League of Legends' Season 14 Split 2 introduces significant updates to the item and rune systems, redefining strategies and champion builds. This update brings new items and runes into the fold, while removing some to fine-tune the in-game experience and competitive balance.
The new item, Yun Tal Wildarrows, is designed to offer AD/Crit users a robust option for scaling their offensive capabilities without committing to multiple attack speed items. With a build path of Pickaxe, Noonquiver, and an additional 925 gold, the total cost rounds up to 3200 gold. This item not only boosts critical strike chance by 25% but also adds 65 attack damage, making it a valuable pick for champions like Jhin who thrive on high AD builds. Its unique passive, Serrated Edge, causes critical strikes to inflict an additional 35% of total AD as physical damage over 2 seconds, enhancing sustained damage output in skirmishes.
Build Path: Pickaxe + Noonquiver + 925 Gold
Total Cost: 3200 Gold
Stats:
Zephyr makes a comeback, reimagined as an experimental "full build capstone" item to enrich the end-game scaling of champions that benefit from attack speed and movement speed. This item evolves from Berserker's Greaves after level 15, costing an additional 2000 gold (total 3100 gold). It retains its identity as a boots slot item, offering 45 attack speed and 45 movement speed. Its passive now grants a 5% movement speed boost for 6 seconds, stacking up to three times, encouraging aggressive positioning and kiting in late-game team fights.
Description: Returns as an experimental item offering a scaling advantage.
Build Path: Berserker's Greaves + 2000 Gold
Total Cost: 3100 Gold
Stats:
Scout's Slingshot enters as a fresh component focusing on attack speed, catering to builds that steer clear of critical strike chance. This item costs 900 gold, combining a Dagger with 600 gold, and grants a 20% increase in attack speed. Its passive uniquely interacts with champion combat, dealing an additional 40 magic damage on hit and reducing its cooldown by 1 second with each attack. This addition aids champions in maintaining high DPS without relying on crit chance, filling a niche in current itemization paths.
Build Path: Dagger + 600 Gold
Total Cost: 900 Gold
Stats:
Overlord's Bloodmail addresses a specific need within fighter builds that prioritize health. Constructed from dual Tunnelers and an additional 1000 gold, this item's 3300 gold investment brings a substantial payoff. It provides 40 attack damage and 500 health, making it an ideal third item in health-focused builds. The unique passive, Tyranny, converts 2% of the user's bonus health into attack damage, enhancing offensive capabilities proportionally to health investment. Another passive, Retribution, increases attack damage by up to 10% based on missing health, with the greatest benefit kicking in below 30% health. This design encourages fighters to engage in prolonged skirmishes, where they become more formidable as their health drops.
Description: Provides health and converts it into attack damage for fighters.
Build Path: Tunneler + Tunneler + 1000 Gold
Total Cost: 3300 Gold
Stats:
Fated Ashes is introduced as a mid-game enhancer for AP junglers, analogous to Bami’s Cinder for tank junglers. Priced at 900 gold, this item is built from an Amplifying Tome and an additional 500 gold, providing 40 ability power. Its passive, Inflame, mirrors Bami’s Cinder's effect but for ability-based damage, dealing 7 magic damage per second for 3 seconds to enemies hit by abilities. The effect is notably stronger against monsters, dealing an additional 20 damage per second, thus speeding up jungle clear times and enhancing mid-game farming efficiency.
Description: New AP component designed to enhance mid-game clears for AP Junglers.
Build Path: Amplifying Tome + 500 Gold
Total Cost: 900 Gold
Stats:
The introduction of Blackfire Torch aims to fill a gap in the mage item ecosystem, particularly benefiting battlemages and control mages who focus on sustained damage. The build path includes Lost Chapter, Fated Ashes, and 700 gold, summing up to a 2800 gold cost. This item boasts 90 ability power, 600 mana, and 25 haste, making it a powerhouse for spellcasting. The Baleful Blaze passive inflicts a burning effect that deals 20 plus 2% of AP as magic damage per second for 3 seconds upon hitting enemies with abilities. This effect is particularly potent in jungle encounters, where it also deals 20 additional damage per second to monsters. Furthermore, the Blackfire passive grants a 4% AP bonus for each enemy champion, epic monster, and large monster affected by Baleful Blaze, rewarding aggressive and strategic spellcasting in team fights and jungle skirmishes.
