Hey guys! Ready to dive deep into the world of League of Legends items? Whether you're a seasoned pro or just starting out, understanding items is crucial to dominating the Rift. This guide will cover every item in the game, helping you make the best choices for your champion and playstyle. Let's get started!

What are Items in League of Legends?

In League of Legends, items are equippable objects that enhance a champion's stats and abilities. They provide boosts to attributes like attack damage, ability power, health, armor, magic resistance, and more. Items can also grant unique passive or active effects that can dramatically change the course of a game. Mastering itemization is essential for adapting to different team compositions, enemy strategies, and game states. The right item build can turn a losing battle into a resounding victory.

Items are purchased using gold, which is earned through various in-game activities like killing minions, champions, and monsters, destroying structures, and completing quests. The strategic allocation of gold towards items is a critical aspect of gameplay. Players must balance the immediate need for power spikes with the long-term goal of completing their core build. Effective gold management and item optimization are hallmarks of skilled League of Legends players.

Furthermore, items in League of Legends are not static; they evolve over the course of a game as players accumulate more gold. Many basic items can be combined to create more powerful advanced items, which in turn can be further upgraded into legendary or mythic items. This progression system allows for a dynamic and customizable approach to character building. Players can adapt their item builds on the fly to counter specific threats or to maximize their effectiveness in team fights. The depth and complexity of the item system add a significant layer of strategy to League of Legends, rewarding players who invest the time to understand its nuances.

Core Item Categories

To get a grip on League of Legends items, let's break them down into categories. This will make it easier to understand what each type of item does and when you might want to buy it.

Starting Items

Starting items are the first purchases you make at the beginning of a match. These items are designed to provide a small initial boost to your champion's stats and often come with unique effects that aid in lane sustain or early game aggression. For example, Doran's Blade is a popular choice for attack damage carries, offering a blend of attack damage, health, and lifesteal. Similarly, Doran's Ring provides ability power, health, and mana regeneration for mages. Support champions often opt for items like Spectral Sickle or Relic Shield, which generate gold through assisting allies and harassing enemies. Starting items are crucial for establishing a strong early game presence and setting the tone for the rest of the match.

The selection of the right starting item depends heavily on the champion you are playing, your lane opponent, and your overall game plan. Aggressive players might choose items that enhance their damage output, while more passive players may prefer items that improve their survivability and resource management. Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of each starting item is essential for making informed decisions that will give you an edge in the early game. Moreover, some starting items can be upgraded later into more powerful items, providing additional value and flexibility.

Investing in the appropriate starting item can significantly impact your ability to farm effectively, trade favorably with your opponent, and avoid being pushed out of lane. A well-chosen starting item can also provide crucial sustain, allowing you to stay in lane longer and accumulate more gold and experience. This initial advantage can snowball into a significant lead, making it easier to secure objectives and influence the outcome of the game. Therefore, taking the time to analyze your champion's needs and the dynamics of your lane matchup is vital for selecting the optimal starting item and maximizing your chances of success.

Boots

Boots are essential for increasing your champion's movement speed, allowing you to navigate the map more quickly, chase down enemies, and escape from dangerous situations. Different types of boots offer additional benefits, such as increased magic resistance, armor, or crowd control reduction. For instance, Mercury's Treads provide magic resistance and tenacity, reducing the duration of stuns, slows, and other disabling effects. Ninja Tabi grant armor and reduce the damage taken from basic attacks, making them a popular choice against attack damage-heavy compositions. Ionian Boots of Lucidity offer cooldown reduction and summoner spell haste, enabling you to cast abilities and use summoner spells more frequently.

The choice of boots depends on your champion's role, the enemy team's composition, and your personal playstyle. Carries often opt for boots that enhance their damage output or survivability, while tanks and supports may prioritize boots that improve their ability to engage or protect their team. Swiftness boots can be useful for champions who need to kite enemies or roam the map quickly. Sorcerer's Shoes provide magic penetration, increasing the damage dealt by magic abilities. Understanding the unique properties of each type of boots is crucial for making informed decisions that will enhance your champion's effectiveness.

Upgrading to boots is typically one of the first major purchases players make after securing a sufficient amount of gold. The increased movement speed allows you to reach lane more quickly, respond to ganks, and participate in team fights more effectively. Boots can also provide a significant advantage in terms of positioning, enabling you to outmaneuver your opponents and secure favorable engagements. In addition to their primary benefits, some boots can be further enhanced with enchantments that provide additional utility or combat stats. These enchantments can offer a significant boost to your champion's performance, making boots an indispensable item for any serious League of Legends player.

Basic Items

Basic items are the building blocks of more powerful items. They provide smaller stat boosts but are essential for progressing into mid-game and late-game builds. These items include components like Long Sword, Amplifying Tome, and Cloth Armor, each providing specific stats like attack damage, ability power, or armor, respectively. Basic items are often combined to create more advanced items that offer a wider range of benefits. For example, combining a Long Sword and a Pickaxe creates a Serrated Dirk, which provides attack damage and lethality.

