For full math on bramble rush DPS versus bambi rush DPS, see here. Considering the data found here, and the fact that bramble costs 100g more, I now generally only purchase bramble against full AD teams. Bramble has slightly weaker clear, but against full AD teams the armor is useful enough to make the item worth it.


I previously went blue smite every game, but with new rammus, red smite is more viable than it was before. This is for two reasons- first, Rammus's Q is a much lower cooldown. Second, his ultimate has a slow. These two factors mean that chilling smite is not as heavily needed to chase people down.

Boots:

Tabi's are still as broken as ever. Unless you're against a super heavy CC team, Tabi's are usually the right boots.

Post-Jungle Item:

This item is actually pretty efficient right now after the changes. I think it's a strong item to pick up early, as it gives you a very strong engage. While powerball is already theoretically strong enough to engage most fights, righteous glory helps dodge problematic skillshots or path around non-priority targets or minions.


is a very efficient item for Rammus and is a good item to use to protect yourself when your is on cooldown. Now that it doesnt add to your base health, is a weaker item since it does not have the added synergy of a stronger shield, so I will generally go a magic resistance item like or , or a if the enemy team lacks magical damage.

After that, you'll usually want to upgrade your bramble vest into a as its stats are quite efficient on Rammus.

The main two slots that you should be looking to swap out for situational items (if any) are stoneplate and abyssal mask. These items have strong stats and are efficient in what they do, but they are not necessary and can be replaced. The movement speed from righteous glory is not really found on other items, and thornmail synergizes very well with Rammus's kit, though there are occasional games where may be better.

Lastly, always buy s.

Why not thornmail rush?

After the changes to thornmail, this item just isn't as strong, and it's much better just to pick up a bramble vest and sit on it, as this item is much more efficient. Here is a reddit post that shows some detailed calculations of the damages. This is even more true for Rammus, since all of the bonus armor he got was very useful for the old thornmail that had a high armor scaling, whereas current thornmail does not.


Items I don't like:

Guardian Angel:

Not a good item on tanks anymore. The AD is very inefficient and you revive with very little HP due to it being changed from max hp to base hp.

Boots of Mobility:

Not needed; Rammus is already very fast at engaging, and these won't help him stick to a target once he has knocked them up. Better to get so you're harder to peel off or so you're harder to kill.

Frozen Heart:

The CDR is good, but it doesn't stack well with thornmail, and the mana isn't super efficient.

Frozen Mallet:

Your ult is already a free frozen mallet


Situational items:

ZZ'rot Portal:

I never build this item, but that's not because it's bad- it's because I never remember to and therefore don't know how to utilize it well. If you have experience with tanks and are good at placing ZZ'rots then go for it dude. I would only get it as a late item though.

Wit's End:

This item is a good pickup if the enemy team has a beefy front line that lacks magic resistance, as it can allow you to do a surprising amount of damage to them. This item got better after the attack speed buff, so it might be something I'm looking to pick up more often. It's definitely not an item you pick up every game though.

Adaptive Helm:

This item is good against champs that deal low-cooldown or damage-over-time magic damage such as

Knight's vow:

Good if you have a fed carry that you are having trouble keeping alive. The fact that it deals you true damage is a tad awkward but it's still an efficient item.

Abyssal Mask

Not as good on Rammus now that it gives mana, but for new Rammus mana isn't as bad of a stat since the cooldown on Q is so low and E can be used for camps. Good if your team has a lot of AP to make use of the passive.

Warmog's armor

Not too bad after the buff. To be honest I'm not completely sure when/if this is a good buy or not, but I think it has potential, especially if the game seems to be a lot of skirmishes.

Dead man's plate

There's nothing wrong with this item necessarily, there are just usually better pickups. If against an all or heavy AD team it's something I'll pick up sometimes, as it does give solid stats versus them.

Randuin's Omen:

This item doesn't stack well with thornmail, and the active isn't very efficient since Rammus can already slow people with . However, against super crit heavy teams ( etc), it can be worth to pick up this item in place of thornmail. To be honest, there may even be games where it can be correct to buy both thornmail and Randuin's as they can be efficient together even with the double unique passive of cold steel.

