Description
Damage Falloff is when an area ability pays full damage to one target and less to the rest.
Read moreShow less about Damage Falloff
The big number in the tooltip is the best case, not what every enemy takes. There are two shapes.
Distance falloff measures how far a hex is from the centre of the blast. Ahri's orb takes 20% off for every hex away from where it lands.
Pierce falloff counts bodies instead. Every line-shaped ability in the roster uses it. These cut their damage again for each enemy the shot has already passed through:
- Ashe's arrow.
- Varus's arrow.
- Ezreal's blast.
- Elder Dragon's fire.
- Every version of Lux's laser.
Both shapes stop at a floor written into the ability. The floor is usually between a fifth and half of the listed number. So the last enemy in a long line still takes a real hit.
Note: Aim line abilities at a long row of enemies for total damage. If you need one enemy dead, fewer bodies in front of it is better.
What enables Damage Falloff (15)
Champions with Damage Falloff effects (15)
Cost selected
Trait selected
Scaling selected
Range selected
Role selected
15 shown · 6 team slots — forms of one champion share a slot
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Piercing Arrow Wind up, then fire an arrow at the most enemies in line with the target. It deals 445 / 670 / 1070 physical damage to enemies hit, reduced by 40% for each enemy it passes through (minimum 40%). -
Spirit Bomb Launch a spirit bomb at the location within 4 hexes that has the most surrounding enemies. It deals 455 / 685 / 3500 magic damage to enemies in a 3 hex radius, reduced by 21% per hex away from the epicenter. -
Forest's Flurry Blink away from the current target, deal 270 / 405 / 1200 physical damage to them, and gain 30 / 30 / 100% Attack Speed. Every 4th cast consumes the Attack Speed granted from Forest's Flurry and fires a blast through the largest group of enemies that deals 385 / 580 / 2500 physical damage, reduced by 25% for each enemy it passes through (minimum 50%).
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Spirit Rift Fire an arrow through the most enemies in a line that deals 465 / 700 / 1000 physical damage, reduced by 80 / 80 / 40% per enemy hit (minimum 20%). If no enemies are hit refund 70% of mana spent. The arrow leaves a trail for 3 / 3 / 20 seconds that deals 11 / 17 / 220 + 1.5 / 1.5 / 10% max Health physical damage per second to enemies within and 20% Slows them. Slow: Reduce Attack Speed
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Heat Without Equal Passive: Attacks deal 75 / 75 / 100% damage to enemies adjacent to the target. Active: Become invulnerable and fly into the air. On return, stun all enemies for 1.25 / 1.25 / 99 seconds, gain 15 / 15 / 100% Omnivamp, and Ignite them for 3 / 3 / 99 seconds. Ignited enemies take 2 / 2 / 20% max Health physical damage per second. Replace this ability with Flame Breath and immediately cast it. Flame Breath: Spew fire at the most enemies in a line through the target, dealing 305 / 465 / 7200 physical damage, reduced by 20% for each enemy it passes through (minimum 20%.) Ignite those enemies for 3 / 3 / 99 seconds. Elder Dragon Buff: Damaging an enemy below 12% Health executes them. -
Final Spark Passive: On cast, all allies that share a trait with Lux gain 3 / 3 / 100 mana. Active: Fire a laser towards the largest group of enemies that deals 375 / 565 / 6500 magic damage, reduced by 25 / 25 / 10% for each enemy hit.
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Final Spark Passive: On cast, all allies that share a trait with Lux gain 3 / 3 / 100 mana. Active: Fire a laser towards the most enemies in a line that deals 375 / 565 / 6500 magic damage, reduced by 25 / 25 / 10% for each enemy hit (minimum 40%). Blackthorn Bonus: Stuns targets hit for 1 second.
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Final Spark Passive: On cast, all allies that share a trait with Lux gain 3 / 3 / 100 mana. Active: Fire a laser towards the most enemies in a line that deals 375 / 565 / 6500 magic damage, reduced by 25 / 25 / 10% for each enemy hit (minimum 40%). Blossom Bonus: The first target hit is dealt 10% bonus damage.
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Final Spark Passive: On cast, all allies that share a trait with Lux gain 3 / 3 / 100 mana. Active: Fire a laser towards the most enemies in a line that deals 375 / 565 / 6500 magic damage, reduced by 25 / 25 / 10% for each enemy hit (minimum 40%). Coven Bonus: Reduces the Armor and Magic Resist of targets hit by 8 for the rest of combat.
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Final Spark Passive: On cast, all allies that share a trait with Lux gain 3 / 3 / 100 mana. Active: Fire a laser towards the most enemies in a line that deals 375 / 565 / 6500 magic damage, reduced by 25 / 25 / 10% for each enemy hit (minimum 40%). Elderwood Bonus: Casts grant all allies 2.5% increased max Health for the rest of combat.
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Final Spark Passive: On cast, all allies that share a trait with Lux gain 3 / 3 / 100 mana. Active: Fire a laser towards the most enemies in a line that deals 375 / 565 / 6500 magic damage, reduced by 25 / 25 / 10% for each enemy hit (minimum 40%). Fae Bonus: Heals the lowest percent Health ally for 18% of ability damage dealt.
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Final Spark Passive: On cast, all allies that share a trait with Lux gain 3 / 3 / 100 mana. Active: Fire a laser towards the most enemies in a line that deals 375 / 565 / 6500 magic damage, reduced by 25 / 25 / 10% for each enemy hit (minimum 40%). Inferno Bonus: Restores 10 mana per takedown.
