Mastery Explanations

Introduction

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During my adventures in the League of Legends, and here on MOBAFire, I have often found myself deep in discussion over masteries. I decided to make a guide discussing all of the masteries, focusing in particular on those that are often disputed. It is quite lengthy, and getting ever longer, so take your time.

You'll have to forgive me for uploading this guide for the second time. That sneaky publish button got me before it was completed. It is finished now!

Enjoy!

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Freaking Fizz!

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With the massive changes to the mastery trees in the most recent patch, it sort of puts this entire guide into a limbo state. Everything here, while useful last week, is now completely worthless. I'll update this guide over the coming weeks as I gather knowledge of the new masteries. Please be patient.

Fizz isn't even a yordle, who needs him?

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What are Masteries?

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For those of you who do not know, masteries are points granted to players to increase their abilities in game. For each level you gain, you are granted one mastery point. Since level 30 is the highest attainable, you will end with thirty points.

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Masteries are spent in three different "trees":

The Offensive TreespacingspacingThe Defensive TreespacingspacingThe Utility Tree

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Trees are also broken into tiers, and require certain requirements to unlock stronger masteries. While the first tier is available without any points spent, each tier after costs 4 points to unlock.

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You should also be aware that while masteries are helpful, they are rather insignificant. While a select few (such as ) are almost necessary, many others can be exchanged based on your preference. If you see a mastery page you do not agree with, go right ahead with any changes you want! A change here or there will not ruin your game. You might even stumble on something the author didn't know.

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Offensive Tree

Offensive Tree Masteries

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The Offensive Tree seems to be the least contested of the bunch. Whether you are trying to build an attack damage character (such as or ), or a magic damage character (such as or ), there is a very specific mastery order you should follow.

Tier 1

Attack damage champions normally take 3 levels in mastery to progress down the tree. The critical strike chance granted by this mastery is more beneficial to them than anyone else. Someone like who relies on her abilities to deal damage, will not get much from this. However, , who only uses auto attacks to deal her damage, benefits the most from it.

2% critical strike chance might not sound astounding, but it has potential. In a 30 minute game, you use about 900 auto attacks (1 attack every two seconds). This mastery allows 2% of those attack to deal double damage. When your auto attacks at the end of the game are dealing 200 damage per strike, this mastery can rear it's head.

increases the effectiveness of . Players who like the utilty offered by often take a point in this skill to help them progress farther down the tree. In games where your team is able to focus a marked target, this will increase their incoming damage. The reduction of resistances may be minimal, but when cast on a carry (who has low armor and magic resist levels to begin with), can severly cripple their gameplay. Since defensive statistics do not have a linear effect, 10 armor reduction can be quite terrifying.

- has 60 armor. When targeted by and focused by your friendly , he takes 37.5% reduced damage.
- has 60 armor. When targeted by that has been empowered with and focused again by , he now takes 33.3% reduced damage.

has effectively given both and yourself 4% increased damage against ! Not bad for 1 point.

You can learn more about armor here. You can learn more about magic resistance here.

Junglers are the only champions who should select this mastery. By junglers, I am reffering to someone who spends the early and mid-game in the jungle between the lanes. If you are playing in the top lane this is not a mastery you should select- despite being a "jungler" champion.

The extra gold grants, in addition to the reduction in cool down time helps a jungler's gameplay dramatically. While some may dismiss the benefits of this mastery, by the end of a match, it will have helped in several ways. Say for instance that you use whenever it comes off of cooldown during the course of a 30 minute round.

- Without , you are able to cast 24 times.
- With , you able to cast 26 times, and gain 130 gold!

By specializing in , you are able to purchase 3 additional s than if you had not. 600 health is nothing to sneeze at!

Magic damage champions normally take 3 levels of this mastery to progress down the tree. The ability power granted by this mastery is more beneficial to them than anyone else. Someone like , who relies on her auto attack to deal damage, will not get much from this. However, , who only uses ability power to increase her damage, benefits the most from it.

At level 18, 3 ranks in grants 18 ability power. This "free" ability power is also affected by a mage's best friend, , granting you 23.4 ability power total.

Tier 2

Normally, mage characters get all four ranks to continue down the tree. Other roles typically avoid it entirely, or take just a few ranks to progress further in the tree. The amount of cool down reduction given by is rather minimal however. The only noticable difference is in the timer on your ultimate abilities. All four points need to be upgraded in this mastery if you want to use .

