🎯 The core idea
Good itemization is a plan you make before the game, not a list you copy. Pick your first legendary for the matchup, rush its strongest component, and know your armor, magic resist and anti-heal answers before you load in. Then read the enemy team on every recall. Principles carry across patches; the item numbers below are checked against patch 26.21 (October 2026).
- free costs nothing
- cheap small cost
- setup needs preparation
- grind pays off slowly
- skip the thing to stop doing
This League of Legends itemization guide is built on a long talk from May 2025 between xPetu (who builds the Coachless stats site) and John, head coach of NORD Esports, while they plan item sets for Shen and look at win-rate data. That video predates Season 2026, so we kept its principles, rechecked every item number on the official League of Legends Wiki and in the patch notes through 26.21, and added a current items appendix at the end.
How the item shop is built: components, epic and legendary items
free Every legendary item in the shop is a recipe. Basic components (Long Sword, Ruby Crystal, Cloth Armor, Null-Magic Mantle, Boots) combine into epic items (Kindlegem, Winged Moonplate, Bami's Cinder, Negatron Cloak), and those combine plus a small "combine cost" into a legendary. Item components in LoL matter because for the first 12 to 15 minutes, almost every recall buys components, not finished items. The video guesses that a first item usually lands at 12 to 13 minutes, depending on role.
Components have no unique effects, so you can compare them on stats per gold. The wiki values below were checked for patch 26.21:
| Component | Cost | Stats | Gold per stat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Long Sword | 350 | 10 AD | 35 per AD |
| Pickaxe | 875 | 25 AD | 35 per AD |
| B. F. Sword | 1,300 | 40 AD | 32.5 per AD |
| Ruby Crystal | 400 | 150 health | 2.67 per health |
| Winged Moonplate | 800 | 200 health, 4% move speed | health plus speed |
| Bami's Cinder | 900 | 150 health, 5 ability haste, burn aura | pays for wave clear |
| Cloth Armor | 300 | 15 armor | 20 per armor |
| Null-Magic Mantle | 400 | 20 magic resist | 20 per MR |
| Negatron Cloak | 850 | 45 magic resist | 18.9 per MR |
The video's BF Sword point holds: it gives more AD per gold than any smaller sword, which is why it's worth holding gold for and why denying an enemy that recall matters. The video's Winged Moonplate point holds too. Its frame shows patch 14.19 raising it to 200 health (the speaker says 14.9, but the page on screen says 14.19). You pay double a Ruby Crystal's price for 50 more health and move speed, and on a tank that is often the best early buy.
LoL starting items in 2026
cheap Your starter is your first item decision, and Season 2026 added two. Patch 26.9 brought in Doran's Bow and Doran's Helm, and later patches tuned them. Current wiki values:
| Starter | Cost | Stats (26.21) | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Doran's Blade | 450 | 10 AD, 80 health, 2.5% omnivamp | AD laners who trade with abilities and attacks |
| Doran's Ring | 400 | 18 AP, 90 health, mana regen that rises after you hit a champion | Mages |
| Doran's Shield | 450 | 110 health, 4 health regen per 5 s, more regen after champion damage | Lanes where you expect poke |
| Doran's Bow | 400 | 8 AD, 15% attack speed, 1.5% omnivamp | Auto-attackers who win early trades |
| Doran's Helm | 450 | 150 health, 8 armor, 8 magic resist | Tanks who stack resistances |
| World Atlas | 400 | Support quest item | Supports |
Doran's Bow started at 6 AD and went to 8 in 26.10. Doran's Helm started at 110 health and 10 of each resist, went to 140 health in 26.10, and then to 150 health with 8 of each resist in 26.13. The 26.9 notes list Doran's Bow at 12% attack speed, while the current wiki shows 15%. Trust the tooltip in your client. Doran's Blade lost its old life-draining passive in 26.1 and got a flat 2.5% omnivamp instead.
The frame above is from the video's Caitlyn data and shows Symbiotic Soles as a top first purchase. That item was removed in patch 26.1, so ignore it.
