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League of Legends: Wild Rift Malphite build – abilities, items, runes, and spells

Master Wild Rift's Malphite by picking the best build, runes, spells, and more

Malphite stood tall with planets in the background

If you’ve always wanted to be a massive pile of sentient rocks, then Malphite is definitely the League of Legends: Wild Rift Champion for you. Because, well, he’s a massive pile of sentient rocks. He’s also one of the strongest tanks in the game, capable of soaking up massive amounts of damage. Probably because he’s made of rock.

League of Legends: Wild Rift Malphite is a popular Champion because he can take more physical damage than any other. He’s also super useful when it comes to team fights, and his Ultimate, if you learn to use it just right, can turn the tide of a battle. If you’re thinking about tanking, then Malphite should be close to the top of your list.

In this guide, we’re going to break down all of Malphite’s abilities, as well as suggesting a super strong build that’s going to enhance his powers even more. We’ll even look at the Runes and Spells you should be equipping him with.

Basically, we’re going to tell you everything you need to know to become an awesome League of Legends: Wild Rift Malphite player. So let’s get on with it, shall we?

Malphite's character page showing his stats

What are Malphite’s abilities?

  • Granite Shield (Passive)

This passive ability gives Malphite a shield based on his max HP. You have to be out of combat to generate the shield, but only for a short time. This comes in super handy for building up a HP advantage over the opposing Champion in your lane.

  • Seismic Shard (Active)

A single-target spell that deals magic damage. It also slows down the target and speeds up Malphite to the same degree. You can use it in the early game to poke other players, since it’s unavoidable once cast.

Later in the game, you can use it to keep enemy damage dealers away from the scrap if you use it right.

  • Thunderclap (Passive / Active)

This is the core of Malphite’s defensive arsenal. The passive part of the attack gives him a boost to his armour, which, as you might imagine for a tank, can come in super handy. It fires out in a cone in front of Malphite, dealing more damage to the first opponent it hits.

It’s also an auto-attack reset, so if you get your timing right you can bookend it with auto-attacks for even more damage.

  • Ground Slam (Active)

An AoE attack that scales with your armour. The higher your armour stat, the more damage it’s going to do. It also slows down the attack speed of any enemy that gets caught in the blast, letting you mess up the damage output of other Champions.

  • Unstoppable Force (Active)

Malphite’s Ultimate is, as you might be able to tell from its name, unstoppable. The move itself is an almost instant dash forward that deals damage and knocks up anyone caught in it – throwing them into the air.

It’s a great move because of the way it incapacitates attackers, giving your own team a chance to take them out. The dream is catching the whole opposing team in your Unstoppable Force.

Malphite battling some enemies

Malphite best build

  • Iceborn Gauntlet

This will give you extra mana and armour, and the Spellblade passive to increase your attack power. You’ll also slow down enemies and gain haste which can shorten the cooldown of your moves.

  • Ninja Tabi

More armour, but Ninja Tabi also lowers the amount of damage you get from auto-attacks. Depending on how the game is going, you can enchant with the Gargoyle Enchantment to get more HP, or the Glorious Enchantment for more speed.

  • Dead Man’s Plate

Even more armour, more HP, and a boost to your movement speed. Dead Man’s Plate is the triple tank whammy.

  • Thornmail

This reflects a portion of the damage you take back on your enemy, and the damage you deal increases with your Armor stat. It also deals Grievous Wounds to attackers.

  • Abyssal Mask

This gives you more HP, Mana, and Magic Resist. It comes with the Abyssal passive that increases the amount of magical damage those around you take.

  • Randuin’s Omen

This reduces the damage and attack speed of anyone taking you on, giving you a boost in trades.

What are the best runes for Malphite?

  • Aftershock

A double whammy of an initiator rune. You’ll gain a defensive boost after you use an AoE attack and then, after a short amount of time, you’ll deal a burst of magic damage to anyone around you.

  • Weakness

This increases the damage you deal to any enemies you slow or knock up, which you’re going to be doing a lot.

  • Backbone

This gives you a boost to whichever of your resistances is lower, and can help protect Malphite against magic.

  • Hunter – Genius

Every time you perform a unique takedown, you’ll get a boost to your haste. This will speed up your cooldown times, which is great because Malphite’s Ultimate is slow to recharge.

What are the best spells for Malphite?

  • Ignite

This will let you set opposing Champions on fire, which is handy if you haven’t managed to finish them off and they start running away.

  • Flash

Using this spell gives Malphite a bunch of extra options when it comes to offence and defence, which is exactly what you want.

And that’s it for our League of Legends: Wild Rift Malphite guide. If you fancy finding out where your favourite character ranks, be sure to check out our League of Legends: Wild Rift tier list. We’ve also got guides for Wild Rift’s Riven, Wild Rift’s Lucian, Wild Rift’s Rengar, and Wild Rift’s Braum, as well as an in-depth League of Legends: Wild Rift guide to help you master the MOBA.