Aatrox:

Difficulty: 3/5

I've never actually played this matchup, but I imagine it could be difficult if the aatrox tries to counterjungle you. If he does, don't try to fight him unless you know you'll have a numbers advantage. His early ganks can be very deadly, so try to ward for your lanes. If you don't know where he is when ganking, there's a reasonable chance he counterganks you, which will most likely result in a double kill for him, so be careful. You're pretty effective against him in lategame fights. You're very effective against him if the game goes long, however, so just try to play safe and don't go for risky ganks if you don't know where he is and you'll end up a lot more useful than him as the game goes on.

Amumu:

Difficulty: 3/5

This matchup is pretty even as you both do pretty similar things. Your ganks are more effective early so try to out-pressure him. Once he hits level 6 he'll probably try to make a play botlane, so try to ward around there at the 6-7 minute mark. You most likely can't win a 3v3 against him so don't try to countergank unless your lane is very ahead. Instead try to make a play in another lane, e.g. dive top and get tower.

Elise:

Difficulty: 5/5

This matchup's really hard because elise can pretty much oneshot you if she hits you with a cocoon for the first half of the game. For this reason you need to always consider the possibility that she shows up if you go to gank. Not doing so could result in her getting a double kill. You should also always watch your own screen rather than somewhere else on the map. Try to focus more on keeping your lanes safe through vision than setting up plays unless you know where she is. Definitelye a matchup for magic resistance glyphs.

Evelynn:

Difficulty: 3/5

This matchup is pretty similar to Elise except she has less kill potential on you but she's harder to predict. Try to place s at her camps and s in the river brushes. She's pretty squishy so a good countergank will usually be able to kill her.

Fiddlesticks:

Difficulty: 2/5

He can't really do much to you unless you overextend for a gank, so just try to out-pressure him early, as his ganks don't do much until he hits level 6. He can't really 1v1 you because you have two ways to interrupt his drain. Like Amumu, he'll probably want to gank bottom level 6. Unless your bottom lane is significantly stronger, you won't be able to win the 3v3, so just try to keep it warded and apply pressure elsewhere. If you can interrupt his ultimate, however, you will almost definitely win the 3v3.

Lategame make sure not to overextend into unwarded areas or his ult will wreck your team.

Graves:

Difficulty: 5/5
Difficulty if he doesn't know what he's doing: 2/5

This is one of Rammus's worst matchups. Graves will outfarm you hard and if he knows what hes doing will pressure you in your jungle. Always pay attention to your own screen, as looking at another lane could mean a surprise death. Try to stay less than a couple levels behind and look for ganks when he is not nearby.

If he doesn't know how the matchup works, the matchup becomes like Yi. He will likely waste time trying to go for difficult ganks rather than pressure you. He'll still be ahead of you in farm, but you're strong against him in teamfights so it shouldn't be a problem.

Hecarim:

Difficulty:4/5

Another hard matchup for Rammus. His counterganks can be extremely deadly, so make sure you know where he is before you gank, as he is extremely good at chasing champions down.

Lategame consider taunting him if you see him getting ready to use his E on your carry in order to protect them, as it'll soak up a lot of damage and CC.

Ivern:

Difficulty: 4/5

He'll make it difficult for you to engage by putting daisy in your face. He'll probably invade your buff so have one of your laners ward it and then move to his opposite buff to compensate.

Jarvan IV:

Difficulty: 2/5

Slightly favorable for Rammus. He can never really kill you and you out pressure him. Taunting him mid flag/drag makes him come back to you and not be able to ult anyone.

Kha'zix:

Difficulty: 4/5

You out-pressure him early so try to get some ganks off before he becomes a threat. He can kill you earlygame if he finds you isolated so be careful of invades. Lategame try to keep him off of your carries.

Kindred:

Difficulty: 2/5

Fairly easy for Rammus. Her early clear isn't great so she can't really fight you level 3, and after you get items she won't be able to get through your armor. The only time she can really fight you is from levels 4-5ish, or if she has red buff and you don't.

