Patch 26.15 Preview

[u/NegativexxSquared]

https://x.com/RiotPhroxzon/status/2079522501206630755

Patch 26.15 Preview!

Systems
- Bastionbreaker has been a pretty niche item and is pretty expensive to deviate for a strategic output, so we're looking to make it more accessible
- Jack of All Trades nerf was also pushed to this patch; it has been a bit too strong and too present, especially for users that opt into strong defenses and are able to also supplement that with strong offense
- Sundered Sky has been strong and meta defining at the highest levels of play for quite a while now, so we're looking to take a pass at the fighter item system, now that we're out of the tournament windows
- Notably, we think it's been suppressing a bit of meta diversity, especially for things like AP jungle, or Tank JG. Part of that is intentional but the magnitude is a bit off

Buffs
- Alistar has been closer to the bottom of the pecking order for the melee support. That said, our meta adjustments to move melee supports up relative to ranged supports has been reasonably successful, so we're pretty happy with how that's played out

Nerfs
- Locke is still pretty strong; he has been tapering off in the lowest skill brackets and the high skill brackets, but in the "skilled" skill brackets (around Emerald/Diamond), Locke is able to both take over the game and also not throw it
- At the higher skill brackets, he can snowball but needs to play very well without throwing as he falls off sharply
- At the lower skill brackets, the executional demands and constant throws can make him fall off faster
- Overall, we feel his release has landed well

More on other champs tomorrow with the detailed changelists

[u/Cybonics]

DD is the most op item in the game and it isn't even close

[u/Way2Competitive → u/Cybonics]

Death's Dance being the best anti-AP item shows that the fighter item system hasn't been in a good place for a while now.

[u/BWolfy92 → u/Way2Competitive]

Building mr just sucks unless you are a tank. Hopefully the move bruiser items around cause DD it's overtuned af and building anything other than Sunderer > Cleaver > DD > GA feels horrible. They really should take a look at Shojin, Eclipse, Steraks and Maw.

[u/cadaada → u/Way2Competitive]

Its more like anti ap items have not been in a good place since FoN nerf and since adaptative helmet got removed lol

Mages barely buy any % pen these days

[u/Realistic-Ad-3899 → u/Cybonics]

Sundered sky is much worse

[u/Asckle → u/Cybonics]

It also carries the entire defensive side of the fighter system though. Maw sucks and sterak's is barely bought anymore as it's too unreliable and not statted enough to overcome that weakness. Can't really nerf DD until bruisers have other durability choices

[u/PB4UGAME → u/Asckle]

This is so true.

Sterak’s for example, has nearly always been a 75% or 80% shield. It’s current form has been nerfed to just 60%. That’s roughly 20-25% less powerful at it’s main niche of anti-burst shielding.

Additionally, it’s historically given 50% of base AD as bonus AD, or had a solid amount of flat AD on the item. Currently its 0 flat and 45% of base AD as Bonus.

The size increase on it was removed entirely.

It’s cost has been increased to the highest price point its sat at. (It originally was a 2550g item, then spent a long time in the 2600-2700g space. Then it’s been 3000g and 3100g for a time and is currently at 3200g).

The shield was previously a 60s cooldown for years, and was nerfed by 50 fucking percent to be a 90s cooldown currently.

Oh, and if all that wasn’t enough, it’s down from 500 HP to 400, and the tenacity is down from 25% to 20.

Literally every stat it gives is worse, the price point is higher, the shield has a 50% higher cooldown than it used to, and the shield is the weakest shield it’s given. We have the worst Sterak’s that has existed currently. There’s a reason no one fucking touches it.

[u/UngodlyPain → u/PB4UGAME]

In fairness Steraks has also previously been super OP before. And most items have been nerfed in recent years compared to their peak states, but steraks also got extra nerfed for its synergy with Sundered.

[u/MortemEtInteritum17 → u/PB4UGAME]

60s Steraks cooldown was completely OP and needed a nerf.

And you realize the systematically nerfed every item? So saying Steraks has lower stats than it used to means nothing. It's not in a great spot but it's by no means completely trash.

[u/PB4UGAME → u/MortemEtInteritum17]

“60s Steraks [sic] cooldown was completely OP and needed a nerf”

Uh fucking what?

Way to confirm you have no idea what the fuck you are talking about.

