ADC starting Dorans Shield 7.11

I hope you disregard those kind of comments meddler

because you do a great work

i'm just scarred about your jhin buffs due to lethality items being buffed too (or you don't plan to buff lethality items anymore?)

Only problem I see with that is late game god adcs like Twitch just buying it for a "free" lane, or some top laners that you are supposed to shut down early in lane. But you are nerfing it anyway, so.. yeah.

Talking about the D.ring nerfs, wouldn't it be better limit it to 2 doran items or make it scale down the more dorans get purchased? I can imagine this has been done to force the tanks top to be a little more interactive, but most mid laners now won't have a proper source of mana regen to push after lv7, also most mid laners are forced to play passive since they have 0 kill pressure in lane (malzahar/brand for example) and this way they'll be even more vulnerable to high kill pressure mid laners that won't be affected by these nerfs. Do you think that corrupting potion will be enough to compensate for a situational mana source?

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Thank you for that straightforward and genuine compliment!

One of our goals with Doran's shield was for it to act as an option for marksmen who were prepared to give up offensive threat to try and survive/farm in lane. It's good to see it delivering in that regard, though current tuning looks a bit too strong (50g cost increase coming to shift it to a 1 HP pot start item).

You guys should do some math on the item before doing knee-jerk changes.

Are top laners that basically have to start Shield on your radar when making this change?

I appreciate the current version's presenting problems down bot, it just sucks that a whole slew of generally weak/under-performing tanks and bruisers will essentially be losing the best starting item they've had in a while.

At this point I'm just tired of facing the same four AD fighters and same three AP tanks up top, I could swear 30% of my matches are against Dunkmaster Darius. I'd kill to see a Trundle, or Poppy, or Sion again. There's a good 10-15 champs the "tank update" really hurt, and I'm just disappointed that hurt looks like it's going to continue. If only because it makes playing top really boring/samey.

Why has everything so far been made completely for and designed to make adc a master race. The item was originally for top laners wasnt it? Why are so many shifts to adc in general, are you just going to make the game a protect the adc only if you want to win the game?

I feel like even at 450g there's a fair chance it'll still be too popular to build. Then nerfing it another way that's not removing shield bash dmg versus champions (or something ranged targeted is done about the regen or on-hit dmg) .. could leave melee as sadcakes again for thinking this item really helps them.

Even the tiniest sustain bonuses in lane compound on each other and ranged characters have the advantage of keeping out of reach and viability with warlord's bloodlust. Grasp and Colluses exist I suppose but in my opinion they don't feel like powerful masteries for taking the lane and definitely don't have the bite of fervor as game goes on (and fervor now synergizes with lifesteal as normal AD which is maybe strong?). Ofc though masteries are gonna be different in the future.

I also wonder how doran's stacking belongs in the game in the future. Considering DBlade is kept pretty average at best at a 450g cost to not benefit aggressive ranged laners too much and that DRing stacking just got trimmed aggressively for a solid reason imo (just hope stacking 2 is decent still..?) And that DShield stacking has never really been a thing but I think it should be compared to the others, even if its health and niche seems small and limited to champions like Mundo or Shyvana or a scared Renekton. I don't think doran's stacking should be reduced to "grab one of each type you like everytime to round out your starting stats" but if they become just "only can get one ever but it's pretty strong" they're then really just a delayed super rune or mastery you pick and sell in game then it become pretty tough to put an option there if basic components have to compete with them. Could work though if taking the shield means you have to build into a real mana item or if taking a ring really allows the tank freedom to go into hp items. Maybe an attack speed Dorans could be done. Dare I say even a hybrid pen/assassin one

I'm smelling a small item overhaul next season with the rune rework I bet! (personally if Dorans are one and done I would make mana/health beads big buffed but still cheap and in a few more common recipes to compensate some regen needs and make every ounce of gold getchya something on an early recall. I want to see these things in people's inventories laning lol)

Could also look at it as DShield allows ranged carries to afford the more pressing fervor of battle spec more and that it really is just picking and choosing the strongest choices in the different systems. Which is how I operate just put the obviously strongest things together on my favored champions and it tends to work out for the best (especially for hybrid like champions who sometimes get away with funny unique things)

I can only imagine you folks hear this ninety times a day; however, wouldn't the need for safety at the very first buy of the game perhaps imply that things have become too risky (where burst is quickly becoming the only valid solution to anything-- death, the best CC!) for anything that does not immediately pose the risk?

This seems like a good response to a problem, but I'm more curious what that problem is if they need safe options all of a sudden.

I'd suggest that for ADCs specifically, perhaps support's early game contributions aren't particularly strong?

Let's say 3, with full boots.

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Implying its balanced when not used by adc

it is