Lee Sin:

Difficulty: 3/5

This is probably the matchup that I've played the most, as Lee Sin is always meta for some reason. He might try to invade your second buff early, and for that reason you should either ward the river when you go to it or try to pull it out. Usually, however, he will instead go for an early gank on a lane. Lees very often go for risky dives, so try to countergank him. If in a position where Lee is trying to kill you, use your powerball to juke his Q.

If there is one thing I have learned from this matchup, it's that Lee Sins never give Rammus any respect. They will very often go for greedy dives ( https://gfycat.com/MassiveGloomyBee ) so be ready to capitalize and taunt. A trick you can do is if they hit a q, if you think they will follow up on it, press e on them before they follow up on the Q, which will stop any followup plays they might be considering, as they will be taunted midflight if they follow up. Here is an example (it's with wukong but the concept is the same)

Master Yi:

Difficulty: 1/5

The difference between this matchup and Graves is that Yi cannot pressure Rammus, which is very significant. Yi will likely be powerfarming most of the game, so take advantage of the very low chance of a countergank to pressure lanes. Even with his large farm lead, Rammus is very good against Yi in teamfights, so this is a good matchup for Rammus.

Nidalee:

Difficulty: 5/5

This matchup is very bad for Rammus for reasons similar to that of Graves. She will focus on outfarming you and pressuring you, so just try not to die and outscale. Make sure you know where she is before ganking or you could end up giving her a double kill.

Nocturne:

Difficulty: 2/5

Nocturne is one of the few champions that can fight Rammus lategame, but he pays for it with his lack of early pressure. His counterganks can be scary, but overall I would say this matchup is slightly in Rammus's favor. Now that you gain attack speed you actually beat him in 1v1s midgame so you shouldn't be to afraid of him.

Olaf:

Difficulty: 4/5

This matchup isn't too bad for Rammus early, but it can become difficult for him once the game goes to midgame. His true damage from his can be very effective at killing Rammus, and if he becomes fed his prevents Rammus from peeling any of his carries.

Rammus:

Difficulty: OK/5

Rek'sai:

Difficulty: 3/5

Overall this matchup is pretty even. New rek'sai is less about farming and more about ganking, but she'll still beat you in most 1v1s, especially if you build . She usually goes in pretty deep with her tunnel, so try to countergank by taunting her when she's burrowed to tank the knockup.

Rengar:

Difficulty: 4/5

Pretty similar to kha'zix. Can kill you early if he finds you. Lategame stay on top of your carry if he ults- you can even powerball pre-emptively to stop his jump in the air.

Shaco:

Difficulty: 4/5

Honestly I'm still not entirely sure how to play this matchup. This is a very difficult matchup to play, so I can't really explain everything in the guide. He will either invade your second buff or gank your midlaner early. Ward around your buff to see if he comes. If he does, your options are either to concede the buff or call for help. If the shaco knows what he's doing, help probably will only delay his attack, so more often than not I will simply concede the buff. If he goes for an early gank, there's not much you can do other than pray your laner doesn't die.

Shyvana:

Difficulty: 5/5
Difficulty if she doesn't know what she's doing: 3/5

Very bad matchup, similar to that of Nidalee or Graves. Make sure to secure your buffs early because if you gank before you have both, she will most likely take the one you didn't get. Try to stay less than 2 levels behind. Ward your jungle so that you can go into hers if you see her in yours. If she comes to take your camp there's not much you can do other than let her have it. She'll probably go for an early dragon so try to keep it warded.

If she doesn't know what she's doing the matchup becomes similar to Skarner. You outpressure her early and she outfarms you early. Once she hits 6 she'll probably gank a lane, and you generally can't countergank her as she's too strong, so try to gank another lane in her absence.

Skarner:

Difficulty: 3/5

I've only played this matchup a couple of times, but it's mostly even. He will outfarm you early and you will outpressure him early. Once he hits 6 he'll probably gank a solo-lane with his ultimate. You can't really countergank unless you're very ahead, so try to pressure other lanes.

