15, 16 years ago. Since that time, he was jumping from HoN to LoL, and ultimately,
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Abyssal Scepter is now a retired item that was eventually replaced by Abyssal Mask. It provided a mixture of defensive and offensive stats, which made it ideal for casters and especially tanks. The scepter’s unique aura would amplify damage to nearby opponents, making it really good on champions with strong AOE spells.
At a certain moment, the Abyssal Scepter was extremely powerful. Although it had 90.6% gold efficiency, it felt really good throughout a few patches. As one of the oldest items in the game, it was often associated with tanks that have a strong area presence. It was often made in conjunction with Sunfire Cape (another retired item), allowing the player to rain destruction upon their enemies.
In this Abyssal Scepter guide, I will take a look at the item, its stats, and the history of changes.
Key Info Up Front
Abyssal Scepter was an item that gave champions extra health, magic resistance, health regeneration, and cooldown reduction. It also had a strong aura that would amplify magic damage in an area.
Abyssal Scepter Basic Info
Abyssal Scepter shares some traits with Adaptive Helm (another old item), as well as Spirit Visage. The aura effect was quite specific, and it provided lots of utility to the whole team. Perhaps the only critique of the Abyssal Scepter is that it didn’t provide any armor. However, as a tank, you could easily remedy this issue by getting Ninja Tabi or some similar item. As for the backline mages, the armor stat is not that important.
The item cost 2,800 gold and could be sold for 1,960 gold. It required Negatron Cloak that cost 900 gold (450 for Null-Magic Mantle, and 450 for a recipe), Spectre’s Cowl for 1,250 gold (450 for Null-Magic Mantle, 400 gold for Ruby Crystal, and 400 gold for a recipe), and an Abyssal Scepter recipe for 880 gold.
Abyssal Scepter Stats and Uniques
Abyssal Scepter provided lots of different stats. It gave a wearer 10% cooldown reduction, 100% base health regeneration, 65 magic resistance, and 300 health. The weapon also had a strong, unique aura, which never received an official name.
This aura would amplify magic damage to all opponents within the 700 range by 10%. One notable bug with this aura is that it improperly shows its radius, indicating that its radius is 500 instead of 700. However, it never had a real impact as it was only a visual glitch.
In theory, the aura could be applied to the entire team depending on their positioning and champion composition (opposing teams with 3 to 5 melee characters were easier to affect). On the other hand, this effect would help your entire team, especially AP nukers who would greatly benefit from extra 10% damage.
The aura would create a visual effect on both the user and nearby opponents. As such, the enemies would be notified of your presence even if you were hiding in a brush or behind a ledge. Even if you utilized Zhonya’s Hourglass, the enemies could still notice Abyssal Scepter’s effect.
Abyssal Scepter History of Changes
Abyssal Scepter was one of the oldest items in the game, but it hasn’t endured as many changes as some other magical objects. In fact, it was regarded as fairly balanced.
The first notes regarding Abyssal Scepter date back to League of Legends alpha. The item required Negatron Cloak, Blasting Wand, and a 1,050-gold recipe for a total of 2,670 gold. It would give the user 70 magic resist and 70 ability power.
The first iteration of the aura was pretty strong. It would reduce opponents’ magic resistance within 1,000 units of range. The 30 magic resistance reduction was pretty massive however, the developers still weren’t satisfied with its impact, which is why they increased the reduction from 30 to 40 during the 9th of May 2009 patch.
As a result, the item felt really broken during testing. Riot had to do something with it, resulting in subsequent nerfs during the 15th of May and 19th of June patches. First, they reduced its magic resist and ability power from 70 to 60. After that, they quickly restored ability power to its previous value but reduced the impact of the aura from 40 to 30.
Patch 0.9.22.16 and Further Nerfs
The nerfing didn’t stop there. Riot continued reducing the item’s base stats and aura’s impact in the upcoming patches. During the 0.9.22.16 update, they once again nerfed the aura, and it would now reduce enemies’ resistance by 20 instead of the previous 30. Soon after that, they decided to decrease the aura’s AOE from 1,000 units to 600.
