Oblivion Orb

Oblivion Orb is the cheap anti-heal item for mages in League of Legends: 25 Ability Power for 800 gold in patch 26.21, plus a Grievous Wounds passive that cuts enemy healing by 40% for 3 seconds whenever you deal magic damage to a champion. It is an Amplifying Tome with a 400 gold fee on top, and Morellonomicon is the only item it builds into.

What does Oblivion Orb do?

Two jobs, one of them small. The 25 AP barely beats the Tome underneath it, so nobody buys the Orb for damage.

The passive is the purchase. Any magic damage you deal to an enemy champion, from a spell, an auto attack with an AP on-hit, a burn from another item, applies 40% Wounds for 3 seconds, which means every heal, lifesteal tick and regen pulse on that target loses that share while the timer runs. Thing is, mages reapply it almost for free. A Brand or a Malzahar keeps the debuff up through the whole fight with damage over time, while a burst mage only needs to land one spell before the enemy drinks a potion or presses a healing ability. Does it stack with the Wounds from Executioner’s Calling or Bramble Vest? No, Grievous Wounds from different sources does not add up; the target just carries the strongest one applied.

Is Oblivion Orb gold efficient?

Not on paper: 63%. The current reference table prices Ability Power at 20 gold a point, so 25 AP comes to 500 gold, and the other 400 gold of the price pays for the passive.

Whether that is a bargain depends entirely on who is across the map. Against a Soraka, a Vladimir, a Swain or a Warwick who keeps out-healing your poke, the 400 gold buys more than a Needlessly Large Rod would, and it does so from the first back. Against a team with no healing worth the name, it is an Amplifying Tome with a surcharge. Honestly, that is the whole decision (the sell price of 560 gold means a wasted Orb costs you less than a ward or two in the end).

What does it build into?

One item: Morellonomicon, which keeps the Grievous Wounds and adds health and a lot more Ability Power.

In practice the Orb is a bookmark. You buy it on the recall where the enemy healing first becomes a problem, then finish the Morellonomicon whenever the rest of the build allows, often as the third item and sometimes never, if the game ends first. It is the mage mirror of the Bramble Vest habit in top lane: a small early buy that does most of the finished item’s job for a quarter of the price. The LoL items database lists the finished item’s current price beside it.

Who buys it?

Mid lane mages and AP junglers whenever the enemy comp heals: Brand, Malzahar, Lux, Syndra, Zoe, Ahri, Elise, Lillia, and most damage-over-time champions almost by default. AP supports pick it up against a healing bot lane, since Zyra or Brand poke can keep the Wounds applied on the marksman the entire laning phase. Who leaves it alone? Anyone whose damage is physical (the passive needs magic damage, and a Zed with an Orb does nothing with it), and enchanters, who have better things to spend 800 gold on.

One timing worth learning: buy it before the enemy sustain item comes online, not after. A Vladimir with a Riftmaker and no Wounds on him is a very different lane from the same Vladimir with the debuff applied on every Q trade, and the Orb is cheap enough that an early purchase rarely sets your main build back by more than a recall.

How has Oblivion Orb changed over the patches?

Seven entries since it appeared in patch 8.4, and a price cut that turned it into a different item:

• Patch 9.2: Cost 1500 → 1600 gold, Ability Power 25 → 20.
• Patch 10.23: Cost 1600 → 800 gold, Ability Power 20 → 30, with the 2021 item overhaul.
• Patch 12.11: Ability Power 30 → 35.
• Patch 13.3: Ability Power 35 → 30.
• Patch 14.19: Ability Power 30 → 25.
• Patches 11.1, 12.10, 12.11 and 13.3: Effect text changed as Riot rewrote Grievous Wounds across the game.

Put simply, the 10.23 halving in price is the change that matters. Before it the Orb was a mid-cost item you planned a build around; after it the Orb became a component you grab when the matchup asks, and the AP has drifted down ever since (five AP lost across two patches) because Riot wants the passive, not the stats, to be the reason you buy it. For what it’s worth, the 12.10 and 12.11 lines come from the durability update, the patch pair where Riot touched the Wounds numbers on this item, Morellonomicon and the AD anti-heal items in the same week.

When should you buy it?

On the first recall where you can see healing deciding trades, usually against a sustain top laner roaming mid, a Soraka or Yuumi bot, or a drain-tank jungler. Before that, an Amplifying Tome keeps the option open for 400 gold. Not sure whether your position is one that should be carrying the anti-heal? The guide to LoL roles covers who tends to hold it in a standard team, and in most comps the mid laner is the one who ends up carrying Oblivion Orb.

FAQ

How much does Oblivion Orb cost?

800 gold in patch 26.21: an Amplifying Tome plus a 400 gold combine fee. It sells for 560 gold.

What stats does it give?

25 Ability Power, plus the Grievous Wounds passive.

How does the Grievous Wounds passive work?

Dealing magic damage to an enemy champion applies 40% Wounds for 3 seconds, reducing all healing and regeneration they receive during that time.

Does it work with physical damage?

No. The passive triggers only on magic damage, so AD champions need a different Grievous Wounds source.

What does the Orb build into?

Morellonomicon only.

Is it worth finishing Morellonomicon right away?

Usually not. The Orb already applies the full Wounds, so the upgrade can wait until the extra Ability Power and health are the best use of your gold.