Not to be confused with patch changes, buffs also refer to status effects in League of Legends (LoL) that boost a champion’s stats and abilities. There are many ways to get them, including from jungle monsters, items, runes, or even allies. You can think of them as special power-ups for your character! What do the buffs do in League of Legends?
This guide will discuss everything LoL players need to know about buffs and exactly what they do. By the end, you’ll have pretty much mastered all there is to know about these enhancements.
What Do the Buffs Do In League?
Buffs give your champion or minions a temporary or permanent boost in their performance. This could be anything from bonus attack damage, ability power, and movement speed to amplified health/mana regeneration or even cooldown reduction. Some buffs also trigger special effects, like invisibility or shielding.
By definition, a buff can be any status effect that improves one or more aspects of a champion’s power in LoL. Some buffs exclusively apply effects to your champ (e.g., Master Yi’s Highlander and Garen’s Courage), while others grant them to targeted allies or even the entire team (e.g., Lulu’s Wild Growth or Sona’s auras).
While some buffs have risks or tradeoffs attached (e.g., Olaf’s Berserker Rage), the actual effect they provide is always beneficial in some way. This separates them from debuffs like slow, sleep, stun, silence, and suppression that only weaken or limit you.
How Long Do Buffs Last In LoL?
The duration of buffs in LoL depends entirely on their source. Most champion passives grant buffs that last indefinitely or persist until death, while other kinds of buffs only activate situationally. For instance, Rift Scuttler’s Speed Shrines only grant bonus movement speed to champs that cross over it.
Summoner spells like Ghost, Heal, or Barrier also provide buffs but are temporary, expiring after a few seconds. In a similar vein, most active ability buffs only last a few seconds, apart from stacking buffs, which expire if they’re not refreshed.
Neutral monster buffs typically last a little longer. For example, the Red Buff (Crest of Cinders) and Blue Buff (Crest of Insight) last 2 minutes by default, while Hand of Baron lasts 3 minutes. Dragon Souls are permanent once claimed, whereas Elder Dragon buffs last 2.5 minutes or until death.
Note: You can see which buffs are applied to your champion (and their durations) by looking at the indicator above the champion bar.
Do Buffs Stack In LoL?
Again, it depends. Some buffs in LoL can stack, but most do not. Usually, if a status effect is reapplied, it simply resets the duration without increasing the strength. The exception is actual stacking buffs—the ones that ramp up over time as you apply them more.
For example, Wukong’s Stone Skin grants bonus armor and max health regen per stack whenever he (or his clone) hits an enemy champion or monster. Veigar’s Phenomenal Evil Power is another example of a stacking buff that gives bonus ability power every time he hits enemies with abilities or scores a takedown.
What Are The Different Buffs In LoL?
There are hundreds of different buffs in LoL—at least 300 come from champion abilities alone! Perhaps the most notable are neutral buffs, which are awarded for killing monsters or capturing key objectives. There are also a few granted from purchasing certain items or equipping summoner spells, but we’ve left these out for brevity.
Here is a breakdown of the main neutral and objective-based buffs you’ll find in LoL and what they do.
Neutral Monster Buffs
These buffs are earned by slaying specific jungle monsters and can often make or break a game, if obtained at the right moment.
| Buff | Source | Duration | Effect(s) |
| Crest of Cinders (Red Buff) | Red Brambleback | 120s | Basic attacks slow the target and apply a burn, dealing true damage over 2s. Attacking a burning target refreshes the burn. While out of combat, you regenerate health every 5s. The buff transfers on death if taken from a standard Red Brambleback. |
| Crest of Insight (Blue Buff) | Blue Sentinel | 120s | Grants 10 ability haste and restores 5+1% of max mana or energy per second, depending on the champion’s resource type. The buff transfers on death if slain by an enemy champion, and the buff was gained from a non-corrupted Blue Sentinel. |
| Hand of Baron | Baron Nashor | 180s | Grants Empowered Recall, bonus AD/AP (12-48 AD, 20-80 AP based on game time), and makes nearby allied minions stronger, tankier, and faster. The buff is lost upon death. |
| Glimpse of the Void | Rift Herald (Eye of the Herald) | Indefinite | The champion who picks up the dropped Eye of the Herald gains the ability to summon Rift Herald, while all allies who helped kill it receive one charge of Empowered Recall. |
| Aspect of the Dragon | Elder Dragon | 150s | Grants two effects: (i) Burn – Damaging enemies causes them to burn for 75-225 true damage over 2.25s. This damage ticks three times and refreshes on hit. (ii) Elder Immolation – If you damage an enemy champion below 20% HP, they’re hit with Elder Immolation after 0.5s, instantly executing them with true damage equal to their current health. This can’t occur more than once every 2s per target and won’t work through invulnerability or death-prevention effects. The buff is removed on death. |
Dragon Soul Buffs
These are permanent buffs granted to the first team that kills four elemental drakes. The exact effect depends on the Rift’s dominant dragon type and persists through death.
| Buff | Source | Duration | Effect(s) |
| Chemtech Dragon Soul | Chemtech Drake | Indefinite | When you’re below 50% HP, you deal +13% damage and take 13% less damage. |
| Cloud Dragon Soul | Cloud Drake | Indefinite | Gain 15% bonus movement speed always, and a 60% burst for 6s after casting your ultimate. |
| Hextech Dragon Soul | Hextech Drake | Indefinite | Damaging enemies zaps them with bonus true damage and a slow that chains to nearby targets. |
| Infernal Dragon Soul | Infernal Drake | Indefinite | Abilities and basic attacks trigger an AoE explosion for adaptive damage around the target. |
| Mountain Dragon Soul | Mountain Drake | Indefinite | If you don’t take damage for 5s, you gain a scaling shield based on AD, AP, and bonus health. |
| Ocean Dragon Soul | Ocean Drake | Indefinite | Dealing damage heals you and restores mana over 4s. Reduced effect on minions and monsters. |
Dragon Slayer Buffs
These are permanent stacking buffs that boost your entire team. They’re earned for killing elemental drakes. Each type grants a unique stacking effect up to four times. These do not expire, even if you die.
| Buff | Source | Duration | Effect(s) |
| Chemtech Blight | Chemtech Drake | Indefinite | Grants 6-24% increased tenacity and heal/shield power. |
| Cloudbringer’s Grace | Cloud Drake | Indefinite | Gives 5-20% slow resistance and bonus movement speed while out of combat. |
| Hextech Prowess | Hextech Drake | Indefinite | Provides 5-20 ability haste and 5-20% attack speed. |
| Infernal Might | Infernal Drake | Indefinite | Boosts attack damage and ability power by 3-12%. |
| Mountainous Vigor | Mountain Drake | Indefinite | Increases armor and magic resist by 5-20%. |
| Oceanic Will | Ocean Drake | Indefinite | Regenerates 2-8% missing health every 5s. |
Do Skins Give Buffs In LoL?
No. Whether they’re prestige skins or not, all skins in LoL are purely cosmetic. They have absolutely no impact on your champion’s stats, damage, cooldowns, or hitboxes. While you might feel like they help you in some ways (e.g., maybe they have smoother animations or visual effects), they don’t make any difference to gameplay.
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