The approaching 2021 World Championship signals the nearing end of the 11th season of League of Legends. This season has seen significant changes in gameplay as Riot completely overhauled the item system of the game. In their latest post on the homepage, Riot Games shared the first details about Pre-Season 2022 by teasing a series of new items (yet to be named) that will soon be implemented in League of Legends.
The first item introduced by Riot is a new Mythic item aimed at boosting the defense of Mages, which evolves from the Lost Chapter. This item has the effect that when the champion is attacked, they will receive reduced damage for a certain period. Additionally, the attacking power of this item will decrease when the effect is activated to ensure that it is suitable for ranged Mages.
The next Mage item introduced by Riot will have a very strong shield countering ability. Specifically, this item will increase magic penetration for champions when attacking low-health targets or those recently shielded.
Not stopping there, support tanks will also receive a new Mythic item focused on offense. Specifically, this item will cause nearby opponents to take additional damage when you apply crowd control effects on enemy champions. This new item has effects quite similar to the current Everfrost, so it will be adjusted to avoid overlap in effects.
A Legendary tank item was also introduced, providing a significant amount of energy for the champion using it. This item allows the champion to use their energy to create shields when immobilizing or slowing opponents.
The final item introduced by Riot is a Legendary item for Assassins that focuses on cooldown reduction. This item will provide cooldown reduction for the ultimate ability with each enemy champion killed within 3 seconds after you damage that target.
The new items mentioned above are seen as essential solutions to address the issues faced by Mages and tank supports. In season 11, many champions and items capable of creating shields have become overly dominant. However, the only item to counter shields currently is the Blade of the Ruined King, which only suits physical damage dealers. It is extremely necessary for Mages to have additional items to counter shields.
As for tank supports, the greatest strength of this type of champion is their ability to control and support the damage dealer. However, the Iron Solari’s Crest only has shield creation effects and does not interact well with tank supports. The new item that causes nearby opponents to take additional damage when you apply crowd control on enemy champions can be seen as the perfect item for champions like Rell, Alistar, Nautilus…
Regarding the Assassin item with strong cooldown reduction, Riot’s intention is to create a new playstyle based on continuously casting ultimate abilities rather than just burst damage in a single moment. It’s possible that champions with ultimate abilities that provide mobility and good approach, such as Talon, Rengar, and Kayn, will become much stronger with this item.