Hubris

What is Hubris? 🔥

Hubris is the snowball assassin item — a legendary that rewards consecutive kills by converting takedowns into a compounding AD buff that grows exponentially with each stack. Unlike flat-stat AD items (Serrated Dirk giving static lethality, Opportunity giving a one-time lethality window), Hubris generates permanent stacks with each qualifying takedown, and each stack amplifies the AD bonus from every subsequent EMINENCE activation. The more kills secured, the more AD the next kill grants — a mechanic that directly rewards the assassin archetype’s kill-chain fantasy.

The EMINENCE formula is: when a takedown occurs within 3 seconds of damaging the target, the stack counter increments permanently and the holder gains 15 + (2 × current stack count) bonus attack damage for 90 seconds. At stack 1 that’s 17 bonus AD. At stack 5 that’s 25 bonus AD. At stack 10 that’s 35 bonus AD. The 90-second window is generous enough to cover most fight sequences where multiple kills are possible, and each additional takedown within that window refreshes the duration AND updates the AD value to the new higher formula result.

The critical constraint: EMINENCE’s buff is removed upon death. All accumulated bonus AD from the current EMINENCE activation is lost on death — but the stacks are permanent. Death clears the temporary buff, not the stack count. This means a Hubris holder who dies mid-EMINENCE window loses the bonus AD until the next qualifying takedown reactivates the buff, but the underlying stack counter remains and the next kill will grant the full stacked formula AD based on the preserved stack total. At 3,000 Gold with 3 Long Swords + 1 Glowing Mote as components, the recipe is efficient for early laning phase. Sell: 2,100 Gold. ID: 6697.

📊 Base Statistics

🔨 Recipe & Components

Hubris builds from Serrated Dirk + Caulfield’s Warhammer with a 950g combine:

⚔️ EMINENCE — Complete Mechanics Reference

The 3-Second Damage Window — What Qualifies as a Takedown

EMINENCE triggers when a takedown against an enemy champion occurs within 3 seconds of the Hubris holder dealing damage to that champion. The 3-second window is the critical timing constraint: the takedown (kill or assist that completes the kill) must happen within 3 seconds of the holder landing any damage on the target.

In practice, the 3-second damage window is very generous for assassins — any ability or auto-attack that hits the target within 3 seconds before the kill confirms the window. A Zed who hits the enemy with Death Mark (P), casts Q Razor Shuriken, then the target dies to the Death Mark detonation 2 seconds later: the entire sequence is within 3 seconds and EMINENCE triggers. An Akali who lands Q Five Point Strike 2.5 seconds before a kill: EMINENCE triggers. Assists also count — if the Hubris holder deals damage within 3 seconds and an ally lands the killing blow, EMINENCE still triggers and generates a stack.

Stack Permanence vs Buff Removal on Death

The separation between permanent stacks and temporary buff is the most important mechanical distinction in Hubris’s design. Every qualifying takedown permanently increments the stack counter — this counter never resets across the game, regardless of deaths. What resets on death is the active bonus AD buff — the 90-second temporary bonus AD granted by the current EMINENCE activation.

Practical scenario: Hubris holder is at Stack 7 with EMINENCE active (29 bonus AD). They die. The 29 bonus AD is removed immediately. The stack counter remains at 7. The next qualifying takedown reactivates EMINENCE with the Stack 7 formula: 15 + (2×7) = 29 bonus AD, refreshed for 90 seconds from the new takedown. The death cleared the buff, not the stacks — the penalty is temporary, not permanent. This makes Hubris’s snowball potential effectively un-erasable across the game: even after multiple deaths, the accumulated stack count remains as the foundation for the next EMINENCE activation.

Subsequent Takedowns — Refresh and Update

The wiki notes that subsequent takedowns while EMINENCE is already active both refresh the buff’s duration AND update the bonus AD value. This means: if EMINENCE is active (e.g., at Stack 5 = 25 bonus AD) and a second kill occurs (Stack 6), two things happen simultaneously: the 90-second timer restarts from zero, AND the bonus AD value updates to the new Stack 6 formula (27 bonus AD). The update is both temporal (more time) and numeric (more AD) — each kill within the EMINENCE window compounds both dimensions.

In a teamfight where 3 kills happen in rapid succession: Kill 1 activates EMINENCE at Stack N → Kill 2 refreshes to Stack N+1 (higher AD, full 90s reset) → Kill 3 refreshes to Stack N+2 (even higher AD, full 90s reset again). The final EMINENCE state after a triple kill reflects the Stack N+2 formula and the clock is fully reset from the last kill.

