Updated 1/7/2014, 'Robin' patch

Gaslight Joker is a pure enforcer pick, a good go-to when your team doesn't need you bring any damage, purely utility. In particular, peel and protect, with a solid fallback position as a brick wall split pusher, near unkillable by anything but 3 or more people.


Ability Order:

Start with your Q, the auto attack reset is better than the minor damage of a ham toss. Beyond this, you will prioritize W=Passive>Q>E. E is good enough at a single point, the free resilience isn't worth losing the CD and increased effectiveness, both in damage and in healing, from Q. Anything beyond 1 point in your ultimate isn't worth it. Your ultimate is a tool for AoE slow, not for damage. By putting more points in it, you reduce the amount of time you can be AoE slowing by killing yourself faster.

Don't forget that your Q and W apply the 'Filthy' effect, reducing incoming healing by 50%, this includes lifesteal, try and keep the Filthy effect on the enemy Marksman. You do a lot of 'effective damage' by reducing the amount of HP enemies get back from their lifestealing and sustaining effects. Furthermore, any target that has filthy on them, the slow of your rat swarm is doubled on them. This makes Gaslight Joker an incredibly powerful counter to melee divers like Batman, Nightmare Batman, and even Flash. Lower Flash's movespeed, lower Flash's damage.



Stolen Powers:

METAGAME! Outside of a few very particular situations, junglers will and should run consume + detonate. I prefer AtGL's Consume for the increased Movespeed, and Joker's Detonate for the slow. Outside of Shazam any MAYBE Atomic GL, HQ's Detonate isn't worth considering. AtGL's Consume lets you use it as a last ditch escape, or use it for the MS boost to get around people and keep them in the rat swarm. Bonus points, Consume heal is increased by Kryptonian War Armor 3's passive.



Starter Items:

Marauder Shield 2, with the price reduction mod, costs 650. This item gives you incredibly high regen, while leaving 2 spots for potions. This regen, the HP for your Q + Passive, all good for him. Add in that Marauder Shield 2 has Marauder Burst 3 (20% increased damage to drones), and your jungle clear speed takes a pretty big jump in clear speed and safety.



Core Build:

Ruby of Life 3, with the mod for +105hp, gives you 505hp before you get any stacks. At full stacks, Ruby 3 is terrifying 730hp for only 2250. It also has 15+45(stacks) HP regen, which is a crucial stat for Gaslight Joker, because once you reach the proper breakpoint for your current rank, you can nullify or even outheal the damage of your own Rat Swarm. This obscene regen + your skill shield with a movespeed boost makes you a nearly indestructable split pusher. You don't kill waves as fast as, say, Shazam, but Shazam can die. After Ruby 3, Phantom Stranger's 2. Both of these items have room for a further upgrade later, and are powerful for their low prices. They also stack with Coins, which conveniently, is what you stack your passive with, so you're going to be going after them as much as possible anyway.

After Phantom Stranger's, modded Diana's Bracer 2. 30% CC reduction, 40hp regen (a LOT after the recent regen on items nerf), and the health balance. All of this regen you build (and from your passive. Yes, GLJ passive is increased by Bracer passive. B-R-O-K-E-N) is now increased by 1% for every 1% HP you are missing. Just for a single example, this turns Diana's into 60 per 10 at 50% hp. Again, this passive works with your own passive, the regen from collecting coins. Gaslight Joker, if injured, will rapidly return to full HP if left unchecked, which is what makes him the terrifying split push brick wall he is. If you don't kill him, even if he drops near 200hp, he'll be back to full in around a minute. Topping all of this Regen off is the OTHER premiere HP regen item, Kryptonian War Armor. Kryptonian War Armor increases all regen and healing by 20%. This increase comes AFTER Diana's Bracer passive is calculated. I don't need to go into details, you can understand just how crazy your self healing becomes once these 2 are finished. KWA also gives an astonishing 30 movespeed, which makes staying on top of people with your rat swarm on that much easier.



Optional Items:

Game by game, your last 2 slots will be populated by one of these four items. Fragment of Mogo is good against melee heavy teams. Gives HP, Armor, and a super powerful active, roughly the size of your rat swarm. Rat swarm + Mogo is pretty scary, and all of a sudden, the fat man is a very real threat that has to be dealt with, rather than just a linebacker for his own carry.

Suit of Sorrows is only a better pick than Mogo when the other team is not only physical heavy, but auto-attack heavy. It has a train load of armor, lacks HP, and while the passive isn't as damaging as Mogo, it's especially scary on a Gaslight Joker. In most cases, damage reflect isn't the biggest deal, since you can generally lifesteal through it. Gaslight Joker reduces incoming healing. Scary times. You can, however, build Mogo AND Suit if you want, and just cackle your fat way through enemy teams and towers like a real madman.

If armor isn't what you find yourself needing, you can either go Olympus Gambit to assist your team (powerful aura), or a more 'selfish' item, Atlantean Royal Seal. Royal Seal gives a decent increase to damage, puts a slow on Q and W, and gives more HP than Olympus. I tend to prefer Olympus, but if you think you're in a position where Royal Seal will help you more, try it.



Final Notes: A risky pick. When a characters whole job is being unkillable, bad bad BAAAAD things happen if they fall behind. Additionally, Gaslight Joker is somewhat weak early game, and the first raider fight is the most important. Ham Toss also takes considerable practice, but when 'mastered', has the potential to be more powerful than a Wonder Woman ultimate.