There had been talk about it for a while, but the changes are finally here! The items that grant Critical Strike Chance have been reworked and changed.

The return of the Cloak of Agility accompanies these changes to the previously established Critical Strike items. This guide will focus on the changes to these items as well as briefly discussing which Champions will benefit most from these changes. (Spoiler: A lot of them are Marksmen!) Some items experienced a bit more of a rework than others and they will be focused on a bit more heavily in this guide than those which did not receive much of a rework. Firstly, we will take a look at the items and then the Champions affected, so without further ado, let us take a look at the item changes!

ITEMS

Infinity Edge

Infinity Edge has been in a bit of a tough spot for the fact that it is a pricey item and it did not provide the Critical Strike Chance that it once did. This made the item a poor choice to rush or even choose as your second item. The item has almost been reverted to its old self, just ever so slightly less powerful than it once was.

This Infinity Edge increases Critical Strike Damage 25% while the old Infinity Edge granted a 50% bonus to Critical Strike Damage. However, this change to Infinity Edge once again makes this item viable to go for early. Plus, the fact that the Cloak of Agility has been added back into the game making it feel like you are still getting a bit of power building towards your Infinity Edge.

Essence Reaver

Essence Reaver was not really a bad item, however it was not benefiting many of the Champions that it was intended to. Many of the Champions that were benefiting from this item were Top Lane Bruisers rather than the Marksmen of the game. Essence Reaver is now 200 gold more expensive, but it also now grants 25% Critical Strike Chance. Because of the addition of the Critical Strike Chance the AD granted by the item has been reduced to 60 rather than the former 75. There is also a bonus Mana Refund of 1.5% on basic attacks which was increased from the previous 1%. The item no longer grants flat mana either.

Essence Reaver being changed back to a Critical Strike item benefits the Marksmen as it once did, and it will no longer be nearly as effective on the different Bruiser Champions that were building it prior to this patch.

Stormrazor

Stormrazor no longer grants the guaranteed Critical Strike on the first basic attack as it once did. Furthermore, the cost of the item has been increased to 3100 gold from 2800 gold, the AD has been reduced to 55 AD from 60 AD, and the Attack Speed is reduced to 25% from 35%. Now this might sound like the item has been gutted, but the item has gained a few Passives to make up for the losses. Moving around and basic attacks will grant passive stacks to the item, at 100 stacks the next basic attack will deal bonus Magic Damage and slow the target. The item also increases the effectiveness of other energized items.

This, in turn, makes the item more powerful, however, it is no longer an item that Champions should rush if they want to get the most out of it. It is an item that should be built after another item like Statikk Shiv which also got a small change which we will touch upon a bit later.

Phantom Dancer

Phantom Dancer has experienced a few changes, the most notably of which is that it no longer decreases the damage taken from the last enemy Champion that you basic attacked. Now this item grants a shield when you fall below 30% Health. This shield scales throughout the game based on your level. On top of this change, the item has a reduced cost of 2600 gold compared to the previous 2700 gold cost. The item grants less Attack Speed (30% down from the former 45%) and Critical Strike Chance (down to 25% from the former 30%) than it used to, but this is to balance out what it has gained.

There have also been smaller changes to some of the other Critical Strike items and we will now take a look at their changes all together.

Smaller Item Changes

First, we will look at Zeal. One of the reasons that the cost of the Zeal items has gone down is that Zeal itself had a reduction in its’ total cost. Zeal now costs 1200 gold rather than 1300 gold.

Next, Runaan’s Hurricane and Rapid Firecannon both received a reduction in cost to 2600 gold from 2800 gold and both of their Critical Strike Chances have been lowered to 25% from 30%.

Lastly, Statikk Shiv is now 2600 gold, grants 40% Attack Speed rather than 35%, and the Critical Strike Chance has dropped to 25% from 30%.

Now with all these changes to Critical Strike items, there is definitely going to be a heavy effect on the Champions that want to utilize Critical Strike, thus we move on now to which Champions will benefit the most from these aforementioned changes.

CHAMPIONS BENEFITING

ADCs, or just the Marksman Champions specifically, have been in a tough spot for a while now and these changes to Critical Strike items bring many of them back into play. The Champions who benefit the most from these changes are Lucian, Caitlyn, and Jinx.

Other Marksmen also benefit from these changes, but these are just the Champions who really see a big spike in how powerful they will become with these changes. Let us first take a look at Lucian.

Lucian can now build Infinity Edge thanks to the changes that were made to it. Prior to this patch, there would be no point for Lucian to build this item early on, if at all, due to the fact that it only benefited you if you already had Critical Strike items built. This boosts Lucian’s early game damage and he can now benefit heavily from Essence Reaver again as well. Lucian with Essence Reaver can help him sustain Mana throughout the game as well as benefiting from the Critical Strike that has been added back to the item. Along with this, Rapid Firecannon also has the decreased cost meaning that Lucian can benefit from the item sooner into the game.

This will boost Lucian's overall damage quite heavily and, if you get to late game, it will be very difficult for the enemy team to deal with you. Lucian should be a pick or ban Champion this patch due to the power he can amass throughout the game, especially once he starts getting his Critical Strike items. Next, we will look at Caitlyn.

Caitlyn can now build Infinity Edge again as her first item. This is Caitlyn’s bread and butter so to speak. Furthermore, she can now get her Rapid Firecannon even earlier into the game as well with the cost being reduced. Caitlyn benefits massively from these changes because she is now able to hit her powerspikes much earlier into the game and it shows when you play her… or against her. Caitlyn definitely sees a jump in play this patch. Look to get her on your team or make sure the enemy cannot get her in your next games.

When you get to late game with her, she might not dish out the same rate of damage as the other two mentioned Champions, but she has more range and (in a way) a bit more burst. Although her DPS might be ever so slightly lower, she is still a monster thanks to how far away she can be when dishing out her damage. Next up is Jinx.

Jinx is also seeing a big boost in her power thanks to the changes to the Critical Strike Items. Like Caitlyn, Jinx can once again build Infinity Edge for her first item. This will boost Jinx’s early game damage and help her reach her maximum potential earlier on in the game. This allows her to snowball really well. Jinx is another Champion that is likely to be a pick or ban for this next patch, similar to that of Caitlyn and Lucian.

These three Marksmen benefit amazingly well from these Critical Strike changes! Again, there are other Champions that benefit from these changes as well, it is just not as large of a boost to them as it is for these three Champions.

Hopefully you can take what you learned from this guide and apply to your coming games! ADCs are happy again now that their role is back to its former glory, and Mages will no longer be as powerful as they previously were in the Bottom Lane thanks to these changes.

Try out these Champions in a few Normal Games and then take them into Ranked when you are ready! Good luck in your coming games and we hope to see your success out on Summoner’s Rift!

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