Death’s Dance

Death’s Dance is a 3,300 gold fighter item in League of Legends that gives 60 Attack Damage, 50 Armor and 15 Ability Haste in patch 26.21. Ignore Pain spreads part of the damage you take over 3 seconds, and Defy wipes that stored damage and heals you when a champion you recently hit dies.

What do Ignore Pain and Defy do?

Ignore Pain changes how damage reaches you. A percentage of every hit isn’t taken right away; it’s dealt to you over the next 3 seconds instead. Burst becomes a slow bleed, which buys time to finish your combo, walk away or get a shield from your support.

Defy is the payoff. When a champion you damaged in the last 3 seconds dies, the item cleanses whatever Ignore Pain damage is still waiting and restores Health over 2 seconds. Get a takedown mid-fight and the bleed simply disappears (that’s the moment the item feels best).

The catch? Riot’s data text doesn’t say how big the delayed share is or how much Defy heals, so check the in-game tooltip for those two numbers.

Is Death’s Dance gold efficient?

Yes, clearly. At 117%, it gives 3,850 gold of stats for 3,300 gold, before either passive.

The Attack Damage alone is worth 2,100 gold (35 gold per point), the Armor 1,000 and the Ability Haste 750. Honestly, few fighter items pack this much into one slot. Is it pricey? The number looks big, but the combine is only 275 gold, so you pay most of the cost on the way through the components.

Who should build it?

Attack Damage fighters who jump into the enemy team and need to survive the first wave of burst. Champions with lots of physical damage on top of mobility get the most out of it, since they can stay in long enough for Defy to trigger. The Armor makes it strongest against physical damage, of course, though the delay works on every damage type (magic included).

Thing is, squishy marksmen rarely buy it. For them, Guardian Angel is the usual safety item, while fighters who want a shield rather than a delay often look at Sterak’s Gage. Many bruisers end up buying both in long games.

What does it build from?

Steel Sigil (1,100 gold), Pickaxe (875 gold) and Caulfield’s Warhammer (1,050 gold), then a 275 gold combine. Caulfield’s Warhammer gives Attack Damage with haste and is usually the first piece; Steel Sigil brings the Armor. Nothing builds out of the finished item.

How has Death’s Dance changed?

It’s been in Riot’s data since patch 10.23, with the stats shuffled almost every season:

• Patch 13.3: Attack Damage 55 → 65, Armor 45 → 50, Ability Haste removed.
• Patch 13.7: Attack Damage 65 → 55, Armor 50 → 45, Ability Haste back at 15.
• Patch 14.1: cost 3,300 → 3,200 gold, Armor 45 → 40.
• Patch 14.9: Attack Damage 55 → 60.
• Patch 14.15: Armor 40 → 50.
• Patch 14.19: cost 3,200 → 3,300 gold.

To be fair, patch 13.3 was undone four patches later, almost to the number. The table above lists the 2021 and 2022 changes too, and our LoL items database has the same kind of record for every other fighter item.

When is it the right buy?

When you’re a bruiser facing a lot of physical burst and you expect to get takedowns in fights. In practice, it’s usually a second or third item after your damage core. Our guide to LoL roles explains where fighters play; for Attack Damage bruisers in top lane and jungle, Death’s Dance is one of the most common defensive picks.

FAQ

How much does Death’s Dance cost?

3,300 gold, of which 275 is the combine cost, and it sells for 2,310 gold.

How long is damage delayed by Ignore Pain?

The delayed part of the damage is dealt over 3 seconds.

What triggers Defy?

It triggers when a champion you hit in the last 3 seconds dies.

Which stats does it give?

60 Attack Damage, 50 Armor and 15 Ability Haste.

What does it build from?

Steel Sigil, Pickaxe and Caulfield’s Warhammer.