League of Legends: Pyke Can't Get Bonus Health, Converted to Damage Instead

Another effect of one of Pyke’s abilities has been revealed that was originally left off of the [...]

By Tanner Dedmon

Another effect of one of Pyke's abilities has been revealed that was originally left off of the League of Legends champion's reveal page.

As first reported by The Rift Herald, there was another part of Pyke's "Gift of the Drowned Ones" passive ability that wasn't included in the reveal. The passive effect that allows Pyke to regenerate some lost health once that he lost in a recent fight is the only effect that was listed, but the champ's reveal page was later updated to say that he also can't obtain any bonus health.

"Pyke also converts his bonus health into bonus attack damage instead," the now updated champion reveal page says.

It's not just that he can't build bonus health either – Pyke can't receive bonus health from any source at all. The Rift Herald held an interview with Pyke's champion designer Jonathan "EndlessPillows" Fuller who confirmed that any bonus health that would be given to Pyke will instead be converted into bonus attack damage. Fuller used the example of Lulu's ultimate, a move that would typically grant bonus health but would instead give Pyke more damage.

"Pyke cannot get bonus health from any source," Fuller said. "From runes he can't get bonus health, from items he can't get bonus health, and even abilities that grant bonus health instead grant him damage. So Lulu's ultimate is actually a damage steroid for Pyke. He is intended to be very squishy. That is one of the core weaknesses of the character, is that he has a lot of tools, agency, and mobility, but if he get's caught out, he dies quickly."

This means that Pyke will be able to deal even more damage than his kit already allows, but he'll also be a squishy champ to go against, much like the typical assassins that the champ resembles. He'll still be able to build defenses, but extra health won't be the way to go. Riot Games system designer Daniel Z. Klein who was formerly on the champion design team commented on the passive's ratios on Reddit and said that building a ton of health and defenses to come out with insane damage and defensive stats won't work as well as some might expect.

"The ratio is really unfavorable by design, kind of like Jhin's," Klein said. "Stacking HP items is a really inefficient way of building AD. That said, if there's other effects or stats on the items that you really like, the passive means you'll get something for the HP."

Pyke doesn't yet heave a release date, but look for him sometime in Patch 8.11.

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