One of the biggest League of Legends patches in 14.10 is on the horizon, and in a surprise move, the devs are completely scrapping one of the game’s most powerful runes in Lethal Tempo. So far, players are thrilled about its removal and can’t wait for the update next fortnight.
League players discussed the rune’s removal and what it means for the meta in a Reddit thread this weekend. “Purely from a balance and feel-good standpoint, [Lethal Tempo]’s removal is one of the best recent changes ever made,” one player said. “Weak early game champions weren’t as weak as they should’ve been: Yasuo [and] Yone especially. Even Kayle could win level 1 against a Darius/Olaf if they kited properly and took LT.” The player emphasized that several champions had their weaknesses completely removed by the rune, avoiding any counter-play because they could just run up to you and one-shot you.
The notorious Lethal Tempo rune was a game-changer located in the Precision treeline, allowing players to significantly increase their attack speed above the usual cap and dominate their opponents. The rune came in clutch during team fight situations where an AD carry could stack up its lethal tempo and shred through the enemies if they had their attack speed items online.
Come patch 14.10 on May 15, the change will affect AD carries more than any lane roles as they are heavily auto-attack reliant. Champions like Jinx, Caitlyn, Tristana, Vayne, and Ashe heavily rely on their attack speed builds to scale up to the midgame and have the capacity to gun down multiple enemies by themselves thanks to the rune’s effects.
The bottom lane isn’t the only one feeling the heat of change, as some top champions like Kayle, Tryndamere, and Jax also relied on the Lethal Tempo rune for their playstyle. Its removal will undoubtedly force the players to shift to more potent runes and might nudge them toward ditching the attack speed builds.
“I’m gonna miss being able to exceed the attack speed cap on Varus, after getting a kill it felt like such a power fantasy,” one player said, who felt the removal of the rune was a bit too much for the developers as it took away the thrill of stacking the attack speed and taking on enemies.
In the past, Lethal Tempo had received many nerfs and even a slight rework, but the developers felt those changes were not hitting the right spot as it continued to remain a popular choice. Moreover, it introduced an unhealthy playstyle by letting specific champions evade investments into attack speed items and simply using the Lethal Tempo rune to avoid their weaknesses and go over the attack speed limit.
