Braum is one of the best support champions that Riot Games ever added in League of Legends. He carries games by protecting his allies and absorbing as much damage as possible.
But if you build Braum AP, he can also deal a lot of damage and win team fights on his own!
AP Braum isn’t the strongest build for the champion and it doesn’t always work as intended. However, playing AP Braum is a super fun off-meta support playstyle that I recommend to everyone.
Moreover, AP Braum can be played both in mid and top lane too. Against particular opponents, Braum with ability power items can become an effective counter to many champions.
So, he’s also a good off-meta top laner and off-meta mid laner in LoL.
In this post, I’ll cover everything you need to know about playing AP Braum this season. I’ll talk about the runes and items you should build and explain why they’re effective.
So, let’s begin!
Is Braum AP or AD in League of Legends?
Braum is an AP tank champion in LoL that only deals magic damage. However, only one of Braum’s abilities has an AP ratio (60%) and that is his ultimate – Glacial Fissure.
Braum’s Q does magic damage but scales with his maximum HP. And his passive is magic too but scales with levels.
This means that you can increase Braum’s magic damage by building AP magic penetration items like Void Staff or Shadowflame. They will also boost his R because it has an AP ratio too.
On top of that, the damage to Braum’s Q can be increased by building AP/tank items such as Demonic Embrace or Morellonomicon.
The way Braum’s damage is structured is by allowing him to be a decent DPS-er while fighting together with an ally.
When he’s alone, Braum’s damage isn’t impressive and that’s why most players stick to his traditional tank/support build.
However, the right combination of runes and items can still increase Braum’s magic damage and keep him tanky too.
The build that I’m going to discuss below takes advantage of the fact that Braum deals magic damage despite having AP scaling only on his ultimate.
It also offers tons of defensive options, so you can keep tanking for your team as well.
All in all, Braum is an AP champion but he isn’t the most effective off-meta AP tank in the game. And if you’re searching for one, I can point you to my AP Nautilus or even my AP Alistar guides.
Now let’s jump into why this AP Braum build works well in League of Legends.
Read Also: Full AP Thresh Build Guide
AP Braum Build – Runes
- Electrocute
- Cheap Shot
- Eyeball Collection
- Ultimate Hunter
- Trasncendence
- Gathering Storm
Electrocute
After a dozen games of AP Braum, I’ve realized that Electrocute is the best keystone you can go for here. It’s simple and reliable, so I recommend you to always play with it.
What Electrocute does is that it deals additional damage after you strike an enemy champion with 3 consecutive attacks, basics or abilities.
This damage is adaptive (magic for Braum), and scales up with levels and ability power too.
Electrocute has a short cooldown and can always help you burst your target. Braum can activate it easily with the Q > AA > AA or Q > AA > R combos. So, it’s perfect for this AP build!
Cheap Shot
Cheap Shot is another rune that synergizes with Braum’s ability kit and I also advise you to always have it on your rune page.
With Cheap Shot, you’ll always deal bonus true damage to enemies you slow down or stun. And the reason why I say always is that Cheap Shot only has 4 seconds cooldown. So, you can even activate it two or three times per fight.
Braum’s auto-attacks and Q apply slow effects while his ultimate does knock up and slow too. His passive can even stun enemies, so you have multiple ways of activating Cheap Shot.
Read Also: AP Senna Build Guide
Eyeball Collection
Eyeball Collection is a simple rune that you don’t need to care about that much.
Simply put, this rune increases your ability power passively as you’re collecting champion takedowns. Each champion takedown grants you an eyeball stack. And at maximum stacks, you get 30 bonus AP.
So, you have no reason not to take this rune.
Ultimate Hunter
As I already explained above, Braum’s ultimate – Glacial Fissure is the only ability that scales with ability power.
And since we’re focusing on AP items and magic damage here, you want this ability ready to use as often as possible.
So, Ultimate Hunter directly lowers the cooldown of your ultimate. It works on Bounty Hunter stacks which you get from a champion takedown. And if you get 5 of these, you unlock the full value of this rune.
Transcendence
Transcendence is one of my favorite runes in League of Legends. It works great for so many champions in the game, including AP Braum.
