Crit marksmen are back!
League of Legends patch 9.3 has just dropped and it’s introduced many changes to marksman items, as well as a few tweaks to the likes of Aatrox, Akali and Irelia.
First things first, Riot has made some changes to bring crit-based marksmen back into the fold. Last midseason it attempted to “broaden the range of champions and playstyles that could succeed in the bot lane beyond late-game crit spam”, but it ultimately shut out those that rely heavily on critical damage.
Riot wants to make sure that “Crit users are excited about their core build again” and that they “can fit defense into their core builds if they need it”. Cloak of Agility, Infinity Edge and Zeal have all been buffed to pave the way for these Champions.
Other notable balance changes have been made to Aatrox, Akali and Irelia.
Aatrox has had his Umbral Dash nerfed but his sustain increased to compensate. Akali can’t hide from turrets anymore, and Five Point Strike’s lifesteal has been reduced which should make her a little easier to play around.
Finally, Irelia’s Defiant Dance only blocks physical damage now and her passive has been reworked to limit her burst damage slightly.
Elsewhere there’s a brand new AD item which builds from B.F. Sword and Kindlegem. It increases attack speed for 6 seconds after using your Ultimate ability and will also grant 50% attack speed refund 20% basic ability cooldown on every basic attack.
This should make it a fantastic choice for the likes of Vayne, Lucian or even Jax and Master Yi who will thrive off spamming their abilities.
Of course there are plenty more changes and revisions in patch 9.3, so make sure you head on over to the official patch notes for a more in-depth look at them all.
