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By GamGem ResearchLast updated 18 Oct 2026

Olaf Counters, Build and Runes — Top Lane and Jungle · Patch 26.20

the Berserker

Patch 26.20 · Stats from the 26.18 Master+ sample (4,828 games).

Olaf, the Berserker, grows faster and hungrier as his health drops, and Ragnarok makes him immune to disables while he keeps attacking. Master+ played him Top far more than in the jungle, mostly on Conqueror, and Stridebreaker with Experimental Hexplate opened both leading paths. Gragas, Cho'Gath and Malphite were his hardest top lane matchups. He won most of his games against Nasus, Sett and Mordekaiser.

FighterTank

Patch 26.18 · Top · Ranked Solo/Duo · Master+ · EUW · KR · NA · 4,828 games · Preview sample

League of LegendsPatch 26.18TopRanked Solo/DuoMaster+EUW · KR · NA4,828 gamesPreview sample

Role snapshot (Top)

BTier

Win Rate: 49.9%
Pick Rate: 7.4%
Ban Rate: 7.0%

4,828

Games

Very High

Confidence

Win rate by lane

Top50.3% · 3,982 games
Jungle48.4% · 578 games · small sample

Most common path

441 games

56.7%Win Rate

Start

Flash

Ghost

Other first item

229 games

58.1%Win Rate

Start

Flash

Exhaust

Runes

Patch 26.18

This exact page: taken in 22.2% of games·48.7% win rate over 1,074 games.

Primary

Precision

Conqueror

Gain stacks of adaptive force when attacking enemy champions. After reaching 12 stacks, heal for a portion of damage you deal to champions.

Triumph

Takedowns restore 5% of your missing health and grant an additional 20 gold.

Legend: Alacrity

Takedowns on enemies grant permanent Attack Speed.

Last Stand

Deal more damage to champions while you are low on health.

Secondary

Inspiration

Approach Velocity

Bonus MS towards nearby enemy champions that are movement impaired, increased for enemy champions that you impair.

Biscuit Delivery

Gain a free Biscuit every 2 min, until 6 min. Consuming or selling a Biscuit permanently increases your max health and restores health.

Shards

Adaptive Force
Adaptive Force
Health

Other keystones taken

Stormraider's Surge19.4% taken · 50.9% win939 games
Press the Attack0.6% taken · 38.7% win31 games
Lethal Tempo0.1% taken · 50.0% win6 games

Tree pairs

Precision + Inspiration74.0% taken · 49.5% win3,571 games
Sorcery + Inspiration15.1% taken · 51.9% win727 games
Precision + Resolve6.1% taken · 51.9% win293 games

Skill Order

Which ability to max first, and the level each point goes in — Olaf's most common path.

Undertow

Olaf throws an axe into the ground at a target location, dealing damage to enemies it passes through and reducing their Armor and Move Speed.

Cooldown 9s · 50/55/60/65/70 Mana

Tough It Out

Olaf's Attack Speed is increased and he gains a Shield.

Cooldown 16/15/14/13/12s · 50 Mana

Reckless Swing

Olaf attacks with such force that it deals true damage to his target and himself, refunding the Health cost if he destroys the target.

Cooldown 11/10/9/8/7s · No cost

Ragnarok

Olaf passively gains increased armor and magic resist.

Cooldown 100/90/80s · 100 Mana

Max Order

QEW

Max Q first, then E, then W. Take R whenever available (6 / 11 / 16).

Level-up Order

QUndertow
WTough It Out
EReckless Swing
RRagnarok

Ability	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18
QUndertow	Q			Q	Q		Q		Q
WTough It Out			W											W	W		W	W
EReckless Swing		E						E		E		E	E
RRagnarok						R					R					R

Matchup map (Top)

