Guide · Top

Darius Guide

the Hand of Noxus

Fighter

Tank

Tier B Top

Darius, the Hand of Noxus, is a fighter and tank champion that is easy to pick up. Across our 751 analysed ranked games, Darius is mostly played in Top (88% of its games), and more rarely in the Jungle (12%), with a 50.0% win rate in that role: tier B among Top champions (#30 of 51, ranked by win rate). Darius's damage is mostly physical (77%): armor is the best defensive answer against this champion. 23% of that damage is true damage and therefore ignores resistances. Win rate varies with game length: 53.3% in medium-length games (25 to 35 min, 366 games) versus 45.2% in short games (under 25 min).

Averages measured over 664 Top games played with Darius, from our ranked Solo/Duo data collection.

Combos and how to play

Darius is a fighter who gets stronger the longer a fight lasts. His attacks and abilities cause bleeding (Hemorrhage, up to 5 stacks); at five stacks he goes into a rage and gains a huge attack damage bonus. Decimate heals him based on the champions hit by the blade, and Apprehend pulls enemies toward him. His ability to escape is limited: he wants a prolonged close-range fight, not a chase.

The lane trade

Q › AA AA › W › AA AA

When: You want to trade without fully committing.

Decimate at the edge of its range so the blade connects, an attack to stack Hemorrhage, then Crippling Strike on the next attack: the bleed slows the target and stops them from leaving.

The full engage (kill)

E › W › AA AA › Q › AA AA › R

When: An enemy is within Apprehend range and you want the kill.

Apprehend pulls them in, Crippling Strike slows them, your attacks and Decimate stack Hemorrhage (up to 5 stacks) and heal you. Finish with Noxian Guillotine: its true damage grows with the number of stacks on the target, so do not cast it too early.

The team-fight chain

R › R

When: A weakened enemy is within Guillotine range in a team fight.

If Noxian Guillotine kills its target, its cooldown is reset for a short time: recast it right away on the next weakened enemy. Keep a stacked target for the second cast.

Laning phase

Hit with the blade of Decimate, on the outer edge of the axe, to get the most damage and healing while staying at the limit of your range. Stack Hemorrhage with your attacks between abilities. During the cooldown of Apprehend you are vulnerable to harassment: avoid exposing yourself when it is not available.

Common mistakes

• Casting Noxian Guillotine without Hemorrhage stacks: its damage depends on them.
• Engaging without Apprehend when the opponent can harass you: you are fragile during its cooldown.
• Trying to chase: your ability to escape or catch up is limited, force a close-range fight instead.

Riot's official tips for playing Darius

• Decimate is a powerful harassment ability. Strike an enemy from maximum range for the greatest effect.
• Noxian Guillotine does more damage the more attacks you can land prior to it. Use Noxian Might to deal maximum damage.
• Darius benefits greatly from enhanced survivability. The longer you can prolong a fight, the more powerful he becomes.

Build, runes and summoner spells

The most-played core build is Youmuu's Ghostblade, Dead Man's Plate, and Death's Dance (89 games, 61.8% win rate).

Youmuu's Ghostblade+Dead Man's Plate+Death's Dance

89 games · 61.8%

Youmuu's Ghostblade+Dead Man's Plate+Force of Nature

59 games · 57.6%

Sterak's Gage+Youmuu's Ghostblade+Dead Man's Plate

54 games · 74.1%

Summoner spells

Flash + Ghost51.2% · 389 games

Flash + Ignite49.7% · 179 games

Exhaust + Flash48.1% · 81 games

Most-played runes

Stormraider's Surge + Precision

48.2% · 251 games

Primary tree · Sorcery

Nimbus Cloak97%

Celerity100%

Gathering Storm97%

Secondary tree · Precision

Legend: Alacrity98%

Triumph94%

Shards

Attack speed96%

Adaptive force96%

Health scaling76%

Conqueror + Sorcery

48.8% · 213 games

Primary tree · Precision

Triumph100%

Legend: Alacrity99%

Last Stand98%

Secondary tree · Sorcery

Celerity98%

Axiom Arcanist78%

Shards

Attack speed99%

Adaptive force98%

Health scaling76%

Conqueror + Resolve

55.2% · 134 games

Primary tree · Precision

Triumph100%

Legend: Haste50%

Last Stand97%

Secondary tree · Resolve

Bone Plating71%

Unflinching58%

Shards

Attack speed95%

Adaptive force91%

Health scaling73%

For each row, the most picked rune among the games played with this page (share of games in brackets).

