The reason for maxxing W first is it's superior damage via increased attack speed and little mana cost over maxxing Q.
You max e 2nd for the 55% damage reduction which is huge in mid-game which is where warwick is strongest, warwick is strong early game but his mid-game spikes harder when played/built correctly.
Maxxing Q is a huge mistake most warwick player's make forcing them to use presence of mind in runes for mana which locks you out of more usefull rune choices for essentially little damage/healling which won't matter since your W AS makes you heal a ton from your passive heal.
If you're wondering "wHy nO bArRiEr?? iT's sO OP?!!?"
Barrier in top lane is training wheels that are the sole reason for warwick's bad scalling in lower mmr's if you cannot win fights without barrier or can't seem to understand when to tp watch H0rnlime or some guides on tp usage/fundamentals of top lane.
Ghost has better scalling then Flash also has a lower cooldown, should be used to escape ganks, turn fights or run down enemies.
If you are unsure how to adapt to these runes go watch H0rnlime on Youtube or Twitch.
You can take second wind/Legend alacrity that is up for preference You can also take double adaptive in runes if you're confident in your last hitting
Standart build goes : Long sword, 2x potions --> Tiamat --> boots of swiftness --> Stridebreaker --> Hullbreaker --> Death's dance --> Spirit visage --> Situational items/Warmogs
If the game isn't suitable for splitting or there's a fed hypercarry on enemy team you should build situational items
If you have any questions about the playstyles/builds I would highly recommend H0rnlime on Twitch and Youtube for Top lane Warwick content and Xyllow for Jungle on Twitch, Tiktok and Youtube shorts. Both of these previously Rank 1 Warwick players have discords where you can ask questions.
