League of Legends Patch 9.3: Big Changes Arrive for Bot Lane
League of Legends Patch 9.3 brought about significant changes, especially for the bot lane. It aimed to help bot lane carries survive against burst carries that have been dominating the meta for months. One of the items that underwent a redesign was the Essence Reaver. Instead of letting go of its old passive ability, Riot created a new item solely dedicated to utilizing that ability. Enter the Spear of Shojin.
The Spear of Shojin: An Overview
The Spear of Shojin is a health and AD item that provides 250 health and 60 AD. While its stats may not be overly impressive, the item carries immense value due to its passive ability. Whenever you cast your ultimate, your first basic attack triggers Awakened Dragon. This reduces non-ultimate ability cooldowns with basic attacks and grants you an attack speed buff, similar to the pre-9.3 Essence Reaver.
Top Laners Benefitting from the Spear of Shojin
The Spear of Shojin is especially potent for top laners, particularly bruisers like Renekton, Riven, Illaoi, Urgot, and Kled. These champions benefit greatly from high AD and health, making the Spear’s stats a natural fit. Additionally, the Awakened Dragon passive delivers a massive power spike whenever their ultimate is available. For example, Renekton can abuse the system with his W, which counts as three basic attacks. Illaoi’s tentacle-slapping becomes significantly amplified after using her ultimate.
Conclusion: A Game Changer for Top Laners
While marksmen certainly benefited from Patch 9.3 with new items and increased power, the Spear of Shojin provided top laners with a significant advantage. This item is highly recommended for top laners who enjoy AD and health. It is easy to use and the power spike it offers at level six is exhilarating. While top lane bruisers may not completely dominate the meta, it won’t be surprising to see a few rise through the ranks solely because of this item.
League of Legends, Patch 9.3, Spear of Shojin, bot lane, marksmen, top laners, bruisers, Awakened Dragon, power spike.