New item reworks and additions have me a bit concerned if they go through.

Please note that this post is for Items only and not champion reworks

From what I got, it looks like major items that help APs with survivability are receiving nerfs in either damage or mana to make them cost efficient but outclassed by many other AP items that focus on damage. Mana as a whole has been divided into two subcategories based on the items that mana comes from, Offensive Mana and Supportive Mana. Offensive (High AP) Mana items look to only give flat mana while Supportive (low AP but a few extra stats and passives to balance the item) mana items have Mana regen. And HexTech has more items. Spell-vamp was semi-removed.

Here are the changes:

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Defensive Based AP items:

• Zhonya's Hourglass:
  • 3500g --> 3000g (revert of the most recent cost change increase in v5.22 update)
  • 100 AP -> 70 AP
  • Armor unchanged
  • +10% CDR
  • Active CD 90 seconds ->120 seconds

(for those of you keeping score that is now a -300 gold, -30 AP, and -5 armor that this item has had since release, and a -410 gold, -50 AP, -5 armor from its peak )

• ROA:

  • 3000g -> 2500g
  • 80 AP -> 60 AP
  • 400 mana -> 300 mana
  • Mana per stack 40 -> 10
  • Health/health scaling unchanged

• Abyssal Scepter:

  • 70 AP -> 60 AP
  • 50 MR -> 60 MR
  • +10% CDR
  • Passive does not affect minions and now scales with level from 10 MR reduction -> 25 MR reduction

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** Defensive Based MR Items:**

• Spectre's Cowl:

  • 1100g -> 1200g
  • 200 HP -> 250 HP
  • 35 MR -> 30 MR

• Banshee's Veil:

  • Recipe Changed: Spectre's Cowl + Negatron Cloak + 530 Gold
  • 2900g -> 2450g
  • 500 HP -> 300 HP

• Spirit Visage:

  • 70 MR -> 55 MR
  • 150% HP regen -> 200% HP regen
  • Passive Healing: 20% -> 25%

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Mana Items:

• Morellonomicon:

  • 2400g -> 2100g
  • +400 mana
  • Removed mana regen

• Athene's Unholy Grail:

  • 2700g -> 2100g
  • 60 AP -> 40 AP
  • 100% Mana regen -> 75% Mana regen
  • Passive: Gain 15% of premitigation damage dealt to champions as Blood charges, up to 100 to 270 (based on level). Healing or shielding another ally consumes Blood Charges to heal that ally.
  • Mana passive removed

• Catalyst the Protector of Aeons:

  • old passive replaced with a new one
  • Passive: Eternity: 15% of damage taken from champion is gained as Mana. 15% of Mana spent is gained as Health (Healing limited to 25 per spell cast or 25 per second for toggled spells)*

• Tear of the Goddess:

  • Mana Regeneration: 25% --> 0%
  • Additional Passive - Awe: Refunds 25% of Mana spent

• Chalice of Harmony:

  • Passive remade: Increases your Health Regeneration by 100% if your Health % is lower than your Mana %. Increases your Mana Regeneration by 100% if your Mana % is lower than your Health %

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• Spell Vamp and Spell vamped based Items removed (Masteries/runes and some Hextech items with spell vamp kept)
• Will of the Ancients () Removed

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HexTech Items:

• Hextech Revolver:

  • 1200g --> 1100g
  • Spell Vamp removed
  • New Passive - Magic Bolt: Your basic attacks deal 75 - 150 magic damage on hit. (30 second cooldown, shared with other Hextech items)

• Hextech Gunblade:

  • has Spell-Vamp and Lifesteal (unchanged)
  • Active: 150 AP --> 300 AP
  • Active: 0.4 AP --> 0.3 AP
  • Active now instantaneously shoots a lightning bolt with zero travel time, immediately slowing the target for 2 seconds
  • Active now shares a cooldown with other Hextech Items

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New Items:

• Lost Chapter (NEW):

  • Recipe: Sapphire Crystal + Amplifying Tome + 115 Gold = 900 Total Gold
  • 25 Ability Power
  • 250 Mana
  • Unique Passive: Upon levelling up, restores 20% of your maximum mana over 3 seconds

• Hextech Rocket Belt (Temporary Name):

  • Recipe: Hextech Revolver + Kindlegem + 800 Gold = 2750 Total Gold
  • Health: 300
  • Ability Power: 80
  • Cooldown Reduction: 10%
  • Active - Fire Bolt: Dash 300 units in a direction (at 1200 speed) and then unleash a nova of fireballs that deal 100 - 250 (+25% of your Ability Power) magic damage to enemies hit. Enemies hit by more than one fireball take 15% damage from additional balls. (30 second cooldown, shared with other Hextech items). This Dash cannot go over walls.

