Quote (Koldhearted @ Apr 5 2011 08:46pm)
it should be pretty obvious...
i suck hard at math but, should be obvious if they have 10 armor, a LW will only pierce through 4, vs a black cleaver putting them into negative
not only this but also the order of reduction. If you get flat pen or -armor aura items, lw is useless. if you only want to buy 1 armor pen item and you focus your reds on ad/as/crit then go for the LW.
order for armor reducing effects:
-armor aura > -flat armor(Runes>Masteries>Items) > %reduction to armor.
example:
Runes, 25ArP
Masteries, 6ArP
Items, Starks (20ArP Aura) LW(-40% ArP)
Enemy Armor:
50
Auras applied: 50-20 = 30
Runes applied: 30-25 = 5
Masteries Applied: 5 - 6 = 0**
Flat ArP Items applied: -------------------
Percent Based Reduction applied: 0-0=0
Value of LW = 0
Enemy Armor:
100
Auras applied: 100-20 = 80
Runes applied: 80-25 = 55
Masteries Applied: 55 - 6 = 49
Flat ArP Items applied: -------------------
Percent Based Reduction applied: 49 x0.6 = 29.4
Value of LW = ~20
Enemy Armor:
150
Auras applied: 150-20 = 130
Runes applied: 130-25 = 105
Masteries Applied: 105 - 6 = 99
Flat ArP Items applied: -------------------
Percent Based Reduction applied: 99 x0.6 = 59.4
Value of LW = ~40
Enemy Armor:
200
Auras applied: 200-20 = 180
Runes applied: 180-25 = 155
Masteries Applied: 155 - 6 = 149
Flat ArP Items applied: -------------------
Percent Based Reduction applied: 149 x0.6 = 89.4
Value of LW = ~60
**AFAIK: ONLY auras can take armor into the negatives
Now if we add a BC into there for kicks LW becomes even more useless.
ANYWHO For those who just blinked and typed tl:dr, LW sucks unless its by itself. If you play a hero that synergized well with it, aka has other % reducing abilities, think about removing ArP from your masteries/runes and just getting a LW as your offensive item. Easy Example is Jarvan and his poke, with LW alone + poke he has 68% armor pen, thats huge and crazy cost efficient. Otherwise, stick to ArP runes and flat items/auras.
This post was edited by Tetu_880 on Apr 5 2011 07:19pm