In the Pursuit of a More Perfect Gangplank Build

Ironclad Dragon·Sep 12, 2015·2 votes·1,314 views

http://i.ytimg.com/vi/m2iBFKd4ipw/maxresdefault.jpg When I first laid eyes on the Gangplank Rework, I didn't expect he would become one of my go-to laners, let alone one of my mains. I have loads of fun playing him, and most of the time I feel I do well enough. The thing is though, it feels like the recommended build doesn't quite cut it. I like Trinity Force and feel like my barrels become a lot more dangerous once I have it, but my build always feels inefficient. I'm unsure whether to go full offensive or not, especially if my team needs me to be a little more durable, or if I've fallen behind.

What GP builds do you recommend, Community? What does GP need?

5 Comments

CrossXxodiaSep 12, 20154 votes

I've never been a fan of pure damage builds, not pre-rework, not post, because doing so effectively shuts you out of melee range. Closing to melee is vital to followup a keg explosion, or as a contingency plan if your barrels get sniped away (if you can't close to melee in such a situation, it's essentially a 4v5 until Parley comes off cooldown, which you cannot afford).

That said, it seems high-level players (pronounced: not me) have been going straight damage with decent success. Ironically the coming nerfs will hit tankier builds far harder than straight damage builds, as kegs make up a smaller percentage of your damage as you build more attack damage items.

Even though Gangplank lost a lot of his item variety and has been pigeonholed more towards raw damage and critical strikes over on-hit effects, I still feel like he can successfully choose from a variety of items in many different situations. My final build, in no particular order, is usually something like this:

item 1334 item 3078 item 3031 item 3072 [ item 3742 / item 3143 / item 3110 ] [ item 3065 / item 3102 ]

The first four items are my go-to damage set, and the last 5 items consist of the two defensive items I will build when I deem necessary.

Other, more situational items include, but are not limited to:

item 3142 item 3156 item 3139 item 3071 item 3026 item 3190 item 3046 item 3087 item 3053

I think most of my choices merit some form of explanation on my thought processes.

item 3078 : I rush this every game. I think every GP does. It's just too damn good not to.

item 3072 : I think this thing is so underrated on GP. It's not very useful when going full offense, but it shines when the lifesteal can bolster your high HP and protections with a more defensive build. The 80 damage combined with kegs is also quite nice. Not sure why I don't see this more often. I guess most players like a 2nd item 3031 more? Personally, I've never liked relying on crits.

item 3742 : For the love of God, do NOT rush this. Pair it with Trinity. Defensive stats are more well rounded than Randuin's. Pop a 100 charge Q into someone to slow them, then use your speed boost (from the Trinity Force you definitely have) to catch up and slap them with your Fire Sword.

item 3110 : I've always been an advocate of Frozen Heart on ol' GP. Pre-rework, it let you spam gunshots and oranges faster and for longer. Now it does the same thing, but also grants you faster keg charges. The 90 Armor is lovely.

item 3142 : 20 flat armor pierce is pretty godlike on top of kegs. That said, I just can't see myself sacrificing Tri/IE/BT for it.

item 3156 : I see a lot of higher level players picking this up, but I personally don't think it's that great. It's way too expensive for the stats it gives. That said, it is always an option to consider.

item 3071 : Super situational. Might be a decent pickup for SOME measure of defense in a full damage build (and it would also let you stock kegs faster)

item 3190 : Only get this if nobody on your team will man up and take it. Thankfully, someone will usually get it.

item 3046 / item 3087 : Attack speed just isn't as good on GP as it once was (which is saying something) so I feel both these items are much more situational than they once were. Which one is better though? Well, with the advent of Powder Keg, I'd say Shiv loses most of the appeal it once had to good ol' GP, and I would argue PD is better on him. I occasionally take item 3046 instead of item 3072 in a 3 offense 2 defense build. You're trading consistent keg damage and survivability for random extra damage and dueling potential.

item 3053 : Decent anti-burst option. Works well with item 3078 . I'd usually go with item 3102 or even item 3065 over this though. Also useful for pretending you're Mordekaiser.

tl;dr purchase defense goddammit

AranciaMechanicsSep 12, 20151 votes

By being the devil's attorney, why choosing item 3072 over item 3074 ?