Please note that cool down reduction granted by only affects your four ability's cool downs, not your summoner spells.

Champions who utilize their auto attacks often take this mastery if they need to progress further down the tree. scales from base attack speed only, not from itemized attack speed. If for instance, you purchase a , 's effect will not increase.

if also effective on champions with high base attack speed, or who need higher attack speed during the early game. has a high base attack speed, and benefits noticably from it. , , and both require auto attacks to heal themselves in the jungle, making a good choice for them as well. is able to affect his targets faster with his with , is able to use his on more targets. The list goes on and on. Overall, it is a good choice if you have some spare points.

Tier 3

grants a small amount of ability power while is on cool down (or ready to be cast). This mastery is normally skipped by every champion, for several reasons. Mages (, or ) who benefit from ability power, cannot afford to place a point into this slot. Attack damage champions (, or ) could put a point here, but they do not benefit from ability power significantly enough to warrant a point.

This is usually the final stop for all magic damage champions in the offensive tree. The masteries in the following tiers offer very little incentive for mages to continue to invest more points in this tree when the Utility Tree has so much to offer.

15% spell penetration may seem like another useless number, but it has a far greater impact than or do. allows your spells to ignore a portion of your enemy's magic resistance. Against a carry champion, who has very little magic resist (somewhere around 60 usually), the effect is underwhelming, ignoring only 9 magic resist. However, against an enemy tank who has right around 150 magic resistance, pierces through 23 magic resist.

is often taken by attack damage champions. Armor penetration is vital to dealing as much physical damage as possible. is similar to in that it allows you to deal more damage to targets. However, unlike , is a flat armor reduction, not a percentage. Therefore, is equally effective, regardless of the target's armor value. Junglers also often take to pierce through the armor of the jungle monsters.

One should not be content to stop gaining armor penetration however. Often times, carry champions also purchase a and/or . This allows your to continue to deal as close to full damage as possible.

The increased damage to minions granted by is vital to most jungler's success. While someone like who has two abilities to use against the jungle monsters does not need it, but auto attacking junglers, like , , and will benefit from it.

Laning champions shouldn't normally take . Unlike junglers, laning champions have the luxury of being able to wait to get their last hits. Though that two extra damage from your attacks might help you during your laning phase, it is far more advantageous to put your points elsewhere.

Tier 4

You guessed it, attack damage champions! Though this is one of the less beneficial masteries in this tree, it does still offer some benefit. As with many other masteries, this mainly affects the early game. 3 damage isn't much when has 3,000 health and 200 armor, but when only has 600 health and 30 armor, it can make for a nasty first few minutes. The amount of attack damage gained is minimal, but anything for an advantage over your lane opponent! also helps many junglers clear their paths faster, and thus saving their precious health.

Though looks promising for someone like , who I've mentioned relies on auto attacks, it does little for his survivability. Both he and gain health based on their attack speeds, and gain a flat number of health. They do not have lifesteal: they do not heal for a percentage of the damage dealt. Still good for damage, but adds nothing to your healing. Keep that in mind when selecting your masteries.

is the end for many junglers in this tree. While attack damage carries will continue to benefit from the masteries in deeper tiers, you should make sure you know your role before you continue down the tree.

Tier 5

is a tricky mastery. It increases your critical strike damage, not chance. This means that unless you are building your champion with critical strike items, such as or , you should not specialize in .

is additive with the effect of , meaning your critical strikes can deal 260% your normal attack damage value, instead of the base 200%. If you are playing an attack damage carry champion, and are planning on purchasing an , this mastery is a nice choice. In particular, this mastery works wonders on . Since his critical strike chance is high even from the early game, his damage output is much higher than other melee characters. His passive critical strike, combined with make for better damage.

If you are building an attack damage carry who does not rely on critical strike chance (an attack speed for example), is not a good choice. Be sure to plan your build ahead of time, and adjust this mastery accordingly.

is a very particular summoner spell, which in turn makes choosing this mastery even trickier.

is normally only chosen on a very small, select group of champions. is known in the League of Legends for his ability to back door (or sneak up on) enemy turrets. is sometimes taken in such senarios, to increase the power of the back door-er. It can also be taken to increase the speed at which bot games can be completed. The extra damage offered during the early game, combined with and can quickly push through the enemy middle lane.