Vi:

Difficulty: 3/5


Earlygame, once she hits level 6 she has a basically guaranteed kill on a lane of her choice, which you can't really do much about unless she towerdives. If your laner is doing decently or ahead you can potentially focus her down after her ultimate ends to at least get a 1 for 1.

Lategame, when peeling vi, it's usually better to peel off the assassins that will be going in with her rather than her herself, as she will usually have a lot of tank items, which means that, while she can't be focused down as easily, she won't be able to do a ton herself.

Warwick:

Difficulty: 3/5
Pretty even matchup mostly. You'll never be able to 1v1 him so don't try, but he also shouldn't be able to kill you so long as you respect him. Keep in mind that a significant amount of warwick's damage is magical when you consider what to build.

Zac:

Difficulty: 4/5

Zac can be pretty scary in teamfights, so it's important that you stop his with your Q. Even though hes in the air, he still gets knocked up if you powerball his path.

Earlygame he's slightly stronger than you and will punish you if you overextend for a gank, but fights against him are winnable.

Midgame make sure you respect his ultimate or you'll probably get caught and die.

Rammus on average is on the weaker side of junglers in terms of early skirmishes, so if you're against a strong earlygame jungler like those mentioned in the previous section, be cautious about ganking when you don't know where the jungler is. It's important to have some sort of knowledge about pathing and what the enemy jungler could be doing (e.g. if the enemy midlaner just disappeared, then reappeared with blue buff, then the jungler is obviously at blue. Stuff like that).

The biggest part about ganking with Rammus is how long you should have your DEFENSIVE BALL CURRL up for. Whereas before it was a no brainer ability, it now slows you during usage. What I usually do is use it while they are taunted for the extra damage, then take it off once I start chasing. When towerdiving, it's usually best to keep it on the entire time so that you can tank as much as you can. The same goes for 2v2 skirmishes.

General ganking tips:

-If on blue side with blast cone plant, consider using it instead of going through river as such

-Redbuff strongly strengthens your ganks, especially at the sidelanes, so try to make a gank happen while you have it.

-If at a side lane, consider lane ganking by having your laner push up the wave, then hiding in brushes until they overextend.

-Try not to gank right when minions arrive, as they will be in the way of your powerball.

-Flash can be used to get past minions or pets in your way. Consider going behind towers, through jungle, or even flashing through walls as such. Note that in this particular case, I knew that Orianna did not have flash, or else I would not have went for the kill.

-Learn to juke skillshots, as you will notice a recurring theme of importance of being able to juke abilities like


I will now go over specific toplane and midlane champions, then talk about bottom lane in general.

Toplane Champions

Aatrox:

He will most likely use his on you and then away. Juke the slow, then powerball after him until he leaps away. If you think you have good kill pressure, you can flash into him to stop the leap. If not, just change your direction to where he is leaping to.

Akali:

Pink wards don't reveal akali through anymore, so there's no point in using those to gank her. Instead, force the twilight shroud, then stand near where you think she will go. If she's level 6, she might try ing to a minion, so consider standing between her with active to stop the dash.

Camille:

Camille's only escape is her . It's a very strong escape if used correctly/early enough, but its also predictable and outplayable. If she goes for a wall close to you, you can try to intercept her meeting at the wall and knock her up before she can jump off the wall. If she goes somewhere you won't be able to intercept in time, just try to go between her and her tower. You can also try to bait her into using it aggressively, but a good camille will hold it unless she knows where you are.

Cho'Gath:

Cho'gath will try to hit you with his when he sees you, so just be ready to juke it and he's an easy gank.

Darius:

Darius has no dash, and is as such a fairly easy gank. Try not to get hit by the outer radius of his , as it will heal him. Note that post level 6, Darius has the potential to kill one if not both of you, so be careful when ganking if your laner is low damage.

Dr. Mundo

Mundo also has no dash, but is harder to gank due to his tankiness. Post 6, you pretty much can't kill him unless you have a very high damage laner like .

