Guide Sections (15)
- Champion Stats
- The Early Brawl
- Skins Worth Buying for Olaf
- When They Ban Olaf
- Olaf's Rune Page
- What to Max on Olaf
- Mastering Olaf's Kit
- Who Olaf Beats (And Who Beats Olaf)
- Brawler's Hubris
- When You Can't Win the Side Lane
- The Frontline Brawl
- The Duelist Build
- When Olaf Hits Hardest
- The Clutch Duel
- Recent Patch History
Champion Stats
Low elo players rely on CC to stop threats. Olaf simply presses R and walks through their entire team. They also fail to respect his passive (Berserker Rage), often trying to finish him when he is low health, only to be killed by his massive attack speed increase and life steal. He is the master of the 'reverse-gank' and the 1v2 outplay.
The Early Brawl
Start Q (Undertow) for the ultimate early trade. If you land an axe and can pick it up instantly, you have no cooldown and can chain-slow the enemy to death level 1. In lane, your level 1 all-in is one of the strongest in the game. Land-pick-land is the sequence.
Your passive 'Berserker Rage' gives you more attack speed and lifesteal the lower your health is. Bait enemies into an 'easy' kill, then out-lifesteal them at 5% HP. It's the ultimate 'gotcha' for cocky players.
Skins Worth Buying for Olaf
'Brolaf' is the undisputed best smurf skin—the 'Graggy Ice' and frat-boy lines are pure mental warfare. 'Pentakill III: Lost Chapter Olaf' offers amazing modern effects. 'SKT T1 Olaf' is the classic 'pro' choice. Avoid 'Forsaken Olaf' as it lacks clear animations.
'Brolaf' is legendary for the voice lines alone ('Your mom is OP!'). 'Pentakill' is classic metal. 'Sentinel' is shiny. 'Marauder' is boring. Brolaf is the only choice.
'Brolaf' is legendary. 'Graggy Ice' lines are hilarious. 'Pentakill' is metal. 'Sentinel' is clean. Brolaf wins for personality.
When They Ban Olaf
If Olaf is banned, Tryndamere offers a similar 'too-angry-to-die' profile. Warwick for the low-health sustain and chasing power. Trundle for the raw stat-check and running people down.
Tryndamere if you want to be too angry to die. Warwick if you want the lifesteal and the chase. Trundle if you just want to run people down and take their stats. Olaf is the berserker—if he's gone, be the king or the beast.
Tryndamere for the 'Undying' vibe. Warwick for the drain tank. Trundle for the stat check. Tryndamere is the closest aggression match.
Olaf's Rune Page
Conqueror is the best choice for maximizing your sustain while you run people down. Lethal Tempo is an alternative for even faster axe-resets. Secondary Inspiration with Biscuit Delivery and Approach Velocity—Approach Velocity is MANDATORY for Olaf to reach targets.
What to Max on Olaf
Max Q first—it's your entire character, providing the slow, damage, and clear speed. Max E second for the massive true damage burst in trades. Max W last as the sustain is sufficient with one point.
Mastering Olaf's Kit
Undertow. Olaf hurls an axe, dealing physical damage and slowing. Picking up the axe reduces the cooldown. Master the 'short-throw' and 'pickup' rhythm.
Tough It Out. Olaf gains an Attack Speed buff and increased Life Steal. It also provides a shield based on his missing health. Use this during trades to survive and win.
Reckless Swing. Olaf deals true damage to a target, cost-adjusted by his own health. Basic attacks reduce the cooldown. This is your primary tank-shredding tool.
Ragnarok. Passive: Bonus Armor and MR. Active: Olaf removes all CC and becomes immune to it for a few seconds. His basic attacks extend the duration if he's hitting a champion. Pure aggression.
Who Olaf Beats (And Who Beats Olaf)
Easy Matchup. You can out-duel her at almost every stage. Use your R to ignore her ultimate's slow and just run her down. Her E (Stun) is useless against you.
