AP Bruisers: Champions that Need Your Attention
TLDR: AP Bruisers are Fighters and Juggernauts that use or could use use AP, but rarely do. The main issue is that no items give the mix of stats they need early to then move into a full AP build. There's a brief description about what these champions need and some pitfalls that need to be avoided when introducing new items for them. Some rough concepts of items are provided to give examples of what all of this would coalesce into. Share your own thoughts on AP Bruisers or what you believe they need down bellow in the comments.
Part 1: What is an AP bruiser? An AP Bruiser is a Juggernaut, Diver, or Skirmisher that could or does use AP. The most recognizable one that everyone knows is Mordekaiser. As the poster child of AP bruisers, he shows their potential and also many of the issues that they have as a class of champions. So besides him, what makes another champion an AP Bruiser?
- They need Multiple AP ratios in their kit
- Reliant on Melee Auto-Attacks for a large % of their damage
- Front line characters meant to take a lot of damage
Some champions are recognizable instantly, while others like Shyvana or Volibear might surprise you. They both have fairly large AP ratios on 2 or more of their abilities, Volibear not having any ratios besides health and AP, but are never seen building any. Some other champions like Nasus have fairly established AP builds, but are so ineffective they are often called trolls for building it. Here’s a list of all of them:
- Mordekaiser
- Nasus
- Volibear
- Skarner
- Shyvana
- Hecarim (distinctly different from the rest)
- Nunu and Willump
- Galio
- Jax
- Udyr
- Irelia
- AP fighters converted to Assassins (Diana, Elise)
- Tanks (Nautilus, Leona, Maokai)
- Others (Rumble, Singed, some Battlemages)
Looking at this list, the playstyle we are talking about sits between a Battle Mage and a AD Bruiser. Battle Mages are reliant on abilities for survival and nearly 100% of their damage, while AD bruisers are meant to be on the front line with tanks and absorb large amounts of damage while being threats to anyone within reach. Ap Bruisers are in the middle, wanting to stay in the fight but playing around cooldowns at the same time.
Before moving, let’s talk about the last three groups listed. All of them are viewed as “secondary targets”, champions that the items should be balanced AROUND, but not balanced FOR them. Like Corki building Trinity Force, the item wasn’t created for him but is a staple of his builds. All three of these groups could offer some interesting inclusions to the game if they could build AP Bruiser items, but its not the goal and any item that served them more than the target group would not being doing its job.
But what is it that all these champions are missing from current items?
Part 2: What AP Bruisers Need Imagine for a moment Triforce and Black Cleaver were not in the game. What would be the first item you would buy for a Juggernaut or Skirmisher? A lot of other items offer parts of what those two do, but their all missing something. The combination of stats you need as quickly as possible no longer exists on any one item, and your stuck buying components of multiple trying to patch together a workable build.
This is the issue AP bruisers face. They need a combination of stats that no item offers in the game. What they need is
- Ability Power
- Health
- Attack Damage (small amount)
- Mobility
The first two are probably obvious at a glance. Many items have these, but then lack the second two. Let’s go into why these other stats matter.
While probably the last thing you’d expect an ABILITY POWER BRUISER to be needing, AD is a crucial stat. Look at Mordekaiser, the poster child of AP Bruisers. He has one of the highest base AD in the game at all levels in order to function. The goal for these changes is to offer viable AP builds, not delete champions existing AD ones, which means these champions have to be balanced differently than him. As a result, there needs to be small quantities of AD early on so that they can transition into full AP for the remainder of the game.
Position in a teamfight can make the difference between getting instantly deleted or winning it. Mobility should be available in small amounts, comparable to what Triforce offers champions, just enough that they have the opportunity to potentially fight through all the slows and crowd control without making it impossible to stop them.
So if this is all they need, why hasn’t Riot made items like this already?
Part 3: Item Poachers and Abusers The most technical section of the article, jump down to section 4 to see what you can do to help these champions.
Some of the biggest challenges with balancing an item are champions that weren’t the intended targets using them or champions with extreme synergy. A very strong example of this was the poaching of Support items.
For a large portion of leagues history Supports were walking wards with some utility, and not very popular as a result. To try and remedy this, supports main items and gold generators, Spell theif, Targon’s Brace, and Ancient Coin, received buffs. The first one to be poached was Spell thief. Some ap junglers realized they could farm normally then gain free extra damage with its passive when fighting early, all the while paying for itself rapidly. To counter this, new mechanics were introduced to prevent the abuse back in patch 8.10, but others had already began experimenting. Targon’s was picked up by adc to have extra sustain and funnel gold onto a support, while Nasus and a few other weak early game top laners picked up Coin to make for a far more forgiving lane. Eventually all these items were given penalties for farming outside of the items passives just to stop abuse champions.
This example shows the dangers that even tweaking an item can have. Introductions like the reworked Abyssal Mask or Shurelia’s Reverie’s return lead to their own issues with a few champions abusing them. Ap Bruiser Items suffer the same potential issues and need to account for them.
There are four major groups to account for as a result: AP mages and Marksmen, AP melee assassins, Tanks and existing AD alternatives.
Ap mages and Marksmen are probably the least worrisome. Designed for melee champions, including a melee-only clause on some of the passives would largely filter them out. Some might even be healthy, like an Ezreal using a Triforce as part of his regular build, but not gaining the full movement speed passive.
Ap Melee Assassins are probably the most worrisome group out of all of them. The items need to offer survivability on top of AP, a potentially disaster combination to give an assassin. Melee only clauses won’t stop them, while the stat mixture isn’t bad for them either. The solution needs to be including passives that back-load their power. An existing example is Liandry's Torment. The damage takes time to build up, making it very unappealing for a champion that wants to get in and out of the fighting as fast as possible. Passives on these items should take similar but different approaches, boosting the strength of a champion that is trying to get into and stay in combat.
