Warwick is a formidable fighter in League of Legends who primarily deals hybrid damage, combining physical damage from his fundamental attacks with a significant amount of magic damage from his abilities and special attack effects. This unique damage profile makes him a versatile threat against opponents with various defensive builds.
Warwick's Damage Profile
Warwick's damage output is a synergy of his basic attacks and his powerful abilities, each contributing to his total damage dealt in different ways.
Core Damage Sources
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Bonus Magic Damage on Basic Attacks
A fundamental aspect of Warwick's damage comes from his basic attacks. He inherently deals bonus magic damage with every auto-attack. This unique effect ensures that even when simply auto-attacking, he is chipping away at magic resistance in addition to physical armor, enhancing his sustained damage. Furthermore, a crucial part of his kit is that if Warwick's health drops below 50%, this bonus magic damage he deals is mirrored as self-healing. This mechanic significantly enhances his sustain in combat, allowing him to stay in fights longer, continue dealing damage, and outlast his opponents. -
Ability-Based Magic Damage
Beyond his basic attacks, the majority of Warwick's burst and sustained damage comes from his ability kit, which predominantly deals magic damage. This means that while his auto-attacks contribute to a physical and magical assault, his spell usage leans heavily into magic damage, making him a dual threat.
Warwick's Damaging Abilities
Understanding each of Warwick's abilities helps to fully grasp his complete damage potential.
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Q - Jaws of the Beast:
This is Warwick's primary damage and sustain tool. He lunges forward, dealing significant magic damage to a single target. By holding down the ability key, he can dash through the target and follow their movement, making it a reliable source of damage, gap-closing, and also providing significant healing. -
W - Blood Hunt:
While not a direct damage-dealing ability, Blood Hunt provides crucial utility that amplifies Warwick's damage output considerably. When enemies are low on health, Warwick gains increased movement speed towards them and, more importantly for damage, a substantial attack speed bonus against them. This dramatically increases his basic attack rate, leading to more frequent instances of his bonus magic damage and overall physical damage. -
E - Primal Howl:
This ability offers both defensive utility and damage. Warwick first gains damage reduction, then after a short delay or by reactivating the ability, he unleashes a howl that fears nearby enemies and deals magic damage. This provides crowd control, allowing him to lock down targets, and a modest burst of area-of-effect (AoE) magic damage. -
R - Infinite Duress:
Warwick's ultimate ability is a powerful engage and damage tool. He lunges a long distance, suppressing the first champion he collides with. During the suppression, he rapidly strikes the target, dealing multiple instances of magic damage and applying on-hit effects, making it a potent finisher or initiation tool against high-priority targets.
Damage Type Summary Table
Here's a breakdown of Warwick's primary damage sources and their types:
| Damage Source | Damage Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Basic Attacks | Physical | Base attack damage from his auto-attacks. |
| Basic Attacks (Bonus) | Magic | Additional bonus magic damage applied on every auto-attack. |
| Jaws of the Beast (Q) | Magic | Primary single-target damage ability, also providing sustain. |
| Blood Hunt (W) | N/A (Utility) | Grants attack speed, significantly amplifying his physical and bonus magic damage. |
| Primal Howl (E) | Magic | Area-of-effect damage with crowd control. |
| Infinite Duress (R) | Magic | High burst damage ultimate with suppression and on-hit application. |
Strategic Implications of Warwick's Damage
Warwick's hybrid damage profile significantly influences his item builds and playstyle. Players often opt for items that enhance both his attack damage and magic damage, or prioritize on-hit effects that synergize powerfully with his high attack speed (especially under Blood Hunt's effect) and ultimate ability. His sustained magic damage from basic attacks combined with burst magic damage from abilities makes him effective against targets that might be stacking either armor or magic resistance, compelling enemies to build balanced defenses to mitigate his threat.
Learn more about League of Legends Champions: Example Link 1
Understanding Damage Types in LoL: Example Link 2
