Items that apply slow effects have been a part of League of Legends ever since the game was released.
For example, Rylai’s Crystal Scepter was directly taken from DotA’s hero Crystal Maiden in Warcraft 3 to give the LoL champions that don’t CC a chance against mobility champions.
Almost every season a new slowing item is added or removed from the game, so we can’t deny their importance. But, how do items that apply slow effect work in LoL?
Top 10 Best League of Legends Items that Have a Slow Effect
Keep in mind that different slow items in League work differently. Nearly all items on this list have unique numerical values, which means that some slow for longer while others only briefly.
The design philosophy of these effects is only known to Riot Games, and things may change in the future.
That said, let’s see which items in LoL apply a slow effect!
1. Deadman’s Plate
Deadman’s Plate is a tank item that champions like Sett and Garen often build. It increases the damage of their next auto-attack when the item is at full stacks (100).
Deadman’s Plate grants 300 bonus Health, 45 Armor, and 5% movement speed.
If a melee champion with Deadman’s Plate attacks an enemy while the item is at 100 stacks, he will also apply a 50% slow effect that lasts for 1 second.
Keep in mind that ranged champions can’t slow their enemies with Deadman’s Plate.
Read Also: Top 10 Best Items Against Tanks In LoL & How To Use Them!
2. Randuin’s Omen
Randuin’s Omen is another tank item in League of Legends. But unlike Deadman’s Plate, it’s an active slowing item that has 60 seconds cooldown.
Once activated, Randuin’s Omen slows all enemies in a 550 range radius by 99% for 0.25 seconds. This item is automatically activated around the champion that’s using it.
In other words, you can’t target a location to apply the slow effect. Instead, you always slow opponents around your champion.
Randuin’s Omen also reduces the attack damage and the critical strike damage of the slowed enemies. This effect lasts for 4 seconds instead of 0.25.
3. Stridebreaker
Striderbreaker’s active works similarly to Randuin’s Omen, but it only has 15 seconds that can also be reduced with Ability Haste.
Stridebreaker damages all enemy units in a 450 range radius and applies a 40% slow effect that lasts for 3 seconds.
If the item’s cooldown is reduced with Ability Haste, you can re-slow your target a second time when you activate it again.
Besides a slow effect, Stridebreaker also deals good damage – 175% of the champion’s current attack damage.
It also grants 50 AD, 20% Attack Speed, 300 Health, and 20 Ability Haste, so it’s a great mythic item for melee fighters in LoL.
4. Turbo Chemtech
Turbo Chemtech is another melee-friendly mythic item that can slow your enemies when you get in range.
It also grants 350 bonus Health, 25 Armor, 25 Magic Resist, and 20 Ability Haste, so it’s a great item for champions like Udyr or Hecarim.
Turbo Chemtech’s active increases your movement speed towards enemy champions. Once you get near them (within 225 range), the item will slow all enemy champions within 450 range by 50% for 1.5 seconds.
The cooldown of Turbo Chemtech is 90 seconds and it can’t be lowered with Ability Haste. However, it’s still a great AoE tool to use in the game.
Read Also: LoL Items That Increase The Size – How Do They Work?
5. Iceborn Gauntlet
iceborn Gauntlet is one of the oldest slowing items in League of Legends, even though Riot Games have changed the item multiple items over the years and is now a mythic item.
Every 6 seconds, Iceborn Gauntlet allows your next basic attack to slow down all enemies within 250 range radius around the primary target.
The slow for melee champion is 25% plus 4% per 1000 maximum Health. And for ranged champions, the slow is 12.5% plus 2% per 1000 maximum Health.
Iceborn Gauntlet also burns your enemies for additional damage.
6. Rylai’s Crystal Scepter
Rylai’s Crystal Scepter is the first item we think of when we talk about slow effects in League of Legends.
It’s a passive effect that all champions can use, but it’s mostly recommended to Ability Power champions that have no other CC ability in their kits.
Damaging abilities with Rylai’s Crystal Scepter apply a 30% slow that lasts for 1 second. But if you damage the enemy again, the item will also apply the slow the second time.
