Garen Top Build

Garen Champion Guide

Role: Fighter

Lane: Toplane

The best build for Garen Top includes Stridebreaker, Berserker's Greaves, Phantom Dancer, Mortal Reminder, and Dead Man's Plate. The most effective rune setup consists of Conqueror, Triumph, Legend: Haste, and Last Stand in the primary tree, along with Celerity and Axiom Arcanist in the secondary tree.

Garen Champion Abilities

Perseverance

Garen regenerates 1.5 − 10.1% max health (depending on level) every 5 seconds if he has not been damaged or hit with enemy abilities in the last 8 seconds. P

Decisive Strike

Garen removes all slowing effects on him and gains 35% bonus movement speed for 1 / 1.65 / 2.3 / 2.95 / 3.6 seconds.

His next attack silences for 1.5 seconds and does 30 / 60 / 90 / 120 / 150 (+0.5 per attack damage) physical damage. Q

Courage

Passive: Killing units permanently grants 0.2 armor and magic resist, up to a max of 30. At max stacks, Garen gains 10% armor and magic resist.

Active: Garen steels his courage for 4 seconds, reducing incoming damage by 30%. He also gains 65 / 85 / 105 / 125 / 145 (+18% per bonus health) shield and 60% tenacity for 0.75 seconds. W

Judgment

Garen rapidly spins his sword for 3 seconds, dealing 4 / 8 / 12 / 16 / 20 (+0−8.2 dependant on level) (+0.36 / 0.37 / 0.38 / 0.39 / 0.4 per attack damage) physical damage 7 times over the duration. The nearest enemy takes 5 / 10 / 15 / 20 / 25 (+0−10.25 dependant on level) (+0.45 / 0.4625 / 0.475 / 0.4875 / 0.5 per attack damage) physical damage per strike instead.

Champions hit by 6 strikes lose 25% armor for 6 seconds. E

Demacian Justice

Garen calls upon the might of Demacia to slay his enemy, dealing 150 / 300 / 450 plus 25 / 30 / 35% missing health as true damage. R

Garen Summoner Spells

Flash

Flash is a location-targeted summoner spell that causes your champion to blink to the location in range of your cursor.

Ignite

Ignite is a unit-targeted summoner spell that burns an enemy champion for a few seconds, dealing periodic true damage, applying healing reduction, and revealing the target over the duration.

Garen Runes

Garen Items

Garen Ability Order

Garen Matchups Overview

Strong against

Cassiopeia

Mel

Kennen

Zac

Ryze

Kayle

Weak against

Fiora

Urgot

Udyr

Wukong

Olaf

Shen

Garen Tips and Tricks

If you've been pressured by the enemy champion, wait for your Passive to activate and regain some health before taking another step. Use your W as a tool to avoid crowd control or burst damage during trades. Be mindful not to use it too early, as it’s crucial for avoiding ganks from the enemy Jungler. You can cancel your E early to finish off the enemy with basic attacks, especially if you’re preparing to execute them with your R.

The Best Garen Builds, Runes and Items for Top

Most Popular

For Summoner Spells, take Flash and Ignite. The recommended rune setup includes Conqueror as the keystone, with Triumph, Legend: Haste, and Last Stand in the primary tree. In the secondary tree, take Celerity and Axiom Arcanist. For rune shards, use Adaptive Force in offense, Adaptive Force in flex, and Health Scaling in defense. Core items include Stridebreaker as the first item, Berserker's Greaves, and Phantom Dancer. For the final items, build Mortal Reminder, Dead Man's Plate, and Infinity Edge. The skill order should be E - Q - W.

Optional

An alternative build would be to take Flash and Ignite as Summoner Spells. For runes, Phase Rush as the keystone, with Axiom Arcanist, Celerity, and Gathering Storm in the primary tree. The secondary tree should have Second Wind and Overgrowth. For rune shards, use Adaptive Force in offense, Adaptive Force in flex, and Health Scaling in defense. The core items are Stridebreaker, followed by Boots of Swiftness and Phantom Dancer. Finish the build with Mortal Reminder, Dead Man’s Plate, and Force of Nature. The skill order should remain E - Q - W.

Situational Garen Runes and Items

Depending on the game context, your matchup, and enemy champions, adjust your build to optimize your effectiveness. Pay attention to your team's needs, the enemy team composition, and the state of the game. For example, you might want to choose Armor or Magic Resist rune shards based on your lane opponent to enhance your survivability. Adapt your item and rune choices accordingly to best fit your situation.