Warwick, the Uncaged Wrath of Zaun, has been reworked into a more ferocious beast in Patch 5.3b. This monstrous hunter is perfect for players who thrive in the chaos of battle and love chasing down prey with relentless precision. In this guide, we’ll walk you through Warwick’s abilities, optimal build, runes, and strategies to help you unleash the beast and dominate in the Rift. Let’s get to it!
Warwick’s Abilities
Warwick’s kit is designed for relentless aggression. He excels at chasing and locking down targets, sustaining himself through enemy damage, and creating chaos in team fights. His healing and damage reduction make him deceptively tanky, while his Fear status infliction and suppression provide valuable crowd control.
Passive: Eternal Hunger
Warwick’s claws thirst for blood. His basic attacks deal bonus magic damage based on missing health, healing him for the same amount. This makes Warwick surprisingly durable and hard to kill, especially in prolonged fights.
First Ability: Jaws of the Beast
Warwick leaps at his target, sinking his claws into them and dealing damage. Holding and dragging the ability allows him to lunge behind the target, following their movement and healing for a percentage of the damage dealt. Use this to stick to slippery champions or heal through fights.
Second Ability: Blood Hunt
Warwick scents wounded prey. Enemy champions below 50% health are revealed and marked, granting Warwick bonus movement and attack speed when moving toward them. If they drop below 35% health, the speed boost triples. Activate it to target a specific enemy, even if they’re not low. Perfect for hunting down fleeing enemies.
Third Ability: Primal Howl
Warwick lets out a chilling howl that grants him damage reduction. After a brief delay or upon reactivation, Warwick inflicts Fear on nearby enemies, causing them to run in terror. Use this to dive into team fights or peel for allies.
Ultimate: Infinite Duress
Warwick leaps forward a great distance, suppressing the first enemy he hits for a few seconds and dealing continuous damage with empowered basic attacks. The leap’s range scales with his bonus movement speed, making Blood Hunt synergy crucial. This Ultimate is great for isolating key targets and locking them down.
Best Build for Warwick
Core Items
- Divine Sunderer – Grants hybrid damage and healing, ideal for extended skirmishes.
- Sterak’s Gage – Provides bonus health and a shield, making Warwick harder to burst down.
- Death’s Dance – Converts a portion of damage into a bleed effect, giving Warwick time to heal through fights.
Situational Items
- Spirit Visage – Amplifies healing and offers magic resistance.
- Thornmail – Applies Grievous Wounds and punishes AD-heavy comps.
- Randuin’s Omen – Mitigates crit damage and slows enemy attackers.
Primary Runes
- Conqueror – Stacks up during fights, enhancing damage and healing.
- Hunter: Vampirism – Adds bonus healing and sustain for a bruiser build.
Secondary Runes
- Adaptive Carapace – Extra durability for when your health drops.
- Hunter: Genius – Reduces cooldowns, letting Warwick spam abilities more frequently.
Spells
- Smite – Essential for jungle control.
- Flash – Adds mobility for plays and escapes.
How to Play Warwick
In the early game, focus on farming efficiently in the jungle, and prioritize objectives like the Dragon and Rift Herald. Look for opportunities to gank lanes; always keep an eye for opponents that are low and use Blood Hunt to close in on them quickly.
Start roaming and applying pressure across the map in the mid-game. Warwick’s ability to chase down fleeing enemies makes him an excellent assassin so, remember to use Primal Howl for dives or peeling in team fights and try to secure objectives after gaining control of the area.
Warwick transitions into a tanky initiator in the late game. Use Infinite Duress to lock down priority targets like ADCs or mages. Peel for your team with Primal Howl and dive fearlessly, with your immaculate sustain capabilities and tank items.
Warwick is a terrifying predator who thrives in the chaos of battle. With his ability to hunt down fleeing enemies, sustain through damage, and disrupt entire teams, Warwick is a force to be reckoned with on the Rift. Whether you’re leading the charge in a team fight or picking off vulnerable stragglers, adding Warwick to your hero pool with hassle-free Wild Core top-ups at Codashop will make you an unstoppable force!