Fiora:

Fiora is a special case due to her . If you try to start the fight by knocking her up or taunting her, she will parry you, stun you, and walk away. What I have found has the highest success rate is powerballing behind her, getting out of powerball, and start attacking her. She will immediately parry 100% of the time, so just taunt her after the effect ends and you should be good.

Fiora can be problematic in teamfights due to her ultimate , which deals true damage as a percentage of maximum HP. If she uses it on you, run away or she will kill you. If she uses it on a carry and you feel you need to peel, start autoattacking her until she parries you, then taunt her.

Gangplank:

Before he hits level 3, Gangplank will be a pretty easy gank as he is fairly squishy with no dash. After level 3, he will have his to cleanse your taunt, so you won't be able to kill him unless you either have your laner bait the orange or if your laner has a stun of his or her own.

Lategame Gangplank's s will deal a lot of damage to you due to their armor penetration, so take care not to let them hit you.

Garen:

Garen is pretty similar to Mundo. He has no dash, but is very tanky, so he will be difficult to kill without a high damage laner. Note that Post 6 he could potentially kill you with ignite if your laner is low damage.

Gnar:

Ganking Gnar is like ganking Aatrox, except harder because if there are minions behind him he gets an extra dash. Juke his , then roll where he's going to . If your reflexes are fast enough and you have kill pressure, a flash knockup will be very strong.

Illaoi:

Illaoi is pretty easy to gank pre-6, but once she hits level 6, be careful when ganking her, as she can turn 1v2s pretty easily if your laner is weak using her .

Irelia:

Her makes her hard to lock down, but she is still definitely killable, especially with redbuff. If there are minions behind her she will probably try to dash to them with , so keep that in mind by potentially rolling between her and the minions

Jax:

Jax has a situational dash with his . Try not to gank when he has minions coming behind him, or he will jump to them. It's still possible he uses a warding totem to jump, however, so keep that in mind. If he s before you reach him, roll around him just out if its range until it expires- it is now even more important to dodge this, as it cancels your powerball. If you reach him before he uses it, just do the standard procedure of knock-up taunt. If he uses it after you knock him up but before you taunt, walk backwards towards your tower to force him to follow you.

Jayce:

Jayce will likely try to you away, so either angle yourself in a position that it doesn't push you towards your tower by running around him, or flash behind into him so that he doesn't get the chance to do so (see here)

Kennen:

Try to juke his so that he can't stun you. After that his isn't really a problem since you still outrun him, so just run directly at him.

Malphite:

Similar to Mundo- no dash, but hard to kill without a high damage laner.

Maokai:

Similar to Mundo, except he can to enemy minions and can use to ward, although most Maokais will usually use their saplings for lane. He's untargetable during twisted advance, so you won't be able to knock him up during it.

Nasus:

Similar to Mundo, except squishier. He can use his to slow you, but it wont slow you enough to keep you from knocking him up. Fairly easy gank.

Nautilus:

While Nautilus is extremely tanky, he is also very slow. If he doesn't have flash, you'll usually be able to kill him by flashing in front if his anchor to prevent his escape so long as your laner does a decent amount of damage.

Ornn:

Ornn's a little different than gangplank becuase, while he has a way to remove cc, it also slows him by 50%, so it can sometimes still be worth it to taunt him while has it up. In general, if you have a way to slow him (redbuff, your ultimate, cc from your laner) it's best to hold the taunt. If you have nothing left and he's about to get out of range, you should use your taunt.

Pantheon:

Pantheon is a pretty easy gank due to his squishiness and lack of escape. He is also a fairly high priority target due to his strong earlygame and tendency to wreck laners in 1v1s early.

Poppy:

Poppy is very tanky but also quite slow. She can to minions if there are some behind her but otherwise she will be left without an escape.

Renekton:

You only really have one point in the game that you can kill Renekton, and that's level 3 with doublebuffs. After that he'll most likely become too tanky to deal with unless he's overextending into a high damage laner. Renekton has very high 1v2 potential post 6 so be careful about ganking him, especially if he's ahead. In fact, if Renekton is even a single kill up and level 6, you pretty much can never kill him, so don't try, unless he's going for a tower dive.

