In League of Legends , Season 10 has begun. The new LoL patch 9.23 introduced the item “Sanguine Blade” – however, the weapon turned out to be so strong that it was nerfed shortly after going live. The item has hindered all forms of solo play.
This is what’s happening in LoL: A few days ago, Season 9 ended in League of Legends – which led to a rapid finish for Twitch streamer Tyler 1, pushing him to the limit.
Now Season 10 is upon us. With a season change, it also marks the time for major patches in LoL. The seasons last a year in LoL.
With patch 9.23, Riot Games kicked off the preseason and brought several changes, including two new items. One of them was supposed to be a new alternative for assassins but made any form of solo play impossible.
Sanguine Blade for players who like to kill “single opponents”
This is the new item: The item “Sanguine Blade” had the following stats:
- Cost: 3000 Gold
- Attack Damage: 50
- Lethality: 10 – this is Armor Penetration
- Life Steal: 15%
- Unique Effect: BLOODY PURSUIT: If there is at least one visible enemy champion near you, you are granted 8 lethality and 40–100 % attack speed (level 1–18), which falls off over 3 seconds if other champions get too close.
The item was designed to be used by assassins looking for a 1vs1 or 2vs1 and then quickly eliminate the opponent with increased attack speed. The item apparently did this job too well.
Because when you only face “one” opponent in LoL, you hit incredibly quickly and ignore large portions of their armor. This is a deadly combination for anyone relying on AD. And there are many champions in League of Legends who do.
No one could go anywhere alone in LoL anymore
This was the reaction: Threads appeared on Reddit within a short time, claiming the item was simply “broken” and too strong. The Sanguine Blade was seen as “too deadly”.
One said: In every game, 50% of all players built this item (via reddit). This now makes it impossible to accomplish anything alone in the game; you have to send 2 people everywhere because otherwise the item’s bonus activates and you become an easy target for assassins.
The item makes “solo splitting” impossible, an important strategy in LoL. Additionally, it makes jungle clears “insanely fast.”
People wondered why the Sanguine Blade even went live in that form – it was already clear on the test server of LoL how strong the new item was.
Riot with 1st Balance Patch
This is now the nerf: Riot has announced that the item will be priced 100 Gold higher. Additionally, the attack speed buff will drop from 40-100% to 20-80%.
Whether this is enough to restrict the “deadly item” will be seen.
Before Season 10, not only the game LoL is changing – the pro teams are also currently swapping players like crazy.
