League of Legends is known for its wide spectrum of Champions, and the thing that makes these Champions unique is the ability ‘kit’ that they carry. The effects that these abilities have are either combat-based or utility-based. Majorly, utility-based abilities offer you a defensive and passive advantage, whereas combat-based abilities mainly depend on damage modification for a defensive high ground. Defense plays an integral part in League of Legends and you can’t really play the game right until you have the defensive mechanics of the game aligned, so let’s jump in and find out the top 7 abilities that champions have to offer.
Utility-based defensive abilities are split into 6 parts: Blinks/Dashes, Heals, Stealth, Shields, Invulnerability, and Untargetability. Combat-based abilities can be divided into 3 parts which are Decreasing damage received, Damage immunity, and Flat damage reduction.
The 7 best abilities that give you a defensive advantage in League of Legends are:
- Kalista’s Fate’s Call
- Annie’s Molten Shield
- Kayle’s Celestial Blessing
- Sona’s Aria of Preservarence
- Zilean’s Chronoshift
- Kayle’s Divine Judgement
- Wukong’s Warrior Trickster
Each of the mentioned abilities hold a unique defensive element in them, some abilities hold an offensive and damage-dealing effect aspect within their defensive nature which makes it more efficient in defense.
Also check out: Heal vs. Barrier in League of Legends
Seraphine’s Surround Sound
Surround sound shields Seraphine and all nearby allied champions for 2.5 seconds. This ability also grants Seraphine and the allied champions a decent amount of bonus speed, Seraphine herself gains a massive amount of decaying bonus speed while the allies also receive an adequate amount. If Seraphine already has a shield when the ability is cast, Surround Sound sends a healing wave after the duration of the ability healing Seraphine and her allies and the healing increases for each allied champion in nearby. The effects of surround sound can stack up twice making it even more effective on the battlefield.
It’s a no brainer that this ability is most efficient when cast near teammates. Surround Sound can prove to be a real game changer when used in a team fight, it can be used to retreat from a team fight if it’s not going your way or can be really beneficial in confirming a win in close one.
Annies Molten Shield
Annie can use this ability on herself or a target it on an allied champion or her ferocious bear tibbers. Ability grants a shield to the targeted unit and increased movement speed based on the level of the targeted unit. The bonus movement speed decays in 1.5 seconds another defensive trait of ability is the magic damage dealt to enemies when they use basic attack on the targeted unit while molten shield is still active.
Molten shield can prove really beneficial when having 1v1 encounters, it not only gives you enhanced durability in the combat but also gives you a decent escape if things go south. Enemies with low health would probably hesitate to get in a fight with you even if you are on low health, as the return magic damage can be lethal for the.
Kayle’s Celestial Blessing
Celestial blessing has made it onto this list because of its sheer simplicity and ease of use. This dynamic ability can be used in a number of circ*mstances. Celestial blessing grants Kayle and the targeted allied champion healing and bonus movement speed. If the ability is self-cast or cast without selecting a valid target it will automatically target the allied unit with the lowest health, as you can tell this ability doesn’t require much focus or time to be activated. You can give your weakest allied champions another chance to breathe in a fast-paced team fight.
It’s a short duration buff so it’s better for quick displacement and dodging enemy attacks rather than long-term chases.
Sona’s Aria of Preservarence
When activated, Aria of Preservarence heals Sona and the most injured allied champion within the range, which makes Aria of Preservarnce easy to use in combats. Melody bonus of this ability grants Sona and a targeted allied champion a shield that lasts 1.5 seconds. Whenever Sona uses Aria of Preservarence for healing or shielding an ally from minimum damage, she gains a stack of Accelerando, and for each stack of Accelerando, Sona gains 0.5 basic ability haste.
Aria of Preservarence is a multifunctional ability that proves massively advantageous for the team and Sona herself. By using this ability you not only get an immediate defensive advantage but a passive long term advantage as well.
Zilean’s Chronoshift
Zilean’s Chronoshift is one of those abilities that can easily turn the tide of a team fight, chronoshift casts a protective time rune on Zilean or a targeted ally champion for 5 seconds. If the targeted champion takes fatal damage while in the rune it is resurrected, in the time of resurrection the target is invulnerable and untargetable after the resurrection target is healed.
Choroshift can prove to be a really important ability if cast at the right time on the right champion, chronoshift can be used to shield your team’s strongest champion on critical moments. This ability requires some anticipation of the right time to be casted because if its used at the wrong time or on a wrong target it can totally go to waste.
Wukong’s Warrior Trickster
Warrior Trickster is an escape ability, that not only gives Wukong a really quick and safe escape but can also prove quite detrimental to the enemy. Wukong dashes in the targeted direction while getting invisibility for 1 second leaving behind a clone of himself.
The clone is untargetable and can basic attack the enemy (prioritizing the last enemy Wukong damaged). The cool thing about this ability is that clone is almost as strong as Wukong while being immune to any damage or ability from the enemies, the clone can gain effects and buffs of other abilities of Wukong.
This ability can come in handy for escaping from any situation efficiently, the combination of dash and invisibility accounts for a foolproof escape. In close fights, where you and your enemy are both injured this ability can confirm your while providing a safe path for your escape from other enemy units.
Kayle’s Divine Judgement
Like most of the strong defensive abilities, Divine Judgement also holds an aggressive and offensive aspect. Kayle grants herself or the targeted allied champion invulnerability for a few seconds when cast then summons a cascade of shining swords around the target, dealing magic damage to the enemy units.
Kayle can move while casting but can’t attack or use spells until the swords fall, so it’s better to use this ability on an ally who can jump onto the enemy rather than using it to save yourself. This way you can save them from a certain death and at the same time massively damage the enemy
Conclusion
With hundreds of abilities and almost everyone of them having some kind of defensive element in them it’s really hard to pin down the best ones and on top of that it really depends on the situation and team composition, but for an ability to qualify as a good defensive one it must have an offensive side to it. In the end, the best defensive ability is the one that you have mastered yourself and have manuvered to give yourself and the team a defensive advantage.
