Magic resistance (MR) is the third of the principal defensive stats in League of Legends. It only protects against magical damage, but taking into account the burst potential of mages and that most ultimates deal magic damage, it becomes a stat worth considering.
The table below contains the items that provide magic resistance and their gold cost per unit of magic resistance. Click on each header to sort by that criterium and check some numbers. From now we’ll concentrate on the final criterium: cost per magic resistance.
| Name | MR | Other Bonuses | Cost | Cost/MR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aegis of the Legion | 39 | +270 Health, +18 Armor, UNIQUE Aura: +12 Armor / +15 MR / +8 AD to nearby allied units | 1925 | 49 |
| Hexdrinker | 35 | +35 AD, UNIQUE Passive: If you would take MD that would leave you at less than 30% of your maximum health, you first gain a shield that absorbs 300 MD for 4 seconds (45 sec. CD) | 1800 | 51 |
| Abyssal Scepter | 57 | +70 AP, UNIQUE Aura: reduces the MR of nearby enemy champions by 20 | 2650 | 46 |
| Lich Bane | 30 | +80 AP, +350 Mana, +7% MS, UNIQUE Passive: 100% chance when an ability is used that your next physical attack deals an additional 100% of your AP in damage. This effect has a 2 sec. CD | 3470 | 116 |
| Banshee’s Veil | 50 | +375 Health, +375 Mana, UNIQUE Passive: blocks one enemy ability every 45 sec. | 2715 | 54 |
| Spirit Visage | 30 | +250 Health, UNIQUE Passive: 10% CDR and increases your healing and regeneration effects by 15% | 1550 | 52 |
| Guardian Angel | 38 | +68 Armor, UNIQUE Passive: revives your champion upon death, restoring 750 Health and 375 Mana. This effect can only occur once every 5 minutes | 2600 | 68 |
| Chalice of Harmony | 30 | +7.5 Mp5, UNIQUE Passive: increases your mana regeneration by 1% per 1% mana you are missing | 890 | 30 |
| Force of Nature | 76 | +40 Hp5, +8% MS, UNIQUE Passive: restores 0.35% of your champion’s health every second | 2610 | 34 |
| Mercury’s Treads | 25 | +35 Tenacity, UNIQUE Passive: Enhanced Movement 2 | 1200 | 48 |
| Negatron Cloak | 48 | 740 | 15 | |
| Null-Magic Mantle | 24 | 400 | 17 | |
| Quicksilver Sash | 56 | UNIQUE Active: removes all debuffs from your character (90 sec. CD) | 1440 | 26 |
| Wit’s End | 50 | +40% AS, UNIQUE Passive: your attacks deal 42 bonus MD, UNIQUE Passive: your attacks increase your MR by 5 for 5 sec. (stacks up to 4 times) | 2000 | 40 |
Basic items provide magic resistance at a similar price to armour, therefore it seems that both stats have an equivalent value at a basic level. However, just like it happened with armour, as items include more bonuses the cost increases significantly.
Force of Nature provides the highest MR bonus but it’s still 56% less cost effective than a Negatron Cloak. Of all advanced and legendary items, Quicksilver Sash is the most cost effective. Besides the aforementioned and Chalice of Harmony, all other items provide less MR and are more expensive than Force of Nature.
Further study of the table shows that Lich Bane is a poor solution for a mage to get MR, it’s better to choose Abyssal Scepter or maybe Chalice of Harmony if mana regeneration is needed. Banshee’s Veil was expensive as a health item and is as a MR item too. Considering that its bonus mana can be eclipsed by other items, its worth seems to be in its passive.
A carry could consider Hexdrinker as a solution against powerful mages. It is relatively cost effective in terms of attack damage even though it doesn’t provide that much MR. Regardless, it might be better to go for an item like Banshee’s Veil that is an overall better solution as a pure defensive item; with a particularly powerful passive also.
The famous Mercury’s Treads is not particularly good for pure MR but with the addition of Tenacity does make for an attractive package. The same can be said for Wit’s End, even though adding magic damage is not usually built, it is one of a few item that a carry can get to increase it offensive and defensive power simultaneously.
We can conclude that magic resistance is a secondary stat; just like armour. In spite of that, there are good options for carries, mages and tanks to increase their defense without comprimising their principal stats. More information on magic resistance plus related items and abilities 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
– Aegis of the Legion’s bonus MR corresponds to its flat bonus plus the aura bonus
– Wit’s End’s bonus MR corresponds to four stacks
– You can sort multiple columns by holding shift and clicking on other column headers