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Blade of the Ruined King isn't even bought on the only champions who used to buy it.

Gosh Darn··76 votes·6,490 views

Vayne, Kalista, Yi, Warwick, Shyvana, and more don't even consider this item anymore. Even against an HP tank like Mundo it's not even worth considering. It's absurdly expensive, provides no noteable powerspike, and doesn't scale with other items. It's active is very weak compared to other items such as ghostblade which in addition to having strong actives are still gold efficient. It's one of the least efficient offensive items in the entire game, coming in at a disgusting 73% gold efficiency without the passive. Even in extreme circumstances, the passive is not going to be doing enough damage to make up for the horrible stats.

Most importantly, the champions who used to build this item are not as dominant as they were in this item's prime, before the nerf. It needs a reworked effect, new effect, price drop, or buff to the stats or passive. When a cookie cutter offensive item with no real niche is never purchased, it's obvious there's a huge issue with it's power or cost. It's not like a banshee's veil or Wit's end that is strong but rarely bought due to nice effects. It's an item nearly every AD champion in the game would consider buying if it wasn't so horribly overpriced. It's clear that the stats are the issue. We've gone more than an entire season without any champion even touching this item.

130 Comments

Requiemsfire28 votes

The active on blade of the ruined King isn't that weak and it feels like the main reason Vayne doesn't build BOTRK anymore is because her burst build has become a tad dominant.

That aside it's stats are a bit too much of a one size fits all providing AD, on hit damage, life steal, and attack speed on top of a movement speed steal active which is still really good for kiting.

Gosh Darn7 votes

How does that "one size fits all" argument work when it would be waaay more effective to buy more cost efficient items that give different stats? Especially now that serker greaves give 35% AS, you start with doran's blade, and can receive more lifesteal from masteries, there's no reason to buy Botrk even for the balanced spread of stats.

All Botrk does right now is delay better builds. It causes more problems than it solves. Don't get me wrong, I like that it's got multiple stats instead of just being a glob of AD, but the horrible gold efficiency makes it undesirable. It could be a balanced spread of stats whilst being closer to 85% gold efficient and it would actually be a fair and decent item.

Requiemsfire27 votes

Well to put it mildly, when BOTRK is good it does become a one size fits all item. Here's a question, When blade of the ruined king is a good item why build item 3072?

Gosh Darn8 votes

BT scales with crit and has a far greater lifesteal whilst providing a shield for defense.

Botrk is in such a bad state because it's not meant to scale, it's meant to be a one item powerspike. In it's current state, it simply doesn't provide a powerspike at all. It's too expensive and gold inefficient to be a half decent option.

Requiemsfire21 votes

How does bloodthirster scale with crit and BOTRK doesn't? You've lost me there. Attack speed and AD both contribute to your overall DPS and the amount of damage output you deal with critical strikes.

Blade of the ruined king gives 10% life steal while bloodthirster gives 20% which is quite a difference but then you factor in the damage both items bring to the table with bloodthirster providing a good 50 more AD while BOTRK provides 40% more attack speed and on hit damage.

Finally the shield vs the active of blade of the ruined King. A shield active that increases your effective health in fights is very useful but versus an active that practically makes you untouchable to anyone who isn't range or borderline inescapable if they aren't mobile is far more useful than a basic shield given can save you from some situations.

If this item is buffed it will pretty much become an all purpose item. :l Item should be completely reworked rather than buffed.

Critmaster Garen7 votes

{quoted}

How does bloodthirster scale with crit and BOTRK doesn't?

id argue the item isnt even necessarry anymore.

dom is easily maxed out, and amplifies all physical damage. including critical strikes and ability damage. if bork was buffed again, not only would it go back to being too strong, but it would become straight up overkill with giant slayer.

i think its time to chill the fuck out with buffing damage in this game.

i already hate the preseason masteries, and the fact that assassin items/runes grant up to 100 flat armor pen lategame.

which wouldnt be much of an issue if assassin items wouldnt stack with regular % armor pen.

ZT Xperimentor4 votes

Agreed, botrk has been top of the line and it made tanks unplayable, damage this season has been out of control without it already. That and marksmen already got several of their items buffed, they don't need more.

ProfDrDeath4 votes

You're right. BotRK, at the moment, tries to fulfill too many roles at the same time, and it results in it being mediocre at all of them.

Ideally, Riot would split the item into two, one item for duelists (skirmishers and auto-attack focused divers) to build out of item 3144 and the second as a tool to counteract HP stacking with the powerful on-hit effect. For instance, the first could be named Blade of the Ruined King (with the flavor text: A gift of the King to his duel champion), whereas the second could be called Freljordian Whaling Harpoon (flavor text: Made for killing Leviathans).

