Attack Damage Carries and Defense

Attack damage carries have the most straightforward role in all of League of Legends; to deal tons of damage. That's it. Bold I know, and there are so many things you can think of right now that an ADC needs to focus on besides just dealing damage. Maybe you played a game this week where you wish the ADC had done something other than just build 5 damage items. But right there is the problem, and I agree completely. A good carry needs defensive items, because a big part of dealing tons of damage (remember, my one and only rule?) is that you need to be alive to do it.

When discussing tanky ADC items, it has to be tier 3. Not Shurelias or Zeke's Herald, because they are not nearly to the standards of glory and audacious power an ADC demands. No no, if you need to hold off on that Infinity's Edge in order to improve survivability, you need something flashy and at least as much of a big deal as you are.

That back pocket of tanky tricks includes items like Randuin's Omen, Banshees Veil, and Quicksilver Sash as targeted buys. If the enemy ADC is ahead, or is just the one who always seems to kill you in teamfights, then Randuin's will bump the edge in your favor, while also providing an active great for ruining that sticky bruisers day. Banshees Veil is a solid pick to counter an opponent AP mage, but be careful with this one. Unless the enemy team is carrying lots of really scary engage abilities, or the enemy mage is ridiculously fed, this item can be a big mistake when lategame hits and it is not saving you from their now completely farmed up ADC.

Quicksilver Sash, and its upgrade to Mercurial Scimitar, provide the same benefit as Banshee's Veil with a slight twist.  The item is reactive whereas BV is proactive as far as countering enemy crowd control.  Mercurial could have its own dedicated article on the unique MR plus AD stats it provides, but the sum is greater than its parts, and the active on the item can be worth more or less gold depending on the enemy team composition.

Warmog's is an option as well. If your team has really good poke, or is looking to win through a long drawn out battle, Warmog's is good for all around damage soaking and out of combat regeneration. If your team starts a fight at baron, then flees under their inhibitor turret, then chases the enemy team up middle lane, Warmogs will serve you well for future maximum duration teamfights and poke battles.

Zhonya's Hourglass or Guardian Angel provides a different kind of defensive option. Both items bring you out of the fight for a few seconds then pop you back in. GA brings you back to life after you die as well as giving you a bunch of armor and magic resist. However, it has fallen out of favor recently for several reasons. First it can end up being completely useless if you come back to life after the whole rest of your team is dead, or if you died from being pulled under tower by a Blitzcrank and got bursted down.

Second, the cooldown on the passive is excruciatingly long. Zhonya's is extremely situational, and should only be purchased if the ADC champion has abilities that take advantage of ability power and the enemy team has a lot of burst damage. The active allows you to go completely invulnerable for 2 seconds, negating any and all damage. This allows you the ability to choose when and where to exit the fight, and can save you from some of the most damaging or powerful CC powers the enemy team throws out.

When to use and purchase these items can be just as important as knowing which ones to buy. Too early and the enemy team outscales you in damage, while too late and you may have already given the enemy team so many quick kills that it's impossible to come back.

 

In general, a decent time to buy a defensive item would be after your third but before your fourth big damage item, but this can swing up or down by one. If you find yourself doing very well in your lane and farming a lot, but the enemy team has one or two very strong champions that you haven't faced yet, then a defensive item to counter those champions is a great way to think ahead.

Also, if you are behind in your lane, but your team has a top laner or mid laner who did really well early game then going defensive after two damage items can actually make you a lot more of a menace in teamfights as you start to look more like a bruiser from then into late game. If you find you are carrying very well, and you get a chance to build four damage items without too much worry, do that; but almost invariably you should round out the build with a defensive item as your sixth.

As an ADC, a defensive item will not always be necessary, and in some situations, there is no better way to throw your advantage away than to build a defensive item. But the role of ADC is a very powerful one on any team, and the enemy will always default to swarming you if nobody else on the team sets themselves apart as the biggest threat.