The problem isn't mages being bad. Is that AP items are unsatisfying

Riot has been shifting most AP items to utility instead of making them purely offensive. Another problem is that they have been shoving CDR into most AP items, taking away power budget that could instead be relocated into more AP, or other useful stats for mages, or even their passives. The few purely offensive AP items are too expensive and have poor build paths, or are situtional (can't be used effectively by most mages).

has been a staple to mages for a long time. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but there are no good alternative items for most mages to solve their mana problems. and both lack the CDR from Morellonomicon. has a horrible build path, takes too long to stack, and by the time that you stack it, most games are over. By purchasing you also kill your early game potential. This item is great late game, but as long as this meta is early game focused, Tear will simply not be an option save for like or . Not to mention, has been reworked into a support item.

Speaking of which, had to be nerfed because it has been abused by tanks, despite the fact that it is an item geared towards mages. This item has NEVER been a problem on mages, even during the time where you could stack this. It was the tanks that made it be nerfed. Stacking this was an option on mages that wished to skip or delay so that you could purchase an item that would serve you better during the mid game.

has had its AP heavily reduced. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but Zhonya was one of the few big AP items. Now we have very few big AP items. Also, this is the only option for APs for an AP + armor item, It has been asked for years to allow us to have another AP + armor item to be an alternative to Zhonyas.

had its slow nerfed and its AP reduced. This item is now only really used by champions which absolutely need it, like or . It also used to be one of the few viable big AP items. Having its AP reduced is fine to not make it a staple and make it only attractive for AP bruisers. But they could alt least increase the slow a bit.

Speaking of which, there are very few items for AP bruisers. come close, but each has its own problem that make them not as attractive for AP bruisers as they should be. Meanwhile ADs have tons of options for AD bruisers the latter two which also scale with the user's defensive stats. Meanwhile there is nothing like that for AP bruisers, no AP items scale defensively.

is an item that has the potential to be really good for many champions, namely AP assassins and burst mages. Unfortunately, the only thing it builds into is , which is actually a bad item for AP assassins and burst mages, but good for DPS mages. The only other flat magic penetration option for mages is , which forces you to take a boot slot that could be used for something like . Meanwhile ADs have , each of them with a very useful passive (or active) for AD assassins, and do not take up their boot slot.

could have the potential to be one of the best AP items, and would be a staple for AP bruisers. But this item doesn't exist in Summoner's Rift.

isn't a bad item, but there are almost no auto-attack focused APs. Apart from and (and sometimes ) this item is rarely purchased. Most mages have nothing on their kits that supports a playstyle focused into auto-attacking. To a lesser extent this also applies to , which is not bad, but few mages can use it effectively.

is being taken by AP assassins because it is one of the very few options they have for an AP item that offers pure offense and helps them do their job. The fact that it is taken despite the fact that it has AD in its build path (a wasted stat for many mages and AP assassins) says all about the state of AP items currently. It is also the closest thing to a viable spellvamp option for APs, but as long as or exist, at least with their current kit, it will be hard to introduce a viable spellvamp option for APs in this game.

is simply too expensive for what it does. Sure, it is one of the very few big AP items left. But it is just too expensive. And apart from its stats, you don't get a lot, since its passive doesn't deal that much damage. For that amount of gold, you could purchase a instead, which would better help you with bursting down a target if you are playing an AP assassin or burst mage. This item's problem could easily be solved by just decreasing its cost.

And finally, there is . The item that is supposed to be THE core item for mages. But, it is incredibly expensive. There are games where you don't even have the opportunity to build this because this item is just so damn expensive, and all that it offers is a lot of AP (other items offer more than just tons of AP). Its build path and combine cost are also atrocious, further discouraging mages from purchasing this. I get that it is supposed to be a late game item, but at the moment this item is too late game focused for an item that is supposed to be the mage staple. I mean, ADCs have and this item, while expensive, it is not as much compared to Rabadon. It also has a better build path and ADs don't need to wait until super late game to be able to build this. There is a reason why is almost always purchased instead; it offers you similar amounts of damage, is cheaper, and even allows you to deal with the multiple ADs and tanks that stack magic resistance. This item should either have a better build path, have its cost reduced, or be removed. The latter solution would require an overhaul of champion's AP ratios, which have been balanced with Rabadon's Deathcap in mind. In the long run, however, it could potentially be a healthier solution.

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Overall, mages are fine. They are not problematic, and there are actually some mages like which have proven to be too strong. The problem lies in the AP itemization, and that's why I think people constantly complain about mages being "unviable" - which is not true, but doesn't mean that AP itemization is good.