Best first item in LoL: pick the legendary, then its strongest component
setup The video's main method is two questions in order. First: what is my first legendary in this matchup? Second: what is the strongest component on the way to it? For Shen, it shows Dead Man's Plate (now 2,900 gold, 55 armor, 350 health) and Titanic Hydra (3,300) as the statistically strong first items. It then picks Dead Man's Plate against physical damage and makes Winged Moonplate the first component.
The video adds a nuance worth keeping. A completed item's win rate doesn't tell you how good its build path is. Titanic Hydra looked strong once finished, but Tiamat (1,200 gold, 25 AD since 26.16) does little for a champion with no AD scaling. A strong item with a bad path can still be the wrong rush.
Use this as your best-first-item checklist:
- Pick one or two first legendaries that the stats sites rate highly on your champion and that you've seen work.
- Choose between them by matchup: armor item against AD lanes, magic resist or damage against AP lanes.
- Find the component on the path that gives the most for your champion right now, and rush it.
Back purchases: spend every recall in your build order
free Your LoL build order is decided one recall at a time. The video's Shen item set puts every component of the first item into its own block, so a 700-gold recall is a two-second decision: Boots (300) plus Ruby Crystal (400), or Cloth Armor (300) plus Ruby Crystal. Both build toward the planned item. On an awkward 650, the speaker buys Ruby Crystal plus a 150-gold Refillable Potion rather than leave 250 gold unspent.
The coach adds the lane side. Stopping a back can matter more than winning a trade. If the enemy ADC needs 1,300 for a BF Sword and you push them out before they get it, your next trades happen against a weaker item. Top laners who recall and Teleport straight back gain the most from fast shopping, because every second in the shop is a minion or experience lost.
skip Walking back with an odd amount of gold and browsing the shop. Plan two or three "if I have X gold" buys before the game.
Armor vs magic resist in LoL: read the enemy damage
free Armor and magic resist use the same rule on the wiki: you take 100 / (100 + resist) of the damage. At 100 armor you take half of all physical damage, so your health counts double against it. That's why the first point of defence is to look at the scoreboard and ask who does the damage, not just who's fed.
- Mostly AD (marksman, AD bruisers, lethality assassins): armor first.
- Mostly AP: magic resist first.
- Mixed: build health and the resist of the bigger threat, then the other.
The speaker's habit for Shen is to buy armor first against an AD lane, then get some magic resist anyway, because in his estimate 90% of games have at least one AP champion. The coach's Mundo example shows when to stop at a component. If the enemy mage is a backline sniper who won't spend spells on you, a 1,250-gold Spectre's Cowl (35 magic resist, 200 health) may be enough, and the rest of your gold goes to armor.
For full magic resist items, the video's data matched the tooltips: Kaenic Rookern gives 80 magic resist flat and a magic shield, while Force of Nature only reaches its large number after stacking. Current values:
| Item | Cost | Magic resist | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kaenic Rookern | 2,900 | 80, plus a 15% max-health magic shield after 15 s without magic damage | Burst mages |
| Force of Nature | 2,800 | 55, plus 70 more at 8 stacks | Long fights against sustained magic damage |
| Spirit Visage | 2,700 | 50, plus 25% more healing and shielding | You or your team heal a lot |
| Abyssal Mask | 2,650 | 45; nearby enemies take 12% more magic damage | Your team has an AP carry |
When to build anti-heal: Grievous Wounds in LoL
cheap Grievous Wounds in LoL cuts all healing and health regen on the target by 40% (wiki). It doesn't stack, and it doesn't touch shields. Every source gives the same 40%, so one is enough per damage type.
When to build anti-heal: when the enemy has one fed champion who heals, or two or more who heal through fights. The sign is simple: the damage you deal gets healed back within a few seconds. Don't buy it by reflex against a team with a single support heal.
