We have already covered offensive items for carries and mages so this time we focus on defensive items. Items with a health bonus are not only useful for tanks, because they can also increase the survavibility of squishy carries and mages. Let’s take a look at the cost effectiveness of these items.
The first thing that comes to mind while inspecting the Cost/Health column is that health is cheap in comparison with attack damage (AD) and ability power (AP). With the exception of Trinity Force, all other items provide a unit of health for less than ten gold. However, considering that health is gained in hundreds even small variations in the cost of a hit point are important.
Name | Health | Other Bonuses | Cost | Cost/Health |
---|---|---|---|---|
Aegis of the Legion | 270 | +18 Armor, +24 MR, UNIQUE Aura: +12 Armor / +15 MR / +8 AD to nearby allied units | 1925 | 7 |
Banshee’s Veil | 375 | +375 Mana, +50 MR, UNIQUE Passive: blocks one enemy ability every 45 sec. | 2715 | 7 |
Catalyst the Protector | 290 | +325 Mana, UNIQUE Passive: on leveling up, restores 250 Health and 200 Mana over 8 sec. | 1325 | 5 |
Doran’s Blade | 100 | +10 AD, +3% LS | 475 | 5 |
Doran’s Ring | 100 | +5 Mp5, +15 AP | 475 | 5 |
Doran’s Shield | 120 | +10 Armor, +8 Hp5 | 475 | 4 |
Elixir of Fortitude | 235 | Click to Consume: grants 140-235 Health, based on champion level, and 10 AD for 4 minutes | 250 | 1 |
Frozen Mallet | 700 | +20 AD, UNIQUE Passive: your attacks reduce your target’s MS by 40% for 2.5 seconds (30% for ranged attacks) | 3250 | 5 |
Giant’s Belt | 430 | 1110 | 3 | |
Haunting Guise | 200 | +25 Ability Power, UNIQUE Passive: +20 Magic Penetration | 1485 | 7 |
Heart of Gold | 250 | UNIQUE Passive: 5 Gp10 | 825 | 3 |
Kindlegem | 200 | UNIQUE Passive: 10% CDR | 850 | 4 |
Leviathan | 820 | +180 Health, UNIQUE Passive: your champion gains 32 health per stack, receiving 2 stacks for a kill or 1 stack for an assist. This effect can stack 20 times; you lose a third of your stacks if you die. At 20 stacks, your champion takes 15% less damage | 1275 | 2 |
Phage | 225 | +18 AD, Passive: 25% chance on hit to reduce your target’s MS by 30% for 2.5 seconds | 1315 | 6 |
Randuin’s Omen | 350 | +75 Armor, +25 Hp5, UNIQUE Passive: 5% CDR and 20% chance on being hit to slow the attacker’s MS and AS by 35% for 3 sec., UNIQUE Active: slows MS and AS of surrounding units by 35% for 2 sec. + 0.5 sec. for each 100 Armor and Magic Resistance (60 sec. CD) | 3075 | 9 |
Rod of Ages | 630 | +450 Health, +525 Mana, +60 AP, Passive: your Champion gains 18 Health, 20 Mana, and 2 AP every 1 min. Bonuses cap at +180 Health, +200 Mana, and +20 AP. UNIQUE Passive: on leveling up, restores 250 Health and 200 Mana over 8 sec. | 3035 | 5 |
Ruby Crystal | 180 | 475 | 3 | |
Rylai’s Crystal Scepter | 500 | +80 AP, UNIQUE Passive: dealing spell damage slows the target’s MS by 35% for 1.5 seconds (15% for multi-target and damage-over-time spells) | 3105 | 6 |
Shurelya’s Reverie | 330 | +30 Hp5, +15 Mp5, UNIQUE Passive: 15% CDR, UNIQUE Active: nearby champions gain 40% MS for 3 sec. (60 sec. CD) | 2200 | 7 |
Soul Shroud | 520 | UNIQUE Aura: gives nearby champions 12 Mp5 and 10% CDR | 2285 | 4 |
Spirit Visage | 250 | +30 MR, UNIQUE Passive: 10% CDR and increases your healing and regeneration effects by 15% | 1550 | 6 |
Sunfire Cape | 450 | +45 Armor, UNIQUE Passive: deals 35 MD per second to nearby enemies | 2610 | 6 |
Trinity Force | 250 | +30 AD, +30 AP, +30% AS, +15% CS, +12% MS, +250 Mana, UNIQUE Passive: 25% chance on hit to slow the target by 35% for 2.5 sec.; on cast, your next attack deals bonus damage equal to 150% of your base attack | 4070 | 16 |
Warmog’s Armor | 1270 | +920 Health, +30 Hp5, Passive: permanently gain 3.5 Health and 0.1 Hp5 per minion kill. Champion kills and assists grant 35 Health and 1.0 Hp5. Bonuses cap at +350 Health, and +10 Hp5 | 3000 | 2 |
For instance, despite the difference of 1725 gold between Leviathan and Warmog’s Armor their cost per unit of health is the same. Both Leviathan and Warmog’s Armor are the most cost effective items; as it’s usually the case with items with stacks.
The cost effectiveness of items decreases as they give less health and include other bonuses. Shurelya’s Reverie and Randuin’s Omen are clear examples of items with great utility but low cost effectiveness. Even Banshee’s Veil doesn’t prove particuarly effective in terms of health.
In spite of all that, there are several items that can provide a nice amount of health while also increasing the offensive. Attack damage can be modestly increased by Phage, Frozen Mallet and Trinity Force. Whereas ability power bonuses are found in Haunting Guise, Rod of Ages and Rylai’s Crystal Scepter.
It’s interesting to consider that Trinity Force, Frozen Mallet and Rylai’s Crystal Scepter provide health and a slow effect while also increasing the offensive power of a champion. Also worthy of note is the fact that Catalyst and Rod of Ages have the same cost per hit point. Therefore getting Catalyst and building into Rod of Ages is a good investment for a mage.
Not many items are completely focused in increasing health. It’s better to consider health as an extra bonus while looking for additional utility. Unless health is the prime concern of the build, there’s much to gain by taking in consideration the other bonuses; thanks to the low cost of health. More information on health and related topics can be found at the League of Legends Wiki.
Notes:
– Acronyms: AD: attack damage, AP: ability power, AS: attack speed, CD: cooldown, CDR: cooldown reduction, CS: critical strike chance, Gp10: gold per 10 sec., Hp5: health regen per 5 sec., LS: life steal, MD: magic damage, Mp5: mana regen per 5 sec., MR: magic resist, MS: movement speed, PD: physical damage, SV: spell vamp
– Leviathan’s bonus health corresponds to 20 stacks
– Rod of Ages’ bonus health corresponds to its maximum bonus over time
– Warmog’s Armor’s bonus health corresponds to its maximum bonus
– You can sort multiple columns by holding shift and clicking on other column headers