Hecarim · Jungle
Hecarim Guide
More Hecarim guides
This guide is assembled by the site from match data and the game's own information — nobody wrote it by hand. Official and community guides appear alongside it when they exist.
Overview
Hecarim belongs to Riot's Fighter and Tank classes and is played mainly as Jungle (100% of the public matches we measured). It fights in melee range and uses mana. In this guide you play it as Jungle: your job is to clear camps efficiently, gank the lanes that can win and control dragons, grubs and Baron. Its ultimate is Onslaught of Shadows. Riot rates it 8/10 in attack, 4/10 in magic, 6/10 in defense and 6/10 in difficulty.
Strengths
- High physical damage: Riot rates it 8/10 in attack.
- Onslaught of Shadows hits several enemies: a strong team fight tool.
- Clear job in the team: clear camps efficiently, gank the lanes that can win and control dragons, grubs and Baron.
Weaknesses
- No dash or blink in the kit: vulnerable to ganks without vision.
- Falls behind if the early ganks fail: every wasted trip is lost farm.
Build cheat sheet
Pick the build that fits what you want to do this game.
- Standard buildBalancedRecommendedThe default path: Black Cleaver, Trinity Force and Spear of Shojin give the health, attack damage and on-hit effects this class relies on. Pick it when you have no reason to adapt. Built from Riot's item tags and the champion's class; Riot publishes no build statistics.
- Lethality buildOffensiveAdvancedAll-in on damage: Terminus, Lord Dominik's Regards and Blade of The Ruined King stack attack damage, attack speed and on-hit effects. Choose it when you're ahead or the enemy team is fragile — it gives up safety for kill pressure.
- Defensive buildDefensiveSituationalKeeps enough damage while adding health, magic resist and armor through Jak'Sho, The Protean, Bandlepipes and Zeke's Convergence. Choose it against dive, assassins or a lane you can't win.
Builds
Standard build
When to use it
The default path: Black Cleaver, Trinity Force and Spear of Shojin give the health, attack damage and on-hit effects this class relies on. Pick it when you have no reason to adapt. Built from Riot's item tags and the champion's class; Riot publishes no build statistics.
Where it's played
Picked before the game: the main lane first, then the alternatives.
1100%- JungleMain100% of matches
Jungle priorities
StartRed buff
Objectives by priority
- 1Voidgrubs
- 2Gank top
- 3Rift Herald
- 4Scuttle Crab
- 5Dragons
- 6Baron Nashor
- 7Atakhan
Guideline, not a measurement: an early skirmisher starting red side. Take the void grubs and look for ganks while your early damage is ahead, then Herald and dragons.
Starting items
Core items
- 1Black Cleaver
- 2Trinity Force
- 3Spear of Shojin
Boots
Situational
Runes
Primary· Precision
Secondary· Resolve
Shards
Summoner spells
Flash
Smite
Lethality build
When to use it
All-in on damage: Terminus, Lord Dominik's Regards and Blade of The Ruined King stack attack damage, attack speed and on-hit effects. Choose it when you're ahead or the enemy team is fragile — it gives up safety for kill pressure.
Where it's played
Picked before the game: the main lane first, then the alternatives.
1100%- JungleMain100% of matches
Jungle priorities
StartRed buff
Objectives by priority
- 1Voidgrubs
- 2Gank top
- 3Rift Herald
- 4Scuttle Crab
- 5Dragons
- 6Baron Nashor
- 7Atakhan
Guideline, not a measurement: an early skirmisher starting red side. Take the void grubs and look for ganks while your early damage is ahead, then Herald and dragons.
Starting items
Core items
- 1Terminus
- 2Lord Dominik's Regards
- 3Blade of The Ruined King
Boots
Situational
Runes
Primary· Precision
Secondary· Domination
Shards
Summoner spells
- Flash
- Smite
Defensive build
When to use it
Keeps enough damage while adding health, magic resist and armor through Jak'Sho, The Protean, Bandlepipes and Zeke's Convergence. Choose it against dive, assassins or a lane you can't win.
Where it's played
Picked before the game: the main lane first, then the alternatives.
1100%- JungleMain100% of matches
Jungle priorities
StartRed buff
Objectives by priority
- 1Voidgrubs
- 2Gank top
- 3Rift Herald
- 4Scuttle Crab
- 5Dragons
- 6Baron Nashor
- 7Atakhan
Guideline, not a measurement: an early skirmisher starting red side. Take the void grubs and look for ganks while your early damage is ahead, then Herald and dragons.
