Warmog’s Armor

Warmog’s Armor is a Legendary Tank item costing 3100 gold providing +1000 Health and +100% base health regeneration. It runs two distinct passives: WARMOG’S VITALITY grants bonus health equal to 12% of bonus health from items — at purchase that’s 12% of Warmog’s own 1000 HP plus any other HP items, adding up to 120 bonus health by itself (1120 total from the item). WARMOG’S HEART is the iconic regeneration passive — if at least 2000 bonus health is held, Warmog’s Heart activates and regenerates 1.5% maximum health every 0.5 seconds after 8 seconds without taking damage from champions (3 seconds for non-champion damage). At 5000 total HP, that’s 150 HP per 0.5 seconds — 300 HP per second sustained regeneration that makes prolonged fights and objective skirmishes fundamentally different propositions against a Warmog’s carrier. This is the definitive HP-scaling tank item for champions who stack health as their primary defensive stat and whose effectiveness between fights is determined by how quickly they recover to full.

Warmog’s Armor is a Legendary-tier item available on Summoner’s Rift (5v5), ARAM, and Nexus Blitz. Also available in Arena via Prismatic Item Anvils with substantially modified stats. Categorized under Tank and Health & Regeneration, ID 3083. Limited to 1 Warmog’s Armor per player.

📊 Stats at a Glance

💡 WARMOG’S HEART Regen Math at Scale: The regen rate scales with maximum HP, not base HP — meaning every HP item purchased amplifies the Warmog’s regen value. At 4000 max HP: 1.5% × 4000 = 60 HP per tick = 120 HP/second. At 5000 max HP: 150 HP/second. At 6000 max HP (achievable with Heartsteel + Cho’Gath Feast stacks): 180 HP/second. These are not passive estimates — they represent the actual sustained healing rate during every out-of-combat window between engagements. A 6000 HP Cho’Gath regenerates 1080 HP in 6 seconds of being out of combat — returning to full HP between nearly every objective fight at 15-second rotation intervals.

⚠️ WARMOG’S VITALITY Limitations: WARMOG’S VITALITY has two explicit exclusions that reduce its actual HP contribution below what the 12% stat suggests: (1) Does not amplify temporary bonus health from Solstice Sleigh’s Going Sledding or Sundered Sky’s Lightshield Strike — these temporary HP boosts are excluded from the VITALITY calculation. (2) Does not count bonus health gained from item passives — meaning the extra HP provided by passive effects like Winter’s Approach’s AWE or Heartsteel’s stacked bonus is not included in the VITALITY base. VITALITY only counts the base health stat of items, not any derived or temporary HP.

🔨 Recipe & Build Path

💡 Component Strategy — Giant’s Belt Priority: Both Giant’s Belts (900g each) are the natural first components, contributing directly toward the 2000 bonus HP threshold that activates WARMOG’S HEART. The sooner the HEART threshold is crossed, the sooner the regeneration passive becomes available between fights. The 2000 bonus HP threshold is the critical purchase milestone — plan the build path to reach this threshold as early as possible, not just to complete the full 3100g item. With two Giant’s Belts completed earlier in the build at ~1800g total, HEART activation happens on the next HP item purchase rather than only on Warmog’s completion.

⚡ Passive Effects

UNIQUE Passive — WARMOG’S VITALITY

EFFECT: Grants bonus health equal to 12% of all bonus health the carrier has from item stats. This creates a compounding effect where every HP item in the build amplifies every other HP item’s effective contribution. The more HP items purchased, the higher the VITALITY bonus — at a full tank build with 3000 bonus HP from items, VITALITY contributes 360 additional HP that didn’t appear in any individual item’s tooltip. The VITALITY HP also counts toward the 2000 bonus HP threshold for WARMOG’S HEART activation, making it both an offensive HP multiplier and a threshold accelerator.

UNIQUE Passive — WARMOG’S HEART

EFFECT: When the carrier holds at least 2000 bonus health, WARMOG’S HEART activates and regenerates 1.5% maximum HP every 0.5 seconds after 8 consecutive seconds without taking champion damage. Taking any damage from an enemy champion resets the 8-second timer. Non-champion damage (minions, towers, monsters) resets a separate shorter 3-second timer for that damage source — the champion damage timer runs independently. Both timers must be satisfied simultaneously for regeneration to begin.

