Cernunnos Build Guides - Abilities, Items, Combos & More

Cernunnos is a Hunter and choosing the right relics and items for Cernunnos will maximize him power in battle.

Standing upon the edge of the wooded realm of Cernunnos, one can feel the invitation and the threat. “Come and feast,” it calls. “Nature provides an abundance of crops and wild game.” Yet, the same voice turns dark. “Treat everything with due respect,” it warns. “This is not your home.” And, should one peer intently enough through the shadowed branches, a figure can be seen, horned as a stag, clothed in moss and leaves, eyes burning like untended embers. Cernunnos is master here, and although he has much to offer, he will not tolerate greed. Time turns on the Sacred Wheel, Spring to Summer, Summer to Autumn and Autumn at last to Winter.

Cernunnos was there at the shaping of the wheel, born of the womb of the All Mother before Gods were Gods, when the land was shapeless. This wheel is not of his making. He is both master of it and slave to it, transforming with the seasons like the world beneath his feet. He bears a heavy metal torc around his neck as a permanent pledge of loyalty to this cycle of life and death that only he can drive. Once, it was said, there was no break between his realm and this world. They were the same. Perhaps a time will come when the world shall once again be his. Then, all can walk among the whispering leaves. So long as they remain humble. For the arrogant, Cernunnos hunts. What are these other Gods? Guest or prey?

1. Passive - Heavy Glaive

Heavy Glaive provides additional damage to all enemies in melee range while Cernunnos is throwing it.

You should always try to position yourself in melee range during 1vs1 against the other ADC or even against junglers/frontlane if they are committing on you, this additional damage can save your life and win you most of your duels.

Remember: positioning yourself at melee range doesn't mean you need to dash in, save your dash if you don't know where's the enemy jungler/enemies because can cost you an easy death.

2. Ability 1 - Shifter of Season

There are 4 situational stances on this skill, for changing one you just need to click the skill and it will change to the next.

Blue Stance (Winter) -> Slows enemy (This one is usually used to chase enemies)

Green Stance (Spring) -> Life steal (This one is not needed after buying Devourer's Gauntlet because you will have enough sustain that you won't need this stance)

Yellow Stance (Autumn) -> Kinda works as penetration/protection shred. (This stance is the most used on the god because it will make you have more DPS and damage during the entirely game)

Red Stance (Summer) -> Extra strength boost (kinda complimented to crit builds)(You should use this one in situations where you are hitting supports or solo laners, in fact you will notice that their HP will go down really quick).

In Early/Mid Game you should always use the Yellow Stance and in Late Game you should change to Red Stance because in competitive mode, on teamfights you will be surely hitting tanks so this one fits perfectly in your objective of killing them.

3. Ability 2 - Bramble Blast

Cernunnos's main wave clear ability. But if you hit the skill in the center, roots enemy gods and cripple them so they won't be able to dash or escape from you.

It can be used offensively to do engage on them or defensively cutting enemy dashes or stopping them from chasing you.

4. Ability 3 - Horn Charge

Cernunnos's movement skill. In fact, it is a common dash that if hits an enemy, an objective or minions it does a lot of damage.

You should always use it for escaping from enemy ganks or situations where you might die (losing a trade, an enemy ultimate cast or an enemy engage on you).

If you have your lane warded and you know exactly where are the enemy jungler and support spotted on the map, you can use Horn Charge offensively to activate your passive Heavy Glaive and do more damage to the enemy ADC when you are dueling in laning phase or fighting a shield buff.

5. Ultimate - The Wild Hunt

Cernunnos's ultimate skill. I do recommend to use this skill when enemies are diving you and have used their dashes/movement skills so they will get always Polymorphed if they don't use Temporal Beads to return to their normal form.

While they are Polymorphed they can't cast any skill and they will be slowed so they will be easier to kill by your or your teammates in teamfights around objectives like Gold Fury, Pyromancer or Fire Giant.

Cernunnos' Aspect of Strife gets rid of the ranged component of his Basic Attack. This aspect should always be used as a jungler, as an ADC you should always have the ranged component because it would be a high disadvantage for trades in the lane, you will always need to play aggresive to apply damage over the enemy ADC while him can play safe and poke you out.

As an ADC I would never recommend to use this aspect but if you want to try out and have some fun in casuals can be really interesting!

• Skill 1 + Skill 2 + Skill 1.
• Skill 1 + Skill 2 + Skill 3 + Skill 1.
• Skill 1 + Skill 2 + Skill 4 + Skill 1.

Shifter of Season (Autumn) > Bramble Bast > (If you have crippled and rooted the enemy with the skill before) Horn Charge > Basic Attacks > If you haven't killed the enemy you should use as your last opportunity to get a kill your ultimate The Wild Hunt

Shifter of Season (Autumn) > Bramble Bast > Horn Charge > Basic Attacks > Bramble Bast

Shifter of Season (Autumn) > Horn Charge > Bramble Bast > Basic Attacks > The Wild Hunt

1. Early Game:

Start at the purple buff then go to the wave with your support, push two waves so you will get level 2, try always to upgrade if the ADC has a dash or escaping ability, one of it, in this case the Horn Charge and then if you have won the pressure go to the central buff, do it and then comeback to lane.

In case you have lost the pressure try to contest the central buff fighting the enemies or play passively and go to the right neutral camp that will give you some experience and gold.