Buy the 800-gold component first. It applies the full effect, and you finish the item only if the healing still decides fights.
| Source | Cost | For |
|---|---|---|
| Executioner's Calling | 800 | AD damage; builds into Mortal Reminder (3,000) or Chempunk Chainsword (3,000) |
| Oblivion Orb | 800 | AP damage; builds into Morellonomicon (2,850) |
| Bramble Vest | 800 | Tanks against auto-attackers; builds into Thornmail (2,450) |
| Ignite | Summoner spell | Early kill pressure on a healer |
Mortal Reminder belongs to the Fatality group with Lord Dominik's Regards, Black Cleaver, Serylda's Grudge and Terminus. You can own only one of those five, so a marksman who needs anti-heal usually gives up Lord Dominik's.
Lethality vs crit, armor penetration and how to build against tanks
setup Armor penetration in LoL comes in two kinds, and the order matters. The wiki applies percent penetration before lethality (flat penetration), so:
- Lethality removes a flat amount of armor. It's strongest against low-armor targets and for burst.
- Percent penetration and armor shred scale with how much armor the target has, so they're the tank answer.
A worked example from the wiki formula. Against a 40-armor carry, 18 lethality (Youmuu's Ghostblade) leaves 22 armor, so you deal 82% damage instead of 71%. Lord Dominik's 35% penetration leaves 26 armor, so you deal 79%. Against a 200-armor tank, lethality leaves 182 armor and you deal 35%. Lord Dominik's leaves 130 armor and you deal 43%. That's lethality vs crit in practice: lethality items kill squishies before crit builds come online, and crit builds with percent penetration keep dealing damage in long fights against frontliners.
How to build against tanks:
- AD: one Fatality item: Lord Dominik's Regards (3,300, 35% armor penetration, up to 15% more damage against targets with bonus health), Serylda's Grudge (3,000, 35%), Black Cleaver (3,000, shreds up to 30% armor at 5 stacks) or Terminus (3,000, up to 30% penetration at full Dark stacks). Add current-health damage from Blade of the Ruined King (3,200, 9% melee / 6% ranged).
- AP: one Blight item: Void Staff (3,000, 40% magic penetration) or Cryptbloom (3,000, 30%). Liandry's Torment burns 6% of the target's max health over 3 seconds.
Terminus is both Fatality and Blight. You can't pair it with Lord Dominik's or Mortal Reminder, or with Void Staff. Our Kai'Sa guide covers that limit in her hybrid builds.
One correction to the video's Liandry's point: the burn is 6% of max health against champions, but it is capped at 120 total damage against monsters (wiki). It's still strong for AP junglers, but not a free 6% of a big monster's health.
Situational items in LoL: build your answers before the game
setup The video's strongest advice is to keep a ready list of situational items. That way the shop decision in a lost fight is a choice between three prepared options, not a guess. The speaker's example of a guess: needing magic resist, buying Force of Nature on impulse, and finding out it was the wrong item for that fight. The coach describes a pro buying two Lifeline items (Sterak's Gage and Hexdrinker) under stage pressure, and only one of their shields works. The wiki still lists both as Lifeline, the group that also contains Maw of Malmortius.
LoL defensive items worth having in your list (26.21 costs):
| Threat | AD champion | AP champion | Tank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burst magic | Maw of Malmortius 3,100 | Banshee's Veil 3,000 (blocks one ability) | Kaenic Rookern 2,900 |
| Burst physical | Guardian Angel 3,200 (revive, 300 s cooldown) | Zhonya's Hourglass 3,250 (2.5 s stasis) | Plated Steelcaps 1,200 |
| Crit marksmen | Guardian Angel | Zhonya's Hourglass | Randuin's Omen 2,700 (30% less crit damage) |
| Attack speed | Frozen Heart 2,500 (20% enemy attack speed cut nearby) | ||
| Hard crowd control | Mercurial Scimitar 3,200 / Quicksilver Sash 1,300 | Mercury's Treads | Mercury's Treads |
| Healing | Mortal Reminder / Chempunk | Morellonomicon | Thornmail 2,450 |
Write the conditions next to each block, the way the speaker does in the frame above ("Abyssal with AP carry", Spirit Visage with a heal-heavy team). Seeing the components in the same set also helps. If you need magic resist for the next dragon fight with 850 gold, Negatron Cloak toward Kaenic Rookern may beat a 400-gold Null-Magic Mantle toward the item you'd prefer.