The strategic selection of basic items is crucial for optimizing your gold efficiency and maximizing your early game potential. Buying the right combination of basic items can give you a significant advantage in lane, allowing you to trade more effectively, farm more efficiently, and exert more pressure on your opponent. Furthermore, basic items can be sold back for a partial refund, providing flexibility in your build path and allowing you to adapt to changing game conditions. Understanding the relationships between basic items and their advanced counterparts is essential for planning your item build and making informed purchasing decisions.

Investing in basic items is a continuous process throughout the game, as you accumulate gold and work towards completing your core build. The order in which you purchase basic items can significantly impact your power curve and influence your ability to contribute to team fights. For example, prioritizing damage-enhancing basic items can allow you to snowball your lead and secure early kills, while focusing on defensive basic items can help you survive ganks and withstand enemy aggression. The skillful management of basic items is a hallmark of experienced League of Legends players, who understand how to leverage these small advantages to gain a competitive edge.

Advanced Items

Advanced items are created by combining basic items. They offer more substantial stat boosts and often come with passive or active effects that enhance your champion's abilities. Examples include Sheen, Phage, and Caulfield's Warhammer. These items serve as stepping stones toward completing legendary and mythic items, providing a gradual increase in power as you progress through the game. Advanced items are essential for transitioning from the early game to the mid-game, where team fights and objective control become more important.

The selection of advanced items depends heavily on your champion's role, your team's composition, and the enemy team's strategy. Carries typically prioritize advanced items that enhance their damage output, such as Infinity Edge or Rabadon's Deathcap. Tanks may focus on advanced items that increase their survivability, such as Sunfire Aegis or Spirit Visage. Supports often opt for advanced items that provide utility and protection for their team, such as Redemption or Mikael's Blessing. Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of each advanced item is crucial for making informed decisions that will contribute to your team's success.

Investing in advanced items is a key part of optimizing your build and maximizing your champion's potential. The passive and active effects of advanced items can significantly impact your ability to engage in team fights, secure objectives, and control the map. For example, the Sheen item provides a bonus damage effect on your next auto-attack after casting an ability, making it a popular choice for champions who rely on burst damage. The Phage item grants increased movement speed when attacking enemies, allowing you to chase down opponents and kite more effectively. The skillful use of advanced items is a hallmark of skilled League of Legends players, who understand how to leverage these advantages to gain a competitive edge.

Legendary Items

Legendary items are powerful items that provide significant stat boosts and unique effects. They are typically completed in the mid-to-late game and form the core of most champion builds. Examples include Infinity Edge, Rabadon's Deathcap, and Guardian Angel. These items are designed to enhance your champion's strengths and provide powerful tools for engaging in team fights and securing objectives. Legendary items often have complex interactions with other items and abilities, allowing for a high degree of customization and optimization.

The selection of legendary items is a critical aspect of itemization, as it directly impacts your champion's effectiveness in the late game. Carries typically prioritize legendary items that maximize their damage output, such as Infinity Edge for critical strike-based champions or Rabadon's Deathcap for ability power-based champions. Tanks may focus on legendary items that provide survivability and crowd control, such as Thornmail or Frozen Heart. Supports often opt for legendary items that enhance their team's utility and protection, such as Ardent Censer or Staff of Flowing Water. Understanding the nuances of each legendary item is essential for making informed decisions that will contribute to your team's victory.

Investing in legendary items is a continuous process throughout the game, as you accumulate gold and adapt to changing game conditions. The order in which you purchase legendary items can significantly impact your power curve and influence your ability to carry games. For example, completing Infinity Edge early can allow you to snowball your lead and secure kills, while prioritizing Guardian Angel can help you survive burst damage and make aggressive plays. The skillful management of legendary items is a hallmark of experienced League of Legends players, who understand how to leverage these powerful items to dominate the game.

Mythic Items

Mythic items are the most powerful items in League of Legends, each providing a significant stat boost and a unique passive effect that enhances your other items. You can only equip one mythic item at a time, making the choice of which mythic item to purchase a critical decision. Examples include Trinity Force, Galeforce, and Evenshroud. Mythic items are designed to define your champion's playstyle and provide a strong foundation for your build. They often have complex interactions with other items and abilities, allowing for a high degree of customization and optimization.

The selection of your mythic item is arguably the most important itemization decision you will make in a game of League of Legends. The right mythic item can significantly enhance your champion's strengths and compensate for their weaknesses. Carries typically prioritize mythic items that maximize their damage output and mobility, such as Galeforce for assassins or Kraken Slayer for sustained damage dealers. Tanks may focus on mythic items that provide survivability and crowd control, such as Sunfire Aegis or Iceborn Gauntlet. Supports often opt for mythic items that enhance their team's utility and protection, such as Moonstone Renewer or Locket of the Iron Solari.

