Riot Reveals Upcoming Changes to League of Legends’ Bot Lane
Lead designer Andrei “Meddler” van Roon recently shared major updates for League of Legends on the official forum. The focus of these changes is mainly on the bot lane, specifically crit-based marksmen. In this post, Meddler outlined the upcoming changes to crit, providing both details and context for their implementation.
The Goal: Enhancing the Experience of Crit-Based Marksmen
The primary objective of these changes is to enhance the gameplay experience for crit-based marksmen. Riot intends to make crit builds more appealing. They aim to achieve this by making defensive options more viable without sacrificing too much damage, resulting in an overall more satisfying role to play. Riot has shared specific details on each change they will implement to achieve these goals.
Item Reworks and Defensive Options
Riot plans to introduce significant changes to various items. Infinity Edge will undergo rework to once again provide flat crit chance and boost crit damage, along with increased AD to make it more valuable as an early item. Essence Reaver will return as an item that grants AD, Crit, CDR, and mana return. It will offer a flat 20% CDR, with each basic attack triggering mana gains. The current Essence Reaver effect of reducing cooldowns with each basic attack will be moved to a new item called Spear of Shojin. Additionally, Phantom Dancer will receive a new defensive option called Lifeline passive. Riot is also exploring other defensive options to further improve gameplay.
Widespread Changes and Early Power for Crit Marksmen
In addition to the item reworks, Riot is addressing wider issues. Upgraded crit items, including Zeal items, the new Essence Reaver, and the new Infinity Edge, will now provide 25% crit chance. Stormrazor is also undergoing a redesign. It will amplify other energized items and passives, such as those from the Fleet Footwork rune and Statikk Shiv, making it a unique item in its own right. Riot is still fine-tuning item costs and various numerical values, but has not provided specific details yet. Meddler mentioned that these final details are still being worked on.
Overall, these changes are expected to empower crit marksmen in the early game, shifting the power spike from a three-item spike to a two-item spike. This adjustment should help them compete effectively in the current meta. However, the true impact of these changes will only be known once they are tested on the PBE.
Related keywords: Riot Games, League of Legends, bot lane, changes, marksmen, crit-based, item reworks, defensive options, AD, CDR, mana return, Spear of Shojin, Phantom Dancer, Stormrazor, item costs, power spike, PBE testing