When you play top (Baron lane) and the enemy's main damage is magic
Force of Nature brings +60 Magic Resistance, and taking ability damage from enemy champions builds Steadfast stacks. At the maximum of 4 stacks, you gain 6% Movement Speed and 70 bonus Magic Resist. Build 1 reaches +110 Magic Resistance in total, against +50 for build 2. Mortal Reminder applies 50% Grievous Wounds for 3 seconds when you deal physical damage to enemy champions. Trinity Force makes the next attack within 10 seconds of using an ability deal bonus physical damage equal to 200% base AD.
When you play top (Baron lane) and the enemy's main damage is physical
Randuin's Omen brings +75 Armor, and Critical Strikes deal 30% less physical damage to you. Build 2 reaches +195 Armor in total, well above the +75 of build 1. Death's Dance stores part of the physical and magic damage you take and has you take it as true damage over 3 seconds instead. Stridebreaker's active dashes a short distance and slows nearby enemies by 40% for 3 seconds. That makes it easier to catch an enemy trying to walk away.
Build 3JungleWin rate 55.37%Picks 4,424
Armor Penetration backed by Guardian Angel's revive
When you play jungle and the enemy has frontliners stacking Armor
Mortal Reminder brings +30% Armor Penetration, helping your damage get through enemies who stack Armor. Guardian Angel revives you with 50% base HP after 4 seconds of stasis when you take lethal damage, on a 180-second cooldown. Dead Man's Plate builds Momentum as you move, granting 40 Movement Speed at 100 stacks. A melee attack at max Momentum slows by 75% for 1 second. Chainlaced Crushers grants a 5-second magic shield after you take magic damage from a champion.
Build 4JungleWin rate 55.19%Picks 2,718
+50% Tenacity in total from Mercury's Treads and Sterak's Gage
When you play jungle and several enemy champions bring crowd control
Mercury's Treads brings +30% Tenacity, and Sterak's Gage adds another +20%. Build 4 totals +50% Tenacity, against +30% for build 3. Mercury's Treads costs 1200G and matches the Tenacity of the 2200G Chainlaced Crushers. Youmuu's Ghostblade grants 30 bonus Movement Speed 3 seconds after combat with enemy champions ends. Once a fight is over you move faster, so you reach the next one sooner.
The commentary is AI-written. It is cross-checked against this site’s item data and the official lane assignments before publishing.
Skill Order (Lv 1 - 15)
1
3
2
1
Ult
1
1
3
Ult
3
3
2
Ult
2
2
Max Skill 1 first for its strong damage and healing, then level Skill 3 to gain Armor Penetration.
Darius Strengths
✓Heavy pressure in the laning phase
✓Ult resets that can break a teamfight
Darius Weaknesses
×Weak to kiting
×Low mobility
Darius Early Game
Your laning phase is strong. Hit with the outer edge of Skill 1 to poke and keep up the pressure. At Level 5, stack Hemorrhage quickly and go for the kill.
Darius Mid Game
Push side lanes and invade the enemy jungle to take vision and resources. If only one or two enemies come to gank, you can often turn it around for a double kill.
Darius Late Game
Look for teamfight opportunities, whether a Flash engage or catching an enemy out of position. Hold the frontline as a tank while remaining a threat to the enemy backline.
Darius Teamfights
Start by hitting the enemy frontline or anyone out of position to trigger Noxian Might. At max stacks the fight is in your favor. Use Ult to chain kills and take over the fight.
⚠️ Common Mistakes
Hitting Skill 1 (Decimate) with the handle
Hitting Skill 1 (Decimate) with the inner handle is a big mistake, in lane trades and teamfights alike. You lose the heal, fail to apply Hemorrhage, and deal far less damage. Adjust your spacing to land the outer blade, and from Level 5, reach max stacks before using Ult to chain kills.
Darius Combos
Basic Trade
Pull with Skill 3, slow with autos and Skill 2, then hit with the blade edge of Skill 1.
3▶
AA▶
2▶
1
All-in
Stack Hemorrhage to 5, then finish with Ult.
3▶
AA▶
2▶
1▶
AA▶
Ult
Darius Skills
Passive
Hemorrhage
Attacks cause enemies to bleed, dealing 18 physical damage (18 + 40% bonus AD) over 5 seconds. Can stack up to 5 times.
Upon reaching full stacks, Darius gains Noxian Might for 5 seconds, gaining 32 AD ((Lv)) and applying full stacks of Hemorrhage instead of 1.
Deals 180% damage to monsters.
Skill 1
Decimate
⏳ 9.5s
Swings his axe after a delay, dealing 43 physical damage (18 + 35% AD).
Hitting enemies with the blade of the axe deals 120 physical damage (50 + 100% AD), heals himself for 15% of his missing HP for each champion or large monster hit (max 45%) and applies Hemorrhage.
Details
LVL 1
LVL 2
LVL 3
LVL 4
Cooldown
9.5
8
6.5
5
Cost
35
40
45
50
Base Damage
50
90
130
170
AD
100%
115%
130%
145%
Skill 2
Crippling Strike
⏳ 5.5s
Empowers his next attack within 8 seconds to deal an additional 21 physical damage (30%AD) and slow by 90% for 1 second(s).
This ability refunds 100% Mana and reduces its cooldown by 50% if it kills the target.
Details
LVL 1
LVL 2
LVL 3
LVL 4
AD
30%
40%
50%
60%
Skill 3
Apprehend
⏳ 18s
Passive: Gains 15% AR Pen.
Active: Pulls in enemies in front of him, slowing them by 40% for 1.5 seconds.
Details
LVL 1
LVL 2
LVL 3
LVL 4
Cooldown
18
16
14
12
AR Pen
15%
22%
29%
36%
Ult
Noxian Guillotine
⏳ 70s
Leaps to execute a champion. Deals 125 true damage (125 + 75% bonus AD), increased by 20% per Hemorrhage stack, and applies Hemorrhage.
Killing the target with Noxian Guillotine refreshes its cooldown, mana cost, and grants Noxian Might for 5 seconds and causes nearby minions and monsters to flee for 1.5 seconds.
Killing a target refunds 50% of Skill 2's cooldown and restores mana equal to 100% of its mana cost.
Darius has long faced a dilemma in lane: clearing minions with autos shoves the wave, while clearing with abilities makes it hard to build passive stacks. Getting the cooldown and mana back on every last hit with Leg Slash lets him manage the wave and keep stacking at the same time. He runs dry far less often, which also leaves him with something in hand the moment his lane opponent steps up.