How Olaf performs against enemy top laners

Levels 1 – 18 · Master+40%60%Olaf's win rate

≥ 60%Very favorable

55 – 60%Favorable

50 – 55%Even

45 – 50%Unfavorable

40 – 45%Hard

< 40%Very hard

Conditional build matrix

Recommended items by enemy team composition

Master+ · Patch 26.18

Mythic / CoreFirst major item

Core 2Second item

Core 3Third item

BootsBoot slot

SituationalPick as needed

Scaling — minute 10–30

OlafTop average

Gold

102030

Damage to champions

102030

Counter plan — how to beat Olaf

Avoid extended fights — its sustain grows with every trade it survives
Build percentage damage — flat penetration falls off against the stats it stacks
Punish the cooldown — Olaf is exposed while its rotation is down
Ward the flank — vision is what turns its best opening into a worse one
Respect the spike — Riot rates the kit 3/10, so a practised player gets more out of it than the average

Ability details

P
Berserker Rage
Olaf gains Attack Speed and Life Steal based on his missing Health.
Passive — never cast
Q
Undertow
Olaf throws an axe into the ground at a target location, dealing damage to enemies it passes through and reducing their Armor and Move Speed. If Olaf picks up the axe, the ability's cooldown is reset.
Cost 50/55/60/65/70 ManaCooldown 9sRange 1000
W
Tough It Out
Olaf's Attack Speed is increased and he gains a Shield.
Cost 50 ManaCooldown 16/15/14/13/12sRange 700
E
Reckless Swing
Olaf attacks with such force that it deals true damage to his target and himself, refunding the Health cost if he destroys the target.
No costCooldown 11/10/9/8/7sRange 325
R
Ragnarok
Olaf passively gains increased armor and magic resist. He can activate this ability to become immune to disables for as long as he keeps attacking.
Cost 100 ManaCooldown 100/90/80sRange 400

Olaf balance history

Riot's notes from patch 25.S1.1 to 26.20 change Olaf in 3 patches. The latest is patch 26.13, published 2026-06-23.

Patch 26.132026-06-23
QUndertow
- Monster Bonus Physical Damage20 / 35 / 50 / 65 / 80to20 / 45 / 70 / 95 / 120
Why, in Riot's words
Olaf used to be a staple in the jungle but has been out of favor for a while now, despite our earlier attempts this season to help him out. We are looking to give him a bit more power to entice him back into the wilderness.
Patch 26.62026-03-17
Base Stats
- Base Attack Speed0.694to0.72
QUndertow
- Slow Amount25 / 30 / 40 / 45% for 1.5- 2.5 seconds (based on distance)to30 / 40 / 45 / 50% for 1-3 seconds (based on distance)
- Bug Fix: Enemies only struck by the Lollipop at the end of the Q are now slowed for the proper amount of time (was a fixed 30% slow).
WTough it Out
- Bug Fix: If you cast W while the previous cast was still active, it now properly re-applies its effects rather than just refreshing the prior cast (you get the attack reset and the AS value is updated).
EReckless Swing
- Damage to Self30% of Damage Dealtto40% of Damage Dealt
Why, in Riot's words
Olaf top is fine but he's lagging behind in the jungle. As such, we're improving his clear, making his ganking stronger and leaning into his identity as a risky, low health fighter. We hope to keep top lane in a fairly stable place while boosting his jungle performance.
Patch 25.072025-04-01
EReckless Swing
- Now scales cast time based on attack speed.
- Cast Time.25sto.25-.175 (0-125% bonus attack speed (includes W))
Why, in Riot's words
Olaf E can feel slow at higher attack speeds with no AS scaling making you not feel good about using it and interrupting your AA flow.

Olaf skins (12)

Riot's data lists 12 looks for Olaf with their own art, the base skin included and 41 chroma variants.

ARAM performance

EstimateB

Win Rate: 50.0%; ▼ 0.6%
Pick Rate: 7.8%; ▲ 1.7%
Ban Rate: 6.8%; ▼ 1.0%

Damage dealt: 103.1%
Damage taken: 102.9%
Healing: 92.9%
Shielding: 107.8%
Ability Haste: +16

Best ARAM build

Patch timeline

Riot’s notes

This champion’s win rate on each patch the preview sample spans, over its own games there. What actually changed each patch is in Riot’s own notes.

26.1950.4% over 1,102 games+0.3
26.1849.6% over 2,606 games-0.1
26.1749.9% over 1,079 games—

Olaf's base stats against all 173 champions

Olaf's health per level of 119 is the 7th-highest of 173 champions on patch 26.20 (shared with 1 other).
Olaf's base attack speed of 0.72 is the 7th-highest of 173 champions on patch 26.20.

