Can You Have 2 Spellblade Items? A Deep Dive into League of Legends Mechanics
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The short answer is no, you cannot effectively utilize two Spellblade items in League of Legends. While you can technically purchase and equip multiple items that have the Spellblade passive, the game’s mechanics prevent them from stacking or working in tandem. This is because the Spellblade passive is unique, meaning only one instance of it can be active at a time. The presence of multiple Spellblade items will not grant you more frequent enhanced attacks or additional damage. Instead, they will simply share a single cooldown, rendering the additional items essentially useless in terms of their passive. Let’s delve deeper into how this mechanic works and explore related questions to clarify this often-confusing topic.
How Spellblade Works
The Spellblade passive is found on various items like Sheen, Trinity Force, Iceborn Gauntlet, and Essence Reaver. This passive enhances your next basic attack after using an ability. The effect typically deals bonus physical damage scaling with your base AD, and some versions of Spellblade also provide additional effects, such as the slow from Iceborn Gauntlet.
Here’s the key takeaway: after you cast an ability, a 10-second window opens for you to use your empowered auto-attack. If you do not use the enhanced attack within that window, the buff expires. Once used, the Spellblade passive goes on a 1.5-second cooldown before it can be triggered again. This 1.5-second cooldown is shared amongst all Spellblade items you own. Owning multiple items will not reduce that cooldown; they all share the same individual cooldown.
Why Stacking Is Not Effective
Since multiple Spellblade items share a single cooldown and the bonus damage does not stack, acquiring multiple Spellblade items is generally a poor strategic decision. You will only ever benefit from the most recent use of the passive, making any subsequent Spellblade items redundant.
For example, if you own both a Sheen and a Trinity Force, and you cast an ability, only one Spellblade will activate for your next attack, and the cooldown is still 1.5 seconds no matter the item. Both items will be waiting for that cooldown to expire to be used again. Therefore, a second Spellblade item is essentially providing only its base stats, without offering any extra benefit from its passive.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Spellblade Items
Here are some frequently asked questions to help clarify the specifics of Spellblade mechanics and related concepts:
1. What Exactly is the Spellblade Passive?
The Spellblade passive is a unique game mechanic in League of Legends that enhances your next basic attack after you use an ability. The enhanced attack typically deals bonus physical damage and sometimes carries additional effects depending on the item, such as an AOE slow.
2. Does Sheen Bonus Damage Proc Off Lifesteal or Spell Vamp?
Sheen bonus damage procs off lifesteal but not off spell vamp. This means that the damage done by a Spellblade empowered attack will heal you for a percentage of the damage dealt, if you have lifesteal. Spell vamp, on the other hand, will not heal you from Spellblade damage.
3. How Gold Efficient is Sheen?
Sheen has a base stat gold efficiency of 0%. Its 700 gold price is entirely based on the power of its unique passive, making it highly valuable for champions who make heavy use of its effect. However, the item is inefficient on champions that cannot make use of its passive.
4. Is Spellblade an On-Hit Effect?
Yes, Spellblade is considered an on-hit effect. This means that its damage is applied directly upon a successful basic attack.
5. How Much Bonus Damage Does Spellblade Deal?
The bonus damage from Spellblade is usually 100% of your base AD. This is the case for most items with the passive. This number can be modified further, as seen on Trinity Force, which increases bonus AD based on your total AD.
6. Does Spellblade Damage Stack?
No, Spellblade damage does not stack. As previously mentioned, owning multiple Spellblade items will not increase the damage of your enhanced attack. You only ever get one instance of damage.
7. Does Spellblade Have a Cooldown?
Yes, Spellblade has a 1.5 second cooldown that begins after the empowered attack is used. This cooldown is not decreased by owning multiple Spellblade items.
8. Can Consecutive Ability Casts Refresh the Spellblade Duration?
Yes, consecutive ability casts can refresh the 10-second duration of the enhanced attack. If you cast an ability and then cast another ability before your enhanced attack, the window for using the empowered attack will be reset to 10 seconds from the most recent ability cast. This is useful for weaving more abilities into your rotation.
9. Can You Stack Spellblade With Battlemage?
Spellblade does stack with Battlemage, which is a different passive found on items. Battlemage, which is found in items like Lich Bane, scales with your main-hand weapon, and therefore stacks with Spellblade damage.
10. What Items Have the Spellblade Passive?
Some common items that have the Spellblade passive include: Sheen, Trinity Force, Iceborn Gauntlet, and Essence Reaver. Each of these items has a slightly different effect, but the core mechanic of empowering the next basic attack is consistent.
11. Does Sheen Work with Attack Speed?
While Sheen’s passive damage does not directly scale with attack speed, having higher attack speed allows you to utilize the empowered basic attack more often over time. Therefore, attack speed is beneficial for Sheen users.
12. Why Is Sheen Considered an Important Item?
Sheen is a foundational item for many champions that rely on weaving abilities and auto-attacks. Its low cost and high effectiveness in enabling burst damage makes it a popular choice early in the game.
13. Does Spellblade Only Work on Basic Attacks?
Yes, Spellblade only works on basic attacks. It does not empower abilities or other types of damage.
14. Does the Spellblade Cooldown start After the Enhanced Attack is Used?
Yes, the 1.5-second cooldown for the Spellblade passive begins after you use your enhanced attack. This is important to remember as that is when the cooldown begins.
15. Can Multiple “Unique” Effects Stack?
Generally, no. Unique effects, identified by the word “unique” in the item description, do not stack. This is the defining factor as to why multiple Spellblade passives will not be effective in any build.
Conclusion
While the idea of stacking Spellblade items might seem enticing, the unique nature of the passive ensures that only one instance of it will ever be active. As such, it is never a good idea to build multiple items with this passive. Understanding these mechanics helps players to create more effective builds and understand how items interact with each other in League of Legends. By understanding how to optimally use the Spellblade mechanic, players will be able to capitalize on its burst potential in League.