The Evolution of League of Legends Items: Why Spear of Shojin Became Irrelevant
League of Legends is constantly evolving, and the game’s items are no exception. One item that has undergone significant changes over the years is the Spear of Shojin, which used to be incredibly powerful but has now become obsolete.
Players recently took to Reddit to discuss why the Spear of Shojin is no longer being built in the game. In an Aug. 10 Reddit post (source), they examined the reasons behind this once-feared item’s fall from grace.
With the release of season 12, the Spear of Shojin made a comeback in the shop. However, it returned in a much weaker state. The item now costs 3,400 gold and provides attack damage, health, Ability Haste, as well as two lackluster passives that are reminiscent of its previous effects.
So why is no one building this item anymore? Here are the main reasons according to League players:
- It’s primarily designed for bruiser champions, but bruisers make up a small portion of the League champion pool.
- If players want raw attack damage, the Black Cleaver is always a better option.
- When playing as a bruiser, after purchasing your Mythic item and Black Cleaver, defensive stats become more important than additional damage.
- The Ability Haste provided by the item doesn’t make a significant difference, as these champions already have sufficient innate cooldown reduction.
- For aggressive playstyles, Ravenous Hydra and Serylda’s Grudge offer better options for raw damage output and Lethality.
The Spear of Shojin made its initial appearance in the game during season eight but only became available on Summoner’s Rift in 2019. It quickly became one of the most overpowered items for champions like Riven, Renekton, and Jax.
Originally, the item offered health, attack damage, cooldown reduction, and two unique passives that increased attack speed and accelerated the recovery of basic abilities by 20 percent.
So, what’s the solution? Reverting the item back to its previous state would only bring back the dominance of carry bruisers. The best course of action would be to either completely rework the item to fill a specific niche or remove it from the game altogether.
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