+5 AD +8% LS +Shield (even if inconstant)

+100% HP5 +AoE aa, Q, first keg blown will spread AoE in its radius +aa reset active

What do you suggest? I know Hyrda was previously seen sorta of a "I need waveclear" item, a concern that passed away since his rework, but which item is better in which situation?

CrossXxodiaSep 12, 20152 votes

{quoted}

By being the devil's attorney, why choosing over ?

What do you suggest? I know Hyrda was previously seen sorta of a "I need waveclear" item, a concern that passed away since his rework, but which item is better in which situation?

The short answer: Because Powder Keg.

The long answer:

Hydra WAS very much the "I need waveclear" item. Now, GP's got it built in with kegs, so I think Hydra (and Shiv, if you recall old GP at all) loses a lot of its purpose.

For BT, the shield is essentially an artificial max life upgrade. It's not much, but seeing as how Hydra offers NO defensive stats whatsoever, it's better than nothing.

Ignore the +100% HP5 on Hydra. GP has one of the worst HP5 ratings in the game (4th worst if I recall correctly but don't Quote me on that) and it won't make a noticeable difference in sustain, especially given the power of Oranges.

The AA reset on Hydra isn't as big of a deal as on old GP as his Fire Sword only requires one strike, then it suffers cooldown, unlike his old passive which had no cooldown but required multiple attacks to get the maximum effect from it.

The biggest difference has got to be the lifesteal. Having 20% versus having 12% is MASSIVE. That's almost twice as good. It will keep you alive in a fight better, and get you back in tip top shape after a brawl quite quickly, though Oranges offsets this bonus somewhat.

I feel BT has the better buildpath. Mostly BF Sword being better than Tiamat in my eyes. It gives more damage and is cheaper; with Tiamat you're paying extra for a negligible amount of HP5.

I'm of the opinion that BT is (nearly) strictly better than Hydra. Not to say Hydra is bad, just that GP isn't necessarily the sort of champion who synergizes well with it.

The final caveat to my opinion: I have no experience with Hydra + Kegs. I just don't see the Hydra damage around the first barrel being a dealbreaker. A Hydra circle off a direct gunshot also isn't that amazing. Still, the world ends with you, and I am completely open to the possibility that I am flat wrong, or that there is a possibility given by taking Hydra that I am overlooking. If this is the case, I may have to eat my words in the future. For now though, I feel that, on paper, BT is the (near strictly) better option, so that is what I have been sticking with, that's what I have experience with, and that is the item I would recommend in most circumstances.

AranciaMechanicsSep 13, 20151 votes

Thank you for sharing your thoughts :D Just like you, I'm not a fan of total glasscannon build on GP. I usually build him as a bruiser by varying from a 2attack/3defense or 3attack/2defense item setup (preferring the former one since usually the adc/apc is an already fair source of damage). Core offense is item 3078 item 3031 , defensive items depend on enemy team. Since I like to run 9 scaling CDR blue (15%@lvl18), I often vary boots too depending on the situation, item 3158 or item 3047 or item 3111

Moreover, I've seen pro players building a item 3035 as 3rd item. Is that really worth a slot considering the ArP from the kegs?

L Psy KongrooSep 12, 20151 votes

Tri Force is a definite must. You'll be under-performing in terms of damage if you don't get it first. After that, you can either build him Critplank like you used to, or more bruiserish. Critplank is more of a fun build these days and isn't as competitive as it used to be. With his barrels requiring him to take a more active role in fights (rather than previous Critplank, who would play hit-and-run with his Q praying for crits) you're going to want a few tank items. Spirit Visage is always good, since it increases the healing from his oranges, and should be your MR item of choice. Hydra (Ravenous if you're ahead, Titanic if you're behind) is another great offensive item for him, since his Q still applies the AOE attack, and it gives him some lifesteal (again, good with Spirit Visage). I like Frozen Heart as an armor item, simply because it gives a huge 20% cooldown reduction and makes you more effective in large teamfights. The CDR means you don't have to build Ionian boots, which was typical of old GP so his Q could be up more often. Visage and Frozen Heart gives you 30% CDR right there, and it's easy to get 5-10% more from masteries. Lastly, if you find that your damage is still lacking, getting Ghostblade would be a good idea. Not only does it give you more crit, but the speed buff active will help you not get kited as easily, and the armor pen it gives + the % pen from your barrels is massive.