League of Legends Hecarim Guide: Best Build, Runes & Combos

Hecarim is a fast, hard-hitting jungler in League of Legends known for his incredible mobility, explosive engages, and strong scaling. With the ability to charge across the map, dive backlines, and soak damage while dishing out massive AoE burst, he’s a top-tier pick for players who love aggressive, tempo-based gameplay. In this guide, we’ll break down the best build, runes, items, and combos to help you dominate the jungle and lead your team to victory as Hecarim.

Hecarim Abilities Overview in League of Legends

Passive – Warpath
Hecarim gains bonus attack damage based on bonus movement speed, making movement speed items and abilities extremely valuable for his damage output.

Q – Rampage
Hecarim swings his weapon in a small area, dealing physical damage. If he hits an enemy, the cooldown is reduced. Stacking this twice increases its damage, making it his main spammable damage tool in both clears and fights.

W – Spirit of Dread
Creates an area around Hecarim that deals magic damage over time and heals him for a percentage of all damage dealt by him and his allies to enemies inside the zone. This is key for sustain during skirmishes and teamfights.

E – Devastating Charge
Hecarim gains increasing movement speed over a few seconds. His next attack knocks back the target and deals bonus physical damage based on the distance traveled. This is his main engage tool, gank setup, and source of burst damage.

R – Onslaught of Shadows
Hecarim charges forward, sending out ghost riders that deal magic damage and fear all enemies hit upon landing. It’s a powerful teamfight initiation tool, especially when used with E for maximum disruption.

Together, Hecarim’s kit makes him a fast, tanky, and high-damage jungler who thrives on momentum and surprise engages.

How To Play Hecarim In League of Legends

Best Summoner Spells For Hecarim

The best summoner spells for Hecarim are Flash and Smite. Smite is essential for jungle pathing and securing objectives, while Flash gives you clutch repositioning for engages, escapes, or follow-ups when your E is on cooldown. Some players also use Ghost instead of Flash to synergize with Hecarim’s passive for extra movement speed and damage, making it great for extended chases and all-ins. So, your best options are Smite + Flash for safer, reactive play or Smite + Ghost for aggressive, high-speed engages—choose based on your playstyle and team comp.

Best Runes For Hecarim

The best runes for Hecarim come from the Precision tree, with a focus on sustain, mobility, and damage in extended fights. Start with Conqueror as your keystone to stack damage and healing during skirmishes. Follow it with Triumph for bonus healing on takedown, Legend: Tenacity to reduce CC, and Last Stand to deal more damage when low on health. For the secondary tree, go Inspiration with Magical Footwear for free boots and Cosmic Insight for cooldown reduction on summoners and items. For stat shards, take Attack Speed, Adaptive Force, and either Armor or Magic Resist depending on the matchup. This rune page makes Hecarim tanky, deadly, and hard to stop once he gets going.

Best Build For Hecarim

The best build for Hecarim in League of Legends focuses on combining movement speed, damage, and survivability to maximize his passive and engage potential. Start with Youmuu’s Ghostblade or Stridebreaker depending on whether you want burst or more sustained slows and stickiness. Follow up with Dead Man’s Plate for bonus movement speed and extra damage on your first hit. Maw of Malmortius is excellent against AP-heavy teams, giving you both damage and a clutch shield. Add Sterak’s Gage for durability and teamfight presence, and round out with Spirit Visage or Force of Nature for even more survivability and healing synergy. For boots, use Ionian Boots of Lucidity for lower cooldowns, or Plated Steelcaps/Mercury’s Treads depending on enemy comp. This build lets Hecarim fly into fights, soak damage, and wreak havoc on the backline.

Best Combos To Learn For Hecarim

The best combos to learn for Hecarim revolve around using his speed and burst to engage hard and clean up fights. A simple gank combo is E → Auto → Q → W, where you charge in, knock back with your empowered auto, follow up with Rampage for damage, and activate Spirit of Dread for sustain during the fight. For full burst, use Ghost (or Flash) → E → R → Auto → Q → W, letting you engage from a long distance, fear multiple enemies with your ult, and then unleash your full combo. In teamfights, try E → R into multiple enemies → W → Q spam while weaving autos between Q casts to reduce its cooldown. Always try to time your E knockback just before your R for maximum disruption and burst.

Conclusion

Hecarim is a high-speed, hard-hitting jungler who excels at fast clears, devastating engages, and cleaning up fights with ease. With the right runes, build, and combos, he becomes a nightmare for squishy backlines and a strong frontline disruptor. Whether you prefer a tanky bruiser style or high-mobility burst setups, mastering Hecarim’s movement and timing will let you carry games and dominate the jungle from early to late game.