EMINENCE — Full Mechanics Table

🗺️ Map-Specific Differences

🎯 When to Build Hubris

Hubris is the right pick when the game situation creates consistent kill-chain opportunities for an assassin — either because the enemy team has squishy targets, the Hubris holder is significantly ahead, or the champion’s kit is specifically optimized for securing consecutive takedowns within 3-second damage windows. The EMINENCE mechanic has zero baseline value before the first kill: at zero stacks with no active EMINENCE, Hubris provides 60 AD + 10 AH + 18 lethality — a respectable stat line, but not exceptional compared to alternatives. The item’s ceiling is reached only when the snowball scenario materializes.

✅ Build Hubris When:

• Playing a melee assassin with confirmed kill pressure: Zed (Death Mark combo), Talon (wall dive + Q + W full combo), Rengar (Thrill of the Hunt leap), Qiyana (element-empowered ultimate all-in), Nocturne (Paranoia R global engage) — these champions‘ kits are designed to complete kills within 3-second damage windows through burst combos; every successful combo triggers EMINENCE, every kill adds another permanent stack
• Playing from ahead and anticipating kill-chain opportunities: if the first item advantage leads to an early kill in laning phase, Hubris immediately generates Stack 1 and 17 bonus AD; the snowball creates the next kill opportunity (more AD = easier to one-shot) which generates Stack 2 (19 bonus AD), further compounding the advantage; Hubris specifically punishes compositions that cannot deal with a fed single-target assassin
• Enemy team has multiple squishy targets that can be kill-chained in teamfights: an assassin securing double or triple kills in a single teamfight refreshes EMINENCE multiple times, incrementing stacks with each kill and updating the AD value upward; after a 3-kill teamfight with stacks building from N to N+3, the EMINENCE bonus AD is significantly higher than before the fight started — the teamfight itself becomes a Hubris stack-acceleration event
• Arena specifically: Arena’s permanent AD per trigger mechanic and round-long EMINENCE duration make Hubris disproportionately powerful in Arena compared to SR; the compounding permanent AD across multiple rounds makes it one of the strongest snowball items in the Arena item pool for melee assassins

❌ Do NOT Build Hubris When:

• Playing a champion who struggles to secure the killing blow or 3-second damage confirmation: supports, tanks, and enchanters rarely land damage within 3 seconds before a kill in the chaotic patterns of teamfights; EMINENCE requires the Hubris holder specifically to deal damage within 3 seconds of the takedown — a passive tank who stands in the backline dealing zero damage doesn’t trigger it; Jak’Sho, The Protean or Sunfire Aegis provide far more tank-relevant stats
• Playing from significantly behind: if the Hubris holder is behind and cannot secure kills, EMINENCE never activates and the item provides only 60 AD + 10 AH + 18 lethality — a reasonable stat line but not worth the 3,000g over items with more reliable impact like Edge of Night (spell shield) or Youmuu’s Ghostblade (movement speed for engagement safety)
• Enemy team can easily prevent consecutive kills: heavy CC compositions (Leona + Nautilus + Lissandra) that chain-interrupt the assassin after the first kill prevent EMINENCE refresh cycles; if every kill attempt ends with the assassin dying immediately after the kill, EMINENCE buff activates briefly then is removed by death — the stack still generates, but the active bonus AD window is wasted; prioritize survivability items (Edge of Night) in CC-heavy matchups over Hubris

