04/17/13 - Swapped the place of Bloodthirster and BorK into the Luxury category and the Mid-Game category respectively.

04/15/13 - Just hit a million views. Thanks guy :)

04/11/13 - Updated the item section. My opinion has changed on a few items, but most of the descriptions were updated for clarity.

02/17/13 - Cleared the change log. The guide, as of now, should be set for Season 3. The runes, masteries, items, and lane match-ups should all be updated to reflect the current patch.

Renekton is a unique melee champ who utilizes Fury as his resource system. I like to define his role on a team as a secondary initiator who locks down a single target while simultaneously doing moderate AoE damage. In Season 3, Renekton has been seeing quite extensive use by a lot of the top LCS teams as well as teams in Asia. Due to the strength of his kit, Renekton is really excelling in the current meta. As a Renekton player, you'll be looking to do a couple of things throughout the game. One of those goals is to win top lane, and then convert that advantage into an advantage for your team when objectives come up on the map, like baron, dragon, or pushing down towers. Hopefully securing these objective will translate into a win. It's your goal to secure a significant lead, and from experience, often times the lead will come directly from the demoralization of the other team.

In this guide I'll be going over a wealth of information, such as in-depth breakdowns of items, common lane match-ups that you'll be going against, and what your aspirations should be when your team starts rolling as 5. For starters, lets go over some pros and cons of playing Renekton.

Pros

• Powerful Laning Phase
• Offers Good CC To Compliment Ganks
• Mana-less
• Immense Team Fight Presence
• One Of The Strongest Level 6s In The Game
• Interior Crocodile Alligator

Cons

• Innately Pushes Lane
• Susceptible To Ganks
• Somewhat Kite-able
• Weak Outside Of Laning In Comparison To His Laning Phase
• Relatively Low Base Stats and Stat Growths

I like to compare masteries to a good work-out routine. There are many options available, but in the end, it's what works best for you.



This is a 9-21-0 page that I like to run on Renekton and other bruisers who intend to soak up some damage or dive into the enemy team hard. Some of these masteries are very impactful early game while others come to fruition in the later stages.

Offense Tree:

Summoner's Wrath: Ignite compliments Renekton's burst; the extra 5 AD is received with open hands. Ghost, if you take over flash, also benefits.
Sorcery: Renekton makes better use out of CDR than he does attack speed, so I opt for this mastery over Fury.
Deadliness: A prerequisite for the % Armor Penetration.
Weapon Expertise: This keeps you relevant through all stages of the game, especially now considering how % and flat armor pen work.

Defense Tree:

Durability: The extra HP is useful, and this is a prerequisite for Veteran Scars.
Hardiness: A no-brainer against physical damage. Due to the removal of the minion damage block, armor is more important than ever early game.
Resistance: This will be useful against magic damage dealers early game, and the 5 total MR is actually better than a lot of the options later on down the tree.
Unyielding: While it might seem miniscule, 2 damage block from on all damage from enemy champions adds up over time.
Veteran's Scars: This WILL make the difference in the early stages of the laning phase, I can guarantee you. So many exchanges are decided by a margin of 30 HP or less.
Block: This is one of the best masteries in the entire tree for the laning phase, especially vs opponents who rely on autoattacks for damage.
Tenacious: The important thing to remember is that the Tenacity from this mastery can stack. It does require a hefty 3 points though, so if you don't need it, put the points elsewhere.
Juggernaut: I'm kind of torn at the moment. To be brutally honest, I don't think Juggernaut is that good, but one could argue that it's definitely better than Relentless and Defender in most cases.
Honor Guard: This is the counter to Havoc, essentially cancelling it out and then some. Over the course of a game, 3% damage reduction from all sources can add up to thousands.

The great thing about the Defense tree is how situational it can be. For instance, if you really need the tenacity against slows that Relentless gives you, you can take points out of Juggernaut or move points around elsewhere. Due to the number of possibilities, I made this page generic enough that it works against just about anyone. Hopefully this guide will give you enough insight that you're able to make your own decisions as to where to put the points. Don't be afraid to tailor your mastery page to your playstyle.



This is a non-standard 21-9-0 that gives you the power of the Offense tree while sacrificing a lot of survivability. I would not suggest doing this unless you have a well-oiled team comp that allows a riskier mastery spec.

All the masteries you'll be taking in the Offense Tree are self-explanatory and fairly straightforward. They all give you damage or make you do more damage in some fashion or another. Like I said before, this is a less forgiving page that has the potential to acquire a bigger payoff.

These are 2 rune setups that are fairly common on most solo tops in S3. The 15 AD page is better very early game, while the Armor Pen reds page will be more effective "post-brutalizer" and onwards. Assess your matchup and decide if you need the extra AD or the Armor Pen. Both give good early game survivability while maintaining the level of aggression you should be striving towards.