Investing in your mythic item is typically one of the first major purchases you will make after securing a sufficient amount of gold. The passive effect of your mythic item can significantly impact your overall build, influencing the selection of your other items and shaping your playstyle. For example, if you choose Trinity Force as your mythic item, you may want to prioritize items that synergize with its Sheen effect, such as Sterak's Gage or Ravenous Hydra. The skillful management of your mythic item is a hallmark of experienced League of Legends players, who understand how to leverage these powerful items to dominate the game.

Item Stats and Effects

Alright, let's talk about the stats and effects you'll find on League of Legends items. Understanding what these do is key to building the right items for your champion.

• Attack Damage (AD): Increases the damage of basic attacks and some abilities.
• Ability Power (AP): Increases the damage of magic-based abilities.
• Armor: Reduces physical damage taken.
• Magic Resistance (MR): Reduces magic damage taken.
• Health: Increases your champion's maximum health points.
• Mana: Increases your champion's maximum mana points.
• Attack Speed: Increases the rate at which your champion attacks.
• Critical Strike Chance: The chance for basic attacks to deal bonus damage.
• Lifesteal: Restores health based on a percentage of damage dealt by basic attacks.
• Omnivamp: Restores health based on a percentage of all damage dealt.
• Armor Penetration: Reduces the enemy's armor, allowing you to deal more physical damage.
• Magic Penetration: Reduces the enemy's magic resistance, allowing you to deal more magic damage.
• Tenacity: Reduces the duration of stuns, slows, and other crowd control effects.
• Haste: Reduces the cooldown of abilities, summoner spells and items.

Unique Passives and Actives

Many items in League of Legends come with unique passive or active effects that can significantly impact your gameplay. Passive effects are always active and provide a constant benefit, such as increased movement speed or bonus damage on auto-attacks. Active effects, on the other hand, must be activated manually and often provide a powerful temporary boost or utility effect. Examples of active effects include healing allies, shielding yourself, or teleporting short distances.

Understanding the unique passive and active effects of items is crucial for maximizing their potential and making informed decisions in combat. Some items have passive effects that synergize well with certain champions or abilities, allowing you to create powerful combinations and enhance your overall effectiveness. For example, the passive effect of Sheen grants bonus damage on your next auto-attack after casting an ability, making it a popular choice for champions who frequently use abilities and auto-attacks in tandem. Similarly, the active effect of Zhonya's Hourglass allows you to become invulnerable for a short period of time, making it an essential item for mages and assassins who need to avoid burst damage.

The skillful use of active items can often be the difference between victory and defeat in League of Legends. Timing your active effects correctly can allow you to dodge crucial abilities, protect your teammates, or secure kills that would otherwise be impossible. However, it's important to remember that active items often have cooldowns, so you need to use them wisely and avoid wasting them on inconsequential situations. Mastering the art of using active items takes practice and experience, but it's a skill that will significantly improve your overall gameplay and increase your chances of success.

Full List of Items

Alright, let's get down to the nitty-gritty. Here's a comprehensive list of all the items in League of Legends, categorized for your convenience. Note that item stats and availability can change with patches, so always refer to the in-game item shop for the most up-to-date information.

(Please note: Due to the extensive and constantly updating nature of the League of Legends item list, a full, continually updated list here is impractical. Always refer to the in-game shop or reliable League of Legends websites for the most current information.)

To find up-to-date information, you can check out the League of Legends official website or community-driven sites like the League of Legends Wiki. These resources are constantly updated to reflect the latest changes in the game.

Tips for Effective Itemization

Okay, now that we've covered the basics, let's talk strategy. Here are some tips to help you become a master of itemization in League of Legends:

• Know Your Champion: Understand which stats are most important for your champion. Do they rely on attack damage, ability power, or a mix of both? Are they tanky or squishy? Knowing your champion's strengths and weaknesses will guide your item choices.
• Adapt to the Enemy Team: Pay attention to the enemy team's composition. If they have a lot of physical damage, build armor. If they have a lot of magic damage, build magic resistance. Don't be afraid to deviate from your standard build if necessary.
• Consider the Game State: Are you ahead or behind? If you're ahead, you can afford to build more aggressively. If you're behind, focus on defensive items to stay alive and farm.
• Don't Be Afraid to Experiment: Try out different item builds and see what works best for you. The League of Legends item system is complex, and there's always something new to discover.
• Read Item Descriptions: Seriously, take the time to read what each item does. Understanding the nuances of item effects can give you a significant edge in combat.

Conclusion

So there you have it, guys! A comprehensive guide to all the items in League of Legends. Remember, mastering itemization takes time and practice, but it's well worth the effort. By understanding the different item categories, stats, and effects, you'll be well on your way to climbing the ranks and dominating the Rift. Now go out there and put your knowledge to the test. Good luck, and have fun!