Armor is a stat shared by all units, including minions, monsters, and buildings. Increasing armor reduces the physical damage the unit takes. Each champion begins with some armor which increases with level ( Thresh being the only exception). You can gain additional armor from abilities, items, masteries, and runes. Armor stacks additively.

Excluding Thresh whose base armor does not scale with levels, base armor ranges from 61 ( Heimerdinger) to 90 ( Maokai and Poppy) at level 18.

Contents 1 Damage reduction 2 Stacking armor 3 Armor as Scaling 3.1 Champions 3.2 Items 4 Ways to increase armor 4.1 Items 4.1.1 Core 4.1.2 Twisted Treeline 4.2 Champion abilities 4.3 Masteries 4.4 Runes 5 Ways to reduce armor 6 List of champions' armor 7 Trivia 8 Comments

Damage reduction Edit

Incoming physical damage is multiplied by a factor based on the unit's armor:

Damage multiplier = 100 / (100 + Armor) if Armor ≥ 0

Damage multiplier = 2 − 100 / (100 − Armor) if Armor ≤ 0

Examples:

• 25 armor → ×0.8 incoming physical damage (20% reduction).
• 100 armor → ×0.5 incoming physical damage (50% reduction).
• −25 armor → ×1.20 incoming physical damage (20% increase).

Stacking armor Edit

Every point of armor requires a unit to take 1% more of its maximum health in physical damage to be killed. This is called effective health.

Example: A unit with 60 armor has 60% more of its maximum health in effective health, so if the unit has 1000 maximum health, it will take 1600 physical damage to kill it.

What this means: by definition, armor does not have diminishing returns, because each point increases the unit's effective health against physical damage by 1% of its current actual health whether the unit has 10 armor or 1000 armor.

Note: Unlike health, increasing armor also makes healing more effective because it takes more effort to remove the unit's health than it does to restore it.

For a more detailed explanation, see this video.

Armor as Scaling Edit

These use the champion's armor to increase the magnitude of the ability. It could involve total or bonus armor. By building armor items, you can receive more benefit and power from these abilities.

Champions Edit

• Garen's  Courage grants bonus armor to himself equal to 20% of his bonus armor.
• Malphite's  Brutal Strikes increases his armor by 20% / 25% / 30% / 35% / 40% for 6 seconds.
• Malphite's  Ground Slam deals magic damage equal to a base amount plus 30% of his total armor.
• Rammus's  Defensive Ball Curl deals a flat amount plus 10% of his total armor.
• Rammus's  Spiked Shell grants him bonus attack damage equal to 25% of his total armor.
• Taric's  Shatter's aura grants bonus armor to himself and nearby ally champions equal to 12% of his total armor.
  • Taric's  Shatter's active deals a flat amount plus 20% of his total armor.
• Trundle's  Subjugate takes 40% of the target's armor and gains an equal amount of armor. Over 4 seconds, the bonus armor is doubled. The armor bonus/reduction lasts for another 4 seconds after the drain completes.

Items Edit

• Randuin's Omen active increases its slow duration by a base amount plus 0.5% of the wearer's total armor.

