ADCs have historically been the most disadvantaged position when it comes to item selection, as their items are primarily focused on dealing damage. Meanwhile, other roles in League of Legends have items that not only boost attack power but also provide defensive stats, enhancing their survivability in battles while naturally increasing damage output.
In the past, you could rely on skills like kiting and dodging to survive, but nowadays, there are too many threats that can eliminate you quickly. Therefore, a defensive item to help ADCs survive is a necessity. However, it seems that Riot Games continues to overlook this, balancing the game in a way that suggests “if you want to survive, you must play better,” as seen with the increased movement speed from items like Galeforce in patch 10.11.
“If Riot can’t create it, we’ll find it ourselves,” some players thought, gradually discovering that Dance of Death is the defensive item ADCs need. As a result, more ADCs began using this item, especially in high ranks and professional play, showcasing its effectiveness.
Given the nature of the ADC class, the longer you survive, even with a bit of health left, the more damage you can deal. Therefore, gaining a bit of armor and magic resistance from Dance of Death is a perfect lifeline for these fragile champions. If you previously took a combo from an opponent and “vanished,” now you’ll be left with a sliver of health, enough to survive, heal back up, and look for a chance to retaliate.
Moreover, the ability to convert a portion of burst damage into damage over time interacts excellently with the nature of ADC champions. You won’t die from sudden burst damage as before; instead, some of the damage will be dealt gradually. However, Dance of Death already provides significant healing (both lifesteal and healing when dealing damage), making that gradual damage nearly incapable of finishing you off. And as mentioned before, the longer you live, the more damage you can dish out.
So when is the best time to purchase this item? The answer is that you should buy Dance of Death as your third major item (not counting boots). By the time you have your third item, the game has entered the mid-game and is transitioning towards the late game (around the 20-25 minute mark), which is when team fights become most intense and greatly influence the outcome of the game. With the added survivability from Dance of Death, it becomes very difficult for you to be taken down immediately, giving you a numbers advantage over your opponents.
Furthermore, Dance of Death only becomes effective when you have a certain amount of damage, as its lifesteal ability relies on the damage you deal. With the typical ADC build of Infinity Edge + an attack speed item, you’ll already have a solid amount of damage, making the addition of protection from Dance of Death an extremely reasonable choice.
In summary, Dance of Death has become and continues to be the strongest defensive item for all types of ADCs, from aggressive early-game champions (Lucian, Draven) to those who farm and wait for late-game (Kalista, Vayne…). It gives you more time to find ways to survive and deal damage against those who are lurking to “devour” ADCs.
