League of Legends has been around since late 2009, originally releasing on October 27th and continuing to be a powerhouse in the MOBA community and the dominating force in eSports attracting millions of players each year. Over the course of League's almost nine-year run we have seen a large variety of items come and go, some to a chorus of cheers and some to a collective sigh from the player base as we saw our favorite builds suddenly disappear (R.I.P Deathfire Grasp, never forget). While there will always be the handful of players angrily sitting in their chairs talking with their friends about the fond memories they share of builds they used to love, or items they would love to have back, there just isn't a way to justify bringing some of these back into the game and there are a few good reasons for this.

Functionality in the long term

Any given day, you could play with a group of friends in League and someone might say "Hey, do you guys remember this?". They could remind you of the days of Deathfire Grasp mages, or the fear of a fully stacked Sword of the Occult on the enemy AD carry as they charged into your team. Some items brought valuable stats and power spikes to champions that would allow a single player to win a game in the right situation and, on the opposite end, there have been items that served little purpose and found themselves almost never being used. Anyone playing since the early seasons may remember an item known as Atma's Impaler, which gave players 45 armor and 15% critical strike chance, and had a unique passive of converting 1.5% of your maximum health into bonus attack damage. Atma's was removed from the client during Patch 4.19, and during its run in the game it served very few purposes. Champions with health gaining abilities, like Cho'Gath or Sion, would have a chance to benefit from this early item but it served little purpose outside of a few tank champions because of the critical chance bonus. Other items like this have all had their run in League, but not all items that were eventually removed were bad.

Madred's Bloodrazor, Atma's Implaer, and the Ionic Spark

Long-term players may remember items like the Ionic Spark and Madred's Bloodrazor were both powerful items in their prime, able to be effectively built in a number of situations. Ionic spark, which gave players a steady balance of health and attack speed, and Bloodrazor, which gave a player attack damage and armor plus a bonus of 40% attack speed, were both easy to use in a number of builds and were usable by most champions at the time they were available. Items that were this integral to the game were inevitably removed to help balance around the problems they caused, such as Bloodrazor giving Attack Damage Carry's the ability to deal up to 4% of your maximum health per attack, but eventually found their way back into the game in new forms. The lightning passive of Ionic Spark found its way into Statikk Shiv, a staple items for marksmen, and Bloodrazor was reworked into the jungle item of the same name and has since become a staple of junglers once again. So, as some items return in new forms and some are just removed altogether, why does Riot Games consistently remove them from the active client at the end of every season? Well the answer is simple.

Shifting Dynamics and the Evolution of the Game

As League of Legends progresses into each new season, developers plan ahead with new champions and dynamics in mind for players to experience and because of this some things have to go to make way for the fresh new concepts that are introduced. During any season or pre-season of League, we see drastic changes to how the game is played and how players have to handle and adapt to new ideas. During the earliest seasons of League, jungle items were almost non-existent. As the game evolved, players went from starting with items like Cloth Armor or Long Swords in the jungle and were given options like the Spirit Stone, which was eventually removed in Patch 4.20. Spirit Stone built into the Spirit of the Lizard Elder, Spectral Wraith, and Ancient Golem respectively and allowed players the freedom to jungle safely each time the jungle was reworked.

Under this same rule, items are often changed, reworked, or removed to allow champions more breathing room and accessibility in a given patch. When the previously mentioned Spirit Stone items were released, the jungle dynamic shifted towards a handful of stronger picks, most of which focused on the most powerful of the three items, the Spirit of the Ancient Golem, which at the time gave players a decent boost to both armor and health but also had the "Trap Detection" passive allowing junglers to safely and effectively gank champions like Teemo and Caitlyn who rely on their trap mechanics to block off ganks in the early game.

The Spirit of the Ancient Golem, Lizard Elder, and Spectral Wraith

Stepping away from the jungle, item changes and buffs allowed champions more leeway in the lanes, with certain item changes changing the top picks or the power picks of a role entirely. In some of the most recent patches, Riot buffed the Blade of the Ruined King item. Blade of the Ruined King, or BotRK as it is lovingly referred to by most, has been a long standing item in League of Legends and served as a great tool for duelist champions like Master Yi and Irelia, but lacked potential and presence in other instances. With the most recent buffs the BotRK item has become a staple for several champions and has pushed some of these respective champions into the top tier of their roles. Lucian in particular went from being a strong pick against a large number of marksmen in the bot lane to an outright dominant force on the rift, capable of not only terrorizing the bot lane but, as we have all seen recently, able to hold his own in both the mid and top lane and a powerful bully and pusher.

Marksmen in other lanes has never been a new concept, with Jhin being a mid assassin since his release and Vayne being able to bully tanks in the top lane with her Silver Bolts effectively. For a champion like Lucian to suddenly skyrocket in not only play and win rate, but lane options as well, itemization was key and this once again all ties back to the topic of dynamic shifts. I will not outright say Blade of the Ruined King will be removed, but in the instance it is or if it receives a nerf or change which will once again place it into a state of mediocrity, the dynamic of Lucian as a power pick or the strength of duel reliant champions may shift as well. Let us imagine a game of League where Blade was no longer available, the "% current health damage" being gone would allow tanks more space and with the inclusion of the most recent tank buffs and items, the marksmen role may once again be limited to a small pool of champions and some junglers may lose viability as the game progresses. This is the nature of itemization and the need for change in its essence.

The future of the game in retrospect

As items, champions, and the game as a whole change over time and the course of League of Legends shifts with each season, we have seen some of our favorite champions go in and out of play as builds and playstyles are opened up to them. When the Devourer item was originally released, champions who had a difficult time adjusting to new changes, like Shyvana, Master Yi, and even Jax for a time, found themselves among the top picks as a whole. This is a pattern that we have seen repeat numerous times, with some champions who saw almost no play or had difficulty justifying as a pick in most matches suddenly blooming or overtaking the game as a whole.

As the game continues to evolve and we see items we love to play with, or items we rarely see outside of a few niche picks, change and eventually find their way out of the game we will continue to adapt and embrace what we are given. For as easy as it is to say "This and this item was overpowered" or "Riot should bring back my favorite item" (R.I.P Sword of the Divine), it boils down to the concept of certain things must change with the times, and because of this philosophy, we will have to say goodbye to items and builds that we love to play to make room for new content, and a healthier base to jump into as the game develops. While we will always remember the items content that we loved, as players we will adapt and hold on to the memories as League of Legends moves forward.

Like our content? Support us by getting our merchandise in our shop