Area of effect

Area of Effect (or AoE) is a term used in many role-playing and strategy games to describe attacks or spells that can affect multiple targets within a specified area. Spell vamp and the slow from Rylai's Crystal Scepter have reduced effects when used with AoE abilities.

Types of AoE Edit

There exist champion abilities, summoner spells, and some items in the game that grant with varied Areas of Effect:

Chain Edit

The term "chain AoE" refers to abilities that start their effect with a single target, but if there is another valid target within the range of the chain, the effect will jump to that target.

This type of abilities usually bounce only a limited number of times and cannot hit the same target twice. There are, however, exceptions:

Dark Wind, Pyroclasm and Spell Flux can hit the same target more than once.
Malefic Visions can jump an unlimited amount of times, provided there is a target nearby after the current one dies.

Some of the abilities of this type also have a decreased damage per bounce, like Ricochet and Bouncing Blades. Double Up , inversely, deals increased damage on the second (and last) target.

Cone Edit

Cone AoE affects a conic area that starts at the feet of the caster. All valid targets in the cone receive the same damage. Volley is an exception - it will shoot line missiles in a cone, with each arrow affecting only the first encountered target.

Examples:

Ground targeted Edit

With "ground targeted area of effect" ("GTAoE") abilities and spells, the player places a circle on the ground that will be the area of the effect. One carefully places this around the targets and clicks to start casting/channeling. All units that are in that area or remain in that area for channeled or over-time GTAoEs suffer the damage and/or effects.

Examples:

Line Edit

Line-based AoE abilities are the most varied but have 1 thing in common: they only work between point A to point B.

Examples:

Point blank Edit

For passive point blank effects, see Aura.

Some AoE effects are cast or used without having to target someone or something; the caster is the anchor for the spell. The effect/damage radiates outward from the caster up to a given range, affecting all targets, or the first given number of targets, within the radius. These types of effects are referred to as "PBAoE", which stands for "point blank area of effect".

Some examples: