Champion ability

For the Teamfight Tactics trait, see Shapeshifter.

An ability is a unique action (as opposed to summoner spells / active ability items) performed by and only available to a champion ( Baron Nashor and Rift Herald are currently the only examples of non-champion units with abilities). Each of these special moves make up a portion of a champion's 'kit'.

Champion Kits

Every champion kit (with some exceptions) follows the same basic structure: an innate with no ranks, three basic abilities with five ranks each, and an ultimate with three ranks.

• Innate: Available as soon as the game starts, innate abilities passively affects a champion for the entire match but cannot be ranked up at will, often scaling with their owners' level to compensate.
  • Innates sometimes feature a unique mechanic that helps define a champion's playstyle.

• Basic abilities: Available from level 1 and controlled by the - - keys, basic abilities are learned over the course of the game by ranking them up after every level-up, the earliest for maxing one out being level 9 (current rank cannot be higher than half the champion's rounded out level, limiting each new rank for the same ability to every odd, single-digit level)

• Ultimate: Available from level 6 (can only be ranked up again at levels 11 and 16 at the least) and controlled by the key, ultimates are considered a champion's strongest, most characteristic, and most game-changing ability.
  • Ultimate abilities feature a HUD indicator attached to the champion's portrait (can be set to appear on top of the minimap or on the left of the screen) letting allies know the state of each other's ultimate cooldowns (black if not learned yet, gray when on cooldown, green when ready to cast)

• Pseudo-Ultimate: Is classified as ultimate for ultimate-interaction abilities or items. Such as Sylas' Hijack.

Components

Any given ability can possess one or more of the following components (combinations may vary)

• Scaling: Abilities increase in potency and/or strength through a portion of certain stats champions acquire via items and/or runes.

• Cost: Most abilities require the champion to expend a resource cost ( mana,  energy,  health or others) in order to be cast, becoming unable to do so if they possess less than the required amount (the ability's HUD icon will turn gray)
  • Toggles continuously consume a resource until the ability is toggled off manually or does so automatically upon resource depletion.
  • Resourceless champions only have cooldowns as their ability 'costs'.

• Cooldown: Champions must wait a certain length of time before they can use the same ability again via a  cooldown. This wait can be shortened by purchasing ability haste.

• Ammo: Some abilities run on charges (as opposed to a cooldown) in order to be used.
  • Stock: Activation charges are generated periodically up to a maximum (recharge time is affected by ability haste)
  • Barrage: Charges are generated upon activating the ability, and are available for the duration (all unused charges are lost when it ends). Used charges incur no additional resource costs, but are gated with static recast cooldowns.

• Range: How many units the caster and the target (unit / location) must be from one another in order for the ability to be cast / to hit (hitbox collision detection determines if the range used is center-based or edge-based)
  • In-game tooltips do not display either range or targeting (visually drawn by placing the cursor over an ability's icon on the HUD)
  • Some ultimate abilities feature an unlimited global range, allowing champions to be a threat to their enemies from anywhere on the map and/or to assist their allies from afar.

• Cast time: The champion is unable to perform any other actions for a brief period of time until the ability takes effect (can only be interrupted by the champion's death or by some crowd control effects). Most abilities have a 0.25 second cast time (setting the effect to begin after the button press rather than instantaneously), then introduce a delay for the actual effect.
  • A cast may include a lockout that prevents certain actives until afterward (buffer), or disables them entirely. This lockout can extend past the cast time up until the ability ends.

• Channel: The champion must not perform any other actions for a brief period of time in order for the ability to take full effect (can be interrupted by the caster themselves unless otherwise stated or by most crowd control effects)
  • Interrupted channels will not refund the ability's cost but may have it go on a reduced cooldown (occurs with some unit-targeted abilities if the affected enemy dies or becomes untargetable during the channel)

• Active: Must be cast at a target unit / location / direction in order to be used (innate abilities never feature this component). Autonomous actives usually require a nearby target or no targets in some cases to be used.

• Passive: Affects the champion without any specific input required on their part.
  • Auras passively affects nearby units (allies, enemies, or both) within a certain range.

• Toggle: Allows the champion to cycle the ability between 'on' and 'off' status, activating and (willingly/forcefully) disabling it or swapping an effect for another.
  • Most toggles do not trigger Spellblade or charge Kassadin's Force Pulse but do stack Tear of the Goddess' Mana Charge.
• Stance: The champion 'shapeshifts' themselves and/or their abilities, gaining persistent effects (mutually exclusive) and/or temporary ones (may overlap by gaining high ability haste) while losing others.
  • Rapid stance-swapping is usually regulated by a brief global cooldown in order to prevent a champion from continually accumulating temporary effects.
  • Some stances replace temporary effects by granting completely different basic abilities based on the active stance.

• Summon: Champions can bring forth other units to assist them and/or their allies.

• On-Action Effects: Abilities within a champion's kit can interact with certain actions and/or each other for synergistic effects and results.
  • Most abilities apply spell vamp, omnivamp and/or spell effects from items.
    • A select few apply on-hit effects (but only if specifically stated to be able to do so)
  • Stacking allows to permanently / temporarily increase an ability's potency and/or strength by repeated uses, unit kills (their health reduced below 0, other conditions may apply) and/or combining them with basic attacks.
  • The caster's death can allow them to trigger revive and/or 'revenge' effect.

Effects

Any given ability can possess one or more of the following effects (combinations may vary)

• Combat: Enhances offensive and/or defensive aspects.
  • Damage allows champions to kill minions, monsters and other champions in order to obtain gold to become stronger.
    • A champion can temporarily take reduced damage in response, enhancing their own durability and gaining protection from physical and magic attacks (but remaining vulnerable to true damage)
  • Crowd control effects hinder and/or disable a champion's fighting capabilities.
    • A champion can become temporarily immune to some or all of these effects in response.
  • Buffs affect the caster and/or their allies for their benefit.
  • Debuffs affect the caster's enemies for their detriment.

• Utility: Enhances non-combat aspects.
  • Blinks and dashes allow champions to move through otherwise solid obstacles/terrain or as a simple method of gaining distance or means of escape, similarly to Flash.
  • Heals provides a means of sustains through combat.
  • Shields enhance survivability by absorbing damage to prevent health loss.
  • Stealth grants invisibility and camouflage to avoid enemy detection.
  • Invulnerability gives immunity to sources of enemy damage.
  • Untargetability grants immunity to enemy focus-fire ( damage over time and delayed damage debuffs can still apply if durations and circumstances permit)

Trivia

Innate abilities

• Moonsilver Blade, Nimble Fighter, Living Forge, Pit Grit, Crimson Pact, Way of the Wanderer, Way of the Hunter and Cell Division are the only innate abilities featuring two independent effects.
  • Death Defied, Icathian Surprise, and Glory in Death are the only innate abilities that allow for post-mortem activity.
• Spider Queen and Aspect of the Cougar are the only innate abilities with two effects that stack with others and/or with abilities.
• Transcendent has the most independent effects (four).
• Shurima's Legacy, Prophet of an Elder God and Garden of Thorns are the only summon innate abilities.
• Rage Gene, The Darkin Scythe, and Skaarl the Cowardly Lizard are the only stance innate abilities.
• Martial Poise is the only innate abilities that generate a new item for their owner.
• Serpentine Grace is currently the only ability preventing a champion from purchasing an item.

Basic abilities

• Jayce's basic abilities can each be ranked up six times.
  • Udyr's basic abilities (he has no ultimate) are stances that grant both persistent and temporary effects (each can be ranked up six times, with the 6th rank available at level 16).
• Lee Sin's basic abilities each have two parts.
• Kha'Zix and Viktor are currently the only champions that can truly evolve their abilities to new abilities.
  • Rengar and Syndra gain extra effects on their abilities.
• Spider Form / Human Form, Rage Gene, Mercury Hammer / Mercury Cannon, The Darkin Scythe, Skaarl the Cowardly Lizard, Aspect of the Cougar, Behind Enemy Lines / Skystrike, and Burrow / Unburrow, are stance abilities that 'shapeshift' their wielders, granting them one or more extra basic abilities.
  • The Darkin Scythe and Dragon's Descent 'shapeshift' both their wielders and basic abilities.
  • The Darkin Scythe allows only a single stance change per game.
• Azir's Conquering Sands and Shifting Sands and Shen's Spirit's Refuge are basic abilities that cannot be ranked up at Level 1.
  • On ARAM, Azir starts with 1 point in Arise!.

Ultimate abilities

• Nocturne's, Kayn's, Ornn's, Quinn's, Riven's, Tahm Kench's, Twisted Fate's, and Urgot's ultimate abilities each have two differing casts within a single ability usage.
  • This excludes ultimates that are repeatable, toggleable or terminable by their second cast.
• Enchanted Crystal Arrow, Whirling Death, Chronobreak, Trueshot Barrage, Cannon Barrage, Super Mega Death Rocket!, Requiem, Paranoia's nearsight, Dawning Shadow, Stand United, Wish, and Destiny are the only global ultimate abilities.
• Spider Form / Human Form and Aspect of the Cougar are all available at level 1 and each has four ranks (levels 1, 6, 11, and 16).
  • Mercury Hammer / Mercury Cannon is available at level 1 and has only one rank.

Pseudo-Ultimate abilities

• Udyr's Phoenix Stance
• Jayce's Transform Mercury Hammer / Transform Mercury Cannon

Others

• Riposte, Divine Judgment, Lamb's Respite, Cosmic Radiance and Crescent Guard are the only abilities that provide pure invulnerability.
  • Tempered Fate, Frozen Tomb, Force of Will (non-champions only), and Chronoshift grant invulnerability through stasis effect.

Gameplay Elements