Since is only used in a very small number of situations, selecting is often a bad decision. Since most abilities do not work on turrets, the bonus ability power does little to assist in 's role.

In a lower level game, before players understand how turret aggro works, or how to last hit, can be quite helpful. Increasing your damage or ability power by 10 when your opponents don't understand their health bars can be deadly. By the time you reach level 20, and are able to select however, selecting as a summoner spell becomes less viable.

Tier 6

is the crowning jewel of the first tree. And rightly so. Whether you look at it as reducing all enemy health by 4%, or that you automatically rip through 4% of their defenses: is a scary mastery to fight against.

Attack damage champions who make it this far in the tree should definitely select . If you've invested 20 points into this tree, it would only make sense to spend one more for 4% more damage. You spent 1 point for .66% critical strike chance way back in tier 1, you would be doing yourself a disservice to skip this mastery.

Some junglers who continue to do damage well into the late game ( in particular) may take additional points in the earlier tiers to gain access to . Someone like , who transitions into a support role, or , who turns into a full mage, should not select .

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Defensive Tree

Defensive Tree Masteries

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The Defensive Tree is by far the most contested of the bunch. Since some champions need very few, or no defenses at all, this tree can be skipped. For champions who want some added survivability however, this tree gives plenty of opportunities to demonstrate your personal preference.

Tier 1

A lovely buff to the summoner spell. At lower levels of play, some players take to improve their ability to stay in lane. When you only have a few mastery points to place, can be a helpful choice for many reasons. In low levels of play, there is not normally a dedicated support player to hand out health to those in need. Taking can assist you during your laning phase, and help your team during large scale fights.

will let you cast your life saving more often: 7 times per half hour, instead of 6. If this extra cast is used once you reach level 18, you are able to heal your team for a total of 2250 health. If you manage to save one member of your team with this powerful heal, you might just turn a loss into a win.

As with many other masteries, is about improving your early game ability. Since defensive statistics do not have a linear effect, 6 magic resist is most effective during the early game. If you are playing against a magic damage champion, and want to progress farther down the tree, can be helpful. Many junglers also take this mastery to gain access to in the next tier.

Think of like . A very particular summoner spell makes for a tricky mastery. is the only summoner spell that can be cast while your champion is dead. Upon casting, your champion will revive back in your base, with full health and mana.

is normally only seen in two very select realms of play. The first is the very low summoner level games. When players do not yet understand the core game mechanics, an extra 'free' life is enticing. However, since those players die often, is not used 'properly'. I've seen quite often where the first death in a lane is skipped right over by using . Since it has a nine minute cooldown however, the next three or four deaths must be fully endured.

The second use of is where comes into play. There is a strange phenomonon spreading amongst the players of the League, known as "Suicide Karthus" or "Revive Teleport Karthus". The general idea is that during , can cast spells without limit. Once the seven second timer ends, you activate . With the additional health gained from , you then to the nearest friendly ward or minion, and proceed to ace the enemy team.

While the first use of does not require you to take as a mastery, feel free to. The "Suicide Karthus" almost forces you to take it. You can learn more about this strategy here.

Pretty much the same as , but for physical damage. Most junglers take this mastery to give their early sustainability in the jungle a boost. Anyone else who wants to progress down the tree and fears the damage from minions and physical champions can place some points here.

You need to put all three points into in order to be able to use !

Tier 2

Oh ... increases your health regeneration based on your total mana. Not your base mana, but your total mana with items included. If you plan on buying a or a in game, you should probably take this mastery. Please note: if your champion has no mana bar (, , ), you will not get anything from . Make sure you know who you're playing, and adjust this mastery accordingly. Below, I have some math that'll give you an idea of what it can do for you.

WARNING MATH CONTENT

At level 1, starts with 245 Mana.
•Rank 1 gives .817 HP/5
•Rank 2 gives 1.617 HP/5
•Rank 3 gives 2.45 HP/5

If you purchase something like a , at level 18, will have 1510 mana.
•Rank 1 gives 5.03 HP/5
•Rank 2 gives 10.06 HP/5
•Rank 3 gvies 15.1 HP/5

At level 1, starts with 305 Mana.
•Rank 1 gives 1.01 HP/5
•Rank 2 gives 2.01 HP/5
•Rank 3 gives 3.05 HP/5

If you purchase something like a and have a fully loaded , at level 18, will have 3090 mana.
•Rank 1 gives 10.3 HP/5
•Rank 2 gives 20.6 HP/5
•Rank 3 gvies 30.9 HP/5

END OF MATH PORTION

Depending on your build and champion role, can either give you a large health regeneration boost (almost that of a for ), or very little (about a Philosopher's Stone worth for ). Whatever champion you choose, is defintely a good choice to progress farther down the tree, and can help you during all stages of a game.

