Olaf is straightforward — Q to slow, W for attack speed and healing, E for true damage, and R when CC'd or diving. His passive makes him deal more damage at low HP, meaning he's literally stronger when hurt. R into CC-heavy teamfights.
Abilities
Skills Overview
P
Berserker Rage
Passive
Olaf gains Attack Speed and Life Steal based on his missing Health.
Q
Undertow
Undertow — Throws an axe that slows. Picking it up resets cooldown.
Olaf 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.
CD: 9 · Cost: 50/55/60/65/70
Pick up the thrown axe to immediately reset Q cooldown — position behind the enemy so the axe lands where you're running.
W
Tough It Out
Vicious Strikes — Attack speed boost and omnivamp for several seconds
Olaf's Attack Speed is increased and he gains a Shield.
CD: 16/15/14/13/12 · Cost: 50
Activate W before engaging for attack speed and omnivamp healing immediately in fights.
E
Reckless Swing
Reckless Swing — True damage that costs HP, heals when killing a target
Olaf attacks with such force that it deals true damage to his target and himself, refunding the Health cost if he destroys the target.
CD: 11/10/9/8/7 · Cost: 0
E deals true damage — it costs HP but use it in every trade since true damage bypasses armor.
R
Ragnarok
Ragnarok — CC immunity, bonus resistances, and dash to target
Olaf passively gains increased armor and magic resist. He can activate this ability to become immune to disables for as long as he keeps attacking.
CD: 100/90/80 · Cost: 100
R through CC to reach backline carries. R while CC'd removes the CC immediately and lets you continue.
Skill Leveling Order — Max E for maximum true damage output. Then Q for slow reliability, last W.
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Itemization
Recommended Builds
Starter
Doran's Blade
AD and lifesteal sustain — W omnivamp and lifesteal stack for massive E trade healing.
450g
Core
Titanic Hydra
HP scaling and AoE cleave — E true damage scales with HP items. Titanic cleave amplifies melee burst.
3300g
Stridebreaker
Slow prevents enemies from escaping after Q throw. Attack speed amplifies W and E trading windows.
3300g
Sterak's Gage
Shield when low HP — Olaf deals more damage at low HP and Sterak's keeps him alive longer.
3100g
Situational
Guardian Angel
Revive insurance for R dive patterns into the enemy backline.
3200g
Spirit Visage
MR and healing amp — amplifies W omnivamp during extended fights.
2900g
Thornmail
Grievous Wounds vs healing comps. Armor for extended melee fighting.
2700g
Titanic Hydra is your most important item — HP scaling makes E true damage much more impactful and his low-HP damage bonus hits harder.
Runes
Precision Primary
Conqueror
Stacks with E true damage and W attack speed autos. Full Conqueror healing with W omnivamp is massive.
Triumph
Kill heals during the low-HP high-damage phase — Triumph keeps the chain going.
Legend: Alacrity
Attack speed stacks Conqueror faster during W active and amplifies E true damage proc rate.
Last Stand
Olaf's passive increases AD at low HP — Last Stand stacks with this for devastating low-HP damage bursts.
Resolve Secondary
Bone Plating
Reduces burst damage during the approach before R and W can activate.
Unflinching
Tenacity before R is available — reduces CC duration that prevents approach.
Shards
Attack Damage · Armor · Health
Gameplay
How to Play Olaf
01
Early Game
Early Phase
- Q axe → pick it up to reset → Q again for constant slowing harassment.
- W before trades for attack speed and omnivamp.
- E every trade for true damage.
- His passive means you should take trades even at low HP — you deal more damage.
02
Mid Game
Mid Phase
- Splitpush and 1v1 — R makes you immune to CC.
- No champion with CC can fight you during R.
- Join teamfights by R into their team through their CC-chain.
03
Late Game
Late Phase
- R through any frontline CC to reach their ADC — nothing stops you.
- W for attack speed and omnivamp, E for true damage, and auto-attack the carry to death while R makes you CC immune.
