Specialist · Specialist · Top
Prepare for battle with Gnar — master their strengths and exploit their weaknesses before the game starts.
Playstyle Profile
Gnar is an initiator — excels at engaging grouped enemies with impactful openings
- Teamfight Role
- Vanguard Initiator
- Power Spike
- Mid game
- Split Threat
- None
- Backline Access
- Low
Gnar's Strengths
- Starts fights on your terms — Gnar's engage forces enemies to react, giving your team the initiative
How to Play Gnar
Champion-specific pre-match tips
Lane Phase
Trigger your W passive by weaving an auto-attack before and after your Q to maximize short trades while maintaining your attack range.
Lane Phase
Fast push the wave when your rage bar hits 80% to force the enemy to interact with your Mega form while they last hit under their tower.
Lane Phase
Hold your E until the enemy commits an engage tool, or bounce off a minion at 100 rage to instantly close the gap and transform.
Mid Game
Keep your rage hovering around 70% by attacking jungle camps or minions 30 seconds before an objective spawns to ensure you transform exactly as the teamfight breaks out.
Mid Game
Chain your Mega form crowd control by casting your R to knock targets into a wall, then immediately casting your W before the first stun expires.
Mid Game
Shove side waves in Mini form using Q to clear safely, then rotate through the river to flank mid lane right as your rage bar caps.
Late Game
Flank from the fog of war when your rage is completely full to cast E over a wall and surprise the enemy backline with your R.
Late Game
Kite backward immediately after reverting to Mini form, using your Q slow and W movement speed to peel enemy frontline threats away from your carries.
Late Game
Delay 5v5 engagements when you have the tired debuff after leaving Mega form, as your teamfight impact is drastically lower without access to your R.
For matchup-tailored tips, download Baron Buff's AI Coach & Companion App.
Core Build
Ranked from real ranked-match itemization
We look at ranked games after each item was bought. If the player or team gained ground in gold, we rate that item higher.
- Black Cleaver — 3,000
- Plated Steelcaps (Boots) — 1,200
- Trinity Force — 3,333
- Bloodthirster — 3,400
- Stridebreaker — 3,300
- Death's Dance — 3,300
total: 17,533
How to Counter Gnar
Counter strategies and draft context
understand their unique win condition and draft to directly deny it
- Weak to disengage and spread comps — Gnar's engage loses value when enemies aren't grouped
- Champions that match their unconventional playstyle
- Hard-engage picks that force standard team fights
- Waveclear to prevent map manipulation
Gnar's Weaknesses
- Heavy disengage compositions — Gnar's engages get peeled off before the team can follow up
Best Synergies with Gnar
Team synergies and draft context
- Follow-up damage dealers who capitalize on Gnar's engage — burst mages and ADCs with range
- Allies that lean into your unconventional win condition
- Champions that create pressure elsewhere while you execute your strategy
- Frontlines that buy time for your unique gameplan to develop
Draft Context
- Pairs another engage champion with no follow-up damage to capitalize on Gnar's initiation
Learning Curve
Based on 1.2M+ matches across all ranked elos, showing how Gnar's win rate changes with mastery level
Gnar has exceptional depth — there is always something new to learn, and the learning curve is among the steepest in the game. Expect a long stretch of low win rates before meaningful improvement — mastering this champion demands serious commitment.
- Skill Cap
- Very High
- Cost of Learning
- Extremely High
| Mastery Level | Win Rate |
|---|---|
| 1-2 | 38.7% |
| 3-4 | 46.7% |
| 5-6 | 48.7% |
| 7-8 | 51.8% |
| 9-12 * | 55.6% |
| 13-16 | 55.6% |
| 17+ | 55.6% |
