Hey there.

I am inT0xicaTing and I play on EUW. I'm a passionate league player who likes to do a lot of analysis and theorycrafting. This guide is my second guide. My first guide was about Morgana, the Fallen Angel. Be sure to check it out as well :)

Although the guide looks finished, it's not and it will never be. There are several things I want to add or expand based on new gained experiences or patches (like matchups, general gameplay in laning phase, masteries, etc..).

If you don't agree with some things in the guide or have some other awesome ideas (like runes, masteries, items, ..), let me know this and leave a comment or send me a PM. Criticism helps improving the quality of the guide!

Some things might be wrong because of the lack of experience. The primary reason why I publish this guide is for me to try and find out the best way to play Braum and to write these things down. That's why there can be significant changes from one day to the next. Be sure to check out other guides as well (especially from probuilds.net/champions/Braum to get more information and the ideas from different people. The second reason is to show people my opinion and thirdly to discuss.

If you don't understand some shortcuts like mres or aa, read this guide. It is a very good guide for understanding the basics of League of Legends.

+ Pros

• Has strong CC
• Is good at disengaging
• Can block a lot of damage for his teammates
• Tanky

- Cons

• Weak against poke
• Relies on his teammates
• Most items to buy are expensive

Note: I will add more Pros / Cons as I get more experience. But that's what I think so far.

Braum is a tanky champion who profits most from defensive/tanky runes.

Tip: If you don't have enough IP or don't want to spend that much IP, you can buy Greater Quintessence of Health and Greater Seal of Armor instead of Greater Quintessence of Armor and Greater Seal of Health. They are cheaper but a bit weaker (but still ok). For glyphs take Greater Glyph of Magic Resist.

Tip: If you are interested in detailed rune stuff, watch this video. It's from Phreak (Riot employee) and explains almost everthing. Here is his youtube channel.

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Early Game Runes

Late Game Runes


Offensive Runes


Quintessences
Early: With armor Quintessences and HP seals you get the best deffensive choices.

Late: Flat HP or flat armor are the best choices for tanky quintessences. I recommend 1 x Greater Quintessence of Armor and 2 x Greater Quintessence of Health (read Marks for explanation).

Marks
Early: Flat armor are the most efficient defensive marks.

Late: Flat armor are the most efficient defensive marks. Flat armor marks are weaker than flat armor seals, that's why I recommend to take 1 x Greater Quintessence of Armor to compensate it.

Offensive: The hybrid penetration marks make your poking and auto-attacking in fights more effective. They are strong in early game (laning phase) but fall off in late game because you don't buy any offensive items.

Seals
Early: With armor Quintessences and HP seals you get the best deffensive choices.

Late: Because we already have flat armor marks and flat armor/HP quintessences, we don't need more early game (flat) runes. That's why I recommend taking scaling seals. Take Greater Seal of Scaling Health if the enemy team has mixed or more AP/magic damage and Greater Seal of Scaling Armor if the enemy team has more AD/physical damage.

Glyphs
Early & Late: I recommend taking 9 x Greater Glyph of Scaling Magic Resist vs low AP damage supports like Leona or Thresh.
9 x Greater Glyph of Magic Resist is a good option vs high AP damage supports like Annie / Zyra or if their mid, top and jungler don't deal a lot of AP damage (e.g. Zed, Trundle and Lee Sin).
You can also consider going for a mix like 4 x Greater Glyph of Magic Resist and 5 x Greater Glyph of Scaling Magic Resist.

I will show you two options (0/16/14 & 0/21/9) in masteries.

0/16/14 increases your overall gold income and gives you more sustain (HP) early (+1 potion at the start of the game).
0/21/9 gives you more sustain (armor/mres) per nearby enemy and 15% tenacity.






Defense:



These masteries mainly increase your early game sustain during the laning phase.



Juggernaut increases your max HP by 3%, nothing to laugh at, since you buy a lot of HP.



Hardiness and Resistance increase your armor and mres.
Go for Reinforced Armor against champions with crit ( Tryndamere, Yasuo, Twitch, Caitlyn, ..)
Go for Evasive against champions with AOE magic damage ( Amumu, Ziggs, Karma, ..)
If in doubt, go for Reinforced Armor .


Utility:



Put 4 points into these masteries. I prefer 3 points in Meditation for more mana regeneration. If you prefer more movement speed, go for 3 points in Fleet of Foot.



Summoner's Insight reduces the summoner spells' cooldown by 10%. This would be 30s for Flash and 21s for Exhaust.
Alchemist and Culinary Master for stronger Health Potions ( Total Biscuit of Rejuvenation).



The gold masteries for more starting gold (+1 potion) and a better gold income.





I only list the differences to 0/16/14.

Defense:



Legendary Guardian for even more armor and mres. It increases the more enemies are around you.
Tenacious reduces CC duration by 15%.

