TL;DR
- Marksmen gain strategic item diversity beyond traditional Infinity Edge + Zeal builds
- New self-peel items reduce team dependency while maintaining late-game power
- Early power spikes arrive sooner with boosted first-item stats
- Contextual choices enable opponent-specific counter-building
- Riot preserves ADC’s fundamental role as primary late-game damage source
Riot Games has unveiled their transformative preseason 2021 item system redesign, fundamentally reshaping how marksmen approach build paths and strategic decision-making throughout matches.
As the 2020 competitive season approaches its conclusion, developers are progressively revealing comprehensive plans for the upcoming preseason period. The initial major announcement focuses on complete item system restructuring across all champion classes.
Comprehensive new development blog detailing this preseason’s item system overhaul:
-Healing reduction mechanics and grievous wounds implementation
-Cooldown Reduction transitioning into Ability Haste system
-Jungle items converting into starter items
-Class-specific design goals and balance philosophyExtensive information provided, I’ll address community questions where possiblehttps://t.co/fYgsZkizof
— Mark Yetter (@MarkYetter)August 7, 2020
Among the most significant modifications targets the marksman position, where Riot aims to introduce substantial diversity into traditional build patterns. Developers will additionally provide enhanced agency alternatives, enabling ADC champions to select items that decrease reliance on coordinated team protection.
Strategic Item Choices: Beyond Infinity Edge
The primary issue identified by Riot’s balance team involves marksmen’s current over-reliance on mandatory core items, particularly Infinity Edge typically followed by Zeal-based upgrades. This creates constrained build diversity scenarios with limited strategic depth during item progression pathways.
Riot intends to transform this dynamic by implementing more situational item selections and distributing critical DPS statistics across broader item options viable for ADC champions. These systemic updates should empower marksmen to develop creative, opponent-adaptive builds that counter specific enemy compositions.
Advanced players should analyze enemy team composition during loading screen to pre-plan counter builds. Against heavy dive compositions, prioritize defensive options early; versus tank-heavy teams, emphasize armor penetration items sooner in build order.
Agency Improvements: Solo Queue Survival
One prevalent community criticism highlights marksmen’s excessive dependence on team coordination. This creates frustrating solo queue experiences where communication limitations prevent optimal protection from allies.
Riot plans to introduce survival-focused items enabling marksmen to withstand threats without complete reliance on teammate peeling, though these defensive options will trade some damage potential for increased self-sufficiency. Developers emphasize maintaining marksmen’s identity as dominant late-game victory conditions while avoiding items that undermine this core strategic role.
Common strategic errors include over-prioritizing damage when survival items would provide more consistent value. Against assassin-heavy compositions, sacrificing 15-20% damage output for survival tools often increases overall contribution to team fights.
Preseason modifications will incorporate more significant early-game power advancements for marksmen. Currently, ADC champions typically require two-to-three completed items before becoming substantial threats, necessitating cautious early-game playstyles. Riot will enhance statistical values on initial item purchases to strengthen marksmen’s first major power spike timing.
Optimization tip: Track your first item completion timing compared to lane opponents. Completing core items 2-3 minutes earlier can create substantial advantages during critical dragon and herald fights.
The accelerated power curve means marksmen can participate more aggressively in early skirmishes. However, avoid overextending just because you completed your first item—positioning remains crucial regardless of stat advantages.
Action Checklist
- Analyze enemy team composition during loading screen for build planning
- Practice last-hitting to accelerate first item completion by 2-3 minutes
- Experiment with defensive item options in normal games against dive compositions
- Track power spike timing compared to lane opponents using in-game clock
- Review our complete Battlefield 6 Guide for complementary strategic insights
No reproduction without permission：Game Guides Online » Riot Games wants ADC item builds more diverse this preseason Riot's 2021 preseason item overhaul revolutionizes marksmen builds with strategic diversity and early power spikes