Wild Rift Item Guide: How to Avoid Losing to the Shopkeeper

In Wild Rift, there are plenty of different items with every Champion using different ones to gain an advantage. There are core items and there are also some situational items. This means that for every different situation you need to build depending on your enemies and their items.

In this guide, we are going to explain to you how many players across all elos included Challenger make huge mistakes in their item pathing, losing all their lead. We are going to call this guide on how to avoid losing to the shopkeeper in Wild Rift.

Fundamentals

There are two categories for items the core items and the situational items.

Core

These are items that exist for almost every champion and have to be built to be able to play the game properly.

Situational

Situational items are bought only under specific circumstances and can be flexed around depending on the situation.

Boots and Upgrades

There are exactly five different pairs of boots, with seven different upgrades you can choose off. Most of you will think that is easy, but it isn’t as easy as you think it is.

Almost all of the players are building the wrong boots or are building their boots on at the wrong time in the game. On the upgrades, people are making even poorer choices.

Gluttonous Greaves

If you are playing ADC or someone like Tryndamer or Rengar for example you can build these boots, but they aren’t core. It gives lifesteal and they are pretty good if build relatively early in the game when you suffer from it and want to sustain through the lane or in specific duels.

Sprint: Increases movement speed by 15% for 3 seconds. Dealing or taking damage from champions removes this effect (60 second cooldown).
Seconds: +8% Physical Vamp
Thirds: +8% Magical Vamp

Mercury’s Treads

These are some of the most situational boots on the game that can build by practically anyone. Since they give 35% tenacity making you even more immune to crowd control. It is very strong if you play against something like Ashe, Ahri, Malphite, etc. They are very strong and can be game-changing in a lot of situations. These boots are also not core and very situational.

Footwear: +40 movement speed
Enchanted: +10 magic resistance
Tenacity: Reduces the duration of stuns, slows, taunts, fears, silences, blinds, and immobilizes by 35%.

Plated Steelcaps

In the case, you are playing against a full AD composition, or someone on the team that has a lot of auto-attacks is fed, these boots can be built and should be a priority. You can also build them if you are laning against a Vayne, Tryndamere, Fiora, etc. on a solo lane or whatever does a lot of auto-attack damage. For example, you can build them on your first back and you will almost neutralize the enemy Tryndamere completely since it blocks 15% of the auto-attack damage.

Footwear: +40 movement speed
Enchanted: +15 armor
Block: Blocks 15% of damage from basic attacks.

Ionian Boots

These are the boots that should be built if you are playing an enchanter Support or if you play Evelynn for example. Their Ability Haste is very helpful to have a low cooldown on your abilities but can make you very vulnerable. They also give a 15% Cooldown on your summoner spells that can be very helpful if you are playing these squishy supports that have to flash away more often.

Footwear: +40 movement speed
Lucidicity: +15 ability haste
Summoned: Reduces summoner spell cooldowns by 15%.

Boots of Swiftness

These boots are very niche and can be used by Champions like Singed or even maybe by some assassins if they need a higher movement speed to roam around the map.

Footwear: +50 movement speed
Sleek: Movement speed slows are reduced by 30%.

Gargoyle Enchant

This is a very good active Item if you are the primary engage in your team. For example, if you are playing Jarvan IV, Alistar or Rakan, this will be your must-go item since you are able to dive into a lot of enemies and find the maximum value out of its activity. This will make you an absolute unkillable tank that can peel for his team.

Stoneplate: Increase your maximum health by 65%, while reducing your damage dealt by 60% for 4 seconds. If there are 3 or more enemy champions nearby, increase maximum health by 130% instead (45 second cooldown).

Glorious Enchant

This active Item can be used by mostly some junglers. It is a very good item to be bought on the first back. It makes ganking very easy with Champions like Xin Zhao, Olaf or Gragas. You can activate it once you start running towards your enemies and will almost guarantee them burning their flash or them dying.

Glory: Gain 15% bonus movement speed for 4 seconds, increasing to 60% towards enemy champions or turrets. After 4 seconds or upon reaching an enemy champion emits a shockwave that slows nearby enemies by 50% for 2 seconds (45 second cooldown).

Locket of Enchant

This is a very good item if you are playing Support, it will apply a shield on your whole team making them even tankier and securing you a lot of assists. Otherwise, this active item isn’t a good one to build and is not really recomended.

Locket: Shield yourself and all nearby allied champions from 70 − 420 (based on level) damage for 2.5 seconds (60 second cooldown).
This effect is reduced by 50% if the target has been affected by another Locket in the last 20 seconds.

Protobelt Enchant

This is a very good active item if you are playing something that needs a gap closer to execute some specific combo in the game, like Evelynn, Jax, or Galio. With the dash, you can surprise and catch your enemies of guard hitting your full combo when they aren’t prepared for it.

Protobelt: Dash forward and unleash a cone of missiles that deal 75 − 145 (based on level) magic damage. If champions or monsters are hit by more than one missile, the additional missiles deal only 10% damage (60 second cooldown).

Quicksilver Enchant

Never built this trash active.

Quicksilver: Removes all crowd control (except knock-ups and knock-backs) effects currently affecting you, and gain 50% bonus movement speed for 1.5 seconds (60 second cooldown).

Redeeming Enchant

This is a very good active if you are playing Support and especially an enchanter one. You can heal across the map getting assists while you sit at your lane. It can also be used to reveal some areas from very far away if you dont want to face check the area.

Redeem: Reveal a position and after 2.5 seconds, a beam of light heals allies for 25 − 375 (based on level), while enemies take 10% of their maximum health as true damage. Minions and monsters take 250 true damage instead (60 second cooldown).
This effect is reduced by 50% if the target has been affected by another Redemption within the last 20 seconds.

