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What is Magic Resistance (MR) in LoL?

mr definition
mr definition

Magic Resistance (MR) in League of Legends is a crucial defensive stat that reduces incoming magic damage. Every champion starts with a base MR stat that typically increases with level progression, and it can be further enhanced through items, runes, abilities, and buffs.

MR functions similarly to Armor but specifically counters magic damage, playing a vital role in the champion's build against magical threats.

How does Magic Resistance Work?

magic resistance formula
magic resistance formula

Magic Resistance reduces incoming magic damage by a percentage. The more MR you have, the less magic damage you'll take from enemy spells and abilities. When you get hit by magic damage, the game uses a formula to figure out how much damage you actually take. This formula takes into account your MR and reduces the incoming damage accordingly. 

Here's the simple way to think about it: If you have no MR at all, you'll take the full damage of any magic attack. But as you build up MR, you'll start to shrug off more and more of that damage. For example, if you have 50 MR, you'll take about a third less magic damage than without MR. If you get 100 MR, you'll only take half the damage you would otherwise take.

If you're facing a team with many magic damage dealers, consider building items with magic resistance to help you survive longer in fights. Remember that MR only protects against magic damage. If physical attacks are targeting you, prioritize building armor instead. Adapt your defenses to the specific threats you're encountering in each game.

Also Read: What is Cooldown (CD) in League of Legends?

Stacking Magic Resistance

Unlike some other stats, Magic Resistance doesn't have diminishing returns. Each point of MR increases the effective health pool against magic damage by 1%, regardless of how much MR is already accumulated. This makes stacking MR a viable strategy AP team compositions.

The great thing about MR is that it keeps being useful no matter how much you have. Even if you stack up a ton of MR, each point still helps you take more magic damage. It's like each point of MR is giving you a bit more effective health against magic attacks.

Basic and Epic MR Items

epic magic resistance items
epic magic resistance items

Basic and Epic items are crucial for early game defense against magic damage or for completing specific item builds. Some can be powerful on their own in certain situations, offering cost-effective MR or unique active abilities. These are all basic an epic items currently available in LoL:

  1. Null-Magic Mantle: The most basic MR item, often used as a starting item against AP laners or as a component for larger MR items.
  2. Negatron Cloak: An epic MR item used in various item builds, providing a significant amount of MR for its cost.
  3. Hexdrinker: A component item that builds into Maw of Malmortius, providing early-game MR and AD with a magic damage shield.
  4. Quicksilver Sash: A component item that builds into Mercurial Scimitar, providing MR and an active cleanse. It's useful against heavy CC teams even before completing the full item.
  5. Spectre's Cowl: A component item that builds into Spirit Visage or Force of Nature, providing MR and health regeneration.
  6. Verdant Barrier: A component item that builds into Banshee's Veil, offering MR and AP. It can be a good early purchase for mages against AP threats.

Core Legendary Magic Resistance Items

core magic resistance items
core magic resistance items

In League of Legends, there are MR items that form the backbone of MR-focused builds, offering substantial magic resistance along with other valuable stats and unique effects. These items are suitable for a wide range of champions and situations, providing reliable defense against magic damage threats:

  1. Maw of Malmortius: An offensive MR item that provides Attack Damage and MR. Its magic damage shield makes it suitable for AD carries or bruisers against burst mages. The item also grants omnivamp when the shield is activated.
  2. Abyssal Mask: This item provides MR, health, and ability haste. It's particularly effective on tanks who want to amplify their team's magic damage while gaining MR themselves.
  3. Banshee's Veil: Offering MR and Ability Power (AP), this item is ideal for mages who need protection against magic damage and crowd control. Its spell shield can block a crucial ability, potentially turning the tide of a fight.
  4. Force of Nature: A strong choice against teams with sustained magic damage, it provides MR, health, and movement speed. Its unique passive grants increasing magic damage reduction when taking magic damage, making it excellent for extended fights.
  5. Spirit Visage: This item is perfect for champions with healing or shielding abilities. It provides MR, health, and ability haste, and amplifies all healing and shielding effects. It's particularly effective on drain tanks and champions with built-in sustain.
  6. Jak'Sho, The Protean: This item grants MR, armor, and health. It's designed for tanks and becomes more effective as fights progress, making it excellent for front-liners in extended engagements.