During the early game phase remember to push waves and then do your right back camps because they will give you an small lead over the enemies. Ward duo site of the map and try to fight over the central buff camp.

From here you will usually fight the enemy ADC and support during wave pushes in lane with your own support. Most of the fights you should take are around the central buff camp or the experience camp in the right site of the duo lane and depending on yours and their early pressure/clear around your own purple buff or theirs (remember you can burst easily the the purple buff with your starter item).

This ADC has a really good fighting kit of skills so you should be always looking to fight 1vs1 the other ADC (if you are ahead). I need to clarify that if you don't wave any wards spotted on the map remember you should always take care of it. Just be confident during laning phase, your confidence will play a really good paper on succeeding, so just try it out. If you don't risk you will never achieve :p.

An important advice as an ADC main is to be active in communication, always try to tell all the information you can to your team like your own purple, neutral camps and their purple timer (if possible), if there is any one spotted in the wards you placed, if someone is trying to dive you, if they are doing Gold Fury... This type of information will make your jungler and support pathing to gank your lane easier and make you having bigger chances of getting a lead over the other ADC.

Remember to always buy wards, warding correctly with aggressive Sentry Wards will determine half of the game around the Gold Fury objective and warding defensively will make you be more aware about possible ganks so you will be safer in lane.

2. Mid Game:

As the match goes towards the mid game, other than the usual farm opportunities you'll be looking to rotate over the Pyromancer for your team and try attempt, contest and steal (if the enemy is attempting to kill them) the Gold Fury.

Remember to rotate when there is no duo jungle remain like purple or neutral buff camp and to have the wave pushed before rotating because you will fall much behind in farm compared to your enemy ADC. (Do not rotate if you are 2 or more levels behind the other ADC!)

As for Gold Fury opportunity they will vary on factors such as: your team's overall objective shred, your ADC's current objective shred / build, your team's map pressure, how strong each team's teamfight is, where on the map everyone is (i.e. if one team is doing Gold, the other may decide to do Pyromancer as a smaller trade), if any members of the enemy team are on a respawn timer, etc...

It is so important to have warded (with Sentry Wards if possible) the Gold Fury during the Mid Game because it is the principal objective between minute 10 to 20 with the Pyromancer.

Stay aware of rotations (jungle and support) during this minutes because your death as ADC will be a really good factor over pulling Gold Fury or even burst it. So your team won't have any chance of contest.

Not dying over rotations, map awareness and warding are highly important over the games. You will always need to position yourself beside de midlaner for peeling each other over team fights (call who is doing engage on you, relics and this type of stuff that is going to make an easier way to make your team win the team fight)

[*] If you see there is a potential kill in solo lane and your team has the possibility to take the kill and go fire, you should take the background teleport and join the fight by teleporting to solo, after getting the kill you and your team will decide if it is a good option to do Fire Gigant or go back to your lane!

3. Late Game:

As for late game teamfights, most often you will be positioned in the "backline" (behind your team's solo and support - who generally are the "frontline") and will play around your midlaner to deal with the enemy frontline and jungler, while making sure to put out as much damage as possible to the highest threats on the enemy team.

Make sure you have able your actives: Purification Beads, Aegis of Acceleration or Phantom Shell before going into the Fire Giant. I really good advice is to use actives as soon as the solo laner, support or jungler engages on you to try to avoid as much damage and crowd control as possible, if you stay safe as an ADC on a late game teamfight, your team will have enough DPS to do Fire Giant or if you kill all your enemies, you can even finish the game.

When it comes to Fire Giant opportunities, often there can be stalemates where both teams will try to force a teamfight or look for lone picks in order to gain an advantage, sometimes involving one team going for a non fully committing attempt at doing the objective to bait the other team to step up.

1. Early / Mid Game Warding:

I would always try to get this two wards (NORMAL WARDS -> White Colour) because with them you can easily control most of the jungle size around duo lane, avoiding enemy jungler ganks or even support ambushes. You can also control the Gold Fury objetive during the mid game phase of the game and communicate your team anything happening over the duo lane!

2. Defensive Warding:

Here are warding spots for ADCs if you are behind with gold or experience compared to the other hunter. If the enemy team has your purple timer you should always try to Sentry Ward (Green colour circle) your purple buff and make sure to call your teammates at least 1 minute before spawning.

3. Offensive Warding:

In case you have a high pressure duo set up (ADC with good clear and fighting capability and a support with crowd control, push and mobility) you should look to invade enemy purple buffs. This type of wards will make an easier way for you and your teammates to come over purple pit before spawning and being ready for stealing it [you will always know who is coming to gank you so you must be prepared]

4. Fire Giant Warding:

These two maps are efficient ways to use ADC vision to help your team know the position of enemies before starting a fight around the objective.

When you start fighting around Fire Giant, you should always look to ward in the same places as a midlaner because you two (ADC and MID) form what we call as "backlaners" (the roles who are supposed to deal DPS and damage to enemies), you will be sharing the responsibility for this rather than handling it alone, especially when it's not safe for you to step up to place deeper wards. Any wards placed closer to the objective within the Fire Giant pit tend to get destroyed by Sentries more often than not, so they tend to not be reliable.

Remember, minions act as moving wards in the lanes, and are able to spot nearby gods. If your towers are down, keep your minions pushed up as much as possible to provide an extra set of eyes and pressure.