All LoL Patch 14.19 item changes - Champion Emphasis item rework, explained

League of Legends is just about to undergo another cataclysmic shift as Riot Games battles to bring spiralling item power under control. This rework patch, which is being referred to as the “Champion Emphasis” update, will act as the start of Season 15’s preseason run and is expected to totally change the balance of power between items and champions.

Here’s everything you’ll need to know about the whopping League overhaul.

LoL item changes ‘for champion emphasis’

A little shopkeeper Yordle working on a magical sword in front of a large number of League of Legends champions — Items are going through another huge power shift late this year. Image via Riot Games

Riot is nerfing every endgame item in League by “five to 15 percent” with a simple aim: Slowing down combat speed, dampening the big impact snowballing has on the game state, and returning unique champions a greater slice of the power budget.

In a lengthy /dev blog, Riot’s devs explained: “We want more time for players to play out their champion’s gameplay fantasy and to put more emphasis on champs than items.”

To do this, Legendaries items and their components as well as regular item picks are all being targeted through sweeping nerfs. This pendulum toward items being weaker is being effected to counteract just how skilled players have become in 2024; even lower Elo players farm better, win objectives quicker, and therefore buy items faster. This gold surplus has led to champ picks mattering less than how much you have to spend and Riot really doesn’t like that gameplay state or where it could eventually lead: “We don’t see anyone load into game and get excited to play Infinity Edge… they want to play Jinx or Yasuo.”

Here’s how the League devs will hit every class through its key items.

Ability power changes

Burst mages who build ability power are losing a whole lot of the ability haste they previously had access to in a quest to bring down spell spam, while “keeping high ability power and magic penetration.” Other mages will still keep some haste, but overall there should be some slight buffs here with other classes losing magic resistance (outside tanks).

Fighter changes

These changes are all focused around splitting skirmishers (below), divers, and juggernauts. The balance here is that divers and juggernauts are keeping their beef health while skirmishers are becoming somewhat weaker—around 20 percent, Riot predicts, compared to juggernauts keeping as much as 50 percent of their usual defensive powers. The League devs are also anticipating a splash effect for skirmishers through this overhaul; because other classes are losing move speed (and skirmishers aren’t) they should be quite a bit faster after 14.19.

Attack damage assassin changes

Assassins will have less access to ability haste and item actives to “make them rely more on their individual spell casts and finding that first correct target.”

Tank changes

Tanks are now more focused on resistances over health, which should mean they can survive through lengthy teamfights and frontline better. This change is designed to backpedal on how quickly some characters have been dying in recent years.

Enchanter changes

Most of the enchanter changes are designed to “simplify” itemization for the class. There should be more support options for these characters now, which should be an overall buff for any enchanter supports that are already boosted stat-wise. On top of better utility, Riot is also trying to squeeze out some of the power-crept move speed and ability power the class had slowly collected.

AD carry changes

AD carry characters have got away the most unscathed, with damage still the focal point of any ADC champ’s core build. Level scaling has been knocked down a little.

When is this Champion Emphasis update going live?

The old seal shopkeeper looks out on Summoner's Rift in a League of Legends match — Buying items should impact the game less after these 14.19 changes go live. Image via Riot Games

This huge League update, which Riot has compared to the iconic Durability Update which dropped in mid-Season 12, will arrive in League Patch 14.19. That next update is scheduled to go live on Wednesday, Sept. 25 after two weeks of testing.

Which LoL items are being changed?

Several LoL items appear in the shop front during a match. — No item’s safe in this big Champion Emphasis update. Image via Riot Games

In case it wasn’t clear yet, every single Legendary item in League is being changed. There’ll also be several other items touched through the 14.19 changes but Riot’s main focus is on bringing down the power levels of the game’s central items.

That means the late September update should have as many as 119 item changes, which should come close to the biggest changelist in any League patch within the last half-decade.

Items confirmed to be impacted by the Emphasis update include: