Malphite Top Lane Build Guides, Runes, Items, and Abilities

Malphite is a resilient and tanky champion in League of Legends, known for his ability to control the battlefield with his powerful crowd control and high durability. As a rock-themed juggernaut, Malphite excels at initiating fights, disrupting enemies, and absorbing significant amounts of damage. His kit allows him to become an unmovable presence on the front lines, making him an excellent choice for players who enjoy playing tanky champions with strong team-fight impact. Whether it's with his massive engage potential or his capacity to soak damage, Malphite is a force to be reckoned with.

1. Strengths:

High Durability: Malphite's passive, Granite Shield, grants him a shield that absorbs damage based on his maximum health. This shield allows him to tank considerable damage in lane and during team fights, giving him excellent survivability, especially early on when his shield recharges.

Strong Crowd Control: Malphite’s ultimate, Unstoppable Force, is one of the most impactful crowd control abilities in the game. It allows him to engage or disengage fights by launching himself into a group of enemies, dealing damage and knocking them into the air. This makes him an incredible initiator in team fights.

Armor Scaling: Malphite’s Ground Slam (E) deals magic damage based on his Armor, making him one of the best champions to stack armor against AD-heavy compositions. This ability also reduces enemy attack speed, which can significantly disrupt the damage output of enemy carries in fights.

Movement Speed Reduction: Seismic Shard (Q) allows Malphite to deal damage and steal enemy movement speed, making it easier to chase down enemies or escape from tricky situations. This provides him with both offensive and defensive utility.

2. Weaknesses:

Low Damage Output: Malphite’s damage is often overshadowed by his tankiness. While his Ground Slam (E) and Unstoppable Force (R) can deal significant damage in the right conditions, Malphite typically struggles to carry games with his own damage. He relies on being a tanky initiator, meaning his offensive potential is often limited.

Vulnerable to Magic Damage: Malphite’s armor scaling makes him particularly resilient to AD damage, but he can be vulnerable to magic damage and abilities that bypass his armor. If the enemy team builds magic penetration or if Malphite is up against magic-heavy compositions, he can be more susceptible to damage.

Melee Range: As a melee champion, Malphite can be susceptible to ranged poke and harassment in the laning phase. He often struggles to close the gap on enemies who can kite him or poke him down from a distance.

Dependent on Timing: Malphite’s ultimate, Unstoppable Force, is a powerful tool but requires precise timing. If used too early or too late in a fight, it can miss crucial targets or fail to engage at the optimal moment. Communication and positioning are key when using this ability.

Use Seismic Shard to Harass: In the early stages of the game, Seismic Shard (Q) is a great tool for poking enemies and reducing their mobility. Use it to trade in lane and apply pressure to your opponent, especially against champions who rely on movement speed.

Timing Your Ultimate: Unstoppable Force (R) is Malphite’s game-changing ability, but it requires good timing to maximize its impact. Wait for key enemy champions to group up before using it to ensure you land a multi-target knock-up. It’s also effective when you want to initiate a team fight or escape a bad situation.

Stack Armor for Maximum Damage: Ground Slam (E) scales with Malphite’s Armor, so stacking armor items can significantly increase his damage output. Building tank items like Sunfire Aegis or Randuin's Omen not only makes you tanky but also boosts your damage in fights.

Don’t Forget About the Attack Speed Slow: The Ground Slam (E) ability not only deals damage but also reduces the attack speed of enemies. Use this to disrupt enemy carries or AD champions, particularly in team fights, to mitigate the damage they deal.

Granite Shield for Lane Sustain: Malphite’s passive provides him with a shield that absorbs damage. Use this to sustain in lane and take trades without worrying about your health bar as much. The shield recharges when Malphite is not hit for a few seconds, so avoid taking unnecessary damage and wait for your shield to reset.

• AA + E + Q + AA + W + AA: Combos against Auto Attack based champs are slightly different, AA then E Q instantly followed by AA W AA.
• Q + AA + W + E + AA: Your basic combo against abilty based champs is to Q then walk forward, AA once in range and instantly W once it completes to reset the AA. Follow up with an instant E then an AA.
• R + AA + W + Q + E + AA: To maximise your CC Use R. Upon landing instantly AA W followed by quickly using Q E then an AA.
• R + E + Q + AA + W: or your basic engage use R. Upon landing instantly E Q then AA W.
• Q + E + FLASH + W + EAA: To chase and burst a target Q then E and instantly Flash W.
• Q + E + AA + W + R + AA: Your regular all in is Q then E quickly once in range followed by an AA. Hit W R as quickly as you can then AA.
• Q + R + W + EAA + E + AA: When you need to all in quickly Q R instantly and upon landing W E as quickly as you can, followed by an AA.
• FLASH + R + Q + E + W + EAA: To surprise the enemy Flash then instantly R once you arrive. Q E W as quickly as you can.

1. Early game

• Play safe for the first few levels. You need time to come online and you shouldn’t be fighting unless you have a clear early advantage.
• Once you have a few levels under your belt, you can start to play aggressive and look for aggressive plays. You benefit from extended trades, so try to go for them frequently.
• Keep the minion wave closer to your side of the map throughout the early game. This is the best place for the wave to be as it offers you tons of extra protection.

2. Mid game

• Split push during the mid-game and try to secure side objectives. Avoid grouping when your Ultimate Unstoppable Force R is down.
• Group with your team when your Ultimate Unstoppable Force R is up. Rotate from the side lane to wherever your team is and look for a pick with your Ultimate Unstoppable Force R.
• Peel for your allies in team fights. As you’re a tank, you’re rather weak unless your carries are alive. Thus, keeping them alive is key in team fights. Be prepared to peel for them when necessary.

3. Late game

• Do not fight in the late game unless your Ultimate Unstoppable Force R is up. It is crucial that you only commit or look for fights when it is available as you’re going to miss out on the potential knockup it provides.
• Your Ultimate Unstoppable Force R will be on a shorter cooldown in the later stages of the game. If you can find an opportunity to do so, use it to catch out someone who is isolated and alone, too far forward or way out of position.
• Peel for your carries to keep them alive for longer. If your allies die quickly, there will be little chance that you will win the team fight.

Early game with Malphite focuses on surviving until level 6 while maintaining CS with E. Use your passive shield wisely by backing off when it’s down and trading when it’s up. Q is your main trading tool, but be mindful of mana – start Corrupting Potion to help with sustain.

Once you hit 6, look for ultimate opportunities, but don’t force them – a missed ultimate severely reduces your impact. In lane, use Q when your Comet/Grasp is up for maximum trading potential. During teamfights, you have two main approaches: either initiate with R on multiple priority targets, or peel for your carries by ulting divers.

Against AD-heavy teams, rush Frozen Heart and watch your damage soar due to armor scaling. Ward deeply when pushing as you lack escape tools. Remember that your E reduces attack speed, making you especially effective against auto-attack-based champions.

In late game, look for flanks with your ultimate rather than engaging head-on, as it’s harder to dodge when you come from fog of war.

Malphite is a strong tank with powerful crowd control and an excellent ability to absorb damage. His kit allows him to disrupt the enemy team, absorb significant damage, and initiate team fights with his Unstoppable Force. While he may lack the damage output of some other champions, Malphite more than makes up for it with his tankiness and utility. If played correctly, he can be an immovable object that helps his team secure victories, making him a solid pick for any player looking to contribute heavily to team fights and objectives. His passive, crowd control, and scaling armor make him an ideal pick for tanking and disrupting enemy teams, though proper positioning and timing are key to maximizing his effectiveness.

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Good luck to you! – Cheng