A Quick Guide to the Pre-Season 6 Marksman Changes
A detailed look into the marksman changes made in the Pre-Season.
A detailed look into the marksman changes made in the Pre-Season.
At the beginning of the Pre-Season for Season 6, almost every marksman has gone through changes and new gameplay updates. I have played around 100 games this pre-season as a marksman, and I am here to help guide you into the new season!
Let's start off with the most dominant marksman to come out of the Pre-Season change, Miss Fortune.
Riot revived what was seen as one of the most useless champions. Miss Fortune was given a new passive which grants her more damage on her autos. They also implimented a new active on Miss Fortune's W ability, which now grants her a massive attack speed steroid. Her passive also grants a movement speed buff out of combat fixes most of her mobility issues, and to top it off her Ultimate ability was given the ability to critically strike. All of these changes have led to Miss Fortune almost single handedly dominating the bottom lane.
What to buy and what masteries to take on MF:
The first item you want to get is essence reaver. This item grants cooldown, great damage, critical strike chance, and refund a portion of mana after critically striking. After Reaver, do not purchase attack speed items such as Statik Shiv or Phantom Dancer. These items will only lower your possible damage output. MF's attack speed steroid on W is enough to compensate. Grab and Infinity Edge and buy Boots of Grievances. Now it is optimal to get attack speed once you have the first two core damage items. I recommend Rapid-Fire Cannon as the overall staple to attack speed items currently. Statik Shiv is also a great item, but recently received changes that make it weaker than Rapid-Fire. After those Three Core items, look towards items such as Bloodthirster, Death's Dance, Mercurial Scimitar, and/or Lord Dominik's Regards.
In regards to masteries, take 12 points in ferocity and 18 in cunning. As for your keystone, grab Thunderlords Decree. This Keystone is currently the go to mastery for every ADC and almost every other role as well. Until changes are made to the other masteries or to thunderlord's itself, there won't be anyother mastery keystone to get.
Next up is Lucian! No matter what the meta, and no matter how many changes they make to him, Lucian seems to always stay on top and deal out immense damage. However, there was only really one change to his kit that is of note. Lucian's ultimate no longer scales with attack speed and the damage reduced a bit. Regardless of these changes, Lucian performs better than most in the pre-season. The addition of the keystone mastery, Thunderlords Decree, has boosted Lucian's early game burst and his level one is almost unmatched. Look to be aggressive early and you can easily force your opponent's to waste their summoner spells at least.
What to buy on Lucian:
For Lucian, Essence Reaver is the first item you want to build. The cooldown reduction alone boosts his utility and the damage, combined with the passive are amazing for Lucian. Afterwards, look to buy an attack speed item. I recommend Rapid-Fire Cannon, however Statik Shiv is also a good substitute. Next, grab Infinity Edge to maximize your damage. Once you complete IE, finish up your build with Bloodthirster, Death's Dance, Lord Dominik's Regards, and/or Phantom Dancer.
Lastly, I will explain Twitch's new found power. Last season Twitch was very underwhelming. However, one small change to Twitch's Q ability, and a more powerfull build path to work with have made him a force to be reckoned with. Twitch now gains a cooldown reset on his Q ability when an enemy champion dies while affected by Twitch's passive. This small change makes a huge difference in Twitch's gameplay. He now has insane chase potential, while at the same time remaining extremely safe while in stealth mode over and over in teamfights. Once a jungler is gracious enough to donate a red buff to you, it's almost impossible for the enemy team to run fast enough away!
What to buy on Twitch:
Twitch has recently gained a lot of strength due to the new item changes. For starters, purchase a Runaan's Hurricane as your first item. This item now has crit chance, and it also applies Twitch's passive to anyone in the immediate area. Once you have Hurricane, grab an Infinity Edge. When Twitch has these two items his damage becomes immense. He has the potential to dominate team fights, but don't try to overstep your boundaries too much. After Infinity Edge, the build becomes very situational for Twitch. If your team does not group or you are far ahead I recommend Yomous's Ghostblade. Ghostblade packs a big punch, but has no lifesteal and no longer gives crit. The item isn't the most optimal, but if the active is used well (in stealth) and used frequently it can be very useful. However, the best item to get third on Twitch would be something that gives lifesteal: Bloodthirster, Death's Dance, or Blade of the Ruined King. With those three core items built, look towards a Phantom Dancer, Guardian's Angel, and/or Lord Dominik's Regards as your filling out your inventory.
With these three champions under your belt, you are ready to take one Season 6 and the trials it will bring! Good luck and have fun on the Rift!