Riot is planning nerfs for key gold-generation support items in Patch 8.15, according to the latest PBE update. This is probably an attempt to stem the tide of high-damage bot lanes in the current meta.
The nerfs themselves aren’t that phenomenal. The Ancient Coin, Relic Shield, and Spellthief’s Edge are going to cost 50 more gold than they do now, an increase from 350 to 400. Sure, 50 gold isn’t a huge deal, but it may have some rippling effects on the meta.
For starters, the raised cost means that champions in the support role won’t be able to buy the same amount of health potions as before. They’ll be down one health potion, to be exact, and although this is less common, they’ll also no longer be able to buy a starting support item alongside a Refillable Potion.
At early levels, one potion heals for quite a bit. This means that champions with defensive tools, like heals, shields, and other damage mitigation, will be able to stay in lane longer. Less defensively-capable champions on the other hand, like mages and fighters, will have a harder time. Of course, mages and such will be able to more quickly poke out lanes with less damage, but they do so at a higher risk now.
To compensate for the nerf, the combined cost of each of these items has been lowered, which means you’ll be able to get maximum value out of your gold item more quickly. This does reinforce the high-risk, high-reward situation introduced by the starting item gold nerf for damage-oriented supports, however. In other words, if they can manage to avoid being bullied out of lane or killed, they can get their hands on more gold at an earlier point in the game with an upgraded support item. It’ll hurt a little more if they’re pushed out, but it’ll feel a little better if they pull it off.
Overall, this should have an effect on the meta, but it won’t push non-marksman kill lanes out of the bot lane entirely. The best high-damage supports will probably do even better than usual, while the bad ones will suffer even more. If anything, that means the meta will remain the same while being a little more refined.
These changes should arrive in about two weeks with Patch 8.15.
