Situational Defensive Items

One thing I've noticed in a lot of games is that a lot of people tend to follow guides to the letter, no matter how the game's running. While this might work some of the time, the worst times is when the guide isn't working and you're just dying an awful lot. Does this mean that the guide's bad? No. Does this mean you're a bad player? Not if you read this guide!

Every hero has some core items, that's for sure. But what about after those core items? And what if the enemy is farming their core items faster than you? Well then it's time to take some preemptive defense measures before they start feeding off you (more).

1. Frozen Heart

Total Price: 2775
Recipe Price: 650
Components: Cloth Armor x2, Glacial Shroud (Sapphire Crystal + Chain Vest)


Comments: As the second highest armor item in the game right behind thornmail, this item alone will force that AD carry to stop stacking those bloodthirsters and get some armor penetration instead. The glacial shroud it builds from also gives a sweet 15% cooldown reduction that upgrades to 20% from frozen heart for only 1250 extra gold. The 20% attack speed reduction is also a must if the other team's DPS is AD heavy.

2. Force of Nature

Total Price: 2610
Recipe Price: 1000
Components: Negatron Cloak, Regrowth Pendant x2


Comments: Where frozen heart fails to protect you, force of nature picks up. Although it's generally not wise to get both unless you're tanking for purposes of keeping your DPS high, Force of Nature packs the highest single magic resist in the game for an item and also upgrades your movement speed by 8%. This makes it one of the single most powerful defensive items in the game since not only does it make you super tanky against spells, but also gives you enough speed to get away, passively regenerate health, and come back into the battle.

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The Negatron Cloak component is also extremely useful for early game. If you find the AP heroes hitting you awfully hard early game, don't hesitate to get this BEFORE they start killing you. Not only can it build into the Force of Nature, you can also use it to make Banshee's Veil if they are CC heavy.

Likewise, a chain vest does not necessarily have to be built into glacial shroud or frozen heart right away. The 45 armor should be more than sufficient until the enemy starts getting their core items together.