To say that Ivern is an unpopular champion in League of Legends is an understatement. Not too many players enjoy the weird jungle playstyle of a support that only shields teammates and spawns brushes.
And if you share this opinion, the full AP Ivern build is definitely for you!
Full AP Ivern is an effective build for carrying games in LoL, especially in lower elos. It has a lot of damage and defensiveness, making it a really easy playstyle to thrive in solo queue with.
And the best part is – you can play AP Ivern in all 5 roles of the game and not just jungle.
If you’ve never tried AP Ivern, I’m here to help you out. This post will be a dedicated guide on how to play AP Ivern.
I’ll explain the runes and items you’ll need as well as the necessary info about Ivern as a champion League.
That said, let’s learn how to play AP Ivern!
Is Ivern AD or AP in League of Legends?
Ivern is an AP champion in League of Legends. He deals magic damage and his abilities only have AP ratios. You can either build Ivern as an enchanter support or a full AP mage.
However, all ability power items in LoL improve Ivern’s damage and shielding to some extent.
So, Ivern can only be an AP champion. There’s no point in building him AD, except if you really want to try him as an off-meta ADC pick.
Ivern has three abilities that you really need to understand in order to deal damage.
The Q – Rootcaller is a long-ranged spell that deals a lot of magic damage to the first target hit and roots them in place. It also allows Ivern to dash to auto-attack range when right-clicking the rooted enemies.
Ivern’s E – Triggerseed is a shield that he can cast either on himself or an ally. The shield blocks a lot of damage, but it also explodes after a few seconds, dealing massive AoE magic damage to all enemies nearby.
And finally, Ivern’s R – Daisy! is a powerful cooldown that allows him to spawn a unit. Daisy is Ivern’s pet and she does both physical and magic damage with her auto-attacks.
However, the more AP Ivern has, the more damage Daisy does with her basic attacks.
So, how do you actually play AP Ivern?
AP Ivern is all about shielding the right targets and harassing enemies with Q. It’s important to shield allies that are surrounded by enemies if you want to do more damage.
And if you hit your Q, that also helps your teammates get in range. Daisy should always be present in team fights too.
As a last piece of advice, I’d tell you to always auto-attack when you have the chance to do so. You’ll be building Lich Bane to increase your overall damage, so make sure to take advantage of the item.
Read Also: AP Xhin Zhao Build Guide
Full AP Ivern Build – Runes for Season 13
- Dark Harvest
- Cheap Shot
- Eyeball Collection
- Relentless Hunter
- Bone Plating
- Revitalize
DARK HARVEST is the best scaling keystone in the game. And it’s perfect for playing AP Ivern in the jungle since you’ll focus on ganking low-HP enemies. But it’s good for any role, really.
With Dark Harvest, you’ll be able to stack souls by damaging enemy champions below 50% HP. Each stack increases your Dark Harvest damage.
So, the more stacks you have the harder you’ll hit your opponents when they’re below 50% health.
CHEAP SHOT is a rune that synergizes well with Ivern’s Q. Basically, it allows you to deal bonus true damage to your targets if they’re in crowd control.
In other words, every time you root someone with Q or Daisy knocks them up with an auto-attack, you’ll do a bit of extra damage. And that’s super useful!
EYEBALL COLLECTION is a no-brainer choice here. It increases your total AP as the early game goes on without you having to do anything for it.
Eyeball Collection grants a total of 30 ability power when it’s fully stacked, so it’s a free way of increasing your power.
RELENTLESS HUNTER is another optimal rune for playing jungle or support Ivern. It increases your out-of-combat movement speed and it allows you to quickly move around Summoner’s Rift and gank.
Like the rest of the Hunter runes, this one works on Bounty stacks. Basically, you get a Bounty stack upon a champion takedown. And you can get a maximum of 5 stacks (5 enemy champions).
At maximum stacks, you get the highest out-of-combat movement speed.
BONE PLATING is one of the best defensive runes in League of Legends. It’s a super valuable option for Ivern, especially if you’re playing him in lane and not jungle.
What Bone Plating does is that it reduces the damage when an enemy first attacks you. It blocks up to 3 attacks, spells or otherwise, making you a very durable champion.
