Might just be me but...
Does anyone else feel like LoL lacks a standard, solid core? By solid core I mean a basic fundamental starting point to build off of when reworking, updating, and/or changing the gameplay. In terms of LCS, the current gameplay feels as if every aspect is a "flex pick" where very few champions are role specific and items are champion type specific. Almost always there is a double role potential for reworked, updated, and released champions. Item changes can cause some champions to alter their standard functionality resulting in an unforeseen unbalance to their value as a champion.
Example
An example of this could be Ezreal and the reworked Iceborn Gauntlet. Ez did occasionally build iceborn Gauntlet but it was never a first or second item. Usually you got Manamune and some other form of damage such as a trinity or a IE. But since Iceborn has now got +5 more armor, +10% more cooldown reduction, an equally scaling radius of its AOE as a melee would have, a cost reduction of -150g, and all for the cost of 30ap, it has become a Caster Class marksmen's ideal item. That may seem nice and all but an unforeseen outcome is that Ezreal, who has already high scaling abilities to begin with before acquiring any major items to buff them, now has 65 armor, 20%CDR, 500 extra mana and an AOE damaging slow that procs with every auto after an ability is cast (or his Q) and is on only a 1.5 second cooldown making it impossible to run away if you dont have a champion devoted to mobility and escapes (like thresh and his lantern).
Rough concept math
(Don't take this as 100% correct. I looked on the wiki and took numbers from there and tried to formulate a plausible expectation) Let's say that at level 9 Ezreal has enough gold to buy a full iceborn gauntlet. He will then have around 120 armor (assuming he has the usual 9 seals of greater armor and no masteries increasing it further. A lucian who is the same level and has his first item Essence Reaver will only have about 56 armor but will have 65 bonus AD more than Ezreal along with 20% crit chance.
Stat wise:
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Level 9 Ezreal has roughly 96 AD (15 ad from runes + doran's blade + base of 72 ad at level 9. Does not include crits or multipliers from masteries or mastery/rune derived penetration), 120 ish armor, 1144 mana + stacks from tear, 20%CDR, 1024 hp, and a passive that is damaging/slowing targets in an AOE.
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Level 9 Lucian has roughly 162 AD (15 ad fro runes + doran's blade + base of 74 at level 9. Does not include cirts or multipliers from masteries or mastery/rune derived penetration), 55 ish armor, 605 mana, 10%CDR + additional crit derived CDR from Essence Reaver's passive, +20% crit chance, and 1094 hp.
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Ez has an effective HP level of 2253.
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Lucian has an effective HP level of 1696.
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Ez has around 560 effective HP more than lucian and has a higher damage output with Iceborn passive combined with his own passive.
tl;dr
Is there a core META that the game can be or is base around or is it more fluid like and can become a completely new game (in style and play) overnight?
