Guan Yu- "Shut Up Woman, Get On My Horse!"

Hello, i'm Rampageriley. I'm here to tell you about the legitimate boss that is Guan Yu, a brief guide assessing the capabilities on one of my new favorite gods!. As one of the best supports in the game, he has the perfect balance of tankiness, damage, and sustain. His mobility is nothing to underestimate either. As a very well-rounded god, the only thing that he seems to not have going for him is no ranged attacks whatsoever. Nevertheless, prepare to mount up and charge into battle as the Chinese 'Saint of War'.

Focus on maxing CDR so that you can spam your abilities more, which is what Guan Yu is about. He can also be built well as damage, and is capable of high kill-streaks and exciting game-play. Many items are situational, so feel free to improvise.


Bruiser or Damage

1. Hide of the Urchin

One of the best items for Guan Yu hands down. Grants you 65 protections each when fully stacked, and extra health and mana. Almost a mandatory item unless your enemy team is completely physical or magical. Buy first to start building stacks early.

2. Ninja Tabi

If you are going bruiser, you need these epic boots for the CDR (also to be a true ninja warrior). If you plan on going damage, Warrior Tabi is a viable option for extra penetration, along with other CDR items like Hydra's Lament and Jotunn's Wrath.

3. Breastplate of Valor or Jotunn's Wrath

If you are building bruiser, you should have gotten Breastplate of Valor by now. If you want more damage, you could plan on getting Jotunn's Wrath instead of this item if you prefer, but a good base-line is Breastplate of Valor because Guan Yu definitely needs all the mana he can get for spamming abilities. Great with Transcendence, giving you more than enough mana to get the job done.

4. Runic Shield or Stone of Gaia

If you like stacking HP5 and MP5 on high sustain warriors as much as I do, then this item is a must. Otherwise, just buy Runic Shield if you feel it is a safe amount of magical protection against your opponent's composition. For instance, if they have an Anubis or Ao Kuang with heavy burst damage, Runic Shield is a good option for the passive without giving up power. If they have low burst, Shield of Regrowth is amazing for the sustain.

5. Transcendence

This item is unfortunately under-rated. Every stat this item has is great for Guan Yu since he is mana-hungry, and needs sheer physical power. It is relatively easy to stack, awards 1050 extra mana, and one of the most powerful items in the game. Combined with the passive, this item grants 66.5 physical power, and thats not even accounting for your own mana pool. This item has easily granted me over 200+ physical power while stacking mostly bruiser, so this is ideal with any build. I use this as a core item in a bruiser build since it gives the sheer power and sustain I need.

6. Shifter's Shield

A good item for bruisers and gods that are expected to shift between high and low health, like Hercules. This item fits in nicely to this build, but can easily be substituted for more protections.

NOTE: Do not worry about stacking attack speed, crit, lifesteal, or health. they are almost worthless since Guan Yu is not auto-attack reliant and his Conviction does not scale with additional health. therefore, protections are more useful. Focus on stacking sheer power and CDR to make the most of your cooldowns.

Active Items:

Hand of the Gods:

Aids in lance clear and ideal for being a support.

Creeping Curse: Brutal slow when going in on your horse, or Taolu Assaulting an enemy.

"Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win." -Sun Tzu



Painless empowers your Conviction, allowing you to heal up after taking a number of blows. Also allows your auto-attack to utilize a cool progressive swing. You should try to avoid burst damage, considering your passive does not give you additional stacks depending on the size of a hit.



Conviction is your bread and butter. It reduces cooldowns at the same time as healing you depending on the damage you have taken. Also boosts protections, like a true support! Tell your allies to group up for this (VVVG)!



Warrior's Will is a nice gap closer or even an escape. Since it makes you immune to CC while dashing, you can easily escape Hades' ultimate! Also slows enemies for a short time. Do not forget it reduces cooldows if you hit enemy gods.




Taolu Assault is one of the most fun moves in the game in my opinion. It does a nice bit of damage and forces people to move away. Do not be afraid to use this to clear minion waves. The longer you use it on someone, the more damage it does, because it reduces protections and buffs you the same amount. You will want to upgrade this as your main damaging ability.



Cavalry Charge is your epic ultimate, used to chase people down and secure kills. Or, it is a practical escape by making you immune to CC. The last hit stuns targets, preparing them for a follow up of combos. When mounting up, remember to sing to yourself (or if your in a Skype call especially), "Look at my horse, my horse is amazing! Give it a lick, MmMmMmMmMm tastes just like raisins!"

Team work as Guan Yu is definitely vital. This god is definitely a team player, who contributes in healing, chasing people down, poking, and tanking. You should be the guy who initiates combat head-first, letting your allies attack from the sides.

Team Combat

Guan Yu is responsible for distracting, being a bruiser, and overall keeping people alive and their morale up. Kills will definitely follow naturally when contributing in a fight with your allies. Basically, he is mainly a support.

Early Game

Assist your allies in anyway possible. Keeping enemy gods at bay while your carry clears lanes, getting them the jungle buffs, and informing them of an enemy's location. Hand of the Gods and Watcher's Gift is almost a necessity for conquest, and prove to be very useful items for Guan Yu. As you are particularly weak early game, just focusing on farming and not dying, which is fairly easy for this god if you are not reckless.

Mid Game

Go after towers, hunt down squishies, and be constantly annoying to enemy gods. Lowering their morale plays a big part in being a good support.

Late Game

This is it kids. Mount up, clear towers, and do whatever you can to defend your titan and pursue the enemy's. Guan Yu is a fairly straight forward god. Stay with your team and make their lives that much easier...

That is pretty much my brief guide of Guan Yu. Just decided to share how I view and play this god after trying him out and having a lot of fun with him. I hope you enjoyed this guide, and feedback is always appreciated. :)