User blog:StrategicMagic/The Most OP Item in League of Legends is...

Been months since my last blog post, so I'm gonna have to introduce myself again. Hi, I'm Causation (that's my summoner name, different to this for many reasons). I play mainly top, but I also enjoy mid. My close friend is a support main, and plays far less than me (he introduced me to LoL a little over a year ago, he was lvl 10 at that point. 2 months later, I was 30 while he is currently 26). To help him level (albiet slowly) I also play a lot of ADC when I do get to duo with him. This led to me being rather diverse, both practically and theoretically.

I'm a natural-born theory crafter, having once mained jungle Annie for about a month and stomping with it, when I convinced my team to not dodge. For a time I mained Viktor, but I'm a Singed main now. That theory crafter nature of mine led to me really getting caught up thinking about one item in particular. In the preseason, it got a little rework, some even say a nerf. Of all of the S2 to S3 changes, this one caught my eye the most, by far. So, what is this item? It's a lesser appreciated item, and existed in S2. It's not Blade of the Ruined King, I ruled that out already. It's not Warmogs either. It's not Elesia's Miracle either (though I could talk about that for ages). My item of choice is...

DORAN'S RING

What? Why is this item so special? First, let's take a look at Doran's Ring before the mini rework:

It's a decent item, even like that. 1 mana per second is nothing to laugh at, especially in the early game. 15 AP is rather a lot at level 1. My AP page starts me at 15 AP at the moment (will be more when I save for AP runes instead of MR), and my masteries bring that up to 32 AP when I start with this item. 32 AP at level 1 is actually a decent amount. 80 HP pre 6, sometimes even later is the difference between winning a trade. On some AP's like Karthus, that's +20% on your base HP right there. Moving on, let's see the reworked Doran's Ring:
 * 80 HP (Used to be 100, but was reduced to 80 HP before the preseason rework, so I'm going with that)
 * 15 AP
 * 5 mana regen / 5 secs

As you can see, the item, upon first look, was barely touched. Upon some theorycrafting, you come to realise that it's just about the biggest buff to an item to date. The new passive on this is what makes it so significant now in S3. To those of you who perhaps have only been playing for a few days/weeks/months, and are unfamilliar with the mechanics of the game, I'll give a little explanation on the passive of this item.
 * 80 HP - Unchanged
 * 15 AP - Unchanged
 * 3 mana regen / 5 secs - Tiny, insignificant nerf.
 * Passive: Upon killing an enemy unit, you regain 5 mana. - The massive and game breaking change.

So, whenever you get a last hit on an enemy minion or champion, you gain 5 mana. It doesn't sound like much, but for those of us living in the UK, I'm gonna use a phrase you will have heard before, it's the Tesco slogan "every little helps". I use that because it holds very, very true when looking at this item. While you hold this item, each cs is worth 5 mana. In the lower levels, that mana really, really makes a big difference and adds up. Each wave is worth up to 30 mana now. At level 1, you're looking at mana costs of around 50 - 70, so every 2 or three fully farmed waves is worth a single spell cast. Those of you who are more in tune with the finer details of the game will realise that one more spell cast, one more little bit of damage you can deal that the enemy can't will win you those all important trades, and it's those trades that so often decide the outcome of a lane. A bit of math for those either still confused or unconvinced:

See how big a difference this one item could have made in the laning phase? It's massive. I would also like to add that the loss of 2 mana/5 is quite easil offset by that passive. This is even more so the more last hits you are getting. Also, this item stacks with itself. Getting more than one will mean you get back 10/15 etc per last hit. I do, however, advise getting only one. This item alone has to potential to win lanes, and games, but people just don't see it. Before finishing off, I want to talk about one last thing.
 * Average cs is 100 by 15 mins for laners (not including support).
 * At the 15 minute mark, players are usually around level 9, finishing up maxing their first skill.
 * Lane wins/losses are ususally decided before this point.
 * Trades happen before this point, and are the main deciding factor in lane outcomes.
 * 100 x5 (assuming you hit that target and started with Doran's Ring) = 500 mana.
 * 500 mana = 5 - 10 spell casts.
 * Those spell casts could have been the difference between you winning or losing your lane, especially if they were really close in cs, and one trade clenched it.

Viability
I'm not going to talk about the viability of this as an item, it always has been and probably always will be viable. Doran's Ring doesn't appear to be going anywhere. Instead, I want to talk about the viability of purchacing this item. I want to start with my conclusion, that is:

Doran's Ring is viable on any champion actively last hitting that uses mana.

