Azir is one of the most unique mid lane champions in League of Legends. He isn’t a mage nor a marksman, but his playstyle is a perfect mixture of both.
Azir deals damage with his abilities and auto-attacks almost equally.
A big component of the way Azir’s toolkit is his Sand Soldiers, which mimic his basic attacks and confuse players about the type of damage he deals.
So, is Azir AP or AD?
Is Azir AP or AD?
Azir is an AP champion and he only deals magic damage. All of Azir’s abilities scale with Ability Power, so buying AP items increases his damage overall.
But Azir benefits from Attack Speed too, so buying items such as Nashor’s Tooth is great for boosting his damage.
Of course, all champions in League of Legends can deal physical damage, even if all their abilities scale with AP.
This is because every champion is able to auto-attack and has base damage that grows with each level, from 1 to 18.
Azir’s base damage is 52 at the start of the game and 99.6 at the end. But this damage doesn’t contribute to Azir’s DPS in any significant way because he mostly auto-attacks through his soldiers.
And his Sand Soldiers aren’t AD!
Do Azir’s Soldiers Scale with AD?
No, Azir’s Sand Soldiers scale with AP only. Even though they auto-attack Azir’s target, they only do magic damage.
So the more Ability Power Azir has, the more damage his soldiers will do. And if you buy AD items on Azir, his Sand Soldiers won’t benefit from them.
Azir’s soldiers can be a confusing concept to many players. So let me explain how the damage of this ability is measured.
When Azir uses his W – Arise! ability, he summons a soldier that can attack all the enemies in range. Azir can also reposition his soldiers with his Q – Conquering Sands if they aren’t in range of any enemy.
The first Sand Soldier does 50 – 150 magic damage based on Azir’s level, plus 60% of Azir’s current Ability Power.
And every other Sand Soldier (second or third) will only deal 25% of this damage.
Additionally, not all targets affected by the soldiers’ auto-attacks receive the same damage. In fact, only the first (in line) target receives the full damage.
All enemies behind it receive 25 / 50 / 75 / 100% of this damage, based on level.
Can Azir go AD?
Even though buying AD items on Azir isn’t forbidden in League of Legends, it’s not advised either.
Since none of Azir’s abilities scale with AD, you don’t get any benefit from building Attack Damage.
Azir’s soldiers also scale with AP only, and they don’t proc the items’ effects.
In the past, I’ve seen a couple of different AD builds for Azir. And believe me, some of them really worked in a weird and surprising kind of way.
However, there is simply no AD build for Azir that’s better than his regular AP build!
Does this mean that you can’t play Azir in the bot lane too?
I’m a big advocate for diversity in all roles in League of Legends. I’ve climbed to Diamond with Zoe support, even though she’s only played in the mid lane.
So I definitely believe that you can play Azir in any lane, even the jungle, but you’ll want to build AP items if you want to be the carry in your games.
So if you were thinking between an Azir AP or AD build, my recommendation is to stick with AP.
Read Also: Heimerdinger AP Or AD – Guide To Heimer’s Damage!
Does Kraken Slayer Work on Azir?
Kraken Slayer only works on Azir if he is the one attacking the target. Azir’s Sand Soldiers don’t count as Azir’s own basic attacks, so they can’t proc the Kraken Slayer’s effect either.
So, Azir can’t deal bonus true damage with Kraken Slayer through his soldiers, but only his own auto-attacks.
Sadly, Riot Games have developed Azir in such a way that his Sand Soldiers count as summoned units. They only benefit from Azir’s level, AP, and Attack Speed, but not item effects.
So if you buy Lich Bane or similar items, they won’t work on Azir if he auto-attacks with his soldiers!
Does Azir Benefit from Lifesteal?
Like all champions in League of Legends, Azir can use Lifesteal items to heal himself through his auto-attacks.
However, Azir’s soldiers DO NOT benefit from Lifesteal items, so their attacks can’t heal Azir either.
They’re an “ability” and Lifesteal only works with basic attacks.
Unfortunately, Azir’s Sand Soldiers can’t heal him if he has Lifesteal items. Similar to Kraken Slayer or Lich Bane, their effects are only limited to Azir’s own auto-attacks.
But that doesn’t mean that the Sand Soldiers can’t heal Azir at all!
If you take the Taste of Blood or Ravenous Hunter runes from the Domination tree, you can proc their healing effects with Azir’s soldiers.
They’re activated through abilities only, which includes Airse! Too!
Read Also: Qiyana AP or AD – Guide
Conclusion
So there you have it! Even though it seems logical for Azir to use items like Kraken Slayer, you can see why that’s forbidden too.
Azir can sometimes summon 3 soldiers and attack with them simultaneously, So, dealing bonus true damage with all 3 soldiers would be beyond broken!
I hope I helped you figure out is Azir an AP or an AD champion in League of Legends!
