With the sudden rise of Rumble in Worlds, you might ask yourselves: 'Why him?'

Along with the change from the tanky/bruiser meta in the toplane and some small QoL buffs came the rise of the mechanized menace. The Yordle from Bandle City has always been know for being a lane bully, but now he also proved himself to be able to sustain in a 1v2 situation. Along with his immense midgame teamfighting prowess many teams regarded Rumble as a key part of their team composition. What makes this little guy so strong, and how can you improve your Rumble game?

Gaining a lead through Laning

Generally speaking, Rumble can be a monster in the laning phase but can also be shut down early. By using his flamespitter Rumble pushes the wave naturally and becomes very vulnerable to ganks. Since he has no real escape tool it’s very important to try and keep track of the enemy jungler’s whereabouts, and always ward. Rumble can outperform almost every other toplaner, but when he’s set behind it’s pretty hard for him to get back in the game, so here is a general idea of how to play the laning phase.

Lvl 1-3: Rumble is very weak here, avoid trading and level your E first in a match-up that could set you behind. Try to CS as much as possible while taking minimal damage from your opponent. Use your trinket to ward the river.

Lvl 4-5: When you have 2 or 3 points in your Flamespitter, start trading with your Q while you’re in the danger zone. This way you can pressure your enemy laner and ask for a gank to kill him, or try to kill him yourself.

Lvl 6: Level 6 is a huge powerspike for Rumble and it greatly increases his kill potential. When you’re running ignite in lane you can almost always net a kill on your opponent, or at least burn his flash with a well placed ultimate. When running teleport, look for an opportunity to roam down and grab a kill mid or botlane, or even an early dragon.

When you get out of the laning phase ahead, you can easily dominate your opponents from then on. When you do fall behind in lane, try and farm up as much as possible. You can also catapult yourself back into the game with a well placed ultimate and proceed to snowball from then on.

Don’t get too heated..

Rumble’s passive is called ‘Junkyard Titan’, and this is the part of his kit what makes him so special. Managing Rumble’s heat while also paying attention to the rest of the game is one of the hardest things to learn about him, and one of the reasons Riot decided to give him a 10/10 difficulty rating.

The key to mastering his heat is learning when to overheat, and learning when to let your heat go down. A great Rumble should always try to keep his heat around 50-55. This way he can cast 3 enhanced abilities before overheating. Add the empowerd auto-attacks into the equation and you will dish out some immense damage.

The perfect use of your passive could mean life or death in any situation and is one of the most challenging, yet rewarding mechanics in League of Legends. Trying to win that 1v1 duel against the enemy toplaner and almost overheating? Let your heat go down a bit before overheating whilst using your Q instead of your W. Trying to escape a ganking jungler? Use your Flamespitter to gain enough heat for an empowered Scrap Shield and ensure you get away without having to blow your flash.

When you master your heat, you master Rumble.

Equalizing the battlefield

The equalizer, widely known as one of the most devastating AOE spells in the game while also being one of the most hardest spells to hit. Rumble shoots a line of rockets, dealing magic damage each second and slowing enemies who walk over it. One of the most important things about using the ultimate is knowing when to use it.

There are a couple of ways you can use The Equalizer, whether it be offensive or defensive. The first and most common way of using the equalizer is trying to hit as many enemies as you can. This method is often used in the jungle, baron and dragon pit and narrow corridors where enemies are usually clumped together. A well placed Rumble ultimate in such an environment will almost always ensure your team a won teamfight.

The second way of using The Equalizer is by zoning enemy champions. This can be done by placing the equalizer somewhere in the middle of the enemy team, and seperating the frontline from the backline. This way they’ll have to walk straight through the burn to group up. This is one of the hardest thing to do and requires a lot of game sense, but if you do it right it could certainly swing a teamfight in your favor.

The third and final way of using Rumble’s ultimate is by using it as a peeling tool. This is especially useful when playing against a dive composition. When the enemy team uses their gap closers to jump onto your carries, simply ult on top of them and watch them stand in the burn damage. This way you’re both protecting your own team while still doing massive AOE damage to the enemy team.

The Equalizer defines the good Rumble’s from the great ones, and when you learn how to use it in different scenario’s, it will win you games.

Building your dominance

Rumble’s build path can differentiate a lot and it’s entirely situational. Ofcourse there is the typical Sorc Shoes into Haunting Guise rush for the magic penetration, since Rumble scales so well off of that.

But before you tunnel too hard on that, look at the enemy teamcomposition first. When they’re stacked with a lot of crowd control, try and pick up Mercury Treads. If their toplane and jungler are bruisers without a real gap closer, get an early Rylais for the extra slow and health. And when you’re playing against an AD heavy team, always get yourself a seekers first before getting your other core items. There are a lot of options and directions where you can go with Rumble’s build, but always try and look at the enemy team before buying your items.

I hope this guide will improve the way you play Rumble and will encourage you to start playing him more. Get ready to Rumble!

Boiya