💡 The 2000 Bonus HP Threshold — Exact Activation Conditions: WARMOG’S HEART has multiple documented activation thresholds depending on the source of the bonus health: (1) 880 bonus health total from any sources, (2) 786 bonus health from items, OR (3) 768–464 bonus health from items (level-scaling) when using double scaling health shards. These lower thresholds exist because the stated ‚2000 bonus health‘ requirement includes the champion’s base bonus HP from level scaling — meaning at higher levels, less itemized HP is needed to cross the HEART activation threshold. In practice, Warmog’s Armor + one Giant’s Belt is typically sufficient to activate HEART at most stages of the game.

⚠️ The 8-Second Timer Is Not Lenient: Eight seconds without taking a hit from any enemy champion is a firm requirement that is frequently misunderstood during play. In a teamfight where one enemy champion auto-attacks every 1–2 seconds, WARMOG’S HEART never activates. The regeneration is exclusively a between-fights mechanic — it rewards champions who can disengage from active combat zones, survive the 8-second window in safety, and return to the next fight fully healed. Tanks who dive and can be focused continuously by multiple champions for the entire fight duration gain no practical value from WARMOG’S HEART during that fight.

🏟️ Arena Mode — Fundamentally Different Item

Warmog’s Armor in Arena mode is mechanically different enough to be treated as a separate item. WARMOG’S VITALITY is removed, the regen rates are dramatically amplified, in-combat regeneration is added as an entirely new effect, and a movement speed bonus is added on HEART activation. Arena Warmog’s is obtained exclusively from Prismatic Item Anvils, not from the standard shop.

💡 Arena Warmog’s vs SR Warmog’s: The Arena version converts Warmog’s from a pure between-fight recovery item into a semi-sustained in-combat sustain item. The addition of 0.4% max HP per 0.5 seconds during combat (even while taking damage) means Arena Warmog’s provides passive healing in every fight, not just during the 4-second post-combat window. At 5000 HP in Arena: in-combat regen is 20 HP per 0.5 seconds = 40 HP per second sustained during the fight — significant sustain that makes HP-stacking compositions progressively harder to kill through pure burst in Arena’s shorter combat windows.

🎯 Who Should Buy This Item

Champion Archetypes

• HP-Scaling Tanks with Large Health Pools: Warmog’s is the definitive item for tanks whose entire defensive model is built around raw HP — Cho’Gath, Sion, Malphite, and Mundo. These champions build toward the largest possible HP pool and Warmog’s VITALITY amplifies that pool while HEART enables full recovery between every objective fight. The larger the HP pool, the more HP/second HEART generates during recovery.
• Tanks Who Disengage and Re-engage Between Fights: WARMOG’S HEART rewards the ability to leave combat, recover, and return. Champions with reliable escape or disengage tools (Dr. Mundo’s ultimate, Singed’s flip-and-run, Malphite’s passive shield during re-approach) can consistently reach the 8-second window and return to 100% HP between dragon fights, herald fights, and baron attempts — effectively getting a free 300+ HP heal every 30–45 seconds in objective-focused games.
• Tanks Facing Sustained DPS (Not Burst): Against compositions that deal damage continuously rather than in one-shot bursts, HEART’s between-fight regen is most exploitable. Sustained physical DPS compositions (Tryndamere, Jinx, Kog’Maw) fight in waves with natural breaks between attacks — these breaks are the window where HEART activates. Against assassin burst compositions that deal all damage in 1–2 seconds, HEART never fires during the fight and the item’s value drops significantly.

Specific Champion Examples

⏰ When to Buy

As a First Item

First item Warmog’s is rare but valid on champions who scale exclusively from HP and have no other first-item power spike — specifically Dr. Mundo, who has no dependency on other stats at first item and whose entire defensive and offensive model is maximum HP. For most tanks, a first item that provides armor or MR alongside HP (Sunfire Aegis, Heartsteel for stacking) delivers a stronger early power spike, with Warmog’s following as the second or third item once the HP pool is large enough to make HEART’s regen meaningful.

