So it has been a while now... and I have been wondering (an AD+Armor Item discussion)

Will there ever be another AD + Armor item?

While I could go into an insanely deep analysis, most would rather read something short and sweet. So instead I will just give a basic why and the presented challenges that have to be overcome in order for such an item to exist.

Why: Why not? obviously it is not quite that simple but in some ways it is. Out of all the other primary stat combinations on items in the game this is the only one that does not exist. There are some good reasons as to why but nothing substantial enough that could not be tackled in how it is designed. There is no item like it at the moment so why not try to make one. I am sure the ad fighters out there would love an option that can help defend them from physical damage and give them a little damage as well to help fight those pesky marksman and assassins.

The challenges: First and foremost it cannot be a desirable item for a Marksman to buy, at least not in the early game. If they wanted to pick it up in the late game I really cant see a reason why they shouldn't be able to. With that said though this challenge is pretty big to overcome. If the item gives to much desirable stats that a marksman would want to get it early they would be capable of building tankyish which contradicts their fantasy of being high damage high vulnerability. If anything it will just have to do sort of what atma's impaler did and make it scale in such a way that does not benefit them. Personally I think it should still be a choice for a marksman if they wanted to build it later if they happen to be against a heavy ad threat but would rather not be forced to buy an item like GA to defend themselves better.

The second challenge is that the item should not invalidate all other build paths and become a must build first always for AD fighters. The last time I asked about an AD armor item back in season 3 that got a Riot response the game was still in the throws of the AD bruiser meta and any solution or change would have just made that worse. Well its 2 seasons later and that problem does not really exist anymore. Top lane has become a place for both AD and AP champions of all different roles. What it boils down to is that the item should be a situational item and not be something you would want to pick up immediately as a first item. That raises the third and most difficult challenge though.

The final challenge: How to design an item that is not to attractive while still being worth buying? This is what Atma's Impaler suffered from. It was gutted to a point where pretty much every other item choice was substantially better to buy no matter the phase of the game. And so it was removed... It just didn't do what it was meant to and was not attractive in the least to the few champions that could benefit from building it. The ideal build time for it would be as your second or third completed item or later. There will always be situations where it might be beneficial to build first, such as in a lane when you are facing another AD champion, it just cant be to awesome that it is always built first like I said earlier.

The odd ball challenge is just what unique effect or bonus will it have that is interesting but not game breaking. For those that know the items by heart you should know like I do that every finished item has some sort of unique and interesting bonus or added effect on it. Atma's Impaler had such a bonus... it just sucked most of the time.

Possible Ideas/Solutions: I am not going to get into exact numbers because that really is not how you would pitch an Idea to someone. That is usually a phase 2 part of design. So what do we want it to have. Obviously it needs to have Attack Damage and Armor. What sort of solutions are there that would have desirable numbers, be a medium priced item (around 2700-3000 gold), have a moderate amount of armor (between 45-55), not be to stupidly strong, and be a possible (but not always desirable) first Item to build while being worth building later. I have thought quite a bit about this and can see a few different possibilities that fit the requirements.

first design solution moderate armor amount Low base AD that grows depending on your level (something like 30 base ad that increased to 60 by lvl 18, lvl+X sorta thing) A little dull for an item but there could always be ways to spruce it up more since it doesn't have much of a bonus effect thought of a possible bonus, give it the slow when hit by an auto attack like randuins omen used to have. Since unlike the old randuins it wouldn't have health, armor, and an activateable, I think the tradeoff would be enough to allow it back into the game

second design solution^ Lower armor (30-40) low base AD you gain armor and AD while in combat over a period of time up to a cap kind of like how graves passive and cinderhulk work ^the build path for this design would be tricky to figure out

Third design solution^ Moderate armor Low to moderate damage (30-40) Unique Passive that reduces your enemies attack speed whenever you deal physical damage up to a cap of 20% ^ this solution would definitely have an interesting bonus effect but it might be to desirable so probably not the best solution.

I personally would be hard pressed to want to buy any of these items early on in a game as a marksman but would consider picking them up if I were playing an AD fighter like renekton, rengar, darius, or someone else along those lines. I know it is still a decent wall of text but trust me when I say it could have been a lot worse.

Have an Idea or solution of your own? post it and say why you think it might work. Just remember, if the thought "It would be OP/awesome if..." comes to your mind when thinking of a solution, It probably would be to strong to put in the game. The goal is to come up with something that is new and interesting but doesn't break the game making any particular role, archetype, or champion to overwhelming.

######for the sake of this remotely becoming a reality, any ideas I have listed here are free to be used without needing my permission or crediting me