LoL Patch 14.2 Sees Improved Tooltip, Item Changes And More

Will these item changes positively affect the way League of Legends is played?

We are finally in the swing of things for League of Legends Season 14. Patch 14.1 brought a lot of changes to the game, one of those being the reworked tooltip feature, which occurs when you hover over an item in the item store. On top of this, Riot made mass changes to the way items work in League of Legends. Gone are the days of linear builds with the removal of Mythic items. ESTNN is here to break down all of the item buffs, nerfs, and changes in League of Legends patch 14.2. For a breakdown of the champion changes, check out our LoL Patch 14.2 article here.

LoL Patch 14.2 Item Changes

Since the start of Season 14, Riot has attempted to simplify the tooltip. Gone are the days of university dissertations being written. In Season 14, the text displayed has been cut significantly when hovering over an item. Riot believes they have simplified the tooltip ‘too much' when removing information and stat tracking. Therefore, for now, Riot is reverting to the old system and adjusting as time goes on.

Item Changes:

Bloodsong: Riot feels Bloodsong has contributed significantly to the amount of burst damage that is in League of Legends at the moment. They (Riot) want to make corrections to this item to make it less oppressive. Expose Weakness Increased Damage: 12% (melee) / 8% (ranged) > 10% (melee) / 6% (ranged).

Experimental Hexplate: In the patch notes, Riot explains that Hexplate builds out of Noonquiver without actually having any on-hit damage. Therefore, Riot is slightly adjusting the build path to make this item a little more intuitive. Item Recipe: Noonquiver + Tunneler + 600 gold > Hearthbound Axe + Tunneler + 700 gold. Attack Speed: 20% > 25%. Passive – Overdrive: 35% bonus Attack Speed > 30% bonus Attack Speed.

Frozen Heart: Frozen Heart is one of the strongest early-game items for top laners, specifically on Champions like Udyr. Riot believes the cost of this item is perhaps too low for their liking, therefore they are making a slight increase to the cost to make this item more comparable with others. Total Cost: 2300 > 2400.

Horizon Focus: Horizon Focus is one of League of Legends' more unique items that Riot believes is relatively weaker than other items in its position. This item will become more accessible due to the buffs it is receiving. Passive – Hypershot and Focus Range Requirement: 700 > 600. Passive – Focus AoE Reveal Radius: 1200 units > 1400 units.

Phantom Dancer: Riot acknowledges they made a mistake tinkering with the build path for Phantom Dancer. In patch 14.2, Riot is reverting the item back to its Zeal build path. Item Recipe: Hearthbound Axe + Cloak of Agility + 1000 gold > Zeal + Rectrix + 800 gold.

Riftmaker: Riftmaker is one of the strongest items for AP top laners, specifically tankier champions like Mordekaiser and Singed, but also scaling champions like Kayle. To counter this, Riot is making the item a little more expensive in the hope that these champions will have more variety at 3000 gold. Total Cost: 3000 > 3100.

Steel Sigil: This is a simple item cost change to Steel Sigil in the hope it will become 100% efficient. Total Cost: 1200 > 1100.

Stormsurge: Like Bloodsong, Stormsurge has contributed massively to the increase in burst damage currently in League of Legends and is a factor in the time-to-kill for AP Assasins. Even after the nerf, Riot believes this item is still too powerful, so they are nerfing Stormsurge again. Ability Power: 100 > 90. Passive – Squall Damage: 100-200 (+30% AP) (melee) / 75-150 (+22.5% AP) (ranged) > 100-200 (+20% AP) (melee) / 75-150 (+15% AP) (ranged).

Stridebreaker: Stridebreaker has been in a weird place since the start of season 14. Stridebreaker is an item that should serve as a gap closer for low-mobility bruisers such as Darius. And while Riot confirms this item is very strong on champions such as Garen and Sett, it has been underwhelming for the rest. Attack Speed: 25% > 30%. Total Cost: 3100 ⇒ 3000

Support Items: Double Support items reared their head at the start of season 14. This has been seen significantly in professional play, most notably on Lucian. Riot wants to eliminate this strategy immediately with changes to the support items. One At A Time: The gold penalty now applies globally to anyone who has a support item in their inventory. Additionally, every champion with a support item now contributes towards hitting the minion penalty.

Stay tuned to ESTNN for the latest League of Legends news and updates. For the full patch schedule, be sure to check out our article here.