Gangplank/Strategy

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Skill usage

• Gangplank is an excellent fighter in 1v1 situations due to his high single target damage output and CC removal. Always look for players out of position.
• Do not underestimate Parrrley's gold bonus when used for farming instead of harassment in early game.
• Remove Scurvy can allow him to stay in the lane for an extended period of time.
• Remove Scurvy will cancel suppression e.g. Nether Grasp and Infinite Duress, though Malzahar's Nether Grasp still does damage after the suppression is cancelled.
• In a desperate laning situation, Gangplank has a lot of ability to just stay in lane and farm as much as possible. Parrrley's range and mana cost reduction upon last-hits allow Gangplank to farm even with the enemy efforts to completely zone him, building gold per 10 items let him stay in the game despite the enemy controlling the lane, Cannon Barrage and Raise Morale can be used to quickly aid allies even if you are pushed to your turret, and Remove Scurvy sustains you against enemy harassment. This strategy would prefer maxing Raise Morale for the attack damage bonus to better allow you to last-hit under your turret, with Remove Scurvy as necessary to sustain and stay in lane. Leveling up Parrrley first in this situation is unpreferable due to the mana cost increase while the gold bonus increase is less useful than simply casting Parrrley again and gaining another last-hit, or having more attack damage from Raise Morale to gain more last-hits underneath the turret while Parrrley can be on cooldown.
• Raise Morale can be used defensively and offensively, to be able to move fast for both, and have extra damage for the latter.
• Gangplank's spells have considerable animation times. Take this into account when you plan on using Raise Morale or Remove Scurvy to escape a pursuer.
• Use Raise Morale when pushing a tower. This can quickly give you and your allies the boost you need to take down buildings, effectively allowing you and your team to rush towers and your enemies not having enough time to defend it.
• Cannon Barrage can be used across the map. You can help out in ganks/teamfights elsewhere, by assisting with the damage and massive AoE slow.
  • Paying attention to low health enemies on the map can land you a surprise kill with Cannon Barrage.
  • Try placing Cannon Barrage in the path of fleeing enemies to cut them off.
• Cannon Barrage can save a turret surrounded by minions, with some luck.
• Working as a team with other AoE abilities synergizes with your ultimate Cannon Barrage, such as Nunu's Absolute Zero, Rumble's The Equalizer, Miss Fortune's Bullet Time, Galio's Idol of Durand, Jarvan IV's Cataclysm or Ziggs' Mega Inferno Bomb.
• The Rage passive granted by Phage or Trinity Force will activate if  Cannon Barrage damages an enemy, meaning that dropping  Cannon Barrage into a teamfight early can help you arrive there faster.

