Grievous Wounds Guide: Every Anti-Heal Source and Who Should Buy It

Anti-heal is a flat 40% that doesn't stack, ignores shields, expires in three seconds and only matters while it's applied. Here's every source of it, who on your team should be carrying it, and when buying it is the wrong answer entirely.

League of Legends Guide

Grievous Wounds

How Anti-Heal Works

Grievous Wounds is one number that never moves: all healing and health regeneration the target receives is cut by 40%.

Everything else about it is a question of who applies it and when, which is where almost all the wasted gold in this part of the game comes from.

Where It Comes From One Is Enough What It Misses Who Should Buy It FAQ

40%Healing reduction

3sDuration from items

800gCheapest item source

0gCheapest source overall

NoDoes it stack

NoDoes it touch shields

Every source, and what each one costs

The cheapest source in the game is free. Ignite carries anti-heal, so if anybody on your team took it, your team already has an answer available every time it comes off cooldown.

After that it's seven items, and the 40% is identical on every one of them. That's the whole reason the cheap ones are the answer.

Source	Cost	Applies on
Ignite	Free	Casting it, for as long as the burn lasts
Bramble Vest	800	Whoever hits you with an attack
Executioner's Calling	800	Physical damage to champions
Oblivion Orb	800	Magic damage to champions
Thornmail	2450	Whoever hits you with an attack
Morellonomicon	2850	Magic damage to champions
Mortal Reminder	3000	Physical damage to champions
Chempunk Chainsword	3000	Physical damage to champions

Note the shape of that table. Every item above 800 gold is an upgrade of one of the three that cost 800, and the cheap component already carries the full effect, so there's never a reason to wait for the finished version. Buy the component the moment enemy healing becomes a problem, and complete it whenever you were going to anyway.

Three champions bring anti-heal in their kit too, Katarina, Varus, and Singed while his ultimate is running, so a team with one of them already owns part of the answer.

Two copies do nothing

Anti-heal doesn't stack. Two teammates applying it produces exactly 40%, the same as one, with the durations simply refreshing each other.

That makes it the most commonly duplicated purchase in the game. One player buying it is the whole answer, and the second copy is gold that bought a stat line and nothing else.

Two things it does nothing about

Shields. A shield isn't healing, so Grievous Wounds ignores it completely. Two enemy supports can look identical on the scoreboard and only one of them is a reason to spend 800 gold.

Out-of-combat healing. Some champions only recover when nobody is touching them, and the debuff lasts three seconds. By the time they start healing it has long expired. The counterplay there isn't an item, it's pressure, and buying anti-heal instead is the trap.

What it does cover is broader than people expect. It cuts healing the target receives from anybody, so applying it to the enemy carry answers their support rather than the carry. Life steal and omnivamp count as healing too, which is why a team with no obvious healers can still be worth it: check what they've built, not just who they picked.

Owning it is not applying it

Five of the items apply on damage. The two armor items apply it to whoever swings at you. Either way it wears off three seconds later, so the debuff sitting in your inventory does nothing, and the debuff on the enemy during the seconds they're being healed does everything.

So the person who should buy it is whoever can reliably touch the healing target in a fight, not whoever happens to have a spare slot. Anti-heal on a champion who never gets near the enemy front line is a decoration.

One more detail that matters in long fights: dying clears the debuff, and so does any effect that resurrects a champion. The enemy who died and came back mid-teamfight is healing at full rate until somebody reapplies it.

• Check whether they're healing or shielding before you spend anything.
• Buy one, not three. Decide which of you it is.
• Buy the 800 gold component early rather than the finished item late.
• Put it on somebody who actually fights the healer.
• Against out-of-combat sustain, pressure beats purchases.

---

Frequently asked questions

How much does Grievous Wounds reduce healing?

40%, from every source, and the number never changes between items.

Does Grievous Wounds stack?

No. Multiple applications refresh the duration and nothing else.

Does anti-heal work on shields?

No. Shields aren't healing, so they pass through it untouched.

What is the cheapest anti-heal in LoL?

Ignite, which costs nothing. After that, Bramble Vest, Executioner's Calling and Oblivion Orb at 800 gold each.

Does it reduce life steal?

Yes. Life steal and omnivamp are healing, so they're cut by the same 40%.

The short version

Buy one, buy it early, buy it on somebody who fights, and check first that the enemy is healing rather than shielding. That's the whole skill, and in most games it costs about 800 gold to get right.

For what else that gold could be doing, our gold guide covers the economy, and our underrated items list has more cheap purchases that punch above their price.

Do you buy anti-heal early or forget it entirely? Let us know in the comments below.