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Doran's Shield is outclassed by every single starting item possible

DJ S0NA··54 votes·2,552 views

Doran's Shield is an item that we have been asking for a buff since it was gone from top lane bruiser meta (season 4). Currently item 1054 is outclassed by every single starting item(s) possible. Let's see the combinations possible that is better:

  • item 1055 + item 2003 -> Get's outclassed for having extra AD, same HP and extra life steal for sustain. More combat stats.

  • item 1056 + 2 item 2003 -> Get's outclassed for carrying an extra HP pot due to Doran's Ring cheap price. Has alot of AP for a starting item, extra HP and resource sustain. More combat stats.

  • item 1029 + 4 item 2003 -> Definitely outclassed for the 4 HP pots sustain, heavy early armor and protection.

  • item 1028 + 2 item 2003 -> Outclassed for having extra HP pot and more HP for more tankyness.

  • item 1036 + 3 item 2003 -> Might not be related, but it has more combat stats (to be agressive) + 2 more HP pots for extra sustain.

  • item 1082 + 2 item 2003 -> Gives AP, more extra healing on potions and mana.

  • item 1033 + item 2003 -> This even outclasses for having heavy early magic resist against AP champions.

  • item 2033 -> Completely outclassed for massive sustain (plus refilliable when backing) and extra damage hits when attacking a champion.

When can we see some changes to Doran's Shield? Hell I would even accept a 50 gold cut to get an extra HP pot. That would also work...

38 Comments

Br4ndon21 votes

Have you ever started 2 fairie charms on Garen?

Dr Birdie12 votes

That's a bit too OP for my tastes.

Br4ndon21 votes

He basically starts with no mana regen. For a champion that needs to spam as much as him it really helps the early game.

Dr Birdie12 votes

Wait, why haven't I been building Manamune? He spams so much and he basic attacks a lot.

Br4ndon18 votes

By time my 4th manamune is done im basically manaless. 4 manamunes and 2 fairie charms is all you need.

Yosuke Apperu1 votes

{quoted}

By time my 4th manamune is done im basically manaless. 4 manamunes and 2 fairie charms is all you need.

You need the sorc boots tho, so that if your opponent isn't the villian you still do op damages.

CarbRundum1 votes

What about Chalice of Harmony? I usually find a way to fit that into my build path

Pierce The Veal9 votes

{quoted}

Have you ever started 2 fairie charms on Garen?

Bullshit.

Have you ever started 4 faerie charms. That is the real manmode. You have 500 gold, which is just enough to buy 4 of them.

Sasogwa9 votes

{quoted}

Bullshit.

Have you ever started 4 faerie charms. That is the real manmode. You have 500 gold, which is just enough to buy 4 of them.

The removal of mana potions was still a huge nerf to Garen, I'm not sure even with 4 faerie charms he won't just be OOM all the time

Pierce The Veal6 votes

{quoted}

The removal of mana potions was still a huge nerf to Garen, I'm not sure even with 4 faerie charms he won't just be OOM all the time

The point is, with 4 of them, you can barely last until 250 gold, so you can get another two.

A little know effect of owning 6 Faerie charms is a special passive called "The manly Faerie," which is specially designed for Garen. You gain invisible faerie wings of justice and also gain madsive mana regen OF JUSTICE. It's honestly sort of game breaking but Riot just seems to want to keep it jn the game.

Sasogwa4 votes

{quoted}

The point is, with 4 of them, you can barely last until 250 gold, so you can get another two.

A little know effect of owning 6 Faerie charms is a special passive called "The manly Faerie," which is specially designed for Garen. You gain invisible faerie wings of justice and also gain madsive mana regen OF JUSTICE. It's honestly sort of game breaking but Riot just seems to want to keep it jn the game.

Yea you're right. Just imagine if Garen had more spots for items.. 8 faerie charms enemy Garen? Insta surrender

Pierce The Veal4 votes

{quoted}

Yea you're right. Just imagine if Garen had more spots for items.. 8 faerie charms enemy Garen? Insta surrender

I think there is a secret to getting one into the trinket slot. I don't know how it's done, but I hear it is already enough to make Garen a freaking God. If he could get 8 it would probably instantly destroy the enemy nexus tbh.

Br4ndon4 votes

You need the rest of the gold to jiggle in your pocket so as youre walking into the lane your enemy gets really impressed with how much money you have.

Pierce The Veal4 votes

{quoted}

You need the rest of the gold to jiggle in your pocket so as youre walking into the lane your enemy gets really impressed with how much money you have.

Nah that shit only works on bankplank. Garen needs his Faerie wings asap.

