User blog:Lukeatlook/Pyro's Item Overhaul 10 - The Fighter Project


 * What is "Pyro's Item Overhaul"?

It's a set of custom patch notes that are meant to enhance and/or fix the problems with itemization in LoL. Previous episodes were a hit or miss, sometimes correctly predicting items implemented by Riot, sometimes being far off (...almost everything else).


 * What is the scope of the overhaul?

Pretty much everything. The idea is to increase diversity in item builds by rebalancing the current items, possibly introducing few new ones when necessary. Keep in mind while assessing this part of the project that more or less all item categories will be affected, so this is far from over.


 * Why?

TL;DR here would be: To have more than top 3-5 champion picks for every role in LCS with cookie-cutter builds. Item builds should be more reactive, not predefined for a whole class of champions.


 * Episodes


 * The Tank Project
 * The Support Project
 * The Carry Project
 * The Fighter Project (you are here)
 * The Mage Project (upcoming)
 * The Jungle Followup (upcoming)
 * The Peripheral Maps (upcoming)

We're halfway through! :)

Premise of the Fighter Project
Who are "fighters" and what do they do?

To put it simply, they are melee champions who deal damage scaling with AD/AS - unlike tanks, whose damage scales with AP (mostly). A fighter who builds like a tank and relies on their base damages is a bruiser. A fighter who builds mostly AD items and relies on their ability damage is an AD Caster, possibly (but not necessarily) an assassin. A fighter that builds for Critical Strike is a melee carry and those are extremely rare since unlike ranged carries they can't really get through the fight alive.

This project is a sum of the Tank Project and Carry Project, with a few additions:
 * Tank items are worse on their own and better in full tank builds
 * Sunfire Cape scales its damage with % of current health, not levels
 * Randuin's Omen loses the slow and gets a damage block from ranged attacks (but at the price of base stats, 70->50 armor)
 * Critical Strike Chance reworked - crits are removed from the lane and crit items are worse on their own
 * Crits deal 100% base AD, not 100% total (some items can change that)
 * Multiple DPS items like BotRK interact with crit, making them better lategame on carries
 * In general, in order to be really tanky, you need two tank items, and in order to have high DPS, you need two crit items.
 * One fighter item is stronger than one tank/carry item, but two tank/carry items woprk together better than two fighter items
 * Advanced components reworked
 * gains the current Phage passive (Rage) in place of %MS
 * gains the armor penetration passive from The Brutalizer
 * remains a 10% CDR item without the arpen
 * New advanced item: (20% AS, 20 onhit magic damage) building into things like,  and
 * Armor penetration unique between Phage upgrades (stacking more than one isn't the best idea):
 * for fighters staying longer in a fight
 * for the engage potential
 * for bruisers that want to be tanky
 * doing more or less much what it does now
 * for coordinated dives with more than one fighter getting into the enemy team
 * Items emphasizing "active" playstyle - fighter items are stronger when you're low on health or under pressure
 * rework - this item is too good by itself, becoming a "Build this then go tanky" option that doesn't fall off in the lategame
 * no longer builds into BotRK and builds into Entropy (active slow on longer range) and Executioner's Calling (old BotRK's active MS/health absorption)
 * BotRK retains its passive % health damage, but loses the active and becomes cheaper. Its interaction with crits makes it a good response item for carries

The change to fighters here is that they have a better "flow" in-combat, but can't get as high DPS as carries AND be as durable as full tanks at the same time.

Changes to Components
Changes to are covered in the Carry Project. , and  are removed.


 * +30 attack damage (+5)
 * No longer grants lifesteal
 * Deals 100 magic damage and slows the target enemy champion's movement speed by 25% for 2 seconds. 90 second cooldown. (450 range)
 * Builds into and . No longer builds into.
 * BotRK retains its % health damage, but no longer has the active. This item builds into EC, which gets the BotRK's active, and Entropy, which has a slow effect.


 * +30 attack damage (+5)
 * +10% cooldown reduction
 * Armor penetration removed
 * Builds into:, , and
 * This is labeled now as "AD Caster item" for both melee and ranged champions. Separating armor penetration and cooldown reduction helps smooth out power curves of AD champions.