Shadows Enchant

This isn’t a good item only on specific Champions like trash or even Blitzcrank maybe. Otherwise, it is pretty useless.

Shadows: Summons 2 ghosts that seek out nearby enemy champions. On contact, a champion is revealed and slowed by 40% for up to 5 seconds, based upon travel time (60 second cooldown).

Stasis Enchant

This is the best active Item in the game and counters almost everything that exists. It’s a free stasis every two minutes that allows you to dodge certain ultimates or combos from your enemies. Its the best choice if you are playing ADC, since you are the squishiest target and easy to kill. It should be built every time you play against an assassin on almost every champion.

Stasis: Put yourself in stasis for 2.5 seconds, rendering yourself invulnerable for the duration but becoming unable to move, declare basic attacks, cast abilities or item actives, or use any summoner spells during this time (120 second cooldown).

Teleport Enchant

This should be bought from anyone besides the Baron laner, and even he shouldn’t be buying this item except if he is some macro genius that can calculate when he has to TP. It isn’t the best Item for solo queue since you won’t have synergy with all your four teammates.

Teleport: After channeling for 3.5 seconds, teleport your champion to an allied champion, structure, or ward (180 second cooldown).

AD Items

AD items are usually the ones that are being used by Champions that deal physical damage. A lot of ADC’s are building very bad items and making poor choices setting themselves behind and losing a lot of tempo.

On the other hand, you have AD assassins that have almost no situational Items because they just go the standard lethality build.

Mortal Reminder vs Serylda’s Grudge

This is one of the most common mistakes even top 50 players on the ladder do. There is a specific situation where you should always build Mortal Reminder and that’s when you play against healing Champions, like Soraka, Sona, or Mundo. If you are playing ADC and play against Soraka or Sona you should buy always Executioner’s Calling. In almost any other situation you should prioritize Serylda’s Grudge since it’s way more powerful and gives way more value.

Trinity vs Iceborn Gauntlet

I am making this section specifically for all the Ezreal mains because I can’t handle watching the worst mistake in the game. These two items don’t stack stop building them together, you arent some mastermind genius that figured the relativity theory of Wild Rift, they just don’t work and lose 3000 gold into nothing. Now for the ones that can’t decide which one they should build.

If the enemy is full AD you should always build Iceborn Gauntlet and never Trinity Force, don’t get scared if the enemy has a Lux Support or Seraphine just go for Icebron if the rest is full AD. Never build Icebron Gauntlet into AP mid or more than one AP carries on the enemy team on solo or jungle, they will obliterate you, and you will be useless.

Black Cleaver vs Trinity

This is one of the longest debates we had in League of Legends even before Wild Rift was released. Trinity is good if you are playing against squishies that have almost no armor. I have seen a lot of people building Black Cleaver even if the enemy has almost no armor to shred losing almost 3000 gold value at this point of the game, resulting in losing tempo into their enemies.

Losing tempo means losing the snowball you have built for yourself and setting yourself behind for no reason at all. Trinity is core for Champions like Jax but otherwise, you should always watch what the enemy is building.

Deaths Dance vs Blade of the Ruined King vs Bloodthirster

This is also a big debate between ADC’s. Deaths Dance should be always built if you see an enemy playing Assasin, this will save you from being blasted from one combo.

Bloodthirster is always good if you are playing something like Caitlyn, Draven that has not as much of attack speed but very high raw power. Blade of the Ruined king should always be built if you play against high HP enemies like Mundo and Galio, otherwise, you should always prioritize other attack speed items since the passive of Blade of the Ruined King will be wasted.

AP Items

These are the items that are used almost exclusively by Midlaners and by some Junglers. They deal magic damage and are very complicated to use for some players.

A lot of players are building wrong items losing tempo and not being able to accelerate that lead into bigger leads, instead, they build the wrong item and fall behind really fast.

Infinity Orb

You should nenver build this item first or second, only if you already have 10+ kills 5 minutes into the game. I have seen midlaners building this Item second or even first losing all their lead. Even worse is this item if you are behind, there is actually 0% you are going to drop anyone on the map below 30% hp with just two items in your inventory to be able to make use of its passive. Its a very good item if you play an AP assassin to build it as the 4th or 5th item.

Awakened Soulstealer

You should never build this item, its completely useless and gives almost no value. Its passive is trash and you are losing 2500 gold into a dead item, that might be useful if you kill all five enemies.

Liandry’s Torment vs Luden’s Echo

Luden’s Echo is very strong if you are playing against very squishy targets, Liandrys on the other hand is very good if you play against three or more tanks to be able to shred their HP.

Tank Items

These are the items that are mostly used by junglers and Baron laners since there is where the most tanks are played.

These are some very important items that should be built against specific opponents and can be used to even counter them.

Thornmail

Thornmail is your friend if you play against heavy healing and heavy AD compositions. Whenever you see Sona, Soraka, and Mundo just built Bramble Vest and complete it later on. This way you will apply anithealing on your enemies and minimize the healing on them.

Abyssal Mask vs Spirit Visage

You should always build Spirit Visage if you are having any item or ability that is healing you a lot, otherwise, it’s always Abyssal Mask, since you won’t get any use of the Spirit Visage passive. Don’t forget that you won’t need any Magic resist item if you play against a full AD comp.

Conclusion

This is almost the most important thing anyone has to do in Wild Rift to be able to win with the shopkeeper and not lose by it. If you are able to execute the guide here you will elevate your winrate for sure.

Since it’s a very new game and most of the players never played League of Legends, this is quite normal to not know all the items and their functionality.

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