League of Legends champion profile: Hecarim, the Shadow of War

Ability Description

"Passive (Warpath) – Hecarim gains 15% − 30% of his bonus movement speed as bonus attack damage."

A very basic passive, and easy to understand, but it gives Hecarim his unique playstyle and identity. Simply put, build movement speed to gain more damage.

"Q (Rampage) – Hecarim cleaves nearby enemies, dealing physical damage. If he damages at least one enemy with Rampage, its base cooldown is reduced by 1 second and the damage is increased by 10% for 8 seconds, stacking up to twice."

Rampage is Hecarim’s primary damage ability, given how low the cooldown is, even without the stacking mechanic. It also makes his jungle clear so incredibly quick and powerful, and the main reason why he synergizes so well with Sheen items.

"W (Spirit of Dread) – Hecarim surrounds himself with the spirit of dread for 4 seconds, dealing magic damage per second to all enemies within its reach. While Spirit of Dread is active, he is healed for 30% of the damage taken by enemies from any source within the area."

This is a nice source of mixed damage for Hecarim, but primarily you’ll want to use it as a method of sustain. Especially when clearing the jungle, Spirit of Dread can give a lot of health back and enable him to survive for far longer. It does have a very long cooldown and high mana cost, so try to use it sparingly.

"E (Devastating Charge) – Hecarim is temporarily ghosted and gains bonus movement speed for 4 seconds, beginning at 25% and increasing to 75% over 3 seconds. While charging, his next basic attack gains bonus range and causes him to dash to his target, knocking them back and dealing physical damage, ending its effects in the process."

This is the best engage tool and source of damage outside of his ult. Not only does it allow Hecarim to gain speed on the attack, but thanks to his passive it also gives him bonus damage on top of the bonus range he gains.

"R (Devastating Charge) – Hecarim summons spectral riders and dashes in the target direction with them unstoppable, dealing magic damage to all enemies in their path. Enemies within the range of where Hecarim stops are also made to flee from him for 0.75 − 1.5 (based on distance traveled) seconds, also gradually slowing them by up to 99% over the duration. This slow cannot be reduced. The wave of spectral riders travels through Onslaught of Shadows’s full length, regardless of where Hecarim himself stops."

This is Hecarim’s big engage tool, since it makes him unstoppable you can use it to dive into the back line of the enemy team with ease. It is a line skill shot, so it’s easy for the enemies to dodge, but if you hit it the result will be devastating.

As the description indicates, the damage from this ability will travel the full range of this ability, regardless of how far you have Hecarim travel on it. Where you land Hecarim, though, is most critical with regards to landing the crowd control, so try to land it right on the enemies that are priority targets.

Types of Scaling

Passive – bonus MS
Q – bonus AD
W – AP
E – bonus AD
R – AP

Crowd control

Knockback on his E
Fear and slow on his R

Game stage power

Strength in early game/laning – low

Given how Hecarim scales off bonus AD and movement speed, two stats that won’t be readily available to you without some items completed, Hecarim will struggle to duel at this stage. He can also be very mana hungry before he gets an item like Sheen or Frozen Heart.

Strength in mid game/skirmishes – high

This is where Hecarim really shines, especially when he gets upgraded boots and Trinity Force. Completing these two items gives Hecarim his biggest power spike in the game.

Hecarim also thrives in these disorganized skirmishes, more than full-blown team fights. He can leverage fights in those tight corridors to land big engages with his ults, while still having the ability to isolate and blow-up single targets.

Strength in late game/team fights – low/medium

After this power spike, however, Hecarim begins to struggle in the later stages of the game. Other champions are beginning to build resistances so his initial burst doesn’t hurt as bad unless he itemizes full damage. If he does that, however, he’ll be too vulnerable if he dives in, since he doesn’t have a good way of getting out.

Sure, Hecarim will still bring that unstoppable engage to disrupt the back line, but he’ll either kill someone and die instantly or live but do no damage. In addition, during those late game, spread-out team fights where the carries can either kite back or have the tanks peel for them, Hecarim can struggle to get off any damage. If he’s not impeded, though, he still has that full-on nuke ability.