Warwick is a hunter at heart in League of Legends, roaming the Rift looking for his next kill. Sounds like your kind of jungler? We’ve got the ultimate guide to the Uncaged Wrath of Zaun, including the best builds and runes.
Warwick has gone through a couple of iterations since his 2009 release alongside the game’s beta, with his 2017 rework transforming him into the Rift-roaming beast we know today.
If you want to run yourself ragged and enjoy the Thrill of the Hunt (yes, this is a Rengar ability, but it fits Warwick too), we’ve got the ultimate guide to mastering the Uncaged Wrath of Zaun, including all of Warwick’s best builds, runes, and some tips and tricks.
Who is Warwick?
Warwick is the result of one of Singed’s many experiments in Zaun. A monster lurking in the depths of Piltover and Zaun, it wasn’t always this way, having been a rather prevalent mobster in a past life. Now though, all he cares about is hunting down the kind of people he once was.
On Summoner’s Rift, he lives up to that fantasy, chasing down targets as a popular jungler.
Warwick abilities & gameplay
If you love chasing champions down, then Warwick is for you. His kit is all about running across the Rift, jumping on low health enemies, and executing them. His W gives him the ability to do that, running at the speed of light from one edge of the Rift to the other for kills.
Once he’s there, he can leap on them with his Q or his ultimate, and keep them in his grasp with his E fear. Starting in the jungle you want to farm with your Q, but W max is the best way to play Warwick, giving you bonus attack and movement speed when hunting enemies.
You want to be constantly ganking as Warwick, making the most out of your insane chase and lockdown potential. Once the enemy realizes you’re on your way, it’s often too late to escape. Once the game gets a bit later though, you’ll want to save your ultimate for enemy carries, making use of its suppression.
- Passive: Eternal Hunger — Warwick’s basic attacks deal bonus magic damage. If Warwick is below 50% health, he heals the same amount. If Warwick is below 25% health, this healing triples.
- Q: Jaws of the Beast — Warwick lunges forward and bites his target, dealing damage based on their maximum health and healing for damage dealt.
- W: Blood Hunt — Warwick senses enemies below 50% health, gaining movement speed toward and attack speed against them. When they fall below 20% health, he frenzies and these bonuses triple.
- E: Primal Howl — Warwick gains damage reduction for 2.5 seconds. At the end, or if re-activated, he howls, causing nearby enemies to flee for 1 second.
- R: Infinite Duress — Warwick leaps in a direction (scaling with his bonus Move Speed), suppressing the first champion he collides with for 1.5 seconds.
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Best build for Warwick
Warwick’s build is very bruiser-esque, which fits his playstyle. However, he often opts into tankier builds than some of his duelist counterparts due to the amount of sustain he has in his kit already. If he can just live longer with tank stats, he will typically win.
So, after opting for a healing mythic (Divine Sunderer against tanks, Goredrinker against squishes), going all out for tank items is a great idea. Titanic Hydra and Sterak’s Gage give him plenty of damage with a touch of tankiness, while Spirit Visage enables him to heal up even more.
With those core items out of the way, Warwick can build pretty flexibly. Thornmail is a popular option due to the healing cut, but if you’re against really heavy AP teams, you might want to opt for a Wit’s End.
Top meta Warwick build in Season 11
- Mythic: Divine Sunderer / Goredrinker
- Boots: Plated Steelcaps (if against AD) / Mercury’s Treads (if against AP)
- Titanic Hydra
- Sterak’s Gage
- Spirit Visage
- Thornmail (if you need healing cut)
- Wit’s End (if against heavy AP comps)
- Randuin’s Omen / Death’s Dance (if against heavy AD comps)
Best runes for Warwick
Warwick’s rune page is pretty set in stone. He thrives with the Precision rune tree, utilizing Press the Attack to quickly burst down enemies. Because he also has a lot of healing inbuilt into his kit — and only gets stronger when lower on HP — Last Stand is a great option.
Celerity and Waterwalking allow him to get across the map and hunt enemies down rapidly, while Triumph and Legend: Alacrity are staple picks for auto-attack centric champions.
However, there are two variations you can make to this. If you are playing against a team with quite a bit of crowd control, Legend: Tenacity is worth it so you don’t get CC’d out of fights. Also, if you’re expecting to be in longer trades rather than burst battles, Conqueror will scale better across a game.
Top meta Warwick runes in Season 11
- Press The Attack / Conqueror
- Triumph
- Legend: Alacrity / Legend: Tenacity
- Last Stand
- Celerity
- Waterwalking
Warwick skins in League of Legends
- Tundra Hunter Warwick — 520 RP
- Big Bad Warwick (Legacy) — 520 RP
- Marauder Warwick — 750 RP
- Firefang Warwick — 975 RP
- Hyena Warwick — 975 RP
- Feral Warwick (Legacy) — 975 RP
- PROJECT: Warwick — 1350 RP
- Old God Warwick — 1350 RP
- Lunar Guardian Warwick (Legacy) — 1350 RP
- Grey Warwick — Honor Capsule
- Urfwick — 150000 Blue Essence (Essence Emporium)
Want to join the hunt? Then pick up Warwick in your next League of Legends game.
He’s pretty easy to learn, and can definitely be a great starting point to get the ropes of jungling. If you’re learning the complex role, he’s one you should put in your arsenal early.