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Olaf Matchups and Counters
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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
This guide covers Olaf's matchups and how to adapt to them. Riot publishes no matchup statistics, so the matchups below come from the champions' own stats and kits: attack range, starting durability, crowd control and mobility. They describe an advantage on paper, not a measured result.
Strengths
- Sustain from Tough It Out.
- High physical damage: Riot rates it 9/10 in attack.
- Easy to pick up: Riot rates its difficulty 3/10.
Weaknesses
- No dash or blink in the kit: vulnerable to ganks without vision.
- Isolated lane: vulnerable to ganks when you push.
Build cheat sheet
Pick the build that fits what you want to do this game.
- Against physical damageDefensiveRecommendedFor a lane or a team that hits with attacks: armor boots and an armor item in the core.
- Against magic damageDefensiveSituationalFor a team that kills with abilities: magic resist boots and a magic resist item in the core.
- Against healingDefensiveSituationalFor games against healers, life steal or regeneration: the anti-heal item goes into the core instead of waiting.
Builds
Against physical damage
When to use it
For a lane or a team that hits with attacks: armor boots and an armor item in the core.
Where it's played
Picked before the game: the main lane first, then the alternatives.
1100%- TopMain100% of matches
Starting items
Core items
- 1Black Cleaver
- 2Trinity Force
- 3Death's Dance
Boots
Situational
Runes
Primary· Resolve
Secondary· Precision
Shards
Summoner spells
Flash
Teleport
Against magic damage
When to use it
For a team that kills with abilities: magic resist boots and a magic resist item in the core.
Where it's played
Picked before the game: the main lane first, then the alternatives.
1100%- TopMain100% of matches
Starting items
Core items
- 1Black Cleaver
- 2Trinity Force
- 3Mercurial Scimitar
Boots
Situational
Runes
Primary· Resolve
Secondary· Precision
Shards
Summoner spells
- Flash
- Teleport
Against healing
When to use it
For games against healers, life steal or regeneration: the anti-heal item goes into the core instead of waiting.
Where it's played
Picked before the game: the main lane first, then the alternatives.
1100%- TopMain100% of matches
Starting items
Core items
- 1Black Cleaver
- 2Trinity Force
- 3Chempunk Chainsword
Boots
Situational
Runes
Primary· Resolve
Secondary· Precision
Shards
Summoner spells
- Flash
- Teleport
Abilities
Berserker RagePassiveOlaf gains Attack Speed and Life Steal based on his missing Health.
QUndertow9s50/55/60/65/70 mpOlaf throws an axe into the ground at a target location, dealing damage to enemies it passes through and reducing their Armor and Move Speed. If Olaf picks up the axe, the ability's cooldown is reset.- Cooldown
- 9
- Cost
- 50·55·60·65·70
- Range
- 1000
WTough It Out16/15/14/13/12s50 mpOlaf's Attack Speed is increased and he gains a Shield.- Cooldown
- 16·15·14·13·12
- Cost
- 50
- Range
- 700
EReckless Swing11/10/9/8/7sOlaf attacks with such force that it deals true damage to his target and himself, refunding the Health cost if he destroys the target.- Cooldown
- 11·10·9·8·7
- Range
- 325
RRagnarokUltimate100/90/80s100 mpOlaf passively gains increased armor and magic resist. He can activate this ability to become immune to disables for as long as he keeps attacking.- Cooldown
- 100·90·80
- Cost
- 100
- Range
- 400
Strategy
1Good matchups
Olaf does well against these:
- Heimerdinger: Olaf starts with 645 health and 35 armour against Heimerdinger's 558 and 19: the early trades are already won on paper.
- Fiora: Fiora looks for fragile targets to jump on; Olaf is built to take hits and makes that dive costly.
- Quinn: Quinn looks for fragile targets to jump on; Olaf is built to take hits and makes that dive costly.
2Tough matchups
Olaf struggles against these:
3Synergies
Olaf works well alongside these, because their kits fit together:
4Adapting the build
The situational builds in this guide answer specific threats: Against physical damage, Against magic damage and Against healing.
5Playing against Olaf
If you're on the other side, this is what to exploit:
- Olaf becomes more dangerous the lower life he is. Save your disables to finish him off.
- Preventing Olaf from reaching his axe will minimize the amount of harassment he can cause in the laning phase.
- Olaf has reduced defenses from damage during Ragnarok, despite being immune to disables. If you can't escape from Olaf during Ragnarok, try focusing your damage on him with your teammates.
Tips
- Look at the enemy team before choosing your build: the situational builds below answer the most common threats.
- Good matchup: Heimerdinger. Play forward when you face them.
- Tough matchup: Teemo. Play safer and wait for your team.
- In a tough matchup, an even lane is already a good result.
Matchups
Strong against
Olaf starts with 645 health and 35 armour against Heimerdinger's 558 and 19: the early trades are already won on paper.
Fiora looks for fragile targets to jump on; Olaf is built to take hits and makes that dive costly.
Quinn looks for fragile targets to jump on; Olaf is built to take hits and makes that dive costly.
Weak against
Teemo attacks from 500 units and Olaf from 125, with no dash in the kit to close the gap.
Kennen attacks from 550 units and Olaf from 125, with no dash in the kit to close the gap.
Olaf has to walk up to start a fight, and Ki Burst (stun) stops that engage before it lands.
Changelog
- Guide created for patch 16.19.1.
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