Does True Damage Penetrate Through Shields in League of Legends?

True damage. One part of the trinity of basic damage types. Along with physical and magic damage, true damage, these three (well, four if you count pure damage from fountain turrets) are where other types of more specialized damages deviate from. League of Legends is a complex game with several mechanics, both scripted and non-scripted in place. With all the mechanics that mesh so well together into one cohesive game, it’s easy to forget what works well with what and what doesn’t work on what. I know, a bit confusing, but let’s break it down into bite-sized pieces.

What is True Damage?

No, not the successful virtual band with millions of viewers worldwide. That’s another story. As we mentioned, it’s one of the basic types of damage in League. In layman’s terms, true damage is a type of damage that ignores damage reduction, and while that may be a mouthful to say, the mechanics behind it are rather simple. 

It ignores things like armor and magic resistance. For lack of a better phrase: what you see is what you get. The number displayed in the description should be the damage inflicted unless stated otherwise. 

Also read: How to Hide HUD in League Replay?

Does It Work on Shields?

Again, this is going to be fairly straightforward. It does not work on regular shields. What this means is that these kinds of shields soak up damage. Regular shields are the white ones, like the ones enchanters cast on you. This also applies to passive abilities like the ones gained through Malphite’s Granite Shield and Rakan’s Fey Feathers.

Let’s be honest, high-frequency true damage that goes through shields would completely break the game. For that reason, shields act as a sort of hard counter to true damage sources,  assuming you have enough of it, that is. 

Magic shields, however, are a different story. Magic shields are the purple ones that absorb magic damage. Examples of this would be Hexdrinker or Kassadin’s shield from Null Sphere. This also applies to Morgana’s Black Shield. Something that’s good to note, however, is that items with a spell shield (like the passive on Banshee’s Veil) block true damage. For example, an active ability that deals 1000 true damage will be blocked for the full amount. 

Final Thoughts

True damage is a type of damage that Riot has implemented in moderation, and we can see why. It works like lethality on steroids and basically ignores all the status resistances your opponents have built up. Riot has been careful when designing the game, repeatedly emphasizing that they do not want to take control away from the player. I personally think they made the right call. How do you feel about true damage? Share your thoughts with us below!