Champion Guide

Gangplank Guide

By LoLSuggest

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Gangplank is a high-skill top laner who deals huge damage from range with Powder Kegs. Parrrley pokes and last-hits from distance, Trial by Fire empowers an attack with a burn, Remove Scurvy cleanses crowd control and heals, and Powder Keg barrels chain their explosions to slow and crit everyone caught. Cannon Barrage lets him impact fights anywhere on the map. He is oppressive in lane and strong at every stage when he is not behind, but easy to punish when he misplays.

Recommended Setup

Our recommended Gangplank build

Our recommended runes, summoner spells and items. Compare build win rates on the stats page.

Items

Starting Items

Core Items

Situational Items

Start Doran's Bow, or Doran's Helm against mixed damage and early all-ins, and Doran's Shield in very hard matchups. Essence Reaver is the first item, followed by Infinity Edge, Lord Dominik's Regards against tanky teams or Immortal Shieldbow for survivability; The Collector is a snowball option. Voltaic Cyclosword works against squishy teams, Death's Dance against assassins, and for the last slot Youmuu's Ghostblade against ranged teams or Endless Hunger against melee teams. Rush Bramble Vest against Fiora, Irelia or Rengar. Gluttonous Greaves are standard, Boots of Swiftness help against slows. Run Deathfire Touch with Nimbus Cloak, Transcendence and Scorch, plus Legend: Haste and Cut Down; swap the secondary to Bone Plating and Unflinching against Riven, Fiora or Aatrox, or take Arcane Comet against ranged laners. Take Flash with Ignite, or Teleport. Max Q, then E, then W.

Runes

Primary Tree

Secondary Tree

Summoner Spells

Skill Max Order

Strengths

Big damage and big range: most top laners can do little against Parrrley poke.
Strong at every stage of the game when not behind.
Cannon Barrage impacts fights across the whole map.

Weaknesses

One of the hardest champions to master, and easy to punish when you misplay.
No crowd control apart from barrel slows, and vulnerable to dives.
Useless when behind, and from top lane he often lacks a frontline.

Laning Phase

Against melee champions keep a barrel at your feet so you cannot simply be run down. Use Parrrley to farm and poke, keeping a good balance between last hits and harassment, and run the enemy down once they are low enough. Learn the key combos: the triple passive, the triple barrel and the one-part barrel chain. With Arcane Comet, play aggressive poke and stack Manaflow Band early; with First Strike, farm its procs with barrels or Q instead of spending mana carelessly.

Mid & Late Game

In the mid and late game Gangplank can both teamfight and split push, but group more often than not, because he is very easy to dive. Play in the backline, land barrels on the enemy team and stay safe; if someone dives you, a triple passive combo can often one-shot them. Use Cannon Barrage to help fights and objectives on other parts of the map.

Key Tips

Keep a Powder Keg next to you in lane against melee opponents so they cannot all-in you for free.
Remove Scurvy cleanses crowd control, so save it for the stun that would get you killed.
Barrels chain explosions, so place a second barrel to extend your reach onto enemies.
Practice the triple passive combo: it is your strongest damage against divers.

Matchups

Matchups and synergies

Our picks for difficult opponents, favorable lanes and strong allies. Compare matchup win rates on the stats page.