Secondly, Vayne used to rush Blade because it had the perfect stat spread for her - mainly the AS to benefit Silver Bolts/Fervor of Battle/her AD steroid(one on the very few among ADCs)/its own on-hit and the Lifesteal to sustain her close-range combat pattern. The new build uses Warlord's Bloodlust for Lifesteal, allowing her to go for an AS/Crit item which has even more synergy with the AD steroid.

Samflash31 votes

What if they took a Liandry's route with Blade of the ruined King where it dealt its damage via physical damaging spells and autos but in exchange the damage is a burn effect? Would add health shredding to the people who need it but won't have the luxury to auto as much (kiteable fighters), wouldn't be as abused by ADCs who auto frequently or scale with crit.

Example build - Bilgewater cutlass + caulfield hammer.

Kynami4 votes

Do you really want to give Varus an item he can use for sustain, additional attack speed for W pops, and a burn that stacks on top of DFT? And he's just the first that comes to mind...

Only Play Darius18 votes

Their excuse for nerfing it was the Kog'Maw rework. Now that his W was reverted they should make it 8% HP again

Surr20plz3 votes

[{quoted}](name=Jelly Mac,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=RZveJU6V,comment-id=0001,timestamp=2016-10-22T05:56:42.325+0000)

Their excuse for nerfing it was the Kog'Maw rework. Now that his W was reverted they should make it 8% HP again

Lovelle6 votes

Do you remember what this game was like when Botrk was strong and commonly bought? Not that much different than it is now honestly.

Botrk staying in it's current state is probably best for everyone. I honestly think it should just be removed. Nobody can tank damage anymore and every other champion has %hp damage in their kits anyway.

Critmaster Garen4 votes

the item was broken. it was strong on a lot of champions even when they didnt face health stacking champions.

its exactly where it should be right now. a nieche item in case of extreme health stacking teams to be built with item 3036

item 3034 has become the generic item against high health targets.

mr Boombastic7874 votes

I don't think it's that weak. I am a Trundle main and I almost build it first item every game (depending on matchup) but most of the time. It gives me some nice AS for my split pushing and it synergies with my W perfectly. I get more AS in my w and I get so much lifesteal with my w + bork as well. I don't think it needs a buff but there are some stronger items on the types of champs you're talking about. They probably should nerf ghostblade but Riot don't necessarily need to buff Bork even though it would be nice xD

Gosh Darn5 votes

Triforce or gauntlet are way better first buys. You don't need the lifesteal or slow from botrk.

OHminus2 votes

*Hydra

OHminus2 votes

**Hail Hydra

Ebolol3 votes

One of the Hydras is a way better first buy tbh

macromite4 votes

Some of that is good and some of that is bad.

Botrk should pretty much only exist to counter tanks. that should be its main and only purpose, it not being bought is indicative of the meta not being majorly tanky, and that is ok.

But at the same time, other items are overbearing.

Elisheva4 votes

If they are dumb maybe. It may be expensive but it's still obscenely powerful.

AirKingNeo3 votes

Well Shyvana shouldn't build it unless top because she has Bloodrazor.

Ebolol3 votes

I think it's certainly a stretch to say none of those champions 'consider' the item. Many of them still build it sometimes (and I think Kalista still builds it every time?) but there are just other items and buildsets that suit those champions better, because of the current meta, not just because of how weak the item is.

Paradise Proxy3 votes

>doesnt scale with other items

armor pen???

ZerglingOne2 votes

% current health. Aka everyone gets an old Poppy passive.

It's the worst feeling damage mechanic in the game unless it has a fairly decent minimum damage like DrMundo or Yorick. Just ask Evelynn

Photos of Ghosts2 votes

Dunno man, I know it's overnerfed but the times I pick it up it turns my game around on bruiser Quinn. It helps me kite so much with the active, I generally buy it when I lost lane hard and my opponent toplaner is ultrafed and unkillable. All of a sudden, I go legendary.

JerulEon2 votes

I like how gunblade also builds from cutlass but it gets 45 ad and Bork only gets 25 ad. You honestly might as well build gunblade.

Gosh Darn3 votes

125% gold efficiency vs 73% for the same active. Yeah pretty sure that pathetic % health passive isn't worth like 1,500 gold. Botrk really needs a cost reduction more than anything. If it was 3,100 g the passive would actually be about even rather than being a powerdip. It's the one item I don't feel like completing asap. 900g for a tiny bit of on-hit damage that goes down to practically nothing when the enemy is low health.

420 grams2 votes

I still buy it on aatrox

GULAG 4 U2 votes

That's why people call aatrox is trash (when he's just subpar and not trash). You people still build worthless shit like ruined king instead of ravenous hydra and phantom dancer. Drop the ruined blade, it's shit.

420 grams3 votes

By aatroxs most reliant stat is attack speed.
And he needs life steal for sustain during laning phase because of his health costs. And all life steal items are only damage except for botrk. Plus with how damage is now compared to his release, he needs to build a health item to not get one shot.

MonkeyMadness2 votes

It's active is very weak compared to other items such as ghostblade which in addition to having strong actives are still gold efficient.