Thanks to me for the math. It was helpful!

While sounded wonderful alone, when you compare it to , you can see where the contention comes from. While offers a small amount of health regeneration, gives a small dodge percentage. Personal preference normally decides which of these two masteries to take. Please note that some champions do not benefit from dodge as much as others. for example, benefits from armor more than dodge due to his ability. If builds dodge, his will be less effective. Many other champions will benefit however. Know your champion selection, and adjust accordingly.

My personal preference is for . The dodge chance granted by is static. It will not change as the game progresses (leaving runes and out to avoid more complexity). You will always have a 2% chance to dodge. Whether that means you're trying to dodge a shot from a caster minion at level 1, or a auto attack at level 18: your dodge chance remains the same. 's benefit to you is determined heavily by your champion choice, and item builds. Not only that, but its effectivness increases as the game goes on.

Despite scaling into late game, the health regeneration offered is minimal. At level 18, the stray minion strike will deal more than 3 damage a second, nullifying its regeneration factor. However, not only gives you a chance to dodge the random creep strikes, it also allows you to dodge 's auto attacks, and 's auto attacks!

You need to put four points into in order to unlock .

Between and it really is up to personal preference. Don't let someone force you into picking one or the other. Like I said, a few points won't ruin your game.

Tier 3

is normally taken by junglers, and sometimes by tanks. The reduced damage from minions greatly increases their survivability during the first few camps. Since it reduces damage from each attack, the twenty or so attacks you would take during the wraith or wolf camp can really add up. As you increase in level, and can kill the camps with one spell, the damage reduction is minimal. As such, this mastery will only make a difference to your early game.

Please note that only prevents damage from minions, and will not negate any damage from enemy champions.

There isn't much to say on . If you plan on playing a champion who relies on dodge, you should select . , , and in particular, as well as anyone who buys a will notice a difference in their movement speed during their game. The added speed during the early game is helpful for "dodging" skill shots, while during the middle and late game, it assists in your escape from botched battles.

does little to increase your "defense", but it does allow you to gain an additional benefit from your dodges.

not only reduces the damage from minions, but also from champions! This would be worlds better than , if it were not for balancing problems. While the first point reduces incoming damage by 1, the following two levels are each only half as effective. For this reason, it is normally advantageous to only place one point into this slot, and one into . Unless you need more to progress down the tree, be wary of placing all three points here.

is like the anti-. If you are up against an attack damage carry, you can counter their early advantage by taking this mastery.

Tier 4

The third and final piece of the Defensive Tree competition. often competes with and for your hard earned points. offers you flat health. This health is really helpful during the early game. Living through ten more minion hits, or one more auto attack from your laning opponent can prevent a first blood.

If your games tend to drag on however, you are better off picking or . The 50 health granted by is regenerated in roughly 20 seconds on a normal champion from . And the damage you took could be avoided entirely by .

The effective health given by each of these masteries is roughly equal. There will be a point in every game where one is more effective than the other two. Take some notes about your next games to find which suits you best. Do you need just a bit more health to live through that gank? ! A little more health regeneration during your late game? ! That last arrow from got you before you killed her? ! Choose wisely, and you'll do just fine!

reduces the cooldown timer on the summoner spell. is normally taken by tanks, or attack damage carries. Someone like or can use to safely into the enemy team, rid themselves of any crowd control effects, and then activate their ultimates without interruption. Carries take to allow them to remove any stuns or roots, and continue to position themselves properly throughout the fights.

If you are planning on taking all 21 points in the Defensive Tree, then taking can be a good choice if you like . However, if all you want is the reduced cooldown on your summoner spell, and are not looking for added survivability, it is more beneficial to work your way down the Utility Tree for .

Tier 5

is the combination of and . Instead of only scaling off of your base attack speed however, continues to effect your attack speed as you level up. In addition to the attack speed, your ability power is also increased. in particular, mainly because of his pasive, benefits well from this mastery.