Quints:

Attack Damage: AD makes all your abilities hit harder minus Dominus, so AD is welcome on Renekton, especially early game.
Armor Pen: The differences between AD vs Armor Pen are fairly negligible. AD allows you to farm easier, but Armor Pen allows your abilities to be hitting closer to their intended damage on opponents who have armor. My personal preference is Attack Damage - but its just that - a preference.
Move Speed: MS is also a viable option on Renekton. Its good all throughout the game, and it allows you to pick up a bit more move speed before you invest in something like a Force of Nature.

Seals (Yellows):

Flat Armor: One of the only viable yellows left after the removal of dodge, these yellows work wonders against other AD tops as well as minion damage.
Scaling HP: I wouldn't recommend HP yellows, but I can see you getting by with these if they're running dual AP, and you don't necessarily need the early armor.

Glyphs (Blues):

Flat/Scaling MR: Probably the best blues available for Tanky DPS. If you're going against an AP top, I would suggest you pick up flat MR. If you aren't laning vs AP but they have a strong AP mid, scaling MR is recommended.
Cdr: I wouldn't recommend cooldown reduction blues, but if you're coming over from AP mid and don't have a page for Tanky DPS yet, these are probably the next best thing.

Marks (Reds):

Attack Damage: AD gives spikes your early game damage and last hitting power. I would suggest these if your lane opponent is stronger than you.
Armor Pen: Armor Pen isn't as strong as AD very early game, but its mathematically more effective the later the game goes on. Both are viable options.

Starter Tip: Armor Yellows and MR Blues are really versatile, as you can make use of them on just about everyone. If you're just starting out, these are good runes to pick up as your first purchase.

Both summoner spells have advantages. To summarize, Ghost will allow you to stick to targets over a longer period of time. Flash has its uses and can do things that ghost can't, such as traverse walls and make instantaneous plays, but Ghost is generally better long term. Flash will never be a bad summoner to take and neither will Ghost, so this comes down to personal preference.



Ignite can be used as a supplement to Renekton's burst, so I generally take this summoner if I feel that I can kill my opponent in lane. It's also good for shutting down people with heals, especially since most AD carry's take Heal.



You can take exhaust if your team doesn't have one and wants it. It's good both in lane and in teamfights, and it's surprisingly useful for shutting down heavy AP nukers as well.



Used for super lane control, taking heal will allow you to determine who wins the lane. Heal baiting is also hilarious if your enemy is dumb enough to fall for it, and can often be a life saver outside turret range as well. Heal allows you to start a really offensive item as well, like Dorans Blade, which will grant you that much more lane dominance. Be careful of healing if your opponent is carrying ignite though.



This is basically a more selfish version of Heal that doesn't get affected by Ignite. It shields for more than Heal heals, but once again it doesn't help your teammates.



This is a good summoner to have if you're just trying to survive the lane. GP/Kennen/anything ranged can be tough for Renekton to lane against, so if you don't plan on grabbing a kill in lane, this isn't a terrible option. Teleport also pays dividends late game, as it allows you to effectively split push a lane and not fear a 4v5 baron attempt.



I've jungle with Renekton a few times, but this guide focuses on top lane. There are other specific guides if you're looking to tear up jungle mobs.



Reported.

Renekton gains 5 Fury per autoattack. Having sufficient fury empowers Renekton's abilities with bonus effects, but this drains Fury. Out of combat, Renekton loses 5 Fury per second.



This is the Fury system I mentioned in the introduction. A thing to take note of is that Renekton gains more fury if he's low on HP, which means you can be, combined with your ult, deceivingly powerful despite being low health. All your abilities have bonus effects when used with Fury, and its extremely important to know which ability has priority in certain situations. Being mana-less, the only thing that limits Renekton are his cooldowns, which should be taken advantage of.




Renekton swings his blade, dealing 60 / 90 / 120 / 150 / 180 (+80% Attack Damage) physical damage to nearby enemies and gains 5% of the damage dealt as Health, up to 50 / 75 / 100 / 125 / 150. Each hit grants 5 Fury, up to 25. Enemy champions grant 400% additional health recovery. 50 Fury Bonus: Dmage increased to 90 / 135 / 180 / 225 / 270 (+). Heal percent increased to 10%, up to 150 / 225 / 300 / 375 / 450.

Cooldown 8seconds
Cost No Cost or 50 Fury
Range 20



This is your AoE damage dealer and healer. It provides good harass in lane vs other melee, and the sustain is excellent if you choose to use Fury on this ability. Its generally accepted to use this skill over your others when you have more than 50 Fury in teamfights, as it dishes out more AoE damage, and since the heal is increased significantly when used on enemy champions, you'll heal for a shit load. There is a downside to Cull of the Meek, however, in that it pushes your lane really hard, exposing you to ganks. Be prepared to farm a lot just outside of their tower, and as always, buy lots of wards.




