Cloth Armor

Cloth Armor is the basic Armor component in League of Legends: 15 Armor for 300 gold in patch 26.22, with no passive and nothing beneath it. Ten items build out of it, including Plated Steelcaps, Chain Vest, Bramble Vest, Warden’s Mail and Seeker’s Armguard, and it has not changed once in Riot’s data since 2013 or earlier.

What does Cloth Armor do?

It adds 15 Armor. Armor reduces the physical damage you take by a percentage that grows with the number, so the same 15 points matter more at level two than at level twelve, when your champion already has a fair amount of base Armor.

That early weighting is the whole reason the item exists. Against an auto attack lane bully, one bought at minute four cuts a surprising share of the damage from each trade, and it does so for less than the price of a Long Sword (the lane equivalent of putting on a coat before going out). Does it help against a mage? Not at all, which is the classic beginner mistake with this item: buying Armor because you are losing lane, without checking whether the damage is physical. Against Lux it is 300 gold of nothing.

Is it worth the gold?

Exactly even. It is the reference item our efficiency numbers use to price Armor, at 20 gold per point, so 15 Armor comes out at 300 gold and the item sits at 100% for 300 gold.

Selling returns 210 gold. In practice you rarely sell one, because almost anything you build later can absorb it, and that is the real value here: a 300 gold piece that is never dead weight in a tank or support inventory. The Chain Vest one tier up gives much more Armor for the gold, so the Cloth is for when you cannot afford the Vest yet, not an alternative to it.

What does Cloth Armor build into?

Ten items, mostly on the defensive side:

• Boots: Plated Steelcaps, the tank boots against attackers.
• Armor components: Chain Vest, Bramble Vest, Warden’s Mail, Seeker’s Armguard, Glacial Buckler and Steel Sigil.
• Support items: Locket of the Iron Solari, Zeke’s Convergence and Bandlepipes.

So one Cloth Armor keeps a tank’s whole build open and a support’s too. Thing is, the Steelcaps path is the one most players actually use, since boots are a first or second recall for everyone and the Cloth plus Boots is a common way to spend 600 gold against a marksman who is winning lane. All ten, with prices, are in the LoL items database.

Who buys it?

Tanks, top laners against physical damage, junglers who got chunked on their first clear and supports planning Locket or Zeke’s. Honestly, it is also one of the better emergency buys in the game for a marksman who is losing lane to another marksman, since 300 gold of Armor on a recall costs very little tempo. Mages and anyone facing a magic damage lane should leave it alone.

How has it changed over the patches?

It hasn’t. Riot’s data lists it at 300 gold with 15 Armor from 2013 or earlier and records no change since, which puts it in a very small group of items that have survived every item overhaul untouched. Funny enough, that stability is why so many finished items are built from it: Riot can rebalance the items above without ever touching the floor.

When should you buy it?

On an early recall when the enemy laner or jungler deals physical damage and you have 300 to 500 gold to spend. A Cloth and a potion is a perfectly good recall at minute four. Boring? Yes, and it wins lanes (ask any top laner who survived a Draven bot roam with it). For what it’s worth, it is also a fine starting item for a few junglers who plan to rush Bramble Vest, though most prefer the jungle pet starter (the pet’s healing is simply worth more in the first clear). If you are still deciding whether a tanky lane or a damage lane suits you, the guide to LoL roles covers how top laners and supports spend early gold, and Cloth Armor is in most of their first buys.

FAQ

How much does Cloth Armor cost?

300 gold in patch 26.22; it sells for 210 gold.

What stat does it give?

15 Armor.

Does it have a passive?

No, it is a flat Armor component.

What does it build into?

Plated Steelcaps, Chain Vest, Bramble Vest, Warden’s Mail, Seeker’s Armguard, Glacial Buckler, Steel Sigil, Locket of the Iron Solari, Zeke’s Convergence and Bandlepipes.

Has it ever been changed?

Not in Riot’s data. The cost and the Armor have stayed the same since at least 2013.