Olaf has no counterplay

Cloud273··2 votes·2,236 views

"Just CC them". This is the argument used to counter pretty much every champion. Too bad this doesn't apply to Olaf. Olaf has a reputation for being a horrible champ after his rework, but this couldn't be further from the truth. Yes there are a lot of noob Olaf players out there, and this has created the illusion that Olaf is bad. But when you have a team that helps him overcome his biggest weakness, or an item that gives you a ton of mobility (lack of a reliable gap closer), Olaf is literally unstoppable. As we all know, Olaf can't be cc'd, so the only counterplay is to burst him down ASAP (but this applies to all champs, and not just him). I see a lot of people complain about Riven, Darius, Garen, etc. But the difference between Olaf and these champion is that they actually have counterplay. Yes they scale extremely well, and the resets and true damage are annoying, but it's actually possible to kite them if you slow them, and they will suffer if you hard cc them.

Don't listen to me though, I'm just an unranked noob who clearly has no idea what I'm talking about. So please tell me, what is the counterplay to Olaf?

7 Comments

MLDzXnRRR4 votes

JarvanIV can trap him... Also Olaf can't do anything vs wombo combo AOE teams. He just gets melted.

leyz401 votes

jarvan r is cc that is not cc xD

redniwediS3 votes

"Just CC them" is just a low effort phrase thrown at people who are obviously not trying to learn the game.

You want some counterplay? Go look up a guide, or learn it the hard way through trial and error. This is G&B, not Tips & Tricks.

Rossendale3 votes

Olaf is a one-shell shotgun. He either runs down your backline with his ult, or gets caught with his pants down in the middle of your team and dies. His only real teamfight party trick is popping all of his MS bonuses and running at your ADC/APC in a straight line. Olaf shouldn't really be able to kill anyone else within the duration of his ult unless he's building straight damage, in which case yes just burst him down. Other than that, it's mostly up to your squishies to dodge the axes or not get caught being too far up front. If you really want to counter him, pick someone who can put distance between a squishy and Olaf, for example Thresh and his lantern. As I've mentioned earlier, if Olaf can't kill someone during the duration of his ult, he's pretty much useless unless he's stupidly fed.

Also, you mention teams helping him overcome his weaknesses. In all honesty, this will rarely happen in YoloQ. Usually Olaf will only have his Ult, RG and Ghost to speed himself up and run at you.

Espy Psyche1 votes

I play Olaf as a jungler.

I'll admit this -- late game he's scary as hell. I use the following build:

item 1301 item 3931 item 3153 item 3748 item 3143 item 3065 (THE ITEMS ARE IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER)

This build actually does help him cover some of his weaknesses. BotRK combined with Devourer and his true damage lets him just melt the tank in a teamfight. Titanic Hydra echoes some of that damage to the back line too. I'll heal for a metric ton between BotRK's lifesteal, the lifesteal from my W, and Spirit Visage.

To stop me? Throw a CC at me while I'm still killing the tank (but don't unload on me -- focus one of my teammates). I'll have to pop my ult to clear it. Then my ult is down and you'll be able to CC me after it expires (read -- after I kill your team's tank, which means other people are likely dead too). You'll be able to CC and kill me (or kite me to death).

Or just don't let it get to late game. Olaf needs the full build to both have damage and be tanky.

SaltyKracka1 votes

Olaf has to be up in your face for a while before he can kill you, even if you're a squishy.

So just pop a dash over a wall and lol all the way back home.

Brimaz The King1 votes

Only like 3 other champs can 1v1 that's his strength. How you counter him is to poke him down then 2v1 him. Other wise his passive gets the best of you.

More from Gameplay

More by Cloud273