Riot Games is planning on big changes for League of Legends in the offseason, and those changes start with the in-game item shop.
Players will get to see a new item shop once the offseason rolls around November. According to an update by Riot, this change will address issues including multiple items having similar purposes, a lack of game-to-game variance in item builds, and the entire interface needing improvement.
In League of Legends, items are extremely important. Getting the right item build and hitting certain power spikes can change a game. Right now, there are over 100 items available, ranging from consumables to expensive game-changing items. From the start, this is an overwhelming number of items that can confuse even more experienced players.
The item shop is outdated, overcrowded, and not at all intuitive. Multiple items have the same function, some passives are useless, and some items are seemingly pointless. The new shop will include just 34% items that are remaining completely the same, with 33% of items being significantly changed and 33% of items being brand new.
All items, new and old, will work to fit one of two archetypes: a contextual purpose or a kit augment.
Contextual items are those used to counter a specific champion or to answer a specific situation in the game. Kit augments are basic items that players should buy no matter the matchup, as they greatly enhance a champion’s starting tools.
It’s unclear at the moment exactly how many items will be removed from the game.
The main goal for the shop rework is to make the shop more intuitive and to provide better suggestions to players looking to buy. According to the developers, the new shop will recommend items dynamically depending on the state of the game. It means better suggestions based on the match and not generic information about what could work for a certain champion.
Experienced players that don’t need these suggestions will find all items located on one central screen. The positioning for the items is consistent, and this way players can move more quickly to the item they wish to purchase. Using data collected from games, the store will highlight the best items for the champion at the time.
We’re going through every class’s items and solving problems, filling needed gaps, and reworking old or unhealthy items.
So each class will have its own smaller set of goals and changes tailored to what they need.
— Mark Yetter (@MarkYetter) June 12, 2020
Riot will run a six-week test for the shop on the PBE server before launching any final changes to live servers.
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