REVITALIZE is simply a must-have for Ivern, regardless of your build and role. It increases the effectiveness of Ivern’s shield by 5%, or 10% when if the target is on low HP.
With Revitalize, you’re going to have bigger shields and be a lot tankier overall.
Read Also: Full AP Nocturne Build Guide
Full AP Ivern Build – Items for Season 13
- Ionian Boots of Lucidity
- Luden’s Tempest
- Lich Bane
- Rylai’s Crystal Scepter
- Rabadon’s Deathcap
- Void Staff
IONIAN BOOTS OF LUCIDITY are the boots you need to have on AP Ivern. They’re cheap, easy to get, and they give you a lot of value.
For only 950 gold, Ionian Boots of Lucidity give you 20 ability haste. This is actually a lot, especially early on in the game.
LUDEN’S TEMPEST is the best mythic item to get on AP Ivern if you like the highest burst possible. Luden’s offers ability power, mana, and ability haste, but it also makes your initial hit deal extra damage.
On top of that, Luden’s Tempest adds a bit of magic penetration when you get a legendary item. So, it’s a great purchase overall!
LICH BANE is one of the most important items to get on AP Ivern. Since Ivern isn’t the most offensive champion in LoL, you’ll often find it that he lacks the damage to finish off his targets.
Well, Lich Bane will empower your auto-attacks to deal bonus magic damage after you use an ability. That way, you can continue to deal damage even when your Q and E are on cooldown.
RYLAI’S CRYSTAL SCEPTER is another essential item when playing AP Ivern. It has a great synergy with his Triggerseed shield and his pet Daisy too.
Basically, Rylai’s Crystal Scepter applies a slow effect to all enemies affected by the Ivern’s shield explosion. Additionally, Daisy’s auto-attacks will also apply a slow effect so it’s perfect for chasing down targets.
RABADON’S DEATHCAP is a must-have item for any AP champion, including Ivern. Its job is to increase your ability power as much as possible, empowering all of your abilities in the process.
With RA, your shield will be bigger and you’ll do more damage overall. So, make sure you purchase it at some point in the game!
VOID STAFF is your last regular item on AP Ivern. It provides you with 40% magic penetration and helps you do more damage. It’s an effective item against tanks in LoL, so makes sure to build it when you’re up against tanks.
Optional and Situational Items for AP Ivern
Some games will force you to adapt. Don’t be afraid, Ivern is flexible enough to be comfortable with many different AP items.
For example, Liandry’s Anguish can be a useful mythic option, especially if you’re playing against tanks. And in that scenario, Shadowflame and Demonic Embrace can help out too.
On the other hand, Everfrost can help you combat mobility champions such as Zed or Yasuo.
And Zhonya’s Hourglass is always recommended against bursty champions and assassins.
Read Also: AP Skarner Build Guide
Ability Order and Summoner’s Spells
When playing AP Ivern, you have two different routes to choose when it comes to maxing out abilities. Basically, you can either max out your Q or your E first.
The Q route is safer and it helps you with harassing and trading with your lane opponent. But if you’re going to play AP Ivern as a jungler or as an off-meta support, going for the E route is much better.
So, here’s my recommended ability order path for AP Ivern, level by level.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | |||||||||||||
| W | W | W | W | W | |||||||||||||
| E | E | E | E | E | |||||||||||||
| R | R | R |
And the choice is pretty obvious for Summoner’s Spells. It depends on the role!
Here’s the basic combination of playing AP Ivern in each role in League of Legends.
Top: Flash + Teleport
Jungle: Flash + Smite
Mid: Flash + Ignite
Bot: Flash + Heal
Support: Flash + Ignite
Read Also: AP Warwick Build Guide
Conclusion
I’ve recently seen a funny YouTube video of AP Ivern by Darkk Mane. And despite that being comedy and not an actual representation of AP Ivern, I still find it worth my time. So, I recommend you check it out!
That said, I also hope my guide showed you how to really build and play AP Ivern in season 13 of League of Legends. It’s an enjoyable playstyle and can make your friends laugh a lot!
And if you want similar guides to this one, perhaps you’ll be interested in my full AP Trundle build! It’s super fun!
