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Tips for Top-laning & Tricks for Garen...

71389310_DEL·10/18/2015, 5:20:52 PM·1 votes·5,313 views

Title pretty much says what I'm seeking; tips & tricks for top-laning and for Garen. The reason I'm asking this is because I've recently been trying my hand at the different roles ( Jungle, Support, etc. ) and I find I just feel most at home in the top lane. What I want to know is how do I best work the top lane to my advantage? I know I can dart in and out of shrubs to avoid minion damage after a trade and that I can ward near baron instead of in the "too late" bush outside of the lane/in the river to get an early warning their Jungler is coming. I just don't know a lot of things regarding the top lane I should though.

As far as Garen goes, I don't want to say I'll be solely playing him but I think he'll be my primary bruiser for a while. He's got good defenses and trade early and in the event I don't feel I can trade effectively his Q allows me to run in/out for quick farming. I'd love some tips for him. For his build my personal core items are item 3512 and item 3071 ( I start item 1029/5 item 2003 against melee/ranged and item 1036/3 item 2003 against mages ) as having both of those items grants me a lot of mobility near towers/getting from place to place. Building item 3742/item 3009 is a must if my foes are mostly AD but I like to go item 3065/item 3111 against AP/CC. I usually finish with a item 3035 and I'm not really sure what to fill the remaining item slot with.

By the way, I'm thinking of getting myself a ranged top but really have no clue who to go for. If anybody has any recommendations/advice on how to play them I would like to ask them to share that as well as any insight to what was mentioned above.

1 Comments

BastionKross10/18/2015, 6:02:08 PM1 votes

Garen is a lane bully, so chances are you want to run summoner 14. Garen should be aggressive and dueling right from the early game against most opponents. If an opponent is countering you (Quinn being the worst offender, but any ranged champion is a pain with Garen) you're in for trouble since you need to be playing passive and waiting for a jungler gank. If your jungler never comes to gank, you must be prepared for a long, boring, farm-focused laning phase.

As for items, item 3512 is more of a mid-late game item. It's primary purpose to help tanky champions splitpush after their base damage falls off. That does not apply to Garen so much since his Q can be used on towers and his E becomes better later on to clear waves. If you're buying because you like the mobility it gives, boots are a cheaper option that should be built early on for immobile champs like Garen anyway. Before they changed it, Garen's W would have liked the armor and MR, but new Garen's W doesn't scale with resists anymore; it builds it's own. item 3142 is a better item in that context. Not only does it grant mobility, but also a bunch of offensive stats Garen loves. If you really need that mobility near towers, just build a item 2053 and then sit on it until you think you need the full portal, or sell it if you need the item slot.

Thanks to the villain passive, Garen only needs one or two offensive items to do his job of murdering the carry. Most people will go item 3071 as the first item and then get item 3035 if the villain ends up being someone with high armor. However, if you find yourself tanky enough at a given point in the game, a lot of offensive items can work well on Garen since he actually makes use of crits. item 3748 item 3053 are pretty standard, but item 3046 item 3087 can work too. You could even build a item 3078 if you want to get crazy.

Also, remember that while Garen is tanky so he can survive the dive to his villain, he is not a good substitute for a real team tank. He's not a great initiator or peeler, his job is an anti-carry; to murder the most fed person on the other team. Being a damage sponge is secondary to that in most situations. He's an off-tank, someone who can make a great diving partner with someone like Nautilus Leona Malphite Amumu Sejuani or any hard engage champion. Make sure your team has someone to be the initiator, or at the very least a champion with an initation ability like an Ashe ult or Blitzcrank grab. If your team is relying on you as Garen to start the fight, that's generally not going to work out well.