Caulfield’s Warhammer

Caulfield’s Warhammer is the Attack Damage and Ability Haste component in League of Legends: 20 Attack Damage and 10 Ability Haste for 1,050 gold in patch 26.21, with no passive. It merges two Long Swords and a Glowing Mote for a combine fee of only 100 gold, and it builds into thirteen finished items, from Death’s Dance and Eclipse to Essence Reaver and Manamune, which makes it the most widely used physical damage component after the Long Sword itself.

What does Caulfield’s Warhammer do?

20 Attack Damage and 10 Ability Haste in one slot. The damage is the two Long Swords, the Haste is the Mote, and the Warhammer simply puts them together for almost nothing.

For an ability-based physical champion that is the exact pairing they want on the first recall. Thing is, a Riven, a Jayce or a Talon trades through spells rather than autos, and ten Haste on a champion whose main damage spell has an 8 second cooldown means the second rotation arrives half a second sooner in every trade, which over a lane is many extra casts. Does it hit as hard as a Pickaxe? No, a Pickaxe has five more Attack Damage for 175 gold less. Does it lead somewhere better? For casters, yes, because none of the thirteen Warhammer items can be built from a Pickaxe alone.

Is it gold efficient?

Comfortably: 114%. At the basic item rates (35 gold per point of Attack Damage, 50 per point of Haste) the damage comes to 700 gold and the Haste to 500, which puts 1,200 gold of stats behind a 1,050 gold price tag.

The surplus comes from the combine fee, which at 100 gold is one of the lowest in the shop for an epic item (the three components alone cost 950). Honestly, that fee is so small that holding two Long Swords and a Mote separately is never the right call once you can merge them, since the merge costs less than a potion and frees two slots. The sell price is 735 gold.

What does Caulfield’s Warhammer build into?

Thirteen items, covering nearly every physical damage caster build:

• Fighter items: Death’s Dance, Maw of Malmortius, Sundered Sky, Ravenous Hydra and Chempunk Chainsword.
• Assassin items: Eclipse, Hubris, Umbral Glaive, Axiom Arc and Serylda’s Grudge.
• Marksman and caster items: Essence Reaver, Manamune and Endless Hunger.

So a Warhammer bought early commits you to physical damage with Haste and to almost nothing else. Put simply, it is the Kindlegem of the AD world: a cheap, efficient piece that sits in the inventory while the game tells you which finished item it needs to become. The LoL items database lists all thirteen.

Who buys it?

AD casters and fighters whose damage comes from abilities: Riven, Jayce, Talon, Zed, Qiyana, Pantheon, Renekton, Aatrox, Camille and Gangplank on the top and mid side; Ezreal, Sivir, Lucian and Varus in bot lane on the way to Essence Reaver or Manamune; and most Lethality junglers. Who skips it? Crit marksmen whose items start from Zeal and B. F. Sword, on-hit champions, and anyone whose damage is in auto attacks rather than cooldowns, for whom the Haste is close to wasted.

The order of the three pieces is worth getting right on a short recall: the two Long Swords first, since they feed every physical damage item in the game, and the Glowing Mote last.

How has Caulfield’s Warhammer changed over the patches?

Twice since it appeared in patch 5.22 with the 2016 preseason, and both changes were small:

• Patch 14.6: Attack Damage 25 → 20.
• Patch 14.19: Cost 1100 → 1,050 gold.

Funny enough, the item went eight years without a single number change before 14.6, which is the longest quiet stretch of any physical damage component. For what it’s worth, the 14.6 nerf took 5 Attack Damage off when fighter items were running hot across the board, and the 50 gold discount two seasons later gave part of that value back.

When should you buy it?

On the first recall with 1,050 gold if your champion is an ability-based physical damage dealer, or on the second recall after a Long Sword start. There is rarely a reason to delay it in favour of a Pickaxe unless your first item is one of the few that needs both, like Death’s Dance, where the order depends on whether you want damage or cooldowns first. If you are still working out whether your champion counts as a caster in this sense, the guide to LoL roles covers how top lane fighters, mid lane assassins and bot lane carries deal their damage, and Caulfield’s Warhammer is the component the ability-based members of all three groups start with.

FAQ

How much does Caulfield’s Warhammer cost?

1,050 gold in patch 26.21; the three components account for 950 of that and the combine fee is 100 gold. It sells for 735 gold.

What stats does it give?

20 Attack Damage and 10 Ability Haste.

Does it have a passive?

No. It is a two-stat component.

How many items build from it?

Thirteen, including Death’s Dance, Eclipse, Essence Reaver, Manamune, Maw of Malmortius, Sundered Sky, Hubris and Serylda’s Grudge.

When was it last changed?

In patch 14.19, when the price dropped from 1100 to 1,050 gold. The Attack Damage went from 25 to 20 in patch 14.6.

Caulfield’s Warhammer or Pickaxe?

Pickaxe for more raw damage and the crit and fighter items that need one; Caulfield’s Warhammer if your champion casts for damage and your finished item is one of the thirteen above.