What changed in bot lane?

Buffs:
- Zyra root on Grasping Roots increased at all ranks.
- Blade of the Ruined King cost decreased.
- Bloodthirster cost decreased.
- Maw of Malmortius magic resist and passive shield increased.
- Last hit assistance installed: Basic attacks that would kill a minion by 4 health or less now kills them.

Nerfs:
- Rakan had his Gleaming Quill nerfed, deceasing his heal at all ranks. Battle Dance also grants a weaker shield at all ranks.
- Fleet Footwork now grants less healing. No longer gives extra heal based on crit. Heal on minions and ratio increased.
- Minion Dematerializer delay time increased.
- Statikk Shiv cost increased. Build path is more costly.
- Runaan's Hurricane cost increased. Build path is more costly.
- Rapid Firecannon cost increased. Build path is more costly.
- Phantom Dancer cost increased. Build path is more costly.
- Shurelya's Battlesong cost increased, active cool down increased, movement speed decreased, now grants mana regen.
- Zeal crit chance decreased, cost increased.
- Brawler's Gloves cost increased. Crit chance is now unique on this item.
- Nexus health decreased.
- Baron does less damage.



Side:
- Ashe, Caitlyn, Draven, Ezreal, Jhin, Jinx, Kai'Sa, Kalista, Kog'Maw, Lucian, Miss Fortune, Sivir, Tristana, Twitch, Varus, Vayne, Xayah all have been tuned to have less sustain, armor, health and damage early, but have increased damage growth; making their late game better but early game worse.
- Lord Dominik's Regards deals less damage and costs more. Armor pen now based on total armor instead of bonus armor.
- Mortal Reminder deals less damage and costs more. Armor pen now based on total armor instead of bonus armor.
- Guardian Angel costed increased. Armor also increased.
- Turret death now grants more local gold, less global gold.
- Inhibitor turrets has less health, but more health regen.
- Scuttle Crab has longer respawn time, but has a longer shrine.


Added/Removed/Reworked:
- Stormrazor added into the game. Great for crit/burst focused champions!
- Infinity Edge reworked. Now doubles crit chance and converts 15% of crit damage into true damage. Damage and cost also increased.
- Essence Reaver reworked. No longer a crit item, now is a spell cast adc item. Basic attacks now restore 1% of missing mana. Using your ultimate with the item now triggers Essence flare upon basic attack, which increases attack speed and causing your basic attacks to reduce non ultimate cooldowns.
- Banner of Command reworked. No longer immune to magic damage, but is highly resist to all types of damage from champions. No longer grants cool down reduction.
- Nimbus Cloak added.
- Ultimate Hunter added.
- Ultimate Hat removed.
- Giant Slayer removed.
- Cloak of Agility removed.

How will this effect bot lane ?

This patch will have a great effect on bot lane. Overall I think crit based champions will enjoy the new changes, but will be noticeably weaker overall in the early game. This will be due to the lack of viable ADC items with crit chance that also does not screw your build path over. I also believe that the support meta will be more or less the same, with Pyke not making a big impact in the bot lane. I think he will be much better in the jungle, but against certain, squishy match ups, I think he can be strong.


Strong ADCS



50.2% Winrate
3.6% Ban Rate
Direct Changes: Attack damage decreased, attack growth increased, armor decreased, health increased, health growth increased, health regen decreased.

With a lot of love being given to crit based ADCs, it should be no surprise to see Jhin enjoy this meta. The new Stormrazor should work great as a first item for Jhin and has great synergy with Whisper, which should help him kite better. The changes to Infinity Edge is also of great benefit to Jhin and should help him become a dominant force in the bot lane.





50.9% Winrate
44.7% Ban Rate
Direct Changes: Direct Changes: Attack damage decreased, attack growth increased, armor decreased, health increased, health growth increased, health regen decreased.

Despite the changes to the ADC role, some have gone under the radar. One of these is Kai'sa. While many builds did include Infinity Edge in Kai'sa build path, the change should not effect her strength too much, especially considering that Runaan's Hurricane was usually also included in her item path. Overall, its the same champ, different patch.



49.5% Winrate
0.8% Ban Rate
Direct Changes: Direct Changes: Attack damage decreased, attack growth increased, armor decreased, health increased, health growth increased, health regen decreased.

Lucian is not going to be a S tier ADC like some say, but his buffs this patch is definitely going to feel good when playing him. His passive Lightslinger, in combination with the new Essence Reaver is going to make his kiting insane and basically allows him to use his entire kit a lot during team fights and small skirmishes.


Strong Supports



Maybe it is because i'm a Nami main, but I feel that Nami is and has been in a really good spot for most of the season now. Most of the season has been a early game meta with great focus on lane dominance and when you are looking for someone who fits this bill, few rival Nami!

53.3% Winrate
2.3% Ban Rate
Direct Changes: None




52.8% Winrate
0.7% Ban Rate
Direct Changes: None

She is simple to play, a flexible pick and has a good lane phase. Her Hymn of Valor allows for decent poke and can be devastating with Aria of Perseverance. While other supports can deal more damage and heal more, she offers a good middle ground between the two!

Hidden Gem



49.8% Winrate
17% Ban Rate
Direct Changes: Attack damage decreased, attack growth increased, armor decreased, health increased, health growth increased, health regen decreased.

While many will be eyeballing and testing out champions expect to benefit the most this patch ( that being Jhin and Lucian, maybe you are looking for something stable and tested? If that is the case, then Caitlyn is perfect for you! Her great pushing power with her Piltover Peacemaker and ability to control the pace of the lane with Yordle Snap Trap is very vaulable and often results in a favorable;e lane.



Conclusion

While ADCs should be weaker this patch in the early game, I believe it only puts more power into the supports hands; which to be honest, is simply too much at the moment. This does mean however that ADCs will be more powerful in the mid to late game, which should make adc players feel better about playing more mid-late focused ADCs, instead of the early game picks we see now.

Overall it is a good step foward, maybe not in the short term, but in the long run!

FINAL GRADE
ADC Health: B
Support Health: B
Overall enjoyment: B
Final Grade: B