Overall, while is a good mastery, it is often difficult to reach this far into the tree. Champions who place 20 points into defense are often going to be in the tank role, where your damage output isn't as meaningful.

can be an impactful summoner spell. When three members of your team just died in a teamfight, and you are frantically trying to avoid dying yourself, can save the game. How often has happily stood under your tower, taking shots, whle just destroys it? Instead of simply ignoring damage for a time, your tower can now deal splash damage! Turn that game ending base rush around on them by killing their carry!

It may not seem like much, but I've used to kill my fair share of low health lurkers. As long as you have decent map awareness, and are already specializing in defense, it could be a valuable addition to your array of tricks.

Tier 6

reduces all incoming damage to your champion from any source by 4%. Much like countered , is the defensive counter to . For champions who plan on taking lots of damage, you've finally made it! This is the epitome of defensive masteries! If you plan on being the main meat shield for your team, it is reccommended you take if you can fit it into your mastery page.

Note however, that is not the same statistic offered to you by or . When players talk about tenacity, they are normally reffering to the reduction of crowd control effects, not reduction in damage from this mastery.

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Utility Tree

Utility Tree Masteries

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The third, and final tree! Seems like it's been ages since you started reading this, doesn't it? I know it's been ages since I starting writing this guide. Take a minute, stretch your legs, get a drink- this will still be here when you get back.

The Utility Tree is right in the middle as far as contention. There still in a lot of debate, don't get me wrong, but unlike the Defensive Tree the confusion here is very easily cleared up. Many magic damage champions (, ) and support champions (, ) spend their remaining 21 points in this tree (after selecting in the Offensive Tree) to unlock the powerful . Examine the choices carefully, and prepare yourselves for battle summoners! You're almost ready!

Tier 1

The casting time of isn't very long, can give you a boost when you need it most. When you're trying to get to that teamfight at the Dragon, half a second can mean the difference between a death and a kill. Taking also will reduce the cooldown timer from 300 seconds to 295 seconds. In a thirty minute game, this will not grant you an additional cast. However, it will let you move ever so slightly faster across the map.

If you are planning on taking as a summoner spell, can be a good choice. The regeneration offered by is negligible, allowing you to easily place that point here instead.

The very first mastery covered so far that is mandatory! 10% reduced death timers will reduce your out of game time dramatically during the course of a full match, with the most impactful being the very late game. When you reach level 18, your death timer is somewhere around 60 seconds. Getting into the game 6 seconds sooner can allow you to stop the lose of an inhibitor, actually benefit from the Baron buff your team is about to steal, or even make it to the enemy base in time to finish the round.

is a great mastery. While it is never a good idea to die, you will eventually. When you do, will make it more bearable.

Much like , will increase the rate at which your health regenerates. Though a 4% increase in regeneration may sound dramatic, allow some simple math to prove otherwise.

WARNING MATH CONTENT

At level 1, starts with 7.1 MP/5, and 8.4 HP/5.
•Rank 1 gives an additional .142 MP/5, and .168 HP/5
•Rank 2 gives an additional .213 MP/5, and .252 HP/5
•Rank 3 gives an additional .284 MP/5, and .336 HP/5

At level 18, will have 16 MP/5, and 24 HP/5.
•Rank 1 gives an additional .32 MP/5, and .48 HP/5
•Rank 2 gives an additional .48 MP/5, and .72 HP/5
•Rank 3 gives an additional .64 MP/5, and .96 HP/5

At level 18, with a Philosopher's Stone, will have 24 MP/5, and 42 HP/5.
•Rank 1 gives an additional .48 MP/5, and .84 HP/5
•Rank 2 gives an additional .72 MP/5, and 1.26 HP/5
•Rank 3 gives an additional .96 MP/5, and 1.68 HP/5

END OF MATH PORTION

While the level 18 numbers will change slighlty based on your build and runes, the regeneration bonus offered by is minimal: less than 2 health every 5 seconds. Therefore, it is not normally a good idea to place more than one point here. If you are selecting or as summoner spells however, it is probably a better idea to select one of those masteries, along with to unlock further tiers.

So, or ?
.2 health per second, or 6 seconds reduced death timer?

gives a decent buff to the summoner spell. In addition to lasting a total of 11.5 seconds, you are also able to run 30% faster than normal. The distance you can cover while having active is surprisingly long. And with the coming nerfs to in Season 2, will become a highly sought after escape tool.