👥 Best Champions for Hubris

✅ Optimal — Melee Burst Assassins

• Zed — Death Mark (P/R) + shadow burst combo. Zed’s Death Mark detonation within 3 seconds of the initial Q/W/E hit reliably triggers EMINENCE — the 3-second damage window is exactly the timeframe of a full Zed combo (W dash + Q + basic attack + E + Death Mark detonation). Every successful Zed kill combo = permanent EMINENCE stack. Zed’s shadow mechanic also means ability hits from shadow clones count as the holder dealing damage — widening the 3-second window coverage across multi-shadow interactions. Death Mark confirms kills reliably, making Zed one of the most consistent Hubris stackers in the game.
• Talon — Noxian Diplomacy (Q) + Rake (W) + Assassin’s Path (E wall dive) + Nocturne of Blades (R). Talon’s all-in wall-dive pattern completes within a 2-second window — confirming a kill triggers EMINENCE immediately. The full combo landing guarantees a kill on squishy targets, and Talon’s roaming pattern (river roam → mid → river roam) creates opportunities for multiple kills across multiple lanes within a single 90-second EMINENCE window — each lane kill refreshes EMINENCE and increments the stack while Talon roams between lanes.
• Rengar — Thrill of the Hunt (R) stealth + Empowered Savagery (Q) + Battle Roar (W). Rengar’s Thrill of the Hunt leap kill from stealth is the cleanest EMINENCE trigger: deal damage (Q on landing) + kill within 3 seconds. Rengar often secures kills before the target can react, making the 3-second window a non-issue. Multiple EMINENCE stacks from Rengar late game mean each subsequent hunt is even more lethal — the permanent AD compounding on a champion who already has high base damage creates extreme late-game one-shot potential.
• Qiyana — Terrashaping (Q) element empowerment + Audacity (E) dash + Supreme Display of Talent (R) combo. Qiyana’s burst combo completes in under 2 seconds on squishy targets. EMINENCE triggers reliably on any confirmed Qiyana kill combo. In teamfights, Qiyana’s R ultimate can knock multiple enemies into walls simultaneously — if this results in multiple kills, EMINENCE refreshes and stacks multiple times from the single R cast damage window.
• Nocturne — Paranoia (R) global engage + Duskbringer (Q) + Unspeakable Horror (E) fear + Shroud of Darkness (W) spell shield. Nocturne’s R reduces vision for the entire map, allowing him to target specific squishy enemies from full map range. The 3-second damage window after Q hits guarantees EMINENCE triggers on successful Paranoia dive kills. Nocturne’s jungle clearing also creates frequent kill-and-reset patterns via Paranoia, making consistent EMINENCE stacking easier than typical through frequent R engages.

Situational — Fighters with Kill Pressure

• Darius: Decimate (Q) + Noxian Guillotine (R) stacking Hemorrhage (P). Darius’s Noxian Guillotine reset mechanic (R cooldown resets on kill) creates rapid consecutive takedown opportunities — EMINENCE triggers on each Guillotine kill and refreshes as Darius chains R resets across a teamfight. High base AD Darius with EMINENCE active creates enormous Noxian Guillotine damage values through the bonus AD scaling on R. Situational: Hubris is a 2nd or 3rd item for Darius rather than first — defensive stats are usually higher priority.
• Yone: Mortal Steel (Q) + Steel Tempest (Q) knock-up + Soul Unbound (E) dash + Fate Sealed (R). Yone deals consistent ability damage within 3-second windows due to Q stacking cadence. EMINENCE triggers on confirmed kills from the E dash + Q3 tornado + R combo pattern. However, Yone typically prefers items with AD + crit (Navori Flickerblade, Infinity Edge) — Hubris is a situational second item when ahead and the snowball scenario is confirmed.

❌ Less Optimal

• Ranged ADC marksmen: ARAM nerfs ranged EMINENCE (half stack bonus, half duration, lower base) signal the design intent — Hubris is a melee assassin item; ranged ADCs who want AD items with snowball potential better served by The Collector (execute passive) or Infinity Edge (crit amplification)
• Mages and utility champions: EMINENCE’s bonus is physical damage (attack damage) — irrelevant for AP ability damage kits; Axiom Arc provides ultimate CD reduction for ability-focused assassin hybrids; Hubris’s bonus AD only matters if the champion’s damage output scales with AD

⚙️ Recommended Build Paths

Zed — Maximum Kill-Chain Snowball

1. Serrated Dirk — First back (1,000g) — lethality immediately available for early kills; Dirk’s armor penetration amplifies Death Mark damage against lightly armored lane opponents
2. Hubris — First full item — EMINENCE live; first successful Death Mark kill combo = Stack 1 (17 bonus AD); 60 + 17 = 77 effective AD active from one item
3. Edge of Night — Second item — NIGHT’S EDGE spell shield on channel; passive armor pen; protects Zed from CC interruptions during W shadow + E + Death Mark combo; crucial for surviving post-kill counter-CC in teamfights to maximize EMINENCE refresh opportunities
4. Voltaic Cyclosword — Third item — FIRMAMENT: basic attack slows after abilities; movement slow aids Zed’s gap-closing after shadow dash; AD + lethality stack with Hubris for total armor pen package; empowered basic attack FIRMAMENT slow after W ability cast keeps targets in range for Death Mark detonation
5. Youmuu’s Ghostblade — Fourth item — HAUNT: active movement speed burst; AD + lethality; Youmuu’s active provides engagement mobility for Paranoia R dive approach or post-W shadow positioning; lethality stacks with Hubris + Edge of Night + Voltaic for maximum total armor pen
6. Serpent’s Fang — Fifth item situational — SHIELD REAVER: attacks reduce shields; when enemy team stacks shields (Immortal Shieldbow ADC, Locket support, Sterak’s fighter), Serpent’s Fang strips shields before Death Mark detonation; situational replacement for Youmuu’s when the shield meta is heavy

