Gragas Wild Rift Build & Guide

Gragas Wild Rift

S+ Tier

Class: Tank

Best Gragas Wild Rift build guide for Season 11 Patch 5.0 of WR. With our Gragas guide you will learn which items to build, runes to select, skill order, who counters Gragas, and how to use abilities properly.

Recommended Builds

Starting Item Amplifying Tome
Boots Ionian Boots of Lucidity Protobelt Enchant
Core Items Luden’s Echo Ionian Boots of Lucidity Lich Bane
Complete Build Luden’s Echo Ionian Boots of Lucidity Infinity Orb Rabadon’s Deathcap Void Staff [This item has been removed from WR] Crystalline Reflector
Runes
Electrocute
Brutal
Hunter – Titan
Pathfinder
Starting Item Ruby Crystal
Boots Mercury’s Treads Teleport Enchant
Core Items Sunfire Aegis Spirit Visage Iceborn Gauntlet
Complete Build Sunfire Aegis Mercury’s Treads Spirit Visage Iceborn Gauntlet Abyssal Mask Dead Man’s Plate
Runes
Grasp of the Undying
Gathering storm
Hunter – Titan
Sweet Tooth

Equal parts jolly and imposing, rowdy brewmaster on his own quest for the perfect pint of ale, any appearance from Gragas must surely foreshadow drinking and destruction—in that order. Gragas is a versatile Mage Tank who can be played in every lane as a Baron lane tank, a mid lane nuker, a support, or a jungle.

Gragas Wild Rift Build Recommendation

Here are Item Build Recommendations that works on this champion and which are the best build for Gragas Wild Rift in this patch.

Mage Drunkard

Luden’s Echo Ionian Boots of Lucidity Infinity Orb Rabadon’s Deathcap Void Staff [This item has been removed from WR] Crystalline Reflector

This is the standard Gragas Wild Rift build which makes him a strong nuker throughout the game. This plays well when you have a tank or initiator in your team, preferably both.

  • Luden’s Echo – Abilities deal bonus damage
  •  Ionian Boots of Lucidity – The cooldown reduction helps well with spamming your abilities. Plus, shorter cooldowns mean that you will have more passive procs which will keep your HP at healthy levels and Gragas gank ready. Upgrade with the Stasis Enchant for outplays or with the Protobelt Enchant for more mobility.
  •  Rabadon’s Deathcap – the AP scaling this item gives is just overkill. You’ll do more than half the health damage on enemy carries with just your ultimate when you have this item.
  •  Infinity Orb – The Inevitable Demise passive of this item will make your abilities and empowered attack crit on low HP enemies. With this item, you’ll be able to clean up fights easily be a potent ganker.
  •  Void Staff – Kill enemy tanks with just one combo with this item which grants the highest amount of magic penetration.
  •  Crystalline Reflector – Allows you to scale your defenses against AD champions in the late game even if you don’t build any defensive items.

Tank Drunkard

Sunfire Aegis Mercury’s Treads Spirit Visage Iceborn Gauntlet Abyssal Mask Dead Man’s Plate

This is a popular Gragas Wild Rift build needs to play as the tank and initiator when your team doesn’t pick one, usually to salvage a misdrafted team comp. Nevertheless, this build still deals a lot of damage and makes Gragas a lot tankier than with the mage build.

  •  Sunfire Aegis – Grants AoE magic damage that increases the longer you stay in the midst of enemies.
  •  Mercury threads – Increase your magic resist and crowd control resistance. Build Plated Steelcaps instead when facing an AD heavy team comp. Upgrade with the Stoneplate Enchant for a burst of HP boost when initiating. The Protobelt Enchant is viable in this build as well.
  •  Spirit Visage – The Blessed passive from this item synergizes well with your innate passive to keep your HP at a healthy level.
  •  Iceborn Gauntlet – Spellblade defensive item that synergizes well with 2nd, Drunken Rage. 
  •  Abyssal Mask – This item provides a balance between offense and defense because it grants defensive stats but has an offensive passive in Abyssal which increases the magic damage received by the enemy in a radius around the wielder.
  •  Dead Man’s Plate – Another hybrid item that grants defensive stats but an offensive passive that hastens Gragas and slows the enemy hit on the usage of max Momentum stacks.

 

Runes for Gragas in Wild Rift

  • Electrocute – Grants additional burst damage on successful combos. Grasp of the Undying is the alternative rune that grants HP-based bonus damage and heal.
  • Brutal – Increases your damage output through the additional AP and magic penetration. Gathering Storm allows you to accumulate AP even when building with tank items.
  • Hunter – Titan – Grants additional health and crowd control resistance on takedowns.
  • Pathfinder – Increases movement speed when out of combat when on the jungle, river, and bushes. Take Sweet Tooth when laning for the bonus healing and gold when eating Honeyfruits.

Spells

In our Gragas Wild Rift Guide, here are the best champion spells that you can equip on him.

Smite is necessary because Gragas is mostly played as the Jungle. It allows you to safely farm the camps and secure buffs and Epic monsters like Drakes and Baron Nashor. Upgrading it into the blue or red smite is up to your preference. The Blue Smite helps secure ganks because of its slowing effect and the Red Smite helps you gain an advantage in duels because of its additional AP effect.