Until then however, if you prefer to , or already have a blink ability (, ), can be a good choice for you. Place one point here, and three into to continue down this tree.

Tier 2

The second mandatory mastery! gives you a huge boost to your experience gain. Without it, a jungler cannot level up from the small golem camp. Nor can he level up from the wolves and large blue wraith. Not only does it help your jungler, but a laner can get to level 6 quite a bit faster than someone without it.

You might not be as excited as I am over increased experience- where else are you going to put your points? If you need to progress farther into the Utility Tree, there is no other worthy spot for your points.

Unless you want to place them in . A champion who is dependant on mana could benefit greatly from . 5% bonus mana on someone like or would be amazing!

Unlike many people believe, also affects itemized mana! players around the globe, rejoice! would gain a bonus of 15.25 starting mana, and only 2.55 mana per level, for a total of 61.15 mana at level 18 from his base mana. His items however, give him lots more.

- gives 500 mana, for a bonus of 25!
- gives 725 mana, for a bonus of 36.25!
- gives 1400 mana, for a bonus of 70!

Those three items give you a total of 131.25 bonus mana. For four points, you would get a grand total of 192.4 mana (a free !). Four points for 200 mana is a lot considering three points in gets you less than 1 HP/5.

While 200 extra mana is a lot for , who relies on mana for damage, most other champions will not do so well. Unless you are planning on purchasing as many mana items as possible, you are far better off placing your points into .

Tier 3

is a highly underappreciated mastery. For one point you recieve 360 gold during the course of a 60 minute round. As a jungler, will allow you to purchase your essentially for free by the end of the game. As a support champion, will allow you to purchase 5 Sight Wards, enough to last you through the entire laning phase of a normal game. If you like buying extra health, you can even think of as 10 free !

During the early game, additional mana is always welcomed. For one point, you can get 1 MP/5. Definitely not as much as we would like to have, but it can make a big difference in your harass and ability to last hit with your abilities. Once you purchase a mana sustain item like or Philosopher's Stone, the benefits of fade into the background. also allows many junglers to continue to function through the mid game, despite giving the blue buff away to a magic damage caster.

This is the only regeneration oriented mastery that does not change based on your champion choice, nor your itemization. If you are unsure who you will be playing, is a safe choice. It ensures you have some mana regeneration, regardless of if you get stuck in a non-ideal place on the team.

Have you ever wondered why your golem buff wears off before you want it to? Or why the enemy never seems to be without it? is the answer to all of these.

greatly increases the duration of buff durations on your champion. With two points here, you are able to keep either the golem or lizard buff almost until the monster camp respawns. It is advantageous for everyone to take at least one point here if they can afford it: you never know when you might snag the buffs from an enemy champion. The baron buff will also have an extended timer, allowing you to deal more damage to the enemy base without need of worry.

If you plan on taking as a support player, is a good choice. It not only will restore your mana in a pinch, but gives just as much to all nearby friendly champions (unlike ). At level 18, you restore 700 mana to each champion- meaning you can restore a total of 3,500 mana in one shot. After a team fight, tower battle, or Baron buff, you can raise the morale of your team, and head back into the fray.

Though is often a better choice in higher levels of play, can be more effective before summoner level 20. With the exception of the ever popular , it can be difficult to jungle without runes. Without a jungler who needs vision to gank, or invade, support players have an extra summoner spell slot.

Determine if you are going to have a jungler on your team, or a designated roamer (), and choose your summoner spell wisely.

Tier 4

gives you a much needed boost in movement speed during the early game. The increased speed allows you to move in and out of range to last hit easily, and escape from any incoming ganks. affects your base movement speed. starts with an unusally high 330 base speed. will grant him an additional 10 speed. however, who starts at 310, will only gain 9 movement speed. The difference in gain isn't noticable, but will further seperate the two in a chase.

If you are planning on buying early, or are playing a highly mobile champion like , take careful note of . You can either move these points elsewhere as your speed will already be high from the start, or keep them here to further increase your mobility.

is an overpowered summoner spell. So much so that almost every champion will benefit more from it than any other. If you're going to use something that is this great, why not make it even better? will reduce it's cooldown by 15 seconds: from 255, down to 240. In a thirty minute game, this will not give you an additional cast.

When Season Two rolls around, and becomes less effective, will either become mandatory to make worthy of use, or simply make an average spell better. Only time will tell!