Renekton's next attack strikes twice dealing physical damage 10 / 30 / 50 / 70 / 90 (+150% of his Attack Damage) and stuns for 0.75 seconds. Each hit applies on-hit effects. 50 Fury Bonus: Instead, Renekton attacks three times dealing physical damage 15 / 45 / 75 / 105 / 135 (+225% of his Attack Damage) and stuns his target for 1.5 seconds.

Cooldown 13 / 12 / 11 / 10 / 9seconds
Cost No Cost or 50 Fury
Range 300



This is your feared stun ability. With an insane 225% AD ratio at the cost of 50 Fury, it'll chunk your opponent pretty hard. Every rank will lower the cooldown by 1 second, but the damage scales from levels rather poorly. If you find yourself needing a lower cooldown in lane, then you can continue to level this after maxing Q, but from now on I'll be taking Slice and Dice instead. This ability can also take out wards easily if you autoattack it once and then instantly hit W.




Renekton Slice: Renekton dashes, dealing 45 / 75 / 105 / 135 / 165 (+) physical damage. Hitting an enemy grants the ability to use Dice for 4 seconds. Dice: Renekton dashes dealing 30/60/90/120/150 (+) physical damage. Dice - 50 Fury Bonus: Damage increased to 67.5 / 112.5 / 157.5 / 202.5 / 247.5 (+). Enemies hit have 15% / 17.5% / 20% / 22.5% / 25% reduced Armor for 4 seconds.

Cooldown 18/17/16/15/14
Cost No Cost or 50 Fury

Range 250



I would like to classify this skill as Renekton's sub-par gap closer. Requiring you to hit a creep/enemy to gain access to the 2nd portion of the skill, it can also be labeled as unreliable. Late game the 35% armor reduction is definitely nothing to joke about, and if your team is AD heavy, its actually encouraged that you use this skill on the focus target. I would now suggest leveling this skill after Q due to the buff it just received. It's unfortunate that, due to its mechanics, you rarely get to use the first portion of the skill on the enemy, but there are work arounds, such as getting into melee range before engaging. I still think that your other 2 skills have fury priority over this in lane though, so you won't get to access the armor shred that often.




Renekton surrounds himself with dark energies for 15 seconds, gaining 300 / 450 / 600 Health. While active, he deals 40/70/100 (+10% Ability Power) magic damage to nearby enemies and gains 5 Fury per second.



This is what makes Renekton extremely powerful at level 6. It scales off AP unforunately, but the AoE damage provides you with a nice DoT, and this ability also grants you a quick HP boost/gain, which scales with Atma's. A nice side affect of this in lane is that most opponents will stack armor in an attempt to counter you. This ult actually does magic damage, so armor won't completely negate your damage when you all in someone. Dominus grants you extra Fury gain as well, so in team fights you'll be able to use more Fury empowered abilities, which calculates out to more DPS overall. It also makes you look like a badass.

Q is the best skill to max for laning, as it provides damage, pushing power, and sustain. Due to the buffs, I'll be leveling up E after Q, followed by W. Obviously rank up your ultimate whenever it's available.

If the enemy jungler is known for level 2 ganking or very early level 3 ganking, you might want to take E first. W is much stronger at level 1, but E can make the difference between surviving a red buff gank and giving up first blood.



When I describe a skill as having fury priority, I'm simply saying that that skill should be used with the Fury bonus over your other skills. Note that having a full Fury bar will allow you to cast 2 Fury empowered abilities, and I'll leave the 2nd decision up to personal judgement.



Cull of the Meek has fury priority in situations where you're trying to output the most AoE damage possible, e.g. teamfights, or when you need to heal in an engagement. If you're fighting in an enemy creep wave, its highly recommended you use this skill with fury to receive a huge hp gain. Renekton reminds me of Morde in the sense that you'd rather be trading in the middle of their creep wave so you can heal more.



Ruthless Predator has fury priority in 1v1 engagements where there are no enemy creeps available to heal off of. It does significantly more damage when empowered with Fury, and this is the skill that people notice taking chunks out of their life bar out. It's also good to use in teamfights to lock down a target for a longer period of time, but depending on how grouped the enemy team is, it doesn't necessarily take precedent over Q.



Generally my least fury prioritized skill, I only use 50 Fury on Slice and Dice when my team is AD heavy and I have the opportunity to dice through multiple targets. The fury bonuses on Q and W and just too good to pass up, leaving us with a skill that is hardly used with the fury bonus effect.



Although your ult doesn't gain any bonus effect with the use of Fury, take note that your ult grants you additional Fury gain, which allows a bit more forgiveness if you happen to use an ability with Fury when, in hindsight, it could have been used elsewhere.