As a Second or Third Item

Second or third item Warmog’s is the standard timing. After one or two items that establish the armor/MR base (Sunfire Aegis, Thornmail, Force of Nature), Warmog’s serves as the HP amplification and sustained recovery layer that makes the armor/MR investment practical — because high MR and armor are wasted if the champion is permanently low HP. The correct purchase timing is after the 2000 bonus HP threshold is reachable with this item completing the stack. If the carrier already holds 1200 bonus HP from other items, Warmog’s 1000 HP pushes past 2000 immediately on purchase, activating HEART from the moment of the first post-purchase out-of-combat window.

Situational / Skip

Skip Warmog’s Armor when the enemy composition deals exclusively burst damage — assassin compositions (Zed, Talon, Qiyana) that deal all their damage in a 1-2 second window means HEART’s 8-second out-of-combat requirement is never satisfied in fights. Additionally, skip on tanks who are never out of combat in the intended playstyle — if the plan is to engage and remain in melee range for the entire fight duration without disengaging (Malphite all-in, Nautilus hook-and-stay), HEART’s timer never resets and the item’s primary value is the flat HP. In those cases, Heartsteel provides HP stacking with an offensive damage component that Warmog’s lacks.

💡 Synergies

Best Paired Items

• Heartsteel: Heartsteel stacks permanent HP on every champion hit, creating a perpetually growing HP pool. WARMOG’S HEART regen rate scales with maximum HP — every Heartsteel stack added to the pool increases HEART’s HP-per-second output. The two items form a feedback loop: Heartsteel grows the pool, Warmog’s recovers it faster per second as the pool grows. On Cho’Gath and Sion who also have independent HP stacking mechanics, the three-way stack of Heartsteel + Feast/Soul Furnace + Warmog’s creates the highest sustainable HP values in the game.
• Sunfire Aegis: Provides armor alongside HP — the combination of Sunfire’s durability and Warmog’s HEART recovery means the tank can sustain through extended fights while regenerating between them. Sunfire’s immolate damage also gives Warmog’s carrier a reason to stay in the middle of fights rather than disengaging — the persistent AoE damage from Sunfire incentivizes melee range presence that the HEART recovery supports on the back end.
• Force of Nature: Against heavy AP compositions, Force of Nature’s stacking MR provides the magic damage mitigation while Warmog’s HEART provides the between-fight recovery. The combination of high MR (Force of Nature) + high HP (Warmog’s) + rapid between-fight regen creates the AP-resistant tank archetype where AP mages run out of damage before the tank runs out of HP recovery capacity.
• Spirit Visage: Spirit Visage increases all healing received, including WARMOG’S HEART regeneration. Spirit Visage’s 25% increased healing bonus applies directly to every HEART regen tick — at 5000 HP, base HEART regen is 75 HP per tick; with Spirit Visage it becomes approximately 94 HP per tick. Over a full recovery window (typically 10–15 seconds), Spirit Visage adds hundreds of additional HP recovered per Warmog’s regen cycle. This is the highest single-item amplification of HEART’s regen value available in the game.

Champion & Ability Synergies

• Dr. Mundo Maximum Dosage: Mundo’s ultimate regenerates a massive percentage of maximum HP over 8 seconds. WARMOG’S HEART activates during the post-ult recovery window if combat has paused — combining the ult’s active regen with HEART’s between-fight regen creates the fastest full-HP recovery sequence in the game. At high HP values, Mundo returns from 10% HP to full HP in approximately 12–15 seconds using both effects simultaneously.
• Zac Cell Division resurrection: Cell Division revives Zac with HP equal to a percentage of his maximum HP. WARMOG’S VITALITY’s HP amplification and the raw 1000 HP from Warmog’s directly increase the HP Zac revives with on Cell Division proc. Higher max HP means more HP on revival — Warmog’s is one of the few items where the HP contribution directly affects a secondary survival mechanic beyond just the initial HP pool.
• Singed’s kite loop playstyle: Singed’s optimal playstyle involves running through enemy teams, applying Poison Trail and Mega Adhesive, then disengaging before taking lethal damage. The kite-and-disengage loop naturally creates 8+ second windows between sustained champion damage contacts — HEART activates during every disengage phase. Singed with Warmog’s regenerates HP during every fling-and-run rotation, effectively making each approach at full HP regardless of how much damage the previous kite cycle took.