Teamfighting
How to Teamfight as Olaf
Olaf's teamfight pattern is simple — Q slow the carry, W for attack speed, R through frontline CC, and E true damage the backline. His CC immunity makes him one of the best divers in the game.
1
Engage — R Through CC
Fight opener
01
Activate W immediately for attack speed and omnivamp before engaging.
02
R when enemy CC abilities land or when you're about to be CC'd — removes it instantly.
03
Q to slow the carry — pick up the axe for immediate reset then Q again.
R doesn't need to be activated pre-emptively — wait until CC actually lands then R to remove it instantly and continue.
2
Mid-Fight — E True Damage
Sustained DPS
01
E every time it's available — true damage bypasses all armor. Never skip E in a fight.
02
Low HP = more damage from passive — don't retreat when low. Continue fighting.
03
W omnivamp heals through all incoming damage during the fight.
3
Cleanup — Axe Reset Chase
Chase phase
01
Q the fleeing carry — pick up the axe immediately for a second Q slow.
02
Titanic Hydra cleave ensures minion-wave Q pickups aren't wasted on non-carrying targets.
03
Sterak's shield activates at low HP — survive longer to deal the Last Stand + passive bonus damage.
Position your Q throw BEHIND the enemy — when you run them down, you'll naturally pick up the axe for the instant reset without having to backtrack.
Tips & Tricks
Advanced Mechanics & Hidden Tech
Advanced mechanics for Olaf.
Basic
Throw Q behind fleeing enemies
you'll pick it up naturally while chasing for the instant reset.
Intermediate
R removes CC instantly
don't pre-cast R. Wait until you're actually CC'd then activate.
Intermediate
W omnivamp heals every attack
activate W before fighting for immediate sustain.
Advanced
E costs HP but deals true damage
always use E in trades. The HP cost is worth the true damage.
Basic
Passive gives bonus AD at low HP
fight harder when low health, not safer.
Intermediate
R also dashes to a target
use it as a gap closer to reach backline carries in teamfights.
Advanced
Your CC immunity during R makes you a perfect fron
Your CC immunity during R makes you a perfect frontline diver into Malphite R or Amumu R teams.
Advanced
Conqueror + W omnivamp healing stacks make Olaf ne
Conqueror + W omnivamp healing stacks make Olaf nearly unkillable in extended fights.
Matchups
Counters & Matchups
Olaf's lack of CC of his own (beyond Q slow) makes him vulnerable to mobile champions who can kite out of his Q range and champions who build Grievous Wounds to shut down his omnivamp.
Click any matchup to expand tips & how to play against them
Loses Against
Vayne's Condemn pushes Olaf away before Q reset pickup. True damage cuts through W omnivamp healing rapidly.
R when Vayne Condemns to remove the knockback effect. Build Sterak's — her true damage escalates without healing amp.
Quinn's range keeps her outside Q throw range. Vault knockback prevents Olaf from closing the gap for E true damage.
R toward Quinn after she Vaults — her Vault has a long CD after use. Only commit when Vault is unavailable.
Fiora's W Parry blocks Olaf's E true damage proc. Her Vitals deal true damage that trades evenly with Olaf's E.
Bait Fiora's W before using E. Her Parry CD is long early — the window after it expires is your kill window.
Wins Against
Olaf's R makes Malphite's entire kit (Q slow, R knockup) irrelevant during R. E true damage ignores Malphite's armor scaling.
R through Malphite's R — you're CC immune. E true damage bypasses all his armor stacking.
R makes Cho'Gath's Q knockup and W silence meaningless. E true damage ignores his enormous HP stacking.
R removes Cho'Gath's CC the instant it lands. E true damage hits his massive HP for significant flat damage.
Amumu's entire kit is CC that Olaf R ignores. W omnivamp sustains through his Despair burn.
R through Amumu's R bandage wrap. His kit has zero answer to CC-immune Olaf with true damage.