 * +25 attack damage, +25 magic resistance (-5)
 * Upon taking magic damage that would reduce health below 30%, grants a shield that absorbs 250 magic damage for 5 seconds (90 second cooldown).
 * This item received a slight buff to MR with price increase that wasn't really needed. The shield is strong enough already.


 * +20% attack speed
 * +20 bonus magic damage on-hit
 * Builds into:, , , , and
 * This item could be summed up with "We fix Wit's End", but it also gives foundation for on-hit as an item class. If the on-hit synergy becomes too strong, this passive could become unique.


 * +20 attack damage, +200 health
 * +10 armor penetration (new)
 * Builds into:, , and
 * This change resembles how Haunting Guise works. You dump part of the gold into not-so offensive stats. Flat armor penetration now doesn't stack between the items, allowing for high amount on one item without having to account for a full build - resistance penetration is more effective the more of it you have.


 * +30 magic resistance (-5)
 * Removes all debuffs from your champion. 90 second cooldown.
 * As it is, QSS is too cheap for an item with as much MR and as powerful active. It became 300g cheaper while losing only 200g of stats. This slightly tunes down its sheer power.


 * +30% attack speed
 * Basic attacks grant 20 movement speed for 2 seconds on hit. Minion, monster, and champion kills grant 60 movement speed for 2 seconds. The movement speed bonus is halved for ranged champions.
 * Builds into:, and
 * Doubleswords are now truly doubleswords. Or doubledaggers, to be precise. The Rage passive moves here from Phage. Zeal still increases your damage output by the same amount.

DPS items
Changes to carry items that impact fighers the most.


 * +30 attack damage (+5), +30% attack speed (-10), +15% lifesteal (+5)
 * Your basic attacks deal 5% of the target's current health in physical damage (60 max vs minions and monsters). This damage can critically strike.
 * BotRK is supposed to be a repsonse to health stacking, not a one-item wonder for everyone (fighters: "build this then go tanky and never fall off in lategame", assassins "yay, extra burst", carries: "yay, DPS and kiting"). The item is now 800g cheaper, the % health damage is higher when you have crit chance, but the active is gone. No longer a first item for ADCs, but a very strong situational anti-health item nevertheless. The active component moves to a new-ish carry item .


 * +30 attack damage (-10), +30% attack speed (new)
 * Your basic attacks and abilities ignore 50% of target's bonus armor. (reworked)
 * A big flag "This is for the carry. Don't you touch it, Mr. AD Assassin". This allows the fighter items be better on their own without having to take this one into consideration every time.

Carry items
Click "show" to the right to view the items from the Carry Project (previous episode).

 Critical Strike


 * +25% critical strike chance (+10)
 * Builds into:, , , , , ,
 * Important note: critical strike chance is at a different gold value now. Used to be 8% for 400 gold, now it's a bit more than 10% for that same price. By itself, Cloak of Agility scales only with your AS and base AD, not bonus AD - unless you've already completed one of the crit items.


 * New item (melee only)
 * +25% attack speed, +25% critical strike chance
 * Reduce damage from area of effect abilities by 10%.
 * Builds into: and
 * I'm not gonna hide it - I'm trying to make melee carries a thing. I don't have a clear genius idea how to do it, but this is a good start.


 * +30 attack damage (+10), +30% critical strike chance (+10)
 * Grievous Wounds on hit removed
 * Basic attacks against enemy champions below 50% health have doubled chance to critically strike. (new)
 * Drains target champion, dealing 15% of the target's maximum health in physical damage (min. 100) and healing you for the damage dealt. Additionally you steal 25% of their movement speed and inflict Grievous Wound on them for 3 seconds - 90 second cooldown. (450 range) (new)
 * The healing reduction now works only with the BotRK active, which moves here. BotRK retains its % health damage.


 * +80 attack damage, +30% critical strike chance (+5)
 * Your critical strikes deal 200% of your total attack damage. (nerfed from 250%)
 * When you do the math on old IE, its crit chance and passive increases your DPS output by about 35%. This build is fairly similar, but since the amp is lower, so is the price.


