Garen is the might of Demacia; he wields a giant sword, and most of the time, you can see him spinning it and demolishing your entire team while you can’t even damage him. He is a tanky bruiser that can execute you with his ultimate.
He works well as a frontline tanker with really high damage output. He also has a passive that lets him heal whenever he doesn’t receive damage. He also excels at 1v1 fights in the top lane, making him an excellent split pushing champion. So on with the question, is he AP or AD? Let’s find out!
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Is Galio AP or AD Champion?
Here is the answer:
Garen is purely an AD Champion; none of his abilities scale with ability power. His ultimate can deal actual damage to a designated champion called villain; this is a title given to his enemy with the most kills. Garen can tank most types of damage because his W reduces the damage he receives by a certain percentage and gives him a shield.
It also increases his tenacity, so you can use it just before an immobilizing spell hits him to reduce its effect duration significantly. Garen can build tanks and AD items depending on his enemies. Here are some of the best items to build on, Garen.
The Best Item Builds on Garen

- Stridebreaker – This is a tremendous initiating item for Garen. First, he needs to use his Q to silence his enemy, and once he gets close enough, he can use a strikebreaker to slow the enemy down so that he can easily hit them with the total damage of his E.
- Mortal Reminder – Garen has an AoE damage that comes from his E; once a team fight starts, Garen can inflict grievous wounds on all enemies with his E. He is also a frontline champion meaning he will always be close to the enemy champions.
- Dead man’s plate – Garen needs movement speed to get close to his enemies; this item will constantly give him movement speed and can be used to close the gap between him and his enemies. With this item, Garen also gains very high defensive stats and high bonus HP.
- Hull Breaker – Being a split pushing tanky juggernaut, Garen can surely get the total value of this item. The tanky cannon minion that pushes along with Garen can help him push towards his lane.
- Plated Steelcaps – These are Garen’s best boots because he will always be expected to tower dive for his team. It will also significantly mitigate the damage from AD-based champions that rely on basic attacks because this item reduces the elemental attack damage of champions for a certain percentage.
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Best Runes For Garen
- Conqueror – Garen will always be in extended fights because of his tanky nature; Conqueror will allow him to increase his damage the longer he fights. His ultimate is also an execution ability, meaning it will deal more significant damage the lower the enemy’s hp. And with the increased damage, thanks to the conqueror, he can execute enemies much better.
- Triumph – Every time you execute enemies and end fights, you might be running low on HP because of igniting or tower shots. Triumph will be your ticket to safety after securing objectives or kills.
- Legend: Tenacity – Garen is a tank champion meaning he will always be at the front lines of the fight. He is the champion expected to receive most of the immobilizing abilities of the enemy, and having bonus tenacity will help you stay in the fight.
- The Last Stand – is an excellent pair for Conqueror; the extended fights can make Garen deal more damage.
When is The Best Time to Pick Garen?
Garen is generally a good pick because he works well with any team comp. All team compositions need frontline tanks, and Garen is great for that; he can also be blindly picked.
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Conclusion
Garen is an AD champion that can also be built with tank items. He excels at extended fights and can quickly return to a fight; he needs to avoid damage for a few seconds to regenerate his health quickly.