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Garen combos

The Might of Demacia

3 Garen combos explained key by key: in which order to cast the abilities, when to use them and what each step does. The main combo is Q › AA › E. Further down: every ability's cooldown, cost and range, and the skill max order measured over ranked games.

Garen combos

Written guide · based on the official ability texts

The trade

Q AA AA

When: An enemy is within range.

Decisive Strike gives you speed, your next attack deals bonus damage and silences, Judgment spins around you.

Defense

When: You are taking heavy damage.

Courage gives a shield and great tenacity for a brief moment, then a smaller damage reduction for longer.

The execution

When: A champion is low.

Demacian Justice tries to execute an enemy champion: cast it when their health is low.

Common mistakes

Casting the ultimate on a full-health enemy.
Staying in lane without ever backing off: your regeneration needs a break.
Forgetting Courage before you get caught in a control.

Cooldowns, costs and ranges

A combo only comes back once its abilities are off cooldown: these values (rank 1 to max rank, in seconds) tell how long to wait between two combos. Source: Data Dragon 16.19.1.

Ability	Cooldown (s)	Cost	Range
Q · Decisive Strike	8	—	300
W · Courage	22/19.5/17/14.5/12	—	0
E · Judgment	9/8.25/7.5/6.75/6	—	325
R · Demacian Justice	120/100/80	—	400

Official ability descriptions

PassivePerseverance

If Garen has not recently been struck by damage or enemy abilities, he regenerates a percentage of his total health each second.

QDecisive Strike

Garen gains a burst of Move Speed, breaking free of all slows affecting him. His next attack strikes a vital area of his foe, dealing bonus damage and silencing them.

WCourage

Garen passively increases his Armor and Magic Resist by killing enemies. He may also activate this ability to give him a shield and tenacity for a brief moment followed by a lesser amount of damage reduction for a longer duration.

EJudgment

Garen rapidly spins his sword around his body, dealing physical damage to nearby enemies.

RDemacian Justice

Garen calls upon the might of Demacia to attempt to execute an enemy champion.

Skill order

Max order: E > Q > W58.3% · 72 games

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15
Q		●						●		●		●	●
W			●											●	●
E	●			●	●		●		●
R						●					●

The order shows which abilities reach rank 5 first; the grid shows the most-played level-up sequence with that order (measured over 88 games).

Riot's official tips for playing Garen

Garen's regeneration greatly increases if he can avoid receiving damage for several seconds.
Judgment deals maximum damage when only hitting a single target. For effective trading, try to position such that only the enemy champion is hit.
Garen is only constrained by cooldowns, making items such as Black Cleaver very effective for him.

How to play around Garen's combos

Stack armor items to lower the large amount of physical damage that Garen deals out.
Try to run away from Garen as your health gets lower, as he can execute you quickly with Demacian Justice.
Be careful about attacking Garen in brush. It often will lead to taking full damage from Judgment.
Judgment deals maximum damage when only hitting a single target. If getting out of its radius isn't possible, move through allied minions to reduce damage taken.

Frequently asked questions

What is Garen's main combo?

The trade: Q › AA › E. An enemy is within range. Decisive Strike gives you speed, your next attack deals bonus damage and silences, Judgment spins around you.

Which ability should I max first on Garen?

The most-played max order is E > Q > W (72 games, 58.3% win rate).

What is the cooldown of Garen's ultimate?

Demacian Justice has a 120/100/80 second cooldown depending on its rank.

Build, runes and counters: full Garen guide · every champion's combos · tier list