LoL boots guide for 2026
cheap Boots are the most patched part of the shop this year. The video shows Berserker's Greaves at 25% attack speed. Patch 26.16 raised that to 30%, so the video's point that Berserker's had become worse for Garen than it used to be is out of date. Its wider lesson still stands: re-check your default boots every few patches.
| Boots | Cost | Stats (26.21) | Buy when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boots | 300 | 25 move speed | First back on most champions |
| Berserker's Greaves | 1,100 | 30% attack speed, 45 move speed | Marksmen, on-hit users |
| Sorcerer's Shoes | 1,100 | 12 magic penetration, 45 move speed | Mages who deal damage |
| Ionian Boots of Lucidity | 900 | 10 ability haste, 10 summoner haste, 45 move speed | Spell-heavy champions, utility |
| Gluttonous Greaves | 1,100 | 45 move speed, 4% omnivamp, +0.6% per champion takedown up to 6% | Fighters and casters who sustain in fights |
| Plated Steelcaps | 1,200 | 25 armor, 10% less basic attack damage | Into marksmen and auto-attackers |
| Mercury's Treads | 1,250 | 20 magic resist, 30% tenacity | Into heavy crowd control or AP |
| Boots of Swiftness | 1,000 | 55 move speed, 25% slow resist | Into slows, or roaming |
Gluttonous Greaves arrived in patch 26.9 at 950 gold, went to 1,000 in 26.10 (with omnivamp per stack cut from 1% to 0.6% and the stack cap raised to 10), and to 1,100 in 26.21 because marksmen bought them too early. Symbiotic Soles was removed in 26.1.
Role quests changed boots too. Finishing the mid quest upgrades your Tier 2 boots into Tier 3 for free; Berserker's becomes Gunmetal Greaves (45% attack speed since 26.16, 5% life steal). Finishing the ADC quest moves boots into the role quest slot, so a bot laner ends with six items plus boots. The role quests guide has the full list.
Synergy or a strong item: how to adapt your build with stats
setup The video separates two questions that players mix up. Is this item good with my champion? And is this item good right now? Its example is Nocturne and Experimental Hexplate. On paper the pair fits; in the speaker's 2025 data, the item was weak across all champions, and on Nocturne a generally stronger item (Stridebreaker) won. Synergy doesn't save an item that's weak this patch.
How the speaker uses stats without being fooled by them:
- Sample size: he trusts a number once it has several thousand games; under about 3,000 it still jumps around.
- Narrow filters: a matchup filter cuts the games fast. If an item is good overall, still good on your champion, and still good in the matchup, the small sample is more believable.
- His "holy trinity": stats sites, what one-trick players build (he uses onetricks.gg), and your own games. All three should point the same way before you change a build.
This is also how to counter build and adapt your build in a game. Start from your planned path, then let the enemy team pick between the options you prepared: the armor path or the magic resist path, anti-heal or not, Fatality item or Blight item.
Some items fall off late: item value changes over game time
grind The video's data shows that an item's value depends on when you buy it. Guinsoo's Rageblade (3,000 gold) did well as an early item and lost value later. Early fights last longer, so its attack speed stacks get used; late, a carry can die before stacking. Lord Dominik's Regards and Guardian Angel rose with game time.
This is the 2025 chart, and several items on it have changed since. Statikk Shiv in particular is a different item now (see the appendix). The point carries over to 2026: around the time of your fifth or sixth item, consider selling an early-game item for a late-game one. The coach adds that he's never seen a player sell Rageblade on Kog'Maw for Guardian Angel or Zhonya's, but the data says it can be right. With the ADC role quest's extra slot, marksmen face this decision a bit later than other roles.
Item sets and preferred slots in the LoL item shop
setup This is the most practical LoL item shop tip in the video, and it costs nothing in game. The client's item set editor (in the Collection tab) lets you build blocks of recommended items, and each item in a set can be given a preferred inventory slot, as in the popup in the frame above.
