
Cooldown, often abbreviated as CD, is a fundamental mechanic in League of Legends that represents the time interval between the uses of a champion's abilities, items, summoner spells, or runes. When an ability or item is activated, it enters a cooldown state, becoming temporarily unavailable until the specified time passes.
Cooldowns vary significantly across different abilities and items, ranging from mere seconds to over a minute. Generally, more powerful abilities have longer cooldowns to balance their impact, while basic abilities reset more quickly. This system encourages players to use their skills judiciously and creates windows of opportunity for counterplay.
Types of Cooldowns
Normal Cooldowns are the most common and can be reduced by ability haste. Static Cooldowns, on the other hand, cannot be reduced by ability haste, maintaining a fixed duration. On-Target Cooldowns limit how often an effect can be applied to the same target, even if the ability is ready to use again. Lastly, some abilities use a Recharge System, where charges regenerate over time instead of having a traditional cooldown.
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Champion Abilities and Cooldowns

Each champion has a unique set of skills, typically consisting of three basic abilities and one ultimate ability. These abilities have varying cooldown times, generally ranging from a few seconds for basic skills to several minutes for powerful ultimate abilities.
For example, a champion like Lux has a basic ability, Light Binding (Q), with a relatively short cooldown of 11-9 seconds (decreasing with level). This allows her to use it frequently in lane for poke or wave clear. In contrast, her ultimate ability, has a much longer base cooldown of 60-40 seconds, reflecting its game-changing potential.
Additionally, some champions, known as "cooldown champions," rely solely on cooldowns to limit their ability usage, without using resources like mana. Examples include Garen, Riven, and Yasuo. This design choice significantly influences their playstyle and power curve throughout a match.
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Cooldowns Beyond Champion Abilities
Cooldowns extend beyond champion abilities to other game elements. Many items have active effects with their own cooldowns, adding another layer of strategic depth. For instance, Zhonya's Hourglass provides a powerful stasis effect on a 120-second cooldown, while Youmuu's Ghostblade offers additional movement speed every 45 seconds.
Additionally, summoner Spells, such as Flash and Ignite, also operate on long cooldowns, typically 300 seconds or more. Their usage often defines key moments in the game, making cooldown tracking a crucial skill for high-level play. Some runes interact with cooldowns as well, either by reducing them or providing effects based on cooldown usage. The Cosmic Insight rune, for example, increases Ability Haste and also reduces the cooldown of item actives.
Strategic Implications of Cooldown Management
Cooldown management is a crucial skill in League of Legends, requiring players to balance frequent ability usage with strategic conservation. Mastering this aspect involves tracking both allied and enemy cooldowns to capitalize on windows of opportunity.
For instance, engaging after an enemy Malphite uses his ultimate can provide a significant advantage. Similarly, timing engages around summoner spell availability, like Flash, can often determine the outcome of teamfights.
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