An item that caused commotion in League of Legends for a large part of last season is once again gaining relevance, but this time it’s not entirely due to how quickly it can remove waves of minions.
ADC players are actively experimenting with bringing back Statikk Shiv as a primary item for certain champions in an attempt to increase the early-game power of marksmen in a post-Smolder meta. Though the item hasn’t been directly buffed or nerfed in several patches, it now stands out among others not only due to the stats it provides but how good of an investment it is.
Compared to Kraken Slayer and Blade of the Ruined King, which are often must-have first purchases for marksmen and continue to be such in most situations, Statikk Shiv is a considerably cheaper option, only costing 2,700 gold for stats akin to these other items. The item also gives champions an easier way to farm minions with its passive chain lightning—a feature that proved to be problematic last season—which can further provide champions with an edge during the laning phase over their opponents.
Champions like Caitlyn, Zeri, and Lucian have all benefited greatly from rushing Statikk Shiv as their first item over other options like Kraken Slayer, with each welcoming the stats provided that increase their damage potential quicker. But it’s Jinx that appears to have thrived the most following this item optimization, with the hyper-scaling champion now boasting a 53-percent win rate, 24-percent pick rate, and 12-percent ban rate—all massive jumps from just one patch ago—according to League stats sites OP.GG, U.GG, and lolalytics.com.
But this strategy is not yet widespread across most of the ADC cast since Statikk Shiv as an initial completed item is typically reserved for marksmen that prioritize early-game damage over attack speed. For champions such as Ashe and Kog’Maw, while Statikk Shiv can fit into their kits, the benefits of other items and synergies with their abilities outweigh the cheaper option.
This meta shake-up in the bot lane comes following the near-complete removal of Smolder, League’s newest controversial champion, from his throne as the most dominant ADC. As part of Patch 14.6, Smolder received direct nerfs to the execute associated with his Q stacks, as well as less safety on both his W and E, all of which have greatly diminished the champion’s performance in solo queue—while reopening the possibility for players to try these new, rekindled strategies.
The preview for Patch 14.7 is expected to be teased tonight and fully revealed tomorrow evening, followed by an imminent release of the tentative changes on League’s PBE. It’s currently unclear exactly what adjustments the patch preview will possess, though players have already expressed frustrations regarding the changes to ranked demotions.
