Underestimated Items

by Reece "SabrewoIf" Dos-Santos 

There are a ton of Items within League of Legends - a few with a lot more upfront impact than others. Some items may be considered core items and must-buys on certain champions and in certain categories, like Blade of the Ruined King on most AD Bruisers. But with the glaring popularity of those items comes the overlooking of others that honestly could make game changing differences when utilized correctly. I merely aim to touch upon a few within this article to try and raise awareness on the items that no one will see coming.

Ohmwrecker:

When this item was first announced I was excited because the concept sounded amazingly useful, especially for my play style, which involves a lot of diving and reckless assassinations. The thought of being able to fully commit to an opponent who thinks they’re safe under a turret is undeniably strong. So strong, in fact, that the item itself simply could not be allowed to have overwhelming stats. It doesn't match up against core AP items such as Void Staff and Athene’s, but I still believe that on the right champions it can be a useful item. Champions like Fizz and Akali, who have to go balls deep for kills, would greatly benefit from the ability to disable turrets for 2.5 seconds as they provide a suitable window for the final blow and the escape attempt (not to mention that the item resets the stacking damage of turrets as well which is even more valuable in the current patches where they reach max power faster). Another benefit of Ohmwrecker is that it provides a little bit more health, which is valuable to high damage assassins who cannot afford to use too many slots for defensive measures. I often find myself wondering why teams like LMQ, who are known for furiously diving turrets, don’t utilize this item to its potential.

 Another great tip with this item is the fact that when next to the nexus turrets, this item disables them both, allowing for dynamic diving that no one would expect and also enabling teams to finish the game faster when racing death timers and without minions. When considering what to build Ohmwrecker over, consider it over items that would otherwise provide similar stats like Rylais and Liandries. AP Supports can also combo this item with Twin Shadows and Talisman of Ascension to ensure escape is never truly possible for an enemy.

Sword of the Divine:

Sword of the Divine is an interesting concept that has also never really seen any screen time in the professional scene and in normal play, maybe because the base stats aren’t as impressive or maybe because no one has truly figured out how to efficiently utilize this item. 100% Attack Speed and Critical Strike Chance is a very powerful steroid that can turn any trade in your favour in an instant. On AD Carries, this item is crazy, but it isn't built in favour of Static Shiv, Phantom Dancer, and Youmuu’s Ghostblade, which provide much better stats (and the latter gives an active that seems more valuable at face value). You even lose the attack speed that Sword of the Divine gives you when it goes on cooldown so why would anyone want to build the item? The redeeming feature of Sword of The Divine in my opinion is the fact that the current cooldown is halved by champion kills. Assuming every time you use it you get a kill it has a 30 second cooldown, this makes it effective in split push situations where you can easily 1v1 and dispatch the person that tries to stop you. It also makes the item effective in extended team fight situations where you could legitimately use it more than once if you pick up two or three kills from its first use. Unlike Ohmwrecker which is a more reliable pickup, Sword of the Divine requires mastery and effectiveness in its use to become a super item. Misuse could leave you crippled, but effective use could be the deciding factor in many fights.

Zeke’s Herald:

Why this item isn't used more is beyond me, especially when AD mid laners like Yasuo remain top tier picks.  If your solo laners are AD, someone on your team should definitely have Zeke’s Herald. +20 AD and 10% Life Steal are valuable stats that could easily turn the tide of any team fight, and the CDR and the Health are also valuable stats that could benefit some bruisers and junglers. Assuming all four other team mates benefit from the passive, the item itself has 300% gold efficiency. Provided your team is also under the protection of Locket of the Iron Solari, you have a huge amount of extra stats in both offence and defense. I believe Zeke’s Herald is a great pickup on the current Rengar play style seen in the LCS, which plays out on CDR and bruiser items rather than full damage. Thresh could also greatly benefit on the extra damage on his basic attacks as well as the added effect for the ADC which could help snowball the lane. Zeke’s Herald also has the benefit of being the only defensive/utility item that provides Life Steal, making it viable on champions that need tankiness on top of life steal like Trundle and Shyvana. When building Zeke’s Herald, always look towards its aura impact rather than the impact of its face value stats. The items I’ve covered so far all have rather average base stats but the power of these items comes from the enemy’s inability to fully comprehend the value of their passives and actives. The true power of Zeke’s Herald can be summarized by Ashe: United we are stronger.