Top 7 Least Bought Boots in League of Legends

Ever since the Warcraft 3 mod DOTA pioneered the MOBA genre, Boots have played a pivotal role. Everyone wants to be as fast as possible, and movement speed is perhaps the place where they wish it the most. Whenever you move slowly, you feel so sluggish, as if you were magically turned into a sloth. 

League of Legends is no different from its forefathers, incorporating boots into the game with much more depth. Boots in League of Legends aren’t just run-of-the-mill movement speed enhancers. No, they offer various effects and buffs that can suit any given situation. 

There’s an adequate pair of boots for each Champion class and playstyle. I love how Riot developed this aspect uniquely in that it stands out among the MOBA games. Of course, each MOBA has its own iteration of the boots system, but League certainly takes the cake when it comes to the level of development and detail. 

In this article, we will be going over the least bought Boots items in the game. Keep in mind that the total number of Boots is pretty limited, and thus most of them will be on this list. For those that aren’t, we’ll make sure to write a top-down article to mention them as well. 

So, with the introduction out of the way – let’s begin! 

Also read: Least Bought End Items

7. Base Boots

• Pick Rate: 2.2%
• Price: 300g 
• Stats: +25 Movement Speed 

Perhaps the most mind-numbing fact on this list – the Item that every other on the list BUILDS FROM is the LEAST BOUGHT. This shows us that people never actually buy the base boots directly but opt to go for the upgraded version right away. It’s actually something that I’ve noticed among players recently. 

Rarely will you see someone with a base pair of boots in their inventory. Players always prioritize getting their first and core Item as soon as possible, without wasting gold on movement speed. This is something that I’ve always viewed as inherently wrong. As someone who DOTA brought up, Boots are an essential purchase that you must have ASAP.

I usually purchase my first pair of boots after getting my core item, Sheen for Gangplank. I’ll also have to note that I am a GP OTP. Whenever I have 300g spare and don’t have anything else to use early, I purchase boots. I’ve always done this for as long as I can remember, and some of the OG players will be backing up my claims. 

People, it’s better to have good movement speed early on as you will most certainly be able to outmaneuver your enemies. It’s terrible to be slow and sluggish and thus increase the chances of your own demise. Having good MS early on can prevent ganks and allow you to overall have better mobility in the Lane. 

6. Mobility Boots 

• Pick Rate: 4.2% 
• Price: 1000g
• Stats: +115 Flat Movement Speed Increase
• Unique Passive: Reduces movement speed by 90 while you’re in combat. This duration can refresh while staying in combat. 

Now, this is one blazingly fast boots item. It increases your movement speed by a whopping 115. If you stay out of trouble, that is. The in-combat modifier is applied whenever you get into an altercation with an enemy Champion. During fights, you will only have the base +25 Movement Speed boost. 

These boots are for the unseen blades. Champions like Pyke and Zed will benefit insanely from this Item. With such a movement speed increase, they can quickly close in on their target and leave just as quickly. The 5 seconds are pretty short when you’re running away from the enemy. As long as you don’t get hit by some long-range attack, your escape is almost inevitable. 

I love mobility boots, especially when playing Pyke that I’ve mentioned above. This Champion can utilize this Item so effectively that you just feel he was built for them. The combination of his W and Mobility Boots is something of a marvel to look at. If you add Youmuu’s on top of that, you get one fast fish monster. 

All in all, these boots are great and are worth their money. However, there’s a limited pool of Champions they’re actually helpful on, which directly contributes to their low popularity. 

Also read: Best ADCs in LoL

5. Boots of Swiftness 

• Pick Rate: 4.7%
• Price: 900g
• Stats: +60 Movement Speed, +25% Slow Resist 

The Boots of Swiftness are an excellent alternative for the previous entry. If you want to fight and still maintain a level of movement speed, you should go for these. Once again, I love to pick these up on Gangplank – when faced against Champions with insanely annoying slow abilities. I hate being slowed 10 times more than being stunned. It just feels so bad to be excruciatingly slowed that it makes me vomit.

These boots are a great way of mitigating that, at least in some capacity. They buff your speed substantially while allowing you to be much more resistant to slows. Honestly, they’re a much better bang for the buck than mobility boots. They cost 100 less and offer a lot more to the general player without situational or circumstantial conditions for their purchase. 

I have to admit that I’ve expected a much higher pick rate than I found it to be. Still, they’re pretty higher on the list than I’d ever accept them being. If they were even one spot lower, I think I’d have to file an official complaint. 

4. Mercury’s Treads 

• Pick Rate: 11.3%
• Price: 1100g 
• Stats: +25 Magic Resistance, +45 Movement Speed, +30% Tenacity 

I’ll mention right away that these boots are justifiably this popular. Actually, I think that they deserve even more popularity due to how useful they can be. They offer a nice movement speed boost, not much worse than the previous example, and they buff your defenses substantially. I mean, come on, 25 MR and a whopping 30% CC resistance? Sign me up. 