I recommend going for R -> Q -> E -> W in most lane matchup. Read the ability details or the spoiler below for more information. If the information below isn't enough, be sure to checkthis site (my source).

In my opinion Riot did a good job with the ability descriptions for Braum. That's why I sometimes use the same descriptions. Have a look at the Champion Spotlight for more ability details and examples.


Passive - Concussive Blows

Braum's basic attacks (and Q - Winter's Bite) mark an enemy and applying one stack of Concussive Blows for about 5 seconds. Once the first stack has been applied, the basic attacks and on-hit abilities of any allied champion will generate Concussive Blows stacks.

Upon reaching 4 stacks, the target is stunned for 1.25 / 1.5 / 1.75 seconds and takes bonus magic damage. After being stunned, an enemy cannot be affected by Concussive Blows again for 8 seconds, during which time they instead take bonus magic damage from Braum's basic attacks and Winter's Bite.


Q - Winter's Bite

Winter's Bite is a skillshot which deals magic damage, slows the first enemy it hits and adds a stack of Concussive Blows to him.

You can use this skill to aplly a stack of Concussive Blows from a safe distance or to slow or poke an enemy. It's a great tool for zoning as well.

The magical damage dealt scales with 2.5%-HP. This means the more HP you have, the more damage it deals.

Maxing Winter's Bite lowers its CD and increases the base damage but it doesn't affect the %-HP damage or the slow. Those two stats remain the same if you level up Winter's Bite. Because the base damage increases significantly it deals a lot of damage if you max it first.

Max Winter's Bite first against melee supports and if you you go even or ahead in lane so that you can use it as a zoning tool. You should max Winter's Bite whenever you don't max Unbreakable.

Note: The first items you buy are Sightstone and face of the mountain. Both offer HP which means that Winter's Bite deals more damage (16.25). But this damage (16.25) isn't nearly as much as the damage increase when you level up Winter's Bite (45).

Tip: If there is a minion wave between you and your target, use Stand Behind Me on an ally (champion, minion or pet) to get into a better position.


W - Stand Behind Me

Braum dashes between an ally and his closest enemy. On arrival, Braum and the ally both gain bonus armor and magic resist for 3 seconds. It can be casted on allied champions, minions, pets or on yourself.

You will primary use this skill to position yourself between an ally and the enemy to defend him with Unbreakable.

Maxing Stand Behind Me lowers its CD and increases the amount of armor and mres gained. Because it scales with bonus mres and bonus armor and you first buy HP items ( Sightstone, face of the mountain), it's maxed last.


E - Unbreakable

Braum raises his shield, creating a barrier in the target direction that reduces the damage from all oncoming sources (excluding towers) and gains 10% movement speed for the next few (3 / 3.25 / 3.5 / 3.75 / 4) seconds.

Braum takes no damage from the first attack/ability that is blocked by Unbreakable.

Maxing Unbreakable lowers its CD, increases the duration (3 / 3.25 / 3.5 / 3.75 / 4 seconds) and damage reduction (30 / 32.5 / 35 / 37.5 / 40%).

Max Unbreakable first if you play against low cooldown poke (e.g. Karma) or against a bot lane with high zoning potential (e.g. Morgana).

So far I recommend maxing Unbreakable against the following champions:

• Blitzcrank: If someone gets caught use Stand Behind Me and Unbreakable to prevent as much damage as possilbe.
• Karma: Strong low cooldown poke and zoning potential
• Morgana: Zoning potential, can block the damage and slow from Winter's Bite -> it's harder to proc the stun of Concussive Blows.

R - Glacial Fissure


Braum slams his shield into the ground, dealing magic damage (150 / 250 / 350 (+ 60% AP)) to all enemies in a line as well as those in a small area around him. The first champion hit and all champion close to Braum are knocked up for 1.5 seconds, subsequent enemy champions are knocked up briefly.

For the next 4 seconds a field of ice remains, slowing enemies that enter the area by 60% for 1.5 seconds.

Flash

This summoner spell is a MUST! It allows you to flash to safety, dodging an ability if you got caught, getting in a better position to use your skills or chasing.

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Exhaust

Exhaust reduces 30% movement speed 30% attack speed 50% damage dealt (attack damage, apility damage and item damage dealt) This is a defensive, anti-ADC and anti-burst spell and strong versus assassins (like Zed). You want to take this summoner spell always if noone else in your team has it. In fights, use it on the enemy ADC or on a champion with a lot of burst ( Zed, Kha'Zix, LeBlanc, ..). Note: Bot lane should almost always have one Heal and one Exhaust. It's not important whether the ADC or support has Heal/ Exhaust because Heal heals both and Exhaust is casted on an enemy.