Riven:

Riven is like a weaker Renekton but with more dashes. You can't really kill her if she has all her dashes up, but most riven players will want to fight level 2 anyway. Have your laner bait her cooldowns, then gank her after she's overextended.

Rumble:

Rumble has no dashes and tends to overextend, so he is a prime candidate for a gank. Just keep in mind that post 6 he can kill you with if you arent careful.

Wukong:

Ganking Wukong is kind of like ganking a fiora in that you want to powerball behind him, except you actually want to knock him up rather than start autoattacking. After you knock him up, start autoattacking him until he stops moving, then walk towards his tower and prepare to taunt when his ends. If he stops moving before you knock him up, even better- just powerball towards his tower and follow standard procedure of knockup -> taunt.

Midlane champions

Ahri:

Ahri will try to you when you come up to gank, so just juke the charm and you should be good. Once she hits level 6 she will be harder to kill but is still killable, especially if you flash before she is able to get her first charge of off.

Anivia:

Anivia is similar to Ahri except she is still fairly easy to kill post 6. Just dodge her and roll around her and she's an easy kill.

Annie:

Have your laner bait her and she's an easy kill. You can tell how many stun charges she has up by clicking on her, so if you see she has less than three you can just roll in yourself.

Brand:

When ganking pre 6, just avoid his and he's an easy kill. After 6, make sure you don't take too much ability damage or he could kill you.

Cassiopeia:

Easy kill, as she has no hard cc or dashes. Once she hits 6 she can you but that's not too big of a problem and you can even juke it by looking the other way if you know what you're doing. The best way to go about ganking a level 6 cassiopeia is by by rolling behind her at an angle that you aren't looking at her, then roll straight into her. If she ults you while you aren't looking at her it won't do anything, and if she does it while you are then she'll have nowhere to go.

Diana:

Easy kill, no dash. Once she's 6 she can dash to minions but that's not a problem.

Ekko:

Fairly easy kill even with his . If you can have your laner bait him into using it it'll be even easier.

Fizz:

Fizz is very hard to gank due to his . However, since Fizz is a melee champion, he will have to play aggressive eventually, so just try to get your laner to bait it, then go in for the kill.

Karma:

Karma has no dash, but her will snare you if it lasts long enough, so just run straight up to her before it can take effect.

Karthus:

Extremely easy gank. Just make sure you don't stand in his for too long.

Kassadin:

Easy gank pre 6. Post 6 it gets a bit harder but is still doable if you can have your laner bait his .

Katarina:

She plays pretty safe so she might be a difficult gank, but she cant to wards anymore so you can probably still kill her unless she leaves daggers behind her.

Kayle:

Very easy gank pre 6. Post 6 still gankable, as even if you don't get the kill (which you certainly might) you will burn important cooldowns.

Leblanc:

Leblanc is very hard to gank due to her ability to dash away with and she can snare you with . The way to beat leblanc is to wait for her to use her W aggressively, wait for the return to expire, then go in. If she isn't using her W aggressively, just leave.

Lissandra:

Her only escape is . If you flash onto her before she can teleport to the claw, you'll probably be able to kill her. Otherwise, unless your laner can stun her, she'll probably get out unharmed. There's not much point in trying to bait her into using the claw because she will save it for you unless she has no idea what she's doing.

Lux:

When ganking pre 6, just avoid her BINDING LIGHT and she's an easy kill. After 6, make sure you don't take too much ability damage or she could kill you.

Malzahar:

Use your Chilling to pop his and he's an easy kill, or just have your laner do it.

Morgana:

Dodge the , then wait for your midlaner to pop her before taunting. It's usually best to roll behind her in the meantime.

Morgana's pretty good against Rammus in teamfights due to her ability to keep him locked down and black shield whoever he wants to taunt.

Orianna:

Orianna will hit you with a Q W when you walk up which will do a significant amount of damage and slow you. After this though she won't be able to do much other than herself, so just don't let the initial burst deter you.