Renekton's harass combo is fairly basic - dash in, harass, dash out. Of course, if you're going all in for a kill, you would dash forward again to stay on top of the enemy. This simple combo, however, is not the maximum damage you're capable of doing. Much like Riven, to get the most out of your skillset, mixing in autoattacks between every ability is what seperates good players from great. An optimized combo would be as follows:



From this step-by-step process, we can identify the reasoning behind E having the least Fury priority in a combo. Hypothetically, if you have 100 fury as you start your combo, you would dash in, autoattack, W, autoattack, Q, autoattack, and dash away. Since Fury is only consumed on the 2nd part of Slice and Dice, we would use 50 Fury on W and the other 50 on Q, leaving us with 0 to use on Dice.

What I would consider the meat and potatoes of the guide. Renektons item build can change drastically from game to game, and once you get some experience with him, you'll be able to make your own judgement calls. For now, you can refer to the item in question and see what I think of it here.



Doran's items are awesome. They give you great early game stats, and the damage block on Doran's Shield specifically is fantastic against autoattackers. It's not uncommon for a good Renekton build to have at least 1 or 2 Doran's items to help you reach your other, more important purchases. They do have their downsides, however. They provide you with very little sustain, and they start to become a bit of a gold sink if you buy too many.



A great item early game that offers everything a Renekton player wants: AD, flat Armor Pen, and Cooldown Reduction. I like to sit on Brutalizer unless my team could make good use out of an early Black Cleaver. The armor shred synergizes quite well with your E and could potential affect the entire enemy team. It's not entirely necessary to pick up a Brutalizer if you don't need your cooldowns to compete in lane. I would highly advise getting one against champions who have superior cooldowns though, like Riven.



This is a fantastic item on Renekton. Frozen Mallet combined with Ghost or any kind of movespeed buff leaves no one safe from harms way, and the chasing power is extremely deadly. It's also useful as a peeling item, since you can stun the diver, and then keep them permanently slowed, allowing your AD free roam to kite. Obviously if you went the phage route early game, Frozen Mallet is the next step in your build.



I actually like getting Sunfire on Renekton if the other top laner plans on dueling me for long periods of time, like Xin Zhao for example. One of the things many people overlook when examining Sunfire Cape is it also gives you an extra source of damage that isn't physical. Since Renekton is known for having a huge amount of early game physical damage, Armor is always a smart buy. With Sunfire, you can continue to output DPS, and it just makes you that much harder to itemize against.



I love building Warmogs if I don't need the utility of a Frozen Mallet or the Armor and magic damage Sunfire Cape provides. If you can grab Warmogs by mid-game or earlier, a lot of champions just don't have enough damage to slice through the extra 1000 HP. If you started the game with a Rejuvenation Bead, Warmogs is the logical purchase.



Since its nerf I pretty much stopped building it. I find BT to be a more reliable route in terms of damage and for armor I tend to stick to more defensive items like GA or Randuins. Atma's is still very good against armor heavy teams, but the crit chance is pretty meh considering its your only source. I can see it being viable now that Warmogs is so popular, but there are better options.



An armor item that offers a lot of stats, Randuins is extremely beneficial on Renekton, and synergizes with his kit well. He can double-dash in to get to the enemy AD, use the active, and lower the DPS of that AD dramatically. It's also difficult to kite a Randuins owner due to the small passive slow, making autoattackers even more miserable. It has an awesome build-up as well, so if you bought that early Giants Belt but changed your mind about the Warmogs or Sunfire or FM, you can upgrade to Randuins instead.



Stay away from this item. The mana is completely wasted, and although the spell shield is extremely useful, it's simply not worth it.



This falls into the same category as Banshee's Veil. The CDR and Armor is awesome, but the mana it gives you is in no way worth the investment.



Thornmail is totally underrated. A lot of AD carries tend buy Warmogs as a defensive item in Season 3, which leaves them with very little amounts of Magic Resist. Even with team auras like Bulwark, they just don't have the same amount of MR as they did last season. Because of this, Thornmail is even more effective at returning damage, and it essentially cancels out their lifesteal. An AD carry without lifesteal later in the game is prone to getting shoved out of fights before they can DPS everyone down, and this usually results in a win for your team.



If you're a high priority target, or you need to dive into the back line to fight a carry, this is a good route to take. If you can get this item before 30 minutes where teamfights really start to happen, you should have an advantage because their carries are forced to either engage you or run away from the fight.



This is an essential pickup if the enemy team is stacking armor. Due to how Armor Pen works in S3, you're able to penetrate an immense amount of armor combined with flat armor pen. If you've got a balanced build, you should be able to soak some decent damage while dealing decent damage, and as Renekton that's your goal.



