How does Armor Work in League of Legends?

In League of Legends, armor is an important defensive stat that reduces physical damage, enabling champions to withstand fights for longer periods. Champions start the game with a base armor value that grows as they level up and can be increased by items, abilities, runes, and buffs.

How Much Damage Does Armor Reduce in League?

Armor in League of Legends functions by reducing the amount of physical damage a champion receives. The damage reduction is calculated using the formula: Damage Reduction = 100 / (100 + Armor). This means that as armor increases, the percentage of damage reduction also increases, but with diminishing returns at higher values.

For example, 50 armor provides 33.33% damage reduction, 100 armor gives 50% damage reduction, and 200 armor results in 66.67% damage reduction. This non-linear scaling ensures that armor remains valuable throughout the game without becoming overpowered.

Also Read: What is Critical Strike in League of Legends?

Effective Strategies for Armor Stacking

Armor increases a champion's effective health against physical damage linearly. Each point of armor adds 1% of the champion's maximum health to their effective health pool against physical damage. This means that armor stacking remains consistently effective, regardless of how much armor you already have.

When choosing between armor and health, consider that armor is more effective against pure physical damage and when you already have a high health pool. Health, on the other hand, is better against mixed damage types and when you have healing or shielding abilities. Often, a balance of both is ideal for optimal survivability.

While armor is crucial against physical damage, it's important to consider magic resistance as well. The balance between armor and magic resistance depends on the enemy team composition and the types of damage you're facing most frequently. In general, it's wise to build a mix of both defensive stats to be prepared for various threats.

When to Build Armor in LoL?

Understanding when to prioritize armor in your build is crucial for maximizing your champion's effectiveness on the Rift. Armor becomes particularly valuable in certain game situations:

1. Against AD-heavy enemy teams: If the enemy team composition is primarily physical damage dealers, prioritizing armor items can significantly increase your survivability.
2. As a tank or frontline champion: Champions who need to absorb damage for their team benefit greatly from armor items.
3. When facing fed AD carries or assassins: Building armor can help mitigate the threat of a snowballing enemy AD champion.
4. To counter objective-focused strategies: Armor is effective against teams that prioritize taking towers and other objectives quickly.

Also Read: What is Full AP/AD in League of Legends?

Key Armor Items

Armor items in League of Legends are diverse, each offering unique benefits beyond just increasing your armor stat. These items not only enhance your survivability but also provide additional effects that can turn the tide of battle. From reflecting damage back to attackers to slowing enemy movement and attack speed, choosing the right armor item can dramatically impact your performance and team's success. 

Some of the most impactful armor items in League of Legends include:

• Thornmail: Provides a large amount of armor and reflects damage to attackers, making it effective against auto-attack reliant champions.
• Death's Dance: Provides armor, attack damage, and ability haste, with a passive that converts a portion of damage taken into a bleed effect over time, allowing champions to survive burst damage and potentially heal through sustained fights.
  
• Unending Despair: Offers armor, ability haste, and health, with a unique passive that increases damage against enemies with more current health, making it effective for extended fights and against tanky opponents
  
• Sunfire Aegis: Grants armor, health, and ability haste, with a passive that deals magic damage to nearby enemies and increases damage the longer you're in combat, making it excellent for tanks who want to deal damage while being durable.
  
• Iceborn Gauntlet: Offers armor, ability haste, and mana, with a Spellblade passive that creates a slowing field after using an ability, making it great for champions who want to kite enemies and control the battlefield.
• Dead Man's Plate: Gives armor, health, and movement speed, ideal for tanks who need to close the gap on enemies.
• Frozen Heart: Provides armor, mana, and an aura that slows nearby enemies' attack speed, effective against multiple AD threats.
• Jak'Sho, The Protean: Provides armor, magic resistance, and health, with a unique passive that grants additional resistances and damage amplification when in combat for an extended period, ideal for frontline champions in prolonged teamfights.
  

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