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Heal

Heal heals the caster and the one closest to the cursor for 95-475 (80+15/20/25/35 at each level) health and give the two healed champions a 30% movement speed buff for 2 seconds. Note: Bot lane should almost always have one Heal and one Exhaust. It's not important whether the ADC or support has Heal/ Exhaust because Heal heals both and Exhaust is casted on an enemy. Note: Double heal (ADC and support take it heal) isn't strong because the second heal within 35 seconds only heals for 50%.

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Ignite

Ignite offers 70-410 (50 + 20 * level) true damage over 5 seconds 50% healing reduction Source: http://leagueoflegends.wikia.com/wiki/Ignite A small calculation: sona.xls The Sona guide from the calculation can be found here. With this knowledge we can use Ignite in the following situations: The enemy bot lane/team is squishy (e.g. Sona) Against life steal / health regeneration dependent teams (e.g. team: Dr. Mundo, Fiddlesticks, Riven, Caitlyn and Soraka) The mid or top laner doesn't take Ignite and your team needs it (e.g. top takes Teleport vs. Dr. Mundo. Your team will have a hard time vs. Dr. Mundo without Ignite.)

You have different options to start the game:
Option 1: Relic Shield, 3 x Total Biscuit of Rejuvenation, 1 x Mana Potion, Stealth Ward
Option 2: Relic Shield, 2 x Total Biscuit of Rejuvenation, 1 x Stealth Ward, Stealth Ward

Go for Option 1 if you think that you will trade a lot in lane. The additional Total Biscuit of Rejuvenation helps you to recover.
Go for Option 2 if you fear the early presence of the enemy jungler. Don't go for this option if the enemy jungler is someone like Warwick or Nocturne (they need to farm in the jungle to reach level 6 as soon as possible).



The first items you want to buy are targon's brace and Sightstone. When you go back for the first time, your should have at least 500g.
But what do you buy first, targon's brace or Ruby Crystal/ Sightstone?

Short answer: Always buy targon's brace first because you get double the charges which results in more gold for you. You can save up to 150g.



Replace the Stealth Ward with Sweeping Lens as soon as you bought Sightstone.

After you finished Sightstone and targon's brace, buy Boots if you lack mobility or go for the Essentials.

I like to buy a Vision Ward when I play on blue (left) side and place it in the tri-bush so that our jungler can gank easily.

Mana problems? Buy one or two Mana Potions.



After the first and second (or third) back you should have the following items:
Sweeping Lens, targon's brace, Sightstone

The next step is to finish face of the mountain and buying Boots. Buy this item first which you think is better in your situation. If in doubt, go for Boots.





Read the Boots section in the Items chapter for information about when to buy which boots.




From now on the further build depends on different factors. Press Tab and take a short moment to study how the enemy team is going, to et an idea, who in the enemy team is or can get a problem and what their main damage is. So you can build efficiently against it.


vs AP

These two items are your go to choices if you fear the enemies' magical damage.

Mikael's Blessing allows you to release an ally form any source of CC and heals him. It gives you mres and mreg so you shouldn't have any mana problems any more.
Reasons/Situations to buy Mikael's Blessing:

• The enemy team has a lot of CC
• Your carries lack mobility
• It's strong in 2v2 fights (happen often in extended laning phase)
• Against (single target) burst champions (e.g. you can heal a LeBlanc's target)

Locket of the Iron Solari gives you the same amount of mres as Mikael's Blessing does! But nearby allies gain 20 mres, too. Aegis of the Legion has the same stats.
The difference between Locket of the Iron Solari and Aegis of the Legion are that Locket of the Iron Solari gives CDR, more health and has an active to shield nearby allies.
Reasons/Situations to buy Locket of the Iron Solari:

• Early grouping -> the whole team can profit from it.
• The enemies have a lot of AOE damage.
• The enemies AP champions do well.

vs AD

These three items are your go to choices if you fear the enemies' physical damage.

Randuin's Omen will mostly be the best choice. It gives you the best balance of HP and armor. The active slows enemies around you for 2 seconds (+1 second for each 100 armor you got) which helps a lot in chasing and escaping. The passive slows everyone who attacks you with auto-attacks and reduces their attack speed. Go for it when you fea the enemeis' physical damage and you don't decide for Sunfire Aegis and Frozen Heart (both situational items).

Sunfire Aegis gives you less HP and less armor than Randuin's Omen. The passive deals enemies around you magical damage per second. Go for it, if you are ahead and have enough defensive stats with Sunfire Aegis.

Frozen Heart is a situational item. Go for it against teams with lots of auto-attack damage (e.g. Tryndamere top, Xin Zhao jungle and Twitch ADC).



Buy one item of Past Core Build or Finish The Build. You should have one armor and one mres item after buying this one.



