Riot wants to rework assassin items - what would you want to change?

http://i.imgur.com/pUfG5FV.jpg

Quoting Meddler:

We're looking at some of the assassin items as well at present that aren't quite hitting the mark. Goals are to get a bit more choice into assassin itemization (e.g. make Duskblade a decent 1st item, change access to CDR/impact of Black Cleaver, make out of combat movement speed something you choose to itemize into rather than just getting). Might start seeing some of that on the PBE soon, changes will likely come gradually, potentially with some this patch and some next.

First, let's break down the current problem.

After the nerf, Edge of Night is one of the least used items in the game, though not exactly "underpowered". Duskblade of Draktharr, save for rushing on Draven and such, isn't all that popular either. Even champions who rush Youmuu's Ghostblade like Pantheon tend to opt into Black Cleaver as their second item.

That raises the question: Who are the Lethality items even meant for at this point? The assassin rework has removed Rengar from the class and made him a Diver, Quinn players are always lured into itemizing crit (that's actually the intended way, with the passive scaling), Shaco will be equally terrifying and useless at the same time with Tiamat and a Zz'Rot Portal, and Zed's playstyle promotes the usage of BotRK and Black Cleaver. That leaves, well, Talon.

I'm not even gonna say anything about Poacher's Dirk other than mentioning it by name.

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#When In Doubt, Stack Longswords

At some point we weren't all that used to seeing more than one item build from the same component, and the new Ghostblade build was kind of funny. But a few dozen patches later, the power creep has made the accessibility of Youmuu's build the new standard. Anti-tank specific items such as Executioner's Calling and Giant Slayer? Longsword. Last Whisper? Longsword. Sterak's Gage, Tiamat? Two Longswords. Malmortius, any Hydra item? Three Longswords. Give it some time and we'll see Infinity Edge built out of longswords as well.

This is what we call depreciation, or inflation. When everything's special, nothing is. Longsword stacking (same thing happened with all Zeal items being boiled down to Dagger stacking) eases the gap between two laners with a difference in gold, but it also decreases the attractiveness of whatever item doesn't have a smooth, convenient build. And if that item has a powerful effect, it makes it all that harder to balance. Case and point...

#The Edge of Balance

Edge of Night was a good concept. By reducing the MR component to a single Null-Magic Mantle instead of a Hexdrinker, it allowed assassins to itemize against mages, but not by negating their whole burst early on, on a class that's supposed to be as squishy as mages, or even more so. The ability to ruch Hexdrinker should be the strength of a durable Fighter who doesn't have as much mobility as an Assassin. Same thing happened to Banshee's Veil (or rather, the Abyssal Scepter build of an AP+MR item), by removing the possibility of rushing a Negatron Cloak.

Problem is, it hinges on the boundary between "overpowered Flavour of the Month", and "pretty much useless". When the cooldown was low, everyone was playing around with it. But the nerf made people realize that unless you really need Lethality, QSS grants much more reliable spell protection.

#Gotta Go Fast

Here's one thing I don't understand. Why, if I'm reading Meddler's post correctly, get rid of OOC MS on Dirk? Sure, it's not a stat anyone would want to build in lane, but that's the point. Stacking Lethality allows for a quite oppressive laning presence, and having part of the Dirk budget go towards stat that's almost useless in lane is one way to keep it balanced. There isn't much fun in having one lane become hilariously one-sided, people are currently complaining about Pantheon for a reason.

Sure, we can get 8th longsword item with just the OOC MS, but it would just be a stepping stone (or a roadblock, if you put it that way) towards the actual item you want.

#League of Black Cleaver

I still remember the first week, when the item stacked. Seeing EVERYONE build nothing but that item, even support Lulu with four Black Cleavers, was hilarious. Years later and we're at a similar problem - despite nerfing the item's durability, we're close to declaring BC a busted item again. But why?

First there was the interaction with BotRK and other on-hit effets. Some abilites were and some still are applying multiple stacks of armor reduction with a single hit. With that at least partially reduced, there's the whole package of other issues: convenient, lane-friendly build (yay Phage), oppressive power of high CDR (20% on an item that can be picked up by manaless champions? seems legit), general win-more nature of the Phage passive if you're free to push as you please, and the superb lategame scaling considering the armor reduction is a % based one.

Does Black Cleaver deserve a nerf? Not realy. But it probably needs a power shift, as it might be too powerful on ADCs and assassins. That can be done in many ways - we can even play into the latest trend of having CDR appear on the final item out of nowhere (Abyssal Scepter, Adaptive Helm, Banner of Command) and changing the second component to a Pickaxe, but ing eneral I believe that 20% CDR on that item is way too much.

#Weak Spots

Even though I disagree with detaching the OOC MS from Lethality, I must admit that for a role that's supposed to play into the "murder the target" fantasy, assassins are pretty limited in their dedicated itemization. The only obstacle they push through is the little armor their target has. Everything else is geared towards jumping in (Ghostblade MS) unseen (Duskblade) and not getting pushed back (EoN spellshield).

This is a pretty generalist remark, but assassins could probably use more item choices to dedicate themselves to kill a very specific target. Something that doesn't just amplify your get-in-your-face power, but makes it so that your attacks and spells are most powerful against that type of target and nobody else. Think of the effect of Executioner's Calling on an AD Carry. It halves their lifesteal, making dueling them much more effective. It's a shame that an item with such a name exists solely as a component to a tank-shredding item.

Just consider for a while an item that would make your basic attacks deal more damage to champions with high AP. Or an item that charges an empowered basic attacks on enemy spellcasts. Or - that was a scrapped version of Youmuu's Ghostblade - an item that allows you to occasionally block a single basic attack. Or an item that would make your abilities deal higher damage to champions who have hit you with a basic attack. Maybe even the single champion whose attack you've blocked.

#Epic Duel

One of the core assumptions of the Assasin rework was to make the window for reaction longer. Assassins are now supposed to stay for a little while before being allowed to 100-0 their target. That's why I'm surprised assassin items, other than the occasional BotRK, aren't utilizing the Attack Speed stat. As much as we like to laugh at three-hit passives, and as difficult as it is to see something like this not become a fighter/diver pattern, I believe there is merit in forcing the assassin to land three or at least two hits before getting the full effect of his burst.

Of course if the three-hit passive is a repeated occurence, the item would work best on fighters and divers, but if it worked like Xin's Q, it could actually work.

Just imagine a Long Sword + Dagger item.

#Risk and Reward

I'm not saying we should bring back Sword of the Occult. God no. AP champions are significantly easier to outplay and shut down in case they start stacking Mejai's, SotO was removed for a reason.

But there certainly is merit in rewarding the assassins for getting kills (or assists). We could consider an item that works similar to the Bounty Hunter mastery - something that stacks permanently, but to a reasonable degree.

#The Burst

Another matter to discuss is the prevalence of Hextech Gunblade. Some would say that the fact that champions with no AD scaling whatsoever build it only highlights how essential the extra burst is to AP assassins, though of course in some cases (hello Akali and Katarina) it opens up the annoying issue of prolonged sustain in combat. Personally I'd say it only emphasizes the problems with the current LeBlanc who's barely an assassin anymore, more than anything, as many AP assassins will be happy with ever so powerful Lichbane and Hextech Protobelt.

That raises the question: do you believe the AP assassins have any problems with their itemization?

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Thoughts?

• How do you feel about the current AD caster/assassin itemization?
• In what situations do you feel like the Lethality items are not good enough?
• What do you think needs to change?
• Black Cleaver - nerf or not?
• Access to CDR - who has it too easy, who has it too hard?
• This is an item thread, please leave the Rengar discussion out :P