❌ Common Mistakes & How to Avoid Them

• Buying Warmog’s without reaching the 2000 bonus HP threshold: Below 2000 bonus health, WARMOG’S HEART is completely inactive — the item is 3100 gold providing only 1120 effective HP (1000 + 120 VITALITY) and 100% base regen. That is below the gold efficiency of dedicated HP items at lower total build costs. Always verify the build will cross 2000 bonus HP before purchasing. If the carrier only holds 900 bonus HP from other items, adding Warmog’s 1000 HP + 120 VITALITY = 2020 bonus HP — barely clearing the threshold. In these cases, a Ruby Crystal or Giant’s Belt as a preliminary component before Warmog’s ensures HEART activates.
• Staying in combat and expecting HEART to heal during the fight: WARMOG’S HEART requires 8 seconds without champion damage — it does not regenerate HP during active teamfights where enemy champions are hitting the carrier. Players who purchase Warmog’s expecting sustained in-fight regeneration (confusing it with Spirit Visage + healing synergy) will find HEART never fires during fights. The design intent is recovery between fights, not during them. Adjust playstyle to include deliberate disengagement phases to realize HEART’s value.
• Not pairing with Spirit Visage for the regen amplification: HEART’s regen is healing — Spirit Visage’s 25% increased healing directly amplifies every HEART tick. This interaction is frequently overlooked because Spirit Visage is mentally categorized as an ability-healing amplifier (Warwick passive, Mundo ult) rather than a passive regen amplifier. Against AP-heavy compositions where both Spirit Visage (MR) and Warmog’s (HP) are already justified purchases, the Spirit Visage + Warmog’s HEART interaction provides near-200 additional HP per recovery cycle compared to Warmog’s without Spirit Visage.
• Ignoring WARMOG’S VITALITY’s item stat vs passive HP distinction: VITALITY explicitly does not count bonus health gained from item passives — only from item stats. This means the extra HP from Heartsteel’s Colossal stacks, AWE from Winter’s Approach, or any item’s passive-granted HP is excluded from the VITALITY calculation. Over-estimating VITALITY’s bonus by including passive HP leads to inaccurate total HP calculations. Only count the explicitly-stated HP stats on item tooltips when calculating VITALITY’s contribution.
• Building Warmog’s in burst-centric metas without adaptation: HEART’s value is meta-dependent to an uncommon degree for a tank item. In heavy burst assassin metas where every fight ends in under 4 seconds, HEART’s 8-second timer is strategically unreachable in fights. In sustained poke metas or split-push objective metas with natural 15–30 second fight intervals, HEART fires between every engagement. Evaluate the game’s pace and the enemy composition before committing to Warmog’s — in the wrong meta it is a 3100g item providing only flat HP with no passive contribution.

⚔️ Counter Items & Playing Against Warmog’s

Items That Counter Warmog’s

• Percent-Health Damage (Liandry’s Torment, Blade of the Ruined King): Percent-health damage scales directly with the large HP pool that Warmog’s creates. Every additional HP from Warmog’s, VITALITY, and HEART’s inflated pool simultaneously increases the damage that percent-health items deal per tick. Liandry’s Torment burning 1% max HP per second at 6000 HP deals 60 HP/second — a meaningful portion of HEART’s 180 HP/second regen rate, reducing its net effective recovery.
• Grievous Wounds (Thornmail, Morellonomicon): Spirit Visage + Warmog’s HEART combinations are effectively countered by Grievous Wounds, which reduces all healing by 40–60% including HEART’s regeneration ticks. On tanks who build Spirit Visage specifically to amplify HEART, Grievous Wounds not only reduces HEART’s output but also reduces Spirit Visage’s value simultaneously — a double-efficiency counter.
• Void Staff / Magic Penetration: Warmog’s carriers are often AP-resistant tanks — Force of Nature + Warmog’s creates high MR + HP. Magic penetration (Void Staff 40% magic pen) partially bypasses this combination by ignoring MR during ability damage, ensuring AP damage remains relevant against the large HP pool even through high MR.

