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Udyr’s long-awaited rework is finally here! We’ve got the ultimate Udyr guide with his best runes, builds, and some tips and tricks to help you master the spirits and take home the W.

While his kit may appear fairly similar to what it was before, there’s a lot more to this new and improved Udyr than meets the eye. Before his rework, Udyr was one of League of Legends’ oldest champions, so both his gameplay and his appearance were extremely dated.

Udyr is still a close range, auto-attack focused bruiser with four basic abilities rather than an ultimate. However, every ability has been enhanced and has a whole new layer of depth that can help you get an edge over the competition.

Udyr is a Spirit Walker, someone who can communicate with spirits. However, unlike other Spirit Walkers who are attached to one spirit, Udyr hears them all. His ability to channel the strongest spirits in the Freljord gives him his elemental powers.

Those elemental powers come through in the form of four spirits, all of which make Udyr an incredibly tanky nuisance and strong frontliner for any team composition. Here’s how to make the most of Udyr’s strengths with the best build, runes, and some tips and tricks on how to get the most of the Spirit Walker.

Make no mistake: Udyr’s playstyle is very similar to what it used to be. He doesn’t have any range, nor does he have a big teamfight ultimate. But what he does have is a ton of movement speed, great camp clear, and the ability to tank a ridiculous amount of damage.

Udyr may seem simple on the surface, but the Spirit Walker has a lot more going on than meets the eye. Knowing which abilities to max in which situation, what to build, and when to take advantage of his new Awakened Spirit passive means there are a lot of decisions for the player to make.

Udyr is unique in that he doesn’t have an ultimate. And, unlike stance switchers the likes of Elise and Jayce, Udyr gets four different stances rather than one stance swap tied to his ultimate. This gives him the ability to put 6 points into the abilities of his choice instead of the normal 5 with the caveat that there’s no way to max every ability on Udyr.

Right now, it’s best to put a point in Q at level 1 and then not touch it for the rest of the game. Udyr’s at his best as an AP tank. Q is mostly for camp clearing early and single target damage in certain situations.

The best ability to max first is R, which gives Udyr an AoE storm that slows, one that can track down enemies with a passive recast.

After that, maxing Udyr’s W is usually the way to go. The bonus shielding and healing, as well as the massive heal provided by recasting W, will help keep you alive in stressful situations.

His E is usually third, but putting a few extra points into E can really help if you need the extra movespeed.

Make sure you’re swapping stances when possible, as the first two attacks from each stance will not only gain attack speed from Udyr’s passive, but will also reduce the cooldown of Awaken.

For a short summary on when to recast abilities with Awaken, you should be recasting R if you’re in the fight, E if you’re struggling to get into the fight (it gives CC immunity which is especially handy), W if you’re dying in the fight, and Q when you’re clearing camps early on or hitting single targets.

Here’s a full list of Udyr’s abilities:

Udyr’s all about soaking up damage, and there are a good number of items that can help you do that. Tank itemization requires a different thought process than itemizing on damage champions. Rather than thinking about what makes you strongest, try to think about what makes the enemy weaker.

But first, let’s talk about getting into the fight. If you’re really struggling to get on top of the enemy team, then choosing the right Mythic is incredibly important.

Sunfire Aegis is your “damage” Mythic. The passive AoE damage on this item synergizes extremely well with Udyr’s auto attack focused playstyle, and the raw tank stats are really great to have.

If you’re having a really tough time getting on top of the enemy team for whatever reason, Turbo Chemtank is the way to go. It’s less damage, sure, but you won’t be doing any damage at all if you aren’t in melee range.

If you’re ahead and want more damage, Demonic Embrace is a fantastic option as a hybrid damage/tank item. An early Dark Seal can also be great if you’re ahead early as a cost-effective boost in AP damage.

Other than that, try to think about what items can cripple the enemy.

Thornmail is great for Greivous Wounds against healing, Frozen Heart will help against auto-attack focused targets, Force of Nature is a great AP option that provides great movement speed; actively thinking about what your build does for you will really help if you’re struggling to stay alive as Udyr.

If something’s killing you or your teammates, build to counter it.

Udyr’s rune options require a similar thought process to that of his Mythic items. A page built around Conqueror works incredibly well for both damage and sustain. Udyr’s kit can easily stack Conqueror, and it makes him a menace in extended fights.

Pairing Conqueror with Triumph, Legend: Tenacity, and Last Stand is ideal in most instances. Resolve is a great secondary option, with Conditioning and Unflinching helping Udyr stay CCed less and alive longer.

However, Phase Rush is also a great option. Against team compositions built to peel Udyr or champions with heavy, consistent slows like Ashe or Anivia, the slow resistance and movespeed from Phase Rush are an absolute must.

Celerity, Waterwalking, and Nimbus Cloak all help augment that focus on movement speed. Remember that movement speed can be a tank stat. Can’t die if no one is able to hit you.

Resolve secondary still works well here for the same reasons as the Conqueror page.

Smite is a must-have when jungling, but Flash is not always the obvious other choice.

Ghost seems to be the best option with how close-range Udyr is as a champion, but Flash is situationally better. Against champions who can easily zone you or wall you off like Taliyah or Anivia, consider taking Flash. Otherwise, Ghost is the way to go.

It may be difficult to get used to not having the safety net of Flash to get you out of sticky situations, but the payoff of running Ghost is well worth getting out of your comfort zone with Flash.

Udyr’s wide range of options in fights can make the champion intimidating to pick up. However, once mastered, Udyr’s versatility can make him one of the strongest tank junglers on the Rift.