LoL players worried melee champions could be broken after Runaan’s changes
League Of Legends Champion ‘Riven’ Image Curtsey of: Riot Games
League of Legends players aren’t sure what to make of the new Runaan’s changes, which allow the item to be built on melee champions as well as ranged ones.
Runaan’s Hurricane has always been a bit of a strange item in League of Legends. As one of the only items in the game’s history relegated to ranged champions only, it’s been built up with marksmen in mind specifically.
Its unique passive of firing out multiple shots which each apply on-hit effects has proved tricky to balance in the past. Caitlyn’s passive had to be changed specifically because Runaan’s let her stack up headshots near-instantly, and when Zeri first released, it was part of the Tiamat-Triforce build that made her so oppressive.
So when Riot announced that they’d be making Runaan’s available to melee champions, it’s only natural that some players raised their eyebrows.
League of Legends players divided over Runaan’s changes
One player highlighted some of the potential issues with the change on Reddit, saying: “The idea of letting melee champions buy Runaan’s isn’t itself unfair. Giving melees AoE on basic attacks has been a staple for years through Hydra.
“What is unfair is how certain abilities interact with on-hit. Namely those that refund cooldowns, or apply on-hits much faster than Attacking.
“Yi, for example, is already adjusted around his interaction with Rageblade. To address both interactions and instead allow him to be adjusted around the damage output, his Q should grant its cooldown refund on-attack with a special exception for his passive strike. Likewise with Shyvana.
“And Kat should probably have whether her ult even applies on-hits looked at again, especially after the introduction of so many new AP items.”
Other players predicted that the item would be a “noob-trap” for players trying to mess around with Heartsteel interactions.
