Sunfire Aegis

Sunfire Aegis is a Legendary Tank item costing 2700 gold providing +10 Ability Haste, +50 Armor, and +350 Health. Its passive IMMOLATE activates for 3 seconds whenever the carrier takes or deals damage, dealing 20 + 1% bonus health magic damage per second to all enemies within 325 units (+ 100% bonus size). Immolate damage is increased to 160% against minions and to 200% against monsters. The passive executes minions that would be killed by one more tick. IMMOLATE deals default damage (not spell damage) — it does not trigger spell effects. It is auto-targeted and fires automatically without player input. IMMOLATE auras can be stacked between multiple users of Sunfire Aegis on the same team. The item is limited to 1 IMMOLATE item per player. Predecessors include Sunfire Cape, Forgefire Cape, and Forgefire Crest. Sunfire Aegis is the proximity damage tank item — converting the tank’s presence in the middle of a fight into sustained magic AoE without any ability casting, rewarding champions who stay inside melee range of multiple enemies for extended periods.

Sunfire Aegis is a Legendary-tier item available on Summoner’s Rift (5v5), ARAM, Nexus Blitz, and Arena. ID 3068. Limited to 1 IMMOLATE item per player. Sell value: 1890 gold. Predecessors: Sunfire Cape, Forgefire Cape, Forgefire Crest.

📊 Stats at a Glance

💡 The 1% Bonus Health Scaling — HP Investment Directly Amplifies Immolate DPS: IMMOLATE deals 1% of bonus health per second as additional magic damage stacked on top of the 20 base. Bonus health includes HP from all items and runes — not the champion’s level-based base HP. At 1000 bonus HP (Sunfire 350 + Warmog’s 1000 overlap contribution): IMMOLATE adds +10 damage per second for a total of 30 DPS per target. At 2000 bonus HP (deep HP stacking): IMMOLATE deals 40 DPS per target. Every HP item purchased after Sunfire Aegis increases IMMOLATE’s sustained DPS for the rest of the game — the damage is not fixed at purchase but grows retroactively with each HP investment, making Sunfire Aegis more efficient as the build deepens into HP.

💡 The Size Bonus Interaction — Cho’Gath and Sion IMMOLATE Radius: IMMOLATE’s radius is 325 + 100% of the carrier’s bonus size. Cho’Gath’s Feast permanently increases champion size — at 6 Feast stacks, Cho’Gath’s size bonus meaningfully expands the IMMOLATE aura beyond the base 325. Sion’s Glory in Death undeath form also increases size. Against large-collision-radius enemies (Baron, Dragon, Rift Herald), the aura must reach the enemy’s center to deal damage — standard melee champions at maximum auto-attack range against Dragon or Rift Herald may be within attack range but outside IMMOLATE’s damage zone relative to the large unit’s center point. This is why some champions appear to not receive IMMOLATE damage at seemingly valid distances against epic monsters.

⚠️ IMMOLATE Executes Minions — One Tick Threshold: IMMOLATE’s execute mechanic fires on minions that would be killed by one more tick of IMMOLATE damage. At 160% damage multiplier against minions: IMMOLATE deals 32 + 1.6% bonus HP per second against minions. Any minion whose remaining HP is at or below that one-tick value is instantly killed without waiting for the actual tick. At 1000 bonus HP: IMMOLATE deals 48 magic DPS against minions (32 + 16). A minion at 50 HP or below is within that one-tick threshold and dies instantly. This execute window significantly accelerates wave clear — particularly for melee minions whose HP degrades across the fight.

🔨 Recipe & Build Path

💡 Bami’s Cinder as Early IMMOLATE Source: Bami’s Cinder (900g) provides a weaker IMMOLATE passive at purchase — enabling early wave clear and AoE fight pressure before the full Sunfire Aegis is completed. Against lane opponents who rely on being near minions for minion blocking or safety (Malphite, Sion, Darius), Bami’s Cinder’s early IMMOLATE provides constant chip damage while the lane tank stays in melee proximity. The 900g spend is fully absorbed into Sunfire Aegis at zero waste — Bami’s Cinder upgrades into Sunfire with no gold penalty.

