Hecarim Counters: Who Beats Hecarim

Updated for patch 26.21. Ability details come from Riot’s official game data for this patch.

Hecarim counters are junglers who slow him, stop his charge with hard crowd control, or punish the fact that he has to run straight at you. He’s a 175-range fighter whose Attack Damage grows with bonus Move Speed, so every slow takes damage away from him as well as speed.

We put each pick’s kit beside his patch 26.21 abilities and looked for the clash. We kept win rates out of it.

How does Hecarim’s kit work?

• Warpath (passive): bonus Attack Damage equal to a percentage of his bonus Move Speed.
• Rampage (Q): cleaves nearby enemies for physical damage; each hit makes the next one stronger and sooner. Cooldown 4.
• Spirit of Dread (W): Armor and Magic Resist, magic damage around him, and healing from damage nearby enemies take. Cooldown 14.
• Devastating Charge (E): growing Move Speed and the ability to move through units; the next attack knocks back and hits harder the farther he traveled. Cooldown 20/19/18/17/16.
• Onslaught of Shadows (R): a charge with spectral riders that deals magic damage in a line, ending in a shockwave that makes nearby enemies flee. Cooldown 140/120/100.

Speed is Hecarim’s damage. Warpath turns bonus Move Speed into Attack Damage, Devastating Charge builds speed and hits harder the farther he runs, and Onslaught of Shadows ends with a fear that scatters your team right when he arrives. Rampage keeps getting faster as long as it hits. It’s an all-in that starts from a screen away. The weakness? He commits in a straight line, and anything that slows, stuns or roots him on the way cuts both his speed and his Attack Damage at the same time. Counters bring plenty of that.

Which junglers are the best Hecarim counters?

Nunu & Willump

Nunu & Willump specialize in taking speed away. Absolute Zero (R) drops a blizzard that slows everyone inside and detonates for heavy damage, and a Hecarim slowed in the middle of it loses most of his Warpath Attack Damage too. Snowball Barrage (E) throws snowballs and then roots every champion they hit, which stops a charge cold. Biggest Snowball Ever! (W) grows as it rolls and knocks up whoever it hits. Consume (Q) bites a champion, minion or monster for damage and healing. Their passive also hands a nearby ally extra Attack Speed and Move Speed, which helps your carry kite him (and kiting Hecarim is half the battle). Honestly, the root is enough on its own.

Rammus

Rammus answers physical damage with more Armor than anyone. When he curls up with W, his resistances jump and every attacker gets damage sent back, and Hecarim’s Rampage plus Devastating Charge is a lot of physical damage hitting a spiked ball. Frenzying Taunt (E) forces Hecarim to attack him, so the charge goes where Rammus wants. Powerball (Q) rolls in with a slow, and Soaring Slam (R) slows an area, knocking up near the center if cast mid-Powerball. Spiked Shell (passive) adds Attack Damage from his resistances. Put simply, Rammus makes Hecarim’s best plan hurt Hecarim.

Poppy

Onslaught of Shadows is a charge, and Poppy’s W was made for charges. Activating Steadfast Presence stops nearby enemy dashes, then slows and grounds the dasher, so the ult ends early and the fear shockwave lands somewhere harmless. Her E pins a target to the nearest wall for a stun. Keeper’s Verdict (R) charges a hammer swing that sends enemies flying far away, out of the fight he just started. Hammer Shock (Q) slows in a zone. Iron Ambassador (passive) bounces a buckler she can grab for a shield. Will W stop Devastating Charge? Not the Move Speed part, but it’s the ult that matters.

Jax

Hecarim’s damage is mostly attacks and Rampage cleaves, and Jax has a button for that. For a short window, his E makes attacks whiff on him, and when it ends, everyone close by gets stunned, a freshly arrived Hecarim included. Leap Strike (Q) jumps to a unit to stay on him. Relentless Assault (passive) builds Attack Speed with consecutive hits, Empower (W) charges the next attack, and Grandmaster-at-Arms (R) adds magic damage on every third hit and resistances on activation. Jax doesn’t chase Hecarim. He waits for the charge (that’s the trick).

Fiddlesticks

Fiddlesticks stops the charge with fear and silence. Terrify (Q) makes a target flee, and a fleeing Hecarim is running in the wrong direction with all that Move Speed. Reap (E) slows and silences. Crowstorm (R) surrounds Fiddlesticks with crows that damage everything nearby, a good answer to a Hecarim who charges into a group. Bountiful Harvest (W) drains Health from nearby enemies with execute damage at the end. A Harmless Scarecrow (passive) gives him effigies for vision. To be fair, Fiddlesticks is fragile, so the fear has to land first.

How should Hecarim counters play the jungle?

• Slow him early in the fight. Warpath turns his bonus Move Speed into Attack Damage, so slows cut both.
• Watch for Devastating Charge. The longer he runs, the harder the knockback hit lands.
• Save crowd control for Onslaught of Shadows. It’s a charge, and stopping it stops the fear shockwave too.
• Don’t let Rampage keep hitting. Each hit lowers its cooldown and raises its damage.
• Burst him through Spirit of Dread. It heals him from damage nearby enemies take, so short fights favor you.

What items help Hecarim counters?

Armor and slows. Randuin’s Omen’s Humility slows nearby enemies by 70% for 2 seconds, which also strips most of his Warpath bonus. Thornmail applies Wounds to attackers, cutting the healing from Spirit of Dread, and Bramble Vest does it early. Plated Steelcaps take 10% off his attacks. Our item database has the exact numbers.

When is Hecarim weakest?

When he’s slowed. Warpath depends on bonus Move Speed, so a slowed Hecarim has less damage and less reach in the same moment. That’s why Nunu & Willump and Fiddlesticks do so well (for what it’s worth, even a basic slow item on your carry helps).

And after the ultimate. Onslaught of Shadows is a 140 second cooldown at rank 1, and without it his engage is just Devastating Charge, which builds speed over time. Can he still win fights? Yes, but slowly enough that you can react.

New to jungling? Our League role basics page covers it. More champion breakdowns live in the guides overview, and his skins sit on the Hecarim skins page. Long story short, Hecarim counters slow him and stop the charge.

FAQ

Who counters Hecarim the most?

Junglers with slows, roots, taunts or anti-dash tools: Nunu and Willump, Rammus, Poppy, Jax and Fiddlesticks.

Why do slows hurt Hecarim so much?

Warpath gives him Attack Damage based on his bonus Move Speed, so slowing him lowers his damage as well as his speed.

Can Hecarim’s ult be stopped?

Onslaught of Shadows is a charge. Poppy’s Steadfast Presence stops nearby dashes, and roots, stuns or fears on him before he arrives also work.

What is the cooldown of Onslaught of Shadows?

Onslaught of Shadows has a cooldown of 140/120/100 seconds.

How were these Hecarim counters chosen?

Each pick had to slow him, stop his charge, or punish his straight-line engage, judged from patch 26.21 ability text. Win rates were not used.