abyssal mask guide

Abyssal Mask Guide

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Abyssal Mask is a caster item with a strong cursing effect that can reduce the magic resistance of opponents within a radius. It is classified as a legendary item, and you can purchase it on Summoner’s Rift and Wild Rift.

Given how the item works, it is best in the hands of melee champions. Buying Abyssal Mask on a traditional mage makes little sense, given that most of these characters have to stay in the back. Someone like Fiddlestick or Kassadin are rare exceptions as they need to stay close to enemies to be effective.

In this Abyssal Mask Guide, I will review the item, its stats, history of changes and share a few optimal builds.

Key Info Up Front

Abyssal Mask is a strong caster/tank item that reduces enemies’ magic resistance. It gives wearer health, ability haste, magic resistance, and you can’t have more than one Abyssal Mask in your inventory.

Abyssal Mask Basic Info

league of legends

Abyssal Mask has some similarities with Evenshroud, Force of Nature, Gargoyle Stoneplate, and Spirit Visage. If we’re talking about unique passives, Abyssal Mask’s Unmake is somewhat similar to Evenshroud’s Coruscation.

The magical mask costs 2,700 gold, and you can sell it for 1,890 gold. To assemble Abyssal Mask, you require Spectre’s Cowl that costs 1,250 gold (made from Null-Magic Mantle, Ruby Crystal, and a recipe), Kindlegem that costs 800 gold (requires Ruby Crystal and a recipe), and a 650-gold Abyssal Mask recipe.

Abyssal Mask Stats and Uniques

Abyssal Mask isn’t particularly gold efficient. Its base stats are 74.32% efficient, putting them in the lower tier of League of Legends artifacts. However, the overall usefulness of the item will vary depending on how you use it.

To maximize its potential, you need to stay close to as many enemies as possible. So, its actual efficiency can vary based on several factors, including enemies’ positioning in team fights. Among others, Abyssal Mask works the best against a team that has 3 or more melee characters.

When talking about stats, the mask gives you 10 ability haste, 450 health, and 30 magic resistance. This makes it more of a defensive item. However, its unique passive Unmake compensates for this flaw. This effect will curse all the enemies in a 550 radius around the champion. As long as they remain within this area, they will take extra magic damage.

Unmake reduces opponents’ magic resistance by 5 + 1% bonus health. The item alone will reduce magic resistance by 9.5% (4.5% from 450 health). Keep in mind that you can’t lower the resistance by more than 20. In other words, you would need to have a total of 1,500 bonus health to maximize its potential.

At the same time, your champion will receive 7 extra magic resistance for every enemy that is being cursed by the effect. You can only apply one curse on enemies.

Abyssal Mask History of Changes

abysal mask

Although Abyssal Mask is pretty weak in this current patch, it was excellent throughout several patches. It is a relatively new item introduced in the 7.11 patch. Abyssal Mask replaced Abyssal Scepter, an item that often felt counterintuitive. Basically, the scepter’s stats and passive never matched each other, which is why it was bought on a handful of champions.

The first iteration of the mask required Negatron Cloak, Spectre’s Cowl, and a recipe. It cost 2,800 gold and would provide 65 magic resist, 10% cooldown reduction, 300 health, and 100% health regeneration. It also had a special aura amplifying magic damage that nearby opponents took by 10%. The aura worked in a 500 radius.

Soon after its introduction, the item received a major rework. Its recipe was changed, now requiring Catalyst of Aeons instead of Specre’s Cowl. Abyssal Mask’s price went from 2,800 to 2,900 gold.

In terms of the stats, it would no longer provide health regeneration, and its magic resistance component was reduced from 65 to 55. However, it now provided 300 mana and 350 health (instead of 300). The mask also received a new unique called Eternity. This effect would restore mana equal to 15% of the damage that enemies took from you. When you spent mana, it would restore health equal to 20% of mana used for up to 25 mana per cast. If you used a toggle ability, it would heal 25 health per second.

