Table of Contents

  • What is Hullbreaker?
  • Synergies with Hullbreaker
  • Who can use Hullbreaker?
    • Aatrox
    • Akshan
    • Camille
    • Darius
    • Dr. Mundo
    • Garen
    • Gnar
    • Graves
    • Illaoi
    • Irelia
    • Jax
    • Kled
    • Nasus
    • Nocturne
    • Pantheon
    • Poppy
    • Sett
    • Sion
    • Urgot
    • Volibear
    • Yorick
    • Other
  • How to play around Hullbreaker
  • Example of split pushing
  • Conclusion

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Hullbreaker Top - Patch 12.4

A guide to building Hullbreaker in the top lane

mocaaaaaaaa

January 1st, 1 ⸱ 11 min read



Hullbreaker
has been rising in popularity on champions in the top lane. Why though? There hasn't been any recent changes to the item, so what caused this spike in popularity?

The main reason is the change to

Teleport
. Before, top laners were able to influence other parts of the map with teleport; now, they cannot and are mostly stuck in top lane for the first 14 minutes of the game. In these 14 minutes,
Hullbreaker
can be finished by around 9 minutes, giving you permanent lane priority and incredible split pushing power.

What is Hullbreaker?

    Let's breakdown the stats first.

    2800 gold is cheap and makes

    Hullbreaker
    a very strong one item spike, with mythic items being 500 more gold on average.

    The unique active Boarding Party is very strong by yourself. A minimum of 20 armor and magic resist puts in on par with a tank mythic item, and the buff to allied siege minions means that the enemy top laner will have a hard time contesting your push in lane. Keeping the enemy top laner under their tower lets you do multiple things:

    • Harass the enemy top laner under tower to force them off the minions and take a bad base
    • Collect turret plates
    • Plant deep vision in the enemy jungle
    • Coordinate invades with your jungler
    • Setup for rift herald

    The more levels you get, the more resistances

    Hullbreaker
    gives, making this a very good scaling item as well.

    Even without the active Boarding Party,

    Hullbreaker
    is still an insanely good item from the stats. 50 attack damage is a good amount of attack damage, 400 health makes you beefier (especially in the early game where health gets more value than resistances), and the extra health regeneration allows you to sustain in lane, keeping your lane dominance.

    Synergies with Hullbreaker

    

    Demolish
    and
    Conditioning
    synergize very well with
    Hullbreaker
    .
    Demolish
    scales off
    Hullbreaker
    's Health and Boarding Party bonus damage to turrets.
    Conditioning
    increases the bonus resistance from
    Hullbreaker
    .

    For example, a level 11

    Fiora
    will have roughly 91 armor from base stats and
    Hullbreaker
    . Factoring in
    Conditioning
    ,
    Fiora
    now roughly has 105 armor.

    

    Trinity Force
    is the mythic that synergizes the best with
    Hullbreaker
    .
    Trinity Force
    is already the best mythic at dealing damage to turrets, and the amplified damage from
    Hullbreaker
    makes it even better.

    On a side note, the combination of

    Hullbreaker
    and
    Trinity Force
    increases the value of
    Sterak's Gage
    .

    • Health from
      Hullbreaker
      and
      Trinity Force
      increases the shield value
    • Base Attack Damage from
      Trinity Force
      increases Attack Damage gained from
      Sterak's Gage

    Who can use Hullbreaker?

    The short answer: champions that scale with attack damage.

    The long answer: It depends. Generally any champion that push waves and take towers decently can build it. But one thing you have to think about is if building

    Hullbreaker
    will delay a champion's spike when necessary in the game; one such example is
    Jayce
    , someone who spikes very hard on two items (
    Eclipse
    and
    Muramana
    ), and going
    Hullbreaker
    would be inefficient on him.

    Here is a list of champions that I think can build Hullbreaker first or second viably.

    Aatrox

    

    Aatrox
    absolutely loves the stats that
    Hullbreaker
    in the attack damage and health. While
    Goredrinker
    /
    Stridebreaker
    is a good item on him (I lean more towards
    Stridebreaker
    ), it's not a necessary first buy as it's more of a team fighting item, and
    Aatrox
    has good wave clear built into his kit. You can build
    Hullbreaker
    first and
    Goredrinker
    /
    Stridebreaker
    second, or the other way around if you prefer.

    Akshan

    

    Akshan
    is a champion that doesn't see much play in the top lane, but
    Hullbreaker
    is a viable option on him, although it's not a must buy every game like some other champions as he does really like critical strike or on-hit items, especially with
    Guinsoo's Rageblade
    .
    Akshan
    is also a champion that plays to roam rather than a champion that plays to dominate lane. I would build
    Hullbreaker
    only if you rather play for lane rather than play for the team.

    Camille

    

    Camille
    is a classic split push champion, so of course
    Hullbreaker
    will fit perfectly on her. I would build
    Hullbreaker
    second, as
    Trinity Force
    /
    Divine Sunderer
    is an insane first item on her, due to her
    Precision Protocol
    converting the Sheen damage to true damage as well.

