Bilgewater’s most dangerous fighter will be hitting the rift today with an updated kit of tools and new visual effects to strike even more fear into his enemies’ hearts. Gangplank will be receiving a full rework in abilities allowing to make powerful impacts all throughout the game.
The Pirate King has seen very little play as most summoners believe that his late-game power is overshadowed by the thirty minutes of passive farming it would usually take for him to be relevant in the game at all. Additionally, without the necessary items, Gangplank acts as nothing more than a burden for his teammates, constantly needing peel for extra damage output and unable to offer any form of hard cc to help his carries access the enemy team’s backline. With the new rework, Gangplank not only maintains his intense lane presence, but he also receives buffs to make him more relevant and useful in the mid-game allowing him to group up with his teammates for early teamfights.
Gangplank excels in the top lane as he possesses the range and capability to bully out enemy melee champions while still being able to farm consistently against ranged ones. A change of his E ability to Powder Keg now offers a solid escape tool when being ganked by enemy junglers, as most of the time a solid gank would result in Gangplank using flash. With the burst of AOE damage and zone control through his barrels, Gangplank effectively maintains lane presence rather easily. Where Powder Keg really shines, however, is in the mid game when grouping with his team. Since explosions upon a barrel hit causes a slow, enemy teams are forced to be careful when walking in un-warded territories, also forcing teams to make vision a true priority. Additionally, an explosion on a Powder Keg immeidately triggers Gangplank’s passive, Trial by Fire, which grants true damage upon Gangplank’s next melee attack and ignites the target champion while gaining movement speed. This increases both Gangplank’s individual ability to pick off enemy champions while constantly chasing them down without too much trouble.
With the rework, however, Gangplank’s laning phase is more important than ever. His ultimate, Cannon Barrage, still acts a global skill that enemies need to constantly take into account, but the rework provides more of a buff. Gangplank Q, Parrrley, has always been a useful farming tool as it is ranged and relatively safe to use. Whenever gold is acquired via Parrrley, Gangplank gains a Silver Serpent, currency he can use at the shop to purchase upgrades to his ultimate. The upgrades include Death’s Daughter, which fires an initial mega-cannonball in the center of the target location, Raise Morale, which provides your ally with increased movement speed inside target location to maximize the slow off the barrage, and Fire at Will, which will increase the amount of cannonballs dropped over time. Attaining these upgrades as soon as possible is not only free, but potentially tide-turning in the midst of battle.
While Gangplank appears to have an improved toolkit, it remains to be seen if his impact on the rift will change at all. With all new champions being innovated into different lanes everyday, only time can tell how strong the Pirate King’s matchups will be compared to other bruisers and tanks in the game. It also remains to be seen if Gangplank can match up to Bilgewater’s other finest marksman, Miss Fortune, after her champion update which you can learn more about here. For more info and updates in League of Legends, keep up with cpgaming.gg and let us know whaty ou think of Gangplank’s newest kit in the comments below.