League of Legends' Lee Sin May Get Buffs Following Tracker's Knife Removal

With Tracker's Knife being removed from League of Legends, Lee Sin may be in line for some buffs in the future to replace some of his lost power.

When it was announced that the ward-infused jungle item Tracker's Knife would be removed, the jungler that immediately came to many players' minds was Lee Sin. The champion synergized with the item better than most thanks to his ward-hopping ability that was readily available thanks to the wards that the item provided him with. Thanks to his mobility and dueling power, he also didn't absolutely need to bring the other jungle item enchantments, but that changed with the removal of Tracker's Knife.

When asked about the effect that the removal of the item had on Lee Sin's performance, Riot Meddler responded to a player's questions by saying that the champ may have been affected slightly by the removal in terms of power and is a potential candidate for future buffs.

"Lee Sin looks to have taken at least a small hit," Riot Meddler said. "He was on the weaker side anyway, so some argument for giving him a bit of power. At the same time we're going to be hitting Cinderhulk, Warmogs and some of the strongest junglers, so he'll get indirectly stronger. He's a possible 8.6 candidate, more thoughts on 8.6 balance on Friday."

Outside of Lee Sin, Riot Meddler also commented that the removal of the item didn't affect normal play too much across most MMRs saying that the lack of changes "isn't surprising given it wasn't bought much either." Pro players that play on the competitive stage every week, however, aren't playing on Patch 8.4 yet that removed Tracker's Knife, so there isn't as much to be seen there.

In the future, Riot Meddler said that there's a possibility that more options will be added instead of the Challenging and Chilling Smites that are now the only versions of the jungle item left since Tracker's Knife was removed.

"Possible we add another option instead of Red/Blue Smites, nothing immediately planned though, and would want to avoid something like Trackers that's just flatly the best choice, even if many players aren't willing to use it (vision's not cool and all)."

Back towards the beginning of February, another jungle item alternative was being tested briefly on the PBE. This item replaced all other jungle items with a Chilling Smite and warding effect rolled into one item, but it was later removed from the PBE as the other items returned.