💡 Build Order — Chain Vest vs Bami’s Cinder First: Against heavy physical early-game pressure (Darius, Renekton, Garen trades), Chain Vest (800g) first establishes armor before Sunfire completion, reducing incoming physical damage during the laning phase window. Against matchups where early wave clear and AoE fight presence matter more than armor (Cho’Gath vs AP top laner, Amumu jungle), Bami’s Cinder (900g) first gets IMMOLATE’s wave clear active sooner. Both components are fully absorbed with zero combine waste.

⚡ Passive — UNIQUE: IMMOLATE

EFFECT: Taking or dealing damage activates IMMOLATE for 3 seconds, dealing 20 + 1% bonus health magic damage per second to all enemies within 325 units (+ 100% bonus size). Damage is increased to 160% against minions and 200% against monsters. Minions that would be killed by one more tick are executed immediately. IMMOLATE deals default damage (no spell effects), is auto-targeted, and stacks between multiple IMMOLATE item users on the same team.

💡 ‘Taking OR Dealing Damage’ — IMMOLATE Never Goes Inactive in Combat: The dual activation condition — taking damage OR dealing damage — means IMMOLATE is essentially permanently active for the duration of any combat. A tank who is being hit by the enemy team is taking damage, activating IMMOLATE. A tank who is landing abilities or auto-attacks is dealing damage, activating IMMOLATE. The only scenario where IMMOLATE deactivates is when neither taking nor dealing any damage for 3 full seconds — an impossibility in any sustained fight. IMMOLATE can be thought of as a permanently-on proximity AoE burn during all combat sequences, requiring no deliberate activation.

💡 The Stacking Mechanic Between Multiple Sunfire Aegis Users: IMMOLATE’s auras from multiple Sunfire Aegis owners on the same team are fully additive within overlapping range. Two Sunfire Aegis tanks standing in the same melee cluster deal double IMMOLATE damage to every enemy in both auras’ range simultaneously. Three Sunfire Aegis users: triple IMMOLATE. In lower-elo coordinated play or specific tank-stacking compositions, dual Sunfire Aegis pairs deliberately overlap their IMMOLATE zones in melee combat for amplified AoE burn. At 1500 bonus HP each: two users deal 35 DPS each = 70 combined IMMOLATE DPS per enemy in range — before the minion or monster multipliers.

IMMOLATE Damage Per Second Reference Table

💡 The Arena IMMOLATE Difference — 5% Bonus Health Scaling: In Arena, IMMOLATE’s bonus health ratio changes from 1% to 5% bonus health per second. This is a massive amplification of the HP scaling component. At 1000 bonus HP in Arena: IMMOLATE deals 20 + 50 = 70 DPS (vs SR’s 30 DPS). At 2000 HP: 120 DPS in Arena vs 40 DPS on SR. The 5x scaling ratio makes HP stacking dramatically more efficient for IMMOLATE value in Arena than on SR. Additionally, IMMOLATE is classified as a Burn effect in Arena, which may interact with Arena-specific augments and passives that reference burn damage. This categorization change is exclusive to Arena and does not apply to SR, ARAM, or Nexus Blitz.

🎯 Who Should Buy This Item

Champion Archetypes

• Sustained Melee-Range Tanks Who Stay in the Middle of Fights: IMMOLATE deals damage to all nearby enemies continuously — the longer the tank stays at melee range with multiple enemies, the more total IMMOLATE damage accumulates. Champions who cannot easily be kited out of melee range (Malphite post-R, Rammus in Powerball, Sion charging Q, Amumu after landing bandage toss) extract maximum IMMOLATE value by staying inside the enemy cluster for the full fight duration. IMMOLATE is not a burst item — its value is cumulative sustained magic DPS across the fight’s entire duration.
• Jungle Tanks With Efficient Monster Clear Incentives: IMMOLATE’s 200% damage multiplier against monsters effectively triples the base damage against jungle camps. A jungle tank with 1000 bonus HP deals 60 IMMOLATE DPS against monsters — multi-monster camps (Raptors, Wolves, Krugs) receive IMMOLATE simultaneously from every monster in the camp, clearing all camp members faster than single-target abilities. Sunfire Aegis on jungle tanks like Amumu, Rammus, Nunu, and Volibear converts the IMMOLATE passive into one of the fastest jungle clearing items in the game through sustained AoE camp damage.
• Top Lane Tanks Who Need Wave Clear Without Ability Investment: IMMOLATE provides automatic AoE wave interaction every time the tank is near enemy minions in combat — no ability slots required for wave clear. Top lane tanks (Malphite, Cho’Gath, Sion) who would otherwise struggle to clear waves without dedicated AoE abilities benefit from IMMOLATE’s passive wave clear that fires automatically during every trade, poke exchange, or extended lane stay. The minion execute mechanic further accelerates wave clear by instantly killing minions at the damage threshold without requiring additional autos.

