Spellbinder is a pretty underrated item on the champs that can utilize it well

ReshiKillim··8 votes·6,413 views

Spellbinder's 2800 gold for 100 AP and 10% MS is already pretty great. And if you max stack it, that's 200 AP and 40% MS for 4 seconds, without Rabbadon or Infernal amplification. Which is near Yi ult level MS boost. MS aside, purely on the stats side..

With Rabbadon's, that's a total** 280 AP **for 4 seconds from Spellbinder and its active. With Rabba and 3 infernals, 328 AP. (356 with Elder's amplification)

For an example of how much of a difference it makes for those that utilize it well, I'll use Evelynn, my main, who is one of the best users (and certainly not the only user) of it. Pre-resists, though resists don't do much against Evelynn, since she's well, Evelynn. Though it varies largely depending on build, some example numbers on the damage you deal from it in the mid-late. Elecrocute scaling not included.

  • No Rabba, Spellbinder Active's AP Only: Up to 195 damage on Hate Spike, 2.5% max HP on Empowered Whiplash, 1.5% on Unempowered Whiplash, 75 on Last Caress, 150 on Last Caress against low HP enemies. + 10 on Runic, and 50 on Lichbane.

Total Maximum Bonus Damage from Spellbinder Active: 455 + 2.5% Max HP ( 2 Lichbane procs)

Average Effective Bonus Damage from Spellbinder Active against an enemy with 70-80MR pre-shred, after MR shred and MPen: 374-393 + 2.1%-2.3% Max HP

Pretty hefty amount damage boost for Evelynn for a 4 second period, even without a Deathcap.

  • With Rabba, Spellbinder Active's AP Only: Up to 273 damage on Hate Spike, 3.5% max HP on Empowered Whiplash, 2.1% on Unempowered Whiplash, 105 on Last Caress, 210 on Last Caress against low HP enemies. + 14 on Runic, and 70 on Lichbane.

Total Maximum Bonus Damage from Spellbinder Active: 637 + 3.5% Max HP ( 2 Lichbane procs)

Average Effective Bonus Damage from Spellbinder Active against an enemy with 70-80MR pre-shred, after MR shred and MPen: 543-561 + 3.1%-3.3% Max HP

Effectively an entire ult's worth more damage on Evelynn in comparison to the ults of a decent number of champions.

  • With Rabba and 3 Infernals, Spellbinder Active's AP Only: Up to 320 damage on Hate Spike, 4.1% max HP on Empowered Whiplash, 2.46% on Unempowered Whiplash, 123 on Last Caress, 246 on Last Caress against low HP enemies. + 16 on Runic, and 82 on Lichbane.

Total Maximum Bonus Damage from Spellbinder Active: 746 + 4.1% Max HP ( 2 Lichbane procs)

Average Effective Bonus Damage from Spellbinder Active against a squishy with 70-80MR pre-shred, after resistance shredding: 689-711 + 3.7%-3.9% Max HP

Very unlikely to get this much power out of Spellbinder on Evelynn, as getting triple Infernals as any champ without the enemy surrendering is rather.. rare.

  • With Rabba and 3 Infernals and Elder, Spellbinder Active's AP Only: Up to 358 damage on Hate Spike, 4.2% max HP on Empowered Whiplash, 2.46% on Unempowered Whiplash, 123 on Last Caress, 246 on Last Caress against low HP enemies. + 18 on Runic, and 92 on Lichbane.

Total Maximum Bonus Damage from Spellbinder Active: 835 + 4.2% Max HP ( 2 Lichbane procs)

Average Effective Bonus Damage from Spellbinder Active against a squishy with 70-80MR pre-shred, after resistance shredding: 771-796 + 3.7%-3.9% Max HP

And this much is disgustingly huge, but this is highly unlikely. The likelihood of getting 3 Infernals and Elder without the enemy surrendering is.. Well, once in a blue moon. So yeah, for those champions that can really utilize spellbinder efficiently, though not as gigantic an amount of damage as Evelynn can get out of it, they still gain a ton of damage potential and mobility for a short period.

TLDR: Tons of Damage and huge chunk mobility for a short period of time on the champs that can use it well.

21 Comments

Altiverse7 votes

The problem with it is the "champions that can utilize it well"... the item is inherently contradictory balance-wise.

