The shop overhaul in Season 11 of League of Legends was set to be as big as previous seasonal shifts. By condensing the shop and giving more obvious power to items, stat sticks were no more. In the current season, although the meta refuses to change, items have had their power significantly adjusted. Many items were given powerful new passives, and a collection of influential actives were added as well.
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Season 11 has been in swing for long enough that many players have adjusted to the new shop. However, the best items remain a mystery for some players. Using stats and data from the game at Patch 11.4, here is a collection of powerful item abilities.
10 Plated Steelcaps
Ninja Tabis, for many seasons, was a bizarre item. After dodge chance was removed, those elusive boots became more defense-oriented. They reduced auto-attack damage and increased armor, which while useful, isn't very ninja-like. Fortunately, Riot took time to fix that grievous error with the newly minted Plated Steelcaps.
The strength of Plated Steelcaps is easy to see. The item's unique passive reduces incoming damage from all basic attacks by 12%, excluding turret attacks. This also includes damage dealt by basic attack modifiers and abilities that act like a basic attack, even magic ones. The strength of this item is obvious; every champion uses auto-attacks in some form. While the item scales better with more armor, against hyper-carries and AD teams the item is too good to pass up.
9 Verdant Barrier/Seeker's Armguard
These items are in the same spot because, functionally, they serve the same purpose. Verdant Barrier is a new item that increases ability power and magic resist, while Seeker's does the same but with armor instead. They're both low-cost items, and can typically be completed on a first back by any control mage worth their salt.
Their passive abilities, however, is where much of their power is loaded. Both increase their respective defensive stat with minion kills. Seeker's requires a bit more scaling, but the value is fairly equal. Most mages already will build Seeker's against an AD midlaner, but Verdant Barrier needs to be considered against AP-reliant compositions. For example, a Lillia/Syndra midlane combo would be ideal to build Verdant Barrier against. While not exciting items, defensive power is a great way to guarantee a player can scale into later stages of the game.
8 Stopwatch/Zhonya's Hourglass
Following up Seeker's Armguard is its upgrade, Zhonya's Hourglass. Stopwatch is included here as well since every class of character can make use of the item. Stopwatch, on its own, gives absolutely no stats at a cost of 600 gold. The rune "Perfect Timing" also grants the player a free Stopwatch after a period of time. This item can be combined into a variety of items, including the famous Zhonya's Hourglass.
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The active, Stasis, is absurdly powerful in the right situation. Using the Stopwatch will turn the user gold, rendering them untargetable and invulnerable for the duration. The user can't do anything during the duration either. This item has so many different uses that describing them here would take quite some time. It can dodge abilities, buy time for allies to arrive, buy time for defensive cooldowns, or simply just look cool while styling on opponents. There's a reason pro-LoL fans see more than one Stopwatch in every single competitive match; its active is too good to pass up.
7 Chemtech Putrifier
While initially underwhelming, recent patches have made Chemtech Putrifier a must-purchase on almost every enchanter in the game. It's no secret that healing in League of Legends is reaching levels never-before-seen. Its counter, Grievous Wounds, requires players to make a fairly significant investment of an item slot to use. But what if there was a way that mages wouldn't need to build Morellonomicon every single game?
Chemtech Putrifier is just that item. Its passive, Puffcap Toxin, empowers allies on healing and shielding effects with the ability to inflict Grievous Wounds. Enchanters, particularly those with a Moonstone Renewer, will be able to apply this passive multiple times in an extended fight, guaranteeing Grievous Wound uptime. Most importantly, this also allows allies to not have to waste an item slot on a weaker item. Putrifier is a powerful tool, and one enchanters can utilize perfectly.
6 Umbral Glaive
Umbral Glaive needs little introduction. This Lethality item was added as an aggressive option for the growing pool of AD-oriented support picks. It also could be used on AD assassins in some cases, but usually doesn't find itself in their inventory anymore. It may not be as cheap as it once was, but its power is still the same.
Umbral Glaive is a simple, powerful item. In a game based around vision control, an offensive item that allows regular vision denial is absurd. Blackout, its passive, activates when walking near enemy wards or traps. After it activates, it works similarly to the Red Trinket, sweeping outwards and giving the user time to clear them out. It also allows users to instantly kill most wards once they are spotted.
5 Turbo Chemtank
In the early season, Sunfire Aegis was by far the best tank mythic item. After several nerfs, the three tank items have become much closer in balance. Balanced stats means the items are evaluated based on their active abilities less than the raw numbers. For Turbo Chemtank, that active makes the item.
Turbo Chemtank provides a balanced statline in terms of defensives, along with a fair bit of Ability Haste. This is combined with its active, Supercharged. Supercharged is similar to the Righteous Glory of old, only the user goes much faster and ignores unit collision. This item allows champions that just want to run fast, like Udyr, much more oppressive than they otherwise would be.
4 Everfrost
Everfrost, at the start of the season, was arguably the worst mythic option for mages. Its stats were designed as a tankier alternative, replacing Hextech-GLP and Rod of Ages, but very few champs could utilize its slow, ineffective active ability. After some buffs, it's underused but quite powerful.
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Everfrost's active fires a skillshot out in a cone. Enemies in the center of the cone get rooted and take bonus damage, while other enemies hit are simply slowed and take some damage. This active now fires fast and has a relatively short cooldown, giving more wave-clearing power and lockdown to control mages who need the help. It's less of a dopamine hit than either Luden's or Liandry's, but is situationally oppressive.
3 Stridebreaker
Another item that's received buffs to its weak early state, Stridebreaker had a rough time breaking through. Goredrinker was previously in an overpowered state, and most bruisers would simply go for the superior option. With nerfs to Goredrinker, Stridebreaker has risen as an alternative that's arguably superior.
Stridebreaker dashes the user forward 300 units, dealing damage in an AoE that also applies a significant slow. For bruisers and juggernauts, this item active is a blessing from the heavens. They gain an extra gap closer and a free slow to stick on their targets. Combos are made easier to execute and ranged toplaners finally have to play the lane instead of cheating it. It might even be too powerful at the time of writing, but that remains to be seen.
2 Galeforce
One of the common factors for powerful active items is additional mobility. Mobility creep has long been a problem in League and giving an extra dash to champions who need it is one way to solve the problem. Of course, Galeforce's active does more than simply dash; it changes the way an ADC can play.
Galeforce's active dashes the user in a target direction, similar to Stridebreaker but with a longer dash. This dash will also fire bolts that deal bonus damage based on the target's missing health. Marksmen like Kai'Sa can utilize Galeforce to execute targets, while marksmen like Jinx can use it for repositioning and maximizing DPS uptime. Its active is absurdly powerful, and shouldn't be ignored.
1 Moonstone Renewer
The one, the only, the Moonstone Renewer. This item is the opposite of exciting, on the surface. Other items create impressive AoE effects, or amplify damage, or allow users to gain a second wind during a long fight. They create more damage numbers, and that's great. However, the Moonstone Renewer exists to fight back against damage by making it look like it never happened.
The passive for Moonstone Renewer blesses a nearby ally with a heal on dealing damage to enemies. It also applies a heal on top of existing healing abilities. This includes all damage, like Brand's damage-over-time passive. This is a weak heal, but is on a short enough cooldown it applies multiple times during a fight. It also gets stronger the longer the user is in combat. A true Moonstone abuser will be able to sufficiently support their team and utilize the other cost-effective enchanter items, even on a midlaner's budget.
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