Looking for a simple champion to play? Want a Jungler that doesn’t have complicated mechanics but can still be very satisfying to play? Then we have the perfect champion for you! In this guide, we’ll show you everything you need to know to get you started playing Rammus, the Armordillo.

Rammus is one of the easiest tanks to use in League of Legends. He doesn’t have complicated mechanics yet he remains a strong pick thanks to his durability and crowd control. On top of all of these, Rammus has really strong ganks. He can easily gank any lane and cover a lot of ground around the map in a short amount of time. While he is good at teamfights and ganking, Rammus is really weak when it comes to clearing camps and can be counter jungled really easily. 

Abilities

All of Rammus’ abilities are focused on increasing his durability and making his ganks very strong.

Passive – Spiked Shell

Rammus deals 10 (+10% Armor) bonus magic damage with his basic attacks.

Spiked Shell is a fairly basic passive. It doesn’t do much but it helps increase Rammus’ 1v1 potential. Just because this passive stacks with Armor, doesn’t mean you should only invest in Armor items when playing as Rammus.

Q – Powerball

Rammus accelerates in a ball gaining Movement Speed over 6 seconds. On enemy collision, he stops, dealing magic damage to nearby enemies, knocking them back, and slowing them for 1 second.

Powerball is Rammus’ main ability and what he is best known for. This is what he will mostly be using to initiate fights, to traverse the map, and to gank lanes. Powerball is a very strong ability and can be very hard to avoid which makes it easy to land crowd control whenever Rammus visits a lane.

W – Defensive Ball Curl

Rammus enters a defensive formation for up to 6 seconds, increasing Armor and Magic Resist but becoming slowed by 30%. During this time, Spiked Shell deals 150% damage and also deals its damage to enemies that basic attack Rammus. Basic attacks extend its duration by 0.4 seconds, up to a maximum of 4 additional seconds.

Defensive Ball Curl is Rammus’ main source of wave clear. It’s a rather weak ability early on but gets stronger as the game goes on. This is his primary offensive ability and your main source of damage. 

E – Frenzying Taunt

Taunt an enemy champion or monster and gain Attack Speed for the same duration. While any of Rammus’ other spells are active, Frenzying Taunt’s Attack Speed is refreshed.

This is one of your primary crowd control abilities. There aren’t a lot of champions that have a taunt in their kit and Rammus is pretty lucky to have one. This ability only affects a single target but is point and click so you can easily lockdown a high priority target using Frenzying Taunt.

R – Soaring Slam

Rammus leaps into a target location, dealing magic damage to enemies hit and slowing them for 1.5 seconds. Enemies at the center take bonus damage based on distance traveled, and are knocked up for 0.75 seconds if cast while Powerball is active. Rammus creates three aftershocks at the target location for 3.5 seconds that deal magic damage and stack the original slow up to four times. Soaring Slam deals 200% damage to turrets, and its range is increased based on his movement speed.

Soaring Slam is Rammus’ ultimate. It was reworked from what it once was but ever since it was changed, it became a more impactful ability. Soaring Slam gives you more room to crowd control enemies while retaining its sustained damage. 

Runes and Item Builds

When it comes to items, your focus should be to increase Rammus’ durability before anything else. Since he is a tank, he is at his best when he can survive when being focused or damaged by the enemy team. 

Starting Items

For your starting items, go with Hailblade since you’ll be playing as a Jungler. Hailblade will turn your Smite into Chilling Smite which you can use to slow down enemies. 

Mythic Items

When it comes to Mythic Items, you have two choices: Turbo Chemtank and Sunfire Aegis. While both these items are relatively similar and give Rammus the same stats that he needs, Turbo Chemtank gets  the edge since it increases his ganking ability. Turbo Chemtank has an active ability that will increase your speed when moving towards an enemy champion or tower. Having this ability will synergize very well with Rammus’ kit. 

Full Build

After purchasing your desired Mythic, go for your tier 2 boots. Since Rammus is a tank, Plated Steelcaps are the standard but you can swap it out for Mercury’s Treads when you need to. Next, go for Thornmail for the armor, health, and return damage. Next, you’ll need a Dead Man’s Plate mostly because of its passive that increases the damage on your next basic attack when you’ve reached a certain number of stacks by moving. At this point, you’ll need Randuin’s Omen for armor, health, damage reduction, and an active that slows down enemy attack speed. Finally, top off your build with Gargoyle Stoneplate for the bonus resistances plus an active shield that essential functions like a second life bar.

Other Viable Items

While the full build we’ve shown above is generally considered the standard for Rammus, it is not set in stone. There are plenty of other items that you can purchase depending on your preference or what your situation currently needs. Items like Force of Nature, Spirit Visage, Frozen Heart, and Anathema’s Chains are all good items to have especially if you’re leaning towards being more of a balanced tank. Try to mix and match these item sets to see what works best for you. Doing so will help you develop a better understanding of the game’s deeper mechanics.

Runes

For runes, go with the Resolve tree and take Aftershock as your keystone. This will increase your damage output and overall durability whenever you immobilize an enemy champion. Next, take Font of Life for the heal whenever you immobilize enemy champions, Conditioning for bonus resistances, and Unflinching so that you can easily stick to your targets. For your secondaries, take Triump and Legend: Alacrity from the Precision tree. Triumph increases your sustain while Legend: Alacrity increases your attack speed. For your rune shards, take Attack Speed and double Armor.

Useful Tips

1. Remember that you can also use Powerball to escape enemies in a pinch. Defensive Ball Curl can also help you clear towers much easier.
2. Rammus is countered by Diana, Kayn, Shyvana, Kha’Zix, Ekko, and Graves. These champions can limit Rammus’ effectiveness so try your best to play safe when matched up against them. 
3. For your summoner spells, always take Flash and Smite. Flash gives you more mobility and utility while Smite lets you clear camps faster while also letting you secure objectives like Baron or Dragon.

So there you have it! That’s all you need to know about playing Rammus in League of Legends. Be sure to check back with us again for more awesome guides on your favorite games. Have fun and we’ll see you on the Rift!