Stat	Olaf	Rank	Median
Base health	645	=39th	620
Health per level	119	=7th	104
Base armor	35	=31st	30
Armor per level	4.2	=122nd	4.6
Base magic resist	32	=32nd	32
Magic resist per level	2.05	=4th	1.55
Base attack damage	68	=5th	59
Base attack speed	0.72	7th	0.656
Attack speed per level	2.7%	=66th	2.5%
Move speed	350	=2nd	335
Attack range	125	=129th	175

Olaf at level 1 and level 18

Olaf reaches 2668 health at level 18 — 645 at level 1 plus 17 × 119, the 5th-highest of 173 champions on patch 26.20.
Olaf reaches 1166 mana at level 18 — 316 at level 1 plus 17 × 50, the 50th-highest of 145 mana users on patch 26.20.
Olaf reaches 106.4 armor at level 18 — 35 at level 1 plus 17 × 4.2, the 81st-lowest of 173 champions on patch 26.20, shared with 1.
Olaf reaches 66.85 magic resist at level 18 — 32 at level 1 plus 17 × 2.05, the 5th-highest of 173 champions on patch 26.20, shared with 69.

Stat	Level 1	Per level	Level 18	Rank at 18
Health	645	+119	2668	5th of 173
Mana	316	+50	1166	50th of 145
Armor	35	+4.2	106.4	=92nd of 173
Magic resist	32	+2.05	66.85	=5th of 173

Riot Data Dragon 16.20.1. Growth curve: League of Legends Wiki — Champion statistic.

Riot's tips for Olaf

Playing Olaf

Olaf can combine Berserker Rage, Vicious Strikes, and Ragnarok at low life to become deceptively strong.
The bonus healing granted by Vicious Strikes amplifies your Life Steal from all sources as well as heals from allies.

Playing against Olaf

Olaf becomes more dangerous the lower life he is. Save your disables to finish him off.
Preventing Olaf from reaching his axe will minimize the amount of harassment he can cause in the laning phase.
Olaf has reduced defenses from damage during Ragnarok, despite being immune to disables. If you can't escape from Olaf during Ragnarok, try focusing your damage on him with your teammates.

Quick answers about Olaf

How does Olaf do against Gragas?: Olaf won 40.0% of 65 counted Master+ games against Gragas. Gragas is one of the opponents that beat Olaf. A small sample — read it as a lean, not a rule.
How does Olaf do against Cho'Gath?: Olaf won 33.3% of 36 counted Master+ games against Cho'Gath. Cho'Gath is one of the opponents that beat Olaf. A small sample — read it as a lean, not a rule.
How does Olaf do against Malphite?: Olaf won 36.4% of 33 counted Master+ games against Malphite. Malphite is one of the opponents that beat Olaf. A small sample — read it as a lean, not a rule.
How does Olaf do against Darius?: Olaf won 46.8% of 62 counted Master+ games against Darius. Darius is one of the opponents that beat Olaf. A small sample — read it as a lean, not a rule.
How does Olaf do against Garen?: Olaf won 46.2% of 52 counted Master+ games against Garen. Garen is one of the opponents that beat Olaf. A small sample — read it as a lean, not a rule.
How does Olaf do against Nasus?: Olaf won 61.2% of 85 counted Master+ games against Nasus. It is a matchup Olaf wins more often than not. A small sample — read it as a lean, not a rule.
How does Olaf do against Sett?: Olaf won 59.1% of 44 counted Master+ games against Sett. It is a matchup Olaf wins more often than not. A small sample — read it as a lean, not a rule.
How does Olaf do against Mordekaiser?: Olaf won 57.6% of 33 counted Master+ games against Mordekaiser. It is a matchup Olaf wins more often than not. A small sample — read it as a lean, not a rule.
What class is Olaf?: Riot classes Olaf as Fighter and Tank. This site files the champion under Top.
How hard is Olaf to play?: Riot rates Olaf's difficulty 3 out of 10.
What resource does Olaf use?: Olaf's abilities spend Mana.
What is Olaf's attack range?: 125 units — the lowest of 173 champions on patch 26.20 (shared with 44 others).
What are Olaf's abilities?: Passive — Berserker Rage, Q — Undertow, W — Tough It Out, E — Reckless Swing and R — Ragnarok.
How many skins does Olaf have?: Riot's data lists 12 skins with their own art, the base look included, plus 41 chroma variants.
How much health does Olaf have at level 18?: 2668 — 645 at level 1 plus 17 × 119 per level, Riot's own values, before items and runes.
What is Olaf's ultimate cooldown?: Ragnarok (R): 100/90/80 seconds by rank, before ability haste, in Riot's Data Dragon 16.20.1.
When did Riot last change Olaf?: Patch 26.13, published 23 June 2026 — the latest of 3 patches that change Olaf in Riot's notes from 25.S1.1 to 26.20.