Ways to increase armor Edit

Items Edit

Core Edit

• Aegis of the Legion: +20 armor. Unique Aura - Legion: Nearby allies gain 10 armor, 15 magic resist and 10 health regeneration. Nearby minions gain an additional 50% armor, magic resist and health regeneration. +250 health, +20 magic resist. 2150 gold.
• Atma's Impaler: +45 armor, +15% critical strike chance. Unique Passive: Gain attack damage equal to 1.5% of your maximum health. 2300 gold.
• Banner of Command: +30 armor, +40 ability power, 10% cooldown reduction. Unique Aura - Valor: Nearby allies gain 10 health regeneration and nearby allied minions deal 15% increased damage. Unique Active - Promote: Transforms a nearby siege minion to a more powerful unit. You gain all the gold this unit earns. 180 second cooldown. 2360 gold.
• Chain Vest: +40 armor. 720 gold.
• Cloth Armor: +15 armor. 300 gold.
• Doran's Shield: +5 armor, +100 health, +5 health regeneration. Unique Passive: Blocks 6 damage from champion basic attacks. 475 gold.
• Emblem of Valor: +20 armor. Unique Aura: Nearby allied champions gain 7 health regeneration. 650 gold.
• Frozen Heart: +95 armor, +400 mana. +20% cooldown reduction. Unique Aura: Nearby enemies suffer −20% attack speed. 3000 gold.
• Glacial Shroud: +45 armor, +300 mana. Unique Passive: +10% cooldown reduction. 1350 gold.
• Guardian Angel: +50 armor, +30 magic resistance. Unique Passive: Revives your champion upon death, restoring 30% of your maximum health and mana. 5 minute cooldown. 2600 gold.
• Iceborn Gauntlet: +70 armor, +30 ability power, +500 mana, +10% cooldown reduction. Unique Passive - Spellblade: After using an ability, your next basic attack deals bonus physical damage equal to 125% of your base attack damage to surrounding enemies and creates a field for 2 seconds that slows enemies inside by 30%. 2 second cooldown. 3250 gold.
• Locket of the Iron Solari: +35 armor, +300 health, +10% cooldown reduction, +10 health regeneration. Unique Active: Shield yourself and nearby allies for 5 seconds, absorbing up to 50 (+10 per level) damage. 60 second cooldown. 1850 gold.
• Madred's Razors: +25 armor. Unique Passive - Maim: Your basic attacks against minions and monsters have a 25% chance to deal 300 bonus magic damage. Unique Passive - Rend: Basic attacks deal 10 bonus true damage to monsters. 700 gold.
• Ninja Tabi: +25 armor. Unique Passive - Blocks 10% of the damage from all basic attacks. Unique Passive - Enhanced Movement: +45 movement speed. 1000 gold.
• Randuin's Omen: +70 armor, +500 health. Unique Passive – Cold Steel: If you are hit by a basic attack, you slow the attacker's attack speed by 15% and their movement speed by 10% for 1.5 seconds. Unique Active: Slows the movement speed of nearby enemy units by 35% for 2 seconds + 1 second for every 100 armor and magic resistance you have. 60 second cooldown. 3100 gold.
• Runic Bulwark: +20 armor. Unique Aura - Legion: Nearby allies gain 10 armor, 25 magic resist and 10 health regeneration. Nearby minions gain an additional 50% armor, magic resist and health regeneration. +300 health, +30 magic resist. 2950 gold.
• Seeker's Armguard: +20 armor. Unique Passive - Killing a unit grants 0.5 bonus armor and ability power. This bonus stacks up to 30 times. +25 ability power. 1160 gold.
• Sunfire Cape: +45 armor, +450 health. Unique Passive: Nearby enemies suffer 40 magic damage per second. 2650 gold.
• Thornmail: +100 armor. Unique Passive: On being hit by basic attacks, returns 30% of damage, before any reductions such as armor, as magic damage. 2200 gold.
• Warden's Mail: +50 armor. Unique Passive – Cold Steel: If you are hit by a basic attack, you slow the attacker's attack speed by 15% for 2 seconds. 1100 gold.
• Wriggle's Lantern: +30 armor, +15 attack damage, +10% life steal. Unique Passive - Maim: Your basic attacks against minions and monsters have a 25% chance to deal 500 bonus magic damage. Unique Active: Places an invisible Sight Ward that reveals the surrounding area for 3 minutes. 3 minute cooldown. 1600 gold.
• Zhonya's Hourglass: +50 armor, +120 ability power. Unique Active - Stasis: Places your champion into stasis for 2.5 seconds, rendering you invulnerable and untargetable but unable to take any actions. 90 second cooldown. 3100 gold

Twisted Treeline Edit

• Grez's Spectral Lantern: +20 armor, +20 attack damage, +12% life steal. Unique Passive: Your basic attacks against minions and monsters have a 20% chance to deal 200 bonus magic damage. Unique Active:A stealth-detecting mist grants vision in the target area for 10 seconds. 60 second cooldown. 1250 gold.
• The Lightbringer: +20 armor, +50 attack damage, +12% life steal. Unique Passive - Vanquish: Basic attacks have a 20% chance to deal 100 bonus magic damage. Effect doubled for non-champions. Unique Passive - Trap Detection: Nearby stealthed enemy traps are revealed. Unique Active - Covers a target area in a stealth-detecting mist that grants vision for 10 seconds. 60 second cooldown. 2425 gold.
• Wooglet's Witchcap: +40 armor, +100 ability power. Unique Passive: +25% ability power. Unique Active: Places your champion into stasis for 2.5 seconds, rendering you invulnerable and untargetable but unable to take any actions. 90 second cooldown. 3500 gold.

