Rammus is the ultimate counter to AD teams. Roll in with Q, taunt with E, activate W, and watch enemies kill themselves attacking you. Pick Rammus when the enemy has 3+ AD threats.
Abilities
Skills Overview
P
Spiked Shell
Passive
Rammus gains bonus Attack Damage scaling with his Armor and Magic Resistance.
Spiked Shell: basic attacks deal bonus magic damage based on armor. Stack armor = more auto damage.
Q
Powerball
MS · Knockback · Slow
Rammus accelerates in a ball towards his enemies, dealing damage and slowing targets affected by the impact.
CD: 12/10.5/9/7.5/6 · Cost: 60
Powerball: roll at high speed, knockback first enemy hit. Perfect engage tool.
W
Defensive Ball Curl
Reflect · Armor · Slow Self
Rammus goes into a defensive formation, vastly increasing his Armor and Magic Resistance, and returning damage to enemies that attack him.
CD: 7 · Cost: 40
Defensive Ball Curl: massive armor + MR, reflects damage to attackers. Slows you. Use during taunt, not while chasing.
E
Frenzying Taunt
Taunt · Armor Shred
Rammus taunts an enemy champion or monster into a reckless assault against him.
CD: 12 · Cost: 50
Frenzied Taunt: forces enemy to auto you. Combined with W, they kill themselves hitting you.
R
Soaring Slam
AoE · Knockup · Aftershock
Rammus hops into the air and slams down at a target area, dealing magic damage and slowing enemies. If cast while Rammus is in Powerball, Rammus knocks up enemies near the center as well.
CD: 120/105/90 · Cost: 100
Soaring Slam: leap into the air, slam down for AoE + aftershock. Creates tremor zone.
Skill Leveling Order — Max E first, then W, then Q · R at 6 / 11 / 16
| Level | Q | W | E | R | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Take Q — engage | ||||
| 2 | Take W — reflect | ||||
| 3 | Take E — taunt | ||||
| 4 | Level E | ||||
| 5 | Level E | ||||
| 6 | R — Soaring Slam | ||||
| 7 | Level E | ||||
| 8 | Level W | ||||
| 9 | E maxed ✓ | ||||
| 10 | Level W | ||||
| 11 | R rank 2 | ||||
| 12 | Level W | ||||
| 13 | Level W | ||||
| 14 | W maxed ✓ | ||||
| 15 | Level Q | ||||
| 16 | R rank 3 | ||||
| 17 | Level Q | ||||
| 18 | Q maxed ✓ |
Itemization
Recommended Builds
Starter Items
Scorchclaw Smite
Burn for gank damage.
450g
Refillable Potion
Sustain.
150g
Core Build
Thornmail
Reflect damage + grievous wounds. Core identity item.
2700g
Plated Steelcaps
Armor + auto damage reduction.
1100g
Sunfire Cape
Immolate burn while taunting enemies next to you.
2700g
Randuin's Omen
Crit reduction + AoE slow.
2700g
Situational
Force of Nature
MR + MS vs AP threats.
2800g
Frozen Heart
AS slow + armor.
2500g
Gargoyle Stoneplate
Massive shield in teamfights.
3200g
Thornmail first always. Then stack armor. Every point of armor = more passive damage and more W reflect.
Runes
Resolve Primary
Aftershock
Procs on E taunt. Free resistances + AoE damage.
Font of Life
E taunt marks enemies for ally healing.
Conditioning
Free armor + MR at 12 min.
Unflinching
Tenacity when low HP.
Precision Secondary
Triumph
Heal on takedown.
Legend: Tenacity
Tenacity so you can't be peeled off your taunt target.
Shards
Ability Haste · Armor · Health
Gameplay
How to Play Rammus
01
Early Game
Roll into Lanes
- Start Blue → Gromp → Wolves → Raptors → Red → Krugs. W reflect makes clear healthy.
- Q ganks are devastating. Roll from river and knockback the laner.
- E taunt forces the enemy to auto you. W + E = they take more damage than they deal.
- Avoid AP junglers early — your armor stacking is useless vs magic damage.
