LoL pros are skipping one crucial early-game item, and we don’t blame them

The League of Legends 2024 spring split is in full swing, and pro players have found an interesting strategy for the early game. 

If you look at the starting items in LCK and LPL matches, you can easily notice that supports are picking up Doran’s items instead of the regular support item, World Atlas. Normally, pro supports grab Doran’s items (ring, blade, or shield) when they don’t play traditional supports like enchanters or wardens. 

So, if you see Senna, Ornn, or any mage, the odds they’re starting with a Doran item are quite high. Milio, Nami, Nautilus, and similar champions still choose the standard support item. The champs who pick up a Doran item in early game will grab World Atlas when they go back for the first time. 

The reason behind this is quite simple—World Atlas doesn’t provide any stats until you upgrade it and you can’t use your stacks early on. So, supports are opting for a Doran item to give them more early-game agency and damage. Besides that, supports don’t lose out on a lot of experience and gold.

Riot Games has its eyes peeled on the new support item, and the next patch, 14.4, is drastically changing how World Atlas works. Even though the starting support item still won’t provide any stats from the get-go, charge rate is getting decreased from 18 to 20 seconds, and the first one will kick in at 1:50 instead of 2:08. You’ll now stack the support item slightly slower than in previous patches, but it will be worth it buying it early.

Patch 14.4 drops on Feb. 22, but it’s likely this meta will continue for some time in pro play. Normally, patches arrive for pro play later than on live servers so pros have time to get used to the changes.