Doran’s Bow

Starter item · Patch 26.21 · numbers from Riot's Data Dragon files, refreshed every patch

Total cost400 g

Sells for160 g

Gold efficiency164%

Doran’s Bow stats

+8 Attack Damage
+15% Attack Speed
+1.5% Omnivamp

Gold efficiency

Stat	Amount	Gold per point	Gold value
Attack Damage	8	35 g	280 g
Attack Speed %	15	25 g	375 g
Total stat value			655 g

Gold efficiency = stat value ÷ item cost = 655 ÷ 400 = 164%. The gold per point comes from basic items of the same patch (for example, Long Sword: 35 g per Attack Damage). Passives and actives are not counted, and neither are Omnivamp (no basic item sells this stat alone).

Doran’s Bow patch history

Patch	Change
26.10	Attack Damage: 6 → 8
26.9	Added to the game data

We compare cost and stats patch by patch in Riot's Data Dragon files. "Effect text changed" means the passive or active wording changed in that patch.

Doran’s Bow is the newest of the Doran’s starting items in League of Legends, added in patch 26.9 for attack-speed champions: 8 Attack Damage, 15% Attack Speed and 1.5% Omnivamp for 400 gold in patch 26.21. No passive, no Health, nothing to build into; it is the on-hit player’s answer to Doran’s Blade.

What does Doran’s Bow give you?

Speed instead of bulk. Where Doran’s Blade spends its budget on Health, the Bow spends it on 15% Attack Speed, a Dagger and a half from minute one, with a smaller 8 Attack Damage and a sliver of 1.5% Omnivamp on the side.

That changes who it suits. A champion whose damage comes from hitting often rather than hitting hard (Kog'Maw, Vayne, Kai'Sa, Twitch, Varus in on-hit builds) gets more out of the Attack Speed than from the Blade’s Health, and on-hit effects from runes or abilities proc more often from the first wave. Thing is, you also give up the Health entirely, so a level two all-in against the Bow is scarier than against the Blade. Is the trade worth it? For a champion with a strong early on-hit kit, usually; for a crit marksman who wants to survive to item two, usually not.

Is Doran’s Bow gold efficient?

Extremely, on paper: 164%, with the Omnivamp left unpriced. The 8 Attack Damage is worth 280 gold at 35 gold per point and the 15% Attack Speed another 375 gold at 25 gold per 1%, for 655 gold of stats on a 400 gold item.

So the Bow is the most stat-efficient start in the shop by our numbers. The usual starting item caveat applies: the sell price is 160 gold, so the discount is a loan you repay when you sell, and the stats are only valuable if Attack Speed is what your champion wanted (on a Caitlyn it mostly is not). For the other two options at the same price point, Doran’s Blade gives Health and Doran’s Shield gives sustain.

Who should start with it?

On-hit marksmen first, then attack-speed junglers who do not take the pet (rare, but it happens), and melee champions who trade with auto attacks early, Jax and Irelia in some matchups, Master Yi almost never since he jungles. Honestly, the list is still settling, since the item has only existed for a handful of patches and players are still working out where the Attack Speed beats the Blade’s Health.

Who should avoid it? Crit marksmen with weak early games, anyone against a bot lane that will all-in at level two, and any champion whose first item is a B. F. Sword, since the Bow’s stats do nothing to speed that purchase up. In practice the Bow suits players who expect a farming lane and want to scale the Attack Speed side of their kit rather than survive a brawl.

How has Doran’s Bow changed over the patches?

Once, and quickly. Riot’s data first lists it in patch 26.9 with 6 Attack Damage, and patch 26.10 raised that to 8 a single patch later, which suggests the first version underperformed. The Attack Speed and Omnivamp have not changed. Funny enough, that makes it the only Doran’s item with a history short enough to fit in one sentence; the LoL items database has the full records of its older siblings for comparison.

When should you sell it?

When you need the sixth slot, like every Doran’s item. The 15% Attack Speed stays useful on an on-hit champion for the whole game, so there is no reason to sell early, and the 160 gold return would not buy anything worth having anyway. Put simply, treat it as a permanent fixture until full build. If you want to know which positions lean on Attack Speed in the first place, our guide to LoL roles covers the on-hit side of the marksman role, and Doran’s Bow is the start most of those champions will reach for now.