Olaf at a glance

Olaf, the Berserker, is a Fighter and Tank champion in League of Legends. Riot rates the kit 3/10 for difficulty, 9/10 for attack, 5/10 for defense and 3/10 for magic. Olaf spends Mana and has 12 skins with their own art. Olaf's health per level of 119 is the 7th-highest of 173 champions on patch 26.20 (shared with 1 other). Olaf's base attack speed of 0.72 is the 7th-highest of 173 champions on patch 26.20.

Attack9/10
Defense5/10
Magic3/10
Difficulty3/10

Olaf's story

An unstoppable force of destruction, the axe-wielding Olaf wants nothing but to die in glorious combat. Hailing from the brutal Freljordian peninsula of Lokfar, he once received a prophecy foretelling his peaceful passing—a coward's fate, and a great insult among his people. Seeking death, and fueled by rage, he rampaged across the land, slaughtering scores of great warriors and legendary beasts in search of any opponent who could stop him. Now a brutal enforcer for the Winter's Claw, he seeks his end in the great wars to come.

— Riot Games, Data Dragon 16.20.1. League of Legends Universe

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Methodology

Data window: Preview sample — a one-time snapshot of 65,406 ranked games (Master+, EUW/KR/NA, patch 26.18), counted by GamGem while our Riot production key is under review. Figures will update daily once it is approved. Counted 26–27 Sept 2026; patches 26.18 (35,477) · 26.19 (18,580) · 26.17 (11,048) · 26.16 (293) · 26.15 (8); by server EUW 22,382 · KR 21,922 · NA 21,065 · EUNE 20 · TR 17. 642 games without a result — remakes ended by vote in their first minutes, and games recorded with no winner — were not counted.
Rank aggregation: Master, Grandmaster and Challenger, pooled — the three ladders the count read its players from. Splitting further leaves samples too small to separate a real effect from noise.
Role assignment: A champion is filed under every lane that holds at least a tenth of its counted games — the position the match itself reports, not the champion’s class. Its headline win rate is across all of them; each lane’s own win rate and games are counted too, and a lane’s tier list ranks by them.
Counters: The two champions in the same position on opposite teams, over that pairing’s own counted games — ranked on the edge pulled toward zero by its sample size, printed raw.
Minimum sample: None — no figure is hidden for being thin. Every rate prints its games, and the confidence band is its 95% margin: Very High within ±1.5 points, High ±2.5, Moderate ±3.1 (1,000 games), Low wider.
Why a build is not a cause: An item is counted when the match ENDS with it, so late items show long games and an item bought when already ahead shows games that were being won. Correlation is what a rate can show; it is not evidence that buying the item caused the win.
Where the numbers come from: Names, classes, abilities, items and runes are Riot Data Dragon. Win, pick and ban rates, builds, keystones, spells and matchups are counted by GamGem from Riot's ranked match records. An estimate, not a count: this panel is not in the preview sample, and is labelled so.

Olaf on video

Olaf: Champion Spotlight | Gameplay - League of Legends — League of LegendsLeague of Legends on YouTube · plays here

Published by League of Legends on YouTube, 7 June 2010.

16 years old. League of Legends has been patched since, so watch it for how the kit plays, not for numbers — the rest of this page is written for the current patch.

It plays in YouTube’s own player once you press play. Nothing is downloaded or re-hosted here, and nothing loads from YouTube until then.