On one hand the item is supposed to be appealing to spell casters with low cooldowns and spammable abilities that can stack it efficiently. Ryze, Cassio etc come to mind. At the same time, its main uniqueness compared to other AP choices is the movement speed it provides. These same spammable spell casters tend to use movement speed less efficiently, because they have to stand still during their many animations. That makes the item kinda weird. That's also not to mention the need of these spammable spell casters to get mana items, which offers less room for "luxury" items such as this.

The other group of supposed users, which are attracted by its AP steroid it provides for a short duration - aka assassins, have the effect the other way around. They usually have a very hard time stacking it, because of their high cooldowns.

Eve seems to be an exception, which happens to fill both categories while suffering from neither of the drawbacks (being an assassin, yet having a spammable ability, yet not having an animation-lock on it). There may be a few more, but I generally find the item having a weird design.

SB Arneeman2 votes

It just doesn't have a place in the build even in situations where it could be good. First off, item 3089 and often item 3135 will be better items for pure damage. DPS mages that spam skills needs mana, cdr and at least some survivability - this item gives none of that. AP Assassins rarely spam enough skills to stack it quickly, and they also need other items. Standard mages tends to need need mana, pen and cdr as well, and they don't spam that much either.

Lord of Math1 votes

{quoted}

The problem with it is the "champions that can utilize it well"... the item is inherently contradictory balance-wise.

On one hand the item is supposed to be appealing to spell casters with low cooldowns and spammable abilities that can stack it efficiently. Ryze, Cassio etc come to mind. At the same time, its main uniqueness compared to other AP choices is the movement speed it provides. These same spammable spell casters tend to use movement speed less efficiently, because they have to stand still during their many animations. That makes the item kinda weird. That's also not to mention the need of these spammable spell casters to get mana items, which offers less room for "luxury" items such as this.

The other group of supposed users, which are attracted by its AP steroid it provides for a short duration - aka assassins, have the effect the other way around. They usually have a very hard time stacking it, because of their high cooldowns.

Eve seems to be an exception, which happens to fill both categories while suffering from neither of the drawbacks (being an assassin, yet having a spammable ability, yet not having an animation-lock on it). There may be a few more, but I generally find the item having a weird design.

I keep wanting to build it on Ryze but never find the will to.

Eedat5 votes

Karthus

Stacks it insanely easy. Pop it before ult

iPooUnicorns4 votes

Ehh, in an ideal situation it's strong, but it only lasts for 4 seconds, and requires 100 nearby spellcasts to get there.

DuskDaUmbreon2 votes

100 spellcasts isn't unreasonable, especially as someone like Eve, where you're spamming Q (four spell casts) every 5-ish seconds.

Also, you can use part of the charge. Doesn't need to be at 100 stacks to activate.

Plus...10-40% ms is great for engaging.

C9 Squeeky 2 votes

It's also 211.79% gold efficient when at 100 stacks.

Yara02 votes

{quoted}

It's also 211.79% gold efficient when at 100 stacks.

It also takes 100 spell casts around you to get that bonus VS getting any other ap item. the amount of AP items you wouldint prioritize over item 3907 are basically 0

C9 Squeeky 1 votes

It stacks with any spellcasts so it actually doesn't take as long as you'd think. It's basically DFG 2.0

Step Sis Lux1 votes

i think its really good on annie

ThunderSkelett1 votes

For what champions is it op?Evelynn not really

ReshiKillim2 votes

If it was OP, it'd get nerfed. Like how archangels is before it scales into Seraph's. But Spellbinder's not op. It's just a strong niche item that underappreciated on the champs that it works well on.

ThunderSkelett1 votes

But no one plays spellbinder on evelynn

ReshiKillim1 votes

A decent number of people do, including me, and I main her. It's one of the most synergistic items in the game for her, and it's pretty cheap for the stats it gives, even without the active, so there's no real reason not to get it. Plus having up to 100 extra AP and 30% more MS on demand early game is pretty impactful.

Especially since Activating Spellbinder does not break stealth.

ThunderSkelett1 votes

I do too and i never build it on her subreddit i have never seen someone advise to build it because other items are just more efective and useful

ReshiKillim1 votes

I posted a comparison on the mathematics a little bit above, but a short summary of it for you.