Build usage

• Because Parrrley applies on hit effects like Frozen Mallet, The Black Cleaver, Sheen, in addition to his own Grog Soaked Blade Grog Soaked Blade, they are all useful items.
• Even though Raise Morale offers Gangplank some additional attack damage, its duration is very short compared to its cooldown. More attack damage items should be added to complement it.
  • The Bloodthirster is a strong offensive item.
• Because Parrrley benefits from critical strike, critical strike chance and damage items are very strong. Avarice Blade, Zeal, and Infinity Edge will help maximize your damage output.
  • Pure critical strike builds, although popular, leave Gangplank fairly squishy. Though there is potential for high DPS, the heavy cost of low survivability including Gangplank's considerably low base armor and magic resistance makes it less than viable.
  • If focused on farming and a strong late game,  Gangplank's gold from  Parrrley is complimented by  gold per 10 items such as  Avarice Blade, which grants a respectable amount of critical strike chance and can be built into  Youmuu's Ghostblade and  Statikk Shiv later on.
• 'Tankplank' builds are very effective, offering survivability and a chance for Gangplank to fully utilize his skillset. It also allows Gangplank to increase his DPS as he builds towards an Infinity Edge.
  • Atma's Impaler along with Warmog's Armor are very effective for a tanky-DPS Gangplank.
  • Trinity Force is an excellent core item on Gangplank, since Trinity Force's bonus damage proc and speed-up proc all apply to Parrrley as well as providing extra critical strike chance and movement speed which heavily increases Gangplank's damaging and chasing capabilities.
  • Because Trinity Force and Infinity Edge come at high costs, one might have to decide between Infinity Edge or Trinity Force as the primary source of damage in a tanky build.
  • A Frozen Mallet and Phantom Dancer could be a useful alternative to Trinity Force but at an even higher cost.
• Cooldown reduction items are fairly effective on Gangplank as most of his abilities ( Remove Scurvy, Raise Morale, and Cannon Barrage) have long cooldowns and they also allow Gangplank to use Parrrley as often as possible.
  • The unique combination of stats in Zeke's Herald or Youmuu's Ghostblade can make it worth an item slot.
• Gangplank is effective at jungling, though some runes are required to complete it. Jungle  Gangplank is based upon building Spirit of the Elder Lizard and using  Cannon Barrage to gain bonus gold by assisting lanes without ganking. This allows  Gangplank to spend a significant amount of time farming the jungle without missing opportunities to score assists or kills thanks to his high mobility.
• If you find Gangplank's mana issues especially troublesome, consider buying an early Tear of the Goddess and building it into Manamune later on.
  • This is only recommended if you can keep up with your build. The extra 2100 gold cost may slow your build down early game if you can't farm up well, or if your lane opponent gets the advantage.
• AP Gangplank, while an unconventional build, can make him difficult to kill and add a surprising amount of damage to his Cannon Barrage. Lich Bane effectively adds a .75 AP ratio in compensation for lack of crits and his Remove Scurvy will heal for much more. AP health items such as Rylai's Crystal Scepter and Rod of Ages would also help his survivability.
  • Since his Parrrley is classified as an on-hit effect, Liandry's Torment will not apply, thus only his Cannon Barrage would benefit from it, though the two have good synergy.

Recommended builds

Countering

• Laning against Gangplank can be a bit frustrating. Parrrley has a fairly short cooldown and deals a lot of damage at early if it crits. Starting with Cloth Armor and 5 Health Potions will give you a lot of sustain and damage reduction to deal with this.
• Gangplank's Remove Scurvy is very annoying to the casters that rely on crowd control to utilize their full combo. Save your hard crowd control until after he uses Remove Scurvy.
  • Champions with multiple crowd control abilities, namely Blitzcrank, can significantly slow down Gangplank, despite his Remove Scurvy. Since this ability only removes the current debuff, one can use a "soft" CC ability (such as a slow) to force him to use Remove Scurvy, then utilize their "hard" CC (such as a stun or suppress) to really begin harassing him. Also keep in mind that AOE or constantly-reapplied CC (such as Yorick's Omen of Pestilence or Miss Fortune's Make It Rain) are reapplied immediately after being removed, so with Remove Scurvy's cast time ends up actually taking longer to get past. Airborne CC (knockups/knockbacks, pulls) cannot be cleansed, so CC from Alistar, Aatrox, and Blitzcrank are not countered.
• Although his early harassment is strong, Gangplank is fairly squishy in laning phase. Putting an aggressive pressure on his lane will weaken his strong mid/late game.
  • Parrrley does average damage early game, but it will become quite effective late game, once he has built crit chance or on-hits. Try making him build defensively instead of desirably towards offensive output.
• Cannon Barrage has a huge AoE and global range. Quickly avoid the AoE if he uses it when you are escaping. Be aware of its potential to appear at any time/location.
• Countering Gangplank requires starving him of his farm, get an early advantage by pushing him out of the lane, and forcing him to play with more risk than he would usually like. Teams should also consider prioritizing him as a target for ganks and in team fights depending on his build and his allies.
• Being aware of his Remove Scurvy would give you an advantage if your kit has enough [CC] compared to the ability's fairly long cooldown. Casting a minor CC skill would force Gangplank to use this ability and press your damage as much as possible within the interval of his Remove Scurvy.

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References

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