AP Sivir vs AD Sivir

AP Sivir vs AD Sivir
Author: Wrekah

Sivir’s one of those champions you can build in a bunch of different ways—AD, Lethality, even AP if you're feeling spicy. But which one’s actually worth going for? Is there a best choice?

In this guide, we’ll break down the main builds, look at what each one does well (and where it falls flat), and help you decide which setup to run based on the game.

Let’s get into it.

The Core Concept: Why AP Sivir Exists

To understand why this is even a debate, you have to look at Sivir's scaling.

  1. Boomerang Blade (Q) – This ability is the centerpiece of the non-ADC builds. It has massive scaling with both Bonus AD and AP. Because it deals Physical Damage, it benefits from Armor Penetration regardless of whether you build AP or AD stats. It also scales with Crit Chance.

  2. Spell Shield (E) – Sivir heals when she successfully blocks an ability. This heal also has an AP ratio, meaning AP Sivir builds often sustain significantly better off successful shields than their AD counterparts.

The Three Archetypes

1. The Classic ADC (Crit/On-Hit)

  • Playstyle: Sustained DPS, Front-to-Back Teamfighting.
  • Best Against: Tanks, Bruisers, and teams where you can safely auto-attack.
  • The Gist: You are playing Sivir as she was originally designed. You rely on your W (Ricochet) bounces to shred entire teams in late-game fights. Your Q is just a utility tool for early game or cleanup; your real damage comes from right-clicking.
  • Pros: Highest potential DPS in the game. Melts tanks.
  • Cons: Short range. requires you to be in danger to do damage. Takes time to scale.

2. Lethality "Caster" Sivir

  • Playstyle: Long-range Physical Poke.
  • Best Against: Squishy teams (Mages, Assassins, other ADCs).
  • The Gist: You treat your Q like a Nidalee spear. You build pure Lethality and Armor Penetration to make that one ability hit as hard as possible. You care less about auto-attacks and more about hitting Qs on cooldown.
  • Pros: Strong early and mid-game. Extremely annoying poke. Safe playstyle.
  • Cons: Falls off extremely hard against Armor. If you miss Q, you are useless for a few seconds.

3. The "Dark Tech" AP Sivir

  • Playstyle: Hybrid Poke & Burst.
  • Best Against: Teams with mixed defenses, or when your team lacks Magic Damage but you are stuck on an AD champion.
  • The Gist: You build AP items that have burst passives (like Luden's, Stormsurge, or Lich Bane). Because Sivir's Q has a decent AP ratio, you still get big damage on the ability itself, but you also trigger all the magic damage procs from your items.
  • The "Secret Sauce": Smart AP Sivir players will sometimes still build Lord Dominik's Regards or The Collector. Why? Because your Q still deals Physical Damage even if you have 800 AP. Armor Pen makes your Q hit harder, while Magic Pen makes your Item Procs hit harder.
  • Pros: Strongest "single hit" burst due to item procs. Best healing from Spell Shield. Mixed damage profile (Physical Q + Magic Items) is hard to defend against.
  • Cons: Zero DPS. If you aren't hitting Qs, you are a minion. Very expensive build path.

Comparison: Who Wins?

Poke Damage (Q)

  • Winner: AP Build (usually).
  • Reasoning: While Lethality makes the physical damage of the Q hurt, the AP build adds layers of extra damage from item passives (Luden's proc, Stormsurge proc, etc.). When you add it all up, a full rotation from an AP Sivir often bursts a squishy target harder than a pure Lethality one. However, Lethality is more consistent since it doesn't rely on item cooldowns.

Survivability (E)

  • Winner: AP Build.
  • Reasoning: Since the heal on her Spell Shield scales with AP, AP Sivir can often heal for massive chunks of HP off a single blocked spell, whereas AD Sivir gets a much smaller heal.

Teamfight Reliability

  • Winner: ADC Build.
  • Reasoning: Poke builds (AP/Lethality) are useless if they miss, or if the enemy team has a tank standing in front blocking the projectiles. ADC Sivir hits the tank, bounces the damage to the backline, and keeps outputting damage every second.

Final Verdict

When should you pick which?

  • Go ADC Sivir if they have 2+ tanks or bulky bruisers. You need the DPS to cut through them. If you go poke, you will lose the game simply because you cannot kill their frontline.
  • Go Lethality Sivir if they are 5 squishies and you want a smooth power curve. It's safe, reliable, and effective.
  • Go AP Sivir if you want to have fun, or if your team desperately needs some magic damage pressure (via items). It's also the best build if you are purely looking to survive via big Spell Shield heals.

Pro Tip: If you do go for a Poke build (AP or Lethality), consider slotting in Manamune. Sivir stacks it fast, and the Shock proc adds significant damage to her Q regardless of your other items.

At the end of the day, it depends on your playstyle and the enemy comp. Look at their armor, how long you expect the game to go, and what your team needs before locking in your build.

Good luck and have fun on the Bridge. May your boomerangs always hit both ways.