One of the most exciting changes that have come with the introduction of Season 11 is the huge item overhaul that players have had to adjust to. New splash art, a new shop layout, and the rework of some existing items have brought a fresh feel to League of Legends. However, the introduction of Mythic Items is undoubtedly the most substantial new inclusion to the game. The itemisation of every champion in the game has changed as a result, as they present a powerful combination of stats, unique effects, and gold efficiency that simply cannot be ignored. Through this guide, we will be breaking down just how effective they can be, and whether rushing a Mythic Item is always the best play for your game.

What is a Mythic Item?

Mythic Items make up the most powerful item group that exists in League of Legends. They are defined by a few unique characteristics:

You are limited to owning one Mythic Item at any given time
Each Mythic Item has its own Mythic Passive
They all have a powerful Unique Ability (Passive or Active) that is shared with no other items in the game

Mythic passives are a new inclusion to League of Legends, as they have come with the categorisation of items into tiers of quality (starter, basic, epic, legendary and mythic). These passives, attached to each Mythic Item, grant the wearer extra stats based on how many legendary items they own. Kraken Slayer provides one of the most impressive mythic passives, giving all other Legendary Items 10% attack speed, becoming a first choice for many different ADCs that can scale well into the late game and continue providing value as more Legendary Items are built.

These items are typically the best part of any kit, providing some of the greatest gold-efficient value in the game. Gold efficiency can be a tough concept to define, but we’re simply talking about the value that an item can give based on its stats compared against its cost. Below are two items, Galeforce and Infinity Edge, side by side so that we can analyse the difference in their gold efficiency.

While they both cost the same amount of gold, Galeforce offers an extra 20% attack speed, stacking movement speed with other legendary items and an offensive dash with a 60 second cooldown, all at the expense of only 10 attack damage and the extra critical strike damage. While it can be argued that Infinity Edge can be better in certain situations (on a champion with higher mobility that needs the extra damage in a crit-based build), it is clear that the value generated from Galeforce outweighs that of Infinity Edge overall.

How Do I Know Which Mythic To Build?

As of the start of season 11, there are 23 Mythic Items in the game. This level of variety is enough that there is not exactly a “correct” choice for each champion, but rather more powerful items based on their current state in the meta, role within the team and the other champions in the game.

The first and most simple way to understand which Mythic works best for you is by considering the similarities certain Mythics share with previous core components of your build. There are some Mythic Items within the game that have almost directly replaced previously existing items that were removed at the start of season 11; the best example of this would be Liandry’s Anguish replacing Liandry’s Torment. Liandry’s Torment was primarily built for the passive burn it applied to ability damage, and Liandry’s Anguish accomplishes the same goal to greater effect.

Similarly, Hextech Protobelt-01 has been replaced by Hextech Rocketbelt to give those mobile mages the extra skip in their step. This being said, simply replacing the item does not make it the optimal mythic for your build, however, as the mythic passive attached to each of these items will not necessarily work best for your particular match. The magic penetration granted by the mythic passive of Luden’s Tempest may not work quite so effectively as the ability haste of Night Harvester, for example, against a squishier enemy team.

Beyond this, the new and improved shop in League of Legends suggests different items based on a number of different factors.

The stage in the build you are currently at
The items that have been built by higher-elo players on your current champion
The enemies you are facing

This has all been in an attempt to create a more accurate shopping experience for players that are less familiar with the ins and outs of items in League of Legends. Following this build path, you can also see which Mythic Items are recommended for you on your champion, and combined with the suggested item paths on high-elo tier lists, you should be able to piece together the right build for the right match.

Should I Always Rush To Build a Mythic Item?

The last part of this guide will focus on a question that many players have asked at the early stages of this new season, and few have found an accurate answer to. Since Mythics generate such great gold value, should they not always occupy the first slot in your inventory before any other completed item? The best answer to this is that it all depends on what you’re looking to achieve in your build; beautifully vague, right?

Let’s take a look at Ezreal. Ezreal is a mana hungry champion that heavily relies upon a larger mana pool so that he can be at his most effective as an AD caster. For this reason, the mythics that Ezreal is likely to build (typically Divine Sunderer, as it procs with his Mystic Shot) will come second to items that increase his mana pool, in particular Manamune since the rework of Tear of the Goddess as a potential starting item.

This being said, if we consider Ezreal’s strength within the current meta (particularly when compared to previous metas), he fails to pack quite as much of a punch as other champions do. This is a greater reflection upon his inability to synergise with the items in the game at current, rather than any changes made to him as a champion. Let’s compare him to someone like Kai’sa, who has been seeing a great spike in popularity thanks to the natural synergy that exists between two Mythic Items, Galeforce and Kraken Slayer. It becomes clear to see that champions that can dive right into the powerspike that comes with a Mythic Item are becoming far more powerful than ones that are being stuck behind a stepping stone prerequisite.

Overall, the answer seems to be that you should always build a Mythic Item first if you can help it. It also simply makes sense to begin stacking your Mythic Passive by purchasing Legendary Items AFTER your Mythic, so that they can immediately gain the added effect granted by your choice of Mythic Item, rather than waiting for them to activate after you eventually include a mythic in your build. Perhaps answers will come in the future for champions that do not benefit from building a Mythic Item first, but for now it may even be a better choice to expand your champion pool to include one of the champions that can have an instant impact on your games.

Following this guide, you should have no doubts about where to start with understanding the Mythic Items that have shaken up the shop in League of Legends. The best motto, of course, is that practice makes perfect, and fine tuning your build to suit your playstyle will always guarantee more success than blindly following the same linear path every game. GLHF!