From runes to items, gameplay tips amd more, we've put together a guide to help you master playing Cho'Gath in the toplane in League of Legends.
Be mindful that there are several ways to build and play a champion, and you'll need to be adaptable as the game and the enemy team progress.
That said, this guide is a good starting point to helping you get to grips with the champion and making an impact in your games.
Runes
Core Items
Build
Everfrost is great on Cho'Gath when trading with his lane opponent, making it easy to apply Rupture.
Winter's Approach offers ideal tankiness, ramping up his health considerably. Once it becomes Fimbulwinter, the shield becomes hugely useful.
Other good items include Demonic Embrace, Thornmail, and Zhonya's Hourglass.
Starting Item & Boots
Skill Order
While your choices may differ according to how the game progresses, the typical Cho'Gath skill priority is:
R > Q > W > E
Summoner Spells
These are the summoner spells most typically taken by Cho'Gath in this role. Naturally, this may change depending on match-ups.
Gameplay
Cho'Gath is pretty weak early on, so just focus on farming up as best you can. Poke your opponent often with Vorpal Spikes, and try to land Rupture if they stick close to their wave. Later on, once you hit your two-item spike, you'll be formidable in teamfights.
- Level 1 - Take Q - Rupture, so you can damage multiple minions at the same time, allowing for faster clear.
- Level 2 - Take W - Feral Scream, so you can silence the enemy, aim for a trade, and damage multiple minions at the same time.
- First Back - If you're struggling in lane, pick up your defensive boots. If not, work towards Everfrost.
Tips & Tricks
- When going in for a trade, start with Feral Scream so that your opponent cannot use CC or an escape ability.
- Vorpal Spikes increases the range of your auto-attacks briefly, so use it to poke.
- Activating Vorpal Spikes serves as an auto-attack reset, so alternate this with your auto for more damage.
- Don't hesitate to use Feast on minions, so that you gain the life bonus more quickly. Remember that when you kill a minion, the cooldown is halved.
- Your Carnivore passive grants health and mana when you kill a unit, so don't hesitate to trade in-between minion waves.
- Once you have maxed out Feast from minions, focus on using it to kill enemy champions and epic monsters (such as Dragon or Baron Nashor).
- If you feel like a neutral objective might be contested, use Feast to secure it.