Talon — Roaming Stack Acceleration

7. Caulfield’s Warhammer — First back (1,050g) — AH to reduce E Assassin’s Path CD and W Rake double-hit CD; earlier ability cycling for mid roam kill attempts
8. Hubris — First full item — EMINENCE live; early roam kill on mid or lane = Stack 1 immediately; 90s EMINENCE window means a roam kill on bot lane followed by a roam kill on top lane within 90 seconds generates Stack 2 from a single EMINENCE window
9. Edge of Night — Second item — spell shield prevents interruption during Assassin’s Path (E) wall-dive entry; allows safe wall-dive initiation even through enemy skill shots that would otherwise interrupt the dive
10. Axiom Arc — Third item — FLUX: ultimate CDR on kill; with Talon’s ultimate (R) generating EMINENCE stacks on each kill, Axiom Arc’s ultimate CDR means Talon can use R Nocturne of Blades more frequently for additional assassination windows and EMINENCE generation opportunities
11. Youmuu’s Ghostblade — Fourth item — HAUNT movement speed for roam setup; total lethality from Hubris + Edge of Night + Youmuu’s creates near-maximum armor penetration package against squishy targets

🔄 Similar Items — Assassin AD and Snowball Family

❌ Common Mistakes & How to Avoid Them

• Building Hubris without a realistic kill-chain plan: Hubris’s EMINENCE passive provides zero value before the first qualifying takedown. Against compositions where the assassin cannot secure kills due to defensive peel, tankiness, or healing, Hubris’s base stats (60 AD + 10 AH + 18 lethality) are competitive but not exceptional — other assassin legendaries (Edge of Night, Youmuu’s Ghostblade) provide more reliable utility and defensive tools for difficult matchups. Hubris is correct when the kills are coming; it’s mediocre when they aren’t
• Dying immediately after securing a kill and wasting the EMINENCE window: EMINENCE removes on death — dying immediately after the first kill wastes the 90-second bonus AD window. The stack increments permanently, but the active bonus AD contributes nothing if death follows the kill instantly. Assassins who secure kills and then die to the CC chain of the enemy team should prioritize escape BEFORE the bonus AD expires rather than greedily continuing the fight. The kill + escape combo generates more EMINENCE value than the kill + death combo
• Forgetting that assists count toward EMINENCE: players often assume EMINENCE requires the Hubris holder to land the killing blow. The mechanic triggers on any takedown (kill OR assist) where the Hubris holder dealt damage within 3 seconds. In teamfights, assisting on a kill by dealing damage in the 3-second window before an ally finishes the target still generates a permanent stack. Assassins playing in coordinated play should be aware that damage contributions within the 3-second window before ally kills are counting toward stack generation even without the killing blow
• Not accounting for the ARAM melee/ranged split when drafting: in ARAM, building Hubris on a ranged champion (Jinx, Caitlyn, Ezreal) means EMINENCE generates only +1 per stack (vs +2 for melee) with a 45-second duration (vs 90 seconds) — significantly weaker. In ARAM specifically, Hubris should be restricted to melee assassins and fighters who receive full EMINENCE value; ranged ARAM champions should prefer other AD items
• Treating the 3-second damage window as difficult to meet: the 3-second window is actually very generous for most assassin kill patterns. Any damage hit within 3 seconds of the takedown qualifies — a basic attack at 2.8 seconds before the kill, an ability projectile landing 0.5 seconds before death, a DoT tick during the kill animation. Standard assassin all-in combos complete in under 2 seconds; the 3-second window covers virtually all standard burst kill patterns. The window only fails to trigger EMINENCE in edge cases where the target dies from an environmental source, a DoT from before the 3-second window, or a non-damage execution effect