Champion abilities Edit

Note: Only the armor buff effect of these abilities is shown here, to read more information on each of these abilities, follow the link on each of them.

• Akali's  Twilight Shroud lays down a cloud of smoke for 8 seconds. While inside of the cloud, she gains 10 / 20 / 30 / 40 / 50 armor.
• Anivia's  Rebirth allows her to enter an egg-state for up to 6 seconds upon reaching 0 health. While in this state, she will receive an armor modifier of −40 / −25 / −10 / +5 / +20.
• Annie's  Molten Shield increases her armor by 20 / 30 / 40 / 50 / 60 for 5 seconds.
• Elise's  Spider Form increases her armor by 10 / 15 / 20 / 25.
• Galio's  Bulwark increases an allied champion's armor by 30 / 45 / 60 / 75 / 90 for 4 seconds.
• Garen's  Courage increases his armor by 20% of his bonus armor.
• Graves's  True Grit increases his armor by 1 / 2 / 3 every second he remains in combat. This bonus stacks up to 10 times. Graves is considered in combat if he has dealt or received damage in the last 3 seconds.
• Jarvan IV's  Demacian Standard passively increases his armor by 10 / 13 / 16 / 19 / 22.
• Jax's  Grandmaster's Might increases his armor by 25 / 35 / 45 (+30% bonus AD) for 8 seconds.
• Jayce's  Transform: Mercury Hammer increases his armor by 5 / 15 / 25 / 35.
• Kennen's  Lightning Rush increases his armor by 10 / 20 / 30 / 40 / 50 for 4 seconds.
• Leona's  Eclipse increases her armor by 30 / 40 / 50 / 60 / 70 for 3 seconds, deals damage after that time to units around her, and retains the defensive buff for an additional 3 seconds if any enemy is struck by the blast.
• Malphite's  Brutal Strikes increases his armor by 20% / 25% / 30% / 35% / 40% for 6 seconds.
• Master Yi's  Meditate causes him to channel for up to 5 seconds, increasing his armor by 100 / 150 / 200 / 250 / 300 for the duration.
• Mordekaiser's  Creeping Death increases an allied unit's armor by 10 / 15 / 20 / 25 / 30 for 6 seconds.
• Olaf's  Ragnarok increases his armor by 30 / 45 / 60 for 6 seconds.
• Orianna's  Command: Protect increases an allied champion's armor by 10 / 15 / 20 / 25 / 30 for as long as the ball is attached to them.
• Poppy's  Paragon of Demacia increases her armor by 1.5 / 2 / 2.5 / 3 / 3.5 for 5 seconds upon attacking or being hit by an enemy, stacks up to 10 times. She can also activate this ability to gain max stacks.
• Rammus's  Defensive Ball Curl increases his armor by 40 / 60 / 80 / 100 / 120 for 6 seconds.
• Rengar's  Battle Roar Rengar lets out a battle roar, damaging enemies increases his Armor by 15 / 22 / 29 / 36 / 43 for 3 seconds.
• Sejuani's  Frost Armor grants her 10 / 15 / 20 / 25 bonus armor each times she damages an enemy with an ability or attack for 2 seconds. Subsequent damage will increase the duration by 2 seconds up to a cap of 8 seconds, after where damage will refresh the duration.
• Shyvana's  Dragon's Descent passively increases her armor by 10 / 15 / 20. This bonus is doubled while she is in Dragon Form.
• Singed's  Insanity Potion increases his armor by 35 / 50 / 65 for 25 seconds.
• Sona's  Aria of Perseverance:
  • Aura: increases nearby allied champions' armor by 3 / 6 / 9 / 12 / 15 while active and persists for two seconds after deactivation.
  • Activation: increases hers and one nearby allied champion's armor by an extra 8 / 11 / 14 / 17 / 20 for 1 second.
• Soraka's  Astral Blessing increases an allied unit's armor by 25 / 45 / 65 / 85 / 105 for 3 seconds.
• Taric's  Shatter passively increases his armor by 10 / 15 / 20 / 25 / 30 while the ability is not on cooldown and grants himself and nearby allied units' gains 12% of his armor.
• Thresh's  Damnation passively generates souls for him to collect, with each soul collected granting armor permanently, with the first soul being worth 1 armor and subsequent souls being worth .01 less down to 0.5 armor per soul collected.
• Trundle's  Subjugate takes 40% of the target's armor and gains an equal amount of armor. Over 4 seconds, the bonus armor is doubled. The armor bonus lasts for another 4 seconds after the drain completes.
• Urgot's  Hyper-Kinetic Position Reverser increases his armor by 60 / 90 / 120 for 5 seconds upon activation.
• Wukong's  Stone Skin passively grants him 4 / 6 / 8 armor for each nearby enemy champion.
• Xerath's  Ascended Form passively grants 15% of his ability power as bonus armor.
• Xin Zhao's  Crescent Sweep increases his armor by 15 / 20 / 25 for each enemy champion hit for 8 seconds.

