Best Items in League of Legends Season 16

League of Legends Season 16 has shaken up the item system in a big way, changing how champions scale, spike, and carry games across every role. With balance updates, reworked effects, and new build paths, picking the right items matters more than ever if you want to win consistently. Some items now offer massive early pressure, while others shine in extended fights or late-game teamfights, making smart itemization a key skill for climbing. In this guide, we break down the best items in League of Legends Season 16, explaining why they’re strong, who they work best on, and how they can help you take control of your games.

Best AP items in League of Legends Season 16

Ability Power items are a huge part of what makes mages and AP champions feel strong in Season 16. These items directly increase how much damage your abilities deal and are essential for champions that rely on spells to carry fights. Whether you’re playing burst mages, AP bruisers, or scaling control champions, picking the right AP items can completely change the outcome of a game.

Rabadon’s Deathcap

Rabadon’s Deathcap is still the strongest item when it comes to raw AP scaling. It provides a massive amount of ability power and then boosts your total AP even further, making every spell hit noticeably harder. This item works best later in the game, after you’ve already built a few AP items, and is especially powerful on champions with high AP ratios who want to maximize burst damage.

Bloodletter’s Curse

Bloodletter’s Curse offers a strong mix of damage, health, and utility, making it one of the most well-rounded AP items this season. Instead of relying on instant burst, it weakens enemies over time by reducing their magic resistance through ability damage. This makes it a great choice for AP champions that stay in fights longer, especially tankier mages who want both durability and consistent damage.

Shadowflame

Shadowflame is an excellent option for champions focused on quick kills and heavy burst. It provides high ability power along with bonus damage against shielded enemies, making it very effective in games where shields are common. If you’re looking to break through defensive supports and delete carries fast, Shadowflame is one of the best tools available.

Riftmaker

Riftmaker is designed for extended fights and sustained damage. It slowly increases your damage the longer you stay in combat and rewards you with extra sustain once fully stacked. This item works best on champions who don’t rely on instant burst and instead want to outlast opponents while steadily dealing damage, especially those who benefit from both health and ability power.

Overall, AP items in Season 16 cover a wide range of playstyles, from explosive burst builds to durable, long-fight setups. Choosing the right items based on your champion and the enemy team will help you get the most value out of your abilities and consistently perform better in your games.

Best AD Items in League of Legends Season 16

Attack Damage items are the backbone of many carries in Season 16, especially ADCs and some assassins that rely on strong auto attacks to take over games. These items directly increase how hard you hit, and when built correctly, just a few seconds of free damage can force enemies to retreat or get deleted instantly. Champions like Ashe, Caitlyn, and other crit-focused carries get massive value from the right AD item setup.

Infinity Edge

Infinity Edge remains one of the most important items for crit-based champions. It massively boosts critical strike damage, turning every crit into a real threat. Once you’ve built enough crit chance, this item becomes a huge power spike and is usually at its best in mid to late game fights where damage truly matters.

The Collector

The Collector is designed for snowballing and clean finishes. Its execute effect helps secure kills on low-health enemies before they can escape, making it extremely strong in skirmishes and fast teamfights. This item works especially well on marksmen and assassins who want to keep pressure high and close out fights quickly.

Kraken Slayer

Kraken Slayer excels at dealing steady damage, particularly against tanky opponents. Its on-hit effect rewards extended fights and helps shred high-health targets over time. If the enemy team is stacking health and armor, Kraken Slayer is one of the most reliable choices to stay effective throughout the match.

Lord Dominik’s Regards

Lord Dominik’s Regards is a go-to item when facing heavy frontline comps. It offers strong armor penetration and performs even better against enemies with more maximum health. In longer fights, this item makes a huge difference by letting you cut through tanks instead of getting stuck hitting a wall.

Overall, AD items in Season 16 offer strong options for both burst and sustained damage. Picking the right combination based on your champion and the enemy team is key to consistently carrying games.