Flash is necessary for Gragas because it helps in engaging and escaping and it makes for a cool and almost unavoidable initiation with the E + Flash combo.

Ignite is a viable spell for securing kills when playing Gragas as a top or mid laner while as a support, Exhaust might be a better option as an additional layer of protection for your AD carry.

Skill Order

2
4
6
7
1
12
14
15
3
8
10
11
5
9
13

The first point will go to 2nd, Drunken Rage, because the empowered attack deals HP-based damage which is a great help for killing the buff monsters. We are going to max 1st, Barrel Roll, first because it is our main source of damage for our jungle clears and ganks. Then, we will max 3rd, Body Slam, next then 2nd, Drunken Rage, last because Body Slam has its cooldown scale down with its ability level. Of course, we are always investing a point in our ultimate, Explosive Cask, whenever possible.

Abilities

Infernal Chains

Casting an ability restores 42 Health (6% HP). (7 second cooldown)

Infernal Chains

Rolls a cask to target location that explodes upon re-casting or after 3 seconds. Enemies hit take 80 magic damage (80 + 70% AP) and are slowed by 40% for 2 seconds.

The cask ferments over the first 1.5 seconds, increasing the damage and slow amount by up to 150%.

Infernal Chains

Guzzles down artisanal brew, reducing damage taken by 8% (8%+ 0.04% AP) for 2.5 seconds.

The next attack within 5 seconds after drinking is empowered to splash nearby enemies for bonus magic damage equal to 20 (20 + 65% AP) plus 7% of their max Health.

 

Infernal Chains

Charges forward, colliding with the first enemy hit to deal 80 magic damage (80 + 60% AP) to nearby enemies. Enemies hit are also bumped backwards, stunning them for 1s.

Body Slam’s cooldown is reduced by 3s if it successfully collides with an enemy. Additionally, it will always have a minimum cooldown of 1.25s

Infernal Chains

Hurls a potent cask that explodes when it lands, dealing 200 magic damage (200 + 70% AP) and knocking enemies away from the explosion’s center.

The cask has a fixed travel time.

Abilities Analysis

Innate: Happy Hour

Gragas heals up when he uses an ability. This ability ties up well with his W, Drunken Rage which should be cast in between jungle camps or in between fights.

Thanks to this passive ability, Gragas can stay healthy between clearing and ganking. When played properly, he would only need to recall to buy his items.

Q | 1st: Barrel Roll

Gragas rolls out a barrel that remains on the ground and ferments for a few seconds then explodes when it expires or when recast. The explosion from the barrel deals magic damage and slows the enemy. The barrel deals more damage and inflicts a stronger slow effect when it ferments which you’ll know because the barrel will turn red when it happens.

Use your Barrel Roll on jungle camps as soon as you reach the distance to throw it at the camp to optimize your clearing.

You can hide the barrel on its way out when you immediately follow up this ability with your 3rd, Body Slam (1st + 3rd). You have to throw the barrel on the anticipated landing spot of the enemy. This combo when successfully pulled off will make the enemy receive the fermented barrel damage. Although, this is a bit tricky and high risk so when you are unsure, doing a 3rd + 1st combo is safer. The downside with the 3rd + 1st combo is that sometimes you will have to activate the explosion prematurely to damage the enemy with it.

W | 2nd: Drunken Rage

Drunken Rage reduces damage Gragas receives while guzzling booze then it boosts his next auto attack to deal splash magic damage to an area.

Gragas cannot attack or cast spells during this ability so make sure to activate it early in anticipation of a clash.

E | 3rd: Body Slam

Gragas charges forward and slams his body unto the enemy, damaging them, knocking back, then stunning them.

Body Slam works smoothly with Flash which allows him to do surprising ganks and plays.

Body Slam also works on narrow walls which you can use to pursue or escape enemies. Additionally, you can also cast the Barrel Roll to do a swift combo, while also catching enemies off-guard with it.

R | Ultimate: Explosive Cask

Explosive Cask deals a large amount of damage in a wide AoE and displaces enemies hit by it.

Explosive Cask is very unpredictable and can make or break your game so I don’t really recommend it as an initiation tool because you might even help the enemy by pushing them away from your team when they are already in a vulnerable position.

Explosive Cask is better used as a follow-up to your own combo or to follow up already crowd-controlled enemies so you can be sure of the outcome of your ultimate. Use to secure kills with the high damage and long, wide range.

This ability is also an excellent disengage tool to disperse your enemies when they have the upper hand in positioning or if they are dangerously close to killing your AD carry.

Combos:

Basic combo: 2nd + 3rd + 1st + AA (auto attack) + 1st + AA + Ult

Advance combo: 2nd + 1st + 3rd + AA + 1st + AA + Ult

Gragas Early Game Guide

Gragas is a pretty safe pick wherever he is laned because of his passive that heals him once in a while when he uses an ability. This allows him to maintain a good amount of health in the laning phase.

Use 1st, Barrel Roll to harass opponents so that you’ll slowly lower their health to a point that they can be killed with an all-in combo.