Which items to build against the enemy team?

We sort every game by the enemy team's damage. These are Darius's completed items and their win rate in each situation; "▲" marks an item that does at least 3 points better than its usual win rate.

Mostly magic-damage enemy team54.4% · 169 games

At least 50% of their damage is magic

Youmuu's Ghostblade 64.2% ▲

Dead Man's Plate 57.8% ▲

Force of Nature 62.3% ▲

Stridebreaker 50.9%

Sterak's Gage 64.8% ▲

Death's Dance 63.0% ▲

The item that stands out most is Youmuu's Ghostblade: 64.2% win rate, +13 points versus its usual win rate.

Mostly physical-damage enemy team45.0% · 198 games

Less than 35% of their damage is magic

Dead Man's Plate 51.5%

Youmuu's Ghostblade 43.9% ▼

Death's Dance 54.9% ▼

Sterak's Gage 52.1% ▼

Stridebreaker 40.8% ▼

Spear of Shojin 43.8% ▼

No item clearly stands out in this situation: the usual build remains the reference.

Balanced enemy team50.8% · 297 games

Mixed physical and magic damage

Youmuu's Ghostblade 49.7%

Dead Man's Plate 53.5%

Death's Dance 59.6%

Stridebreaker 50.0%

Force of Nature 48.8% ▼

Sterak's Gage 62.2%

No item clearly stands out in this situation: the usual build remains the reference.

Counters and matchups

Who counters Darius in Top

Ambessa Darius: 31.2%16 games

Ambessa has the edge in 69% of the 16 Top duels against Darius. See the Ambessa guide.

Gangplank Darius: 33.3%18 games

Gangplank has the edge in 67% of the 18 Top duels against Darius. See the Gangplank guide.

Sett Darius: 40.0%15 games

Sett has the edge in 60% of the 15 Top duels against Darius. See the Sett guide.

Garen Darius: 56.7%30 games

Garen has the edge in 43% of the 30 Top duels against Darius. See the Garen guide.

Renekton Darius: 64.7%17 games

Renekton has the edge in 35% of the 17 Top duels against Darius. See the Renekton guide.

Who Darius is strong against

Jax66.7% · 15 games

Renekton64.7% · 17 games

Garen56.7% · 30 games

Sett40.0% · 15 games

Gangplank33.3% · 18 games

How to play against Darius

• When Darius's axe grab is on cooldown, he is vulnerable to harassment attacks.
• Darius's ability to escape from fights is limited. If you have an advantage against him, press your lead.

Win rates measured over direct same-role duels; only matchups with more than 15 games are listed. See all of Darius's matchups.

Abilities

PassiveHemorrhage

Darius' attacks and damaging abilities cause enemies to bleed for physical damage over 5 seconds, stacking up to 5 times. Darius enrages and gains massive Attack Damage when his target reaches max stacks.

QDecimate

Darius winds up and swings his axe in a wide circle. Enemies struck by the blade take more damage than those struck by the handle. Darius heals based on enemy champions and large monsters hit by the blade.

WCrippling Strike

Darius's next attack strikes an enemy's crucial artery. As they bleed out, their Move Speed is slowed.

EApprehend

Darius hones his axe, passively causing his physical damage to ignore a percentage of his target's Armor. When activated, Darius sweeps up his enemies with his axe's hook and pulls them to him.

RNoxian Guillotine

Darius leaps to an enemy champion and strikes a lethal blow, dealing true damage. This damage is increased for each stack of Hemorrhage on the target. If Noxian Guillotine is a killing blow, its cooldown is refreshed for a brief duration.

Frequently asked questions

Full Darius page · League of Legends tier list · All champion guides