    Darius

    

    Darius
    is a classic lane bully that loves to dominate lane, so
    Hullbreaker
    fits in the sense that he loves his 1v1s and 1v2s. I would build
    Hullbreaker
    first, as he doesn't rely on a mythic as his first item like
    Camille
    . Afterwards, I would build
    Trinity Force
    mainly for the synergy with
    Hullbreaker
    ;
    Trinity Force
    's Sheen effect is the best at taking towers, especially when combined with
    Hullbreaker
    . Of course, you can still go
    Stridebreaker
    if you want.

    Dr. Mundo

    A common misconception about

    Dr. Mundo
    is that people often refer to him as a tank, while he plays a lot more like a bruiser. I'm not saying to never build him as a tank, but this build of
    Hullbreaker
    ,
    Titanic Hydra
    , and then
    Trinity Force
    makes him very hard to deal with in a side lane; the combination of these three items makes him shove waves and take towers quickly, and
    Goes Where He Pleases
    combined with
    Maximum Dosage
    makes him extremely hard to kill, even through Grievous Wounds.

    Garen

    Similar to

    Darius
    ,
    Garen
    really likes to play for lane.
    Judgment
    clears waves with one cast and he has very strong 1v1 power. I would go a similar build to
    Darius
    with
    Hullbreaker
    , and then
    Trinity Force
    or
    Stridebreaker
    as mythic options.

    Gnar

    

    Gnar
    is often known for his
    GNAR!
    in team fights, but before team fights can happen, he has to build up his rage in order to transform. How would you do that? By side laning.
    Gnar
    already harasses a lot of top lane matchups, and
    Hullbreaker
    makes him even better at doing that. Being able to get the guaranteed push before you teleport for an objective fight has insane value. I would build
    Hullbreaker
    first, and then usually go
    Divine Sunderer
    for survivability, especially with his Mega Gnar form, although
    Trinity Force
    is great on him as well.

    Graves

    

    Graves
    is one of the best users of
    Hullbreaker
    . He's a lane bully, can shove waves quickly, harass the enemy under tower, and gets insane amounts of armor from
    Quickdraw
    . I would always go
    Hullbreaker
    first. Afterwards, you can build
    Immortal Shieldbow
    or
    Eclipse
    , with
    Goredrinker
    and
    Stridebreaker
    being legitimate viable mythic options as well. The health, omnivamp, and heal from
    Goredrinker
    gives
    Graves
    even more durability in fights, while the movement speed and slow from
    Stridebreaker
    allows
    Graves
    to kite enemies with ease.

    Illaoi

    While

    Illaoi
    can be massive in team fights with
    Leap of Faith
    , she is also a massive lane bully with
    Test of Spirit
    , can shove waves quickly, and can deal with ganks with
    Leap of Faith
    . I would build
    Hullbreaker
    first, and then either go
    Goredrinker
    or
    Iceborn Gauntlet
    as mythic options.

    Irelia

    While

    Irelia
    spikes extremely hard with
    Blade of The Ruined King
    ,
    Hullbreaker
    is also a good first or second item.
    Irelia
    spikes a lot harder on
    Blade of The Ruined King
    than any other mythic, and going
    Hullbreaker
    second gives
    Irelia
    some resistances and health that she lacks from building
    Blade of The Ruined King
    first.
    Irelia
    also has diverse mythic options with
    Immortal Shieldbow
    ,
    Goredrinker
    ,
    Stridebreaker
    ,
    Trinity Force
    , and
    Divine Sunderer
    all being good on her.

    Jax

    Similar to

    Camille
    ,
    Jax
    is a great split pusher and duelist; however, I would actually go
    Hullbreaker
    third if you do build it, as
    Jax
    is reliant on auto-attacks and likes to build
    Blade of The Ruined King
    and
    Trinity Force
    as his first two items, as he also synergizes very well with Sheen.

    Kled

    

    Kled
    is another great duelist that can roam effectively with
    Chaaaaaaaarge!!!
    , allowing you to get lane dominance with
    Hullbreaker
    and either tower dive or make a play somewhere else on the map. I would build
    Hullbreaker
    first, and then go either
    Goredrinker
    or
    Stridebreaker
    as mythic options.

    Nasus

    On

    Nasus
    ,
    Hullbreaker
    is a bit different;
    Nasus
    likes
    Hullbreaker
    solely for the pushing power and usually goes it as a second or third item, since he synergizes with
    Divine Sunderer
    and wants to build that first.

    Nocturne

    

    Nocturne
    top is not that viable because of nerfs to
    Umbra Blades
    's sustain on minions. However, if you do decide to play
    Nocturne
    top,
    Hullbreaker
    will give you some lane sustain with the health regeneration. I would build
    Hullbreaker
    first, with
    Stridebreaker
    or
    Goredrinker
    as mythic options. Shove the wave and look to make a play with
    Paranoia
    if you can.