This is the best team-oriented Magic Resist item in Season 3. It gives you a means to deal with heavy poke teams (think Nidalee, Ziggs, Lux, etc.), and it's also great against AP-heavy dive teams, like Fiddlesticks, Karthus, and Katarina. Every team should have at least 1 Runic Bulwark 95% of the time by the teamfighting phase, or you're most likely at a huge disadvantage. I like to pick up a Bulwark in scenarios where my jungler or support are extremely far behind and won't be able to afford one in the foreseeable future.



It's hard to understand why more players don't take advantage of this ridiculously strong early/mid-game item. It gives some nice AD for the cost and the shield makes it really hard to burst you down in a full combo. I feel like Hexdrinker is a requirement when laning against the likes of Rumble or Elise. Maw is weak compared to its components, but it synergizes well with your ult and makes you pretty scary at low health. I build one almost every game where magic damage is a big threat.



One of the best MR items this season (only Bulwark grants more MR.) It gives 20% CDR, which is insanely good on Renekton, and the passive allows you to sustain that much more. This is one of the biggest points of contention I have with the currently Featured Renekton Guide. I just don't understand how Spirit Visage is "below average", but I'll brush it off as a difference in playstyle. The only downsides to this item is it doesn't offer that much HP and 0 armor, so it makes mid-game a bit more difficult vs. physical damage dealers. Consequently, I would not recommend building this item if the enemy bot lane is doing well. In order to fully justify its purchase, I would say both the enemy top and mid have to be AP.



This item not only gives you a lot of damage to work with, but it grants you some additional utility and sticking power. It can also burst heal you in a dire situation. Keep in mind that this does, in fact, work with your W. It doesn't give that much AD and the attack speed isn't usually a desired stat, but the other stats are great. I'm beginning to like BorK more and more.



I think this has the potential to be viable on Renekton, but it costs so damn much. I don't like the build up from Tiamat either, as it gives you very little survivability and the Health Regen seems out of place. An interesting mechanic to take note of is Hydra can actually remove the mini self-suppression on your W, but I would rate the item overall as below average.



Bloodthirster is a great item if your team needs you to perform a more bruiser/assassin type role where you need to focus a specific target. It makes you quite strong in lane and you're able to farm stacks quickly. Renekton's scaling is actually pretty good, so the 100 AD is fantastic. BT combined with 1 or 2 mildly defensive items makes you a mid-game monster where AD carries don't really have the items to deal with you yet.



I generally look down upon this item. Renekton doesn't make use of the attack speed all that well, the passive magic damage is comparable to a Sunfire Cape, but it requires you to be actively attacking your opponenent, and that's not always possible. My main gripe with this item is it just flat out costs too much. It's like, you just spent 950g on a Recurve Bow, but for another 50g you could have just bought a Giants Belt. The gold efficiency is just too low on Renekton to justify the purchase.



Ok guys, let me drop some knowledge onto you about Trinity Force. I will admit, it's an ok item on Renekton. The sheen procs, the HP, the movespeed, the slow - all the stats, minus the mana, are useable in some form or another. But if mid-game rolls around and all you have to show for it are some dorans blades and a TriForce, then your team is going to get rolled in skirmishes. The items I suggested are much better at fulfilling the role your team needs mid game. TriForce is cool, but you just dropped 4K gold for something that offers very little survivability in terms of HP and resistances. Just because Dominus gives you bonus HP doesn't mean you can build something as purely offensive as Trinity Force is. Bottom line: If you want to build it, it's whatever, but I would suggest you stick to a more standard build route.



This is nice if you're jungling, but this guide focuses on laning with Renekton. If you wanted sustain, there are much, much better options.

Below I'll be going through the most common match-ups that you can expect to face in the top lane, perhaps some uncommon ones as well. To be brutally honest, I don't particularly like match-up sections. They often give players these preconceived ideas about a match-up at the loading screen, and in response to what they've read, will play the match-up according to what's "supposed" to happen, not what's going to happen in that instance. I'm giving you a rough idea of how the match-up usually plays out for me. Just because I describe it in a certain fashion doesn't necessarily mean it'll play out that way for you. Just so everyone who's skimming for a specific match-up is aware, I'm going to write a big disclaimer up here.

DISCLAIMER: Any match-up can be won or lost despite what I say based off of your skill level as well as the opponents. Junglers also play a huge role in the outcome of a lane. Take everything I say with a grain of salt.


Gangplank's harass is very strong early levels, and I wouldn't advise straight up trading with him. Farm cautiously until you can get a few combos off. You can eventually push him out of lane if he runs out of mana - when this happens, don't be afraid to force the issue.

Garen can really screw up your flow with his silence, so you have to be careful when and where you trade. If he sprints at you be sure to active your stun before you get silenced. You might want to make a chain investment early. You should win this lane after you get armor because you push faster and out-sustain him.