This can go indefinitely since the item doesn’t have a cooldown.
Ryali’s Crystal Scepter is a great way for many immobile mages to combat champions what a lot of movement speed or active dashes.
It grants 350 bonus Health as well as 90 AP, which makes the user a lot tankier.
Read Also: All Movement Speed Items In LoL (Full List Explained)
7. Serylda’s Grudge
Even though Serylda’s Grudge is a newer item in LoL, we think of it as the AD version of Rylai’s Crystal Scepter. These items work completely the same, but they offer different stats.
When you damage an enemy with an ability, you also apply a 30% slow that lasts for 1 second. And like Rylai’s Crystal Scepter, continuous damaging with abilities will reactivate this slow on the target.
Serylda’s Grudge is often bought on assassins and marksmen. It grants 45 AD, 20 Ability Haste, and 20 Armor Penetration.
Read Also: LoL Items That Increase Your Range
8. Duskblade of Draktharr
Speaking of assassins, Duskblade of Draktharr is one of the most used mythic items. Most players purchase for its Lethality stats and for the passive that turns the user invisible.
However, Dusklabe also slows your target.
The first time you attack an enemy champion with Duskblade of Draktharr in your inventory, you deal bonus AD damage to them and apply a 99% slow for 0.25% seconds.
This effect has 15 seconds.
Duskblade’s slow can help champions like Zed keep their enemies in place for a short amount of time, just so they can hit their abilities and burst them down.
9. Everfrost
Everfrost is an Ability Power mythic item in League of Legends with a slowing active. It’s mostly built on champions such as Twisted Fate, Sylas, and Lissandra, or any champion can lock down a target with CC.
When you activate Everfrost, the item shoots a frozen ray in a cone, damaging enemies and slowing them down by 65% for 1,5 seconds. Targets caught in the middle of the cone a rooted instead.
Even though you always want to root your enemies with Everfrost, the additional slow helps many champions land their skill shots.
Read Also: Items That Give Tenacity in LoL
10. Stormrazor
And Stormrazor is the last item in League of Legends that applies a slow effect. Not too many champions build it nowadays, but the item is definitely helpful to ADCs in particular.
Like Deadman’s Plate, Stormrazor passively generates 100 stacks. The first basic attack against an enemy, while Stormrazor is at 100 stacks, will slow that enemy by 75% for 0.5 seconds.
This hit also deals bonus magic on-hit damage.
Stormrazor helps champions like Caitlyn to chase their opponents even if they aren’t as mobile as them.
Read Also: The Best Items Against AP Champions
How These Slow Items Work in League of Legends?
Slowing items reduce the opponent’s movement speed either through damaging abilities or upon activation.
For example, AP champions with Rylai’s Crystal Scepter in their inventory can slow their opponents simply by using their damaging abilities.
On the other hand, champions with Randuin’s Omen can only slow enemies around them when they activate the item, which has 60 seconds cooldown.
It’s important to differentiate between active and passive slowing items, simply because the matter gets more complicated the deeper you dive.
For example, some passive slowing items don’t have an internal cooldown while others do. In any case, I’ll explain all items with slow effects down in the list.
Why are slow items important in LoL?
Slow items can have a huge impact on a specific champion’s success. Take a look at Malzahar for a second.
Malzahar is a short-ranged mage that doesn’t have any mobility and often lacks behind champions such as Kayn, Ezreal, Zed, or Sivir.
It’s difficult for him to even deal damage to these champions (if they aren’t fighting him), let alone catch them with his R.
So, Rylai’s Crystal Scepter allows Malzahar to continually slow his enemies (without a cooldown) and damage them over and over again.
This gives him a massive advantage throughout the game, so Ryali’s Crystal Scepter is a recommended item for him.
Read Also: Which Items Slow Attack Speed in LoL?
Conclusion
Those are all the slowing items in League of Legends. And even though some are more useful than others, you can take advantage of all of them in particular situations.
Whether one item is balanced or not is usually determined by how different champions are using it. So, to really abuse Everfrost, for example, I recommend you play Lissandra.
Good luck and have fun!
