League of Legends players debate the power of Spear of Shojin

Olivia Richman Published 07/09/2019

League of Legends players are debating if Spear of Shojin is healthy for the game’s meta.

In a now deleted Reddit post, one user went on a rant about the item and why he feels it should have “never been implemented” to begin with. The item, which adds 60 to a player’s attack damage along with a 20% cooldown reduction and 250 health, also grants Awakened Dragon for six seconds once the user has cast their ultimate ability.

According to Floppuh, Riot “balancing three champions around this one item” guarantees that Riven, Renekton, and Jax will either be overpowered or unplayable.

“No one likes fighting Jax, seeing him being 0/4 but solo winning the game after getting 6k gold to get trinity and spear,” he continued, noting that players complain about Duskblade for the same reason. The user also offered that the Essence Flare passive “needs to be removed” because it’s a “binary powerspike” that brings a player from “I can’t 1v1 my toplaner” to “I can 1v3 without trying now.”

The user noted that Jax’s use of the item in particular was egregios, and it seemed like many other players agreed with the point being made.

Jax highlights Spear of Sojin design problems

One user responded that Jax’s W is “literally one of the main reasons Shojin is busted” for that champion. They went on to say that if Jax’s W is nerfed to not be an automatic reset, the item would be far less common in Jax builds.

Jax’s W, Empower, makes his next basic attack or Leap Strike within 10 seconds deal bonus magic damage. If Empower is used on a basic attack, it will have 50 bonus range. The ability is a low cooldown auto reset, meaning that it does a lot of damage and speeds up his ultimate procs and potential Sheen procs. It can also have its cooldown lowered by other autos, making Jax able to very quickly refund cooldowns.

One player suggested that Spear of Shojin should be reworked entirely instead of forcing nerfs onto champions or taking way their ability strengths.

“They should just rework the item to still allow it to have the same principle of reducing basic ability cooldowns, but make it only work X times per second and extending the duration to be longer, slowing down its effectiveness on champs like Renekton and Jax,” one player said.

It was added that this would also open up the item’s viability with other champions who “take longer fights with slower auto attacks.” Examples including Gnar and Karma were given as champions who could potentially benefit from the item if its design were shifted.

Olivia Richman

About Olivia Richman

Olivia has worked in media ever since graduating from college, with her coverage ranging from traditional newspaper reporting to digital coverage of all things gaming, online betting, and nerd culture. She has traveled around the world pursuing that coverage, from the far coasts of the United States to the busy downtown core of Tokyo, Japan. Olivia’s favorite games include Overwatch and Super Smash Smash Bros, and she has been published at Esports Illustrated, Inven Global, EsportsInsider, Upcomer, and elsewhere.

View full profile