Easy Matchup. Your R ignores her ultimate's slow and your E deals massive true damage. Just walk at her and axe her face. She has no way to stop you.
Hard Matchup. She can parry your E and her true damage out-scales yours. You have to win the early game decisively or she will out-duel you level 11+.
Brawler's Hubris
Stop missing your axes! If you throw a Q and miss, the enemy kills you because you have no movement speed or slow. Also, don't use your R too early—save it for when you are actually hit by CC or need to clinch a kill. If you waste R, you are just a squishy bruiser with no escape.
Your E deals true damage but also costs you health. Don't spam it if you're already low and not currently hitting someone to lifesteal back. Self-inflicted death is a bad look for a God.
When You Can't Win the Side Lane
Dodge if facing heavy 'true-kiting' comps with Ashe, Janna, or Vayne if your team has no other engage. Even with R, a good Vayne can condemn and tumble away enough to outlast your duration. Also dodge into Jarvan IV who can trap you in his cage.
Ashe and Vayne will kite you into the ground. Janna is also a nightmare. If you see them, build Stridebreaker and pray. Jarvan is the other problem—his cage is your only cage. Roam and find a pick elsewhere.
The Frontline Brawl
In teamfights, your job is to delete the enemy carry. Activate R (Ragnarok), pick an axe-target, and don't stop moving until they are dead. Use your E (Reckless Swing) to deal true damage to tanks if the carry is out of reach. You are the frontline vanguard who forces the enemy to scatter.
R, target the carry, and don't stop. Throw axes ahead of them so you can pick them up while you're running. E for the true damage finish. You're the vanguard—the first one in and the last one to stop hitting.
The Duelist Build
Full Crit 'Lumberjack' Olaf. Shieldbow -> Essence Reaver -> Infinity Edge. With this build and your passive AS, you will literally 2-shot squishies with crits. It's hilarious to see an unstoppable berserker dealing 1000 damage per auto-attack. Maximum BM, high-risk.
Stridebreaker is your core for the slow. Sterak's for the shield when you're low. If you're trolling, full crit with Shieldbow and IE is hilarious for the one-shots. You're the lumberjack of the rift—start chopping.
Stridebreaker -> Sterak's -> Death's Dance. You need to stick to people. Stridebreaker slow is mandatory. Ghost/Flash always.
When Olaf Hits Hardest
Level 1 is your strongest 'cheese' point. Level 6 is your unconditional 'go time' window. Your biggest item spike is reaching Stridebreaker or Goredrinker, which gives you either the sticking power or the sustain to 1v5.
Level 1 cheese is your claim to fame. If you land one axe, you win the lane. Level 6 is your invite to the pentakill. Stridebreaker completion is your peak. End it before they buy enough movement speed to outrun you.
Level 1 Axe chase. Level 6 Ragnarok. Mid-game item completion. You fall off when ADCs get full build. End fast.
The Clutch Duel
Type 'AXE-CEPTED' in all-chat after a successful run-down. Spam the 'grin' emote while running at someone with R active. The sound of Olaf's ultimate roar is a psychological trigger that makes enemies panic-flash.
Type 'Axe-cepted' after every kill. Spam the laugh while you're un-CC-able in R. The sound of Ragnarok starting is enough to make an ADC Flash before you even reach them. You're the Viking god of war—remind them why.
Pop R and run through Veigar cage. Type 'Nice cage' in chat. Ignoring CC is the best feeling in League.
Recent Patch History
Recent Balance Changes
| Patch | Date | Type | Changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| V14.9 | May 1, 2024 | NERF | Q adjusted, R nerfed |
| V14.8 | Apr 17, 2024 | BUFF | Q buffed |
| V14.7 | Apr 3, 2024 | BUFF | Q adjusted, W buffed, E adjusted |
| V13.7 | Apr 5, 2023 | NERF | P nerfed, Q nerfed |
| V12.13 | Jul 13, 2022 | NERF | P buffed, Q buffed, Base stats nerfed |