Best Tank Items in League of Legends Season 16

Tanks play a huge role in Season 16, acting as the frontline that soaks pressure and creates space so carries can actually play the game. The right tank items don’t just make you harder to kill, they let you control fights, absorb cooldowns, and stay relevant deep into the late game. These items are some of the strongest choices right now for champions building full durability.

Jak’Sho, The Protean

Jak’Sho, The Protean is one of the best scaling options for tanks that want to thrive in extended fights. It rewards staying in combat by steadily increasing your defenses, making you harder to bring down the longer a fight lasts. This item shines in teamfights where you’re constantly surrounded by enemies and need both armor and magic resistance to ramp up over time.

Hollow Radiance

Hollow Radiance fills the role of a modern Sunfire-style item. It gives a solid mix of health, magic resistance, and ability haste, while also providing consistent area damage around you. This makes it great for tanks who want better wave clear and constant pressure in fights, especially against AP-heavy teams.

Kaenic Rookern

Kaenic Rookern is a strong answer to burst magic damage. Its built-in shield activates after avoiding damage for a short time, giving you extra protection before a fight even starts. This makes it especially useful against mages who rely on quick combos to delete targets, letting you survive the initial burst and stay in the fight.

Heartsteel

Heartsteel is all about raw health scaling. It turns tanks into massive frontline threats by stacking bonus health over time, making you harder to ignore with every proc. The extra size and durability also help with zoning and presence in fights, forcing enemies to deal with you or risk losing control of the battlefield.

Overall, tank items in Season 16 are extremely strong when built with purpose. Choosing the right mix based on enemy damage types and fight length can turn you into an unkillable wall that wins games simply by existing in the right place at the right time.

Best Lethality Items in League of Legends Season 16

Tanks might be running the frontline in Season 16, but lethality builds are still one of the best ways to punish them, especially if you’re playing an assassin or burst-focused champion. Lethality items let you cut through armor early, pick off priority targets, and snowball fights before tanks can fully scale. If you’re tired of dealing with champions like Malphite or Galio soaking everything, these are some of the strongest lethality options right now.

Duskblade of Draktharr

Duskblade of Draktharr remains a top-tier choice for assassins who thrive on quick kills and clean exits. It provides a solid mix of attack damage, ability haste, and lethality, but what really makes it shine is its passive. Extra damage against low-health targets helps secure kills, and the brief untargetable window after a takedown gives you a chance to reposition or escape without instantly getting punished. It’s perfect for champions that want to dive in, delete someone, and disappear.

Youmuu’s Ghostblade

Youmuu’s Ghostblade is all about speed and pressure. Alongside its attack damage and lethality, it gives strong movement bonuses that make roaming and flanking much easier. The active movement boost lets you engage faster or chase down fleeing enemies, while the passive out-of-combat speed helps you move around the map efficiently. This item is especially strong on champions that rely on tempo and map control to stay ahead.

Edge of Night

Edge of Night adds a layer of safety to aggressive playstyles. It offers good offensive stats, but the real value comes from its spell shield, which can block a crucial ability before a fight even starts. This makes it much easier to engage without getting instantly shut down by crowd control or burst. It’s a great pickup when facing teams with dangerous engage tools or point-and-click abilities.

Overall, lethality items in Season 16 reward smart positioning and decisive play. If you can find the right angle, strike first, and avoid getting locked down, these items give you everything you need to break through defenses and control fights before tanks can take over.

Best Crit Items in League of Legends Season 16

Crit builds aren’t as dominant as they were in older seasons, but they’re far from useless. Champions like Ashe, Miss Fortune, Jinx, or even some off-meta picks can still take over games once their crit chance and crit damage come online. When built correctly, these items turn steady auto-attacks into fight-ending damage, especially in longer skirmishes and late-game teamfights.

Infinity Edge

Infinity Edge is still the backbone of almost every crit-focused build. It provides a big chunk of attack damage and critical strike chance, but its real power comes from massively boosting crit damage. Once this item is completed, every critical hit feels noticeably stronger, making it a huge mid-to-late game spike for ADCs that rely on consistent autos to carry fights.

