@Meddler: your Opinion about Zephyr, SotD and possible new items?

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Over time we'll want to add new items to support champions that don't have good choices, to create new playstyles/moments of gameplay, to help balance the game etc. At the same time though we don't want the item pool to get so large it's impossible to keep track of it and make informed choices. That means we need to go through and either remove or rework items that aren't serving a sufficient purpose. We tend to do that each preseason, with a sweep through of the item list, identifying those that aren't working and then assessing whether we believe the correct call is to remove them or keep the core concept and try and find a better way to execute on it. In the cases of Zephyr, SotD and various other items now removed we concluded the right call was to take them out.

Any plans to ever create a big ticket IAS/OnHit item?

Rolling the functionality of Wits and Dervish Blade together, for example, would make for a great IAS counterpart to Mercurial.

{quoted}

Over time we'll want to add new items to support champions that don't have good choices, to create new playstyles/moments of gameplay, to help balance the game etc. At the same time though we don't want the item pool to get so large it's impossible to keep track of it and make informed choices. That means we need to go through and either remove or rework items that aren't serving a sufficient purpose. We tend to do that each preseason, with a sweep through of the item list, identifying those that aren't working and then assessing whether we believe the correct call is to remove them or keep the core concept and try and find a better way to execute on it. In the cases of Zephyr, SotD and various other items now removed we concluded the right call was to take them out.

Look at my cassiopeia thread after pls :(

only that after the most recent changes less items are working than before...also, you´ve got quite the history of deleting niche items instead of accpeting them on occasions, while other niche items somehow either get overbuffed (rageblade) or just forgotten (ohmwrecker). It just seems like your lacking a coherent philosophy when it comes down to itmization.

also some copy&paste as it didn´t get answered in the devcorner:

are you happy with everything going crit? before this preseason i could play most of the marksmen as AD-Casters sucessfully, some of them even as AD-Bruisers. Now there´s no variety anymore for me, the Champ always plays the same way. Which is rather boring/frustrating...as i really like having more options available (i´m mostly an RPG/turn-based-strategy guy) to react to the game unfolding.

and maybe take a look at http://boards.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/c/gameplay-balance/kIqG66Ao-detailed-preseason-feedback-part-1-items, as there really are issues pointed out.

1. Are you planning to make viable again on midlaners? (by re-adding the 15% minion/summoned units damage aura to it -which you removed from the game when Elixir of Ruin was finally thrown into the void).

2. I would also like to see a buff to (maybe adding extra %MS -always-) so that it becomes more popular -and focused on mobility-.

3. I love niche items, even if I don't like when you remove them (I missed A LOT). I am kinda ok with the removal of SotD (useless and somehow toxic), but I like the concept of it and that magic mechanic of the 3 AA, which is something that can be reworked into a viable item. Same goes with Zephyr which is in terms of concept heavily outshadowed by in terms of stats/role, but we are now lacking tenacity items.

4. Any ideas for future AP items?

5. Well this is more personal, hahahaha. I am a map designer in WC3 (and a graphic designer as well), I have invested years researching the internal mechanics of WC3, and well, the gameplay and the Design; is there anyway I could have contact (not work I know my place) with the creative team, I am a pretty creative person and I have personally created tons of items (more than 350 viable items), abilities (over 2k), gameplay mechanics (shopping stuff, gameplay stuff), characters, lore and well... terrain. Actually I have noticed some of the things I did in my map ended up being applied in this pre-season (Refillable Jungler potions, Universal Spell-Vamp-Life Steal, some abilities and other concepts). My map is called Duel of Gods, it is both a Moba and a Hero Siege (the 10 players vs the Monster Siege, something which could be also applied to League, mainly because the Hero Siege concept has always been very popular and played by the same group of persons who played Dota1 in wc3). Well before going non-sense here is my main map, I don't know if your team still likes WC3 but well here is my humble request for you to try my not-so-humble map (btw the description is outdated and it has more to it than what it seems): http://www.hiveworkshop.com/forums/maps-564/duel-gods-prev-244566

I do just want to point out that losing zephyr left a hole in itemization for AD champs that are looking for attack speed without crit. For example, if you wanted to be a non crit based ad caster. The option is simply not viable anymore.

{quoted}

Over time we'll want to add new items to support champions that don't have good choices, to create new playstyles/moments of gameplay, to help balance the game etc. At the same time though we don't want the item pool to get so large it's impossible to keep track of it and make informed choices. That means we need to go through and either remove or rework items that aren't serving a sufficient purpose. We tend to do that each preseason, with a sweep through of the item list, identifying those that aren't working and then assessing whether we believe the correct call is to remove them or keep the core concept and try and find a better way to execute on it. In the cases of Zephyr, SotD and various other items now removed we concluded the right call was to take them out.

Do you realize the "informed choice" when purchasing Zephyr was "you have tons of gold and are full build, replace boots with Zephyr? The item was "working". It was just very niche and only built in dragged out games.

So you remove zephyr & atma's impeller despite them being built occasionally; but leaving in ohmwrecker & odyn's veil even though they haven't been seen outside of custom games? I'd rather have more options for versatility, than being forced into the same things by design.