Excalibait7 votes

[{quoted}](name=DJ Sona,realm=EUW,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=8hoOPEUy,comment-id=,timestamp=2016-04-18T13:35:22.633+0000)

  • item 1082 + 2 item 2003 -> Gives AP, more extra healing on potions and mana.

item 1082 + item 2031 is even better, especially since it can be easily upgraded to item 2033

xBushx2 votes

{quoted}

item 1082 + item 2031 is even better, especially since it can be easily upgraded to item 2033

Also you get 3 item 2003 ...starting Dark Seal

Spoofghoul4 votes

You totally forgot this one

item 1006 item 1006 + 4xitem 2010

if the mane of the game is sustain then nothing beats that one, well that is if you are playing a champ with high hp regen who can use the beads in his build

Because being 300 gold closer to your next item whilst offering the same ''protection'' vs poke on top of granting 3 extra potions/biscuits is just so absurdly better its criminal

You litterally get 1 extra pot worth of sustain over the dorans shield from the beads alone, and an extra kill's worth of gold towards your next item and another 3 extra hp pots

SpecterVonBaren4 votes

What if they made it so killing a minion gives you five health and killing a cannon minion gives you ten health?

The Deckowner1 votes

that will be very broken chogath passive on a starting item

SpecterVonBaren1 votes

Cho's passive starts at 20 health and 3.5 mana per enemy killed and scales to a maximum of 71 health and 7.75 mana per enemy killed. Not only would this passive not even give mana but it would also be 75% less powerful than Cho's passive just at level 1 and from then on not only does Cho's passive outscale it hard but even Cho's passive becomes a non-factor come mid game even with the scaling so this passive for Doran's Shield would get outscaled even harder.

Shrek Luigi3 votes

You forgot item 1006item 1006item 1006item 2003. Works pretty well on tanky toplaners who can feasably build item 3748item 3083.

Edit: item 1006item 1006item 2003x4 works too I guess, but it's certainly not as cool

PDE5 Inhib6 votes

item 1004 item 1004 item 1004 item 1004 is best

Woodsy25753 votes

Missing cull

Zero Skill Tank2 votes

Doran's shield is weak AF, question is: what are potential gains from buffing it? I don't remember ever missing it, although it seems like stronger item 1054 would help against Quinn or Graves, in the end it would not matter, or if it was strong enough it would be used to completely shut down Trundle or Jax. If you asked me, this item is not needed anymore in the game.

Also it would be hard to make purely defensive doran item strong enough to compete with item 1028 , that has added benefit of granting quick item 3751 item 3052 item 3211, or whatever, without going for heavy early game passive regen, something I think Riot is trying to avoid.

LithiumWednesday2 votes

ayy item 1083 lmao :^)

The Deckowner2 votes

Cull is not actually a starting item, but buying on first back is very common in lcs for the extra sustain and gold.

Llanite2 votes

There are so many starts. Why the hell cares if one of them not seem "outclassed" to you?

Dengeden2 votes

Except for the cases where it isn't and you crush lane because of it. It's an ignite counter and it's excellent in assassin v assassin lanes.

Myozthirirn2 votes

You forgot item 1006 item 1006 item 1006 +item 2003

Joquan2 votes

Null + pot and ruby + pots are far worse than a doran shield start. that's just circlejerking at that point.

SnowFall2 votes

item 1001 item 2003

xBushx1 votes

[{quoted}](name=DJ Sona,realm=EUW,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=8hoOPEUy,comment-id=,timestamp=2016-04-18T13:35:22.633+0000)

Hell I would even accept a 50 gold cut to get an extra HP pot. That would also work...

This^

ltmetal1 votes

I think Doran's Shield needs a 100g cut in price, or at least a change to how it calculates damage reduction.

Lugg1 votes

I agree that it should be cheaper so you can get the extra health pot. That way it is a valid lane sustain item that allows you to farm long enough to get your first item.

Sasogwa1 votes

It should grant 8 health per 5s instead of 6. That'd be a start.

Oelyk1 votes

I HAD NO IDEA. thank you for saving me.

Daen1 votes

In general, the main issue with Doran's Shield is that it's based around staying power. Health regeneration as a stat sucks to play against if you (the opponent) aren't able to whittle your way through it, which is why it's so difficult to balance. Here are the three states of power for the item:

  • Too Weak - Outclassed by other starting options on many champions, still good on a small niche
  • Balanced - Balanced with other starting options on many champions, too strong on a small niche
  • Too Strong - Outclasses other starting options on many champions, way too strong on a small niche

For an item like Doran's Shield, it actually makes sense for it to be slightly undertuned, so that it's still viable for the small niche but not something champions can easily abuse for extra regeneration. It's still a great item for champions that are susceptible to single-target poke early, and I don't feel that buffing it in its current state would be good for the game.

Dealth1 votes

The thing about Doran shield is it gives you sustain without having to push the wave or be in combat. It's much more passive, and the damage reduction increases your effective HP making health and health regen more valuable.

Each minion wave you regenerate 36 health with Doran shield. With Doran blade, you would have to attack each minion in the wave 2 times to break even. Assuming each auto heals you 3 health. This pushes out the wave, also taking an extra 8 damage from attacks that otherwise would be blocked by Doran shield forces you to attack 2-3 more times to heal back up.

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