Patch 7.17 and Onward

ingame mask

The item could be upgraded to Infernal Mask from patch 7.17 onward. However, you would need Ornn on your team. In version 8.6, the aura’s range experienced a major nerf being reduced from 700 to 325. However, damage amplification to enemies was increased from 10% to 15%.

The developers also fixed a minor bug classifying the effect as a spell. In version 8.7, the aura type was altered, and it would now work from edge to center. The following Abyssal Mask update increased the item price from 2,900 gold to 3,000 gold. Similarly, Infernal Mask’s price went from 3,900 gold to 4,000 gold.

In the following few patches, all the changes pertained to Infernal Mask. After patch 9.1, the item’s cost was reduced from 4,000 gold to 3,000 gold. Infernal Mask could only be created by Ornn for his allies. In patch 9.8, Infernal Mask’s bonuses were slightly increased. The magical artifact would now provide 750 health instead of 550, and its magic resistance went from 90 to 100.

Patch 10.23 Changes

The item experienced great changes during patch 10.23 (like many other League of Legends items, among others). Instead of Negatron Cloak and Catalyst of Aeons, you would now require Negatron Cloak and Giant’s Belt for the formula. The mask’s price was reduced from 3,000 gold to 2,700 gold.

In terms of the stats, the item became more focused. It no longer gave cooldown reduction and mana. Health gain remained the same, and you would get 5 extra magic resistance totaling 60.

However, the biggest change had to do with passives. A champion would no longer gain access to Eternity, nor would you dish extra 15% damage to a nearby champion. Instead, Abyssal Mask now had Unmake. The first iteration of unique passives would trigger against immobilized enemies. You would deal extra 10% damage to enemies affected by sleep, stun, and similar effects. Unmake lasted 4 seconds.

Unlike most other items, Abyssal Mask didn’t get an updated icon in the 10.23 patch. This mistake was remedied in version 10.24.

Patch 11.10 brought a few additional changes. The health bonus was increased from 350 to 400. Unmake passives would now deal 15% damage, and its duration would increase from 4 seconds to 5. Version 11.14 dealt with a minor bug that prevented the debuff icon from appearing.

Patch 11.23 Changes

mask range

The last changes to Abyssal Mask came with the 11.23 patch. Instead of Negatron Cloak and Giant’s Belt, the item would need Kindlegem and Spectre’s Cowl. Regardless, the mask’s price remained the same at 2,700 gold.

As for the stats, the item now provided 450 health instead of 400, 10 ability haste, and its magic resistance was reduced from 60 to 30. The Unmake effect was also altered, now working as a curse aura.

The Most Common Abyssal Mask Users

abisal

Although it has a very useful passive, Abyssal Mask simply isn’t good enough to be bought on numerous champions. There are just a few viable builds, usually including tanks. You can purchase the artifact on Amumu, Galio, Ornn, Cho’Gath, Leona, Poppy, Rammus, Rell, Sejuani, and a few other champions. All in all, there are 13 characters that buy this item.

Although Abyssal Mask is not very popular, having a measly pickrate of 0.86%, it does help you win games. The magical object has a 59.28%-win rate, which indicates that despite its poor gold efficiency, it can still be very good if you buy it on the right champions and in the right matchups.

Abyssal Mask is usually purchased as a second or third item. When you buy it as the second item, it provides a win chance of 55.1%. When bought as third, it gives you 64.63% odds of winning the game. In other words, you shouldn’t rush it.

The most common Abyssal Mask user is Galio. This champion buys the item in 3.08% of all its games. Amumu is the second, with a 3.05% purchase frequency. Ornn is third with 2.52% purchase frequency, followed by Malphite with 1.96%.

Shyvana is the most successful Abyssal Mask user. She has a win rate of 69.39% when wearing the item. The second-best user is Ornn, with a 66.06%-win rate, followed by Rammus with 64.71%.

The Most Popular Builds Featuring Abyssal Mask

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Given that Abyssal Mask leaves the champion bare-naked against physical strikes, you should pair it with armor items. It is especially potent with Sunfire Aegis, burning all the enemies in the vicinity. If you wish to increase magic damage output, you can combine it with various AP or magic penetration items.

