Rammus has been a part of League of Legends for a very long time. And over the years, Riot Games has tweaked and reworked Rammus into a hard-hitting AP armadillo.
So the full AP Rammus build in season 13 is a super-fun playstyle that you must try out!
But if you don’t where to start, don’t worry at all!
In this post, I’ll go over the runes, items, and all necessary information you need to know to play Rammus AP at a top level.
I’ll start by explaining ratios and scaling and I’ll then move on to the actual build.
So, let’s jump right in!
Is Rammus AP or AD in LoL?
Rammus is a tank champion based on AP in League of Legends. Rammus’ damaging abilities deal magic damage and scale with ability power items.
Rammus’ auto-attacks also deal bonus magic damage which scales with bonus armor. So, Rammus has both AP and armor ratios when it comes to damage.
The regular build that most Rammus players go for is the tank Rammus build. It focuses more on stacking armor, magic resist, and maximum health instead of ability power.
And this is why you never see Rammus one-shotting enemies on Summoner’s Rift.
But since Rammus scales with AP, it’s totally possible to play him full AP.
Scroll down to see the best AP Rammus build in season 12.
Read Also: Volibear Full AP Build Guide
Does Rammus have AD Ratios?
Rammus doesn’t have AD scalings on any of his abilities. But like all champions in League of Legends, Rammus’ basic attacks deal base physical damage. This AD grows with each level (56-115,5).
And if Rammus builds AD items, his basic attacks will do more physical damage.
Aside from that, Rammus doesn’t benefit from AD items at all. This destroys the idea of playing Rammus full AD because you really don’t get anything out of it.
And since Rammus’ passive adds bonus magic damage to his basic attacks (increased with more armor), you really have no reason for going AD on this champion.
Read Also: AP Rengar Build Guide
AP Rammus Runes for Season 13
Here are the best runes for playing full AP Rammus in season 12:
- Aftershock
- Font of Life
- Conditioning
- Unflinching
- Celerity
- Gathering Storm
AFTERSHOCK is the best keystone for playing Rammus AP simply because there’s nothing that fits this champion better.
This rune makes Rammus tankier by giving him more magic resist and armor when he uses Q, E, or R on an enemy champion.
Additionally, Aftershock explodes 2.5 seconds after immobilizing an enemy, dealing magic damage to everyone around Rammus. It doesn’t have a super long cooldown, so you have it for every fight.
FONT OF LIFE is a supportive rune that will allow you to protect your teammates. Each time you cast a crowd control effect on a target, you mark them for 4 seconds.
And if your allies attack them during this time, they’ll heal a bit as well. So, it’s a helpful rune for a team fight.
CONDITIONING is a scaling rune in League of Legends and it doesn’t give anything at the start of the game.
But as soon as you reach the 12th minute, Conditioning grants you 9 armor and 9 magic resist while also increasing both of those stats by 4%.
Since won’t be adding tank items in this build, having extra defensiveness is crucial for a melee champion such as Rammus.
UNFLINCHING is the best rune for Rammus from the last row of Resolve. It gives him more tenacity and slow resist which Rammus desperately needs.
When you play AP Rammus especially, you need to be able to roam free and get in range with your targets. You won’t be tanky enough to survive many hits, so you’ll want to dive in as quickly as possible.
CELERITY is a great rune to have as well. It makes it so the movement speed from Rammus’Q is 7% higher while his overall movement speed increased by 1%.
This rune will be crucial for ganking, no matter whether you’re a jungler or not.
GATHERING STORM is another scaling rune that you absolutely need. Since Rammus’ ratios aren’t as high as Syndra, for example, you’ll definitely need high AP to deal high damage in the late game.
Gathering Storm grants ability power every 10 minutes without you having to do anything.
For bonuses, make sure to pick up one Attack Speed, one Adaptive Damage, and one Armor rune.
Read Also: Nautilus Full AP Build Guide
AP Rammus Items for Season 13
Here’s the best item build for playing full AP Rammus in season 12:
- Mercury’s Treads
- Everfrost
- Demonic Embrace
- Cosmic Drive
- Zhonya’s Hourglass
- Void Staff
MERCURY’S TREADS are the overall best boots for Rammus, no matter the build. Since they increase your tenacity, you’ll be able to quickly get out of roots and stuns.
And if you aren’t in CC, you can always use Q or R to reach your target and deal your damage.
EVERFROST is my personal favorite AP mythic item for Rammus. It’s relatively cheap when compared to the other mythics and it fits his playstyle perfectly.
Not only does it grants AP, health, and ability haste, but it also has an active that freezes enemies in place.
One way to take advantage of Evefrost is to use it before you hit someone with Rammus’ Q or E. And even if you don’t free your target, the slow effect will be enough for you to get in range.
DEMONIC EMBRACE is one of the best AP/tank items in the game and you’ll definitely need it. Besides AP, it gives you a lot of health too.
It also makes your abilities burn your targets for additional magic damage based on their maximum HP.
So, Demonic Embrace is the perfect item to counter tanks while also making yourself tanky.
COSMIC DRIVE is a very underused item in League of Legends. But when it comes to AP Rammus, Cosmic Drive is a core item.
After using 3 spells or auto-attacks, Cosmic Drive gives you a huge burst of movement speed. This makes you very mobile in a team fight and able to chase down your opponents.
ZHONYA’S HOURGLASS is the best defensive item you can get on any AP champion. Since Rammus is melee and he needs to get in the middle of the action, Zhonya’s Hourglass provides him with a lot of extra safety.
Being able to avoid all damage for 2.5 seconds is huge in LoL, so make sure to always get Hourglass.
VOID STAFF is the last item you should put in your inventory as AP Rammus.
By giving you so much magic penetration, Void Staf will help you deal an insane amount of damage in the late game. So your enemies will likely wonder where your damage came from.
Read Also: AP Sejuani Build Guide
Optional and Situational Items for Rammus AP
When it comes to situational items, here are the ones that I usually go for.
Riftmaker and Crown of the Shattered Queen can both be viable mythic items for AP Rammus. Riftmaker will give you more damage while Crown is good for delaying that initial damage.
Other than that, you can always buy Rabadon’s Deathcap and Shadowflame if you need more ability power and magic penetration.
Is AP Rammus Actually Good?
Playing the full AP Rammus build can be very good, especially against a squishy team. Rammus’ Q and R have high ability power ratios and can deal a lot of magic damage.
With enough AP, Rammus can one-shot the enemy carry by simply slamming into them with Powerball or Soaring Slam.
The AP Rammus build is a very fun playstyle and I’d recommend it to everyone. However, I’d advise you to think twice before you go for it in a ranked game. Here’s why.
With the full AP build, Rammus loses almost all of his defensiveness. Yes, he still has his W but it’s never enough. Without armor, health, and magic resists, Rammus is just a melee champion that could easily be poked and slain.
But if you manage to sneak around enemies and slam into them without getting hit, you can definitely make it work.
Read Also: AP Skarner Build Guide
Conclusion
Rammus is one of my favorite champions to experiment with in League of Legends. This full AP build has been a blast so far and I love how surprising it feels to all players that I go against.
They don’t know how to counter Rammus with this AP build, so it’s great for inting enemies.
If you are interested in more builds like this, don’t hesitate to browse Runetarium further. My recommendation for you is full AP Lee Sin support!
Read Also: AP Xhin Zhao Build Guide