 * New item
 * +30% attack speed, +30% critical strike chance
 * Your basic attacks deal magic damage equal to 50% of target's armor. This effect can critically strike, dealing magical damage equal 75% of target's armor.
 * A different way to work around target's armor. Doesn't scale that well into lategame since it's magic damage, not physical - but should be a very good response against early armor stacking.


 * +50% attack speed, +30% critical strike chance
 * Basic attacks grant 20 movement speed for 2 seconds on hit. Kills and critical strikes grant 60 movement speed for 2 seconds. The movement speed bonus is halved for ranged champions. (new)
 * Your champion ignores unit collision.
 * Crits now grant you full speed from Rage like kills do. Phantom Dancer is defined as a mobility item with highest crit chance in the game.

{{Recipe|result = Spellbreaker|cost = 450|total = 3600}|t1 = |t2 = }}
 * New item (melee only)
 * +30 attack damage, +30% attack speed, +30% critical strike chance, +30 magic resistance
 * Reduce damage from area of effect abilities by 10%.
 * Upon taking magic damage that would reduce health below 30%, removes all crowd control effects and grants a shield that absorbs 300 magic damage for 5 seconds (90 second cooldown).
 * My melee carry bias is showing. "Hello, I'm Xin Zhao, and welcoe to Jackass". The item is centered around protection and unlike other crit items, it does not affect or interact with critical strikes.


 * +50% attack speed (+10), +30 on-hit magic damage (new)
 * Critical strike chance and % MS removed
 * Basic attacks grant 20 movement speed for 2 seconds on hit. Minion, monster, and champion kills grant 60 movement speed for 2 seconds. The movement speed bonus is halved for ranged champions. (new)
 * Your critical strikes deal 60 magic damage to up to 4 targets. (reworked)
 * Moving increases your critical strike chance by 1 per 10 units moved. This bonus is reset once you critically strike. (reworked)
 * The effect is very similar in work, but occurs more often with critical strikes. The item, however, doesn't grant you any critical strike chance unless you move around.


 * New item (melee only)
 * +50 attack damage, +30% attack speed, +30% critical strike chance
 * Reduce damage from area of effect abilities by 10%.
 * Your critical strikes deal bonus damage equal to 150% of your bonus AD.
 * Your next 3 critical strikes deal bonus damage equal to 150% of your total AD. 45 second cooldown.
 * While the item is active, your crits will deal damage equal to the IE on Live (250% total AD).


 * +30 attack damage, +30% critical strike chance (+15), +10% cooldown reduction
 * Armor penetration removed
 * Critical strikes reduce this item's cooldown by 3 seconds. (new)
 * Gain 40% attack speed and 20% movement speed for 6 seconds. (60 second cooldown).
 * Higher crit chance makes up for the loss of armor penetration.


 * New item (now available on all maps)
 * +50 attack damage, +30% critical strike chance
 * Your critical strikes reduce target's armor by 15% for 3 seconds (effect stacks up to 2 times).
 * Keep in mind this item brings diminishing returns with Last Whisper now that LW penetrates only bonus armor - but you can still use it to fight against absurdly heavy armor.

 80 AD and Ranged DPS


 * +80 attack damage
 * +20% lifesteal
 * Your life steal overheals you, converting the excess healing into a shield that absorbs up to 50-350 damage and decays when out of combat for 25 seconds.
 * I'm not entirely sure if the item deserves such a smooth buildpath past the BF Sword, but it seems to make sense.


 * +80 attack damage, +10% cooldown reduction, +50% base mana regeneration (new), lifesteal removed
 * Your basic attacks restore mana equal to between 2% and 8% of the physical damage dealt, based on your missing mana.
 * Disable Mana Leech and gain 10% lifesteal and 10% spellvamp . (new)
 * The item should now appeal to those who need it: champions who want to cast spells and use mana. You have to choose between restoring health and mana, though. The spellvamp is purely experimental and can be scrapped. If Soul Sickle is too much in lane, it can be replaced with a .


