Gangplank
the Saltwater Scourge
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As unpredictable as he is brutal, the dethroned reaver king Gangplank is feared far and wide. Once, he ruled the port city of Bilgewater, and while his reign is over, there are those who believe this has only made him more dangerous. Gangplank would see Bilgewater bathed in blood once more before letting someone else take it—and now with pistol, cutlass, and barrels of gunpowder, he is determined to reclaim what he has lost.
Gangplank Stats
Gangplank Matchups
Gangplank's Best Matchups
Gangplank's Worst Matchups
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Gangplank Build Guide
Overview
Did you know that for lore-related reasons, Gangplank was once disabled on Summoner’s Rift? A big message was sent out to everyone in the client that Gangplank had died (this is not a joke), which is also probably going to happen a lot in your games if you don’t read this guide (this is only kind of a joke). Click here for the latest data on his best builds, including Runes, Items, Summoner Spells, and more.
Keys to Remember About Gangplank
Enemies can also hit your barrels, which prevents them from being detonated if they get the last hit in. This means it's generally easiest to control the explosion by placing a safe casket near or behind you before setting up the next barrels -- you can detonate those instantly by hitting the one you already prepared (as long as they're touching).
Your ultimate is very good at clearing waves, and late game there will be situations where catching a large wave will be very gold efficient. That said, it also gives vision, so make sure there aren't any key objectives coming up before using it on minions.
Strengths
Well, you won’t get scurvy in-game if you play Gangplank, but you might still get scurvy in real life, so make sure you eat some fruits (and veggies while we’re at it). Gangplank is great at dealing big AoE damage in fights thanks to his Powder Kegs [E] and his Cannon Barrage [R] -- the chain damage from especially the barrels has ended up in many highlights over the years in pro play, and it can easily swing a lost fight back into your favor. The ultimate is layered on top of that to help control space in fights or to even support crossmap plays throughout the game.
Weaknesses
He’s not easy to learn or to master -- being able to manage your barrels properly so that they’re actually capable of detonating is a tough skill to master, and that’s before you even think about how you connect them to extend the range. There are many little tricks and nuances you can learn about how or when to place barrels, and that’s something that takes a lot of time to figure out. In general, though, it’s easiest to set one close to you and then drop the designated target you actually want to hit last. You can also set up barrels in the bush so enemies aren’t ready to deal with them.
Game Plan
Early Game: You’ll generally want to focus on farming even if you do have some sustain with your Remove Scurvy [W]. Without reliable CC, it’s hard to win a lot of fights early in top lane, so look to get to level 6 so you can support crossmap plays with your ultimate as soon as possible while you continue to farm.
Mid Game: Look to secure bush control before major objectives, or at the very least some type of fog of war advantage, so you can set up your barrels to get in good chip damage before fights begin.
Late Game: You’ll want to stall the actual commit of a fight until you get some good barrels off -- oftentimes a good barrel is what’s going to signal the rest of your team to follow up. Or you can make it even more obvious by dropping your ultimate to force the issue.