- Focus on ganking AD laners. Your kit is designed to counter auto-attackers.
02
Mid Game
Taunt the Carry
- Q → E → W is your full combo. Roll in, taunt, reflect. The ADC kills themselves.
- Thornmail + W reflect = any auto-attacker dies hitting you.
- R creates a tremor zone. Use it after engaging for AoE damage and slow.
- Focus the enemy ADC in every fight. Taunt them and they can't escape or fight back.
- You're the engage. Roll in first, taunt the carry, let your team follow up.
03
Late Game
Unkillable AD Counter
- Full armor Rammus vs AD comps is unkillable. 500+ armor with W active.
- Taunt the ADC every fight. They literally cannot stop auto-attacking you, dealing damage to themselves.
- R tremor zone + Sunfire + Thornmail = massive AoE damage while being immortal.
- Don't pick Rammus into AP-heavy comps. Your kit is armor-based and useless vs mages.
- Peel for your carry if needed. Q knockback + E taunt stops any diver.
Teamfighting
How to Teamfight as Rammus
Rammus rolls into the enemy ADC, taunts them, and watches them kill themselves. It's that simple.
1
Engage — Q Roll
Get in
01
Q from fog of war into the enemy carry.
02
Knockback on impact.
03
Immediately E taunt.
Q can be interrupted by CC. Don't roll through Thresh, Leona, etc.
2
Reflect — W + E
The punishment
01
W after taunt. Maximum reflect damage while they're forced to auto.
02
Thornmail reflects + grievous wounds.
03
R for AoE tremor around you.
3
Tank — Absorb Everything
Frontline
01
You're nearly unkillable vs AD.
02
Peel with E taunt if divers target your carry.
03
Q to chase fleeing enemies.
Rammus into 4-5 AD comps has the highest win rate of any jungler matchup. ALWAYS pick Rammus into full AD teams.
Tips & Tricks
Advanced Mechanics & Hidden Tech
Advanced mechanics for Rammus.
Basic
Taunt + Reflect
E forces enemies to auto you. W reflects auto damage. Together, they kill themselves hitting you. This is your entire kit.
Intermediate
W Timing
W gives massive armor but SLOWS you. Only activate W during taunt (when you don't need to move). Turn it off when chasing.
Basic
Counter-Pick Identity
Only pick Rammus into AD-heavy comps. Against 3+ AP, pick a different tank. Your kit is designed for armor stacking.
Intermediate
R Jump
R can jump over small walls. Use it for surprise engages from behind terrain.
Basic
Q Engage
Q rolls faster over time. Start from far away for maximum speed and knockback distance.
Advanced
Taunt Priority
Always taunt the AUTO-ATTACK carry. ADCs, Master Yi, Tryndamere — anyone who relies on autos suffers most from W reflect.
Matchups
Counters & Matchups
Rammus hard-counters AD auto-attackers. He struggles against AP-heavy comps and champions who don't rely on auto-attacks.
Click any matchup to expand tips & how to play against them
Loses Against
Lillia's AP burn doesn't proc your reflect. She kites you endlessly with Q speed.
You can't catch Lillia. Focus on taunting her teammates instead.
Elise deals magic damage and kites your Q with rappel. Your armor is useless vs her burst.
Avoid Elise. She deals AP damage — your armor does nothing. Focus on her AD laners.
Fiddle's AoE magic damage ignores your armor. His drain heals through your reflect.
Don't fight Fiddlesticks. He's AP and doesn't auto-attack. Focus elsewhere.
Wins Against
Yi is the ultimate Rammus victim. Full auto-attacker who kills himself on your W reflect + thornmail.
Taunt Yi every fight. He literally kills himself hitting you. Free win.
Kindred is a ranged auto-attacker. Taunt + reflect destroys her DPS.
Q roll at Kindred, taunt, she dies to her own autos. Even her R just delays the inevitable.
Graves is full AD. Your armor + reflect destroys his entire kit.
Q → E → W. Graves kills himself on your reflect. He can't build enough damage to overcome your armor.