 * +80 attack damage, +30 magic resistance (-5)
 * Removes all debuffs from your champion and grants +50% movement speed for 1 second. 90 second cooldown.
 * With QSS significantly cheaper, this item is actually stronger now. The tiny MR nerf is part of the MR compartmentalization.


 * Ranged only
 * +70% attack speed
 * Your basic attacks fire minor bolts at 2 nearby targets, each dealing 10 (+50% AD) physical damage and applying on-hit effects. If no secondary targets are found, the bolts fire at the primary target, dealing 10 (+10% AD) physical damage. This effect can critically strike, firing 4 bolts. (buffed)
 * I don't really think the usage of this item on Teemo and Kayle should be all that there is. Scaling with crit could make it worthwhile in a 6 item build outside of ARAMs. Of course if the bolts hit the primary target, they don't apply on-hit effects, otherwise we'd get some ridiculous effects.

Phage upgrades
Pick one. Or pick more than one and let the armor penetration go to waste, that's still an option.


 * +50 attack damage, +300 health (+100), +10% cooldown reduction
 * +10 armor penetration
 * Dealing physical damage to an enemy champion reduces their armor by 5% for 4 seconds. This effect stacks up to 5 times.
 * Now with a smooth buildpath. Reeeeeally smooth. Health goes up by 100, cost goes up by 200. Since LW is gone and the flat armor penetration doesn't stack between the items, it shouldn't be too much.


 * +50 attack damage (-5), +300 health (+25)
 * +20 armor penetration (new)
 * Slow the target enemy champion's movement speed by 25% for 2 seconds. Hitting the target with a basic attack will refresh the slow, up to 5 seconds total. 90 second cooldown (700 range) (reworked)
 * Now available on Summoner's Rift as one of the Phage upgrades. The functionality is simple - you slow the target with the Bilgewater active (with longer range), and if you catch up and hit the target, the slow lasts longer.


 * +30 attack damage, +600 health (-100)
 * +10 armor penetration (new)
 * Your basic attacks apply a 20% slow for 2 seconds. (nerfed)
 * Doubles the strength of this item's passives for 10 seconds. 60 second cooldown. (new)
 * This is better suited for fighters than carries, but I guess it could still be utilized when in need for high health.


 * +30 attack damage, +30% attack speed, +30 ability power, +300 health, +300 mana
 * +10 armor penetration
 * Basic attacks grant 20 movement speed for 2 seconds on hit. Minion, monster, and champion kills grant 60 movement speed for 2 seconds. The movement speed bonus is halved for ranged champions.
 * After using an ability, your next basic attack will critically strike. 2 second cooldown.
 * Your critical strikes deal 200% of your base attack damage.
 * Trinity Force now has 3 components, 4 passives and 5 statistics. Spellblade procs are functinally unchanged by themselves, but they don't stack with crit chance now. Higher crit modifiers will be applied, though, so if you have IE, Spellblade will deal 100% of your bonus AD if it's higher than 200% of your base AD.


 * +30 attack damage (new), +300 health (+50)
 * Cooldown reduction removed
 * +10 armor penetration (new)
 * Grants nearby allies +10% lifesteal. (1100 range)
 * Reduces the armor of nearby enemies by 10 for 5 seconds and grants nearby allies 10 atack damage per enemy affected for 10 seconds. 60 second cooldown (700 range)
 * There's a clear tradeoff in building this item - you won't get full effect from other Phage upgrades. The active is a giant "WE GO IN" signal. The range of the effect isn't enough to reach your AD Carry, but for a pair of diving fighters it's helluva effective.

Fighter items
Items defining the fighter class, combining damage with survivability.


 * New item
 * +50 attack damage, +50 armor, +100% base health regeneration
 * Gain attack damage equal to 1% of your bonus health.
 * Your attacks deal physical damage up to 60% of your Attack Damage to units around your target (185 range), decaying down to 20% near the edge (385 range).
 * Deals physical damage up to 100% of your Attack Damage to units around you, decaying down to 60% near the edge. - 10 second cooldown (400 range)
 * The dreaded Impaler. This item requires about 1000 heslth from other items to become gold efficient. Probably not the best starting item, but a good finishing one. Atmogs is back!