How the speaker sets up Shen:
- Ten items per block, because ten fill exactly one row in the in-game shop at any resolution.
- Block 1: starter, potions and small components for odd-gold recalls.
- Block 2: the anti-AD path. Block 3: the anti-AP path. Each is titled with its condition.
- Last block: strong situational items, with the condition written in the title.
- Preferred slots: Doran's Shield always in slot 1, potion in slot 2, slot 3 left empty so Biscuit Delivery biscuits (given at 2:00, 4:00 and 6:00) always land on the same key.
The coach's view on whether this matters: it's a marginal gain, and its cost is a few minutes outside the game. It won't get you out of Gold by itself, but it removes a whole class of mistakes made under pressure.
Keep your builds current: patch notes and the wiki
free The video uses the wiki's patch history on an item page to explain why an old habit no longer holds. That habit is the most valuable part of itemization, because items change almost every patch. Before you copy a build or an old video:
- Open the item's wiki page and read its patch history for the current season.
- Check the patch notes' item section. Items listed under Arena, ARAM: Mayhem or League Classic aren't Summoner's Rift changes.
- Check the in-game tooltip; it's always the current value.
LoL new items 2026: current items appendix (through 26.21)
free The video's data is from patch 25.9. These Season 2026 changes affect the advice above. Values are from the wiki and patch notes, checked 23 October 2026 on patch 26.21.
| Change | Patch | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Base crit damage back to 200% | 26.1 | Crit items are worth more per point of crit |
| Infinity Edge 3,500 gold, 75 AD, 25% crit, bonus crit damage cut from 40% to 30% | 26.1 | Still the crit core, now a smaller share of your damage |
| Lord Dominik's Regards 3,300, 35% penetration and new Giant Slayer; Mortal Reminder 3,000, 30% | 26.1 | One Fatality item only |
| Essence Reaver 3,050 gold, 50 AD (hotfix after launch) | 26.1 | Spellblade crit option |
| Hextech Gunblade returns: 3,000, 40 AD, 80 AP, 10% omnivamp, slowing bolt active | 26.1 | Hybrid AD/AP champions |
| Stormrazor returns: 3,200, 50 AD, 25% crit; attack speed raised from 20% to 25% | 26.1, 26.17 | Crit marksmen; see our Yone guide |
| Statikk Shiv reworked from a wave-clear item to an on-hit item: 3,000 gold, 45 AP, 30% attack speed, chain lightning applying on-hit; AD raised from 40 to 45 in 26.11 | 26.9 | The 2,700-gold Statikk in the frame above no longer exists |
| Dusk and Dawn cut: 300 health, 60 AP, 20% attack speed, Spellblade now heals | 26.9 | Weaker AP-fighter rush |
| Doran's Bow, Doran's Helm, Gluttonous Greaves added | 26.9 | New starter and boots choices |
| Gunmetal Greaves 45% attack speed | 26.16 | Mid quest boots for marksmen |
| Berserker's Greaves 30% attack speed; Black Cleaver 45 AD; Sunfire Aegis 2,800 | 26.16 | Default boots are good again |
| Gluttonous Greaves 1,100 gold | 26.21 | Later boots for marksmen |
| ADC role quest: boots move to a 7th slot (six items plus boots) | 26.1 | Room for one more situational item |
For champion builds that use these items, see the Jinx guide for crit, the Kai'Sa guide for on-hit, Statikk Shiv and Terminus, and the Yone guide for Stormrazor and the Infinity Edge change.
How this guide was fact-checked
- Source video: xPetu, "Everything You Need To Know About League of Legends Itemization" (uploaded 2 May 2025, patch 25.9 data), with NORD Esports coach John. We used it for the planning method (first legendary, strongest component, back purchases, item sets, preferred slots), for the views on stats and sample size, and for the game-time trends. The win-rate numbers in the frames are Coachless data from 2025 and are shown only to illustrate the method.