Strategic Counterplay

The strategic counter to WARMOG’S HEART is denying the 8-second out-of-combat window through persistent damage application. Zone-control abilities that deal damage on a tick (Singed Poison Trail, Teemo Toxic Shot, Zyra plant damage) prevent the HEART timer from ever completing — the tank is continuously taking non-lethal chip damage that keeps the 8-second window from closing. Apply persistent DoT effects on the Warmog’s carrier during objective contests — the chip damage doesn’t need to threaten health, it only needs to prevent HEART from activating during the 30-second fight-to-fight window. One poison tick every 6 seconds permanently blocks HEART’s out-of-combat recovery across the entire objective contest phase.

FAQ

Q: Does Grievous Wounds reduce WARMOG’S HEART regeneration?

A: Yes — WARMOG’S HEART’s regeneration is classified as healing, meaning Grievous Wounds reduces it by the same 40–60% that it reduces all other healing sources. At 40% Grievous Wounds, HEART’s 1.5% max HP per tick becomes approximately 0.9% per tick. At 60% GW (Ignite during active window), it drops to 0.6% per tick. Against Warmog’s carriers who also build Spirit Visage to amplify HEART, Grievous Wounds reduces both Spirit Visage’s amplification effectiveness and HEART’s raw output simultaneously.

Q: What is the minimum setup to activate WARMOG’S HEART?

A: The activation threshold is 2000 bonus health, but the practical minimum depends on health shard and rune configurations: (1) 880 total bonus health from any source activates HEART (accounting for level-scaling base HP), (2) 786 bonus health from items activates it, or (3) 768–464 bonus health from items with double scaling health shards (scaling based on level). In practice, building Warmog’s with even one other HP item (Giant’s Belt at 350 HP) generates enough combined bonus HP through VITALITY and base stats to cross the activation threshold. The safest assumption is: Warmog’s + one Giant’s Belt component = HEART active at almost all game stages.

Q: Does the non-champion damage reset affect champion damage timer independently?

A: Yes — the two timers operate independently. Champion damage resets the 8-second champion timer. Minion, tower, and monster damage resets the 3-second non-champion timer. Both timers must simultaneously be at zero for HEART to activate. In practice: after a teamfight ends, stepping away from any minion wave ensures both timers are cleared — the 3-second non-champion timer clears very quickly once minion range is exited, and the 8-second champion timer begins counting down. The relevant timer in fights is always the 8-second champion damage one.

Q: Does Spirit Visage increase WARMOG’S HEART regeneration?

A: Yes — Spirit Visage’s 25% increased healing applies to all healing received, including WARMOG’S HEART’s regeneration ticks. This is one of the most efficient item synergies in the Tank category. At 5000 max HP, base HEART regen is 75 HP per 0.5-second tick. With Spirit Visage’s 25% amplification: 75 × 1.25 = 93.75 HP per tick = 187.5 HP/second effective regen. Over a standard 12-second out-of-combat recovery window, Spirit Visage + Warmog’s generates approximately 2250 HP recovered compared to Warmog’s alone at 1800 HP — a 450 HP difference from Spirit Visage’s presence.

Q: Is Warmog’s Armor available in Arena mode?A: Yes, but only via Prismatic Item Anvils — it cannot be purchased from the standard shop in Arena. The Arena version has dramatically different stats: 1100 HP (vs 1000), no base regen stat (vs +100%), WARMOG’S VITALITY removed, WARMOG’S HEART threshold lowered to 1350 bonus HP (vs 2000), out-of-combat regen increased to 4% per 0.5 seconds (vs 1.5%), and two entirely new effects added: 0.4% max HP per 0.5 seconds during combat and +4% bonus movement speed while HEART is active. The Arena version is closer to a full-sustain tank item than the SR version’s pure recovery tool.