Adding AP bruiser items and AP assassin items

The lack of items tailored to AP bruisers causes problems in the game. It makes AP bruiser champions less desirable to play and often forces them to play as either tanks ( ) or bursty assassins ( ) with very little space to exist in between. There are very few AP bruisers () that manage to really feel like a properly brawny mix of damage and defense in the current state of AP itemization, and even they could feel better with more tailored itemization.

I expect the reason AP bruiser itemization is so lacking in the game is because of balance concerns. Not balance concerns of the AP bruiser champions themselves, as they can be conveniently nerfed directly to bring them in line once they shift into using their new core itemization. APC mages also aren't a difficult balance scenario, since them being long-ranged backline champions makes it easy enough to divide itemization by adding melee-only or melee-ranged passives to the new items. I think the real concern comes from AP assassins. A few seasons ago, Riot saw how much players were frustrated by tank-item-building and they likely do not want to reintroduce a situation where assassins become unkiteable duelist bruisers.

However, Riot actually already solved the bruiser assassin situation back when they added AD bruiser itemization. The solution was creating lethality and balancing AD assassins around that stat. If lethality were a hybrid physical/magic penetration stat, it would be easy enough to fix any AP assassin who becomes problematic with AP bruiser items: simply divert some power into their kit into lethality scaling, like has on his abilities. Forcing the problematic AP assassins to fit lethality items into their build doesn't leave room for them to include off-tank items, thereby preventing them from becoming excessively durable even if they choose to take the new fighter items. Also their need to buy their core lethality items early-game would mean that any AP fighter item purchases on those assassins would be delayed until lategame anyways.

#New Recipes [Cloak of Agility below is a placeholder icon for a new Lethality base component] + = (health removed, magic pen replaced by Lethality, cost reduced) + = (unchanged except for recipe) + + = https://imgur.com/YMOkBQK + + = + = https://imgur.com/z9FCDXy + + = https://i.imgur.com/2vZqXj4.png + = + = + = https://i.imgur.com/OdlTaQi.jpg + = https://i.imgur.com/gdbJQES.png

#Adjustments To Remove Flat Magic Penetration On Core Mage Items To make room for lethality to become a hybrid stat, flat magic pen will need to be removed. This is good for other reasons as well, because having magic pen on a core item pushes AP champions into dealing burst damage versus low MR opponents, even when burst damage shouldn't necessarily be a core strength of AP users in general. Replacing the magic pen with % magic damage amplification allows the item to be more user/target neutral so that AP champions/classes can have more distinct niches and power curves.

Sorceror's Boots +18 Magic Penetration ⇒ +X% Increased Magic Damage

Morellonomicon REMOVED +15 Magic Penetration NEW Unique Passive: +10% Cooldown Reduction NEW Unique Passive: Deal 0-10% more damage, ramping up over 5 seconds while in combat with champions.

As an item that is supposed to counter healing, the ramp-up effect caters especially well to DPS APCs needing an option to purchase to deal with beefy high-sustain champions like Dr. Mundo. By changing the Madness ramp-up passive to unnamed unique passive, it remains possible to buy both Morellonomicon and Liandry's for dealing with high-health + high-healing champions. Building both items for double ramp-up effects provides a DPS oriented itemization path for APC mages, but there would be appropriate opportunity costs compared to other items.

To fit the new recipe with Haunting Guise, I suggest the item icon be edited to add a face to the cover of the book as the Necronomicon the item is based on is frequently depicted:
https://imgix.ranker.com/user_node_img/110/2190885/original/the-evil-dead-photo-u19?fm=pjpg http://manningkrull.com/manningmakesstuff/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/haunted-book-face-04.jpg http://bespokebug.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Necronomicon-dead-skin-mask-book-cover-975x1204.jpg

#AP Lethality Items

https://imgur.com/YMOkBQK Deathfire Grasp +90 AP +5% Movement Speed Unique Passive: +18 Lethality Unique Active: Place a curse on a target. After 3 seconds, the cursed target takes 15% of their current health in magic damage and burns for 3% of their missing health per second for 3 seconds. (Cooldown 180 seconds).

Unlike the original DFG, this active effect is no longer instantaneous, so there is more room for counterplay. The desired gameplay pattern with this is that the assassin watches the map for an opportunity to pick an out of position target. The assassin curses the target while maintaining distance for 3 seconds. If the target can't retreat to safety within around 3 seconds, then the assassin closes the gap just as the curse takes effect, dealing a chunk of current health as an opener, and then the assassin proceeds to assassinate the target while the missing health burn helps slightly to finish off the victim. If used well, this would allow a good assassin player to kill a target that they might not otherwise be able to outduel in a straight fight. This allows the assassin to punish semi-squishy champions who are caught in an unsafe location. There would be other uses, but this would be one of its main use cases.