Here are some of the most common builds that include Abyssal Mask:

  • Amumu (Sunfire Aegis, Plated Steelcaps, Thornmail, Randuin’s Omen, Sunfire Aegis, Demonic Embrace)
  • Cho’Gath (Sunfire Aegis, Plated Steelcaps, Thornmail, Randuin’s Omen, Frostfire Gaunlet, Warmog’s Armor)
  • Ornn (Sunfire Aegis, Plated Steelcaps, Warmog’s Armor, Thornmail, Randuin’s Omen, Sunfire Aegis)
  • Poppy (Sunfire Aegis, Force of Nature, Plated Steelcaps, Thornmail, Randuin’s Omen, Sunfire Aegis)
  • Rammus (Sunfire Aegis, Plated Steelcaps, Dead Man’s Plate, Thornmail, Randuin’s Omen, Sunfire Aegis)
  • Sejuani (Sunfire Aegis, Plated Steelcaps, Thornmail, Warmog’s Armor, Randuin’s Omen, Sunfire Aegis)

Plated Steelcaps are the most common choice for tanks and, thus, for Abyssal Mask wearers. The item gives you extra armor that you sorely require.

As mentioned, the combination of Sunfire Aegis and Abyssal Mask is also very strong. Although this armor doesn’t do much in terms of armor, giving you only 35, it provides health, magic resistance, and a potent AOE passive called Immolate. When buying these two items, you would commonly start with Sunfire Aegis, and after that, you would build into Abyssal Mask. The combination of the two would provide lots of protection, as well as teamfight presence.

Thornmail is another inefficient item. In fact, it is one of the weaker pickups in the current meta. However, it gives you a lot of armor and health, which can be invaluable in this case.

Randuin’s Omen is another nice purchase for Abyssal Mask tanks. Not only does it give you 80 armor, but it also has a passive and an active unique that increases your defense. Randuin’s Omen is also strong with Sunfire Aegis, creating a perfect synergy between these three magical objects.

FAQs

Question: What does Abyssal Mask do?

Answer: Abyssal Mask is an item that provides 10 ability haste, 450 health, and 30 magic resistance. However, most people will buy it for its passive unique called Unmake. This effect reduced the magic resistance of the surrounding enemies by 5 + 1% bonus health for a maximum of minus 20 magic resistance. As such, it is really good on tanks and mages that need to get close to opponents to be effective.

Question: Is Abyssal Mask good?

Answer: Abyssal Mask is a rather underwhelming item. It has a gold efficiency of 74.32%, which is one the lower side. Luckily, unlike some other items, it has a really potent unique passive that compensates for the design flaw. Although it has a very low pick rate of 0.86% (among lowest legendries), it has a solid 59.28%-win rate. This indicates that Abyssal Mask can actually be good if purchased in the right situation.

Question: Does Abyssal Mask work on slow?

Answer: Back in the day, Abyssal Mask didn’t have Unmake curse aura. Instead, it would deal extra 10% damage to immobilized targets. Nowadays, the mask doesn’t benefit directly from slows. Even if you have slowing abilities, it won’t increase its damage.

Question: Does Abyssal Mask increase true damage?

Answer: Abyssal Mask helps your AP attacks by reducing magic resistance. Given that true damage doesn’t classify as magic damage, nor is it reduced by magic resistance, you won’t benefit from the magic resistance reduction.

Last Considerations

Abyssal Mask can be a nice pickup in the right situations. While its stats don’t seem that great, there are cases when you can really benefit from having it. The mask will give you some nice defensive stats, and you can become even tankier through its Unmake aura. Speaking of Unmake passive, this ability will reduce the magic resistance of all the nearby enemies, making it ideal for frontliners.

The item is especially great with Sunfire Aegis. The combination of AOE burn and magic resistance reduction can quickly melt enemies. You can also add Randuin’s Omen on top of that for some extra protection.

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