How to Play Gragas Top: Tips & Power Spikes (26.20)

Max order: Q > E > W
First item: Lich Bane14.0 min
Gold vs lane at 15: −167
Win rate 1k gold ahead: 63.5%
Win rate 1k gold behind: 32.4%

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Gragas Power Spikes (Patch 26.20)

Top

When Gragas Top gets stronger, in the order it happens in a typical ranked game: ability unlocks from the most common skill order, item spikes at the median minute players finish them, and the game length Gragas wins most.

Lv 3
All three basic abilities at level 3
Gragas's full combo is online — the first point where trading all-in is realistic.
Lv 6
Ultimate rank 1 at level 6
The biggest early spike: look for a kill or a roam as soon as Gragas hits it.
Lv 11
Ultimate rank 2 at level 11
Lower ultimate cooldown means more fights Gragas can start or win.
Lv 16
Ultimate rank 3 at level 16
Lower ultimate cooldown means more fights Gragas can start or win.
14.0 min
First item at 14.0 min
Lich Bane is done — Gragas's first real damage or durability spike.
22.4 min
Two items at 22.4 min
Lich Bane + Shadowflame: the window to group and take objectives.
35 min
Strongest in games of about 35 minutes
Gragas wins 53.3% of games that end around this point.

Item timings are medians: half of players finish later. Fall behind in farm and every item spike moves back with it.

Gragas Top Laning Plan

Gragas scales: losing a little gold in lane is normal. Farm safely, avoid early all-ins and win the late game. On average Gragas Top is 167 gold behind the lane opponent at 15 minutes and ahead in only 46% of games. A 1,000-gold lead at 15 turns into a 64% win rate; a 1,000-gold deficit leaves 32%. Gragas averages 1.20 solo kills by 15 minutes.

Gragas win rate by gold at 15

1,000+ gold ahead63.5%
Ahead59.3%
Behind38.6%
1,000+ gold behind32.4%

Lane matchups that decide the plan

Respect these lanes

Yone−723 gold at 15

Gragas Mid and Late Game

What Gragas does better or worse than other champions after laning, from this patch's ranked games — percentiles where 100 is the highest of every champion.

Play to these strengths

Gragas brings crowd control (percentile 81): start the fight or follow up on a teammate's engage.
Gragas heals a lot (percentile 75): extended fights and sieges favor Gragas.
Gragas wins 5.9 points more in long games than short ones: avoid coin-flip fights early and let the game go long.

These expert Gragas tips are generated by MetaBot's advanced analysis of thousands of Gragas games. Learn the best strategies, ability combos, and gameplay tactics to master Gragas and climb the ranked ladder. Follow these tips to maximize your Gragas performance.

Gragas has less damage per game than most other damage-based champions. Your value to the team may be better oriented towards crowd control or securing objectives.
Gragas has a high rate of healing compared to other champions. They may be good at exchanging hit trades in lane or before teamfights since they can recover through self-healing.
Gragas has a much higher late game win rate than their early game win rate. Take advantage of this by spending the early game farming and avoiding unneccessary fights.
Gragas has more base armor than most champions, which makes them excellent in the early game against attack damage type enemies.
Gragas has more base attack damage than most champions, so they should be trading autos aggressively in lane.

Playing Gragas

The damage reduction from Drunken Rage is applied when you start drinking, try to use it when you see damage coming your way.
Try to knock enemies back into your towers with Explosive Cask.
Try to combo Body Slam with Explosive Cask to set up kills for your team.

Playing Against Gragas

Gragas can knock everybody away with his ultimate. Be careful that you don't get knocked into him or, worse, an enemy tower.
Body Slam is on a very low cooldown, making it difficult to pursue Gragas. Don't overextend yourself chasing him.

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How to Play Gragas FAQ - Patch 26.20

When does Gragas power spike?

Gragas's spikes in a typical ranked game: All three basic abilities at level 3; Ultimate rank 1 at level 6; Ultimate rank 2 at level 11; Ultimate rank 3 at level 16; First item at 14.0 min.

Can Gragas come back from behind?

Gragas wins 39% of games when behind in gold at 15 minutes (over 503 games), against 59% when ahead — so a lost lane costs Gragas games, but it is not decisive.

What is Gragas's first item?

Most Gragas players finish Lich Bane first, at a median of 14.0 minutes.

Which lanes are hardest for Gragas?

By gold at 15 minutes, Gragas falls furthest behind against Yone. Play those lanes safe and scale.

How do you play Gragas Top?

From this patch's ranked data, Gragas wins by playing to these strengths: start fights with crowd control; take long fights and sieges; play for the late game.

Gragas How to Play: Tips & Power Spikes