- Official League of Legends Wiki (checked 23 October 2026): cost, stats, limits and patch history for every item named here, plus Grievous Wounds (40%), the armor formula, armor penetration order, critical strike (200% since 26.1) and Biscuit Delivery.
- Official patch notes 26.1 to 26.21: starter items, Gluttonous Greaves, Statikk Shiv and Dusk and Dawn (26.9); Doran's items (26.10, 26.13); Statikk Shiv AD (26.11); Berserker's, Gunmetal Greaves, Black Cleaver, Sunfire Aegis and Tiamat (26.16); Stormrazor (26.17); Gluttonous Greaves cost (26.21). Item changes listed under Arena, ARAM: Mayhem and League Classic were left out.
- Corrections to the video: Berserker's Greaves gives 30% attack speed (26.16), not 25%. Winged Moonplate's health buff was patch 14.19, not 14.9. Liandry's burn is capped at 120 against monsters. Symbiotic Soles was removed in 26.1. Statikk Shiv is now a 3,000-gold on-hit item. Crit damage and Infinity Edge changed in 26.1. "Spectral skull" in the captions is Spectre's Cowl. The lethality and penetration damage percentages are our arithmetic from the wiki formula, not official numbers.
What this guide doesn't answer
- Exact builds for each champion: these change each patch. Use a champion guide or a current stats site, and the principles here to judge it.
- Rune choices: runes interact with items (Biscuit Delivery is the only one covered) but need their own guide.
- Jungle and support item quests: jungle pets and support item upgrades are part of role quests. See the role quests guide.
- ARAM, Arena and other modes: items there have their own numbers and several changed separately.
- Current win rates: the video's Coachless numbers are from 2025. We didn't copy any 2026 win rates, because they move every patch.
Frequently asked
How do I know whether to build armor or magic resist in LoL?
Look at where the enemy team's damage comes from, not just who is fed. Against mostly AD (marksmen, bruisers, lethality assassins) buy armor first; against mostly AP buy magic resist first; against mixed teams buy health and the resist for the bigger threat. Damage taken is 100 / (100 + resist), so 100 armor halves physical damage. Kaenic Rookern (2,900 gold, 80 MR) suits burst mages, Force of Nature (2,800) long magic fights.
When should I build anti-heal (Grievous Wounds) in League of Legends?
Build it when one fed enemy heals or two or more heal through fights, so the damage you deal is healed back within seconds. Grievous Wounds cuts healing by 40%, does not stack and does not reduce shields. Buy the 800-gold component first: Executioner's Calling (AD), Oblivion Orb (AP) or Bramble Vest (tanks). Finish Mortal Reminder, Chempunk Chainsword, Morellonomicon or Thornmail only if healing still decides fights.
Is lethality or crit better in LoL?
Lethality is flat armor penetration, so it is best against low-armor carries and for burst: 18 lethality against a 40-armor target raises your damage from about 71% to 82%. Crit builds with percent penetration such as Lord Dominik's Regards (35%) do more against tanks and in long fights. Against 200 armor, Lord Dominik's leaves you dealing about 43% versus 35% with lethality. Crit damage is 200% base since patch 26.1.
How do you build against tanks in League of Legends?
AD champions take one Fatality item: Lord Dominik's Regards, Serylda's Grudge, Black Cleaver or Terminus (you can own only one, and Mortal Reminder is in the same group), plus current-health damage from Blade of the Ruined King. AP champions take one Blight item, Void Staff (40% magic penetration) or Cryptbloom (30%), and Liandry's Torment for its 6% max-health burn. Terminus is also a Blight item, so it can't be paired with Void Staff.
What are the best boots in LoL in 2026?
It depends on the game: Berserker's Greaves (1,100 gold, 30% attack speed since 26.16) for marksmen, Sorcerer's Shoes for mages, Ionian Boots for spell-heavy champions, Plated Steelcaps into auto-attackers, Mercury's Treads into heavy crowd control, and the new Gluttonous Greaves (1,100 gold since 26.21, omnivamp) for fighters. The mid role quest upgrades boots to Tier 3 for free, and the ADC quest moves boots to a seventh slot.
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