Stormrazor and Duskblade changes coming to League 8.17 are a step in the right direction

Two of League of Legends’ most popular AD items are about to be changed for the better, according to the latest PBE update.

Both items have created tension and general anger throughout the player community—some of the most common complaints surrounding the current meta involve the burst damage that they provide. Stormrazor, combined with the Duskblade, turn burst champions into one-shot killers, and it can be a very frustrating situation to find yourself in as any mage or marksman that can’t defend themselves very easily.

Using these items, assassins and certain burst marksmen can loaf through squishy enemies right at the start of a fight, before anything can be done to properly outmaneuver them.

The changes Riot just pushed onto the PBE yesterday address these issues of frustration without actually nerfing the items, and we think that’s the perfect road to take for the time being. Duskblade’s Lethality is going up by three, but the damage provided from the item’s passive is dropping significantly—from 200 at max damage down to 150. Stormrazor is going through a similar change, dropping its AD and initial burst damage in favor of more attack speed and higher-scaling on-hit damage with crit items.

Both changes do essentially the same thing. They boost each item’s sustained damage and nerf the cheese factor. The Duskblade’s entire identity will now revolve a bit less around its burst passive, and it’ll instead just be another Lethality item that assassins can buy. For marksmen, the Stormrazor will help those who need early attack speed and a slight boost in power, as sort of a Band-aid item until they can finish larger crit items later on.

For now, these conservative changes are the way to go, especially considering how heavily they impact the meta. If they don’t work out, then larger nerfs should be explored in the future. Both changes are expected to go live with Patch 8.17 next week.