What Transcendence does is that it first gives you 10 bonus ability haste, but it also helps you reset your abilities during a team fight.
Each champion takedown lowers the cooldown of your basic abilities, so you can throw more Qs during a team fight.
Read Also: Full AP Leona Build Guide
Gathering Storm
Gathering Storm is not the most used rune in LoL but it works just fine for AP Braum.
Every 10 minutes, this rune gives you bonus ability power. So the longer the game goes on, the stronger you become regardless of how you’re doing in terms of KDA.
Gathering Storm can help you double your power in the late game, so it’s worth taking.
AP Braum Build – Items
- Sorcerer’s Shoes
- Everfrost
- Nashor’s Tooth
- Demonic Embrace
- Morellonomicon
- Zhonya’s Hourglass
Sorcerer’s Shoes
As I explained above, all of Braum’s damage is magic even though his basic abilities don’t scale with AP.
So, the bonus magic penetration from Sorcerer’s Shoes works with this magic damage and allows Braum to be much more dangerous. And you should always have them!
Everfrost
When it comes to mythic items, I’ve found that Everfrost works the best with the whole AP Braum playstyle.
With Everfrost, not only do you get great stats such as AP, ability haste, mana, and even health, but you also get an active ability.
And when you activate Everfrost, you slow/root all enemies in front of you which triggers the Cheap Shot rune, and you also damage your target which helps you proc your Electrocute keystone faster.
All in all, Evefrost fits Braum really well and I recommend you play with it.
Read Also: ADC Soraka Build Guide
Nashor’s Tooth
Nashor’s Tooth is a great AP item for any champion that uses auto-attacks in combination with abilities, including AP Braum.
Thanks to the bonus attack speed from Nashor’s Tooth, Braum can quickly attack 3 of 4 times and proc his passive – Concussive Blows.
The item also allows him to deal bonus on-hit magic damage with each attack, so it’s always a plus.
Besides that, Nashor’s Tooth grants a lot of raw AP too.
Demonic Embrace
Demonic Embrace is a core item in this AP Braum build for two reasons.
First, Demonic Embrace allows you to burn your enemies and deal more damage overall. Of course, the damage scales with max HP so it’s an effective strategy against tanks in LoL.
And second, this item grants a lot of bonus HP which effectively increases the damage of Braum’s Q – Winter’s Bite. Remember, this ability scales with Braum’s own maximum health!
Read Also: Full AP Janna Build Guide
Morellonomicon
Like Demonic Embrace, one of the reasons you want Morellonomicon in your inventory is for the increased damage on your Q.
On the other hand, Morellonomicon offers a lot of bonus AP as well as the Grievous Wounds effect. Since Braum’s damage is magic, he can always apply Grevious Wounds on his targets and lower their healing potential.
Zhonya’s Hourglass
Lastly, we have Zhonya’s Hourglass.
I really like purchasing Zhonya’s Hourglass in the late game for outplaying my opponents. The item grants me bonus armor as well as the ability to become invulnerable and dodge all of the enemy attacks.
Hourglass is often a must-have item for all melee AP champions simply because they’re in the middle of all the chaos. So, if you need to counter champions like Zed, Yone, or even Akali, go for this item!
Read Also: Full AP Blitzcrank One-Shot Build
Situational/Optional Items
Since playing AP Braum is all about having fun, there are many different items you can experiment with.
For example, Hextech Rocketbelt offers a really cool playstyle where you can dash forward and surprise your enemies. But if you want even more damage, Liandry’s Anguish can help you out too.
On the other hand, Rabadon’s Deathcap and Void Staff are massive damage boosters for all AP champions in League of Legends, so definitely buy them once in a while!
Conclusion
If you’re confused about Summoner’s Spells and skill order when playing AP Braum, consider these tips.
I usually go for Flash + Ignite when I have obvious chances of winning 1v1 fights in lane (mid or top).
But Flash + Teleport is usually more useful when you play top lane AP Braum. And if you’re a support, Flash + Exhaust can sometimes help you out.
As for skill order, you still want to max out your Q first. It’s what does the most damage besides your R, so it’s useful to have it leveled up.
That said, good luck and have fun!
Read Also: Top 7 Best Synergy ADCs for Braum
