Riot has released some information on their plans for upcoming balance changes to be released over the next two patches. Here's my analysis on these changes and summary.

Bloodthirster

So after all is said and done, Bloodthirster loses 20 AD, 3% lifesteal, and costs 300g more, and as a trade off gets this shield passive.

Offensively, this is a nerf. Bloodthirster was fantastic for Marksman because it just gave so much raw power and AD. With the heavy objective focus in the current metagame (specifically at the professional level), just having more AD to push towers and clear minion waves was exactly what you needed early.

There has been discussion that the shield is very cost effective, but health has never been a stat that Marksman itemize for, and it's not something you will always have up, there are just so many situations where you don't have the time or ability to go auto attack something before joining a fight. The shield is powerful, don't get me wrong, but it's something you shouldn't need. This item seems great on bruisers or melee champions who itemize for AD (Yasuo and Riven come to mind) who run right into fights.

Infinity Edge

Infinity Edge is looking much better in the future patch, not only for the nice 10 AD it gained, but also because Bloodthirster is losing a lot of it's damage.

As far as combat stats go, why get Bloodthirster when you you can pay an extra 300 gold to get 25% crit chance and the amazing passive from Infinity Edge? The Infinity Edge passive makes you scale so hard into the mid-late game with crits, it's really hard not to appreciate IE's damage potential.

Comparing the two items, Infinity Edge is far better offensively, while Bloodthirster is better defensively.

Vampiric Scepter

A nerf, plain and simple. Unless you have other forms of sustain, a Vamp is almost required for laning phase.

Doran's Blade

The other large change to Lifesteal itemization. Doran's Blade is going to have 3% lifesteal again. It will be a little weaker sustain in the early game, but it will scale with your items so much harder.

I find that these changes close the gap between current top item build (Vamp into BT) and other lifesteal options and it will give you choices in your itemization. If you want to go for that sustain focused build, Vamp is still a good source, but you now have an option to pick up a Doran's or two giving you enough sustain to get you out of the laning phase.

And these changes are a little less controversial so I'll go through these quickly.

Blade of the Ruined King

I think this is a smart change. The active was arguably the best part, used by Marksman to peel enemies, or to duel and catch out enemies. But you know it's a little too good when champions who aren't auto attackers are prioritizing it (Yasuo and Zed have been loving the active).

I think the changes are healthy for the game. This item should not be something you want to buy every game on any champion who can make use of the active, like it had been. Botrk should be something you itemize for when you are facing high health enemies, and Marksmen will make fantastic use of it.

Mercurial Scimitar

Great change and buff. This item was under-used and it's nice to see it getting some love. Banshee's Veil was just so strong it was hard to justify this item, but now both are looking really good.

B.F. Sword

Nothing but buffs here, paying 50g to get another 5 ad? Yes please, that AD is so cost efficient.

Cutlass

We're seeing an overall toning down of lifesteal items, Cutlass is no different.

Attack Speed items

Overall very slight buffs, but every bit helps. I'm especially hoping that Riot decides to make every item that builds out of Zeal (Phantom Dancer etc) cheaper by 75g also.

Randuins and Warden's Mail

While not direct change to Marksmen's itemization, nerfs to the strongest defensive items against you, this will help them out greatly. So many times I felt powerless in a situation when attacking a bruiser with Randuins, with both your damage and mobility hindered, these bruisers felt impossible to deal with. From a Marksman perspective these changes are heavenly.

Essence Reaver

The new item now on the PBE, Essence Reaver, seems to be for AD casters. Debate is still happening as to how good this will be for ability spamming marksman like Corki or Ezeal.

The build path is really nice with the exception of it not giving any mana until it's completed. All the stats on it are pretty nice though. The biggest problem here is it's cost and when you buy it. For 2625g, the laning phase is near over by the time you get it, and to be honest you shouldn't be having mana problems at this point of the game anymore. In my opinion, it's just not worth it on Marksman.

There is some discussion on the PBE forums about how this item could be stronger and make more sense with alternate build paths, and I honestly expect it to go through a change or two before it is released. If it does go live in a stronger state, it may end up as a niche item for Marksman, but I suspect that it will not be slot efficient, and like many mid tier items (Ghostblade, Executioner's Calling) that are cheap and strong it won't be worth holding onto in the late game, and it will just be slowing down your main build. If you are really having mana problems, spending some mastery points in the Utility tree, getting a few Mana Regen Glyphs, and just grabbing some mana pots is usually enough to get you by, you don't need to dedicate an entire item to it.

So what kind of build will be ideal when these changes go live?

With all the lifesteal changes I'm looking to experiement with builds that skip Bloodthirster. We can only speculate at this point, as changes are not final or live yet, but I'm looking at a build going something like Double Dorans, Infinity Edge, Zeal item, Last Whisper. As my last damage item, I would probably still close out my build with a Bloodthirster, and as the shield scales with levels it actually becomes more cost effective and stronger the later in the game it gets.

The extremely popular Bloodthirster first build that pretty much everyone is using right now will still be fine, yes Bloodthirster is still a viable Marksman item, but your damage output will be a little lower. On the up-side, your laning phase will be stronger than ever and trades against you will be difficult, and Bloodthirster may your go to item against assassins or dive teams.

And as for the AD casters who loved the huge AD from Bloodthirster to beef up their abilities rather than focus on auto attacks, some using the popular Legalas Build (just lots of AD and armor pen) may be a little disapointed with these new changes. I'm not sure how to feel about BT knowing it now gives 20 less AD. Lucian will be fine after the changes, Corki and Graves are in a decent spot too, but some other AD casters will really feel the damage nerfs by these changes.

Conclusions and Closing Thoughts

Overall lots of buffs for Marksmen, and I'm loving the nerfs to Randuins (sorry bruiser mains). I feel like Riot has managed to tweak a ton of items without massive power swings taking place, which is better than some of the crazy balancing Riot has done in the past. The change of Bloodthirster to a more defensive-focused item will take some getting used to, but I think people will get used to it and Bloodthirster will still be a common item for Marksmen. In the future patch, things look good for Marksmen.

And if you've made it this far, thanks for reading. If you liked this article and want to see more like it (or hell, if you didn't like it and have some constructive critisism) hit me up on Twitter @fox_nicholas.

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