Tear of the Goddess and Frozen Heart Receive Significant Buffs in Patch 7.21
The Tear of the Goddess and Frozen Heart items have been overlooked in the meta for quite some time. However, Patch 7.21 is set to change that with some notable buffs.
In the past two years, only three champions have consistently built the Tear. Jayce, who used to build it, has shifted his focus to early damage in order to stay relevant against tanky top laners and assassin mid laners. Ezreal, another Tear builder, struggles with damage output in the early game as an ADC. Building a Tear only sets him back further, which led to him falling out of the meta until he made the transition to the jungle. The third champion, Ryze, relies on mana for his damage and can afford to build the Tear.
There are a few other champions, such as Cass and occasionally Kassadin, that build it. However, overall, the Tear remains an irrelevant item—particularly its AD version, the Manamune.
To address this, the Tear will now stack three times every 12 seconds, increased from twice every eight seconds. This buff also extends to both Archangel’s and Manamune. Once the Tear is upgraded to the Manamune, it will provide even more mana with each stack—increasing to five from four. These changes make the Tear and its item line more cost efficient, particularly for AD champions. However, the issue of buying a Tear early instead of damage remains, so it is unlikely to become a staple in the meta. Nonetheless, these buffs are certainly a step in the right direction.
The Frozen Heart lost its prominence in the meta after the Midseason Update in April. Other tank items received significant armor buffs, which diminished the unique appeal of the Heart—an abundance of armor. Additionally, the rework of Thornmail reducing the attacker’s attack speed dealt a final blow to the Heart. Its main selling points were its high armor and attack speed reduction.
To rectify this, the Heart’s armor is being increased further. It will now provide 100 armor, up from 90. While it may not be a substantial buff, it distinguishes the Heart as the tank item with the highest armor in the game. This enhancement will hopefully increase its priority in tank item builds.
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