Irelia can be easily bullied early on in the laning phase, but as the match drags on, she'll begin to out-trade you really hard. You have to get ahead of her and keep her down, otherwise she'll run you and your team over. Pay attention to her mana pool as well - much like Gangplank, if she runs out, force the issue.

Jarvan does well against Renekton due to his passive armor buff, but I'd say you beat him. You have innate sustain, he doesn't - take advantage of that. You will lose the lane if you get hit by too many Dragon Strikes though, so don't get overconfident. Don't get abused by his passive level 1 either. It's very important to hit level 2 the same time he does.

Lee Sin is extremely difficult to lane against. Although a lot of the match-up depends on the skill level of your opponent, his W grants him armor and lifesteal, making him very sustainable and hard to trade with. If he sees you buying a lot of armor, he can counter by maxing E in lane, which deals magic damage. You cannot afford to get hit by his Q in lane.

Nidalee, like any ranged champion top lane, will try to deny you at level 1 with autoattacks. Don't be afraid to miss a few creeps until you get at least level 2 or 3. Bruiser Nidalee does surprising damage in cougar form as well, so try to avoid trading with low HP.

Pantheon's harass is very strong the entire laning phase. His spears are a relatively big nuisance, and he sets up ganks well with his stun. Cloth armor will allow you to stay in lane longer and perhaps outlast his mana pool. A tip when laning against Pantheon: be sure to autoattack him when he has his passive up before you W, otherwise 1 tick of your stun's damage is blocked.

Riven is a very strong AD caster with great mobility. Her big downfall is the lack of sustain, so this is where you must take an advantage. The trick to beating Riven is to avoid her completely until all your abilities are off cooldown. It might sound obvious, but besides Cull of the Meek, all of your cooldown timers are inferior to hers, so you have to be very picky when using abilities. Don't get harassed down for no reason, and don't let her hit 6 before you. You absolutely cannot fight her without your ult.

Tryndamere is very weak in early stages of the game. It's pretty easy to deny him any form of CS, and if he's not CSing, he's not building up Rage, which is good for you. He scales better than you unfortunately, so it's important that you make his laning experience a miserable one.

Wukong is great at hit-and-run harass. If you're unlucky, you could get baited into using your W on his clone, so learn to recognize his harass patterns. His ult does a crazy amount of damage as well, but it's relatively easy to stun him and then double dash away. Much like Riven, he has no built in sustain, so try to outlast him.

Yorick is one of those champions that no one wants to lane against. He can go something like tear into glacial shroud and poke you until you're forced to recall. He's easy to gank if his flash is down though, so call up your jungler for some assistance.

Olaf can build full tank and still trade with you because of his true damage. Early game he's not nearly as powerful as you would expect though, so don't be afraid to dish out damage of your own. If you can zone him so he can only last hit with his axe from a distance, it'll push the wave towards your tower. There you can hold the wave for a long period of time, forcing him to overextend.

Fiora gets a lot of free AD in lane, much like Trydamere, so cloth armor is a good idea. She can also block/send back some of your stun damage, so try to be unpredictable with your harass patterns. You can dash in and bait out the block, and then go back in when it wears off. Just play smart and you can win this match-up.

Talon can't do much to Renekton, especially if you start cloth armor. At most he can farm with Rake, but that pushes the wave towards your tower, which is even more dangerous for him. He'll most likely try to roam a bit if you're holding the wave, so be sure to let your team know he's missing.

Darius is strong against all melee champions, even ones with ranged harass. His Q does a great job of denying you the room to CS, and it doesn't cost a lot of mana. Darius has very limited mobility, however, so your jungler can set up a camp fire top lane and shut him down pretty hard. You have to be very careful when dashing away from him as well. If he pulls you mid animation, it'll still Apprehend you, so either do it before or after, not during. Darius is stronger at winning all-ins because his ult is so powerful with 5 stacks from his passive. I will give Renekton the edge when it comes to quick combos where Darius can't retaliate.

Jayce is one of the strongest top laners currently. He has all the benefits of a ranged hero as well as big damage nukes and a gap closer to boot. This lane will be very difficult to win by yourself. The only time you want to fight Jayce is when he switches forms in an unfavorable scenario. If his abilities are on cooldown and he switches to that form, you want to dash in and combo him.

Zed falls into the same category as Kha'Zix. He's a rather squishy AD assassin, so he can't handle straight up engagements. He's rather slippery, so it will be difficult to kill him outright. He'll be able to farm from a distance with his Q, but that should push the wave in your favor.

Vi is ridiculously strong right now. She offers a ton of damage as well as great initiation, and she's quite strong in lane as well. Excercise caution when going in for combos as she's good at retaliating in a big way. She's also great as setting up ganks, so ward often. If she attemps to harass with E, she should push the wave towards your tower. You must have good lane control if you plan on winning this match-up.

