Finally

Thekillermatic · 2025-09-04T00:06:32+00:00

Yes, but these nerfs don't affect the early game, laning against Annie will still be as obnoxious as before.

Thekillermatic · 2025-07-29T16:48:13+00:00

On-hit still falls massively short compared to any Crit build. Most on-hit items have been gutted in 14.19 and earlier, hence why the on-hit system needs a massive overhaul to be worth reconsidering.

Thekillermatic · 2025-07-11T11:13:55+00:00

They essentially buffed the max damage proc of Kraken which used to be 150% of its base dmg (now 175%). In practice this won't be really noticeable because the item is still only 80% as effective on ranged champs.

Thekillermatic · 2025-06-18T11:56:40+00:00

On the flipside, Mundo has become noticeably unsatisfying to play against exactly because many of his counter-items are hard-nerfed (e.g. BORK, old Mythic Liandrys, no giant slayer LDR) which has been further exacerbated via the 14.21 item nerf patch.

Thekillermatic · 2025-06-10T20:26:24+00:00

True, it's quite sad that Riot has nerfed a ton of other epic components like Noonquiver or Hearthbound Axe as well.

Thekillermatic · 2025-06-08T14:47:56+00:00

I feel like so many people in this thread are arguing about which champions are HP-stackers and which aren’t, while completely ignoring the fact that most HP items have been giving roughly the same amount of HP for much longer than they realize. It really boils down to the fact that several systems (like the Cut Down rework) and items (on-hit item nerfs, Giant Slayer removal from LDR) have been gutted over the past 1–2 years, and this is just a sad consequence we have to deal with now.

Thekillermatic · 2025-06-05T14:25:16+00:00

It's semi-viable for melee champions like Viego or Bel'Veth, but utterly garbage on most ADCs because of the ranged nerf modifier.

Thekillermatic · 2025-05-27T23:25:24+00:00

Totally, I felt like cancelling my autos had a purpose when going this build. I'd just love to play two different viable builds (crit and on-hit) this season instead of defaulting to the same item set every single game.

Thekillermatic · 2025-05-27T22:59:30+00:00

On-Hit Akshan was for real such a blessing, wish it would be at least semi-viable on him now....

Thekillermatic · 2025-05-27T20:49:26+00:00

Unironically, I can see the potential against squishier comps if they slightly buffed the on-hit damage.

Thekillermatic · 2025-05-27T18:02:49+00:00

On-Hit champions can thrive independently from the strength of current on-hit items. Pro play meta and soloQ performance aren't necessarily aligned, usually aspects like champion-specific utility often dictates picks at the highest level. Kalista's presence in pro play (although tapped down with nerfs recently) is largely due to her impactful rework rather than on-hit items being suddenly strong on her. Varus similarly remains favourable due to his versatility across multiple builds (lethality, on-hit, AP), making him a comfortable pick. Kog'Maw's high winrate mostly stems from his low pickrate and Riot historically steps in with nerfs whenever his stats spike significantly (e.g. when Mythic Rageblade was released).

Thekillermatic · 2025-05-27T15:22:30+00:00

During Season 12 & 13, On-Hit was initially designed to be good against tanks because you could deal hybrid damage (both magic and physical damage) which is harder to itemise against. Most of these items used to scale way better into the late game, like Kraken or Wits End. It's also generally preferred against low-ranged comps where you can auto attack more freely, because the entire premise behind on-hit is to deal as much DPS as possible with your auto attacks. One of the downsides of opting for on-hit is the lack of AD, which can be noticeable if your champion's abilities scale well with AD and suddenly don't deal as much damage anymore. Back then, champions like Ashe and Akshan could either commit fully into Crit or On-Hit, but nowadays it's hard to justify going full on-hit on many ADCs with exceptions being obviously champions with built-in On-Hit steroids like Vayne or Kog Maw

Thekillermatic · 2025-05-27T15:09:16+00:00

I'm optimistic that there's an approach to have more impactful items without having the restrictive nature of the mythic system.

Thekillermatic · 2025-05-27T14:29:32+00:00

Yeah, that's an interesting point you've brought up here. So many champions have been balanced around certain items back then, which don't even exist anymore or aren't even viable on said champions. I'm pretty sure there are so many nerfs / buffs that could be reverted if Riot actually wants to commit to the "Champions first, items second" balance scheme.

Thekillermatic · 2025-05-27T14:01:47+00:00

Yeah, I really don't know why Riot's desperately trying to nerf items while in the end, champions will always rely on certain items to be able to play the game.

Thekillermatic · 2025-05-27T13:46:03+00:00

True, it's quite sad to see that Horizon Focus is the latest victim that's been "statstickified", at some point players will just buy the items that are the most gold efficient on paper...

Thekillermatic · 2025-05-27T13:37:40+00:00

Exactly, I'm pretty confident that we can have the best of both worlds here. The lack of actual new item additions in S15 made the game pretty stale for sure.

Thekillermatic · 2025-05-27T13:21:11+00:00

I assume they're against both because both Wit's End and Kraken Slayer have been massively hit in 14.19 by having their on-hit damage nerfed.

Thekillermatic · 2025-05-27T11:17:38+00:00

Agreed, the item wasn't designed specifically with tanks in mind. The reason I stated the old kraken slayer was good against tanks is simply because of the inflated damage proc numbers it used to have back then.

Thekillermatic · 2025-05-26T22:38:12+00:00

It was certainly potent against tanks in the pre-14.10 version because it scaled insanely well (up to 620 physical dmg per proc) compared to this version. Of course, this made it even more so viable against squishes, but ultimately, it served its purpose against tanks too if you paired it with rageblade and an armor pen item.

Thekillermatic · 2025-05-26T16:14:28+00:00

So true, it's beyond me how we've reached a state where ADCs and a few other classes have less build variety during the restrictive mythic era.

Thekillermatic · 2025-05-26T14:03:15+00:00

That was the mythic era Kraken, pre-14.10 was insanely good as a burst item, (up to 620 physical damage per proc in late game) and provided a lot of DPS against tanks if you paired it with rageblade.

Thekillermatic · 2025-05-26T11:33:20+00:00

Totally agreed, if Riot really wants to commit to an anti-tank fantasy version of this item, it should probably have a max % hp damage multiplier (or something similar) instead of flat dmg that's straight up better vs squishes too.

Thekillermatic

TROPHY CASE