So patch 3.10 just hit and amongst a ton of changes, the ones that stand out the most were the changes to Magic Resist items, hence the patch already being called the MR Patch. Today I’m here to explain the changes in a more in depth fashion.

Before I start I should introduce myself though.

My name is Shakarez, I’m a platinum rated jungler and I work on lolpro.com as a ghost-writer and bug fixer. I also have my own Youtube Channel. You can also follow me on Facebook

So let’s start with the Runic Bulwark removal. Riot stated:

“We wanted to reposition Magic Resistance to be more of a personal stat as, opposed to being an aura-focused stat. With these changes we, specifically wanted to create more itemization options against sustained magic damage dealers in the mid game, as well as create more space for tanks versus late game poke teams.”

So, to make MR more of a personal stat, several items were buffed and a new item was added as well. Let’s have a look at it.

Spectre’s Cowl

Spectre’s Cowl costs 1350g and is a mid tier Magic Resist item that builds into Banshee’s Veil and Spirit Visage. Overall, this is a great AP counter; if you don’t want to upgrade immediately, it’s still a great item to sit on because it gives so many good stats. Spectre’s Cowl is also a very good pick up versus champions with Damage over Time abilities like Teemo, Malzahar, Brand, Cassiopeia etc. or even any mage that buys Liandry’s torment. Why?

The item has a very interesting passive that gives 10 seconds of  health regen upon taking damage. Now this time period refreshes each time a tick of the DoT ability hits. It’s also worth mentioning that any kind of damage will activate the passive, so your staying power will be boosted in the laning phase with the Cowl.

The Buffs:

Looking at the evolutions of Spectre’s Cowl, they have improved in terms of both flat Magic Resist and effectiveness overall.

Spirit Visage was buffed in almost every stat and it now grants health regen. The new iteration is ludicrously cost effective. The stats are worth more 35% than the cost of the item, and this is without accounting the passive. I think we’ll see this item a great deal more versus double AP comps, as it’s one of the best MR options for tanks right now.

Banshee’s Veil received a slight buff as well and no longer builds out of Catalyst.

At first glance, it looks like a less cost effective item, as it did lose the mana. However, it has a new passive that gives 45 HP Regen for 10 seconds when the shield is popped or you take damage. So when the passive procs, the gold value of the item rises a lot, and during this period the stats are worth 38% more than the cost. This seems like the perfect item to deal with AP poke comps, as you’ll be able to recover faster when hit.

Also worth mentioning that similarly to Spectre’s Cowl any type of damage will proc the passive.

Guardian Angel

Guardian Angel also had its Magic Resist increased by 10, along with a price increase. Recipe was changed to Negatron cloak too. This might not seem like much, but it reverts the season 2 nerf, when GA went down to 30 MR from 38. The item still isn’t cost efficient  due to the godlike revive passive, but the buff did make the item worth more.

The Aura Nerfs

Now let’s look at what was nerfed:  the aura items.

Aegis of the Legion was nerfed to a high degree this patch. The health bonus was scaled back by 50 points and it no longer gives the wielder Magic Resist. As for the aura, the Magic Resist was buffed to 20 from 15, but it no longer grants armor. The total cost went down to compensate for stat drops, but the item by itself is weaker. It is no longer cost effective for the wielder by himself, and now requires an additional ally to be present for Aegis to be cost effective. Despite the nerfs, it still remains a good item for team fights.

Lastly, Runic Bulwark has been removed, and the reworked Locket of the Iron Solari is supposed to be Bulwark’s replacement. The items look very similar in terms of efficiency but their feel is very different.

Bulwark was more of a heavy resist item, both on self-stats and aura.

Locket, however, only provides MR in the aura, and only armor as a base stat. The interesting thing is that it has maintained the old Locket active and, when activated, the item actually becomes cost effective.

(This efficiency only reflects the active on one single target.)

Other MR Options:

Besides the buffed items listed above there are other good MR items you can purchase, I’d like to highlight:

• Wit’s End – Buffed in 3.8 it’s great vs Sustained Magic damage on champions that enjoy Attack Speed
• Maw of Malmortious – Buffed in 3.9 it’s a great item for fighters and assassins
• Mikael’s Crucible and Twin Shadows – Typical support items that have deceptively high MR stats (40)

Here’s a more complete table for MR options:

Conclusions

Overall, the fact that there’s only one major aura item to buy instead of two may allow junglers to build more selfish items, either offensive or defensive, with their new-found cash. As for supports? I predict we will see more diversity in builds when junglers pick up Locket. Shureyla’s, Mikael’s and Twin Shadows are probably amongst the items that will start appearing more

In a scenario where the jungler wants to build full damage, supports can still get it themselves and have the Locket effect.  Both the jungler and support may consider buying their own copy, as the double aura will benefit both users and the team.To explain this a bit more, both Locket wielders get the aura doubled and in a situation where one of them is out of position or dead, the other may be closer to provide the aura to the rest of the team.

The double active also works very well in prolonged team fights. Provided you respect the 8-second time frame between both activations, they both will grant a full shield. If you activate it within the time frame, the second locket will only grant 50% shield bonus.

I hope you guys enjoyed the 3.10 patch analysis. We’ll see you in the Rift.