Tier 5

On the way to , mages and support champions normally take all three points in . Each point here is twice as effective as they were way way back in You will notice a slight decrease in the cooldowns of all of your abilities, while your ultimate will usually have about 5 seconds shaved off the top.

Please note that cool down reduction granted by only affects your four ability's cool downs, not your summoner spells.

I've grown particularly fond of during my time in the League, so please excuse my impending excitement.

gives you a much needed scouting tool. The cooldown is short without any improvements, a mere 55 seconds! It lasts for 6 seconds, long enough to scare away an incoming gank. brings the cooldown timer down to 50 seconds, and gives you 4 additional seconds of vision, lasting for a grand total of 10 seconds! You could watch the entire time he is killing the blue golem! Bringing the cooldown from 55 to 50 gives you an additional 4 casts every half hour, with 16 extra seconds of vision!

Tier 6

reduces the cooldown of all summoner spellsby 15%. This effect is compounded with those of and . Below, you can see how affects each spell in both timer reductions, and number of casts per thrity minute round.

• Original Timer: 55 seconds. Number of casts per 30 minutes: 33.
• Timer: 47 seconds. Number of casts per 30 minutes: 39.
• + Timer: 42 seconds. Number of casts per 30 minutes: 43.
• Changes in Season 2: Nerf.

• Original Timer: 180 seconds. Number of casts per 30 minutes: 10.
• Timer: 153 seconds. Number of casts per 30 minutes: 12.
• + Timer: 153 seconds. Number of casts per 30 minutes: 12.
• Changes in Season 2: None.

• Original Timer: 150 seconds. Number of casts per 30 minutes: 12.
• Timer: 128 seconds. Number of casts per 30 minutes: 14.
• + Timer: 108 seconds. Number of casts per 30 minutes: 17.
• Changes in Season 2: Buff.

• Original Timer: 210 seconds. Number of casts per 30 minutes: 9.
• Timer: 179 seconds. Number of casts per 30 minutes: 10.
• + Timer: 179 seconds. Number of casts per 30 minutes: 10.
• Changes in Season 2: None.

• Original Timer: 255 seconds. Number of casts per 30 minutes: 7.
• Timer: 217 seconds. Number of casts per 30 minutes: 8.
• + Timer: 202 seconds. Number of casts per 30 minutes: 9.
• Changes in Season 2: Nerf.

• Original Timer: 300 seconds. Number of casts per 30 minutes: 6.
• Timer: 255 seconds. Number of casts per 30 minutes: 7.
• + Timer: 255 seconds. Number of casts per 30 minutes: 7.
• Changes in Season 2: REMOVED! Replaced with something like .

• Original Timer: 210 seconds. Number of casts per 30 minutes: 9.
• Timer: 179 seconds. Number of casts per 30 minutes: 10.
• + Timer: 179 seconds. Number of casts per 30 minutes: 10.
• Changes in Season 2: None.

• Original Timer: 210 seconds. Number of casts per 30 minutes: 9.
• Timer: 179 seconds. Number of casts per 30 minutes: 10.
• + Timer: 179 seconds. Number of casts per 30 minutes: 10.
• Changes in Season 2: None.

• Original Timer: 270 seconds. Number of casts per 30 minutes: 7.
• Timer: 230 seconds. Number of casts per 30 minutes: 8.
• + Timer: 200 seconds. Number of casts per 30 minutes: 9.
• Changes in Season 2: Buff.

• Original Timer: 180 seconds. Number of casts per 30 minutes: 10.
• Timer: 153 seconds. Number of casts per 30 minutes: 12.
• + Timer: 153 seconds. Number of casts per 30 minutes: 12.
• Changes in Season 2: None.

• Original Timer: 180 seconds. Number of casts per 30 minutes: 10.
• Timer: 153 seconds. Number of casts per 30 minutes: 12.
• + Timer: 123 seconds. Number of casts per 30 minutes: 15.
• Changes in Season 2: None.

• Original Timer: 270 seconds. Number of casts per 30 minutes: 7.
• Timer: 230 seconds. Number of casts per 30 minutes: 8.
• + Timer: 230 seconds. Number of casts per 30 minutes: 8.
• Changes in Season 2: REMOVED! Replaced with something like .