✅ Best Practices

• Build Hubris as first item when ahead or in snowball-favored matchups: the item becomes exponentially more valuable with each stack; completing it first maximizes the number of fights in which stacks can be generated; a first-item Hubris that generates Stacks 1-3 in the laning phase starts the mid-game teamfight phase at a compounding AD advantage over a flat-stat first item
• Pair with The Collector for guaranteed EMINENCE execution reliability: The Collector’s 5% execute prevents low-HP escapes that would deny EMINENCE stacks; the combination converts every assassination attempt that reaches the 5% threshold into a confirmed takedown and EMINENCE trigger
• Pair with Edge of Night for post-kill survival (surviving to use EMINENCE bonus AD): Edge of Night’s spell shield prevents post-kill CC interruptions that would otherwise result in the assassin dying immediately after the kill and losing the EMINENCE bonus AD window; surviving the kill means spending 90 full seconds with elevated AD
• Escape after securing kills rather than fighting through the EMINENCE window: the EMINENCE bonus AD is lost on death; the kill + escape combo preserves the 90-second window; the kill + death combo discards the bonus AD immediately; aggressive over-extension after securing the first kill commonly wastes the most valuable window of EMINENCE activation
• In Arena: Hubris is first-priority item for melee assassins: Arena’s permanent AD per trigger and round-long EMINENCE duration make Hubris the most powerful snowball item in the Arena item pool; securing kills early in Arena rounds generates permanent AD that compounds across all subsequent rounds; prioritize Hubris as the first item purchase in Arena for eligible melee assassin champions

FAQ

Q: Do stacks reset when the Hubris holder dies?

A: A: No — stacks are PERMANENT and are never reset under any condition in the game, including death. What is removed upon death is the EMINENCE active buff — the temporary bonus AD granted by the current EMINENCE activation disappears immediately on death. The underlying stack counter, however, is permanent. After respawning, the next qualifying takedown (kill or assist within 3 seconds of dealing damage) reactivates EMINENCE at the full stacked formula: 15 + (2 × preserved stack count). The penalty from dying while EMINENCE is active is the loss of the temporary bonus AD for the current 90-second window — not the destruction of accumulated stacks.

Q: Does assisting a kill (not landing the killing blow) trigger EMINENCE?

A: A: Yes — EMINENCE triggers on any TAKEDOWN against an enemy champion within 3 seconds of the Hubris holder dealing damage to that champion. Takedowns include both kills and assists. If the Hubris holder deals damage to an enemy within 3 seconds and an allied champion lands the killing blow, EMINENCE triggers and generates a permanent stack. In teamfights where multiple allies share damage on targets, the 3-second damage window from the Hubris holder’s last damage hit determines whether the assist counts. Active damage contribution within 3 seconds before the kill, regardless of who finishes the target, generates EMINENCE stacks.

Q: What is the realistic maximum stack count in a normal game?

A: A: In a typical 30-35 minute ranked game, a fed assassin can realistically reach 8-12 stacks from kills + assists across the entire game. This translates to 31-39 bonus AD at Stack 8-12 with EMINENCE active, generating 91-99 total effective AD from a single item. Reaching 20+ stacks requires approximately 20 qualifying takedowns — possible in a stomp game with many kills but unusual in competitive play. Stack 5-8 (25-31 bonus AD, 85-91 total Hubris effective AD) is the realistic mid-game snowball range for a killing lane assassin.

Q: Does the EMINENCE bonus AD benefit all damage sources or only basic attacks?

A: EMINENCE grants bonus attack damage — a stat that benefits ALL damage calculations that use attack damage, including basic attacks and abilities that scale with AD (total or bonus AD depending on their scaling formula). For Zed’s abilities that scale with total AD (Q Razor Shuriken, Death Mark), EMINENCE bonus AD increases both the ability damage output AND the basic attack damage. The bonus AD functions identically to AD from any other source — it’s a stat addition, not an isolated on-hit. For ability-based assassins, this means EMINENCE bonus AD amplifies the entire combo damage output, not just auto-attacks.

Q: How does Hubris compare to Youmuu’s Ghostblade for first item?

A: Both items cost approximately 3,000g and provide similar base stat lines (AD + AH + lethality). Youmuu’s Ghostblade provides +55 AD + 15 AH + 18 lethality + HAUNT active (movement speed burst for engagement). Hubris provides +60 AD + 10 AH + 18 lethality + EMINENCE (kill-reward permanent stacking AD). The decision: if the primary need is engagement mobility and consistent combat stats regardless of kill performance → Youmuu’s Ghostblade. If the game situation is snowball-favorable and kills are coming → Hubris first (higher AD ceiling potential, EMINENCE bonus AD after first kill). Many assassin builds include both items in the full build — the first/second item order depends on whether the snowball is already established or still developing.