Hi everyone! With the latest changes to the masteries in Patch 6.22, this is a great time to go over some of the changes and which masteries are best in their current state. We'll keep this page updated as masteries get balanced over time.
Introduction
Hi everyone! With the latest changes to the masteries in Patch 6.22, this is a great time to go over some of the changes and which masteries are best in their current state. We'll keep this page updated as masteries get balanced over time.
Which Masteries Are Strongest Now?
In a nutshell, Courage of the Colossus is extremely powerful for the resolve tree, Thunderlord's Decree is still the Cunning Tree go-to, and all three keystone masteries in Ferocity are balanced depending on what champion you're playing.
Marksmen Masteries
As the champion class with the most variation in keystone masteries, I thought it best to start with this one to discuss a few alternate possibilities.
Standard Marksman Page
This is the new standard setup for most marksmen, with variations for the two red highlighted boxes.
Note on Tier 4 Ferocity Masteries
There is a new Battle Trance mastery that is a clear choice winner. Marksmen tend to be low on burst but high on sustained damage.
Both the Battle Trance mastery and the Double Edged Sword mastery grant 5%. However, the Double Edged mastery is instant and also increases damage taken, whereas the Battle Trance takes 5 seconds, but keeps your damage taken low.
Both the Battle Trance mastery and the Double Edged Sword mastery grant 5%. However, the Double Edged mastery is instant and also increases damage taken, whereas the Battle Trance takes 5 seconds, but keeps your damage taken low.
Which Ferocity Mastery is Strongest?
Warlord's Bloodlust vs Fervor of Battle vs Deathfire Touch
Warlord's Bloodlust - Your go-to for the majority of auto-attack based champions. Caitlyn, Ashe, Draven, etc. will want to take this one for the insane amount of lifesteal it grants.
Fervor of Battle - This one is still strong for champions that weave a lot of auto attacks in between spells. Kalista still does very well with this as she can build up to max fervor stacks and then execute. Other champions that do well with this are Ezreal and Jinx.
Deathfire Touch - This mastery still has a place amongst marksmen, and works well for high spell-casting based champions like Jhin and Varus.
Which Cunning Masteries Are Strongest?
For the cunning tree, the major choice is between Greenfather's Gift (grants 3% of the enemy's health as magic damage) vs Dangerous Game (restores 5% of your missing health/mana). Greenfather's Gift is the obvious choice for most marksmen.
However. short range burst damage champions like Vayne and Lucian will be better off getting Dangerous Game for the big plays.
Mid Laner Masteries
In the mid lane, Thunderlord's Decree is still very popular amongst the burst casters and assassins. However, some sustained damage dealers like Malzahar or Brand still do well with Deathfire Touch for the increased damage over time.
Burst Caster [Leblanc/Syndra]
Ferocity - For most burst casters, Double-Edged Sword is better than Battle Trance. Most of their initial damage is up front, so as long as they can instakill an enemy, this mastery works better. It is also good for champions with high cooldowns in general.
Cunning - Dangerous Game is much better than Greenfather's Gift for mid-laners. There isn't much opportunity to get into a bush for auto attacks, so getting Greenfather would largely be a waste.
AP Sustained Damage Dealers [Brand/Malzahar]
For sustained damage dealers like Malzahar and Brand, players generally choose to pick up the DFT mastery instead as it offers more damage over time and also a stronger late game via percentage magic penetration.
Again, the choice between Battle Trance and Double-Edged Sword is a bit of a personal preference. For sustained damage dealers, Battle Trance may be a bit better as they need to stay alive throughout the battle for maximum effect.
Support Masteries
AP Supports [Zyra/Sometimes Sona]
As you can see from the below, most AP supports can run a very similar page as AP casters, but swap for Bandit. and the minion masteries to the movespeed masteries.
Ranged Utility Supports [Janna, Soraka, Nami]
Supports like Soraka, Janna, and Nami benefit greatly from the set-up below. Windspeaker's Blessing grants a massive resistance buff to all allies healed or shielded, Meanwhile, Runic Armor in the resolve tree also gives you an excellent boost on heal.
Tank Support Masteries [Leona, Nautilus, Braum]
The masteries will likely get patched sometime in the near future, but right now Courage of the Colossus it the go-to keystone for pretty much any tank support that has hard CC. If you don't have much hard CC (like Tahm Kench), you may want to pick up one of the other two masteries instead.
Meanwhile, the Fearless mastery in Tier 4 of the Resolve tree is standard.
Meanwhile, the Fearless mastery in Tier 4 of the Resolve tree is standard.
Jungler Masteries
Burst Damage Jungler Masteries [Kha'Zix, Jarvan IV, Elise]
Most damage based junglers like Kha'Zix or Jarvan IV will likely run some form of the setup below.
Auto attack Junglers
Tank Jungler Masteries [Sejuani, Rammus, Rek'Sai]
Similar to tank supports, this mastery page is fairly standard. Courage of the Colossus is your go-to keystone mastery if you have some form of hard crowd-control. If not, you'll likely want Grasp of the Undying in increase your gank potential.
Meanwhile, for the Tier 2 masteries you can pick either the Explorer mastery for better early ganks, or the Tough Skin mastery to further your tank power.
Meanwhile, for the Tier 2 masteries you can pick either the Explorer mastery for better early ganks, or the Tough Skin mastery to further your tank power.
Top Lane Masteries
Top lane has mostly settled down to keystone masteries that generally either revolve around the tank based Courage of the Colossus or again, a burst damage Thunderlord variation depending on if they're AD or AP (same masteries as mid lane).
Tank Top Laners [Maokai]
Swap for Grasp of the Undying if you have no hard crowd-control (like Dr. Mundo)
AD based Execute Champions [Riven/Renekton]
For champions with high auto-attack rates and an extra large burst damage spell like Riven or Renekton, Fervor of Battle works very well to ensure the largest execute possible.
Conclusions
There's an excellent spread of keystone masteries right now, and even Stormraider's Surge can be useful on champions like Zilean, Aurelion Sol, or even Vladimir. Test out some of the masteries above, but don't be afraid to mix and match based on your personal playstyle!
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