League of Legends Rammus Guide: Best Build, Runes, Items, Combos

Rammus is one of the most durable and disruptive tanks in League of Legends, known for his incredible mobility, crowd control, and ability to punish heavy auto-attack champions. Whether you’re looking to peel for your carries or dive into the enemy backline, mastering Rammus can make you an unstoppable force on the Rift. In this guide, we’ll break down the best build, runes, items, and combos to help you roll into ranked games with confidence and rack up wins with this armored armadillo.

Rammus Abilities Overview in League of Legends

Here’s a quick overview of Rammus’s abilities in League of Legends:

Passive – Spiked Shell: Rammus’s basic attacks deal bonus magic damage based on his armor, making tanky builds hit surprisingly hard.

Q – Powerball: Rammus curls into a ball and rolls forward, gaining movement speed over time. When he collides with an enemy, he deals magic damage and knocks them up briefly. It’s his primary engage and mobility tool.

W – Defensive Ball Curl: Rammus enters a defensive stance, gaining bonus armor and magic resist while returning damage to attackers. It also slows his movement, so it’s best used when up close.

E – Frenzying Taunt: Rammus taunts a target enemy, forcing them to attack him while gaining bonus attack speed for a short duration. Great for locking down damage dealers.

R – Soaring Slam: Rammus leaps into the air and slams down at a target location, dealing magic damage and slowing enemies. It leaves behind tremors that continue to damage and slow. It’s a strong teamfight and engage tool.

This kit makes Rammus a top-tier tank and initiator who thrives when jumping on squishy backliners or soaking up damage for his team.

How To Play Rammus In League of Legends

Best Summoner Spells For Rammus

The best summoner spells for Rammus in League of Legends are Flash and Smite. Flash gives you a powerful gap closer or escape tool, which is especially useful when chaining it with Powerball for unexpected engages. Smite is essential for jungling, allowing you to secure objectives like Dragon and Baron while speeding up your jungle clear. If you’re playing Rammus in a lane (rarely), you can swap Smite for Ignite or Teleport, but for jungle Rammus, Flash + Smite is the go-to combo.

Best Runes For Rammus

The best runes for Rammus are built around durability, crowd control, and utility. Here’s a solid setup optimized for jungle Rammus:

Primary Rune Tree – Resolve
• Aftershock – Activates when you taunt or knock up enemies, giving bonus resistances and a burst of damage—perfect for Rammus’s engage style.
• Font of Life – Marks enemies you CC, allowing allies to heal when attacking them.
• Conditioning – Gives bonus armor and MR after 12 minutes, scaling well into late game.
• Unflinching – Grants tenacity and slow resistance after casting summoner spells, helping you stay mobile in fights.

Secondary Rune Tree – Inspiration
• Hextech Flashtraption – Lets you use Flash while in fog of war or brush during cooldowns, giving you more playmaking power.
• Cosmic Insight – Reduces cooldowns on your summoner spells and items, which is great for more frequent Flashes and Smite usage.

Stat Shards
• +8 Ability Haste
• +8 Armor
• +6 Health (or Armor if enemy team is AD-heavy)

This rune setup enhances Rammus’s tankiness, engage potential, and overall usefulness in team fights while staying optimized for jungle clear and skirmishes.

Best Build For Rammus

The best build for Rammus focuses on turning him into an unstoppable tank with strong engage and reflect damage. Here’s an optimized item path for jungle Rammus:

Starting Items:
• Mosstomper Smite (for extra tankiness and tenacity)
• Health Potion

Core Items:
• Thornmail – Synergizes perfectly with your W (Defensive Ball Curl) to reflect damage and apply Grievous Wounds.
• Jak’Sho, The Protean – Provides durability and scaling resistances during long fights, which fits Rammus’s playstyle well.
• Plated Steelcaps or Mercury’s Treads – Steelcaps vs AD/heavy auto-attack teams, Mercs vs AP/CC-heavy comps.

Situational Items:
• Abyssal Mask – Great if your team has AP champions and you’re facing magic damage.
• Randuin’s Omen – Reduces crit damage and provides an AoE slow, useful vs crit-heavy champs.
• Force of Nature – Strong against heavy magic damage comps and helps with movement speed.
• Dead Man’s Plate – Adds mobility and a bonus burst on your first hit—great for ganks.
• Iceborn Gauntlet – Extra armor, slow field, and mana; good vs melee bruisers and AD champions.

This tanky setup makes Rammus hard to kill while maximizing his damage return, crowd control, and overall impact in team fights and ganks.

Best Combos To Learn For Rammus

Here are the best combos to learn for Rammus in League of Legends, all written in one clear paragraph to help you master his fast-paced engage style. The most effective Rammus combo starts with activating Powerball (Q) from a distance to charge at your target. Just before colliding, use Flash to instantly reposition and guarantee a knock-up hit. Once the enemy is airborne, immediately press Frenzying Taunt (E) to lock them down, followed by Defensive Ball Curl (W) to start reflecting damage and increasing your tankiness. If you’re level 6 or higher, activate Soaring Slam (R) right as your taunt ends to keep them in place longer and deal AoE magic damage. For quick ganks, use the Q > Flash > E > W > R combo, and in tight skirmishes or jungle duels, you can skip Flash and simply go Q > E > W > R to disrupt and stick to your target. This simple but powerful combo chain makes Rammus a nightmare for squishy champions and slippery carries.

Conclusion

Rammus might look goofy, but he’s one of the most reliable tank junglers in League of Legends when played right. With the right runes, build, and combos, you can become a nearly unkillable frontline that punishes anyone who dares auto-attack you. Whether you’re diving the backline with a high-speed gank or soaking up damage in the middle of a teamfight, Rammus delivers insane value with minimal mechanics. Stick to the guide, roll into your enemies, and let your armor do the talking.