Hecarim is a diving bruiser who runs at the enemy team at full speed and fears everyone with R. Ghost + E charge gives him obscene movement speed, which converts to AD through his passive. He wants to fight constantly.
Abilities
Skills Overview
P
Warpath
Passive
Hecarim gains Attack Damage equal to a percentage of his bonus Move Speed.
Warpath converts bonus movement speed into AD. Build MS items and use Ghost for massive AD spikes.
Q
Rampage
AoE · Spam
Hecarim cleaves nearby enemies dealing physical damage. If Hecarim damages at least one enemy, he increases the damage and lowers the cooldown of subsequent Rampages.
CD: 4 · Cost: 28/26/24/22/20
Q has a 1s cooldown at max rank. Spam it constantly in fights and on camps. Each Q lowers its own cooldown.
W
Spirit of Dread
AoE · Heal
Hecarim 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.
CD: 14 · Cost: 50/55/60/65/70
W heals you for a percentage of all damage dealt by NEARBY allies too. In teamfights, W heals you massively.
E
Devastating Charge
Charge · Knockback · MS
Hecarim 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.
CD: 20/19/18/17/16 · Cost: 60
E charges up over 3 seconds, gaining MS. The auto-attack at the end knocks back and deals bonus damage based on distance traveled.
R
Onslaught of Shadows
Dash · AoE · Fear
Hecarim 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.
CD: 140/120/100 · Cost: 100
R is an unstoppable dash that fears all enemies hit. Use it to engage or escape — you're unstoppable during the dash.
Skill Leveling Order — Max Q first, then E, then W · R at 6 / 11 / 16
| Level | Q | W | E | R | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Take Q — AoE spam | ||||
| 2 | Take W — sustain | ||||
| 3 | Take E — charge knockback | ||||
| 4 | Level Q | ||||
| 5 | Level Q | ||||
| 6 | R — Onslaught of Shadows | ||||
| 7 | Level Q | ||||
| 8 | Level E | ||||
| 9 | Q maxed ✓ | ||||
| 10 | Level E | ||||
| 11 | R rank 2 | ||||
| 12 | Level E | ||||
| 13 | Level E | ||||
| 14 | E maxed ✓ | ||||
| 15 | Level W | ||||
| 16 | R rank 3 | ||||
| 17 | Level W | ||||
| 18 | W maxed ✓ |
Itemization
Recommended Builds
Starter Items
Gustwalker Smite
MS burst synergizes with passive AD conversion.
450g
Long Sword
AD for clear.
350g
Refillable Potion
Sustain.
150g
Core Build
Trinity Force
Spellblade proc on Q spam. MS + AD + HP — perfect stats.
3333g
Ionian Boots
CDR for Q spam and lower E/R cooldowns.
950g
Sterak's Gage
Shield when low HP. Keeps you alive after diving.
3100g
Death's Dance
Bleed passive delays damage. Heal on kill extends your life in fights.
3300g
Situational
Spirit Visage
Increases W healing. MR vs AP threats.
2900g
Randuin's Omen
Crit reduction vs fed ADCs.
2700g
Force of Nature
MS + MR. Movement speed converts to AD via passive.
2800g
Trinity Force rush always. Sheen proc on Q is your main damage. Then build tanky to survive your dives.
Runes
Precision Primary
Conqueror
Q spam stacks Conqueror instantly. Healing at max stacks keeps you alive in extended fights.
Triumph
Heal on takedown — critical for surviving after diving.
Legend: Tenacity
Tenacity prevents being chain-CCed during your charge.
Last Stand
Bonus damage when low HP — you're always low after diving in.
Inspiration Secondary
Magical Footwear
Free boots + bonus MS. More MS = more AD from passive.
Cosmic Insight
Summoner spell CDR for Ghost uptime.
Shards
Adaptive Force · Adaptive Force · Health
Gameplay
How to Play Hecarim
01
Early Game
Fast Clear, Ghost Ganks
- Start Red → Raptors → Krugs → Wolves → Blue → Gromp. Q spam makes clear fast.
- Take Ghost over Flash. Ghost + E gives massive MS for ganks and converts to AD.
- Level 3 ganks with E charge + Q are strong. Run at them from behind — E knockback pushes toward your tower.
- Q reduces its own cooldown on hit. Spam it constantly on camps for faster clear.