Orianna is strong against Rammus in teamfights due to her strong output of consistent magical damage and ability to lock him and his team down with

Ryze:

Try to bait him into using his on your laner so you can powerball into him. You can often stil knock him up even if you get snared, but he's fairly tanky with his shield so you might not be able to get the kill.

Syndra:

Syndra is busted so hopefully she won't be on the enemy team. If she is, try to dodge her . If she ults you make sure you W it, but she'll probably kill you anyway because Syndra is a balanced champion.

Twisted fate:

You can't really just run up to twisted fate or he'll stun you with , so you have two choices: wait until he uses pick a card, or flash onto him while hes picking a card. Both of these can be viable choices. Note that if Twisted Fate has picked a card while he is taunted, his ability cooldown will neither be consumed or used, so he will be able to use the card when the taunt ends.

When ganking other lanes, make sure you're aware of where Twisted Fate is if he is post-6, as an unpredicted could mean an enemy triple kill.

Veigar:

Just roll around his and you should be able to kill him.

Vel'koz:

Just roll around his and you should be able to kill him.

Viktor:

Just roll around his and you should be able to kill him.

Vladimir:

He'll use his once you get close, so just roll on top of him and you'll knock him up when he comes out.

Xerath:

When ganking pre 6, just avoid his and he's an easy kill. After 6, make sure you don't take too much ability damage or he could kill you, but only if he gets away alive.

Yasuo:

Just roll straight at him and there isn't much he can do. He can't through you or he'll just get knocked up, so he'll probably try to do it on minions.

Rammus is pretty effective against Yasuo in teamfights as he can just make yasuo kill himself with w + thornmail. A trick you can do against him mid/lategame is e him right before you/others get knocked up, which will prevent him from ulting.

Zed:

Try to have your laner bait his . After that, he has two main choicess: flash away or go to his shadow to try to all in your laner. If he's pre 6 he'll usually choose flash, if post 6 he could do either. If he s your laner and you think they're going to die, flash onto zed to lock him down and your laner will likely be able to kill him, especially if Zed is tanking tower.

Ziggs:

His only escape is so roll behind him so you can try to knock him back while hes in the air. After that he's a pretty easy kill.

Bottom lane:

I can't really go over bottom lane in specifics because it's different for each combination of champions. In general I tend to favor ganking top and middle lane because I think that's where Rammus has better kill potential. An important concept for Rammus when ganking bottom lane is whether to taunt the support or ADC. This can't be applied to every situation, but generally, taunting the ADC is good when:

-Your lane is weaker than the enemy laners

-The enemy ADC has no dash

-The support is tanky

-The enemy ADC is farther up

Taunting the support is good when:

-The support has no flash but the ADC does

-The ADC has a dash

-The support is squishy

-The support is farther up

Standard start:

As of season 8, raptors now give the same amount of experience as a buff, so I'll generally start my bottom side buff, then go raptors->wolves(first is whichever is closer obviously)-> topside buff. After I hit level 3, I'll look to either gank top/mid, take scuttle crab, or continue farming. This decision depends upon the champions in the game and how pushed the lanes are. You should also be thinking about what the enemy jungler will be doing during this time. For example, if your toplaner is very pushed up, ask yourself whether the enemy jungler will go for a gank and whether you can countergank or should just ward.

Raptors start:

there are only really two reasons I would consider starting raptors. The first is if you're on red side and you think that the enemy jungler will invade you topside. A raptor start allows you to get raptors and redbuff and then head bottom side to avoid an encounter. The second reason to start raptors is if your bottom lane wants to shove in/cheese and doesn't want to leash. Both of these are legitimate reasons to start raptors, but other than the two I would generally stick to the standard start.


Kiting buffs is also important, as it will save you time. To kite a buff, simply start walking to your next destination between autoattacks. A few seconds may seem small, but it may mean the difference between life and death for your laners. Rammus is a special case for kiting however- early clear, kiting makes the creeps auto you less, which might hurt your clear, so try to kite between their autos while your w is active, or just wait until it's down.