• Original Timer: 540 seconds. Number of casts per 30 minutes: 3.
• Timer: 459 seconds. Number of casts per 30 minutes: 4.
• + Timer: 439 seconds. Number of casts per 30 minutes: 4.
• Changes in Season 2: None.

• Original Timer: 75 seconds. Number of casts per 30 minutes: 24.
• Timer: 64 seconds. Number of casts per 30 minutes: 28.
• + Timer: 59 seconds. Number of casts per 30 minutes: 31.
• Changes in Season 2: None.

• Original Timer: 300 seconds. Number of casts per 30 minutes: 6.
• Timer: 255 seconds. Number of casts per 30 minutes: 7.
• + Timer: 250 seconds. Number of casts per 30 minutes: 7.
• Changes in Season 2: None.

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Sample Masteries

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Want to see what all this looks like when all this information is used to form a mastery page? Rather than send you elsewhere to see complete mastery pages, I have some here for you!

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Ability Power Mage

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Who would use this mastery page? , ,

is helpful to any mage's damage potential, requiring to unlock. will grant 23.4 ability power as soon as you purchase your . , , and for their reduced death timer, increased mana regeneration, and increased buff duration respectively. Finally, will reduce the cooldowns on your two summoner spells by 15% (most likely , and ).

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Attack Damage Carry

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Who would use this mastery page? , ,

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Bruiser (Manabar)

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Who would use this mastery page? , ,

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Bruiser (No Manabar)

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Who would use this mastery page? ,

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Support

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Who would use this mastery page? , ,

is helpful to increase your magic damage potential, requiring to unlock. will grant 18 ability power as soon as you hit level 18, giving your spells added damage, and your heals extra power. , , and for their reduced death timer, increased mana regeneration, and increased gold gain respectively. will improve the utility of your summoner spell, granting extra vision during the full course of the game. Finally, will reduce the cooldowns on your two summoner spells by 15% (most likely , and ).

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Junglers Galore

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Sadly, I am not an expert jungler. Here is a video from Stonewall008 showing a wide variety of mastery pages, and which junglers use each setup.

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Change Log

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Nov 6. Added spacing between each tier, text, and each section's icon.
Nov 6. Added columns to narrow the text to a more managable size.
Nov 7. Spacing fixes. Again. Rar! Removed cheat sheets, and added "Sample Masteries" section. Added jungler masteries video from Stonewall008. Lots of little grammar erorr fixes. description fixed. explanation changed.
Nov 11. Added cooldown reductions. Added "Change Log" section. Fixed some grammar errors. Fixed support sample mastery bar.

Still to come: explanations for "Sample Masteries" section. Remake for Season 2!

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Conclusion

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I hope you've learned as much from reading this as I did in preparation for writing it. Like to know more? Feel that I've left anything out? Questions, comments, or concerns? Voice them below, and I'll do my best to respond in an orderly fashion.

I'll be making it prettier in the coming days. It took me about two weeks to get all the information in, so let me know what I can do to make it more visually stimulating! There may also be spelling or gramatical errors in there somewhere, so please let me know if you find any.

For those of you who have read about the changes to summoner spells coming soon, fear not! If the masteries are affected in any way, I will be right here with new information!

Thanks to jhoijhoi for her Making a Guide guide. Some of the code here is different than I'm used to, it was invaluable! In addition to the guide help, she has given me tips on improving the quality of the guide, AND she gave me my Veteran Rec!
Thanks to astrolia for their knowledge on !
Thank to MrNicholas for their help with my grammar errors! The guide is easier to read now!

If you would like to see more example mastery pages, I would reccomend you visit Searz's Mastery Guide. It shows ten champions with good builds, masteries, runes, and on top of all that, it sums up the rest of this guide.

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Mastery Explanations

Mastery Explanations

Introduction

Freaking Fizz!

What are Masteries?

Offensive Tree

Offensive Tree Masteries

Tier 1

Tier 2

Tier 3

Tier 4

Tier 5

Tier 6

Defensive Tree

Defensive Tree Masteries

Tier 1

Tier 2

Tier 3

Tier 4

Tier 5

Tier 6

Utility Tree

Utility Tree Masteries

Tier 1

Tier 2

Tier 3

Tier 4

Tier 5

Tier 6

Sample Masteries

Ability Power Mage

Attack Damage Carry

Bruiser (Manabar)

Bruiser (No Manabar)

Support

Junglers Galore

Change Log

Conclusion

League of Legends Champions: