Max order
W›
Q›
EStart
Core
Max orderQ›E›WStart
Core
Runes, masteries, skill order and items on this page mirror what is actually being played in Classic on patch 26.16, not a reconstruction of a 2013 patch.
Top Alistar on Trinity Force — Headbutt into an empowered auto wins every trade.
+0.95 attack damage×9
+1.41 armor×9
+0.15 magic resist per level (+2.7 at champion level 18)×9
+2.25 attack damage×3Skill Leveling Order
Max order W → Q → EQQQQQWWWWWEEEEE
RRRMax in the order W → Q → E. The Headbutt cooldown is the trade cycle.
Item Build
Off-meta buildBuild path · Doran's Blade → Health Potion → Ninja Tabi → Trinity Force → Sunfire Cape → Randuin's Omen
An off-meta build people actually run in Classic. Stat sites do not track it, so this one is curated from how the abilities scale in this patch — treat it as a starting point, not measured data.
Ninja Tabi››
Masteries
Open in simulator →
0/1
4/4
0/4
0/2
4/4
0/4
0/1
3/3
1/1
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2/2
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0/1
1/1
3/3
0/4
1/1
0/1
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4/4
0/2
1/3
3/3
0/1
0/2
0/2
1/1
0/1
0/1
0/3
0/3
0/1
0/3
0/1
0/1
0/1
0/1
0/3
0/3
0/1
0/1
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0/2
0/4
0/1
0/3
0/1
0/2
0/4
0/3
0/1
0/1
0/3
0/121/9/0 split, weighted into the empowered auto that follows Headbutt.
Playstyle
Sheen and its upgrades add damage to the next basic attack after any ability. Headbutt is an ability, so Alistar arrives already carrying that hit, and Pulverize after it ends the trade outright. Trinity Force adds movement speed on the same proc, which is what stops the target from walking away. Unbreakable Will clears crowd control, cuts incoming damage and grants bonus damage on top, so turning it on before the engage makes the trade very hard to lose. Sunfire Cape covers waveclear and chip damage, and Teleport is what makes the pick worth a lane.
+1.28 armor penetration×9+1.41 armor×9+0.15 magic resist per level (+2.7 at champion level 18)×9
+1.5% movement speed×3
Skill Leveling Order
Max order Q → E → WQQQQQWWWWWEEEEERRRMax in the order Q → E → W, taking R at 6, 11 and 16.
Item Build
Live Classic, patch 26.16Data collected 2026-08-16Build path · Boots of Speed → Health Potion → Boots of Mobility → Runic Bulwark → Ruby Sightstone → Locket of the Iron Solari
Open with Boots of Speed + Health Potion.Boots of Mobility››
Heart of Gold
Masteries
Open in simulator →1/10/40/40/20/40/40/10/30/10/10/20/20/30/10/10/30/40/10/10/34/40/23/32/30/12/20/21/10/11/10/30/30/10/30/10/10/11/10/33/31/10/13/30/30/24/40/10/31/12/20/40/31/10/10/30/116 points into Utility for the movement speed and mana that carry the map game.
Base Stats
Lv1 · growth · Lv18Skills
Passive · Q · W · E · R
Each time Alistar casts a spell, he tramples nearby units and turrets for a few seconds, dealing damage to units he walks over.
Alistar smashes the ground, dealing damage to all nearby enemies and tossing them into the air. On landing, enemies are stunned.
Alistar rams a target with his head, dealing damage and knocking the target back.
Alistar lets out a commanding war cry, restoring health to himself and nearby friendly units for half the amount. Can be cast more often if nearby enemies are dying.
Alistar lets out a wild roar, gaining bonus damage, removing all crowd-control effects on himself, and reducing incoming physical and magical damage for the duration.
Champion Tips
Riot officialPlaying as
- Using Pulverize can allow you to establish better positioning for Headbutt.
- Movement speed is very important on Alistar. Consider which boots to buy carefully.
- Using Flash can allow you catch your target off guard to knock them back into your allies with Pulverize and Headbutt.
Playing against
- Alistar is very disruptive but very tough - try to target more fragile damage dealers.
- Watch out for the Pulverize-Headbutt combo when around turrets.
- When Alistar uses his ultimate, it's often better to move back and wait until the effect wears off before attacking him.
Frequently Asked
The quick answers, straight from this buildWhat runes for Alistar?
Marks Greater Mark of Armor Penetration 9, Seals Greater Seal of Armor 9, Glyphs Greater Glyph of Scaling Magic Resist 9, Quints Greater Quintessence of Movement Speed 3
What mastery setup for Alistar?
1/13/16 split. 16 points into Utility for the movement speed and mana that carry the map game.
What is Alistar’s skill order?
Max in the order Q → E → W, taking R whenever available. Max in the order Q → E → W, taking R at 6, 11 and 16.
What is Alistar’s item build?
Start: Boots of Speed + Health Potion → Boots: Boots of Mobility → Core: Runic Bulwark · Ruby Sightstone · Locket of the Iron Solari
How do you build Top Alistar?
Top Top — Doran's Blade → Health Potion → Ninja Tabi → Trinity Force → Sunfire Cape → Randuin's Omen. Top Alistar on Trinity Force — Headbutt into an empowered auto wins every trade.
Who is Alistar weak against?
Sona
Lore
As the mightiest warrior to ever emerge from the Minotaur tribes of the Great Barrier, Alistar defended his tribe from Valoran's many dangers; that is, until the coming of the Noxian army. Alistar was lured from his village by the machinations of ...