Xin Zhao is actually stronger than Renekton at level 1. His Q does so much damage that you'll find yourself at half HP if he waits for you in the river. If you try to combo him, he can easily chase after you with his slow + knock-up. His ult does a lot of damage in combination with his other skills and passive, so be sure to not get behind. He will punish you and your team otherwise. Although this match-up is complicated, I'll summarize it up nicely. You're stronger than him with your ult, and you're weaker without. Play to your strengths, and get a Sunfire Cape.

Udyr doesn't see much play top lane, but he's extremely effective at being this unmovable entity that everyone hates. Since he's top, he'll be going a Tiger build, which means you simply cannot trade with him. If you somehow manage to avoid most of his Tiger harass, his Turtle stance negates a huge chunk of your combo as well as sustains him. I would say Renekton is more useful in teamfights, so try to farm and be more relevant at later stages of the game. You start boots in this lane so he can't simply walk up and melee you in Tiger stance.

Akali doesn't do so well against Renekton. She has a hard time fitting in a lot of armor in her specialized rune page/masteries, but don't underestimate her damage. Her Q can be strong if you let her consume the mark. Don't be too scared of her shroud though, because you have some nice AoE damage. She has a much better laning presence once she hits 6, so don't play overly-cocky for no reason.

Chogath is relatively weak in this matchup early. You can abuse him up until the point that he buys an armor item. After that the lane becomes a stalemate, and if he maxes Vorpal Spikes in lane, he might even win trades. As a side note, most tanks are bad matchups for bruisers/AD casters like Renekton. They can just build defensive items after a certain point and ignore you.

Galio shouldn't be going top lane in the first place, but if for some reason he does, you can easily deal with him. Galio doesn't want to buy armor, so forcing him to lowers his damage output due to how his passive works. If he tries to outpush you, he'll run out of mana, and he can't sustain as well as you either. Remember that your W will stun him out of his ult if you activate it before he starts the channel.

Jax cannot handle a well played Renekton. You can win the lane relatively early by pushing and forcing him to miss CS. If he decides to retaliate with his dodge, either get in the brush to avoid his leap, or stun him and double dash away out of range. Keep in mind you have to do this very quickly. A couple of things to avoid in this match-up: Do not engage in long skirmishes unless you're winning heavily - Jax does high DPS due to his W and ult proc, so hit and run often. Another thing to avoid is his ult passive build up off minions into a leap strike combo. He scales better, so don't let him get too out of control.

Kennen is another ranged champion that'll give you a hard time in the early levels. However, as with most AP casters that are viable top lane, he can't handle straight up trades if you're in his face. If you play passively until you get a few levels, don't be afraid to get in and dish out some damage. One or two combos are enough to make him play from a distance. He can farm with shuriken from range though, so it's very difficult to deny him farm. He WILL punish your mistakes with his ult, so don't misplay.

Malphite is a tank that's encouraged to buy armor. One method to deal with him is risky yet effective. If you play aggressively and push early in the game, you can force him to last hit under tower. This doesn't give him the opportunity to farm and harass you at the same time - at least this way he has to choose one or the other. The lane will turn into a stalemate eventually unless you've acquired a big advantage.

Mordekaiser is very rarely seen top (he prefers mid so he can farm jungle camps), but in the event that he does lane top, you shouldn't be too worried. He pushes just as hard as you do, but it's much riskier for him, and he's almost always in range for your combo. His E harass is strong, but your combo is much more devastating.

Rumble is very weak early in the game. At level 1 he'll be forced to farm with harpoons from range, so at the very least you be able to outfarm him. He gets a tad stronger from level 5 onwards because of the huge base damage on Flamespitter, so try to avoid standing in the flames. In the event that you all-in eachother, you absolutely cannot stand on top of his ult. Make sure to punish him for overheating.

Sion probably won't be played top lane. I've played this match-up maybe a handful of times, so this info is subject to change. If he goes AD, you can lane pretty easily by purchasing Ninja Tabi. If he goes AP, you can destroy his shield before he has a chance to detonate it, so it's a win/win.

Singed is a relatively weak champion until he gets his ult and a few items. Although I have seen Singed beat people in lane, this shouldn't happen to you. Frozen Mallet is fantastic against him, so I would make it a priority by mid game or earlier. Due to singed being mainly a tank, this will turn into a stalemate unless you build up a huge advantage.

Warwick is much like Udyr in the fact that he has really strong sustain and good harass with Q. He'll buy armor against you as well. One of his biggest downfalls is the lack of a good mana pool, so if you can outlast that, you should do fine. Long trades are also a mistake due to his passive build up. Once he gets Frozen Heart you can't do much, but up until that point you should be doing absolutely fine.

