As a part of patch 9.16, Riot has made numerous changes to items in Teamfight Tactics. Some are meaningful, while some barely change anything. This list will break down all of the item updates and what they mean for the current meta.
Hush
Hush has been fully reworked. It now has a 33% chance on hit to prevent the enemy champion from gaining mana for four seconds. While the activation chance has dropped from 50%, the mana lock change is essentially a side-grade to the old Hush. It still has the same niche as before, but with added Demon counterplay since they can now steal mana.
Infinity Edge
Infinity Edge has received yet another buff to its damage. It is up from 150% to 200% crit damage. At this point, the item is definitely in the realm of being top tier. The sheer amount of damage this item brings is enough to take Jinx, Draven, Zed and Akali to new heights as DPS monsters. It is especially potent in Jinx plus 4/6 Brawler comps. Jinx can deal enough damage for her entire team, as long as the Brawler wall is letting her attack for free. While the double BF component cost is a little awkward, IE is certainly here to stay.
Ionic Spark
On the outside, the Ionic Spark damage change from 150 to 125 might seem like a light nerf. However, the fact that it is now stackable brings a whole new realm of possibilities. Getting a double Ionic stack can carry you all the way through mid-game. Dealing 250 damage to any unit that casts a spell is a massive chunk of team damage that cannot be overlooked. The item is best put on units who will live through most of the battle.
Locket of the Iron Solari
An additional 2 seconds on the Locket shield duration doesn’t change the fact that it’s just a suboptimal item for the components it needs. A Large Rod and Chain Vest can be made into so many better items. Locket should be overlooked unless you truly have no other options. In addition, if the item is disabled by Hextech, you never gain the shield for the whole battle.
Morellonomicon
Morellos was definitely a top 2 item last patch, so a nerf was expected. It’s burn damage is still at 20% max health, but now applies over 10 seconds instead of 5. While the overall damage is the same, the DPS is cut in half. The item isn’t the instant fight winner that it was before, but it still is a good AOE item with a heal block to boot. Early priority might be down a bit, but still expect to see them everywhere late game.
Red Buff
Red Buff was given a similar treatment as Morello with the 10 second burn time, but the damage was buffed up to 20% to match it. It is now the same item, just meant for auto attackers. It has always been an ok item, but being on the same tier as Morello is an improvement. This does beg an interesting question: Which is better on champions whose spells apply on-hits? The Morellos Gangplank build has been catching on, but Red Buff could be a viable substitute. Same goes for Yasuo. The trade off is 20 armor for 20 AP, so the likely answer is just whichever item is available.
Redemption
The health given by a Redemption proc has been changed from 1000 to 1500. The difference is only noticeable past mid game when there are multiple units above the 1000 HP threshold. It can be a useful item in a pinch, but still suffers from situational positioning and the prominence of Morellos and Red Buff.
Statikk Shiv
Another patch, another change to Statikk Shiv. This time, the damage has been increased back to 100, but it can only hit 3 units max. Overall, the amount of damage per proc is down from 360 to 300. This doesn’t change much, it’s just Riot trying to find a nice balance point for the item. Something to note is that since only 3 units can be hit, the item suffers more in the late game as there are more frontline fodder units to soak it up.
Warmog’s Armor
Warmog’s can now only heal a max of 400 HP per second. This is purely a PvE change so that a Dragon or Rift Herald can’t start healing inordinate amounts when low. Mathematically, a unit would need to be missing 6650 HP on a unit for this cap to ever come into effect, which is theoretically possible with 6 Shapeshifters and a 3 Star Gnar with 1 Warmogs (which would have 6,912 HP).
Guardian Angel
The other top item of last patch has been given a crucial bugfix. Guardian Angel now properly cleanses healing debuffs and doesn’t interrupt abilities. As compensation, the revive now leaves the wearer at 500 HP. Overall, this is a very large buff to GA’s most prominent users in Kennen and Swain. In fact, Swain is looking to be a very strong force this patch partially due to this fix. As for other users, GA priority is down slightly. It is still a very versatile item that can be used to buy time and reset agro on key units.
Overall, the item tier list has remained mostly the same, but with a few new arrivals to the upper ranks. Expect more GA stacking and % HP burning. Keep in mind that with the new Hextech Origin, spreading out items to multiple units is crucial. Also, enjoy more full items on 5th carousel and beyond!
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