Spellbinder provides Evelynn more damage (besides Rabba), mobility, and escaping potential than any other AP item when stacked, but has less uptime on all that than Protobelt and co, which is why it's not a must buy.

I prefer it because it to Protobelt and co because Spellbinder makes farming the jungle more rewarding, the perma 10% MS is quite nice, and you can activate it to escape some really unpleasant situations. But again, it's more powerful than the other items, but it's got less uptime on that power.

It's underrated on her, yes, op on her no. As for whether or not you should buy it on her, it's up to player preference. You're trading more uptime on lower power for more power on lower uptime by running Spellbinder.

PhDs Nuts1 votes

{quoted}

You're trading more uptime on lower power for more power on lower uptime by running Spellbinder.

That's probably the reason right there. Same reason Red Kayn > Blue Kayn

PhDs Nuts1 votes

You compared buying Spellbinder to not buying Spellbinder. You should compare it to the item that would replace it.

ReshiKillim1 votes

Alright then, a few comparisons.

Spellbinder Active AP Only (Not considering any other AP items, AP Ratios, from any other items, or AP amplification just the 100 AP on Evelynn's abilities only)

Max damage total pre-resists from Spellbinder AP scaling: 345 damage + 2.5% Max HP

Protobelt - With 300 AP - Pre-resists

Max damage If hit by one Protobelt rocket: 225 damage Max damage If you hit all seven Protobelt Rockets on one enemy (requires you to be in melee range to happen, and even then that can be hard against some champs): 382 damage

Protobelt does 12 more damage, with 300 AP and hitting all seven Protobelt Rockets against one enemy with 1K HP, pre-resists than unamplified Spellbinder AP alone gives damage to Evelynns ability scaling, without factoring in item AP scaling.

And unamplified Spellbinder AP without item scaling breaks even with 300 AP protobelt against an enemy with 1.5K HP.

Spellbinder Amplified Active AP Damage (With Runic proc scaling, Lichbane, and Rabba amplifcation, no infernals.)

Max damage total pre-resists from Spellbinder AP scaling: 637 + 3.5% Max HP ( Including the two procs of Lichbane, Runic, and Rabba Amplification) 689 damage against an enemy with 1.5K HP

Protobelt - With 600 AP - Pre-resists

Max damage If hit by one Protobelt rocket: 300 damage Max damage If you hit all seven Protobelts on one enemy (requires you to be in melee range to happen, and even then that can be hard against some champs): 510 damage

Hextech Gunblade - With 300 AP - Pre-resists

If you were level 18 and thus at max Gunblade damage: 343 damage

Hextech Gunblade - With 600 AP - Pre-resists

If you were level 18 and thus at max Gunblade damage: 433 damage

TLDR:

  • Spellbinder Max Active Damage Boost only (No item scaling or AP amps included): 345 damage + 2.5% Max HP

  • Minimum Protobelt damage with 300 AP: 225 damage

  • Maximum Protobelt damage with 600 AP: 382 damage

  • Minimum Protobelt damage with 600 AP: 300 damage

  • Maximum Protobelt damage with 600 AP: 510 damage

  • Maximum Gunblade damage with 300 AP: 343 damage

  • Maximum Gunblade damage with 600 AP: 433 damage

  • Amplified Spellbinder Max Active Damage Boost (Runic and Lichbane scaling, Rabba AP amp, no infernal amp included): 637 + 3.5% Max HP

In terms of pure damage output on Evelynn, Spellbinder beats all other activatable AP items as long as you stack it, which is pretty easy on her. You get more damage, mobility, and safety for your money at all stages into the game, but you do have a bit less uptime on it, which is why it's just underrated on her, and not a must-buy item like duskblade.

It makes farming the jungle improve your assassination potential. It's good for ganking because not only do you get 10% bonus ms, your AP amplification and 30% bonus MS from activating it does not break stealth. Also, given that roughly 2/3rds of Evelynn's damage at all stages is AoE, it can make you capable of assassinating clustered squishies early on.

And if you get caught out for whatever reason, and have it stacked, that permanent 10% bonus MS and the bonus 30% for 4 seconds will get you out of a situation that would normally get you killed if you didn't have it. That includes being chased down by a Yi who's ahead.

Malix Farwin1 votes

Its weird that the people calling it a good item(including the OP) do not actually build it themselves.

ReshiKillim1 votes

Except that I do build it.

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