These boots are fantastic in more ways than one. They allow you to participate in team fights much more and safely, without that inherent fear that you will be stunned for half the match. They are an essential part of fighting against a high CC team, which has become too common in recent years. I’ve had one last night, and I don’t even want to talk about it. If it weren’t for Merc Treads, I think I would’ve lost my mind by minute 20. 

I absolutely love these boots, and they show Riot’s good game design when it comes to the boots system. Honestly, I think they might just be the best boots that exist. Despite their lower placing on the popularity ladder, they’re just as valuable, if not more, than any other on the roster. 

Also read: Least played League champions

3. Ionian Boots of Lucidity 

• Pick Rate: 17.2%
• Price: 950g
• Stats: +20 Ability Haste, +45 Movement Speed, +12 Summoner Spell Haste

I think it’s pretty obvious why these boots are as popular as they are. That extra Ability Haste means that you will be casting spells at an insane rate from the earliest points in the game. It’s my most purchased boots paired with Gangplank out of all the others, and I give them all consideration during the game. Riot’s way of designing these boots is impressive, and I cannot stop mentioning that. 

The fact that you have an option for every situation you’re in is just, well, incredible. 

Ionian Boots turn you from a standard caster into abn URF caster instantly. They’re a great addition to any Mage’s, Assassin’s, or Control Mage’s kit. Every Champion reliant on spell casting should be seeking to buy these boots whenever possible. Of course, not every situation calls for their use, but you should prioritize them over everything else if you play a caster. Only extreme situations should excuse them from being used. 

Even before CDR was reworked into Haste, these boots were quite deadly to have. Hell, I think that they were even stronger back then. At any rate, they’ve maintained their importance and value all throughout these years and manage to be still as popular as they are. 

We’re now getting into quite a high pick rate range, and we’re no longer really talking about least bought items. Still, it’s good to mention that despite being this popular, they still fall in the lesser purchased category. It just goes to show how integral boots are to the game itself and how their various impacts everything. 

2. Berserker’s Greaves 

• Pick Rate: 18.4% 
• Price: 1100g 
• Stats: +35% Attack Speed, +45 Movement Speed

The crème de la crème of all ADC players, the Berserker’s Greaves truly live up to their name. With a remarkable 35% increase in attack speed along with a solid movement speed buff, they’re just unmatched in more ways than one. Though seemingly basic and straightforward, these buffs can change a lot when in the hands (or on the legs) of a quickly attacking Champion. 

Tryndamere, for example, can wreck your brains with just this one Item. He requires nothing else to be able to bash your head in with his big right-hand sword. Due to how he works, he just needs quick attacks and basically not a thing extra. There are many Champions in League of Legends similar to Tryndamere, namely the entire ADC roster.

The faster they attack, the stronger they are. If they attack fast enough, their damage becomes insane even if they don’t have their base stats as high. You can clearly understand why this 35% attack speed increase is enough to turn a Champion into a beast. They’re perhaps the most impactful pair of boots for AD Champions in the game. Their high pick rate shows that AD Fighters and attackers are pretty popular right now. 

Of course, not a game will pass without an AD Champion, but it’s still worth noting. 

Also read: Best Top Lane Champions

1. Sorcerer’s Shoes 

• Pick Rate: 19.0%
• Price: 1100g
• Stats: +45 Movement Speed, +18 Magic Penetration

As you can see from the pick rate, these boots are outfitting the legs of each Mage in League of Legends. I think that no genuine Mage player will buy anything else other than Sorcerer’s Shoes. They always prioritize their damage and do as much of it as humanly possible. Mages are a class of Champions that relishes in destruction and chaos, which they bring upon their enemies with no remorse. 

The Magic Penetration this Item gives them can cause an early power spike that can break through all defenses. Boots are most commonly purchased early on when people don’t exactly have all of their guards up. Thus, these boots can substantially increase a Mage’s damage in the early to mid game. 

Despite being tailored for only one class; these boots maintain high popularity. So many people purchase them that they are almost at the top of the boots hierarchy. It’s easy to understand that players hold these boots in high regard due to how impactful they can get in the game’s earlier stages. 

Still, as stated above, I don’t think they’re the best. I do, however, respect their might that can, at times, be quite deadly. 

Conclusion

The League of Legends boots system is admirable. Riot Games has spent quite a lot of effort on devising an effective system of such an old and traditional mechanic. They offer you a wide variety of options that suit so many different situations. 

An item so basic and yet with so much impact, the boots are genuinely some of the best-designed items in the entire game. I love how and what Riot did with the boots, and I hope they do the same with the other Items in the game, which are plentiful and their own story. 

I hope you’ve found this list informative and fun to read, and I wish you all the best on the Summoner’s Rift.