I went there. I really did. Doran's Ring is viable on practically any champion. Those who do not use mana and use other resources, if any probably shouldn't buy this item for obvious reasons. (Though I did feel like crying not long ago when an enemy Katarina started with this item, then killed our allied Lux twice in lane before going back for the first time. It was a normal game.) Champions who use mana and who get lots of last hits can use this item really well, even if they do not scale with AP. Let's take a look at why:

Those are my reasons. Now, let's look at the lanes.
 * 80 HP = 80 HP. Every champion can benefit form it as a stat, and early on, as stated before, 80 HP can be a trade decider.
 * That mana restore will get you more spell casts, and win those trades. You may not have +6 damage from an AP scaling you could have had, but I'm sure the base damage of a skill amounts to more than 6 damage. And getting that extra spell cast or more per trade, possibly,  is far more beneficial than not having it, even if you wasted a measly 15 AP on not having any AP scales. The way I see it is like this: "Buy a Pickaxe, gain +18 damage on one skill, buy a Doran's Ring, use that skill 4 more times." Thich is more likely to win a trade? Which is more likely to win  alane?
 * Mana regen, see above, just think natural regen rather than "mana farming".

As you can see, this item has the ability to work out great in any lane. You could even call it 475 gold to win your lane. Who wouldn't do that, if given the choice? And absolutely, finally, before I finish this procrastination blog from homework, I'll give a few examples of synergy this item has.
 * Top Lane - Farms a lot, trades a lot. The mana can come into use massive here. As can the health Some champions even benefit from AP scalings too.
 * Jungle - The health can help, the AP can help AP junglers like Elise/Fiddle/Diana, and some junglers have AP scalings too. Hecarim and Volibear, for example. I will admit I don't know if the passive applies to jungle monsters though.
 * Mid Lane - Doran's Ring is mainly intended for this lane. Naturally, it's really good in this lane. Not much I really need to say.
 * Bot Lane - ADC can make use of it. You can stop laughing now, sceptics. Take Ezreal and Urgot as my two examples here. Ezreal has AP scalings on all of his skills, he can use the AP. It gives the same HP as Doran's Blade (it's less useful AD counterpart), so you can't complain about that. I have already explained how the mana helps win trades. In a lane where the support has heals (or when running lifesteal quints, like I do) you can get this instead of Doran's Blade and still sustain your health fine. In the Case of Urgot, you also have a spam happy skill in Q, so you will want that mana. Urgot is a lane bully, so you need the Q's (and therefore the mana) to do your job, which is one reason why Soraka is the main support paired with him. W and E also have AP scalings. Convinced yet? As the support will not be last hitting, this item is a bad choice for them.



Champion Synergy
One day, maybe, one day, I will write a blog on why this is far superior to Doran's Blade, even on AD carries. Still not convinced this item is OP? Try to prove me wrong in comments, I dare you.
 * Singed - Q costs 13 mana/sec at all ranks. Learn to last hit 3 minions with 1 puff of poison and you have yourself +2 mana! Positive stustain! Also gives you +13.5 damage with every 3 ticks of poison. That will add up quickly, especially the more you refresh it with prolonged exposure in trades etc.
 * Annie - Last hit with Q for +5 mana! Positive sustain!
 * Nasus - Q now costs 20 mana at all ranks, reducing that to 15 at all ranks lets you farm into that late game much easier. Also makes Spirit Fire hit that tiny bit harder.
 * Gangplank - Farmplank? You have it right here. Get half the mana cost back last hitting with Q? Get MOAR back!
 * Veigar - See Nasus, also see Veigar passive. Buy pots, infnite sustain.
 * Swain - LOLOLOLOLOL! Seriously, get to 6, then laugh yourself as your lane opponent can't even think about pushing you out.
 * Trundle - This is more the case pre rework (as I find his autoattack a little unresponsive with the new model, leading to more missed last hits), but the low mana cost on Q and massive sustain form your passive are an incredible combination. You can't be harassed out easily, and Trundle is naturally hard as hell to gank anyway.
 * Yorick - You have problems in lane because of you spamming your abilities? That's your main weakness? That's how people counter you (wait for him to go oom, than go all in)? Not any more! See those people who rely on you being out of mana to even think about trading? Well they now have no way of beating you.