What Is “Grievous Wounds” in League of Legends

If you have asked yourself the question “what are grievous wounds in lol”, then haver no fear, you are in the right place. In this article we will explain exactly how the ability works, what items provide this benefit and the strategies that can help you take full advantage of this ability.

What Is “Grievous Wounds” in League of Legends

Grievous wounds, when applied, removes a fixed percentage of enemy healing. That means, if you are going against a high damage dealer with a heal item, “grievous wounds” will be the perfect counter. A common strategy for many glass-cannon champs like Master Yi and Irelia for example, is to combine high attack speed with loads of damage and heal.

This strategy helps means that they can be squishy, deal a lot of damage and still end up being at max-health after encounters. Very annoying, right? Well, grievous wounds might be the ability that helps you turn this situation around and stop these champs from snowballing into victory.

When to Build Grievous Wounds

You will commonly build grievous wounds for two reasons. In the first case, if you are against a champ that relies on life-steal for sustain like Vladimir or Akali. Grievous wounds will give you the required edge to make them either retreat to base or lose in an exchange.

The second possibility is simply when you have to deal with a fed, but squishy champ that is using high levels of life-steal. Applying grievous wounds can be the strategy that turns a tough team-fight around in this case.

Which Items in League of Legends Inflict Grievous Wounds

There are plenty of items in lol that inflict grievous wounds. As you can see there is one for each main champion class. Let’s go through them one by one:

  • Thornmail is a classic anti-heal tank item that inflicts both magic damage and 40% grievous wounds for 3 seconds whenever you are hit by a basic attack. Clearly this item is the strongest against champions that rely on basic attacks like Ashe, for example.
  • Morellonomicon is a standard mage anti-heal item, useful for counteracting and taking down squishy champions. The Morellonomicon inflicts 40% grievous wounds for 3 seconds, and as an extra bonus the amount is increased to 60%, if the target is below 50% health. Very sweet!
  • Mortal Reminder is the go-to item for archers that are going against sustain reliant champs like Vladimir and Akali. In a similar way to Morellonomicon, Mortal reminder applies 40% Grievous wounds in case of physical damage, and 60% if a champ is hit 3 times in 3 seconds.
  • Chempunk Chainsword is the assassin version of this item and works similarly to Morellonomicon. If the target is below 50% health, the effect is increased to 60%.

Which Lol Champions Inflict Grievous Wounds

There are three champions in league of legends that inflict grievous wounds. Katarina, Kled and Varus. In Katarina’s case, her ultimate inflicts it, which can be very helpful in securing multiple kills at once. Varus applies it with his E, which is not as useful in my opinion. the skill takes quite a bit of mana and doesn’t end up having too much utility.

The strongest base grievous wounds skill is Kled’s. His Q, which he can spam a lot inflicts 60% grievous wounds in case of a successful poke and pull. Pretty crazy.

Conclusion

In conclusion, grievous wounds is a pretty nice counter-ability to life-steal and makes the game more dynamic. I like that it provides a way to negate snowballing, squishy champs in a balanced way. Hope you enjoyed this little article, until next time!