Gangplank ARAM Build and Guide

Updated for patch 26.21. Ability details come from Riot’s official game data for this patch; ARAM balance numbers come from the League of Legends Wiki’s champion data.

A Gangplank ARAM build stacks Critical Strike so each powder keg spreads a crit across the enemy team, with Spellblade and cooldown items on the side. Riot gives him 105% damage dealt here and lists nothing else, which suits a champion whose kegs already love a crowded lane.

Powder Keg decided most of this list, read straight from the patch 26.21 ability text. Win rates didn’t factor in.

How is Gangplank changed in ARAM?

Just the one line. Gangplank deals 105% damage on the Howling Abyss, and the Wiki’s data has no other entry for him, so damage taken and healing stay at their normal values. A damage buff on a champion who spreads his damage? That multiplies nicely. Every keg explosion carries the damage of his attack to every enemy in the area, so a few extra percent shows up once per enemy hit, not once per swing (on a good keg, that’s the whole enemy team).

Why does Gangplank fit the Howling Abyss?

Area damage plus a narrow lane. That’s the short version, and the rest of this page is the long one. His kit, per Riot’s patch 26.21 data:

• Trial by Fire (passive): every few seconds his melee strike sets the target on fire.
• Parrrley (Q): shoots a target, plundering Gold for each enemy unit it kills. Cooldown 4.5.
• Remove Scurvy (W): eats citrus to cure crowd control and restore Health. Cooldown 22/20/18/16/14.
• Powder Keg (E): uncovers a keg; attacking it makes it explode, spreading the attack’s damage to enemies in the area and slowing them.
• Cannon Barrage (R): his ship bombards an area, slowing and damaging enemies. Cooldown 160/140/120.

Powder Keg is the whole reason to pick him. In ARAM, enemies walk the same narrow lane all game, so a keg placed in the middle of it will have targets. The explosion slows everyone it hits, which sets up the next keg. Cannon Barrage helps too, since it slows and damages an area, and the enemy team tends to fight in one. Remove Scurvy covers his biggest weakness for one fight at a time: a crowd control chain in a mode full of them. The catch is range and mobility. At 125 range with no dash, a diver who reaches him has him.

What should a Gangplank ARAM build focus on?

Critical Strike first, because a keg spreads the damage of the attack that detonates it, then cooldowns and Armor Penetration. Four items plus boots.

Trinity Force is the opener. Spellblade adds bonus physical damage to the next attack after he uses an ability, Quicken gives 20 Move Speed for 2 seconds on attack (the only speed boost he’ll get), and the item’s 333 Health gives him a bit of a cushion. The 15 Ability Haste shortens Remove Scurvy’s cooldown, which matters in a mode where he needs it every fight.

Infinity Edge second. Its 75 Attack Damage, 25% Critical Strike Chance and 30% Critical Strike Damage go straight into keg damage, since the keg spreads whatever the detonating attack dealt. A crit on a keg is a crit on everyone near it. That’s where Gangplank’s ARAM damage comes from.

Navori Flickerblade comes third. Transcendence makes each attack reduce his basic ability cooldowns by 15% of what’s left, so Parrrley and Remove Scurvy come back faster the more he swings, and kegs give him plenty of reasons to swing. It also brings 40% Attack Speed and 25% Critical Strike Chance.

Lord Dominik’s Regards closes it out with 35% Armor Penetration and Giant Slayer, which adds damage against champions carrying bonus Health. ARAM tanks stack Health quickly. Boots: Ionian Boots of Lucidity for more haste, or Mercury’s Treads when the enemy team has several stuns (Remove Scurvy only cures one chain at a time).

How do you play Gangplank on the Howling Abyss?

• Place kegs ahead of the fight, not during it. The keg has to exist before he can attack it, so set them where the enemy will walk.
• Detonate with crits when possible. The explosion spreads the attack’s damage, crit included, to every enemy in the area.
• Keep Remove Scurvy for the big stun. It cures crowd control and heals, and in ARAM the second engage usually matters more than the first.
• Drop Cannon Barrage on a stacked team. It slows and damages in an area, and it pairs with kegs placed in the same spot.
• Farm with Parrrley between fights. Each enemy unit it kills plunders extra Gold, and ARAM has a steady stream of minions.

How do shopping and Mark work for Gangplank?

Recall doesn’t exist here. You buy at the fountain at the start and again after each death, and Parrrley’s extra Gold makes every trip a bit richer than it would be on other champions. Start toward Trinity Force: Spellblade does work from Sheen alone. The Health relics along the lane are useful because Remove Scurvy is his only heal.

Summoner spells lock before the game loads. Mark throws a snowball, and on a hit, you can dash to the target. Does a keg champion want to dash forward? Not usually. He wants distance, and Flash keeps it, so for what it’s worth, Mark is a poor fit unless your team already has the engage covered.

Is Gangplank good in ARAM?

Yes, and the map is the main reason. With 105% damage dealt and no other change, he plays his usual kit, and kegs in a narrow lane full of enemies are about as good as kegs get. His problem is the same as anywhere else: no escape. Real talk, the first diver who reaches him decides whether he gets to keg anyone at all.

Dash-heavy top laners give him the most grief on the Rift, and the Gangplank counters guide names five of them. The guide to LoL roles explains the top lane, the LoL items database lists each item above with patch numbers, and the Gangplank skins page has his cosmetics.

Put simply, the Gangplank ARAM build is Trinity Force, Infinity Edge, Navori Flickerblade and Lord Dominik’s Regards, and the game plan is a keg in the enemy’s path before every fight.

FAQ

Is Gangplank buffed in ARAM?

Yes, slightly. Riot sets his damage dealt to 105% for ARAM (per the Wiki, patch 26.21), and nothing else changes.

What items does the Gangplank ARAM build use?

Trinity Force, Infinity Edge, Navori Flickerblade and Lord Dominik’s Regards, with Ionian Boots of Lucidity or Mercury’s Treads.

Why build crit on Gangplank?

Powder Keg spreads the damage of the attack that detonates it to enemies in the area, so a critical strike on a keg reaches every enemy caught in the explosion.

Can Gangplank cleanse crowd control on the Howling Abyss?

Yes. Remove Scurvy cures crowd control effects and restores Health, with a cooldown of 22/20/18/16/14 seconds by rank.

How was this build chosen?

From what his patch 26.21 abilities do, especially Powder Keg, matched with the stats and passives of each item. No win-rate data was used.