Lichbane +80 AP ⇒ +65 AP NEW Unique Passive: +10 Lethality

I think Lich Bane is a good candidate for a Lethality item because its users purchase it to add burst to a combo and many of its users are already AP assassins. Its original users should all be able to derive plenty of benefit from the Lethality stat. Adding Lethality to work with assassin Lethality scaling just makes it clear that this is an item explicitly encouraged on AP assassins, and it provides a mana CDR option for them.

https://imgur.com/z9FCDXy Ohmwrecker +50 AP +45 Armor Unique Passive: +10 Lethality Unique Passive - Cunning: Ability Cooldown Reduction also reduces active item cooldowns at 15% effectiveness. Unique Active - Sabotage: Saps nearby enemy structures, preventing turrets from attacking for 3 seconds. Reactivating on a sapped structure will channel for 1.5 seconds to attach an explosive. After 5 seconds, the explosive will detonate, dealing 750 (x0.1 Lethality) true damage to the structure and disabling it for 10 seconds. Enemy champions may attack the explosive to disarm it. (200 second cooldown). [Sapping has a much larger effect range than current Ohmwrecker but attaching an explosive requires the user to be in melee range of the structure. Explosives take 3 hits to destroy like a ward. For context, 1500 true damage is the minimum damage dealt by a rift herald charge attack.]

Ohmwrecker... an item notorious for being forgotten and unused. For those unaware, this item was designed as a referral reward for a certain player, and that player has mentioned that he was disappointed with the item because he had wanted his item to match his preferred playstyle of aggressive AP divers (Kennen and Ryze). By turning it into an AP assassin item, it can finally support that playstyle. I also think that assassins should have a more varied power fantasy than all being 100-0 burst machines, and this item's effect will allow for sneaky backdoor sabotage ventures that will make assassin players feel clever when they manage to move behind enemy lines and take an inhibitor turret with it. Some may argue that this sneaky playstyle would be frustrating to face, but honestly, people will be frustrated whenever their opponent does something to win the game. An enemy team making an unexpected comeback due to backdooring may be devastating but it's the kind of surprise that keeps the game interesting. In my personal opinion, this kind of strategic power is much more interesting and less frustrating than instant 100-0 burst that usually occupies nearly all of an assassin's power budget. I have wanted a saboteur item for assassins for a long time, and I really think it has potential to expand what players see as the assassin power fantasy.

The Cunning passive will go great with all of the active effects on these new AP assassin items combined with the Perfect Timing and Ingenious Hunter runes. At 45% ability CDR, it would provide a maximum of 6.75% active item CDR.

https://i.imgur.com/2vZqXj4.png Weaver's Artifice +65 AP +50% Base Mana Regen +7% Movement Speed Unique Passive: +10 Lethality Unique Active: Weave a web trap at a location which will arm and become stealthed after 3 seconds and can last up to 120 seconds. Though stealthed, a faint glimmer will be briefly visible at the trap location once every 3 seconds. If an enemy steps on a web trap, they will be snared for 1.5 seconds. You are alerted when a web trap is activated and you gain 100 movement speed while moving towards an opponent caught in a web trap. (60 second cooldown).

This is an Assassin map control item. The traps take a long time to arm after placement so must be placed in preparation for a fight, requiring forethought and strategic planning. The traps glimmer, potentially alerting wary enemies of their presence, so they are best placed either in bushes or blocking narrow jungle corridors. I think map control utility like this can offer a satisfying alternative power fantasy for assassins instead of them only having low counterplay burst options. The traps can create opportunities for the assassin to catch and assassinate their prey and can be used to prepare escape routes to use after an assassination or splitpush/backdoor attempt. The traps can also be extremely useful tool for a jungler to protect their jungle or stake out objectives.

#AP Bruiser Items

Dullahan's Mail +50 AP +400 Health Unique Passive: Deal 0-10% more damage, ramping up over 5 seconds while in combat with champions. Unique Passive - Immolate: Once every 10 seconds, your next ability steals 25 (+0.02 hp +0.15 AP) health from an enemy, and releases a dark fire nova that also deals that bonus damage around you.

https://i.imgur.com/OdlTaQi.jpg Moonflair Spellblade +45 AP +45 Armor +35% Attack Speed +10% CDR Unique Passive - Spellweaver: After casting an ability, gain bonus Attack Speed equal to your effective cooldown reduction and 10 (+10% AP) bonus magic damage on-hit for 2 seconds. Unique Aura - Shadow of the Moon: Reduces 10% of physical damage dealt by incoming basic attacks that pass through the aura's boundary.

This is an item designed to be attractive for skirmishing AP fighters, such as (maybe rework too), especially when combined with . Ranged AP on-hit champions will also likely find success with it.

https://i.imgur.com/gdbJQES.png Idol of Durand +60 AP +30 Armor +30 Magic Resistance Unique Passive: +15% self-healing and self-shielding power. Unique Active: For the next 2 seconds, store 10% of (pre-mitigation) incoming damage taken, and after the 2 seconds unleash the amount as magic damage to nearby surrounding enemies.

This is an item tailored to AP fighters who have self-heals and shields to sustain themselves with in their kit, such as . Some standard tanks with high AP ratios will also likely work well with this item. To get the most out of the active effect, the owner must be able to withstand taking a large amount of incoming damage and survive for two seconds engaged in the middle of a fight. This would be an expensive item as the AP bruiser equivalent of .