Specific Champion Examples

⏰ When to Buy

As a First Item — The Standard for Jungle Tanks

First item Sunfire Aegis is the definitive standard on jungle tanks who need both armor and wave-clear equivalence from the start. Amumu, Rammus, Zac, Malphite jungle, and similar HP-first junglers complete Sunfire as their first Legendary — the 200% monster multiplier activates immediately and every jungle clear from Sunfire completion onward benefits from the amplified IMMOLATE. Additionally, Bami’s Cinder (900g) first back applies the weaker early IMMOLATE in jungle camps before full completion, accelerating early clear speeds and making the jungle path faster from the first back purchase.

As a First Item — Top Lane Tank

Top lane tanks who need simultaneous armor and wave management from the first item completion (Malphite vs AD top, Cho’Gath vs physical matchups) benefit from Sunfire’s dual armor + wave clear package in a single item slot. Previously, tanks might spend two item slots for armor (Chain Vest, Sunfire) and one for wave clear — Sunfire Aegis consolidates both into one Legendary, freeing the second item slot for MR, HP, or other defensive stats that the specific matchup demands.

As a Second Item — After HP Foundation

Second item Sunfire is the most versatile timing when a first item has established the primary defensive stat (Warmog’s for HP to scale IMMOLATE, Force of Nature for MR against mixed compositions). Purchasing Sunfire after an HP-first item means IMMOLATE immediately benefits from the first item’s HP contribution — Warmog’s 1000 HP means Sunfire’s IMMOLATE is already dealing 30 DPS instead of 23.5 DPS from the moment of purchase.

💡 Synergies

Best Paired Items

• Warmog’s Armor: Warmog’s +1000 HP directly scales IMMOLATE DPS by +10 damage per second permanently from the moment of purchase. At full Warmog’s: IMMOLATE base jumps from 23.5 to 33.5 DPS against champions, 53.6 DPS against minions, and 67 DPS against monsters. Warmog’s HEART between-fight regeneration also ensures the HP pool driving IMMOLATE remains at maximum before each engagement. Warmog’s is the single highest value IMMOLATE amplifier available in the game for its gold cost, contributing more to IMMOLATE DPS per gold than any other pairing option.
• Thornmail: Thornmail adds +75 armor alongside Sunfire’s +50 for 125 combined armor — among the highest physical damage mitigation from any two-item combination. More relevantly, both passives fire simultaneously during melee combat: THORNS reflects magic damage when the carrier is auto-attacked, IMMOLATE deals magic AoE to all nearby enemies continuously. A melee ADC attacking a Sunfire + Thornmail tank receives THORNS reflect per auto AND IMMOLATE magic burn per second simultaneously — creating an environment where staying inside melee range is expensive for the attacker from two independent passive sources.
• Heartsteel: Heartsteel’s COLOSSAL CONSUMPTION stacks permanent HP on champion hits — each proc adding to the max HP pool that IMMOLATE scales from permanently. The compound effect: Heartsteel adds HP every fight, which increases IMMOLATE DPS for every subsequent fight. Over a full game, a Heartsteel + Sunfire Aegis combination where the tank participates in 15+ fights can reach 500+ bonus HP from Heartsteel alone, adding 5+ DPS to IMMOLATE permanently by the late game.
• Unending Despair: Unending Despair’s ANGUISH deals AoE magic damage to nearby champion attackers every 4 seconds of combat — an independent AoE source that fires in the same proximity zone as IMMOLATE. Both passives activate automatically from presence in combat. While IMMOLATE provides continuous DPS, ANGUISH provides periodic burst healing to the carrier (250% of damage dealt to all targets). The two items create a self-sustaining tank with both continuous AoE output (IMMOLATE) and periodic burst healing (ANGUISH) — maximum value in extended teamfights where ANGUISH heals from 5 simultaneous targets.