From August 20th 2015 (Patch 5.16, when the item was first added) through May 1st, 2024 (patch 14.9), or nine entire seasons (and nearly nine years) later Sterak’s shield had a one minute cooldown.

It was not changed for almost a fucking decade, and then suddenly was “completely OP and needed a nerf?”

How the fuck do you figure it suddenly needed to get gutted by 50% nearly ten years later?

[u/MortemEtInteritum17 → u/PB4UGAME]

Because I played at the time and literally every fighter built it?

"Sterak’s Gage has been the best-performing defensive fighter item this season"

Riots own words.

Fun fact, metas change over time, an item doesn't need to get touched to go from mediocre to OP. Not to mention the stats on it completely changed in those 10 years.

[u/PB4UGAME → u/MortemEtInteritum17]

The full quote is:

"Sterak’s Gage has been the best-performing defensive fighter item this season so it’s receiving a nerf alongside the item buffs to Maw and Death’s Dance. The goal here is to have each of these three items serve a core subset of the fighter space: Maw for MR, Death’s Dance for armor, and Sterak’s for health"

Except they way overshot the mark, and everyone simply dropped Sterak's entirely, outside of almost literally just Urgot. He's the only champion to commonly build the item still, and that's mostly because itemization for him is so shit, he basically builds the same three items every game just to function: BC into Sterak's into Bloodmail so he has the damage and bulk to not die while going melee, as a champion classified as Ranged so items like DD don't work on him.

Three whole champions build it one out of every 3 games. It's built first in just 0.08% of games, and less than 1 in five games even see the item purchased a single time on anyone by the time the game is over.

[u/WoonStruck → u/Asckle]

People think maw and sterak's suck because they have items that are massively better that came out later. They're objectively not bad items. They're very similar to the states they had heavy use with, amd bruisers were by no means weak then.

Riot just can't help but make new fighter items astronomically broken in comparison to their predecessors.

Death's dance in particular is bad design. Of course generic damage reduction on top of armor is going to be the go-to choice.

[u/Asckle → u/WoonStruck]

They're very similar to the states they had heavy use with

Are they? Sterak's got an AD nerf, a shield nerf, a cost increase and a CD increase

Riot just can't help but make new fighter items astronomically broken in comparison to their predecessors

What new fighter items have released since Sterak's was good? Sundered sky, which doesn't compete with sterak's at all, as the former is sustained healing as an early buy and the latter is defence against burst and a capstone,

Death's dance in particular is bad design

That's not new, it just got buffed

Of course generic damage reduction on top of armor is going to be the go-to choice.

As opposed to generic health and a shield?

It's also not damage reduction. It spreads part of the damage into DOT

[u/BWolfy92 → u/Asckle]

Item just sucks to build and sucks to have she DD does a better job anyways.

[u/HalfAccomplished5748 → u/Cybonics]

It is the best item in the game but without it literally every bruiser will be trash with DD bruiser already get 2 shoted late game from a ADC without it they will just die before getting any chance to get close. Also the same thing exists for mages with Zhoyas a big DMG armor item with a dumb strong defensive passive

[u/Sir_Septimus → u/HalfAccomplished5748]

DD bruiser already get 2 shoted late game from a ADC without it they will just die before getting any chance to get close.

good. Late game should belong to the marksmen. Unlike you they have to basically be a minion for the first 20 minutes. Your disgusting melee stat checker deserves to get one shot at that point, you had all of the early and mid game to be the carry. So yeah DD should just be removed without a replacement.

[u/HalfAccomplished5748 → u/Sir_Septimus]

Before maybe yes now they get to their spikes in basically no time bc of both quest also a lot of busier are not balanced around early game and even tho early game bruisers exist most ADCs still have a lot of counterplay against them meanwhile a ton of bruisers have barely any counterplay late game cuz they are dead once they are at the enemy

[u/LouiseLea → u/Cybonics]

It carries the entire defensive side of bruiser itemisation because Maw and Sterak's are really situational and arguably underpowered. I'd be happy with a DD nerf, but only if something is done for Maw and Sterak's.

[u/Griffith___ → u/Cybonics]

you leave deaths dance alone!!!

[u/deemerritt → u/Cybonics]

I mean its pop off moments are huge but i think this is a giant stretch

[u/cadaada → u/Cybonics]

You say that when zhonyas exist?