League of Legends: Doran's Shield Changes Incoming

For those of you who haven't taken to the rift lately, let me be the first to tell you that there's a new king of early game itemization, one that hasn't been seen for years now. The humble Doran's Shield was, for many years, pretty much exclusively an item that Rumble or Shen opted into, but the recent rework of the item increased it's power level so greatly that you're now even seeing ADCs start the game with one. Clearly, that wasn't the outcome that Riot Games anticipated when they reworked the once-great tank staple.

The power of the new Doran's Shield has given new life to a few champions that were struggling previously. Vladimir has made a huge resurgence since it's implementation, as the sustain that Doran's offers helps him survive his vulnerable early levels. Xayah also found herself bolstered by the new shield, as it largely mitigates her largest weakness, her range. While she'll still eat plenty of harass from the Caitlyns and Ashes of the world, Doran' Shield gives her the tools to survive it all.

Doran's is so powerful thanks to a key combination of two factors. First, the flat damage mitigation that it offers early on in the game is incredibly potent against certain champions, specifically those that rely on damage over time spells, which are uniquely terrible against it. Secondly, the cost of Doran's Shield is a mere 400 gold, which allows it's users to purchase two health potions along with it at the start of the game. Since' Doran's ring, the other main starting item for mid laners and top laners, also costs 400 gold, the cost change is quite relevant. The shield regeneration is strong, no doubt, but it doesn't make up for a whole health potion outside of the very best circumstances, so it would be much worse of an item were it to merely cost 50 more gold.

Well, that might soon be the case, as Riot has since set its sights upon the Doran's Shield, and Meddler confirmed recently that the item was up for nerfs come the next patch. While Riot hasn't quite hammered down what those nerfs will be, the proposed nerf was to the gold cost of the item, which would cause its viability to plummet outside of the cases where it's specifically outstanding, like against Rumble or the newly-empowered Malzahar.

"Good to see it getting used when you want to give up lane offensive power for survivability," He said. "Looks a bit too strong though. We'll likely increase its cost a bit as a result, shift it to a 1 health pot start item instead of 2."