Champion & Ability Synergies

• Amumu Despair W + IMMOLATE simultaneous AoE: Amumu’s Despair (W) deals AoE magic damage equal to a percentage of nearby enemies’ current HP per second. When IMMOLATE is also active, both Despair and IMMOLATE fire simultaneously in the same proximity zone — two independent magic AoE sources dealing per-second damage to every nearby enemy at the same time. In a fight where Amumu has both Despair and IMMOLATE active against 3 enemies simultaneously: Despair damage + IMMOLATE damage stacks on every target per second. Adding Liandry’s Torment creates a third AoE per-second damage source from Amumu’s ability damage, making Amumu one of the highest sustained AoE magic DPS champions in the game with the right item configuration.
• Rammus Defensive Ball Curl W + IMMOLATE during W: Rammus’s W Defensive Ball Curl adds bonus armor and reflects a percentage of physical damage taken back to attackers. While W is active, any ADC continuing to auto-attack Rammus receives both W physical reflect AND IMMOLATE magic AoE simultaneously. Two independent passive reflect/burn sources firing every second during W. The combination makes attacking Rammus during W particularly punishing: each auto triggers W reflect (physical) and IMMOLATE continues burning (magic) per second of proximity.
• Cho’Gath Feast size + IMMOLATE radius expansion: Every Feast stack permanently increases Cho’Gath’s size, expanding the IMMOLATE radius (325 + 100% bonus size). At maximum practical Feast stacks (10-15 across a full game), Cho’Gath’s IMMOLATE radius extends meaningfully beyond the base 325 — affecting enemies who are outside standard melee range but within the expanded aura. Against grouped enemies at intermediate distances (not at max auto range but not adjacent), the expanded Cho’Gath IMMOLATE radius hits targets that would be outside IMMOLATE range on other champions. This creates a unique interaction where Feast stacks provide combat value not just through HP and size defensively, but through IMMOLATE’s geometric AoE expansion.
• Malphite R IMMOLATE timing in cluster: Malphite’s Unstoppable Force launches him at the target location, knocking up all enemies for approximately 1.5 seconds at the landing zone. During the knockup, all knocked-up enemies are stationary and unable to move away from Malphite’s position — they remain within IMMOLATE’s 325-unit radius for the full knockup duration. This means IMMOLATE deals 1.5 full seconds of AoE magic damage to all knocked-up enemies before they can reposition. Against a 5-man knockup from Malphite R: 1.5s x IMMOLATE DPS x 5 targets = a meaningful burst contribution that functions as passive AoE damage during the teamfight initiation.

❌ Common Mistakes & How to Avoid Them

• Buying Sunfire Aegis on ranged champions or champions who disengage frequently: IMMOLATE requires being within 325 units of enemies to deal damage — approximately 2 champion body lengths. Ranged carries, mages, and champions whose combat pattern involves fighting at maximum ability range never stay within 325 units long enough to generate meaningful IMMOLATE DPS. A Lux, Ezreal, or Caitlyn with Sunfire Aegis generates essentially zero IMMOLATE value because they never position inside the 325-unit burn radius against enemy champions. The item requires melee proximity to function.
• Underestimating IMMOLATE’s cumulative damage vs overestimating it as burst: IMMOLATE deals 23.5 DPS at purchase — this appears low in isolation. Against a single target over 10 seconds of sustained combat, IMMOLATE at 350 bonus HP deals approximately 235 total magic damage from proximity alone, without any ability. Against 3 targets simultaneously: 705 total magic damage over 10 seconds from passive proximity. IMMOLATE’s value is cumulative across the fight duration and target count, not from a single burst moment. Tanks who dismiss IMMOLATE as negligible because the per-second number seems small are misunderstanding how the damage accumulates across extended fights.
• Forgetting that IMMOLATE needs the 3-second activation window: IMMOLATE activates on taking or dealing damage and lasts 3 seconds — but IMMOLATE is not active before the first damage event. A tank who walks into minion range before combat starts does not have IMMOLATE active until a damage event triggers it. In practice, IMMOLATE is always active within 0.5 seconds of any fight starting (the first hit is the trigger), but the brief gap before activation means the very first tick of IMMOLATE is slightly delayed after pure positioning. Plan the engage to ensure a damage event lands immediately — not a meaningful timing concern in normal play, but worth noting for edge cases.
• Confusing IMMOLATE with the similar Hollow Radiance passive: Hollow Radiance also has an IMMOLATE passive — and both are limited to 1 IMMOLATE item per player. Attempting to build both Sunfire Aegis and Hollow Radiance on the same champion is prevented by the IMMOLATE item limit. The two items have different stat profiles: Sunfire Aegis provides armor-focused stats (50 armor, 350 HP, 10 AH), while Hollow Radiance provides MR-focused stats. Choose the appropriate IMMOLATE item based on whether the primary damage threat is physical (Sunfire for armor) or magic (Hollow Radiance for MR).
• Not accounting for the aura center-to-center interaction with large collision enemies: The IMMOLATE aura must reach the enemy’s center point to deal damage. Standard melee champions and minions have small collision radii where the center is essentially at the visible sprite. Epic monsters (Dragon, Baron Nashor, Rift Herald) have large collision radii — a champion at maximum auto-attack range against Dragon is physically close to Dragon’s edge but may be outside IMMOLATE range relative to Dragon’s center. Against large-collision objectives, staying closer than maximum auto range ensures IMMOLATE reaches the center and fires correctly.