 * +30 attack damage, +30% attack speed (new)
 * Ability power removed
 * Autoattacks (on attack) and champion abilities grant +3 armor penetration and +3 magic penetration for 8 seconds (stacks up to 5 times). (reworked)
 * Basic attacks grant 20 movement speed for 2 seconds on hit. Minion, monster, and champion kills grant 60 movement speed for 2 seconds. The movement speed bonus is halved for ranged champions. (new)
 * Falling below 50% health grants +10% life steal and +10% spell vamp until out of combat. 30 second cooldown. (AS removed)
 * A set of changes to revamp the item - the stats are different, the price is lower and the passive grants hybrid penetration instead of AS and AP. AP was really an empty in-combat stat for a vast majority of autoattacking champions. Flat penetration is not worth as much by itself, but it's a better multiplier. Core on Jax? Possibly, but without AP it should significantly reduce his burst.


 * +50 attack damage (-10), +30 magic resistance (-10)
 * Grants +1 attack damage for every 1% of missing health, up to 70 Attack Damage. (buffed)
 * Upon taking magic damage that would reduce health below 30%, grants a shield that absorbs 400 magic damage for 5 seconds (90 second cooldown).
 * Less base AD/MR, but TONS OF DAMAGE when you get low on health. Compared to the Live version, it starts giving more AD below 80% health.


 * +80 attack damage (+5), +100% base health regeneration
 * Passive and active effects unchanged
 * A small buff making up for the relative nerf to the health regen provided by the item (which is significant only early in the game while holding Tiamat and breaks even mid- to lategame).


 * +50% attack speed, +30 magic resistance, +42 magic damage on hit
 * Basic attacks steal 5 magic resistance from the target (stacks up to 5 times).
 * Removes all debuffs from your champion and grants +50 Tenacity for 3 seconds. 90 second cooldown.
 * Old Wit's End is... old and busted. Behold the new awesomeness.


 * +50 attack damage, +50% attack speed, +10% cooldown reduction
 * Basic attacks grant 20 movement speed for 2 seconds on hit. Minion, monster, and champion kills grant 60 movement speed for 2 seconds. The movement speed bonus is halved for ranged champions.
 * Reduces the duration of crowd control by 35%.
 * Reduces the strength of slows by 25%.
 * Without 10% MS bonus it shouldn't be a boots replacement anymore, but the anti-CC passives should be a really nice bundle for melee champions.

Polls
Is Phage as the new flat arpen core a good idea? Yes, and the upgrades are perfect Yes, but the upgrades aren't right No, The Brutalizer should remain untouched

How should fighters deal with high armor targets? They should leave that job to carries with % arpen. These items are OK Black Cleaver needs a buff to % reduction They need a new % penetration item Other (please comment)

Atma's Impaler - yay or nay? Hell yeah This is a disastrous idea I have no strong feelings one way or the other

Afterword
Item changes alone are only half of the solution. Fighters as a champion class are tainted with kit homogenity and lack of diverse identity. To truly balance fighters, almost every single fighter champion would need changes to their kit. As it is, they're all too similar to each other - they're balls of stats with AD/AS steroids and slows, and sometimes bits of innate tankiness.

Ask yourself a question "What can X do that other champions cannot?". For example, is a brick wall of magic DPS with AS synergy and tank transformation. For magic DPS, does her part; for AS synergy on a bruiser, there is  and to some extent  and. And Shyvana's tank transformation is laughable when compared to, who gains TONS of crowd control in his Mega form.

Similarities between fighters causes the top 3-5 picks to dominate over the rest, since there is no strong reason to give up the currently strongest picks if they can do everything the weaker picks do. If champion kits were more diverse, even the "weaker" picks would have a reason to exist, since they would do something noone else could.

Up Next

 * The Mage Project - taking a close look at items like DFG and trying to put an end to the everlasting war between and.
 * The Jungle Followup - some slight rebalance of jungle items and discussing how to prevent poaching at lvl 1 in competitve (also asking if it's necessary)
 * The Peripheral Maps - cleanup for items on Twisted Treeline, Howling Abyss and Crystal Scar with some commentary on the other game modes in general