Why isn't there a starter item that grants attack speed?

Raph450·Jul 3, 2016·15 votes·1,640 views

I'm wondering why, we have a jungler item that grants attack speed so why not a starter item that grant attack speed?

38 Comments

ShadòwJul 3, 201632 votes

item 1042

MunchCrunchLunchJul 5, 20161 votes

{quoted}

i think what he/she meant is an as item that has sustain to it. all starting items have sustai. health regen lifesteal or mana regen.

YJRBqwXJcSJul 3, 20168 votes

Dagger costs 300g

CaítlynJul 3, 20167 votes

I dont know why you would want it since attack speed has very little impact early game.

underscores222Jul 3, 20167 votes

Math incoming

Runes: 15% attack speed from marks 6.9% from seals 5.7% from glyphs 14% from Quints

41% total (number given in rune page)

8.5 AD from marks 3.8 from seals 2.6 from glyphs 6.8 from quints

22 total

Items: item 1042 12% attack speed item 1036 10 ad

Level 1 trist 543 HP .656 attacks per second 57 AD

Base damage per second: 37.3

Full AD rune page gives trist 79 AD, a 38% increase. Damage per second: 51.8 (still a 38% increase).

Full AS rune page gives .925 attacks per second, a 41% increase (never woulda guessed) Damage per second: 52.7

Full AD (longsword and runes) 89 ad (56% increase) 58.4 damage per second

Full AS (dagger and runes) 1.003 attacks per second (53% increase) 57.2 damage per second

Longsword and AS runes 67 ad (17.5% increase) .924 attacks per second 67 damage per second

Dagger and AD runes 79 AD .735 attacks per second 58.1 damage per second

Attack speed isn't very useful without some ad. Considering that you don't tend to get into a long fight at level 1, more damage per second isn't super necessary. Single shot poking and getting those minion kills are more important early.

hoes and bowsJul 3, 20161 votes

buys AS runes

underscores222Jul 4, 20163 votes

These numbers are based off a full page of AS runes, which means you miss out on armor pen, defenses, etc. I think the tradeoff there is significant. Also, as I mentioned, an ADC usually won't be engaged in a flat out slugfest at level 1 (and probably not until level 3 at earliest). As such, it is probably better to have the bonus damage, which will make poking a little more effective, improve last hitting on minions, and increase damage on any AD scaling abilities. It's a lot easier to get bonus AS early, but bonus AD is a bit more expensive.

Essentially, AD is an additive bonus, and AS is a multiplicative bonus. There's a pretty fine balance (up to a critical point, past which a little more here or there doesn't matter) between more AD and more AS. Too much AD means you attack too slow, losing out on dps for dph. AS goes the other way, you end up attacking a lot for little bits of damage. Neither extreme is super beneficial for most ADCs.

OrangesilkJul 4, 20161 votes

Jhin Yo KogMaw Sup

underscores222Jul 4, 20161 votes

Neither extreme is super beneficial for most ADCs

Jhin gets damage out of AS, so getting some on him is actually useful. Kog's ability encourages AS over AD, but you still need some ad in his build.

RenascentJul 3, 20166 votes

You can get 15% atk speed from your red runes. On the other hand, you can only get 8.5 AD from your red runes. That's 3% more attack speed than a dagger, but 1.5 less AD than a Long Sword.

Riot probably expects you to get attack speed reds then get a Doran's Blade/Long Sword for maximum effect. Either that, or rune numbers balancing needs updating.

Blue Moon WolfJul 4, 20161 votes

Runes need updating in general. I'm actually a bit surprised to see that the new client on the P.B.E. even has an updated look for the rune page section. I could have sworn it would always look like this:

http://i.stack.imgur.com/VtxOw.jpg

SasogwaJul 5, 20161 votes

{quoted}

You can get 15% atk speed from your red runes. On the other hand, you can only get 8.5 AD from your red runes. That's 3% more attack speed than a dagger, but 1.5 less AD than a Long Sword.

Riot probably expects you to get attack speed reds then get a Doran's Blade/Long Sword for maximum effect. Either that, or rune numbers balancing needs updating.

If you're going to get attackspeed, getting on quints is way more worth. In any case, AS on quints and AD on reds is better than AD on reds and AS on quints

Friendly RamJul 3, 20165 votes

Aren't they called runes?

SpecterVonBarenJul 3, 20162 votes

Then we should remove item 1056 item 1055 and item 1054 because they all give you something you can get from runes.

Angry MonsterJul 4, 20161 votes

you forgot item 1083

but that would be an interesting twist, get rid of the items that do not build into something. I am semi curious what would happen to game balance.

oSEXYPLATYPUSoJul 3, 20163 votes

well if you are using a champ that requires attack speed you can set runes/masteries to accommodate that. i have a rune page that is attack speed reds and attack speed quints that gives +29% attack speed and then you use the fury mastery that will give you 5% more attack speed so at lvl 1 you will have +34% attack speed. secondly there is a cap on attack speed where as in a few exceptions you can exceed that cap. if you have +200% attack speed but no damage then a single item such as item 3110 or item 3082 will shut you down. plus summoner 3

Meep ManJul 4, 20161 votes

summoner 3 shuts down everything for it's duration

Khell DarkWolfJul 3, 20162 votes

Because they want to control the rate at which certain champions can clear early.

It is why trail blazer was removed in some cases because it increased clear times faster then others.

GrReaper96Jul 3, 20162 votes

I think op is misunderstood what he means is a item 1055 item 1056 item 1054 version of attack speed.

Ryzing2DiamondJul 3, 20161 votes

{quoted}

I think op is misunderstood what he means is a version of attack speed.

Why isn't corrupting pot there? item 2033

Angry MonsterJul 4, 20162 votes

its a level 2 item, builds out of something else.

YJRBqwXJcSJul 3, 20161 votes

{quoted}

I think op is misunderstood what he means is a version of attack speed.

Just buy a damn dagger

SpecterVonBarenJul 3, 20161 votes

Just buy a faerie charm/long sword/ruby crystal?

YJRBqwXJcSJul 4, 20161 votes

{quoted}

Just buy a faerie charm/long sword/ruby crystal?

What does that have to do with attack speed? Op only wants attack speed and there is a perfectly fine item that costs 300g that can build in different items.

SpecterVonBarenJul 4, 20161 votes

He wants a started item that's cost efficient for the early game to get by but not something that is inefficient unless you plan to build it into something.

Beached ManateeJul 4, 20161 votes

Actually I usually start item 3303 item 1004 on support

ProfDrDeathJul 3, 20162 votes

Simple explanation: Because Attack Speed is a multiplier stat. As a multiplier, you should buy AS if you already have something that scales with AS to exponentially increase its effectiveness. That something can be AD from items and runes or an effect that is intrinsic to your champion's kit.

Generally speaking, as a starting buy, going for raw AD is more effective than buying AS. And if you're playing a champion for whom AS is more effective than AD intrinsically, you should use your runes to set up properly.