Number analysis of PBE item changes

Although the recent changes to the Public Beta Environment are only tentative, if they go through they will bring about massive changes to the items players buy. As a novice theorycrafter myself, I hope to write this for all of the readers out there who have no idea what all of those fancy numbers mean.

Spellbreaker - 

First up is Spellbreaker. It provides 40 Attack damage, 25 Magic Resist, 20% more Critical Strike Chance, and has two Unique Passives. First it grants Tenacity (35% less time spent stunned, slowed, taunted, feared, silenced, blinded, or immobilized) and Lifeline, which upon taking magic damage that would reduce Health below 30%, grants a shield that absorbs 400 magic damage for 5 seconds on a 90 second cooldown. This item would be held more comfortably by an AD bruiser or possibly a jungler, but just a friendly reminder to those who would buy Mercury’s Treads that unique passives of the same name don’t stack! This would be a great item for certain ranged champions, but alas, the item is melee only.

When all of the current numbers are added up, Spellbreaker is worth a total of 3100 gold without its passives, because Tenacity and Lifeline aren’t base stats that can be quantified in terms of gold. Were I to hazard a guess as to the grand total, I would put it at over 9000!!! around 4000 gold. Too-cool-for-school-math resisting effects aside, Spellbreaker is sold for 2800 gold total, making it a very gold efficient item for any player hoping to deflect the mushrooms of Satan’s spawn Teemo. I think this item is balanced and affordable but put into comparison, Maw of Malmortius offers much more MR and AD for a more efficient price. It all just comes down to the trade off of AD and MR for crit potential. The obvious pick for those dastardly Critplank players will of course be Spellbreaker.

Specter's Cowl - 

Second on the block is Specter’s Cowl. It provides 200 Health, 45 Magic Resist and has a Unique Passive that grants 15 Health Regeneration per 5 seconds for up to 10 seconds after taking damage from an enemy champion. This means that once you get into the fight, you’ll immediately begin to gain 3 health a second. Put into even simpler terms, this item provides you with 3 health a second as long as you're involved in a skirmish or team fight.

When all of the current numbers are added up, Specter’s Cowl is worth a total of 2148 gold including the passive effect. It’s sold at 1400 gold, which means that you’ve got an extra 798 in your pocket that you have to spend on other items. Like wards. Pls. This item will be most at home in the inventory of slighty wealthy supports as it helps to not only take more poke, but to recover from it quickly. But hey if the other team is heavy AP, it’s not a bad pick up for the price for another role like AP mid or tank. In my opinion, it’s incredibly gold efficient, pretty OP for the price Riot is charging, and could likely change before hitting the live servers.

Banshee's Veil - 

Although Banshee’s Veil isn’t a new item, it has a new recipe which includes Specter’s Cowl. It now provides 450 Health, 55 Magic Resist and two Unique Passives. First it grants a spell shield that blocks the next enemy ability and is on a 25 second cooldown that will be restarted if damaged by an enemy champion. Its second passive is an upgraded version of Specter’s Cowl, granting 45 Health Regen per 5 for up to 10 seconds after taking damage from an enemy champion or when the spell shield breaks. Before this update Banshee’s Veil gave mana instead of the health regen passive, which decisively shifts the users of the item from mages needing some beef (sorry vegetarians) to a Specter’s Cowl 2.0 for anyone who wants to be even tankier.

When all of the current numbers are added up, Banshee’s Veil is worth a total of 3908 gold, excluding the passives. This is a change from being 792 gold efficient, to 1158 which is absolutely bananas. It’s sold at the price of 2750, making it a steal that will likely be nerfed before release onto the live servers. With all of that extra gold you could buy, dare I say it, a pink ward. I might even be crazy in saying you could buy one of those pink wards as AP mid or AD Carry (gasp).

Spirit Visage - 

In the same situation as the aforementioned item, Spirit Visage has a new recipe in the works. It now provides 400 Health, 55 Magic Resist, 20 Health Regen per 5 seconds, 20% Cooldown Reduction and the Unique Passive of Health Regen, Lifesteal, and Spell Vamp effects being increased by 20%. The changes to this item give it a ton more health as well as health regen, making it basically a lesser Warmog’s with some MR and extra healing in the passive. This item will likely be used most by junglers, tanks and the occasional support who want to embody Leeroy Jenkins while playing (going too ham).

When all of the current numbers are added up, Spirit Visage is worth a total of 3520 gold, without its passive. This is a change from being 28 gold short of being efficient (without passive) to 625 above, which is a definite upgrade. With its passive, Spirit Visage is a thrifty buy for any champion who wants to go overly ham (tanky Garen players). I see this item experiencing only minor changes before these alterations hit the live servers.

Guardian Angel - 

Guardian Angel is the next item to receive a recipe change. It now provides 50 Armor, 40 Magic Resist and a Unique Passive that restores 30% of maximum Health and Mana after 4 seconds of stasis upon taking lethal damage (5 minute cooldown). The only actual change is the replacement of the recipe’s Null-Magic Mantle with a Negatron Cloak, granting it 10 extra magic resist.

When all of the current numbers are added up, Guardian Angel is worth a total of 1800 gold, without its passive. With this item there is a 950 gold deficit (rather than the old 1000) that I think the passive makes up for. Heck, having an Aatrox costume is a sweet find for 950 gold. The only real change made to Guardian Angel is the concept of buying in bulk as a Negatron Cloak provides the same 40 magic resist as two Null-Magic Mantles but is 60 gold cheaper. I’d say look forward to having this feature hit the shelves without much fuss.

Locket of the Iron Solari - 

If this particular change is to continue, Runic Bulwark will have lived a short but popular life in League of Legends as it has been removed from the game and Aegis now builds into Locket of the Iron Solari. It now provides 300 Health, 20 Armor, 10% Cooldown Reduction and has a Unique Active that grants a shield to nearby allies for 5 seconds that absorbs up to 50 (+10 per level) damage on a 60 second cooldown. It also has a Unique Aura that grants nearby allies 20 Magic Resist and 10 Health Regen per 5 seconds. To me this means that Riot wants to change the scene a bit. Rather than having a jungle/support be forced to buy Runic and/or Locket, they combined the effects to free up an item slot. This could drastically change the meta for supports and junglers as it allows for a whole new item to work with.

When all of the current numbers are added up, Locket of the Iron Solari is now worth 2474 gold, without its active. This is 36 gold short of being gold efficient, but the active shield more than makes up for it. However the passive is calculated with only one nearby ally champion in mind, and if all four teammates are nearby the value of the Locket skyrockets to 6314. Basically what this means is that it only looks cool when you show it off to your friends, otherwise you bought this shiny new toy for no one else to see. I think that it'll probably be nerfed a bit before (if) the changes are made final, however I personally look forward to seeing this change in action as it'll bring another item into the popular meta.

What do you think the next popular item will be? Comment with your answers below, or follow @robertwery on twitter to let me know!