- Avoid early 1v1s vs strong duelists. Your power spikes at Trinity Force.
02
Mid Game
Dive and Skirmish
- Trinity Force spike is massive. Sheen proc on every Q deals huge damage.
- Ghost + E + R is your full engage. Run at the enemy, E knockback, R fear, Q spam.
- In dragon fights, R the enemy team for the AoE fear. Your team follows up for free.
- W heals you based on ALL nearby damage. In teamfights with 10 people fighting, W healing is enormous.
- Dive towers with R. You're unstoppable during R dash and can fear the tower defender.
03
Late Game
Frontline Charger
- You're the engager. Ghost → E charge → R into the enemy backline. Fear the carries and Q them down.
- W in the middle of a teamfight heals you for insane amounts. Don't use W before the fight — save it for when everyone is fighting.
- Death's Dance + Sterak's makes you deceptively tanky. You can survive diving into 5 people.
- Flank from the side for longer E charge distance = more damage and knockback.
- If behind, peel for your carry instead of diving. E knockback and R fear peel divers off your ADC.
Teamfighting
How to Teamfight as Hecarim
Hecarim is a frontline diver. He charges into the enemy team, fears everyone with R, and Q spams until they're dead.
1
Charge — Ghost + E
Before engage
01
Activate Ghost first for maximum speed.
02
E from far away — longer charge = more damage.
03
Run at the backline. Ignore the frontline.
Don't charge into 5 people without R. E alone isn't enough to survive the engage.
2
Engage — R Fear
The dive
01
R into the grouped enemy. Fear everyone nearby.
02
E knockback the carry into your team.
03
W immediately for healing from all nearby damage.
3
Sustain — Q Spam + W Healing
Extended fight
01
Q spam on cooldown. Each Q lowers its cooldown. You're hitting every second.
02
W heals you from all nearby damage — allied and your own.
03
Conqueror + Trinity proc on every Q keeps your DPS high.
W heals based on ALL damage dealt nearby, including your teammates'. In a full 5v5, W healing is absurd.
Tips & Tricks
Advanced Mechanics & Hidden Tech
Advanced mechanics for Hecarim.
Basic
Ghost over Flash
Always take Ghost. The MS converts to AD through passive, and Ghost + E gives you the longest charge possible. Flash is inferior on Hecarim.
Intermediate
E Charge Direction
E knockback pushes enemies in the direction you're running. Come from behind them to knock them toward your team/tower.
Basic
Q Spam
Q has a 1-second cooldown at max rank and gets lower with each hit. In fights, press Q every second. It's most of your damage.
Advanced
R Unstoppable
You are unstoppable during R dash. Use it to dodge CC abilities like Veigar cage or Jinx traps by R-dashing through them.
Intermediate
W Teamfight Timing
Don't W before the fight. Wait until EVERYONE is fighting — W heals based on all nearby damage, so more people fighting = more healing.
Advanced
E + R Combo
Start E, charge at the enemy, then R mid-charge for a combined knockback + fear. The enemy goes from full HP to CC'd for 2+ seconds.
Basic
Passive AD
Your passive converts bonus MS to AD. Buy items with movement speed (Trinity Force, Force of Nature, boots) for free AD.
Matchups
Counters & Matchups
Hecarim struggles against champions who can kite him or reduce his movement speed. He excels against immobile teams he can charge into.
Click any matchup to expand tips & how to play against them
Loses Against
Udyr matches your MS and out-duels you with stun + sustained damage. He clears faster and invades freely.
Don't fight Udyr alone. Outgank him with R engage. Your teamfighting is much better.
Trundle pillar slows you, killing your MS and AD. His R steals your stats. He wins every 1v1.
Avoid Trundle 1v1. Focus on ganking and teamfighting where he's less impactful.
Kindred's R negates your burst dive and she kites you with range.
Force short trades with E knockback. Don't commit to all-ins when her R is up.
Wins Against
Amumu can't stop your charge. You run him over in 1v1 and outpace his ganks.
Invade and fight him freely. You win every 1v1. Contest his camps.
Karthus can't escape your E charge. Run at him and he dies every time.
Ghost + E from anywhere on the map. He has no escape.
Evelynn pre-6 is a free kill for your charge. Post-6 your R reveals the area so team can see her.
Invade her camps pre-6. She can't fight you at any point in the early game.