Description: A mana item for sustained damage dealing mages.
Build Path: Lost Chapter + Fated Ashes + 700 Gold
Total Cost: 2800 Gold
Stats:
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League of Legends’ rune system receives a significant overhaul in Season 14 Split 2, aimed at refining gameplay mechanics. Several key runes have been either introduced or removed.
The removal of Lethal Tempo marks a significant shift in attack speed strategies. This rune previously allowed champions to exceed attack speed limits and bypass traditional itemization for speed, which sometimes led to imbalanced gameplay. Its elimination encourages players to more carefully consider their build paths and adapt to a meta where attack speed must be obtained through items. This will be a major change for the most hated champions in the game - Yasuo and Yone.
Absorb Life is a new addition to the Precision tree, offering a healing mechanic that activates upon killing a target. This rune restores health in a range from 2 to 17, depending on the champion level, providing sustain and allowing for extended presence in lanes and during jungle clears. It is particularly useful for champions who engage in frequent skirmishes and need to stay healthy between fights.
Description:
Allows Precision Tree users to heal between skirmishes.
Effect:
Killing a target restores 2-17 health.
The removal of Legend: Tenacity from the Legend rune series is aimed at simplifying choices within the tree. By removing this rune, the game developers intend to make tenacity a more deliberate and significant choice, rather than a secondary stat that players passively accumulate.
Replacing Legend: Tenacity, Legend: Haste offers a new dynamic to ability usage by providing Basic Ability Haste. Each stack of Legend grants 1.5 Ability Haste, up to a maximum of 15 at ten stacks. This encourages a more active playstyle focused on ability use, benefiting champions that rely heavily on their abilities to control fights and secure objectives.
Description:
Replaces Legend: Tenacity with a focus on Basic Ability Haste.
Effect:
Gain 1.5 per Legend stack bonus Basic Ability Haste, up to 15 at maximum stacks.
Future’s Market has been phased out due to its low pick rate and the problematic gameplay patterns it encouraged, such as going into debt to accelerate power spikes unnaturally.
Cash Back addresses the void left by Future’s Market with a rewarding twist. This rune gives players 6% of the gold cost back upon purchasing a Legendary item. It encourages strategic purchasing and helps players reach their full build more efficiently, supporting both individual and team-oriented playstyles.
These changes reflect a broader shift towards enhancing strategic diversity and gameplay satisfaction in League of Legends. Each alteration has been carefully considered to promote balance, offer new tactical avenues, and ensure a dynamic, engaging game environment for all players.
Description:
Rewards players with gold back on purchases of Legendary items.
Effect:
Get 6% gold back on purchase of a Legendary item.
Minion Dematerializer has been removed from the game. Initially introduced to help champions clear waves more efficiently and gain lane advantage, the rune was found to be overly complex and narrowly used. Its removal is part of an effort to streamline the choices available to players, focusing on runes that have a broader and more understandable impact across different play styles and matchups.
Jack of All Trades is a new rune designed to reward creative and versatile item builds. This rune encourages experimentation with diverse itemization, providing incremental bonuses for each unique stat from items purchased:
This rune opens up new possibilities for players to explore unconventional builds and strategies, promoting a gameplay environment where adaptability and innovation are key to success.
The changes in Season 14 Split 2 of League of Legends are a significant step towards refining the game's strategic depth and player engagement. With new items and runes introduced, and less impactful ones removed, players are encouraged to explore varied strategies and adapt their gameplay to the evolving meta. The updates outlined here represent some of the most dramatic changes, enhancing the overall game dynamics and competitive balance. You can tell that Phreak is heavily breathing behind the scenes. We can certainly say that since he joined the meta has been shaken up at least few times with a breath of fresh air.
Discover more about these exciting developments and how they might reshape the battlefield by visiting the official League of Legends Patch 14.10 Notes.
