The 7 Best Lethality Items in League of Legends – Guide

There’s no denying that lethality items are some of the most impactful items in League of Legends. Each of them offers unique strengths and stats besides flat-based armor penetration which makes them useful in many different ways.

Under the right combination, lethality items can be the deadliest source of power in LoL, especially on an AD assassin such as Zed.

I’ve recently made a guide here on building max lethality in LoL, so I also recommend you check that if you’re interested in having the most lethal build possible.

But for now, let’s see the best lethality items in the game ranked from the strongest down.

1. Prowler’s Claw

Judging only by the stats, Prowler’s Claw is the ideal lethality item in League of Legends. It has everything an AD champion needs, so it’s the go-to item for many assassins.

But besides that, the active of this item is very impactful and it’s what makes Prowler’s Claw the best of its kind.

Prowler’s Claw allows you to dash through your target while dealing damage and increasing the target’s damage taken for a few seconds. In other words, it’s a gap closer and a damage buff all into one cooldown that you can always use as an opener in a fight.

Champions like Qiyana and Talon utilize Prowler’s Claw up to its maximum since their damage can be instantly applied after using the item’s active. But even Lee Sin players can use Prowler’s Claw to perform the easier version of the InSec kick since it dashes them behind their targets.

You should always build Prowler’s Claw if you’re looking to maximize your lethality stat. This is because the item grants 5 extra lethality per legendary item, something that no other mythic item does.

Read Also: The Best Lethality Champions in League of Legends

2. Duskblade of Draktharr

For many players, Duskblade of Draktharr is the most broken item in the entire League of Legends. My opinion isn’t so extreme but the item can be very toxic when it’s built on champions such as Master Yi.

Duskblade offers the same stats such as Prowler’s Claw although it grants extra ability haste instead of lethality per legendary item. However, its passive effect is what makes it so exceptionally good.

Duskblade of Draktharr allows your first basic attack to deal extra damage to the target and apply a slow effect. This is perfect for someone like Zed who can instantly auto-attack after casting R to slow down his target and prepare his assassination.

Additionally, after each champion takedown (kill/assist), Duskblade grants true invisibility. This effect doesn’t last long but it’s enough for you to reposition in the teamfight according to the situation at hand.

Duskblade can be really unfair on champions that can already vanish or camouflage since it doubles their stealth.

3. The Collector

The Collector is the most powerful legendary lethality item in LoL. And there’s no reason why you shouldn’t build it in every game!

Besides attack damage and lethality, this item also grants critical strike. That’s why it’s often recommended for marksmen and champions that auto-attack a lot and build other crit items.

But the biggest benefit that The Collector gives you is that you can execute enemy champions when you damage them below 5% HP. In other words, the item guarantees you a kill and it won’t let your enemies run a way with a sliver of health remaining.

It may not sound like much, but 5% damage equal to HP is actually more than enough sometimes. Just imagine how much it means when you proc it on a tanky champion such as Cho’Gath.

The ability to collect kills like this is invaluable for many AD champions who depend on that gold to scale faster.

Read Also: The Best Mythic Items for AP Mages

4. Youmuu’s Ghostblade

Youmuu’s Ghostblade is definitely an underutilized item in League of Legends, especially because it’s the only legendary item that grants 18 lethality, something that only the two mythics above offer.

Ghostblade also offers ability haste and attack damage besides lethality. But it boosts your out-of-combat movement speed as well.

Additionally, the active of Youmuu’s Ghostblade increases your movement speed and grants ghosting for a couple of seconds. It’s most commonly used for closing the distance between you and your target and avoiding colliding with objects and minions.

Because of that, Ghostblade is mostly built on AD mid laners such as Qiyana, Zed, and Talon. But even junglers like Graves often purchase it if they need extra MS.

Youmuu’s Ghostblade can also work well when you’re split pushing since the bonus movement speed lets you escape potential danger.

5. Eclipse

Eclipse is one of the most powerful items in the game overall. Although when it comes to lethality, in particular, the four items above are statistically a bit better.

In any case, Eclipse is the preferred lethality item against tanks in League of Legends.

That’s because Eclipse allows you to deal extra damage based on your target’s maximum health when you hit them with 2 separate attacks or abilities. You also gain a shield when this happens, so the item is ideal on AD bruisers and assassins that need extra protection.

Eclipse can also be utilized on some ADCs, especially when building lethality isn’t their top priority.

For example, Eclipse can work very well on Varus when he’s partnered up with aggressive support such as Zyra and he doesn’t need too much armor penetration.

Eclipse is also the only lethality item that offers ominvamp, so the extra self-healing is invaluable here.

6. Axiom Arc

Axiom Arc is a very niche lethality item that works extremely well on a particular group of champions – those that rely on their game-changing ultimates.

What Axiom Arc does is it refreshes the cooldown of your ultimate ability by 20% when you score a kill or an assist. It also adds a bunch of ability haste to your stats, as well as lethality and AD.

Axiom Arc goes very well with runes like Ultimate Hunter and you can synergize the two to make some champion’s ultimates as broken as possible.

For example, I often buy Axiom Arc on Ashe, especially support Ashe. And when I do, I always end up having my Enchanted Crystal Arrow on a 20-second cooldown and keep firing it twice during a team fight.

So, Axiom Arc is a great item!

7. Serpent’s Fang

Serpent’s Fang is another situational lethality item that you only need to build against a certain type of champions.

As you may know, Serpent’s Fang is one of the few anti-shield items in League of Legends. And as such, it’s a counter to all champions that can shield others (Janna, Orianna, Lulu) or those that can shield themselves (Yasuo, Yone, Vi).

What Serpent’s Fang does is it reduces the power of your enemy’s shield for several seconds after you damage them. The item even gives you an indicator next to your target so you can see whether they’re affected by Serpent’s Fang or not.

The bonus lethality that it gives is perfect for AD assassins who need to eliminate enemy carries without the fear of them surviving thanks to shields.

So, use the item whenever you need to counter shields!

Conclusion

Of course, you can’t build all 7 of these items in a single game. But the good news is that you don’t really need to.

There are also powerful armor penetration items that can increase your damage output more than some of the lethality ones on this list. For example, Serylda’s Grudge is one of the most powerful items in the game, so I recommend building on a regular basis.

In any case, those were the best lethality items in LoL!

Read Also: All Removed Summoner’s Spells in LoL