After you get your first initial gank off with doublebuffs, you'll want to find a balance between ganking and farming. Generally a good rule of thumb is to be level 6 by the time you do your third buff (first buff that spawned for the second time).

New Rammus is somewhat more mana hungry than the old one, so I do take the second blue buff fairly often (roughly 50% of the time), but after that I always give it to my midlaner.

As of the mid-season tank update, Rift Herald is a highly valuable objective, and as such, it is important to not let the enemy jungle take it for free. It is also important to know that it is now possible to get the eye damage without a second person doing it, so it is entirely possible for the enemy jungler to solo herald. Try to prevent the enemy jungler from taking it while also keeping an eye on taking it yourself is you see the enemy jungler occupied elsewhere on the map.

Towers are always worth more than non-elder drakes, especially if it's the first tower (first tower bonus gold).

Rammus has two main potential roles in teamfights: peeling, or protecting your carries, and diving, or trying to kill the enemy carries. There are alot of factors to consider when deciding which to do, but here are some general factors that could point towards either:

Diving is good when:

-You are ahead/they don't really have anyone on their team that can kill you.

-They have a fed carry that only you can deal with.

-Their assassins are hard to peel off such as . While these champions have abilities in their kit that makes them very hard to peel, they still require the followup of a team, so if you can delay/distract their teammates with PUNCTURING TAUNT, your team will probably be able to handle them.

-They don't have a lot of champions that are effective at peeling you off such as . These champions all have something in their kit that is very effective against Rammus, and so if you see them on the enemy team and they are doing well it may be better to peel.

Peeling is good when:

-You have a carry on your team that is very strong, either by being ahead in gold or by having strong teamfight such as .

-The enemy team has a champion that is very threatening if not dealt with but dies easily if focused, such as .

-The enemy team has champions mentioned in the diving section as being difficult for Rammus to deal with.

-The enemy carry has


In general, it is better to peel the damage than cc. In the following clip, once Katarina starts walking up, I change my goal from focusing vi to zoning Katarina off of the fight. Since Vi has already used her ultimate, there is no point in further pursuing her, as her damage is done- the main threat from here is the Katarina. Since I am able to effectively block Katarina from following up, my team is able to handle Vi (since it's 4v1) and then we clean up the fight from there.

Vayne:

Vayne's a pretty unique champion so I figured I'd give her a specific mention. Vayne's will be very effective against you in teamfights if the game goes late, but in midgame fights you will still be able to fight her. A Rammus with will beat a vayne with , but a Rammus with will lose to a Vayne with . Once vayne gets to that point you pretty much have to just peel and hope your team will be able to kill her, because you can't.

-Always check to see who on the enemy team has or , as it will likely have a large impact on who the ideal target to is.

-When catching out and taunting melee champs (especially squishy ones like ) it is usually better to walk towards your team rather than autoattack, as this will force them to move towards your team which does more than your low damage autoattacks.

-When catching out ranged champs the general best thing to do is orb walk behind them (autooattack, then move between autoattack cooldowns) and knock them towards your team with .

-Your ultimate deals damage to towers, so consider using it to get first tower blood. also increases your attack damage due to so use that if you don't think you will need it.

-Your cooldown starts not when you start the powerball but when it ends. If you start the powerball but decide you don't need the movement speed anymore (maybe you try to go for a pick but then decide you won't be able to reach them) it's usually worth it to end the powerball early so the cooldown comes off quicker.

-When dueling, hold your for when either your W or R is available, as it will make the attack speed last significantly longer.


I'll try to keep this section updated as there are definitely more Rammus tips but it's hard to think of all of them at once. I'll play some more games so they come to my head easier.

Hopefully after reading this guide you now know how to play Rammus. I'll try to keep this guide updated with any shifts in meta, changes to champions, or just changes on my opinion. If you have any questions or comments feel free to add me on NA (best rammus OK).
Thanks for reading!

If you liked the guide please make it known, as I'm a lot more willing to keep the guide updated if I hear it being received well than I am if nobody upvotes or comments on it.