They remedied this in patch 1.0.0.152 by slightly restoring the aura’s AOE to 700. However, they decided to reduce the magic resistance to 45. Abyssal Scepter’s combined cost went down from 1,050 gold to 980. In patch 3.02, the weapon’s cost went down from 2,650 gold to 2,560 gold, and in patch 3.10, it received a brand-new visual.
Patch 4.20 also brought a few changes. The old formula that included Negatron Cloak and Blasting Wand was scrapped, and instead, you would require two Null-Magic Mantles and Blasting Wand. Its total price also went down from 2,560 to 2,440 gold. At the same time, Riot boosted magic resistance from 45 to 50.
Patch 4.21 and Onward
After this update, the item’s formula changed once again. Instead of requiring two Null-Magic Mantles and Blasting Wand, you would now need Blasting Wand and Negatron Cloak. Regardless of the component changes, the stats and the price remained the same.
In the following updates, Riot tried to balance the magical artifact by slightly tweaking its price. First, they reduced its cost from 2,440 gold to 2,430 gold. Soon after, they increased it from 2,430 gold to 2,450 gold, and ultimately, in patch 5.22, they once again reduced the cost from 2,450 gold to 2,350 gold.
Abyssal Scepter received an overhaul in patch 6.9. The old recipe was scraped, and you now required Negatron Cloak, Amplifying Tome, Fiendish Codex, and a recipe to assemble the weapon. The price also went up significantly, totaling 2,750 gold.
The item also experienced many changes in terms of the stats. The ability power went down from 70 to 60, while its magic resistance was boosted to 60. Abyssal Scepter would now grant its wielder a 10% cooldown reduction. As for the aura, it became a champion-exclusive effect. The reduction scaled with levels, and it would go from 10 magic resistance reduction (at level 1) to 25 magic resistance reduction (at level 18).
This made the item significantly weaker in the early portions of the game but slightly stronger later on. As a result, most players started buying Abyssal Scepter as the third or fourth item.
Patch 6.22 and Onward
The developers were still dissatisfied with how the scepter worked. They decided to scrape the previous concept and make the aura a flat effect; the opponents would take 10% bonus magic damage while affected by the Abyssal Scepter aura.
Patch 7.9 brought another big update. The artifact’s formula changed, and from this point onward, you would need Negatron Cloak, Spectre’s Cowl, and a recipe to assemble it. Instead of the old 2,750 gold cost, you would need 2,800 gold.
The item became much better for tanks as it would now provide 300 health and 5 more magic resistance (65 instead of 60). Unfortunately, this also led to the elimination of the ability power component as well as the health regeneration stat.
In the end, the item was replaced by Abyssal Mask in patch 7.11. Although the developers claim that this was nothing more than the renaming of the item, they also changed its stats a bit. On top of that, they also decided to update the icon, making it look more polished.
The Differences Between Abyssal Scepter and Abyssal Mask
Abyssal Mask was meant to be a spiritual successor to Abyssal Scepter. Although these two items were relatively similar upon replacement, continuous changes affected how Abyssal Mask looked, increasing the differences between the two.
Generally speaking, both of these items are meant to boost magic damage in a radius around a champion. In terms of the stats, Abyssal Scepter gave you a 10% cooldown reduction, 100% base health regeneration, 300 health, and 65 magic resistance.
This is somewhat similar to what Abyssal Mask gives you. The new version of the item will give you 450 health (compared to 300) 30 magic resistance (compared to 65) while remaining at the same 10% cooldown reduction/ability haste. The regeneration component was completely removed along the way.
Even the passives are somewhat similar. However, it is worth mentioning that Abyssal Mask’s unique effect is much more potent. Back in the day, the aura would just amplify magic damage to opposing champions. Nowadays, it is far more complex.
Unlike the old aura, this one actually has a name. Unmake unique passive has a smaller radius compared to its predecessor (550 vs. 700). It reduces enemies’ magic resistance by 5 plus 1% bonus health, making it ideal for tanks who stack health items. Keep in mind that you cannot lower magic resistance by more than 20.