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Final Spark Passive: On cast, all allies that share a trait with Lux gain 3 / 3 / 100 mana. Active: Fire a laser towards the most enemies in a line that deals 375 / 565 / 6500 magic damage, reduced by 25 / 25 / 10% for each enemy hit (minimum 40%). Lunar Bonus: Applies 8% Vulnerable to enemies hit for 4 seconds. Vulnerable: Increases damage taken
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Final Spark Passive: On cast, all allies that share a trait with Lux gain 3 / 3 / 100 mana. Active: Fire a laser towards the most enemies in a line that deals 375 / 565 / 6500 magic damage, reduced by 25 / 25 / 10% for each enemy hit (minimum 40%). Primal Bonus: Gain 60% Attack Speed for 6 seconds after cast.
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Final Spark Passive: On cast, all allies that share a trait with Lux gain 3 / 3 / 100 mana. Active: Fire a laser towards the most enemies in a line that deals 375 / 565 / 6500 magic damage, reduced by 25 / 25 / 10% for each enemy hit (minimum 40%). Solar Bonus: Deal 15% bonus damage. For each unique 3-star champion fielded, deal an additional 12% bonus damage.
See also
Frequently asked questions
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Why does my ability deal less damage than the tooltip says to most of the enemies it hits?
Some area and line abilities pay the full listed number to one enemy, then cut it for each later enemy.
The tooltip prints that full figure and names the reduction beside it. So the tooltip is the best case, not the average.
Two shapes exist.
- One measures distance: every hex away from the blast's centre takes a set percentage off.
- The other counts bodies: the shot loses damage again for each enemy it has already passed through.
Note: The ability text holds the exact percentage.
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Does the first enemy hit still take the full listed damage?
Yes. One enemy pays the full price.
- In a blast, that is anything on the centre hex, where zero hexes away means zero reduction.
- In a line shot, it is the first body the shot passes through, since nothing has been pierced yet.
Everyone after pays less. A tooltip number is honest about one target and optimistic about the rest.
Note: The line is aimed to cross the most enemies. So the unit the caster picked is not always the first one the shot reaches.
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Does the reduction get bigger for every extra enemy, or is it one flat cut?
It repeats. Each extra hex of distance, or each extra body already pierced, applies the cut again.
So an enemy four deep loses far more than the second one. That is why damage at the far end of a wide area drops fast rather than gently.
The per-step percentage is written into each ability and varies widely.
- Some take a fifth off per step.
- Others take four fifths off per step.
So read the ability text. Positioning is the lever you actually hold.
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Can falloff cut the damage down to almost nothing on the last enemy in a line?
Mostly, but not always.
Most falloff abilities name a floor. That is a minimum share of the listed number they will always pay. In practice it sits between a fifth and a half. Once the steps reach it, further hexes or bodies cost nothing more.
Some carry no floor at all. There the reduction simply keeps stepping, though a small blast radius can bound it anyway.
Note: Do not assume a shared safety net. Read the ability text for whether a minimum exists and what it is.
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Does more Ability Power, damage amplification, or a star-up cancel out falloff?
No. The cut is a percentage of the ability's damage.
Raising that damage raises what every target takes. The share each later target keeps stays the same.
- More Ability Power or damage amp lifts the whole curve rather than flattening it.
- The second enemy keeps the same fraction of a bigger number.
- A star-up raises those numbers too.
Note: The per-step percentage and any floor come from the ability text, not from what you build. So the real lever is fewer bodies in the way.
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Is falloff the same as Armor and Magic Resist cutting the damage?
No, and both apply.
- Falloff belongs to the attacking ability and decides how big the hit is, based on where each enemy stands relative to the shot.
- Armor, Magic Resist and Durability belong to the defender and cut what actually lands.
They are separate systems. So a far enemy with high resists takes a reduced number reduced again.
Note: Stripping resists never gives back what falloff removed.
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Do the ability's debuffs and side effects also get weaker on the later enemies?
Usually not. Falloff is written on the damage number only.
When the same ability also stuns, slows, cuts Armor or Magic Resist, or applies a burn, that rider is different. It is written as a flat amount and duration for every enemy hit. So the last body in the line normally gets the same one as the first.
That makes such an ability a strong spreader of crowd control and Shred, even when its damage sits at the floor.
Note: Read the text. A few riders single out only the first target.
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Does falloff apply to basic attacks, or only to abilities?
It is an ability rule. A basic attack picks one target and pays it in full. Attacking into a crowd never weakens it.
Confusion comes from effects that give attacks extra targets.
- Those splash hits can pay a reduced share.
- But it is a single fixed percentage written into the effect that granted them, not a step-by-step falloff.
- Whether they carry full on-hit effects is that effect's business too.
Note: Falloff itself appears only on area and line ability damage.
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As the defender, should I spread my units out so line abilities hit fewer of them?
It cuts both ways, because the ability aims itself.
These shots pick the line or spot covering the most enemies. So they follow whatever shape you make.
- Clumping guarantees a full row is caught. The first unit eats the whole number, and each one behind it pays a shrinking share, down to the ability's written floor.
- Spreading means fewer are caught, but each takes closer to full.
Note: Check that floor before deciding. Look at how fast it drops, and how low it stops.
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Is this the same damage falloff as in League of Legends?
The idea is shared, but the controls are not.
The MOBA also has hits that pay less at the edge of a blast and less after piercing a body. There you aim each spell and pick the angle.
This is an autobattler. Units choose their own targets, and the ability picks its own line, usually the one crossing the most enemies. Your input is where you place the board beforehand.
Note: Do not carry percentages or floors across. The numbers are unrelated.