Diversify the AD Pen Items
Hear me out, I'm not asking for MORE AD Pen.
What I'm asking for is to actually diversity the types of Armor Pen champions have access to. Specifically, for the Last Whisper builds.
Instead of both providing a different effect (Greivous or % damage against higher health targets (Why? It already shreds tanks)) provide two separate forms of penetration and then limit that champion to one kind.
The types of pen could be as follows:
1.) Last Whisper X: 40% Bonus Armor Penetration - This bonus only applies to basic attacks and does not affect physical abilities. 2.) Last Whisper Z: 30% Total Armor Penetration - This bonus applies only to physical abilities and not to basic attacks.
NOTE: Each champion may only buy one % penetration item. No penetration item offers both basic attack AND ability penetration now. This means that you if you buy Last Whisper X, Last Whisper Z will become unavailable. Similar to how the jungle items work. These two items, of course, would upgrade into their respective forms, but maybe provide different utility effects. %damage against more health targets on a tank shredding item is dumb. And grievous wounds is way too situational.
That way ADCs have to rely on their basics more than their abilities in the later game (per usual, but at least the damage will be down from their abilities). Also so we don't have some champs being able to blow people up with both abilities and basics. If you're a caster, act like a caster. If you're basic attack oriented, focus on that. Hybrid champions are notorious for never being balanced correctly and I feel this would also open up a path of diversity in terms of other pen items.
This would also help the mages who struggle to build armor effectively against their AD counterparts.
has 11 effective magic resist against a mage with
,
and
and of course runes and masteries, right? All while that adc has built a major MR/AD item that fits it's role...
against let's say a talon with
,
AND 19.2 pen in runes, that ADC will have about 40 or so effective armor. See the difference?