Also Read: What does CS mean in League of Legends?

Situational Legendary Magic Resist Items

situational magic resistance items
situational magic resistance items

While some items serve as core MR items there are also items in LoL that offer MR but are chosen for specific scenarios or champion types. They provide unique active abilities or synergize well with particular playstyles, making them powerful choices when used in the right situations. 

Here is a list of situational Magic Resist Items in League of Legends:

  1. Mercurial Scimitar: This item combines MR with AD and provides a cleanse active. It's crucial against teams with heavy crowd control, allowing AD carries to escape dangerous situations.
  2. Mercury's Treads: These boots offer MR and tenacity, making them excellent against teams with heavy magic damage and crowd control. They're a popular choice for many champions, especially those who don't rely on attack speed.
  3. Wit's End: An offensive item that provides MR, attack speed, and on-hit magic damage. It's particularly effective on auto-attack based champions who need MR, such as some ADCs or fighters.
  4. Zeke's Convergence: A support item that grants MR, armor, and ability haste. Its unique active empowers a nearby ally, making it great for engage supports who want to boost their ADC's damage while gaining some MR.
  5. Locket of the Iron Solari: Another support item that provides MR and armor. Its active shield can protect the entire team from burst damage, making it valuable against AoE magic damage compositions.

New Magic Resistance Items in LoL

new magic resistance items
new magic resistance items

Riot Games introduced new items in season 14 to diversify build paths and strategic options across various game modes. These additions offer unique properties that cater to different playstyles and situations, expanding the arsenal of magic resistance items available to players.

This is  an overview of new magic resistance items added in LoL Season 14:

  1. Hollow Radiance: This item provides MR, health, and ability haste. Its unique feature is the creation of a damage-absorbing zone around the user, making it exceptionally valuable for team fights and objective control. The zone aspect introduces a new dynamic to positioning and area control in battles.
  2. Kaenic Rookern: Item grants a substantial amount of MR and health. It's designed to be particularly effective against team compositions with multiple AP threats.

Also Read: What is EZ in League Of Legends?

When to Build Magic Resistance Items?

Deciding when to build MR items and how much MR to stack is influenced by various factors in each game. The most important consideration is your opponents' composition. If you're facing multiple magic damage dealers or a fed AP carry, prioritizing MR becomes essential. Pay attention to the enemy team's damage distribution, the more magic damage they have, the more valuable MR becomes. 

The game phase is another crucial factor.  Early game, a Null-Magic Mantle or Mercury's Treads can provide sufficient defense. As the game progresses, completing full MR items becomes more important.  Your champion's role also plays a significant part in this decision. Tanks might opt for Spirit Visage or Force of Nature, while carries could consider Maw of Malmortius or Wit's End.  l for a mix of offense and defense. 

Consider the specific threats you're facing. Against burst mages, items with spell shields like Banshee's Veil can be particularly effective. If the enemy team has a lot of crowd control in addition to magic damage, items like Mercury's or Quicksilver Sash become more valuable.  

Balance Between MR and Health

While building MR is crucial against magic damage, it's equally important to balance it with health. The optimal ratio between health and MR can be approximated by the formula: health = 6.75 × (magic resist + 100)

This means that for every point of MR above 100, you should aim to have about 6.75 points of health for maximum efficiency. However, this is a theoretical guideline and should be adapted based on the specific game situation.

Balance MR with health and other defensive stats. Against true damage or percent health damage, mixing MR with health items is often more effective than pure MR stacking. Adapt your build to each game, choosing items that counter specific magic threats while complementing your champion's role and strengths.

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