Youmuu's is getting nerfed in the assassin update. And Duskblade is become a much more assassin-heavy item, so this should put marksmen back on a more standard marksmen build path.

l Helios l2 votes

Who's Kalista? Is that a new champion?

President Swa1n2 votes

And yet, each one of Kalista's top eight most popular first three item paths include it:

http://na.op.gg/champion/kalista/statistics/adc

And Yi:

http://na.op.gg/champion/masteryi/statistics/jungle

And it's included in at least three of eight of the most popular first three items for the other champions you referred to:

http://na.op.gg/champion/vayne/statistics/adc http://na.op.gg/champion/shyvana/statistics/jungle http://na.op.gg/champion/warwick/statistics/jungle

The Sword Saint2 votes

I have two main issues with your statements:

  • BotRK does scale with other items: attack speed lets you proc the passive damage more often, armor pen and shred makes the passive hit and active both hit harder, spirit visage makes the lifesteal more effective, deaths dance lets you heal from the passive procs and active effect, tank items indirectly scale the sustained damage from procs since you can survive longer in combat to get more autos off, items that slow like frozen mallet and randuins also indirectly scale by keeping enemies in range for you to auto them more, abilities and items which multiply your on hit effects like shyvanna q and bloodrazer scale up the amount of hits you get in, items that speed you up like boots and black cleaver let you stick longer and auto more, etc. There are many many interactions between items that make botrk more effective the more items you have. Saying BoTRK doesn't scale because it doesn't have an ad ratio attached to the passive or active is lazy thinking. The passive and active themselves already scale with enemy max hp even if you don't include the many ways items can make those effects hit harder or more often.

  • This follows from the first point partially but BoTRK IS a niche item, not a generic damage item. It offers little ad and the lifestealing is inferior to what you'd get from most other items. What it offers is attack speed and on hit damage thaqt scales with enemy max hp. It is therefor not an item that most champions can efficiently buy and it is also an item that is most effective against tanky enemies who regen health rapidly (because by the % current health damage on autos does more damage if the enemy keeps increasing their current health). Champions who build tanky but also have auto attack resets or otherwise scale with attack speed can make good use of going botrk and full tank when facing enemy high hp regenerating tanks. It is a VERY niche item right now because it may be undertuned or it may not have common enemy to be used against in the current meta, but its still a niche item with a very specific set of champions who might use it and enemies it might be used against. That's what it means to be niche.

Champion Skin2 votes

deaths dance lets you heal from the passive procs and active effect

Ehh.. you don't need Death's dance as the passive damage was changed to apply life steal so any life steal would work

http://leagueoflegends.wikia.com/wiki/Blade_of_the_Ruined_King

Life steal applies to damage dealt by this item's passive.

.

tank items indirectly scale the sustained damage from procs since you can survive longer in combat to get more autos off

Rather then that it scales more directily with resistances as item 3153 gives life steal and heals you... it scales with resistances as those makes each point of health gained by life steal more valuable

Ariel the Cruel2 votes

Even against an HP tank like Mundo it's not even worth considering.

People almost never counter build anyways. So this really doesn't mean much.

FantasySniper2 votes

A price drop would be preferable.

LordSirChipmunk2 votes

I don't play him anymore, but I used to build it on Aatrox.

The Yetii Rider1 votes

I mean, I build this item on Yi pretty much every time I play him. The AS and lifesteal are what I care about, the AD is bad and the active is meh, but I just want as many procs of my true damage on hit as possible.

Gosh Darn3 votes

As a Yi main I can confidently say botrk is a terrible purchase. Your E now scales HARD with AD, and crit/AD Yi is the best build there currently is with rageblade being trash and devourer being removed.

The Yetii Rider1 votes

Okay so what do you build for LS then? Also there's only two items in the game that give AD and crit, if you want to stack crit you have to build raw AS at some point which seems like a terrible idea on him.

Gosh Darn2 votes

AS on Yi terrible? You're kidding right. Bloodthirster or even phantom dancer are fantastic options for crit builds. You can even build ravenous hydra.

IE and PD are core, with shiv being an option.

Boulderox1 votes

pfft Aatrox, still has to buy it because it is the only one true item that is the best on him aside from item 3074

Gosh Darn3 votes

Aatrox is a mess though lol.

GULAG 4 U4 votes

No any dedicated aatro player with a half brain doesn't buy ruined king but goes Rhydra/DD into phantom dancre

World Ender4 votes

BoRK is a noobtrap on Aatrox. Hydra is the much better lifesteal item. Get your attack speed from crit or from runes.

CasterGilgamesh2 votes

people build crit on Aatrox?

KoKoboto1 votes

I think they first nerfed it because of Vayne but the item sucks now... like 25 ad...?

DarkRitual3 votes

It was nerfed because Devour and Rageblade users would buy it and were still too strong before the removal of Devour and nerfing of rageblade.

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