    Pantheon

    Similar to

    Nocturne
    ,
    Pantheon
    doesn't see much play in the top lane and isn't that great there. I would build
    Hullbreaker
    into
    Eclipse
    or
    Divine Sunderer
    , and look to shove the wave and make a play with
    Grand Starfall
    .

    Poppy

    

    Poppy
    can be a huge lane bully with the combination of
    Heroic Charge
    requiring the enemy to position smartly, and
    Steadfast Presence
    stopping enemies from running away or stopping engages onto yourself. If you build
    Hullbreaker
    , I would build it first and go
    Divine Sunderer
    second; I wouldn't bother building
    Iceborn Gauntlet
    if you decide to build
    Hullbreaker
    .

    Sett

    

    Sett
    is a champion with extremely good survivability and trading patterns, allowing him to get dominance in lane.
    Hullbreaker
    is an extremely good first item on him, especially with the bonus health giving him extra survivability and more damage on
    Haymaker
    . If you do build
    Hullbreaker
    , I would go straight into
    Stridebreaker
    afterwards and completely skip
    Blade of The Ruined King
    .

    Sion

    

    Sion
    absolutely loves
    Hullbreaker
    , as
    Glory in Death
    and
    Unstoppable Onslaught
    helps him take turrets. Building
    Hullbreaker
    first into
    Titanic Hydra
    and
    Trinity Force
    makes you shove waves and take turrets quickly.

    Urgot

    

    Urgot
    's
    Purge
    makes him fast at shoving waves and taking turrets, so it's no surprise that
    Hullbreaker
    has great value on him. A unique thing about
    Urgot
    is that he doesn't rely on a mythic to function. I would build
    Hullbreaker
    first into
    Titanic Hydra
    , and then build items such as
    Black Cleaver
    , or go straight for a tank mythic such as
    Iceborn Gauntlet
    or
    Evenshroud
    .

    Volibear

    

    Volibear
    is a champion that can take very good trades and has the threat of tower diving with
    Stormbringer
    .
    Hullbreaker
    has insane synergy on him with his scalings as well, as
    Frenzied Maul
    scales with health. I would build
    Hullbreaker
    first, and you can honestly build almost anything on
    Volibear
    and it would work; personally, I enjoy
    Riftmaker
    but
    Divine Sunderer
    is another great mythic option.

    Yorick

    Finally, we get to one of the ultimate split pushers. With his ghouls and

    Eulogy of the Isles
    ,
    Yorick
    can shove quickly and take turrets almost instantaneously. I would build
    Hullbreaker
    into
    Trinity Force
    for the extra Sheen damage to turrets.

    Other

    There are definitely more top laners that can go

    Hullbreaker
    , but I decided to exclude because I feel that it's not worth on them. An example would be
    Renekton
    ; he has a strong 1v1 without it anyways, and the item actually becomes useless on him late game because most of his value is being a stun bot with
    Ruthless Predator
    and being a pseudo-frontline.

    How to play around Hullbreaker

    Split pushing requires coordination between the split pusher and the rest of their team.

    

    Teleport
    is necessary in order to draw pressure on the opposite side of the map while being able to contest objectives at the same time.

    You must coordinate with your team on which objectives you want to contest.

    • If your team doesn't want to fight for a drake, then they can keep the enemy team in the area while you split push
    • If your team wants to fight, you want to be able to prepare the wave to push and hold
      Teleport
      until you absolutely have to use it; be creative with your flanks on the enemy team

    These are just some examples. It doesn't have to be strictly on the opposite side of the objective, and other things.

    Example of split pushing

    At around 35:30, Summit on

    Camille
    starts to push the bottom lane while the rest of his team stalls TSM at the Elder Dragon. Keaiduo's
    Ryze
    is forced to back to try and push back
    Camille
    .
    Camille
    keeps pressuring and dives
    Ryze
    to keep him low so that he cannot walk up to the wave and cannot rejoin TSM immediately.

    

    Camille
    was able to base quickly with an empowered recall and used
    Teleport
    to contest Elder Drake 5v4 while
    Ryze
    was stuck in the base because he had to deal with the minions while being low on health.

    Notice that at the Elder Drake, Cloud 9 did not commit to any fight to buy time for

    Camille
    ;
    Paranoia
    was used defensively. Cloud 9 only then committed to a fight because two members of TSM walked into a
    Command: Shockwave
    , and
    Camille
    had an amazing flank to pick off
    Jinx
    and
    Xin Zhao
    , allowing Cloud 9 to end the game without forcing the Elder Drake.

    Conclusion

    While it didn't go as in-depth as I intended (the website kept getting slower the longer I made this), I hope this guide helps you understand a bit more about the value of

    Hullbreaker
    and split pushing.

    

    League-Of-LegendsTop
    AUTHOR
    mocaaaaaaaa

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