Riot, when you look into AP itemization in Season 8 PLEASE take a look at Gunblade (kinda long post)

TLDR at the end of the post.

I feel like this item has been really problematic for a long time now but has been avoiding changes and is the main issue in why AP assassins are either too good or really bad.

Items shouldn't cover weaknesses that a certain champion has. And this is exactly the problem with items like Gunblade or Duskblade. Riot's view on assassins since preseason 7 was that they need a delayed burst window where enemies can react to the assassin's burst and escape if they manage to either outplay them or use a summoner spell. That's nice and all but that can't happen if you design items that will cover the delayed burst once the assassin has enough gold to purchase the item.

On top of giving assassins MORE burst damage with its active it also gives them unnecessary sustain which they don't need at all. It's essentially a bit weaker version of DFG and it provides the same unhealthy game pattern. It removes the risk of going in for a kill since you can just slap a target with 200 extra damage and a slow. If you're a squishy that pretty much means death unless the rest of your team is with you.

Another thing that i wanna talk about is it's build path cause it promotes the feast or famine play style. While the components for it suit the champions that get the item, it can feel really awkward when it comes to finishing it. Unless the champion is snowballing they will have a hard time finishing the item since it costs a lot and has an awkward build path with Cutlass being in it. And the item isn't justified with it's cost since, yes while it costs a lot, it's 121% gold efficient without factoring in it's active and passive.

My opinion is that the item should either be completely removed from the game or heavily reworked into an AP bruiser item that it should've always been. It would be a really healthy change regarding champions like Akali and Katarina since they essentially build it every game.

As a Katarina main i think i can say a few things about it since i've been abusing this shit for an entire season now. I'll just start off with saying that she doesn't need this item and that it's the reason why she feels so oppressive during this preseason. In my personal non-biased opinion i really believe that her kit is fine and that Gunblade is a big culprit in why she spiked up so much lately. Next to the damage creep that runes brought she doesn't get punished for a majority of things since the item removes the weaknesses that she has. Barely anyone can escape the slow that the item gives her alongside amazing stats and the extra burst with the active. There was a point in preseason 7 where people would build Rylai's over Gunblade on her 1st since Rylai's was busted back then and it was the healthiest iteration of Katarina that i've ever seen. Take away the item from her and she's gonna be healthier to deal with.

And regarding Akali i don't think that she's gonna be unplayable at all if they were to remove the item. if anything i feel like she doesn't need the item at all either. Sure she would be weaker but they can just compensate her with buffs in her kit if she ends up too weak. She's a champion that's slated for a full VGU anyways.

Generally the problem with AP assassins and mages are that they don't have a lot of diversity in what they build. If i play Katarina i'm forced to build Gunblade since i don't have other choices. I really hope the itemization update solves these issues.

Jeez, if anyone actually bothered to read the entire post, thank you.

TLDR In my opinion they should either remove the item or heavily rework it into an AP bruiser item or something else. it promotes unhealthy gameplay where it covers a lot of weaknesses that the champions that build it have and it ends up being an issue on the champions end rather than the item being at fault.