If they fight back, use your 2nd, Drunken Rage to reduce the damage that you’ll receive then retaliate with your 3rd, Body Slam then auto-attack to use your empowered attack to deal massive damage.

When playing as a jungler, use your Flash to buffer your 3rd, Body Slam for surprising initiation when ganking.

Gragas Late Game Guide

In mid game and late game clashes, Gragas’s ultimate, Explosive Cask can displace enemies, making it easier for your team to engage on them one by one. You can also use his ultimate to disengage a losing fight and give your team a chance to escape.

Help your team by staying close to them and zone the enemy using 1st, Barrel Roll on chokepoints and allow it to brew. If they choose to walk over it, activate it to deal damage to them and slow them.

If you see an enemy low on health, do not hesitate to all-in on them because Gragas deals extreme amounts of damage especially if you are using the mage build.

Synergies

For our Gragas Wild Rift Guide, we highly recommend using him with the following champions as they synergize well with him.

Yasuo when plays in the mid lane, can benefit a lot from Gragas because of Gragas ganking presence, and Yasuo’s strong AD scaling will prevent them from building a full armor defense build against Yasuo = then suffer the magic damage from Gragas or a full magic resistance build then suffer from Yasuo’s strong AD scaling. Plus, there is the possibility of pulling off a beautiful wombo combo which is Body Slam + Last Breath + Explosive Cask.

Kha’Zix loves playing with a good Gragas because Gragas can create a lot of space for him. A well-placed Explosive Casket will Isolate enemies, making it easy for Kha’Zix to pick off enemies one by one.

All Gragas Wild Rift Counter Champions

In this section, we’ll specifically show champions that can easily counter Gragas in Wild Rift.

Vi can face your only crowd control head-on with her ultimate, Assault and Battery. She can melt you down even in tank build. Avoid 1v1 duels with her at all cost. You have more impact in clashes so you’ll win if you can successfully dodge her in the early game.

Garen is a safe pick on the Baron lane against Gragas because he can survive his harass and he can rally his team behind him on clashes, nullifying Gragas’s team fight presence.

Pros & Cons About Gragas

Here are some pros and cons if you are playing with Gragas in Wild Rift.

Pros

  • Gragas has strong burst damage throughout the damage and can kill enemies with just one combo.
  • He has high base stats for a Mage. He is quite tanky even when going full mage build. Plus, he is almost at full health thanks to his passive.
  • Strong team fight presence with a lot of utility thanks to his stun, slow, and displacement from his ultimate, Explosive Casket.

Cons

  • Gragas is quite a high skill floor hero which means that you will need some time in practice and in PVP before you’ll be able to use him reliably in rank games because his skill shots are hard and tricky to use.
  • Gragas is susceptible to early game invades and will likely lose on early duels against meta junglers.

FAQ's About Gragas in Wild Rift

How good is Gragas in Wild Rift?

Gragas is a (Tier S+) champion. Gragas is an extremely versatile pick that can be used in a lot of team compositions. He can be played as an AP carry or as a tank at equal effectiveness.

What role / lane should I play with Gragas in Wild Rift?

Gragas can be played as a tank in the Baron lane, as an AP carry in the mid lane, or as either in the jungler. He can even be played as a support thanks to his versatility as a champion.

What abilities do I level up with Gragas?

The first point will go to 2nf, Drunken Rage, because the empowered attack deals HP-based damage which is a great help for killing the buff monsters. We are going to max 1st, Barrel Roll, first because it is our main source of damage for our jungle clears and ganks. Then, we will max 3rd, Body Slam, next then 2nd, Drunken Rage, last because Body Slam has its cooldown scale down with its ability level.

What items should I build with Gragas?

When playing as an AP carry, Gragas’s core items are Luden’s Echo and Infinity Orb. Luden’s Echo increases Gragas’s burst damage in the early game thanks to its Discordic Echo passive and Infinity Orb grants increased damage against low HP targets. As a tank, Sunfire Aegis grants AoE damage against enemies near its wielder and Iceborn Gauntlet increases his auto-attack damage thanks to its Spellblade passive.

What Runes should I use when playing as Gragas?

Electrocute grants bonus damage on combos, perfect for bursting down opponents and Grasp of the Undying is great for tank Gragas as it grants bonus damage based on his max HP and it also heals Gragas when it procs. His other runes are Brutal, Hunter – Titan, and Sweet Tooth. 

How to I use Gragas's ultimate, Explosive Cask?

Explosive Cask has various uses. It is useful for initiating fights as it will scatter opponents, making it easier to pick them off one by one. It is also great for disengaging fights, as they could push enemies away from your team. Once you are advanced enough, you will be able to control where the enemy flies after being hit by Explosive Cask. If you want to reach that level faster, use the practice tool and experiment with dummies.

Patch Details

Patch Notes 1.1 ( 8-12-2020 )

Currently, Gragas ultimate is much harder to land in Wild Rift, and this skills ia very import for him. Riots making this ability a bit faster so he can start the party a bit sooner.

ULTIMATE – EXPLODING CASK

Travel time: 6 frames → 4 frames