At the same time, Unmake has a valuable defensive feature. Each enemy within the aura will give the wearer 7 magic resistance. So, in theory, you can get up to extra 35 magic resistance. Always remember that the enemies cannot be affected by more than one curse, which means there is no point in making more than one Abyssal Scepter on your team.
The Most Common Abyssal Scepter Users
Like modern Abyssal Mask, Abyssal Scepter was ideal for tanks. You could build it on Nunu, Leona, Cho’Gath, Amumu, Malphite, and so on. As long as the champion focused on ability power and not attack damage, there was some validity in purchasing the item.
The artifact was commonly purchased on tanks during mid or late-game. It was especially potent when the team started to group up, as it would boost both your and your allies’ damage. However, getting Abyssal Scepter as the first or second item was usually counterintuitive and would stifle your progression.
Besides the tanks, the item was very common on short-range assassins and mages. Good examples would be Vladimir, Fiddlesticks, Kassadin, and Katarina. Each one of them would greatly benefit from the aura but could also enjoy nice defensive stats. Each one of them has an ability kit that stimulates almost melee fighting, forcing these champions to stay as close to the target as possible.
Abyssal Scepter was also useful on certain mid-range champions, but it felt really bad on long-ranged champions. The farther you are from a target, the less likely you will utilize the aura. Furthermore, this would render defensive stats useless, as you would usually stay in the backlines and rely on tanks to take the brunt of enemy attacks.
The Most Popular Builds Featuring Abyssal Scepter
There was never such a thing as optimal Abyssal Scepter. Given that the item was built on champions who are very different, you could see all sorts of hybrid combinations.
For example, if you were to make Abyssal Scepter on a tank, you should combine it with Ninja Tabi, Sunfire Cape, Randuin’s Omen, or something of that sort.
In fact, Sunfire Cape was probably the most potent item to combine with Abyssal Scepter, similar to how you would combine Abyssal Mask with Sunfire Aegis nowadays. Basically, the curse aura from Abyssal Scepter would scale nicely with the cape, amplifying the damage in a radius. Given that both items have defensive stats, your tank/short-range champion could protect itself from the incoming attacks.
On the other hand, if you made Abyssal Scepter on a mage or an assassin, you could combine it with Rylai’s Crystal Scepter, which would give you ability power, health, and access to a slow debuff. Sometimes, people would combine it with Rabadon’s Deathcap if they wanted to focus on dishing as much damage as possible.
The plethora of build options is one of the reasons why the item was so fun and popular.
FAQ
Question: What is Abyssal Scepter user for?
Answer: Abyssal Scepter was a caster/tank/assassin item that would reduce your cooldowns while increasing defensive prowess. It was especially good on champions who have a strong AOE presence. It would emit a negative aura that would make nearby enemies prone to magical attacks, causing them to take extra 10% magic damage.
Question: Is Abyssal Scepter good?
Answer: Like all other League of Legends items, Abyssal Scepter has had its ups and downs. At certain points, it had a gold efficiency of 90.6%, making it a solid pickup. Although the item wasn’t regarded as situational, and you would see it in most matches, it was much better in situations when there are numerous AP casters on your team.
Question: Does Abyssal Scepter work on slows?
Answer: You don’t need a slow or immobilizing effect to maximize the item’s potential. It will deal the same bonus damage of 10% to champions regardless of whether they’re stunned, slowed, or affected by some other crowd control effect.
Last Considerations
Abyssal Scepter was one of the most popular and recognizable items in the game. It was picked frequently in matches, and besides great stats, it also gave your team a strong offensive aura that would increase overall ability power damage.
The item was especially popular among tanks, and you could also put it on various short-range mages and assassins. It was very flexible and would synergize nicely with Rylai’s Crystal Scepter, Sunfire Cape, and numerous other magical objects.
The weapon was ultimately replaced with Abyssal Mask, which works under a similar principle.