Tanks are a difficult case. Their reliance on %hp damage can mean that items like these can be extremely abusive on them. The best option is to avoid large quantities of AP, and balance the damage on also providing AD. Tanks are similar to AP bruisers in that they do fit all the criteria, but usually have a different set of tools like the before mentioned %hp damage. By giving them AD instead of pure ap, they can still act like bruisers without over buffing their very powerful abilities.
The final danger actually lies within some of the champions trying to be helped by these items. Think of Jax or Irelia. They have VERY effective AD builds. If an item strengthens their AP ratios, gives a bit of AD, and doesn’t encourage them to build more AP over AD, then you simply wind up with a stronger version of the same champion. These items not only need to offer AP for a new build, they need to encourage building more AP. The best way is once again in the passives the items offer. Things like AP ratios or something along those lines is crucial to achieving this.
Now we know what needs to be avoided along with some potential solutions, So what is next?
Part 4: Rough concepts We’ve clearly said what they need and what they need to avoid, but what does that kind of item look like? This is where it’s a great idea for you to start thinking about concepts of your own. Let’s get some rough concepts that can work as examples and look at their Pros and Cons:
Item 1: Haunted Hammer Builds from: Phage + Fiendish Codex + Kindlegem + 450 Gold (3400 total)
- 20 AD
- 50 AP
- 400 HP
- 20% CDR
- UNIQUE – RAGE: Basic attacks (on-hit) grant +20 flat movement speed for 2 seconds. Killing a Unit grants +60 flat movement speed instead
- UNIQUE -- HAUNTING: Each basic attack against an enemy grants 1 stack of HAUNTING for the next 2.5 seconds, up to a maximum of 6 stacks. At 6 stacks, your next ability consumes all stacks and gains CURSED, putting haunting on a X second cooldown. Melee basic-attacks gain 2 stacks of HAUNTING.
- CURSED: this ability has 15% magic penetration and deals an additional 10(+Y%AP)(+Z% Bonus Health) physical damage to all enemy Champions hit
(98.84% gold efficient before passives) PROS: Strong mixture of stats and a good price point. The passive is unique and offers an actual decision about what kind of playstyle or build a champion is going to pursue. CONS: The most obvious potential abuser is Vladimir. While he doesn’t care for AD, the passive isn’t impossible for him to stack while in lane and could offer strong poke. His lack of ability to use it in team fights might be a strong deterrent though.
Item 2: Soul-Bound Mace Builds from: Stinger + Phage + Haunting Guise + 50 Gold (3900 total)
- 15 AD
- 40 AP
- 400 HP
- 35% Attack Speed
- 20% CDR
- UNIQUE – RAGE: Basic attacks (on-hit) grant +20 flat movement speed for 2 seconds. Killing a Unit grants +60 flat movement speed instead (effects halved for ranged attacks)
- UNIQUE - MADNESS: Damaging an enemy grants a stack of madness for X seconds, up to 10 stacks. For each stack of Madness your damage is increased by 1%. Melee basic attacks grant 2 stacks. At 10 stacks, gain Maddened Frenzy
- Maddened Frenzy: You gain 30% tenacity and basic attacks deal (Y% AP) bonus physical damage
(99.22% Gold efficient before passives)(167 Gold more expensive than Triforce, or 1.5 waves/1 minute longer to get) PROS: Good stat mixture, playstyle choices, and difficult for both ranged champions or assassins to abuse passive. CONS: The price point. It would become the most expensive item in the game, though not by much. The passive is also extremely powerful, and if gold efficiency need to be changed, removing 10% CDR might be the only choice (granted might make decision making more meaningful).
Item 3: Sword of Lost Spirits Builds From: Phage + Lost Chapter + 850 Gold (3400)
- 20 AD
- 50 AP
- 250 HP
- 300 Mana
- 10% CDR
- UNIQUE – HASTE: Grants an additional 10% cooldown reduction.
- UNIQUE – RAGE: Basic attacks (on-hit) grant +20 flat movement speed for 2 seconds. Killing a Unit grants +60 flat movement speed instead
- UNIQUE ACTIVE -- GATHERING: gain a shield equal to (W% Bonus HP) for the next 4 seconds, and all enemies around you take (X% AP) Magic Damage and are slowed by Y%. Z second cooldown.
(100.21% gold efficient, with Haste passive, before other passives. Same as Black Cleaver) PROS: Proper stat mixture, offers mana to champions who are after it. Passive encourages a bulkier build with AP mixed in. CONS: front loads its impact in a shield and damage/slow. Most likely to be abused by a champion like Ekko or Fizz.
Final Thoughts AP bruisers are a class of champions as well as a playstyle that should be supported. Introduction of new items targeted at providing the stats they need to transition into full AP is perhaps the single largest step in making them viable. Items should offer interesting choices early in the game to help avoid defining a champion or playstyle by only the items. It is a project that will greatly benefit both Champion and Game diversity by offering more options to players.
Let me know what you think bellow! Comments, positive or negative, help refine the ideas presented. I’ll respond to as many of you as I can!
This is has been a long term project that I’ve edited and researched a lot, so point out any errors, Large or small. If there's some pretty clear issues you have with the argumen, let me know. Or if its a spelling mistake, it'd really help if you pointed it out! Thank you all for reading!!!
give this item some love damnit :(
that forces them to be so squishy. Imagine 
on 
that would be troll. They need something comparable to 
or have true damage added to their kits. I know that people hate true damage so I would suggest a better Magic Pen item.
and 
(She is supposed to be a fighter)
Haunted Hammer > 
> 
should be reworked in to an ap bruiser item.