Immortal Shieldbow

Immortal Shieldbow is the go-to option when survivability matters. It gives solid damage stats while also offering a lifesaving shield when your health drops low. This makes it especially valuable against burst-heavy comps, allowing marksmen to survive long enough to reposition, get peel, and keep dealing damage instead of getting instantly deleted.

Essence Reaver

Essence Reaver is perfect for champions that mix auto-attacks with frequent ability usage. Along with attack damage and crit chance, it solves mana issues by restoring mana on-hit, letting you cast spells far more often in extended fights. This item shines on champions that rely on abilities to enable their damage rather than pure auto-attacking.

Galeforce

Galeforce adds mobility to crit builds, which can be game-changing in the right hands. It combines attack damage, attack speed, crit chance, and movement speed with an active dash that can be used aggressively or defensively. The bonus execute-style damage on its missiles helps finish off low-health targets, while the dash gives you a way to dodge key abilities or reposition during tense fights.

Overall, crit items in Season 16 reward good spacing and patience. If you can stay alive, kite properly, and hit your power spikes, these items still let ADCs and crit-based champions take control of games when it matters most.

Best Support Items in League of Legends Season 16

A strong ADC can only do so much without proper support, and Season 16 continues to reward players who build smart support items instead of chasing damage or farm. Whether you’re playing an enchanter, tank, or engage support, these items let you scale, protect teammates, and impact fights without taking gold away from your carry. Picking the right support items is often the difference between winning lane and controlling the entire game.

Moonstone Renewer

Moonstone Renewer remains one of the best options for healing-focused supports. It gives ability power, ability haste, health, and strong mana regeneration, making it perfect for champions who constantly shield or heal. Its passive causes your heals and shields to bounce to nearby allies, spreading value across the team during extended fights. If no other teammate is close, the original target simply gets stronger healing or shielding, which makes Moonstone reliable in both small skirmishes and full teamfights.

Knight’s Vow

Knight’s Vow is a classic choice for tank and peel supports who want to protect a single carry. It provides armor, health, ability haste, and health regeneration, but its real strength comes from its bond effect. By linking yourself to a teammate, you redirect a portion of the damage they take onto yourself while also healing based on the damage they deal. This item is especially powerful when paired with a fed ADC or mid laner who needs extra protection to stay alive.

Locket of the Iron Solari

Locket of the Iron Solari is still one of the strongest defensive actives in the game. It offers a mix of armor, magic resistance, health, and ability haste, making it ideal against burst-heavy team comps. Its active shield protects you and nearby allies, often saving teammates from lethal damage during engages or surprise fights. Timing this shield well can completely turn a fight around.

Shurelya’s Battlesong

Shurelya’s Battlesong is all about tempo and movement. It grants ability power, ability haste, mana regeneration, and bonus movement speed, making it a favorite for roaming and engage supports. Its active gives a large movement speed boost to nearby allies, which is perfect for starting fights, disengaging, or helping your team rotate quickly across the map. In coordinated play, Shurelya’s can decide fights before they even begin.

Overall, support items in Season 16 reward awareness and decision-making. Whether you’re keeping your carry alive, enabling engages, or controlling the pace of fights, these items let you have massive impact without needing kills or farm to feel useful.

Conclusion

The best items in League of Legends Season 16 reward smart choices more than ever. Whether you’re playing a burst mage, scaling ADC, frontline tank, assassin, or dedicated support, building the right items at the right time can completely change how a game plays out. Season 16 favors flexibility, meaning there’s no single “perfect” build every match, and adapting to enemy comps, game pace, and your role is key. If you understand what each item is meant to do and why it’s strong, you’ll consistently feel more impactful in fights, survive longer, and close out games more reliably. Choosing the right items isn’t just about damage numbers anymore, it’s about making your champion work at their absolute best.