Masteries Edit

• Defender increases your champion's armor by 1 for each nearby enemy champion.
• Hardiness increases your champion's armor by 2 / 3.5 / 5.
• Legendary Armor increases bonus armor by 2% / 3.5% / 5%.

Runes Edit

• Armor runes increase armor.

Ways to reduce armor Edit

See armor penetration. Note that armor penetration and armor reduction are different.

List of champions' armor Edit

Highest and lowest base armor

Champion level	Top 5		Bottom 5
Level 1	24.8	Rammus	9	Lulu
	24	Sejuani	9	Sona
	23.5	Darius	10	Heimerdinger
	22.8	Skarner	10.55	Zilean
	22.5	Cho'Gath	11	Orianna
Level 18	90	Maokai Poppy	18	Thresh
	89.4	Rammus	61	Heimerdinger
	88	Hecarim	62	Orianna
	87.4	Skarner	65.1	Sona
	87.3	Pantheon	67.6	Jarvan IV Trundle Garen
Notes: Shyvana's  Dragon's Descent and Jarvan IV's  Demacian Standard passively increases their armor to 99 and 90 at level 18, respectively. This will cause Shyvana to top the chart and Jarvan IV tying with Maokai and Poppy.

Trivia Edit

A level 18 Malphite with 6 Thornmails, 3 points in Hardiness, 3 points in Legendary Armor, 1 point in Defender,  Astral Blessing,  Bulwark,  Aria of Perseverance,  Shatter aura, Aegis of the Legion aura, Glyphs and Marks of Armor, Seals and Quintessences of Scaling Armor, and  Brutal Strikes enabled will give a total of approximately 1624 armor.

Having an enemy Trundle with the same setup use  Subjugate on Malphite will yield a total of roughly 1770 armor. This is the highest possible finite amount of armor (without using metagame effects—see below), and reduces physical damage by 94.7%.

It is still possible to go higher through gimmicky means. If a player disconnects from the server and is in the fountain, he will gain 1000 armor. With the same setup as above, a disconnected  Garen with a disconnected  Taric will have approximately 2779 armor. Trundle cannot exceed this. This reduces physical damage by 96.5%.

If disconnecting grants armor quickly enough that  Brutal Strikes remains active, Malphite can reach 3315 armor. This reduces physical damage by 97.0%.

Thresh, with his effectively infinite stacking, can obtain a maximum of 500,024.75 armor off his passive alone. With the same set-up as above, he can obtain a total of about 526,214 armor, reducing physical damage by 99.981%. If he disconnects, he can obtain up to 527,259 armor, reducing roughly the same amount.

A Master Yi with 1 Cloth Armor, 3 points in Hardiness, 3 points in Legendary Armor, 1 point in Defender, Glyphs, Marks, Seals and Quintessences of Armor,  Astral Blessing,  Bulwark,  Command: Protect,  Shatter from Taric with the same runes, masteries, and Cloth Armor, with  Meditate enabled, with all champions at level 1 will give a total of approximately 273 armor. This is the highest amount of armor any champion can have at the very beginning of the game.

Champion statistics
Offensive	Attack damage Attack speed Critical strike Life steal Armor penetration Movement speed
Defensive	Health Health regeneration Armor Magic resistance
Magical	Mana Mana regeneration Ability power Cooldown reduction Magic penetration Spell vamp