⚔️ Counter Items & Playing Against Sunfire Aegis

Countering IMMOLATE’s Proximity Requirement

• Ranged Kiting — Staying Outside 325 Units: The most accessible counterplay is maintaining distance beyond 325 units from the Sunfire Aegis carrier. IMMOLATE only damages enemies within the radius — any champion who fights the tank from outside that range takes zero IMMOLATE damage regardless of how the fight progresses. Ranged kiting champions who maximize spacing from the melee tank eliminate the IMMOLATE pressure entirely, forcing the tank to close the gap before any IMMOLATE damage begins.
• Magic Resistance — Reducing IMMOLATE’s Effective Damage: IMMOLATE deals magic damage — MR directly reduces its effectiveness. A target with 100 MR (50% magic damage modifier) receives only 11.75 effective IMMOLATE DPS instead of 23.5 (at base Sunfire HP). Against Sunfire Aegis builds, building early MR (Hexdrinker, Wit’s End, Null-Magic Mantle) halves IMMOLATE’s sustained DPS contribution. In fights against tank compositions using multiple Sunfire Aegis users, MR investment is particularly efficient because it reduces multiple stacked IMMOLATE sources simultaneously.

FAQ

Q: Does IMMOLATE deal damage to invisible enemies within range?

A: IMMOLATE is an auto-targeted AoE effect — it affects enemies within the radius. Against invisible enemies, the IMMOLATE would theoretically fire if the invisible champion is within 325 units of the carrier during combat, but IMMOLATE does not reveal invisible champions. The damage fires based on proximity, but the invisible enemy would not appear on the minimap or be visible to the carrier from IMMOLATE pings. This is an edge case that rarely matters in practical combat but could occur if an invisible champion is positioned adjacent to the IMMOLATE carrier during a fight.

Q: Does the item icon’s DPS counter accurately reflect current IMMOLATE output?

A: Yes — Sunfire Aegis’s item icon dynamically displays the current IMMOLATE DPS as a live counter that updates as bonus HP changes (through Heartsteel stacks, Feast stacks, item purchases). This display is exclusive to Sunfire Aegis and is documented as a vestigial feature from when IMMOLATE had a variable ramp-up damage system in a previous iteration of the item. The counter is cosmetically useful for tracking how much IMMOLATE is contributing at any point in the game — if the number seems low, it indicates insufficient HP investment to maximize the passive’s value.

Q: Does Sunfire Aegis stack with itself if two teammates both have it?

A: Yes — the IMMOLATE auras from multiple Sunfire Aegis owners stack fully when their ranges overlap. Two teammates both with Sunfire Aegis standing near the same enemy deal double IMMOLATE DPS from their combined auras. The auras are separate passive effects from different items, not a unique-per-champion restriction — the 1 IMMOLATE item per player limit prevents any single player from owning two IMMOLATE items, but different players can each own one. In coordinated tank compositions, overlapping two Sunfire Aegis auras in the center of a teamfight creates compounded sustained magic AoE from two independent sources simultaneously.

Q: Does IMMOLATE affect turrets and inhibitors?

A: IMMOLATE’s documentation specifies effects against enemies — structures are not typically classified as enemy champions or minion/monster types that IMMOLATE specifically mentions its multipliers for. In practice, IMMOLATE does not deal significant damage to structures and is not a split-push tool for turret damage. The 200% monster multiplier applies to jungle camps and epic monsters (Dragon, Baron) but not to structures. For structure damage, the tank’s raw AD and attack speed from items are the relevant stats.