Garen · Top
Garen top guide — the body nobody wants to fight
More Garen guides
Overview
Garen is a melee fighter with no resource, passive health regeneration and a silence on his Q. He wins lanes by trading, walking away to regenerate and trading again, and he punishes anyone who stays in range of his spin. His ultimate, Demacian Justice, executes low-health targets with true damage, so he turns won fights into kills. He is the best champion to learn top lane with, because his mistakes cost little and his game plan barely changes. His real weakness is range: anyone who can hit him without being hit back will make him miserable.
Strengths
- No mana: he trades as often as he wants.
- Perseverance regenerates his health out of combat, so he rarely has to back.
- Demacian Justice deals true damage: no amount of armour saves a low target.
- Very easy to play well; perfect for learning the top lane.
Weaknesses
- No gap closer other than the speed from Decisive Strike: ranged champions kite him.
- Little crowd control, so he brings less to a teamfight than a tank.
- Predictable: the enemy always knows what he wants to do.
Build cheat sheet
Pick the build that fits what you want to do this game.
- Durable — the body nobody wants to fightBalancedRecommendedThe simplest honest build in the game: enough damage that being ignored hurts, enough resistances that being focused does not. Good for a first hundred games because almost nothing in it is a timing you can miss.
- Spin to win — attack speed and armour shredOffensiveAdvancedJudgment spins more times with bonus attack speed, and every hit stacks Black Cleaver. Take it when you are ahead or when the enemy team has little crowd control: you trade tankiness for a spin that melts anyone who stays near you. Against heavy crowd control, stay with the durable build.
Builds
Durable — the body nobody wants to fight
When to use it
The simplest honest build in the game: enough damage that being ignored hurts, enough resistances that being focused does not. Good for a first hundred games because almost nothing in it is a timing you can miss.
Where it's played
Picked before the game: the main lane first, then the alternatives.
1- TopMain
Starting items
Core items
- 1StridebreakerDamage and the slow you are missing
- 2Sterak's GageSurvive the burst
- 3Dead Man's PlateClose the gap
Boots
Situational
Runes
Primary· Precision
Secondary· Resolve
Shards
Summoner spells
Flash
Ignite
Skill order
Max order:E›Q›W
| Ability | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Q | Q | · | · | · | · | · | · | Q | · | Q | · | Q | Q | · | · | · | · | · |
 W | · | · | W | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | W | W | · | W | W |
 E | · | E | · | E | E | · | E | · | E | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · |
 R | · | · | · | · | · | R | · | · | · | · | R | · | · | · | · | R | · | · |
Spin to win — attack speed and armour shred
When to use it
Judgment spins more times with bonus attack speed, and every hit stacks Black Cleaver. Take it when you are ahead or when the enemy team has little crowd control: you trade tankiness for a spin that melts anyone who stays near you. Against heavy crowd control, stay with the durable build.
Where it's played
Picked before the game: the main lane first, then the alternatives.
1- TopMain
Starting items
Core items
- 1Stridebreaker
- 2Black CleaverEvery spin tick shreds armour
- 3Sterak's Gage
Boots
Situational
Runes
Primary· Precision
Secondary· Resolve
Shards
Summoner spells
- Flash
- Ignite
Skill order
Max order:E›Q›W
| Ability | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q | Q | · | · | · | · | · | · | Q | · | Q | · | Q | Q | · | · | · | · | · |
| W | · | · | W | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | W | W | · | W | W |
| E | · | E | · | E | E | · | E | · | E | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · |
| R | · | · | · | · | · | R | · | · | · | · | R | · | · | · | · | R | · | · |
Abilities
PerseverancePassiveIf Garen has not recently been struck by damage or enemy abilities, he regenerates a percentage of his total health each second.- QDecisive Strike8sGaren gains a burst of Move Speed, breaking free of all slows affecting him. His next attack strikes a vital area of his foe, dealing bonus damage and silencing them.
- Cooldown
- 8
- Range
- 300
- WCourage22/19.5/17/14.5/12sGaren passively increases his Armor and Magic Resist by killing enemies. He may also activate this ability to give him a shield and tenacity for a brief moment followed by a lesser amount of damage reduction for a longer duration.
- Cooldown
- 22·19.5·17·14.5·12
- EJudgment9/8.25/7.5/6.75/6sGaren rapidly spins his sword around his body, dealing physical damage to nearby enemies.
- Cooldown
- 9·8.25·7.5·6.75·6
- Range
- 325
- RDemacian JusticeUltimate120/100/80sGaren calls upon the might of Demacia to attempt to execute an enemy champion.
- Cooldown
- 120·100·80
- Range
- 400
Strategy
1Early game: lane (levels 1–5)
Start with Decisive Strike and look for short trades: Q to silence and hit, E to spin, then walk away. Against melee opponents you win most of these; against ranged ones, farm under your tower and wait for the jungler or for your first item. Do not stand in the wave while spinning unless you want to push, because freezing near your tower is how Garen safely out-levels a ranged laner.
- Level 1 Q, level 2 E, level 3 W.
- Trade, step back, regenerate, trade again.
2Mid game: split push and side lanes
After your first item and boots, Garen is strongest alone in a side lane. Push the wave, take plates and make the enemy send someone to answer you; if they send one, you usually win the duel, and if they send two, your team gets a free objective elsewhere. Join the team for dragons and heralds only when you can arrive before the fight starts.
3Late game and teamfights
In fights, your job is to reach the enemy backline or to stand between it and your carry. Flash-Q onto a carry is Garen's best engage; if that is not possible, peel for your own damage dealers and use Demacian Justice to finish whoever drops low. Keep Courage for the moment the enemy focuses you.
- Flash-Q onto the carry beats walking at the tank.
- Ultimate the target that is about to escape, not the one that is already dying.
Tips
- Walk out of range after a trade and let Perseverance heal you before the next one.
- Use Decisive Strike's silence to cancel the enemy's escape or their combo.
- Activate Courage just before the enemy's burst lands, not after.
- Check the target's health before ulting: the damage grows with their missing health.
- Spin through the enemy wave only when you want it pushed: Judgment clears fast.
Matchups
Strong against
Weak melee lane in the first levels; Garen can bully her before she scales.
Garen wins the early trades and denies the stacks Nasus needs to matter later.
Decisive Strike silences his combo and Garen is too durable to be burst in lane.
Weak against
Blinding Dart cancels your attacks and he kites you all lane long.
Ranged, fast and able to Vault away every time you walk up.
Condemn stops your approach and her true damage ignores your armour.
Changelog
- Guide written for the current patch, with a durable and a damage build.
Was this helpful?
Your vote helps other players find the best guides.