Shen is a lame champion to fight top lane. His Q harass is pretty annoying and he also has a shield that negates a lot of your damage. Keep in mind that he'll match your damage by just building tank items. Once Shen buys Sunfire Cape it's very difficult to win trades. Do your best to farm and invest in a bit of magic resist early. If you see him ulting a teammates, make sure you stun him before he gets there. The shield will still be there, but at least you stopped him from turning the gank around.

Vlad excels at poking and out-sustaining melee champions top lane but is really weak until he gets to levels 7-9. You can easily force his pool by dashing in and laying down a combo. If you want you can even save your second dash to pursue him after his pool expires. Like I mentioned earlier, most casters top lane cannot handle trades in their face and are forced to run away. Don't get harassed out of lane by Vlad's Q and you should win this lane no problem.

Nasus doesn't do well against Renekton until he gets a few armor items and some mana regen. It's easy to beat Nasus because he's more focused on farming stacks for his Q, and his other abilities cost too much mana or push the wave. Eventually, however, he will buy a Frozen Fist, and after that point you won't be able to stop him from farming. Just abuse him early and you should be fine for most of the game.

Renekton beats Kha'Zix outright. He's a rather squishy assassin that can't handle the type of pressure you can put on him. Just don't let get the farm he needs to jump around the teamfight and kill your squishies, otherwise you'll be good to go.

Early Game

Your #1 goal as Renekton should be to win lane. You have a kit that's perfectly capable of winning most match-ups presented if you play them intelligently. With that in mind, early game your goals should be to:

• Farm hard and farm often
• Not die to jungle ganks
• Not get ouplayed in lane
• Not lose your tower too early
• Be active when your jungler tries to help you
• Be aware of your junglers invasive maneuvers and provide back-up if you can

Mid Game

Mid game is when objectives role around. Dragon, towers, buff control. These are all things you should recognize as important. Taking control of objectives early can set you up for a victory later in the game. If you took teleport, now is the time to start using it actively. This is when you attempt to take your opponents tower, and then go make plays in other lanes. Things to look out for mid game are as follows:

• Dragon
• Securing enemy buffs
• Pushing down towers
• Play-making in other lanes
• Wards

Keep in mind that mid-game is the point at which you might be strongest, so forcing teamfights over big objectives is actually encouraged. If you know you're stronger than them, don't be afraid to initiate onto an appropriate target. Communicate to your team and be a leader. If the enemy is in prime position to get tower dived, don't be afraid to tank the turret for your team. Making plays mid-game can seal the win for your team.

Late Game

When late game rolls around, if the game made it that far, is when you should constantly be roaming as 5. There should be sufficient ward coverage on the map so you have an idea of enemy positions whenever possible. Baron is a definite possibility during this time, so if you and your team screw up, you can expect a potentially game ending turn of events. Pick advantageous spots to fight in, and try not to get engaged on in an unfavorable fashion. Securing team buffs are always relevant, and taking buffs away from important targets might just win you a fight. Things to look out for late game are:

• Baron
• Buffs
• Split-Pushing
• Backdooring
• Not getting caught
• Fighting with a purpose

Team Fighting

As Renekton, you should ideally not be the first person in. Once initial CC's are blown, its your chance to enter. Dash into the enemy team while ulted and try to reach their carry. Chances are he'll try to kite you, but with ghost, this should be relatively difficult. Use any actives if you have them - GhostBlade, Randuins, etc. - and see if you can catch him. If you can stun their carry, you've effectively done your job in lowering the DPS of that enemy to 0 for a couple of seconds. Every second he's not hitting one of your other teammates is a second that Renekton is doing his job. If you try to go in and get focused down hard, hope to god that your team can wreck house while all their abilities are on cooldown. If you serve as the main peeler, stun the enemy diving onto your carry. Renekton works really well with another diver, as the 2 of you can initiate onto their carry and attempt to instagib them. If you're the main damage soak/initiator, while this isn't ideal, the best you can do is Ghost in and stun the determined focus. Play intelligently, make smart choices, focus the right targets, and you should leave the game with a win. If your team needs a leader, you have to be that guy.

Here I'll be posting videos that highlight the more important aspects of Renekton gameplay. These can be full length games or short clips. Stay tuned for future updates to this chapter.










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I would firstly like to apologize for taking so long to get this guide updated for S3. I want people to come here for all their Renekton questions, and with it being out of commission for so long, I probably left a lot of people to go elsewhere for information. I'd like to extend an invitation for you guys to once again go through the sections I've updated and give me your opinion on what needs tweaking.

Feel free to post in the comment section if you want to discuss anything mentioned in the guide. If I missed a lane match-up or don't have an item listed that you'd like my opinion on, you can request that as well. I'll take any criticism you have, both positive and negative, as it can only make the guide better. Thanks guys.

- xRustySpoon