Stopwatch, one of League of Legends’ most popular items, may see additional adjustments in the near future
Stopwatch and Zhonya’s Hourglass have dominated the League professional scene. Almost every player in all 5 roles buys Stopwatch at some point throughout the game. As a result, Riot is increasing the cost of this item, as well as all of the items that it is built into, to prevent abuse.
Originally shared on Twitter by Spideraxe, Stopwatch’s cost has been raised from 650 to 750 gold, raising the cost of Zhonya’s Hourglass and Guardian Angel as well.
To better distinguish Zhonya’s Hourglass as a top AP item rather than a support-based one, the item now costs 300 gold more in addition to the 100 gold increase from Stopwatch’s. In exchange, the item gains 15 more AP and 5 more Ability Haste.
Seeker’s Armguard gains 10 AP at no additional cost, but its passive, Witch’s Path, only grants 10 extra armor instead of 15.
Guardian Angel’s cost increases as well, bringing the item’s total price to the same 3,000 gold as Zhonya’s, but it also gains 5 AD in stats.
Stopwatch has been abused in recent years, particularly at the professional level. Players would buy the item before teamfights, use it, sell it, then buy it again before the next one, resulting in high-leverage teamfights in pro play with more possible outplay moments.
Riot tightened down even harder on abusers in Patch 12.8, making it such that the item couldn’t be purchased if a Zhonya’s Hourglass or a Guardian Angel was already in a player’s inventory.
For the time being, the changes are available on the PBE and will most likely be rolled out to live servers in Patch 12.17.