Starting items
Core items
- 1Jak'Sho, The Protean
- 2Bandlepipes
- 3Zeke's Convergence
Boots
Situational
Runes
Primary· Resolve
Secondary· Precision
Shards
Summoner spells
- Flash
- Smite
Abilities
WarpathPassiveHecarim gains Attack Damage equal to a percentage of his bonus Move Speed.
QRampage4s28/26/24/22/20 mpHecarim cleaves nearby enemies dealing physical damage. If Hecarim damages at least one enemy, he increases the damage and lowers the cooldown of subsequent Rampages.- Cooldown
- 4
- Cost
- 28·26·24·22·20
- Range
- 350
WSpirit of Dread14s50/55/60/65/70 mpHecarim gains Armor and Magic Resist. Hecarim deals magic damage to nearby enemies, and gains Health equal to a percentage of any damage those enemies suffer.- Cooldown
- 14
- Cost
- 50·55·60·65·70
- Range
- 525
EDevastating Charge20/19/18/17/16s60 mpHecarim gains increasing Move Speed and can move through units for a short duration. His next attack knocks the target back and deals additional physical damage based on the distance he has traveled since activating the ability.- Cooldown
- 20·19·18·17·16
- Cost
- 60
- Range
- 300
ROnslaught of ShadowsUltimate140/120/100s100 mpHecarim summons spectral riders and charges forward, dealing magic damage in a line. Hecarim creates a shockwave when he finishes his charge, causing nearby enemies to flee in terror.- Cooldown
- 140·120·100
- Cost
- 100
- Range
- 50000
Strategy
1Early game
Start with your jungle pet and Smite, plan a full clear towards the lane you want to gank and show up when that lane has the enemy pushed and without Flash. A gank works when the lane is pushed towards the enemy tower and the enemy has used Flash or their escape: pick those moments instead of forcing a bad one.
- Early items: Phage and Kindlegem.
2Mid game
With Black Cleaver and Trinity Force, play around the next dragon or Baron: take vision with your laners first, then force the fight or trade the objective across the map. Your spikes are level 6, when Onslaught of Shadows comes online, and each completed item: Black Cleaver first, then Trinity Force.
- Core items: Black Cleaver, Trinity Force and Spear of Shojin.
3Late game
Late, Smite decides Baron and Elder: stay close to the pit when it's up and never get caught farming on the far side of the map before an objective spawns.
- Late items: Death's Dance and Mercurial Scimitar.
4Team fights
In fights, enter after the enemy uses their key crowd control and go for whoever your team can reach with you. Use Onslaught of Shadows where it hits the most enemies or catches the key target.
5Playing against Hecarim
Riot's own advice for facing this champion:
- Hecarim gains life from nearby enemies with Spirit of Dread but lacks durability, use burst damage.
- Hecarim's ultimate causes opponents to flee in terror. Spread out to reduce his power in fights.
Tips
- Spirit of Dread restores Health when nearby enemies take damage, including damage dealt by allies. Cast this during a large fight to maximize Hecarim's survivability.
- Devastating Charge deals more damage based on the distance traveled. Try using Onslaught of Shadows or Summoner Spells such as Ghost or Flash to maximize this damage.
- Rush Black Cleaver: it's the item that speeds up your clears and your ganks the most.
- Before an objective, reset and buy wards: fight it with full health and Smite ready.
- Gank the lane with crowd control: two stuns in a row are worth more than any damage.
- Plan fights around Onslaught of Shadows: without it, Hecarim is far less threatening.
Matchups
Strong against
Kha'Zix looks for fragile targets to jump on; Hecarim is built to take hits and makes that dive costly.
Talon looks for fragile targets to jump on; Hecarim is built to take hits and makes that dive costly.
Master Yi looks for fragile targets to jump on; Hecarim is built to take hits and makes that dive costly.
Weak against
Elise attacks from 550 units and Hecarim from 175, with no dash in the kit to close the gap.
Kindred attacks from 500 units and Hecarim from 175, with no dash in the kit to close the gap.
Ivern attacks from 475 units and Hecarim from 175, with no dash in the kit to close the gap.
Changelog
- Guide created for patch 16.19.1.
Was this helpful?
Your vote helps other players find the best guides.