League of Legends Mythic Items Will Get Overhauled in a Big Midseason Change

Big itemization changes are coming to League of Legends.

Season 11’s item system changes were some of the most significant changes League of Legends players got during the preseason in the last half-decade, with 23 new Mythic Items, 13 new Legendary Items and nearly 30 reworked items. The goal behind the item changes was to open up itemization options for players by giving them more options. Unfortunately, after two years this goal is not exactly achieved.

While there are a lot of upsides to the new Mythic Items as they brought new gameplay potential and made previously impossible possible, more and more people in the player base have been getting frustrated by the new system. The common perception is that the Mythics didn’t improve the itemization options but rather limited them because of how strong these items are making them necessary purchases in most cases.

So with the midseason getting rapidly close with Mid-Season Invitational almost at the door, Riot is planning a series of updates to different elements of the game. One of these aspects is the itemization and more specifically the Mythic Items.

A new approach to the Mythic Items

Riot also put out a Dev Update article just focused on the item changes. According to the Lead Gameplay Designer Ryan “Axes” Salvatore who wrote the blog post, there were some aims set while introducing the Mythic Items such as no Mythic would be above a 75% purchase rate. While that is the case for most of the items in the category, some items like Kraken Slayer, Luden’s Tempest, Divine Sunderer and Immortal Shieldbow have over 85% purchase rate, well over the predetermined bar. These four items also disproportionately affect the perception as they are bought by some of the most popular classes in the game; mages, marksmen and fighters.

Riot Axes also talks about some of the dev teams’ frustrations with the current Mythic system. Frustrations like items changing champions’ play patterns more than they should, one item being too general so dominating an entire class or items limiting player satisfaction, all of these problems are what led to the decision to rework some of the items.

No surprise to many, ADC and assassin items are at the top of the list. Both classes see some of less variation when it comes to itemization, and assassin Mythics, in particular, have been pretty problematic at some points in how they break the game patterns. Prowler’s Claw giving champions who need to close a distance a dash and damage amp is an example of this.

With the new Mythic model, the three Mythic Items for ADCs will be Infinity Edge, Guinsoo’s Rageblade and Galeforce. Kraken Slayer and Immortal Shieldbow will become Legendary items, and probably see some nerfs along the way. The blog also mentions some of the other marksmen items will see smaller changes. But in maybe the biggest news of all, Statik Shiv will be returning to the game.

On the assassin’s side, Prowler’s Claw and Duskblade of Draktharr are getting reworked. Prowler’s will become a Legendary with a new effect and be replaced by the new Youmuu’s Ghostblade, while Duskblade will stay a Mythic but also reworked. Enchanters are also getting some love with the midseason update with the possibility of a return for another beloved item, Unholy Grail.

While Riot is determined to improve the Mythic Items, they are also open to the idea of getting rid of them. As the Head of League Studio, Andrei “Meddler” van Roon said in teh Dev Blog, they are open to the idea of removing the Mythics if they still aren’t up to the standards. 

There is no exact date on when the update will hit the League of Legends live or PBE servers, it probably won’t be before the MSI ends.

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