Skill Order for Hecarim in ARAM: Mayhem

Normal order: start Q, take W second, take E third, then max Q > W > E, putting points in R whenever possible.

This is the safest default because Q is the spell Hecarim uses every time a fight lasts longer than one hit. In Mayhem, fights often restart before anyone fully resets, so your best skill order is the one that gives you reliable damage while you are already inside the enemy team. Maxing Q first lets you clear waves, punish clumped targets, and keep dealing damage after the first engage instead of becoming a one-charge champion.

Normal Skill Order

  1. Level 1: Q — Take Q first when your team is walking up for early poke, wave contest, or a level-one skirmish. You need a button that works even if nobody hard commits yet. If you start E and the enemy refuses to stand close, you can lose the first wave fight without getting real value.
  2. Level 2: W — Take W second if trading has already started or the enemy has poke that forces you to stand back after using Q. W gives you a better recovery pattern during brawls, especially when your team is also hitting the targets around you. If you delay W too long, early all-ins become much riskier because you have damage but no good way to stabilize while surrounded.
  3. Level 3: E — Take E third so you can threaten a real engage angle. E is your setup and chase tool, but it is not the spell you want to over-level by default. One point gives you the play pattern: speed in, choose the target, force a reaction, then stay in range with Q and W.
  4. Max first: Q — Q first is correct in most games. If you are allowed to keep hitting, Q rewards you every few steps of the fight. It is also the least awkward max when the enemy has peel, because even a failed dive can turn into wave control or front-to-back damage.
  5. Max second: W — W second is the standard Mayhem choice when fights are messy and repeated. Hecarim usually dies when he enters, gets controlled, and has no time to convert his engage into a second rotation. More W investment supports the “stay in the fight” plan and makes your Q max matter longer.
  6. Max last: E — E last is fine when your team already has engage, when you are not playing for one-shot picks, or when the enemy comp has enough disengage that over-investing in the first charge gets punished. You still use E constantly, but you do not need to max it before your actual brawl tools.
  7. R whenever possible — Do not delay R points. R is your biggest fight changer. Use it to enter from an angle, break a backline formation, or recover a fight where your first E path got blocked. If you skip R for a basic spell point, you give up the exact tool that lets Hecarim force Mayhem fights on his terms.

Augment-Influenced Skill Order

Default augment order: still max Q > W > E with R whenever possible unless your augments clearly push one spell into a different job. Hecarim is not a champion where every flashy augment should change your order. Change the order only when the augment changes what you are doing in fights, not just because it sounds aggressive.

  • If your augments reward repeated casting, extended fighting, or staying in combat: keep Q max first and usually take W second. This is the cleanest Hecarim setup. You enter, keep Q running through multiple targets, use W while people are actually hitting and being hit, then chase the last target with E. If you max E in this kind of setup, you front-load too much of your power and lose value once the first target flashes, dashes, or gets peeled.
  • If your augments improve durability, healing windows, shield value, or reward taking space in the middle of the fight: max Q first, then strongly prefer W second. This order lets you play like a real bruiser instead of a kamikaze engage. The condition is simple: if you are living long enough for two or more Q cycles after entering, W second is doing work. The wrong order here is E second, because extra engage power does not help if the enemy survives your arrival and kills you during the counter-attack.
  • If your augments heavily reward movement speed, first contact, collision plays, or pick creation: you can consider Q > E > W. This is not the normal brawl order; it is a pick order. Use it when your team needs you to start fights on a carry, punish isolated enemies, or convert Snowball and flank angles into immediate displacement pressure. The cost is clear: if the fight becomes a long front-to-back fight, you are less stable because W is delayed. Do not choose this order into comps that want you to dive first and then trap you under layered crowd control.
  • If your augments make your engage safer but do not increase your sustained damage: do not automatically max E second. A safer entrance is nice, but Hecarim still needs damage after he arrives. In this case, keep Q > W > E unless your team already has enough damage and only needs you to force target access. The punish window for the wrong order is after your first charge: you reach the target, they survive, and now your Q and W are too weak to win the brawl.
  • If your augments push burst damage or single-target execution: Q > E > W can be playable when the enemy backline is fragile and your team can follow instantly. You are playing for a short fight: angle with E, commit with R if needed, and make one target disappear or burn every defensive tool. If the enemy has strong shields, stasis-style denial, heavy peel, or multiple tanks standing in front, this order loses value fast because you cannot force a clean kill and you delayed the spell that helps you survive the failed dive.
  • If your augments are defensive but your team lacks a frontline: stay with Q > W > E. Your job is to take space, not just sprint at the farthest champion. Maxing W second gives you a better recovery plan after the enemy turns on you. If you max E second while being the only frontliner, your team may win the first three seconds of the fight and then collapse because you cannot hold the zone.
  • If your augments are mostly utility or do not clearly support one ability: do not overthink it. Use the normal order. Hecarim’s baseline fight pattern is already clear, and Q first gives the most consistent value across poke fights, all-ins, wave crashes, and cleanup. A vague augment should not pull you away from the spell you press most often.

Adjustment Triggers During the Match

  • Choose W second when you are being focused after every engage. If the enemy waits for you to enter and immediately layers damage into you, W second gives you the best chance to turn that focus into a longer fight. Your action is to engage slightly later, after one enemy control spell is used, then W while your team is hitting the same area. If you went E second in this spot, you usually die with your engage completed but your team unable to follow through.
  • Choose E second when your team has damage but no access. If your carries are ready to kill but cannot reach the enemy poke line, more E investment makes sense. Your job becomes opening the door, not winning every second of the melee. The recovery plan is to disengage after the first pick attempt if the enemy burns major peel; do not keep chasing into five champions just because you maxed E second.
  • Stay Q first when fights are chaotic and targets keep changing. Q does not care as much whether the first target dies. If the enemy frontline steps up, Q them. If the backline mispositions, Q through them after E or R. If the fight resets around minions, Q keeps you useful. The wrong call is delaying Q for a narrow engage plan, then having no threat when the enemy refuses to give you the angle.
  • Do not skip early W against heavy poke unless you have a clear all-in plan. Hecarim can be forced low before he ever finds an engage. Taking W at level 2 and investing in it second later gives you a way to play through chip damage and messy trades. If you delay W and your Snowball misses, you often have to stand back while your team fights without a frontline.
  • Do not max E first in normal games. E is important, but Hecarim is not only the first hit. If you over-invest in E too early, your damage and staying power after contact can feel hollow. Good opponents punish that by absorbing the charge, peeling you sideways, and killing you while your main sustained spell is under-leveled.

Practical Rule

If you are unsure, play Q > W > E with R whenever possible. Swap to Q > E > W only when your augments and team both say the same thing: “we need you to start the fight and catch someone now.” Never change the order just because you want to feel faster. Hecarim wins Mayhem fights by reaching the enemy, surviving the answer, and still having damage left after the first impact.