PTA Gwen With Explanation
So, guys, let me start out by saying I have been playing Gwen since her release. I have taken a break from the game and have recently just gotten back into it, grinding up to high elo (Masters 369 LP currently). It has been a hurdle just getting to this point. It feels like they absolutely gutted her ultimate and passive damage. So, that being said, I have been looking to change my build, runes, playstyle, etc. to try to make this champion work, and I won’t give up. From my experience, this is what I think of runes and items for TOP LANE.
RUNES
Conqueror: Consistently, this has been my go-to for years, and I love it, but it feels useless most games late game. You get one-shot before you stack it, or one-shot somebody before you stack it.
First Strike: This rune can perform extremely well, although the higher elo you go, people will do whatever it takes to take your First Strike off before you get to hit them, which kinda means it is high risk, high reward. You have to change your playstyle completely playing with this rune, which is not the way I like to play Gwen.
PTA: This rune, as of right now, I feel like takes away a lot of weakness from Gwen’s laning phase, and you can proc it almost immediately with DnD. It does tons of damage and gives you a flat 8% more damage to EVERYONE when you just proc it on ONE person.
HOB: DO NOT RUN THIS. IT IS BUGGED WITH GWEN’S E. IT DOES NOT GIVE U EXTRA DMG WHEN GWEN’S E IS ACTIVE.
Lethal Tempo: This is strictly a cheese rune, and I do not see any reason to run this over Conq/PTA.
Electrocute: This rune feels viable against very squishy comps and is less risky than First Strike. You also get to take advantage of the red tree (Sudden Impact, Ultimate Hunter).
ITEMS
Dusk And Dawn: This is one of Gwen’s most controversial items right now. This item is actually GOATED. It gives you everything you want on Gwen. (Health is very good on Gwen because you get MR/Armor from your W, which makes health more valuable.) This item paired with PTA lets you proc PTA immediately. Conq with DnD proc only gives you the 2 Conq stacks, which is why I think Conq DnD on Gwen is terrible.
Shadowflame: This is my go-to second item for 90% of games. The extra true damage and magic damage when they’re under the threshold is pretty unbeatable, tbh.
Nashor’s: This item gives you more DPS than DnD, but honestly, playing at my elo, doing the most DPS doesn't actually matter in most situations.
Deathcap: This item is your mandatory third item for 99% of games, normally followed by Void Staff.
SITUATIONAL ITEMS: Riftmaker, Zhonya’s, Iceborn Gauntlet, Lich Bane.