I noticed my Garen build is pretty trash and i would like to hear from some better people what their Garen build is. My build is basically getting to a warmog's, a spirit vasage, locket of the iron solari and a frozen mallet. Yes that does take forever and no i usually dont get to all of it. Please i am a little baby nubbling (a noob) and i need help to be anything better.
Trust me
Generally speaking?
Want to go damage? First item Black Cleaver or Youmuus. Want more damage? Build the one you didn't build first OR Sterak's Gage, you DON'T need 3 damage items if you aren't super ahead, as you won't be tanky enough for later in the game, and sterak's gives that rapidly decaying shield. Now you build Swifties, Tabi or Mercs. Enemy has alot of AD? Build Sunfire and Dead Man's\Randuins. Enemy has alot of AP? Build Spirit Visage and Locket. Enemy has mixed AD\AP? Mix and match! Finish your build off with Warmog's or another tank item (banshee's c:)
varies almost every game. but here are itmems that are good on him.
(not as good as it used to) 
you have to figure out what you need at what time depending on your opponent.
Your job as Garen is to counterbuild. This means whoever is carrying the enemy team (or will carry), you focus on building against them.
Core Item is and a lot of HP items.
I usually stay away from because Garen's passive is already good enough as it is. But it's still a viable option. I would definitely recommend this if you are using the Resolve Mastery: Perseverance. But from personal experience, Resolve Mastery: Insight is better overall, but Perseverance is a better choice during his early game (laning phase) and hilarious moments where you are running away from the enemy and they are chasing you down trying to kill you, but you keep persevering and dodging skillshots. (Granted, I still need to spend more time testing out the Persevernace Mastery some more to make a more detailed review on whether it is inferior to the Insight Mastery or not.)
is a one of your best options for dealing with enemy AP champions. Health, Magic Resist, and Cooldown reduction. Build this if the enemy has a minimum of 1 or 2 Ability Power champions (especially those that have a powerful chance of carrying your team.)
is a reasonable item, but personally, there are better options. You should rely on your support to protect your ADC. Leave this item as a backup only if your support is having a hard time protecting your carry.
is reasonable, so you are welcome to be a jerk and combine it with Dead Man's Plate. However, I would recommend Frozen Mallet if the enemy team is really fast and mobile and your team is either horrid at lockdown (applying CC (Crowd Control) abilities to enemy champons) or lacks the ability to lockdown. (Meaning your team has almost no CC at all.)
I do recommend you check out some guides on how to improve building Garen for his battles on the Fields of Justice. http://www.mobafire.com/league-of-legends/garen-guide
But if you want the answer, there is no perfect build for Garen. Your job is to always counterbuild. HOWEVER: Just make sure you always have your core build for (almost) every single game. (That is the purpose of the core build.)
If you still need help with building items, let me know. Otherwise, here is a list of items I recommend you should fully build:
Core:
Defensive (You usually should have more defensive than offensive items): 
Offensive: 
Mobility: 
Backup Options: 
Main Build: , , , , 
, (Not in that particular order)
Anti AD: , , , , ,
Anti AP: , , , , , (Trying to replace the locket with something else, not sure what yet.)
Full AD: 
, , , , , 
Situational items: , , 
Your 3 core items on Garen are 
. The final 3 items can be any combination of the following items: . Typically Randuin's, Spirit Visage, and Steraks are the best choices but you could also choose to build some more damage as well.
Typically you want 
.
Realistically thou, a lot depends on matchup, and just adapting. If you're against a really strong early game, early would probably be best. If you want to split, or roam a good amount, then is a good item. If their fed AP is doing well, rush Visiage, if their ADC gets fed rush more armor.
Warmog's rush isn't practical, since you don't have the HP required for the passive, and raw hp alone tends to be inefficient. Visige is always good, but typically weaker when it's 3AD comps in this meta. Same logic with locket. Frozen Mallet is bad. You're unlikely going to need it to stick onto someone, and you can't actually proc it while you're spinning. You -shouldn't- need it, espc if your build has any cdr in it.
