B. F. Sword

40 Attack Damage in one slot: that is B. F. Sword, the biggest Attack Damage component in League of Legends, priced at 1,300 gold in patch 26.22 with no passive and no recipe. Only five items build out of it, Infinity Edge, Bloodthirster, Stormrazor, Yun Tal Wildarrows and Guardian Angel, but those five sit in almost every marksman build, so the Sword is the purchase most carries are saving for from the first recall.

What does B. F. Sword do?

It adds 40 Attack Damage in one slot. Four Long Swords’ worth. It is the largest single jump in auto attack damage you can buy before a finished item, and worth skipping a ward for? That depends on the lane.

The timing is what people argue about. Buying it on the first recall means walking back to lane with nothing else, no potion, no ward, often no boots (boots can wait, apparently), and the question is whether 40 AD at level five is worth that. Against a passive lane, usually yes, because the damage lets you shove and trade freely. Against an all-in lane, often no, because the Sword does not stop you dying, and a Pickaxe plus a ward and a potion keeps you alive long enough to use it (ask any marksman who bought a Sword into Draven and spent the next five minutes under tower). It also costs 1,300 gold, so you need to have had a quiet first few minutes to afford it at all.

Is it worth the gold?

Yes, more than even: 108%. At the reference rate of 35 gold per point, set by Long Sword, 40 Attack Damage is worth 1,400 gold and the Sword costs 1,300 gold.

So you get a 100 gold discount for buying in bulk, which is unusual among basic items (most sit at exactly 100%). Honestly, that discount is also the reason the recipe for Infinity Edge and Bloodthirster works out the way it does: the finished items inherit the cheap Attack Damage and spend their own combine cost on crit or Life Steal. The sell value is 910 gold. For a smaller spike at a lower price, Pickaxe gives 25 Attack Damage at the standard rate.

What does B. F. Sword build into?

Five items, all for champions who auto attack:

• Infinity Edge, the crit damage item most marksmen finish first or second.
• Bloodthirster, Life Steal with an overheal shield.
• Stormrazor, the Energized crit item.
• Yun Tal Wildarrows, the crit item with a bleed on crits.
• Guardian Angel, the revive item, which is the only one on the list bought outside the marksman role with any regularity.

Thing is, four of those five are crit items, so a Sword in the inventory of a non-crit champion is usually heading for Guardian Angel and nowhere else. Prices for all five are in the LoL items database.

Who buys it?

Crit marksmen above all: Jinx, Caitlyn, Ashe, Jhin, Aphelios, Xayah, Tristana, Kai'Sa in some builds. Then the melee crit users, Yasuo, Yone and Tryndamere, who take it on the way to Infinity Edge or Bloodthirster, and finally fighters and assassins who want a late Guardian Angel. Put simply, if your build has no Infinity Edge and no Guardian Angel in it, you will probably never buy one.

How has it changed over the patches?

Twice. Riot’s data has it at 1,550 gold with 45 Attack Damage from 2013 or earlier, raised to 50 AD in patch 4.10, then cut to 1,300 gold and 40 AD in patch 5.22, where it has stayed for a decade. Funny enough, the item lost ten points of damage and became better value at the same time, since the price fell further than the stat.

When should you buy it?

When you can afford it in one recall and your next item is one of the five above. If you are 1,300 gold short of it and the lane is dangerous, take the Pickaxe and a ward now and the Sword next time; the damage difference for one recall is small, and the ward may save your life. Is it ever right to buy it as a third or fourth item? Yes, for a late Guardian Angel or a second crit item, and by then the gold is rarely the problem. For a sense of which positions build around a B. F. Sword and which never touch one, the guide to LoL roles covers how marksmen spend their first two recalls.

FAQ

How much does B. F. Sword cost?

1,300 gold in patch 26.22; it sells back for 910 gold.

What stat does it give?

40 Attack Damage.

Does it have a passive?

No. It is the largest flat Attack Damage component and nothing more.

What does it build into?

Infinity Edge, Bloodthirster, Stormrazor, Yun Tal Wildarrows and Guardian Angel.

What does B. F. stand for?

Riot has never spelled it out in the game. The item has carried the initials since the earliest versions of the shop.