Thornmail gives you alot of armor. If an enemy attacks you with basic attacks after you bought this item, they receive 30% of the damage they dealt to you as magical damage back. This item is efficient against a full AD team.

Banshee's Veil is a strong item against AP champions and CC. It offers mres, HP and a spellshield that blocks the next enemy ability. If the enemy team has mixed damage, you can buy Spectre's Cowl first and upgrade it later in the game to Banshee's Veil.

zeke's herald offers HP and 20% CDR. Nearby allies gain additional AD and lifesteal. You can consider buying this item if you team has 3 or more champions that rely on AD and lifesteal (champions like Riven, Zed or Caitlyn).

Boots of Mobility 800g

These boots offer much mobility when out of combat (not fighting). They help you to switch lanes fast and reduce the time you need for warding. They also offer good chase and escape ability (when not attacked before) and help you to get faster to an ally who is in danger. These boots are great during mid game to support other lanes and roam a lot. In late game you want to stay with your team or catch someone that is out of position. These boots aren't strong in teamfights because you are always in combat - so no passive. I recommend buying these boots if you destroy the bottom tower and got a lead so that you can roam and help the others lane with warding and ganks.

Ionian Boots of Lucidity 1000g

These boots offer 15% CDR. This allows you to use your skills more often. I recommend buying them if you got a huge early lead and start grouping early to go for early fights. You profit more from CDR if you couldn't max everything yet. These boots are better for extended fights in which you can use your skills more often.

Mercury's Treads 1200g

These boots offer tenacity which lowers CC duration and mres. I recommend buying them if the enemy team got a decent amount of CC (mostly becaus of this) or a lot of AP.

Ninja Tabi 1000g

These boots offer armor. I only recommend buying these boots if you need more mobility and armor and don't have enough money for other armor items, so mainly when you are behind.

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Braum doesn't have a lot of items to choose from. He profits most from tanky items. Secondly you can focus on CDR, tenacity/anti-CC from what Braum can benefit as well.

Banshee's Veil 2750g

This is a strong item against AP champions and CC. It offers mres and a spellshield that blocks the next enemy ability. If the enemy team has mixed damage, you can buy Spectre's Cowl first and upgrade it later in the game to Banshee's Veil.

Frozen Heart 2600g

Frozen Heart offers a lot of armor, CDR, mana and attack speed shred. Buy this against AD heavy / auto-attack reliant teams or against a fed ADC. Randuin's Omen is in most situations the better choice.

Locket of the Iron Solari 2800g

This item offers HP, CDR and mres. The passive (aura) gives any nearby allies mres. The active shields yourself and allies around you. As Braum you want to be in the middle of the fight. This means that everyone will benefit from the mres aura and the shield. Buy this item against a team that has a lot of AP/AOE damage.

Mikeal's Crucible 1600g

Mikael's Blessing gives you mres and a significant amount uf mreg. The active removes any kind of CC of an allied champion and heals him. Buy it against CC heavy teams.

Randuin's Omen 3000g

Randuin's Omen gives you a lot of HP and armor. The passive of the item is, that everyone that attacks you with basic attacks, is slowed and its attack speed is lowered. The active slows enemies around you.

Spirit Visage 2750g

This item increases your HP, mres, CDR and health regenration. Buy it against heavy AP teams and you already bought Banshee's Veil ( Banshee's Veil will do better in most situations).

Sunfire Cape 2650g

Sunfire Aegis offers less HP and armor than Randuin's Omen. The passive of Sunfire Aegis is, that it deals magic damage to nearby enemies every second. Buy it, if your team is lacking damage and you don't need that much defensive stats.

Thornmail 2200g

Thornmail gives you alot of armor. If an enemy attacks you with basic attacks after you bought this item, they receive 30% of the damage they dealt to you as magical damage back. This item is efficient against a full AD team.

zeke's herald Zeke's Herald 2550g

zeke's herald offers HP and 20% CDR. Nearby allies gain additional AD and lifesteal. You can consider buying this item if you team has 3 or more champions that rely on AD and lifesteal (champions like Riven, Zed or Caitlyn).

Assumed we are level 18 and have 3500 HP, you can heal and shield for a total amount of 1080 HP on a single member with these three items. Stand Behind Me gives additional armor and mres which increases the defensive stats of your allied target. With the help of Exhaust and Unbreakable you can even lower the enemy's damage. Combine all these things in a fight to make it extremly hard for your opponents to kill your carry.

This was my guide about Braum, the Heart of the Freljord. Thank you for reading this far and I hope you enjoyed it. Be sure to upvote the guide if you liked it and feel free to give me some feedback :D

If you are interested in Morgana support, be sure to check out my Morgana guide Let the Fallen Angel rise.

Bye and good luck on the Field of Justice! Bring some love on Summoner's Rift with the Heart of the Freljord!