• Hextech GLP-07A (Temporary Name):

  • Recipe: Catalyst of Aeons + Hextech Revolver + 750 Gold = 3000 Total Gold
  • Ability Power: 80
  • Health: 300
  • Mana: 400
  • Passive - Shared with Catalyst of Aeons
  • Active - Ice Bolts: Throw an arc of five piercing icy bolts that explode to deal 100 - 200(+20% of your Ability Power) as magic damage. Enemies hit are slowed by 60% decaying over 0.5 seconds.(30 second cooldown, shared with other Hextech Items)

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PERSONAL Thoughts and Opinions:

• Many AP items have become ** A LOT ** cheaper.

• With how mana on items differs, some items can no longer work into a build path for certain champions as well anymore.

• Many AP mages might see a decline in overall impact the longer the game goes since some of their key items now have reduced stats for cheaper costs.

• With power coming earlier for AP mages with cost decreases, lowered MR on defensive items, and Offensive items now only have Flat Mana, AP mages might now struggle mid->late game while becoming overbearingly powerful in the early->mid game phase.

• Now that an option exists for all AP mages to have a dash, while short range and can't cross walls, it allows for those who normally can't maneuver as well to now be able to, lessing their weakness to mobility based champions. Personally, I think that this will be a problem for other non-AP, low mobility champions who kite for damage (ADCs) since all AP's potentially now have an engage and a disengage.

• Sustain (heals and shields) based supports get a great buff from the new Athene's Unholy Grail passive. I worry that when coupled with Ardent Censer and Windspeaker's Blessing, that the healing and shielding may get out of hand.

• Catalyst is overpowered for tankier and/or ability spam champions. 25 hp per spell or 25 per second for toggle abilities makes early damage almost negligible on spam champions. Just Imagine Ezreal with this and how much he will regen at early levels. (Would be built into Hextech GLP-07A (Temporary Name) not ROA)

• Morellonomicon's passive grievous wounds may become underused because of the removal of mana regen. Mana regen is needed for many mages to deal continuous amounts of damage. And now that this has no regen, It might become swapped out for another item or be acquired later in the game when a mana regen item has been built like Archangel's Staff, thus limiting the health regen that can be mitigated by your team. Especially with the changes to catalist now becoming a form of health sustain at early levels, this one worries me even more.

• Mana starved champions like Anivia, and LeBlanc now have to build a supportive mana item if they want a reliable (maybe refillable is the better term) pool of mana. And in addition, those items now have less mana regen than before making it very hard for them.

• Tear of the Goddess has diminishing mana returns, so while yes you may get 5-6 more abilities off, eventually you will be oom and will have to wait for your base MP5 to bring you back up. I believe that this alone might push champions like , who "needed" the mana regen that this gave to utilize the full potential of their kit, out of gameplay because there just isn't enough mana regen for them to function while still maintaining a good damage source. IMO, Manamune, with the exception of maybe Ezreal, will not be purchased as much because of this.

• The additional 5% self healing and 50% health regen that Spirit Visage now gives could put champions like Garen, Heimerdinger, Dr. Mundo, Volibear, Cho'Gath, Maokai, and Soraka over the edge with how much sustain they will have health wise.

• Still not another armor option besides Zhonya's Hourglass for Mages that could fit their build path.

• There is not another counter burst item besides Zhonya's Hourglass, like Maw of Malmortius or Sterik's Gage are for AD based champs.

• Overall this update currently feels like more of a nerf than a buff to the Mage Class IMO because they peak earlier and fall-off earlier in a game with irrelevant game duration in regards to the game's conclusion. (The game has no end based on time played. Only by taking nexus or FF can end the game).

These are my current thoughts and they probably have some flaws or misunderstandings in them here and there. If you want to read more about it go here: Link.